Successful Meetings - June 2008 - (Page 49)

PLACES SPACES & 06.08 It’s All the Raj With the dramatic explosion of India into the global economy, and daily reports of a robust, growing middle class on the subcontinent, one would expect that the hotel industry would be expanding product to meet both business and consumer demand. According to Nash Syed, manager at Toronto-based Evoluz Transcription and Translation Services, there has indeed been a boom in Indian hospitality, especially in the last five years: “I have business with companies in India, spanning various cities, and quite often visit cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi, and Chandigarh. Due to the boom in the hospitality industry, there are many new fourto five-star hotels, [flying the flags of chains] such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Taj Group, InterContinental Grand, and Grand Sheraton, which all offer good service.” Achin Khanna, of Delhi-based HVS Consulting & Valuation, agrees. Reporting in “Hospitality India–Growing Pains” (HVS, April 9, 2008), he affirms that “the Indian hospitality industry is poised for tremendous growth. The demandsupply imbalance has prompted several national and international hotel companies to focus their energies towards expansion in India. The next few years will thus witness the opening of several hotels that will span the length and breadth of our nation.” And while international hotel developers have turned their attention to India, the nationally based companies with international reputations—such as Taj Hotels, Resorts, SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS JUNE 2008 mimegasite.com Leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore and Palaces, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, and Leela Palaces, Hotels, and Resorts—have pressed the hometown advantage. Taj Hotels, Resorts, and Palaces currently comprises 57 hotels in 40 locations across India with an additional 18 international hotels in the Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, Australia, UK, the U.S., Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa, and the Middle East. Among its innovations, the company cites that it was the first to open a 24-hour coffee INSIDE shop in the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, > Show Special: Mumbai. Taj has recently launched itself HSMAI Affordable Meetings at the high end of luxury properties in the West Long Beach, CA) PAGE 51 U.S. market; its recent management acquisitions are the 201-room Pierre New > Florida’s West Coast PAGE 52 York (formerly Four Seasons), the 273room Taj Boston (formerly the Ritz-Carl> MS Gulf Coast PAGE 60 ton), and the 110-room Campton Place PAGE 64 > Atlanta San Francisco. Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, ranked by > Chicago Travel & Leisure as having some of the finest properties in the world, has 11 properties in India and eight more in Egypt, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. Currently, however, there are no plans to venture into the U.S. market. With hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kovalam, and Goa, the luxury Leela Palaces, Hotels, and Resorts, is also on an expansion spree. An aggressive, three-year plan will > Madison, WI PAGE 67 PAGE 68 49 http://mimegasite.com

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Successful Meetings - June 2008 Contents Editor's Note Industry Trends Events Suppliers Associations Planner Spotlight: Kelly Broz Technology Talk Food & Beverage Websites of the Month Pre-Event: Tech Pre-Event: Bartering Tools of the Trade Dialing for Dollars The All-in-One Resort Bottom-Line Speakers Places & Spaces Florida’s West Coast Mississippi Atlanta Wisconsin Chicago Gurus Enjoy California Hawaii Handbook Las Vegas Night & Day

Successful Meetings - June 2008

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