Indian School of Hospitality showcases Virtual Reality Technology for Hospitality Education and Industry

Indian School of Hospitality (ISH), is redefining hospitality education and learning and development for the industry through a focus on Virtual Reality technology as a learning and training aid.

Along with the US-based virtual reality developers TRANSFRVRTM, ISH hosted the first ever virtual reality hospitality Learning and Development workshop at the brand-new technology enabled ISH Campus in Gurugram. This path-breaking VR workshop displays a completely revolutionary approach to training and learning in an efficient and cost-effective new way.

Prototypes of VR modules for Bartending, Housekeeping and Coffee Making were demonstrated to senior housekeeping, food and beverage, training leaders and General Managers of the industry in a series of workshops held at ISH.

The opportunity was to showcase the technologies and the opportunities and then take the feedback from the industry in order to develop comprehensive modules for use in training as well as in education.

Participants had the opportunity to experience TRANSFRVR’s proprietary VR technology personally and see the possibilities of the software being tailormade to meet their needs. ISH and TRANSFRVRTM are collaborating to find solutions which can help companies in bolstering employee development and skilling and academic institutions in the field of hospitality management, culinary arts, housekeeping and F&B.

Dilip Puri, founder and CEO, said: “It is the vision of ISH to bring in new technologies, which can enable learning in education, as well as learning and development for hospitality and allied industries. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to showcase this amazing technology and the opportunities it presents.

"This marks the beginning of integrating technologies for a better learning experience for both ISH students, and companies across industries. I am looking forward to introducing and using VR technology into our own curriculums for all our long- and short-term programmes. I believe it can give our students a completely revolutionary way of acquiring new skills and knowledge.”

Bharanidharan Rajakumar, CEO, TRANSFRVR stated: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Dilip and his exceptional team at ISH to bring our virtual reality hospitality training model to India. We look forward to helping students, employees, managers and companies achieve their professional goals while also supporting the development of India’s rapidly growing hospitality industry.”

Hospitality sector to surpass £100b mark in 2018 | The Caterer

The total combined turnover of UK hospitality business is set to surpass £100b in 2018, according to a new analysis of government figures.

Official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that all businesses providing ‘accommodation and food services’ reached £98b in 2017, up from £92b in 2016 and £86b in 2015.

The sector has consistently grown at between 5% and 6.5% year on year for the past five years according to recruitment platform Adia, and it predicted that even modest growth of 2% would carry the sector over £100b this year.

Hilton ranked #26 in #BestWorkplaces for Millennials from Great Place to Work US and Fortune Magazine

Millennium Hotels opens new property in Saudi Arabia

Millennium Hotels and Resorts has furthered its expansion into Saudi Arabia with the opening of a new hotel in Madinah at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport.

Featuring 227 rooms, the Millennium Madinah Airport is designed to provide pilgrims and visitors a luxurious accommodation in the city.

Situated near the centre of Al Madinah al-Munawwarah,  Millennium Madinah Airport has also been designed for business with four distinguished meeting spaces hosting up to 75 guests.

Divided into categories such as Deluxe Room, Superior Room, Club Room and Executive Suite; the hotel features 227 rooms dressed in rich furnishings, warm colours and fitted with the latest amenities and technology.

FabHotels plans to enter 15 more cities; add 1,000 hotels this fiscal

Budget hotels chain FabHotels plans to enter more than 15 additional cities and is looking to add 1,000 hotels under the franchise model in its inventory by end of this fiscal, a top company official has said.

The company currently has over 400 hotels under its inventory in around 40 cities.

"We continue to expand rapidly and are aiming to add 1,000 more properties across the emerging business cities in India by the end of FY19," FabHotels Founder & CEO Vaibhav Aggarwal told PTI.

The company plans to enter more than 15 additional cities this fiscal year. The locations include Kanpur, Ludhiana, Allahabad, Rajkot, Surat, Aurangabad, Ajmer, Ranchi, Raipur and Jamshedpur, among others, he added.

"We have a very high demand from hotels to partner with us, reinstating the faith in our business model and the shift which the industry is experiencing at present," Aggarwal said.

Jack Daniel’s coffee that tastes like Whiskey. Brilliant!

Jack Daniel has launched the Tennessee Whiskey Coffee that tastes and smells of whiskey. The non-alcoholic product is made by World of Coffee with 100% Arabica coffee, roasted medium and infused with Old No.7 flavour.

It’s sold as ground coffee in both regular and decaffeinated, and is currently available in the US and on the Jack Daniel’s online store.

OYO Hotels Makes Its Entry Into China's Hospitality Market

OYO Hotels has finally announced its foray into the hospitality industry of China officially. Its current chain comprises of over 11,000 exclusive – franchised or manchised – rooms in 26 cities. The list includes Hangzhou, Xian, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Kunming among others.

Earlier in May this year, reports surfaced about OYO’s expansion to China, operating in eight hotels with a total of 400 rooms.

With its foray into China, OYO is set to compete with well-established hospitality players in the country like GreenTree Inns, Motel 168, 7Days Inn, and Home Inns.

Commenting on the development, Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO – OYO said, “China’s tourism industry is on the cusp of booming and flourishing wherein it enjoys a strong influx of both domestic and international tourists; also the market is as fragmented as the Indian hotel market.”

Dusit International plans expansion in Middle East, Asia-Pacific

Thailand-based hotel developer Dusit International has announced plans to open at least 10 new properties over the next 12 months across Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore and Vietnam.

The openings will increase the number of Dusit-branded properties in operation to 37. There are in line with Dusit's plan for sustainable and profitable growth. The company aims to have 14,000 guestrooms operating across more than 20 countries by 2021, increasing from Dusit's current 27 hotels with more than 7,000 guestrooms in nine countries.

Indian School of Hospitality Brings in New, International Standards of Student Accommodation following Signing with CoHo

Indian School of Hospitality (ISH), the hospitality education venture of former Managing Director of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, South Asia, Mr. Dilip Puri, today signed an agreement with CoHo, a technology start-up that focuses on providing bespoke accommodation for the millennial generation, ensuring ISH will provide a never before seen standard of student accommodation within the country.

Set to open its doors to students in August, 2018, ISH aims to reimagine hospitality and culinary education, teaching, and the student lifestyle. Following the signing with CoHo, ISH students will now have access to tailor-made accommodation based on an international model of professionally managed student housing. ISH will be offering its students a western-model of student living, with fully furnished, modern apartment living, a flatmate system, as well as private kitchen, living and recreational amenities.

Founder & CEO of the Indian School of Hospitality, Dilip Puri, commented: “One of the most commonly asked questions we face is regarding student accommodation. With this step, I am happy to announce that the level of student accommodation we offer is unprecedented. With this step forward, we are changing the concept of student housing itself. Change within the traditional model of student hostels is long overdue, and we at ISH want to bring in a new, global standard of housing for our students, helping change the student study-leisure balance and lifestyle, and reimagining the way student accommodation is both perceived and executed.”

ISH’s partners  in their venture to reimagine student accommodation, CoHo, already manage over 2.5 lakh square feet of housing space across both Delhi and Delhi NCR. Driven by the philosophy of providing a hassle-free living experience, CoHo is driven by high class, tech enabled, services. Commenting on their tie up with ISH, Uday Lakkar, Founder & CEO of CoHo said “We are extremely proud to partner with a visionary brand like ISH to expand our foray into the coliving and student housing space in India and shall continue to disrupt and re-define the living experience of millennials in India in the coming times”.

Amazon’s Alexa for Hospitality, just say 'Alexa, Check Out'!

Amazon officially launched Alexa for Hospitality together with Marriott International, which said it's bringing the new feature to about 10 of its US locations over the summer, including Charlotte Marriott City Center in North Carolina and Marriott Irvine Spectrum in California. Alexa for Hospitality will also be available to other hoteliers by invitation only.

"We want to strip away the things that might create unexpected surprises or bumps in the road and create as seamless an experience as possible," Jennifer Hsieh, Marriott's vice president of customer experience innovation, said at the demo, mentioning

Alexa's new ability to check you out of your room so you won't have to stop by the front desk.

Rausch said Alexa for Hospitality will allow hoteliers to customize their Echo speakers to each property, allowing them to provide guests with local restaurant and attractions recommendations and specific information about the hotel, like pool and gym hours. Amazon also developed a new back-end system to help hotels manage a whole fleet of Echo devices.

Amazon will soon allow people to connect their Amazon accounts to their hotel Echo speakers, letting them access their Audible audiobooks and music services including Amazon Music, Spotify, and Pandora. The devices will disconnect from a guest's account at checkout.

see more at https://www.amazon.com/alexaforhospitality

KEYPR Launches KEYPR TV, the Most Advanced Casting Solution in Hospitality

Los Angeles, CA – KEYPR®, the technology company whose enterprise cloud platform is the leader in guest experience and hospitality management, is announcing its partnership with Nevaya, the go-to TV cloud entertainment company for hospitality, to create KEYPR TV. The new feature allows guests to stream content from their personal mobile devices or KEYPR's in-room tablets to hotel TVs, with no app downloads, required sign-ins, or overly-complex access codes.

As evidenced by the shift in how consumers are increasingly engaging with mobile and digital content at home the trend is also being pulled into hospitality. According to Zenith Media, nearly one-quarter of all media consumption across the world is mobile today and aggressively growing. This highlights a massive opportunity for hotels to increase guest satisfaction by adopting mobile-friendly content technologies.

Andaz rebranding for Abu Dhabi hotel

The Hyatt Capital Gate Abu Dhabi is to be rebranded later this year, becoming the first Andaz property in the Middle East.

Known as the "leaning tower of Abu Dhabi", the hotel is owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec) and sits within the Capital Centre district. It will become the Andaz Capital Gate Abu Dhabi.

It will feature a permanent art collection and "various examples of unique craftsmanship such as Khatt calligraphy art and local, traditional Sadu weaving.

"We are extremely excited to introduce the Andaz brand to the Middle East," said Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, group chief executive of Adnec

Centro Barsha, Dubai appoints new GM

Centro Barsha by Rotana, Dubai, an affordable lifestyle business hotel, has appointed Imad Akil as its new general manager.

Having begun his hospitality career in Front Office at the Jeddah Hilton and Qasr Al Sharq Waldorf Astoria in Saudi Arabia, Akil joined Rotana Hotels as far back as 2008 for the pre-opening of Amwaj Rotana Jumeirah Beach, Dubai.

Since then, he has worked on the pre-opening of two other Rotana hotels and has grown through the ranks as director of Front Office, director of Rooms and most recently as executive assistant manager before joining Centro Barsha as general manager.

The Fern Hotels & Resorts opens Anaya Beacon Hotel in Jamnagar

The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India's leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain has launched the Anaya Beacon Hotel in Jamnagar which is the ninth hotel to be managed by the company under the Beacon Hotels brand.

The other Beacon properties are located in Ajmer, Amritsar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Rajkot, New Delhi and Udaipur.     The 40-room Anaya Beacon Hotel is a mix of 18 Deluxe Rooms, 15 Executive Rooms, six Executive Premium Rooms, a Suite, and also has a multi-cuisine vegetarian restaurant – Fiesta@Beacon.

source - http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=28927&sid=1

Singapore's Ascendas Hospitality acquires three Japan hotels for $93m

Singapore-listed Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust) is acquiring a portfolio of three hotels in Osaka, Japan for ¥10.29 billion ($93 million), deepening its presence in the Japanese city with a strong hospitality market.

In a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange on Monday, A-HTrust said, it will acquire Hotel WBF Kitasemba West, Hotel WBF Kitasemba East, and Hotel WB Honmachi via Ascendas Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust.

Hospitality and Urban Development veteran launches Cultivate Hospitality Group

Real estate development and hospitality veteran Peter Peterson announces the launch of Cultivate Hospitality Group, a Los Angeles-based full-service food and beverage ideation, consulting and management company created to pair real estate developers and property owners with innovative restaurant and entertainment concepts. Providing a one-stop shop for unique food and beverage and real estate development opportunities, Cultivate offers a full menu of capabilities that can be tailored through a la carte options including custom concept creation and master planning, development oversight, public relations/marketing strategies, asset management, market analysis and more. With food and beverage taking center stage as a key driver in the world of real estate, the Cultivate team's deep relationships and more than 60-years combined experience in both signature culinary ideation and real estate development brings a unique, never-before-seen expertise to the marketplace.

"Curated culinary programming has proven to be the secret sauce in driving successful development," said Peter Peterson, President and Managing Partner of Cultivate

Frasers Hospitality launched second Tianjin property

Frasers Hospitality launched second Tianjin property It has 224 Gold-Standard studio residences and two bedroom apartments.

Frasers Hospitality launched Fraser Place Binhai Tianjin as its second property in the city after its opening of Frasers Place Tianjin in 2016. The property is located in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), an announcement said.

Located in the residential development of Beacon Hill, the property is footsteps away from TEDA MSD shopping centre and the BMT station. It also offers direct access to Tianjin’s financial district.

The serviced-residence has a 224 Gold-Standard serviced residences ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments. It also houses facilities including complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, 24/7 room service, an all-day dining restaurant, a lobby bar, a swimming pool and a gym.

Association of Emerging Leaders’ Dialogues (AELD) appoints L. Aruna Dhir as its Board Member

The Australia registered Commonwealth Body, the Association of Emerging Leaders& Dialogues (AELD) has appointed L. Aruna Dhir to its Board. Aruna is the second Indian representative and the only woman leader to be appointed as a Board Member from India.

The Association of Emerging Leaders Dialogues (AELD) is the peak co-ordinating body for Commonwealth Study Conferences (CSC) and Emerging Leaders’ Dialogues (ELD) internationally. It is a legal entity under Australian legislation and is accredited by the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, is the Founder and Patron of CSC, which he and a small group of other UK dignitaries founded in 1956.

Today, AELD has HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne as its international President. The Association of Emerging Leaders Dialogues, via CSCs and ELDs, exposes leaders and influencers of tomorrow to economic, social, political, environmental, educational and leadership initiatives through conferences and learning experiences with global stalwarts and an “in field” intellectually challenging study tour of a range of countries and communities.

The AELD is a forum for sharing ideas and achievements. It is aimed at future leaders, drawn from the sectors of business, government, trade unions, education, military and community service bodies including NGO’s, who are assessed as being most likely to assume positions of senior level leadership and influence within their countries.

L. Aruna Dhir is a national-poll winning Corporate Communications Specialist & PR Strategist and an internationally-recognized Writer. Currently Aruna is a Feature Writer and Columnist for some of the world’s top ranked Hospitality publications, viz. ehotelier.com, HospitalityNet.org, 4Hoteliers.com and Bizcatalyst360.com.

Her industry writings are used as references in case studies and hotel schools. Aruna runs an exclusive channel on Bizcatalyst 360 called “Hospitality Matters” based on her hospitality industry watch, insights and commentary.

As a career PR Practioner and Hotelier, Aruna has been at the forefront of Australia-India New Horizons, Australia's largest country promotion and has been associated with legendary hotels such as The Oberoi, The Imperial and Hyatt Regency. Aruna, as part of the core Change Agent Team, helped relaunch The Imperial as one of the finest hotels in Asia and the World. Her brand management portfolio has also included launching Djinns - India's first ever multi-concept Night Club at Hyatt Regency, reviving old and launching new restaurants, unveiling the Oberoi Vilases and leading media strategy for Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Australian Foreign Minister, Australian Education Minister and a clutch of Australian celebrities from different walks of life introducing their work to India and cementing Australia-India business and cultural ties.

As an industry expert and All-India level PR Topper, Aruna has launched brands, developed training modules, created standardization dockets on business communication and written manuals. L. Aruna Dhir is a Life Member of the Public Relations Society of India. Aruna has worked on Radio and Indian Television and has been India's first and only Creative Writer with the Indian Greetings Cards giant, ARCHIES.

L. Aruna Dhir has represented India to a select group of opinion-makers in the United States, as a Cultural Ambassador under the aegis of Rotary International and has also participated in the IXth Commonwealth Study Conference held in Australia and chaired by HRH Princess Anne.
In her official and personal capacity L. Aruna Dhir has and continues to work on several social awareness projects – People for Animals, Earthquake Relief, National Blind Association, PETA, WSPA, Change.org, Friendicoes to name a few.

L. Aruna Dhir looks forward to bringing together her unique and eclectic professional background to actualize AELD's mandate in the Subcontinent with the vision to pave the path for a productive, inclusive and meaningful leadership of tomorrow.

*****

For more information –
Please write to – arunadhir@hotmail.com
And Visit - http://csc-alumni.org/

Brexit fear for U.K. hospitality industry: No staff, hotels forced to close

Three percent of hospitality managers in the United Kingdom predicts they will be forced to close their businesses as a result of Brexit, which nationally could equate to around a £1.1 billion loss for the economy. Almost 1 in 5 (18%) of hospitality managers find recruitment harder now than in April 2017. 16% of hospitality managers do not think they will be able to fulfill staffing requirements over the next 5 years with domestic workers.

The UK hospitality industry could face significant staff shortages if results from a new survey launched by a workforce collaboration software company. The survey, conducted by YouGov, reveals that just over one in ten workers (11%, which is equivalent to around 330,000* staff nationally) working in UK restaurants, catering, bars, and hotels are thinking about leaving the UK as a result of Brexit. This is in stark contrast to hospitality managers’ expectations that only around 4% of their workers are considering leaving the UK due to Brexit.

IHG launches voco upscale brand and signs first property

The Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast AustraliaIHGVocoSurfers Paradise UK/Australia: InterContinental Hotels Group has launched Voco, its new upscale hotel brand, alongside announcing a first signing for the brand in Australia.

Voco will focus primarily on conversion opportunities and will strengthen IHG's offer in the $40 billion upscale segment, which is expected to grow by a further $20 billion by 2025. Working with high-quality individual and locally-branded hotels, the brand will offer owners "the ability to drive higher returns through delivering a compelling guest experience and leveraging IHG's powerful systems.

This includes best-in-class revenue management and technology capabilities and IHG Rewards Club, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes".   IHG says: "Voco, inspired by the meaning 'to invite' or to 'come together' in Latin, will combine the informality and charm of an individual hotel, with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand."   The roll-out of Voco will begin in IHG's Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa (EMEAA) region, with plans to take it to the Americas and Greater China over time. IHG expects to open more than 200 voco hotels in attractive urban and leisure locations over the next 10 years.  

IHG has confirmed the first signing for the Voco brand outside of Europe will be the Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise, Australia. The 388-room hotel is shortly to be acquired by IHG's long-standing partner, SB&G, which currently owns five other IHG hotels in Australia. The hotel is due to open under the Voco flag in late 2018.  

IHG CEO Keith Barr said: "We've talked about the significant growth opportunity we see for IHG in upscale and Voco will help us deliver against this. We'll work with owners of attractive properties, who appreciate the power and expertise that a global business can bring to the table. Guests will be able to enjoy the appeal of a more individual hotel, alongside the reassurance of a name above the door that they trust. The versatility of the brand, means a Voco hotel can retain and celebrate all of the elements that make that existing hotel successful. With Voco, the recent addition of Regent Hotels & Resorts in the luxury space, the launch of Avid Hotels in the Americas, and the work we're doing to enhance our existing brand portfolio, we're making great progress with our ambitious plans to accelerate growth."