INDIA: Hyatt Hotels Corp To Expand In India With 14 More Properties

Hyatt Hotels Corp will accelerate expansion in India over the next two years, opening at least 14 new properties.

It plans to add more than 2,100 guestrooms with new hotels in major and second tier cities across the country.

It will enter eight new markets giving it a presence in a total of 27 cities within the next two years.

It began with the brand launch of Hyatt Centric in Goa and the Hyatt Regency brand will launch new hotels in Kochi, as well as the Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort, its first in the Himalayan region, and Hyatt Regency Thrissur.

Grand Hyatt Gurgaon will also open in the final quarter of 2019.

For Hyatt, India has a high growth potential and remains a market where we can expand our brand representation. Being focused on intentional growth gives us a unique edge, said Sunjae Sharma, vice president of India operations.

For 2020, new openings include Hyatt Place properties in Jaipur and Vadodara plus Hyatt Regency brand hotels in Dehradun, Udaipur and Trivandrum.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced its plans to open more than 14 new properties in India over the next 24 months. The new properties will include hotels and resorts in Bengaluru, Dehradun, Udaipur, Gurgaon, Jaipur, and Trivandrum.

The Chicago-headquartered Hyatt Hotels said 2019 would mark record growth for Hyatt in India. “Expansion plans foresee the addition of over 2,100 guest rooms through the opening of more than 14 new properties over the next 24 months,” a press release from the hotel major said.

Aside from growth in the larger capital cities, the emphasis will be on leisure and cultural destinations, with a focus on emerging cities within India.

This expansion includes hotels in eight new markets in the country which will establish Hyatt brand presence across 27 cities in India.

“As a result of an increasingly favourable business climate and heightened tourism spend, encouraged by relaxed visa rules and a growing upper middle class, there is a general demand for growth in the hospitality industry in India,” said the statement.

This year’s expansion began with the introduction of the Hyatt Centric brand through the opening of Hyatt Centric Candolim Goa.

New to the Hyatt portfolio as part of the Two Roads Hospitality acquisition in November 2018, the Alila brand also added two new properties in India, located in Diwa Goa and Fort Bishangarh.

Later in 2019, Hyatt plans to expand its brand footprint in Kerala with the opening of Hyatt Regency Kochi Malayattoor, a resort property on the banks of the Periyar river, and Hyatt Regency Thrissur, providing travellers with the first premium hotel in Thrissur.

Hyatt also plans to add its first resort in the foothills of the Himalayas with the anticipated opening of Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort in the second half of 2019. Gurgaon will also be in focus later in 2019, with the scheduled opening of Grand Hyatt Gurgaon.

“These hotels will add over 1,000 guest rooms to Hyatt’s existing offering in India and will establish its brand presence in four new markets,” it said.

In the next year, Hyatt Place Bangalore Urbana, Hyatt Regency Jaipur Mansarovar, Hyatt Regency Dehradun, Hyatt Place Vadodara, Hyatt Regency Trivandrum, Hyatt Place Jaipur Malviya Nagar and Hyatt Regency Udaipur will be opened.

“Hyatt is one of the longest-running international hotel management brands in India, the first Hyatt hotels in India opened over 30 years ago. Our heritage and experience in this complex market, paired with the strong relationships we hold with local developers and owners has helped make India one of the top-three growth markets for Hyatt globally, said Dhruva Rathore, vice-president development (India), Hyatt.

“India has high growth potential and remains a market where Hyatt can expand its brand representation. Being focused on intentional growth gives us a unique edge as Hyatt can differentiate by having the right assets in its portfolio,” said Sunjae Sharma, vice-president operations (India), Hyatt.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Mobile Application For Tourists Launched

Rajasthan government has recently launched a mobile App that provides latest information about tourist attractions in Ajmer and Pushkar with rich content including pictures, audio and video streams and cultural stories.

The App is comprehensive and one-stop solution for tourism needs, a senior official said.

"More than 40 places of Ajmer and Pushkar have been covered in the App which instantly provides real-time and highly contextual content to the user," Shiv Shankar Heda, Chairman of the Ajmer Development Authority said.

Tourists just need to download an app LeZgo which provides tourism content with multiple features and convenient utilities.

Useful utilities, like free WiFi, weather information, language translator, forex converter, compass, cab booking, upgraded customs information for foreign visitors, SOS function are among other features of the App, which provides inputs in 12 prominent languages.

After Ajmer, the App will be localised for Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Pali and Bharatpur soon, the official said, adding currently it has nearby 1500 users.

The user can search for tourist destinations, get custom designed holiday packages, book a cab in a jiffy, check out the latest and upcoming events in the vicinity, listen along custom designed audio streams "for enjoyment and deep immersion into the culture," he said.

The App works on the iBecons and Internet of Things (IoT) technology. IoT is a device which is installed at the tourists points which provides information to the tourist having the App in their smart phones.

Strategically placed IoT devices gives a personalised welcome message from the state government and local administration making the tourist feel special.

The App, designed by Begaluru based Sohamsaa Systems, has been recently launched in Ajmer jointly by the Ajmer district administration and the Development Authority.

"The tourists must get an immerse experience of culture, history, languages, food, music, spirituality, sciences, wisdom, Yoga and wellness apart from all the excitement," Parag Prasad, CEO and MD of the company said.

"When the user comes in the range of IoT device, all the rich contents, audio-video streams and others gets automatically downloaded. The user need not any guide as he receive the most authentic content related with the monument or the place," he added.

Ranthambore's Ustaad Tamed

As the country is still engaged in for-and-against debates on the "life imprisonment" of Ranthambore's Tiger24 (T24), also famously known as Ustaad, the big cat has completed one year in captivity, with his own share of ups and downs.

The ferocious tiger, who would charge at anyone who came closer to its enclosure, now hides itself in a corner upon seeing a soul.

The wild tiger – who showed extreme aggression since May 16 last year, the day it was brought to the sprawling Sajjangarh Biological Park in Udaipur and released in the enclosure – seems to have become relaxed and comfortable in its demarcated house, some 500km away from its actual home where the big cat was born free.

T24's one-hectare enclosure, which is off tourist limits, has eight high-definition cameras staring at the big cat round the clock, keeping track and recording every single move of the animal. "In last one year, we have observed one big change in its behaviour. T24 was extremely aggressive when it was brought here. It used to charge at any human who came close to its enclosure. But now, T24 simply wants to avoid humans.

Even if its caretaker comes close, it simply goes away and sits in one of the natural depressions in the enclosure from where it cannot be seen," said Udaipur's chief conservator of forest (Wildlife) Rahul Bhatnagar, who still remembers the phone call, instructing him to keep an enclosure ready as Ustaad was on its way to this biological park, that almost had him jumping in his chair.

From initially refusing to eat buffalo meat that was served to him (being a wild tiger Ustaad was used to hunting) to the controversy over giving it live bait, the tiger always made headlines. However, Ustaad kept forest officials on tenterhooks in December when it was operated upon for "Mega Colon".

It took seven expert veterinarians several hours to be through with the surgery, but the biggest worry was post-operative care. "That was easily one of the most stressful times for each of us as it had to be ensured that Ustaad recovered fully well. T24 always suffered from constipation in the wild, but had something happened to the big cat in captivity, it would have been a huge blow to the forest department. All those people fighting for Ustaad's freedom would have ripped us apart and there would have been several enquiries and additional court cases," shared a senior forest official.

Dedicated staffers were deputed to ensure that Ustaad did not lick the stitches. "With the help of the cameras, one staff member used to continuously monitor Ustaad while its caretaker would sit near the enclosure. Once the one monitoring the camera feeds felt that Ustaad might lick the incisions, the other near the enclosure would make some noise to divert its attention.

This went on for over a month," said Dr T Mohan Raj, deputy conservator of forest (wildlife), Udaipur. His team at the biological park deserved all the praise for the way they cared for Ustaad in spite of all the criticism, Mohan Raj added.

They were faced with two big challenges when Ustaad came last year. First, how to feed Ustaad as it was not used to eating dead meat, and second, how to ensure that it didn't get stressed.

The entire enclosure was covered with green cloth and no one, except for the caretaker, was allowed to come closer in order to ensure that Ustaad didn't charge and injure itself. Apart from that, during its surgery, when the enclosure was empty, a huge water tank was created where Ustaad can now be seen enjoying a cool bath and relaxing, Mohan Raj also said that the big cat was now eating boneless buffalo meat.

Dr Himanshu Vyas, veterinary officer for the biological park, said that Ustaad had lost some weight post-surgery but now it was gradually gaining it back. "We have an entire checklist for Ustaad and all its daily routines are monitored closely. Ustaad was a special guest when it came, but now it is part of the family at this biological park. Having said that, Ustaad still remains special in the sense that it gets more attention from all of us," Vyas said.

While there has been a steady demand for allowing tourists to see Ustaad, the forest department seems receptive. "From tourism point of view, there is no doubt that it will bring in a lot of visitors once the Central Zoo Authourity (CZA) allows viewing of Ustaad. But we don't think the big cat is yet ready to face a stream of visitors. Also, we don't want to take any chances and hence no decision is being taken in this regard as of now," informed another forest official.

As discussion among wildlife activists on Ustaad gets hotter with the soaring mercury in Udaipur, one question pertaining to the popularity of this big cat remains in the back of everyone's mind: Will Ustaad, the most clicked tiger in the wild, be the most photographed big cat in captivity as well?

Ustaad attacked and killed a forest guard, Rampal Saini, on May 8 last year. As per forest officials, Saini was not its first human kill. However, following Saini's death, Ustaad was declared maneater. Only eight days after Ustaad killed Saini, it was tranquilised, trapped and sent to Udaipur on May 16. Since then, there have been several protests as well as court cases, demanding release of Ustaad into the wild. Recently, the Supreme Court rejected a plea seeking freedom for Ustaad.