Waste Management – who is doing the dirty work in your hotel?

Over the last decade, Waste Management has become a serious focus area drawing a great deal of attention in the hospitality industry – and there’s so much to do if you want to be optimally efficient.

To a large extent, Waste Management brings within its umbrella a resort’s “reduce, reuse, recycle” policy. And includes the purchasing of reusable products, reducing food waste through composting, reducing energy and water consumption, and safely disposing of hazardous materials.

To be organized in this space you first need to put in place a comprehensive waste management program that outlines how waste should be managed, recycled, and disposed of. The program should include guidelines for guests, staff, housekeeping, food & beverage, and other departments.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Travel / January 2023

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Sterling Holiday Unveils New Wildlife Resort in Pench National Park

Sterling Padam Pench, spread out across 5 acres, is strategically located near the Turiya Gate which is at the entrance of the tiger reserve of Pench National Park. The resort boasts of a variety of stay experiences with 22 premier rooms, cottages, mud houses, wooden chalets and tree houses, all inspired by the local art and architecture, coupled with chic and contemporary amenities. As a part of this inspired living feature, experiences that are symbolic to the native Bhil and Gond tribes such as the rooms with thatched roofs, exclusive areas with chaupal setting in the center, earthen chulas, tribal art on the walls, and true jungle living with high rise machans adorn the resort. The resort also boasts of a swank 4-Bedroom, 2 storey Pool Villa with an exclusive swimming pool, private courtyard and personalised butler service.

There’s more on this story at this link on the TourismQuest website

(Feature shared from above link. Sterling Holidays is a member of the All India Resort Development Association. http://www.airda.org)

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Pick the right bags, with your eyes wide open.

Step One: Don’t look for cosmetics – look for a bag that survives. If you’re packing a carry-on, make sure it complies with your airline’s carry-on rules, because they are constantly changing the rules on baggage allowance, bag profile sizes, and permitted weights.

There is no ideal cabin bag. A soft duffel bag can be handy because it is squishy and can easily fit into the overhead locker, or stowed under a seat. Soft luggage is made of waterproof hard-wearing nylon material and comes with sturdy zippers and washable nylon lining. Pick a bag with smooth-rolling wheels that are noiseless. Hard-case luggage is available in several base-material options – polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, or lightweight polycarbonate. Newer flexi-rigid materials are also increasingly being used to make the bag lightweight, yet sturdy.

A good brand will give you a wide range of soft and hard luggage options, though I prefer soft luggage because it survives a soft landing better when tossed around during loading or unloading operations.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Travel / October 2022

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Do trade events help in the hospitality industry?

In this feature story we talk to Lalit Roy of Raj & Roy Agencies, about the benefits of a trade event for hospitality professionals. We also cover the recent event organized by Incredible Fairs and Media under their World Of Hospitality banner. The event was held in Bengaluru on June 8, 9, 10 – 2022, and has been described as South India’s most comprehensive B2B food, drink and hospitality expo.

(From Lalit’s responses in our interview) The highlights of the event as described by the organizers included a showcase experience for 200+ exhibitors, 8000+ HoReCa trade professionals, 200+ hosted buyers, and 600+ leading brands.  Event activities included knowledge seminars and special events, a competition for chefs, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and a focused pavilion for food, beverages and hospitality equipment.

The industry categories were wide and varied, though the core alignment was with the hospitality industry. From the promotional material shared by the organizers, I observed that there were 36 stall categories. Right from commercial kitchen & refrigeration equipment, chilling & freezing, coffee & beverages, to hospitality technology, communications and entertainment. The listing also includes furniture and furnishings, housekeeping, tableware, crockery, table accessories, and more.

There’s more on this story at this link on the AIRDA website > World of Hospitality / June 2022

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Adman in Baltimore talks about holidays in Kerala

Can you re-live one experience back home in India, linked to a dream vacation?

The backwaters of Kerala got me hooked as soon as I took my first boat ride with my parents from Vaikom to Kochi. It was almost like a dream; I was just a child then. I had to wait many more years for another visit, on a Coir Board photography assignment in Kerala. The trip coincided with the famous Nehru Boat Race at Alappuzha, and that made things all the more interesting.

The call of the backwaters

For me, personally, the call of the backwaters didn’t stop with that trip. I did go back to Kumarakom, many times – and the last trip in 2018 was extraordinary. For one whole day, I was drifting about the Kumarakom Kayal with my family and friends – with not a worry in the world. Keeping me company of course, was a glass of fresh toddy – neat for extra comfort! The Pulikkattil houseboat ride was like no other – an unforgettable experience worth doing all over again.

There’s more on this story at this link >
Message of the Month / February 2021

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Conversations with Vidushi Gupta, from the City of the Taj

Talk to us about the romance and magic often associated with the Taj – what makes it so special?
You need a little eloquence here to answer that question, and I quote William Shakespeare – “A wonder of wonders in the world, the Taj Mahal is a living edifice of human passion, which neither History dares to bury in its grave nor does Time dare to forget.”

When you’re right there, standing in front of it, the Taj is like a painting with a warm glow of passion, love and romance – intricately woven into the architectural highlights. I am also fascinated with the thought of how a monument of love can turn into one of the Wonders of the World.

The Taj Mahal is perhaps the biggest and most magnificent symbol of love – and the visual appeal here is just as romantic as the stories associated with it. Both the Taj and the Mehtaab Bagh nearby, are popular locations for wedding and advertising related photo-shoots – sometimes the backdrop can make all the difference to the story.

More on our interview with Vidushi Gupta at this link >
Q&A Interviews / June 2020

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Conversations with Priyanka Rastogi – author of “Early Sunrise, Early Sunset”

Priyanka Rastogi

Priyanka Rastogi is an author and travel entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in Tourism & Hospitality. She has just published her first book Early Sunrise, Early Sunset : Tales of a Solo Woman Traveler Across North East and East India. The book is an outcome of more than 100 trips done in the region over last 6 years.

Priyanka is an IATA qualified travel and tourism professional with industry experience across contracting, sales, operations, customer care and product development in the domestic travel sector. She has held senior level positions in India Hotel Review, Goibibo and Stayzilla. As a senior marketing manager at Goibibo, she was in charge of operations in the east and north east region – directly responsible for 1200 properties.

Priyanka is currently involved in the incubation of kiomoi.com –a technology-enabled experiential holiday planning & booking platform. Through this innovative business model, she plans to help the under-served markets of north east India.

More on our interview with Priyanka Rastogi at this link >
Message of the Month Interview / June 2020

 

 

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Some interesting angles to shooting videos on a holiday

This is an interview with “mobile” film maker from Mumbai, Shiva Prasad – in our Message of the Month section.

How can lay people on a vacation take better pictures using their mobile phones?

People love to capture their travel and adventure photos and look forward to preserving them as fond memories for the rest of their lives. That’s where the mobile phone comes in to capture beautiful imagery and footage on your vacation.

Many of the recently launched mobile phones have interesting creative presets such as slow motion videos, time-lapse (passage of time) giving you the ability to film in variable frame rates like 30 and 60 frames – and going right up to 970 frames on some phones. The latest Samsung Galaxy S 20 allows you to capture footage in true cinematic 24 frames in 8k resolution – the only mobile phone which offers this feature till date.

More on our interview with Shiva Prasad at this link >
Message of the Month Interview / May 2020

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Reflecting the brand, when you’re designing hotel interiors

Image Source: Lesley Wong Interiors

How would you translate a company’s brand properties into interior design?

For me, I like to do some homework before I meet the client. I look at the company logo, website and brand. I try to get an understanding of what they would like to convey to their guests.

The next step is to meet at the property to connect, if what they want to convey is really getting across to their guests. For instance, does the brand say “warm and welcoming”? As it pertains to interior design, we can use that as a jumping off point with a color palette. Maybe we look at logo colors and modify from there with complimentary colors in the interior – ones that make you feel warm and welcomed. Think warm rusty oranges, reds, yellows, earthy browns and beige – “warm” colors. Textures that are soft will continue on that path of welcoming.

More on our interview with Lesley Wong at this link >
Message of the Month Interview / April 2020

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What’s “lost & found” at hotels and resorts

Every month, hundreds of personal items are left behind at hotels and resorts all over the country. A lot of these go unclaimed as they could be inexpensive items – and returning something small can sometimes be cumbersome, or impractical.

But if the item left behind is valuable or expensive, you can expect an anxious call from the guest – to check if the item has been found, and explore ways of having it picked up by someone.

For this month’s Q&A column, we spoke to five housekeeping supervisors at different locations, to hear their Lost & Found stories.

More on this story at the link below >

In conversation with Housekeeping Professionals
Q&A Session / February – 2020

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