Leela group scion Amruda Nair starts hospitality brand in Qatar

Amruda Nair, granddaughter of Leela Hotels founder Captain Krishna Nair has recently signed a joint venture with Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, chairman of Al Sawari Holding to launch Aiana Hotels & Resorts, Nair's own hospitality brand in Qatar. The new joint venture company Aiana Hotels & Resorts L.L.C will be the first Asian-inspired hotel in Qatar and represent a hospitality brand of high-end luxury hotels, resorts and serviced apartments in the Middle East, Indian Sub-Continent and South East Asia. The joint venture brings together the resources and entrepreneurial skills of Al Thani, who is also the chairman Qatari Business Association, with the hospitality expertise of Nair, herself a third generation hotelier. “Given the long standing relationship between Qatar and India, there is great synergy in the similar way that we travel. This is why we want to bring Aiana as a new lifestyle hotel brand to the Middle East and will continue to support Aiana through our ambitious expansion plans for acquisitions in key destinations starting with the property in Doha with many more to follow in Western Europe (London) and US,” Al Thani said at the launch. “With the launch of Aiana Hotels and Resorts, I am delighted to be introducing a brand I am confident will become the preferred choice of travellers seeking authentic and immersive experiences that will stay with them long after they have checked out. I was fortunate to meet Sheikh Faisal who shared my passion for hospitality and supported my dreams and ambitions of creating an Indian brand with a global presence. Our service, design, and operating philosophy is geared to exceed the expectations of a new generation of savvy travellers. We call it Hospitality 2.0,” Nair said. Aaina Hotels will start with a hotel in Doha, Qatar, and has plans to eventually manage five hotels in India and an equal number elsewhere

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MakeMyTrip targets 50% market share in online hotel booking business by 2019

MakeMyTrip Limited, an online travel agent (OTA), announced an agreement under which Ctrip.com International, Ltd., a leading travel service provider of accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel management in China, has agreed to make an investment in MakeMyTrip. Upon completion of the transaction, Ctrip will invest US$180 million (INR 1,200 crore) in MakeMyTrip through convertible bonds. The funds will go towards aggressively increasing MakeMyTrip’s market share in the online hotel booking space from 25% to 50% in the next 3 years, Deep Kalra, Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip told The Times of India.

"The market has changed. A couple of players raised money and started the discounting game. Discounting has power, as you may have seen from the game by e-commerce players. We had to respond," said Kalra. "Apart from investing in our mobile tech space, we will venture into new categories such as pilgrimages and adventure travel that have great potential for us," he added.

In addition, MakeMyTrip has granted Ctrip permission to acquire MakeMyTrip shares in the open market, so that combined with shares convertible under the convertible bonds, Ctrip may beneficially own up to 26.6% of MakeMyTrip's outstanding shares. Upon completion of the investment, Ctrip will acquire the right to appoint a Director to the MakeMyTrip Board of Directors.

The company will focus on further strengthening its leading market share in the Indian online travel market by offering customers the best mobile booking experience across its full service travel products platform, especially as rising smart-phone penetration is driving an inflection point in India's online travel opportunity.

Kalra added, "We are delighted to have Ctrip invest in us. Ctrip is the dominant market leader in the online travel market in China. We believe there are many similarities in the Indian and Chinese online travel markets and we expect this strategic relationship between two market leaders to be mutually beneficial."

James Liang, CEO and Co-Founder, Ctrip commented, "Today's announcement marks the beginning of the strategic relationship between Ctrip and MakeMyTrip. Through this transaction, Ctrip has now gained exposure to India's fast growing online travel market."

Source: Hospitalitybizindia.com

HENNESSY COGNAC NAMED WORLD'S TOP PERFORMING SPIRIT BRAND

Hennessy, the world’s best-selling Cognac, has just emerged as the number one performing global spirit for 2014, according to UK-based International Wine and Spirit Research group (IWSR).

Hennessy, which has consistently posted growth for the last 50 months, has been recognized by the IWSR as a top 3 global brand since 2012. Earning the #1 spot on the annual list is especially exciting as the brand celebrates its milestone 250^th anniversary this year.

McDonald's India to double outlets with Rs 750 crore investment

As per a PTI news report, McDonald's India is stepping up its operations in western and southern markets of the country by doubling its outlets with an investment of Rs 750 crore in the next five years. "We currently have 213 restaurants and are looking to add up to another 250 restaurants by 2020, which would entail an investment of Rs 750 crore," said Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Enterprise, a master franchisee for McDonald's. It will continue to focus on its top six metros in the West and South, Jatia said, which brings over 65 per cent of the business.

The company's overarching strategy now is to offer ‘healthier beverages’ to customers here. "We are now betting big on our coffee. We have opened McCafe's within our outlets serving premium locally sourced Arabica coffee at affordable prices," he said. "We offer a range of smoothies, besides coffees and this encourages customers to opt for non-carbonated drinks," he added. Started last year in the country, there are about 45 McCafes, which in the next two years is expected to go up to 140, he indicated. The company will spend invest Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 30 lakhs per outlet, to set up McCafes

Paytm eyes Rs 500 crore revenue from hotel booking over next 6 months

As per a PTI news report, digital payments company, Paytm has expanded its platform to allow customers to make hotel bookings and expects revenue of Rs 500 crore from the service over the next six months.The Alibaba-backed company has partnered with players such as Goibibo, Ezeego1 and TSI-Yatra for the new service. 

"Travel has emerged as a very important category for us as the penetration of online booking is still very low in this vertical. The opportunity for the hotels category is immense, especially because the transaction penetration is still low in Tier II and III cities as far as travel concerned," Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm. In the first phase, Paytm will offer an inventory of about 20,000 hotels to users and the number is expected to go up to 35,000 in a short time after launch. 

"In the first phase we have partnered online travel portals like Goibibo, Ezeego1, TSI Yatra, Via for domestic hotel booking. In phase 2, the plan is to offer international hotels by tying up with leading platforms like Expedia and Booking.com," he said. 

With the launch of this segment, Paytm will drive usage from these areas, causing a huge disruption in the travel space, he added. "We expect this segment to contribute Rs 500 crore to the revenue over the next six months," he said. Currently, the eCommerce platform also allows users to book bus tickets. (Source: PTI)

Paytm announces India's biggest Online Food Festival

Paytm, India’s leading mobile commerce platform, announced biggest ever Online Food Festival from October 9 to 11, 2015.The festival will offer widest selection of cuisines, exciting offers to customers who order from over 20,000 restaurants and chefs spread over 100+ cities in India through multiple online and offline food partners of Paytm's mobile wallet. Paytm expects to triple the traction for its food category during the festival period.

 Speaking on the festival, KiranVasireddy, Senior Vice President – Business, Paytm said, “We are thrilled to present our first Online Food Festival this October. By offering widest variety of cuisine along with exceptional deals and discounts to our user base, our larger objective is to generate greater awareness and traction for food ordering in India. We wish to make transactions in this space cashless and help consumers discover how convenient, efficient, engaging and rewarding it is to order grub with a few clicks.” 

Paytm has tied up with leading Indian online food ordering platforms such as Foodpanda, Dominos, Zomato, Swiggy, Faasos, Tiny Owl and Holachef along with Offline QSR chains such as Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee and Vaango to make this festival truly attractive for consumers.

20 things worth knowing about BEER

source:http://theoatmeal.com

10 reasons beer is not bad for you

Here are 10 reasons why beer is not really bad for you, if had in moderation. Please note, this is not an encouragement to imbibe, especially if you are a teetotaler or have a medical condition

1. Beer drinkers live longer
Moderate drinking is good for you, and beer is good for moderate drinking. Everyone knows that if you drink too much, it's not good for you. Let's not pull punches: If you're a drunk, you run into things, you drive into things, you get esophageal cancer, you get cirrhosis and other nasty conditions. But more and more medical research indicates that if you don't drink at all, that's not good for you either. According to numerous independent studies, moderate drinkers live longer and better than drunks or teetotalers. Beer is perfect for moderate drinking because of its lower alcohol content and larger volume compared with wine or spirits. And as that old radical Thomas Jefferson said, "Beer, if drank with moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health." And he didn't need a scientific study to tell him that.

2. Beer is all-natural
Some know-it-alls will tell you that beer is loaded with additives and preservatives. The truth is that beer is as all-natural as orange juice or milk (maybe even more so - some of those milk & OJ labels will surprise you). Beer doesn't need preservatives because it has alcohol and hops, both of which are natural preservatives. Beer is only "processed" in the sense that bread is: It is cooked and fermented, then filtered and packaged. The same can be said for Heineken.

3. Beer is low in calories, low in carbohydrates and has no fat or cholesterol
For a completely natural beverage, beer offers serious low-calorie options. Twelve ounces of Guinness has the same number of calories as 12 ounces of skim milk: about 125. That's less than orange juice (150 calories), which is about the same as your standard, "full-calorie" beer. If beer were your only source of nutrition, you'd have to drink one every waking hour just to reach your recommended daily allowance of calories (2,000 to 2,500). And nobody's recommending you drink that many. The only natural drinks with fewer calories than beer are plain tea, black coffee and water. Surely, beer is loaded with those fattening carbohydrates, right? Wrong again. The average beer has about 12 grams of carbs per 12-ounce serving. The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance is 300 grams of carbohydrates in a standard 2,000-calorie diet. In other words, you would need to drink an entire 24-pack case of beer - and then reach into a second case - simply to reach the government's recommended daily allotment of carbohydrates. You're better off munching an apple or drinking some soda pop if you want to carbo-load. Each has about 35 to 40 grams of carbs - three times the number found in a beer. Also, beer has no fat or cholesterol.

4. Beer improves your cholesterol
Beer not only has no cholesterol, it can actually improve the cholesterol in your body. In fact, drinking beer regularly and moderately will tilt your HDL/LDL cholesterol ratios the right way. You've got two kinds of cholesterol in your system: HDL, the "good" cholesterol that armor-plates your veins and keeps things flowing, and LDL, the "bad" cholesterol that builds up in your veins like sludge in your bathtub drain. Beer power-flushes the system and keeps the HDL levels up. According to some studies, as little as one beer a day can boost your HDL by up to 4 per cent.

5. Beer helps you chill
The social aspects of moderate drinking are solidly beneficial to your health. In other words, to get out every now and then and relax with your buddies over a couple of beers.

6. Beer has plenty o' B vitamins
Beer, especially unfiltered or lightly filtered beer, turns out to be quite nutritious, despite the years of suppression of those facts by various anti-alcohol groups. Beer has high levels of B vitamins, particularly folic acid, which is believed to help prevent heart attacks. Beer also has soluble fiber, good for keeping you regular, which in turn reduces the likelihood that your system will absorb unhealthy junk like fat. Beer also boasts significant levels of magnesium and potassium, in case you were planning on metal-plating your gut.

7. Beer is safer than water
If you're someplace where you are advised not to drink the water, the local beer is always a safer bet. It's even safer than the local bottled water. Beer is boiled in the brewing process and is kept clean afterwards right through the bottle being capped and sealed, because if it isn't, it goes bad in obvious ways that make it impossible to sell. Even if it does go bad, though, there are no life-threatening bacteria bacteria (pathogens) that can live in beer. So drink up - even bad beer is safer than water.

8. Beer prevents heart attacks
If you want to get a bit more cutting-edge than vitamins, beer has other goodies for you. You've heard of the French Paradox, how the French eat their beautiful high-fat diet and drink their beautiful high-booze diet and smoke their nasty goat-hair cigarettes, but have rates of heart disease that are about one-third that of the rest of the world? It's been credited to red wine and the antioxidants it contains. Hey, guess what else has lots of antioxidants, as many as red wine? Dark beer! According to the American Heart Association, "there is no clear evidence that wine is more beneficial than other forms of alcoholic drink." One study profiled in the British Medical Journal in 1999 said that the moderate consumption of three drinks a day could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 24.7 per cent.

9. Beer fights cancer
The most amazing beer and health connection is something called xanthohumol, a flavonoid found only in hops. Xanthohumol is a potent antioxidant that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes, "much more potent than the major component in soy," according Dr. Cristobal Miranda of the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University. This xanthohumol stuff is so good for you that the Germans have actually brewed a beer with extra levels of it.

10. Beer does not give you a beer belly
A study done by researchers at the University College of London and the Institut Klinicke a Experimentalni Mediciny in Prague in 2003 showed no connection between the amount of beer people drank and the size of their overhang. "There is a common notion that beer drinkers are, on average, more 'obese' than either non-drinkers or drinkers of wine or spirits," the researchers said. But they found that "the association between beer and obesity, if it exists, is probably weak." Most studies have found that people who drink beer regularly (and moderately) not only don't develop beer bellies - they weigh less than non-drinkers. Beer can boost your metabolism, keep your body from absorbing fat and otherwise make you a healthier, less disgusting slob. Just drink it in moderation, as part of an otherwise healthy diet.

So that's it. Drink beer. You'll live longer and be happier. You won't get fat. In fact, you may weigh less. You'll boost your metabolism, improve your health and reduce your risk of clogged arteries, heart attack and cancer. What more could you want?
source:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The 14 best beers in India

Tired of wishlists featuring exotic brews available in some remote part of Belgium? We give you the ultimate list of quality beer you can buy in India.

Stella Artois

This six-century-old Belgian brew comes with a whole set of pouring rituals – and a chalice – but the light, full-bodied taste is worth it. Nobody does it quite like the Belgians.

Hoegaarden

The creamy Belgian wheat beer hits a home run with its hints of orange peel, coriander and spice.

Asahi

Clean and crisp, this dry beer is manufactured with yeast, ingredients and technology that all live up to impossibly high Japanese standards – naturally.

Foster's

With a kickback vibe from its home country, this Aussie lager is full-bodied, malty and eminently drinkable

Heineken

The toasted maltiness and mild fruitiness of this pale gold lager make it a staple at boys’ nights

Leffe Blond

The light Belgian beer gets its sunny hue from pale malt. Perfect as an aperitif, it’s smooth and fruity, with an aftertaste of bitter oranges

Kingfisher Ultra

It’s never just about the product when it comes to Kingfisher – it’s a lifestyle choice. And this light, refreshing beverage is a choice we can get behind.

Peroni

Crisp, clean and dry, this Italian lager, like Mama’s recipe for bolognaise sauce, is still brewed as it was back in 1963.

Budweiser

Beyond its fresh, light taste, the single best reason to drink Bud is to transport you back to those good old college days.

Schneider Weisse

Full-bodied, slightly fruity with a mild bitter aftertaste – the perfect way to wash down all that bratwurst.

Corona Extra

Even if she’s the only one drinking it, you're cooler isn’t complete without this Mexican export. Don’t forget the lime.

London Pride

Smooth, creamy, full-bodied with just the right amount of bitter, this British dark amber ale goes down easy.

San Miguel Pale Pilsen

The light golden brew, with a distinctive hoppy character, pairs well with Spanish food, despite its Filipino origins.

Carlsberg

The Danish company’s flagship brew, the Pilsner is a pleasing mix of bitter and sweet – a combination Liverpool fans will understand well.

source: http://www.gqindia.com