NEPAL: Hotel Yak & Yeti General Manager Honoured

The French government has bestowed the distinction of Officier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole on Philippe Belhay, General Manager of Hotel Yak & Yeti in Kathmandu, for his contribution to the development of the French gastronomy.

On behalf of the French Minister for Agriculture, the distinction was conferred upon Belhay by French Ambassador to Nepal Yves Carmona.

A seasoned hotelier with experiences in managing hotels in Qatar, UK, France, Tunisia, India, China and Nepal, Belhay has been the foremost promoter of the project Goût de France / Good France in Nepal since its inception in 2015.

“Your dedication to your job, I should say to your mission, is so intense that this hotel is also your home. It has been that way in bad times as well as in good times. No one could forget that during the 2015 earthquake, you hosted hundreds of stranded and shocked tourists. With your well trained staff, you kept Yak and Yeti running without any interruption, letting the comfort of your guests take precedence on your own,” Ambassador Carmona said, adding, these are the qualities which have also been honoured by this medal.

Hotel Yak & Yeti, under Belhay’s management, has achieved the International award from World Luxury Hotel Awards, “Global Winner Luxury Historical Hotel” and “Luxury Historical Hotel Country Winner – Nepal in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Hotel Annapurna recently collaborated with Excellence @ Workplace, a Corporate Training module offered by the Art of Living Foundation for institutions, with the aim to build an ethical environment and a work culture based on a sense of belonging and caring for all levels of its staff.

A total of 288 senior executives, supervisors and staff of Hotel Annapurna participated in the training program titled, “iExcel, iLead” to empower and nurture the entire hotel workforce.

“In keeping with our company vision, we invest first in our human resources to bring the best opportunities in training packages to our employees for their overall wellbeing,” said Shreejana Rana, Executive Director of Hotel Annapurna, at a program organized on Monday.

During the program, Rana was rewarded with the certificate of excellence for Hotel Annapurna by Art of Living President Santosh Sharma for the hotel’s recent completion of the program. Rana talked about Hotel Annapurna’s vision of focusing on empowering its human resources and provide a holistic training opportunity for its senior management and staff to not only help them improve their technical and professional skills, but also help them to de-stress.

Neeva Pradhan, International Corporate Trainer of the Art of Living Foundation, said that the typical challenges faced by business leaders whilst stewarding their growth are competition, conducive government policies and banking regulations, matching economies of scale, payment and credit issues and most importantly attracting and nurturing talented and skilled workforce.

“These challenges cause a lot of stress that robs the business owner or top management from living happily and enjoying the moment. We believe that all the above challenges can easily be combated and a plan to leap frog into the future can be made while maintaining an unwavering smile,” Pradhan said, adding that the iExcel, iLead programs have been well accepted by leaders in the industry to be very beneficial and an eye opener to understanding people, employees and business in the bigger context of appreciating life.

Set by the Rapti river, on the edge of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Chitwan National Park, the lodge which is under Hotel Annapurna’s management strives to combine the natural beauty of its surroundings. with an understated elegance

“Now, we have a new property that offers a true jungle experience,” said Shreejana Rana, Executive Director of Hotel Annapurna. “What makes it special is that it is backed by the service and quality standards of one of Nepal’s leading five-star hotel.

Guests will enjoy the splendor of Chitwan’s wildlife and jungle activities with our experienced Naturalist. And they will leave with memories and experiences of a lifetime.”

Spread over eight acres of jungle grassland., Jagatpur Lodge has seven tents imported from South Africa turned into luxuriously appointed rooms with en suite bathrooms, according to Hotel Annapurna. Besides the tents, the lodge also offers 20 well-appointed rooms housed in five bungalows. They have en suite bathroom and its own private balcony or terrace.

Raju Bikram Shah, Executive Consultant of Annapurna Group of Hotels, said that Jagatpur Lodge is only targeting high end tourists at the moment, charging $205 for deluxe twin shared room for one night stay (which includes one night meal, breakfast and jungle safari).

With the addition of Jagatpur Lodge, the group now features three properties. It has been running Hotel Annapurna in Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, and Fish Tail Lodge in Pokhara.

A 18 hour workshop that can be offered in 3 to 4 days, the “iExcel iLead” program helps participants achieve work-life balance, manage work stress, cope with uncertainty, enhance teamwork and effective communication, foster creativity and innovation, among others.

During the program, Hotel Annapurna felicitated its employees and shared the overall feed-back regarding the training experience from all levels of its staff.

Jagatpur Lodge, a safari and luxury resort managed by one of Nepal’s leading five-star hotels, has come into operation from March 1.