Category: Hotels

More than 250 hotels in Goa will throw open their doors on Thursday after the government granted permission to resume operation, the state’s Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar has said. Hotels in Goa had been shut since March, when the lockdown was announced to contain the spread of Covid-19. The Goa government had sought applications from hotel operators who were willing to reopen with a declaration that they will abide by the standard operating procedures. “The hotels will be allowed to start from Thursday. Those who want to travel to Goa can do so. Hotel bookings should be done prior to ... Read more

The Fern Hotels & Resorts, one of India’s leading hotel chains, is looking to partner with standalone hotels and enter into management contracts, Param Kannampilly, the Chairman & Managing Director of the company has said. Explaining the benefits of associating with the company he said, “We have a robust sales and marketing network with a pan-India presence, so the association will help individual hotels grow their corporate, MICE and leisure business in these uncertain times”. “We can look into the possibility of tie-ups under our Fern, Zinc and Beacon brands depending upon the property,” he added. Providing details of the newly announced ... Read more

Two prominent Taj hotels in south Mumbai have received threat calls from Pakistan, with the caller threatening to carry out a terror attack similar to the 26/11 attacks. Security has been heightened at both the hotels following the calls. The Taj Mahal Palace in Colaba and the Taj Lands End in Bandra received calls on their landline phones. The police said they are in the process of identifying the caller. Both the hotels are extremely popular with both domestic and international tourists, but are currently closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Police said that the first threat call was made ... Read more

Thomas Cook (India), an integrated travel services company, has introduced Staycations — an array of mini-vacations for Indians increasingly seeking quick, stress-free getaways close to home. With stays at handpicked hotels, either within one’s city of residence or at a short driveable distance, Staycations come attractively priced. According to Thomas Cook India’s “Holiday Readiness Report – Future of Travel post Covid-19”, 64% respondents were keen on a domestic holiday. However, most ranked health & safety as a primary concern. To ensure a perfect blend, Thomas Cook’s Staycations are designed to allow Indians to unwind at hotels in their home city or ... Read more

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Thursday directed senior officials to initiate action to acquire ITDC’s Ranchi Ashok Bihar Hotel that had been lying idle for over three years. At a meeting held at the state secretariat at Project Bhavan, Hemant discussed the possibility of a full take-over of the property with chief secretary Sukhdev Singh, his principal secretary Rajeev Arun Ekka, finance and planning secretary Himani Pandey and tourism secretary Pooja Singhal. The hotel was established as a joint venture between Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and Bihar Tourism and started functioning in January 1987 when Ranchi was in ... Read more

India’s leading heritage hotel chain, WelcomHeritage, has announced the appointment of Abinash Manghani as its Chief Executive Officer. Earlier, he was with the ITC Hotels where he was responsible for the leisure & luxury verticals nationally and area manager for north India. He has been in the hospitality industry for over three decades. Speaking on his appointment, Abinash Manghani, CEO, WelcomHeritage said, “I am extremely delighted to join the WelcomHeritage group.” “WelcomHeritage Hotels, Palaces and Resorts are uniquely positioned and offer a “Safe Haven” during this pandemic. We have started the ‘Safety Ensured” initiative at all our properties to ensure cleanliness and disinfection ... Read more

The Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which owns the Taj group of hotels, has announced the launch of its online food delivery platform, Qmin. Consumers can use the platform to order food from eight restaurants in Mumbai including Golden Dragon and Souk from Taj Mahal Palace, Thai Pavilion and Trattoria from President and Ming Yang from Taj Lands’ End to name a few. The launch will cover top ten markets in India including Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru among others over a period of five weeks. The Qmin mobile application will be launched on July 25. Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and ... Read more

The Oberoi Group, in association with Tourism Industry Stake Holders Association (TISHA) and Shimla Hotel Restaurant Association (SHRA), conducted an awareness programme on COVID preparedness on Thursday. Aligned with the Standard Operating Procedures issued by the Government of Himachal Pradesh, the programme was conducted with the vision to educate and build confidence amongst the hoteliers and restaurateurs in the state. The purpose of this programme was to help the hoteliers of Himachal Pradesh learn the finest practices and deliberate strategies for implementing high standards of safety measures. The training programme focussed on preparing the hotels to be COVID ready in ... Read more

Raj Gopaal Iyer, CEO of UDS Group of Hotels, believes Kerala should have the right marketing strategies to showcase medical and leisure tourism. The state government should come up with a proper agenda/plan to submit before the Central government, thereby helping employees retain their jobs, he says. But the biggest problem he believes is the poor air connectivity to Thiruvananthapuram, with tourists ending up spending more on airfare than accommodation. Excerpts: Q: When we spoke a few weeks ago, the coronavirus crisis was on its ascendency. But now we are in a phase where the virus is spreading at an ... Read more

Riaz Ahmad, managing director of Abad Hotels & Resorts, has been in the hospitality sector for many decades, braving umpteen challenges. But even for someone like him, the coronavirus pandemic has presented an unforeseen situation. In this interview he talks about how his company is preparing for the future, keeping the interest of the employees in mind. Often the government ignores the sector as there is a perception that tourism is a business of the wealthy, he says. Excerpts: Q: It’s great to see Abad group reopening its properties across Kerala. How was the lockdown experience at Abad group? What ... Read more

Hilton Hotels is laying off 2,100 employees, or roughly 22% of its corporate workforce, as the pandemic continues to drive down demand for leisure and corporate travel. The hotel chain is also extending the existing furloughs for many of its corporate staff for an additional 90 days, CNN Business has reported. Hilton had announced the initial furloughs, as well as temporary pay cuts for executives, in March. “Never in Hilton’s 101-year history has our industry faced a global crisis that brings travel to a virtual standstill,” CEO Christopher Nassetta said in a press release, adding he was “devastated” by the decision. Covid-19 all ... Read more

Around 8,000 tourism, leisure and commercial facilities and restaurants in Abu Dhabi are eligible for refunds of 20% of the annual rental value, on their commercial property leases, amounting to a sum of Dh1 billion. They will get a refund of Dh200 million as part of the economic stimulus package launched by the Abu Dhabi government within the “Ghadan 21” programme to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on business activities. This was announced by Khaled Mubarak Bani Zama, director of the Industrial Development at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, during a media briefing. The department approved 220 applications ... Read more

Foreign visitors have begun to get back to the white sands and warm waters of Mexico’s Caribbean coast. The resort town of Cancun is especially in demand, despite Mexico reporting record infection levels in recent days. Cancun’s Hard Rock Hotel re-opened on June 8 along with 16 other beachside resorts. All of these resorts have installed hand sanitizer stations, ramped up cleaning and are enforcing distancing rules at the pool and beach areas. Although hotels can allow guests into the water, public beaches remain closed. “The most important thing right now is to revive the state’s economy, but we have ... Read more

The Delhi government has allowed resto-bars, hotels and clubs to sell their stock of beer expiring this month to liquor shops, in a bid to minimise their financial losses. There are around 950 hotels, clubs and resto-bars in Delhi which have an excise license, however, they have not been allowed to open since March 25, when the first nationwide lockdown was announced. They will continue to remain closed in the city till June 30. According to the Excise Act, the resto-bars, hotels, and clubs can only sell liquor to their customers. “In wake of the extraordinary situation emerging out of ... Read more

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government has decided to allot land, measuring 54.40 hectares in Sindhudurg to Indian Hotels Company Limited, which runs the Taj Hotels, to construct a  five-star tourism centre. The project has been stuck for over 25 years. The land has been given at a 90-year lease for the construction of cottages in Vengurla, part of Sindhudurg, for tourism development.  The proposal of the allotment of land for the construction of the hotel to the leading players in the hotel industry was taken after the state government announced Sindhudurg as a tourism district more than two decades ago. ... Read more