Leela Hotels in Goa, Chennai up for sale

According to a report in Mint, at least five top international private equity firms, family offices and endowment funds are in the race to buy hospitality group Hotel Leelaventure Ltd’s five-star hotels in Goa and Chennai. Two persons, including one who is directly familiar with the negotiations, confirmed this, adding that the sale of the two properties is likely to be completed before Christmas.

Marquee private equity investors such as the Blackstone Group and Brookfield Asset Management, along with a few family offices and international endowment funds from the US, Europe, West Asia and Singapore have evinced interest in buying the two Leela hotels, currently under the control of financial services conglomerate JM Financial Group’s asset reconstruction firm JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt. Ltd, according to the two persons. 

“The Chennai and Goa five-star hotels are two of the finest properties of The Leela Group. Many investors have shown keenness in the two properties. Five of them have been shortlisted. While some buyers intend to completely buy out one of the two hotels, other players are interested in buying majority stakes in both the properties. The deal is in the final stages and is likely to be closed by December,” said one of two persons cited above, on condition of anonymity. 

With 206 guest rooms and suites, The Leela Goa, built in 1991, is spread across 50 acres at Cavelossim on Mobor beach in South Goa. It is one of the best performing hotels of the group. The Leela at Chennai was opened in September 2012. The hotel, with 326 guest rooms, is built on 4.8 acres of land. While the exact size of the deal is yet to be ascertained, the two persons cited above said the Chennai property is valued at around Rs.1,300 crore and the one at Goa is worth INR.200-300 crore. 

Replying to an email, a JM Financial spokesperson said, “As a policy, we do not comment on speculation.” The Blackstone Group, too, replied saying, “As a matter of policy, Blackstone does not comment on media/market speculation.” A Hotel Leelaventure spokesperson declined to comment. And, an e-mail sent to Brookfield Asset Management did not elicit any response. The two hotels were taken over by JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. in July 2014 from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India after the lenders restructured Hotel Leelaventure’s debt (taken for building the two hotels) under the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) mechanism. 

“Post the purchase of loans against Leela properties from the banks last year, JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. got two board positions in the company. Over the past year, costs of running the hotels have been brought under control to optimise the performance of the hotels and improve margins. Even after the sell-off of the two hotels, the current management at the two Leela hotels is likely to be retained; the way the existing team works will continue and the Leela brand too will be retained,” said the first person. 

A senior hospitality consultant, requesting anonymity, said Hotel Leelaventure is desperate to reduce its debt burden and a divestment will create a positive impact on the hospitality and banking sector as a whole as the company features at the top of the list of indebted hospitality firms. “However, the Leela brand is strong and robust. The international investors would want to retain the Leela brand post sale,” the consultant, who advises several hotel groups, said. 

Based in Mumbai, The Leela Group owns and manages eight properties in prime urban locations and holiday destinations across India, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Udaipur and Kovalam. New properties are under development in Bengaluru, Jaipur, Agra, Lucknow and Kathmandu, among other places. On 2 March, Hotel Leelaventure announced plans to sell its properties in Goa and Chennai to cut debt. 

The company said it plans to divest select hotels while continuing to grow through managing and operating new hotels. JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. paid around INR865 crore to the lenders to buy a number of properties of Hotel Leelaventure across India, including the Chennai and Goa five-star hotels. 

The amount paid by JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. was about 20% of the total sum, for loans to Leela hotels. The transaction helped the consortium of banks sell 98% (INR.4,100 crore of the overall dues of INR.4,200 crore) of exposure to Hotel Leelaventure. As per the CDR terms, the company had to reduce its debt through sale of assets. Troubled loans are usually referred to the CDR cell of lenders after a majority of them approve a recast, which could entail a lower interest rate, a longer repayment period, or the conversion of overdue interest into loan principal. 

In 2011, Hotel Leelaventure sold off its luxury hotel Leela Kovalam in Kerala for INR.500 crore to Travancore Enterprises. In 2013, it sold its IT Park Building in Chennai for INR.170.17 crore to Reliance Industries.
Source: http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com

Hotel occupancy rate rising in Chennai on surge in business travel, medical tourism

As per a report in The Hindu Business Line,with the rise in business activity and booming healthcare and medical tourism industry, the hospitality sector is seeing a turn around with increasing occupancy rates. Saleem Yousuff, Area Director — Taj Hotels Chennai and General Manager, Taj Coromandel, said that multi- and super-speciality hospitals are seeing a significant influx of international and domestic patients. “Also, with more investments coming to Chennai from various sectors and the growing number of middle- and senior-level business travellers to the city, we have been witnessing signs of rebound in demand for rooms,” he added.However, Yousuff did not share the details on the current occupancy levels. 

ITC Grand Chola, a premium luxury hotel in Chennai, reported an occupancy rate of 75 per cent recently, almost 15 per cent higher compared with last year. Anil Chadha, Area Manager South, ITC Hotels and General Manager ITC Grand Chola, said: “We have been seeing a rise in the number of business travellers to the city starting April.” 

Sashi Kumar U, Senior General Manager, Radisson Blu GRT, said the hotel occupancy has remained constant at 77 per cent for the past six months, an increase in five per cent compared to the previous year.  “Even in April and May this year, which are considered offseason, the occupancy rate was better compared to 2014,” he added. Occupancy by tourists has significantly increased as well. “Our bookings look good from September to February, when most tourists travel to India,” he said. 

According to a recent EY 2015 report on the global hospitality sector, India’s capital flows and tourist arrivals increased as a number of industry players reentered the market. An ICRA report says that revenue from the hospitality sector is expected to grow 9-11 per cent in 2015-16 with a rise in the occupancy rate. 

 R Rangachari, Advisor, South Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA), said the average room occupancy rate has risen to 65 per cent from 55 per last year. “After the global economic slowdown, the market is improving and there is increase in business activities around Chennai, which will improve the market,” he said. 

Another official from SIHRA said the business is showing good signs of recovery even without considering the high occupancy levels associated with the Global Investor Meet (a two-day event to attract investors to the State) and the conventions that happened in August preceding the meet. 
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)

‘Highly Engaged’ hotels more popular: TripAdvisor report

According to a PTI report, highly engaged hotels are more popular as compared to the non-engaged ones on the back of greater communication engagement with the customers, a recent survey showed. The average 'popularity ranking' for highly engaged hotels was 63 per cent higher than their non-engaged counterparts, according to a latest report by TripAdvisor, world's largest travel site operating in 45 countries. ‘High engagement’ is the communication engagement by responding to customer reviews on travel websites. It said highly engaged hotels could be seen by two of every three travellers searching that market, increasing its visibility. The report also found that highly engaged hotels see 30-40 per cent more traveller interaction with revenue-driving products like business listings. The report is based on data from over 12,000 properties located in the top 25 traffic markets on TripAdvisor, as well as interviews with executives from four global hotel chains. (Source: PTI)

Chef Kunal Kapur shares fascinating pickle tales on new show Pickle Nation

Chef Kunal Kapur is all set to take one through a ‘one of a kind’ journey of discovering local flavours of pickles across the country through 18 fascinating episodes of Pickle Nation on Living Foodz channel. The versatile chef travels across 11 cities of India such as Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pondicherry, Kochi, Assam, Meghalaya, Varanasi and Goa unraveling an interesting pickle tale of each region, a release stated. 

Pickle Nation is not just about the pickle recipe or the process. Chef Kunal explores how pickle is the very fabric of our existence, culture, tastes, beliefs and customs and gives us an inside view of each region. “Making a pickle is the epitome of culinary strength; it is an art that is combined with a high level of science of preserving food. Around the world we have celebrated wine makers, cheese makers and even coffee brewers but we have never given the same stature to pickle makers. I am extremely excited to be unearthing these uniquely Indian stories of pickles & pickle makers, and sharing them with other food lovers..” said Chef Kunal Kapur.

 On exploring India and discovering pickles, he discovered some very interesting stories and facts which will be featured on the show.

Source: http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com

Average hotel price in India increases by 2% this year

In India, overall hotel prices paid by all travellers have witnessed a marginal rise of two per cent in the first six months of 2015 to an average of INR 6,411. The commercial capital of India- Mumbai, known for its buzzing night life recorded the highest rise of five per cent with an average of INR 8,091 making Mumbai the country’s city where travellers paid the most in the first half of 2015.

The city with heady mix of forts, shopping centres, food joints and the culture and tradition of Mughals- Delhi, retained its second spot despite a fall of three per cent with an average of INR 6,677. While cities like Bengaluru and Pune both had a marginal rise of three per cent, Goa which recorded the highest rise of 12 per cent last year, saw a minimal rise of three per cent with an average of INR 5,940 in the first half of 2015.

Chennai saw no change in price variation for hotel accommodation in the first six months of 2015 as compared to the same period last year whereas metro cities such as Kolkata and Hyderabad recorded a fall of two per cent and three per cent respectively. Travellers will be delighted to find that Jaipur continues to serve best value among the cities analysed with an average of INR 5,062 despite a rise of four per cent.

For the first time, hotel prices paid in three world regions have overtaken their pre-financial crisis levels of 2008/ 2009, with North America, the Caribbean and Latin America setting new records, although the overall global rise is up just one per cent in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 according to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) from Hotels.com. More travellers, higher consumer spending in key areas and strong currency fluctuations have all contributed to this result.

Source:(http://www.financialexpress.com)

RoomsTonite expands booking window for up to 3 days

RoomsTonite, hotel booking app has announced the expansion of its booking window by an another day, enabling customers to check-in for day after tomorrow too. RoomsTonite has released an updated version of its Android app (V 3.7) that enables its users to book hotels for the same day, next day and day after tomorrow. Prior to this, the company was offering last minute hotel booking for same day and next day only. Currently, this additional booking window will be available only on Android.

Karthick Prabu, chief product officer, RoomsTonite said, “This booking window expansion is a boon for customers, because now they get to book a hotel for day after tomorrow too, but at the same steal deal. Based on demand from our users, we observed that many of them wanted an extended booking window.”

Some other cool features in the updated app version include, options to filter hotels by price. For customer who have a budget in mind. RoomsTonite recently introduced some features on its Android app that enables customers to see hotels by its classification – luxury, premium, and comfort, introduction of hotel reviews and launch of Hotels on Map, which enables users to see hotels in a destination on GPS-based map.

Source:(http://www.financialexpress.com)

CG Hotels & Resorts opens The Fern Residency in Somnath, Gujarat

The Fern Hotels & Resorts recently announced the opening of Fern Residency, Somnath, a mid-scale business hotel in the Gir-Somnath district of Gujarat. The hotel is managed by Concept Hospitality Pvt Ltd, that belongs to CG Hotels and Resorts, a hospitality wing of CG Corp Global. The hotel was inaugurated by religious leader and kathakaar ‘Shri Morari Bapu’. With the addition of the Somnath hotel, the group has extended the total number of hotels in the state to six hotels and has plans to open more in future. 

The hotel is centrally located at a distance of 1 km from the Somnath railway station and 8 km from the Veraval railway station. The Fern Residency, Somnath has 56 exquisitely designed guest rooms placed in four categories, Winter Green, Winter Green Premium, Fern Club, Hazel Suite which reflect the unique, luxurious and rich culture of the Gujarat region, with strong, bright tones and art across the hotel. With one restaurant, two banquet halls and the latest business services, the hotel is ideal for both business and leisure traveller.
Source:(http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com)