Making plans for a vacation in 2023?

In this feature on the AIRDA website, young professionals in India visualize the year ahead for vacations and travel.

The last twelve months saw us moving into a space of relief and recovery, with plenty to look forward to. But it looks like there is a fresh update on the virus front. And if we go by media reports, things don’t look too good in the New Year.

Our comfort factor these days draws from past experience and our response to the situation. We are better informed and have learnt to work around constraints and roadblocks – making sure that work doesn’t come to a standstill. The wheels of business and enterprise must keep turning, and the wings of travel must help us find new horizons.

So we reached out to some young vacation seekers to check on their vacation plans. These are people who have played safe during the pandemic and have been waiting for the right time to pack their bags.

This young demographic is useful to us – and extremely relevant, in terms of readiness to travel. This is the segment that is wired to take breaks – over long weekends, and sometimes on a longer annual vacation.

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

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AIRDA member feature: Sustainable Tourism

Speaking at FICCI Leads 2022, Mr. Kavinder Singh – MD & CEO of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited, shared his thoughts on Regenerative & Sustainable Tourism.

Sharing the platform with some of the prominent leaders of the industry, Mr. Kavinder Singh talked about keeping sustainability at the core of the business at Mahindra Holidays, being committed to using renewable sources of energy, and deploying energy-efficient solutions in all aspects of the company’s operations.

In his address, Mr. Kavinder Singh urged other participants at FICCI Leads 2022 to think beyond responsible tourism and focus on what he called the game changer–Regenerative and Sustainable Tourism.

FICCI LEADS (Leadership, Excellence, Adaptability, Diversity, Sustainability)2022 was the 3rd edition of the annual global leadership initiative that was held in New Delhi on September 20-21, 2022 – to bring together global leaders, influencers, and opinion shapers across the spectrum of world economy. 


There’s more on this story at this link > World of Airda / December 2022

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AIRDA celebrates 25 years in India’s timeshare and tourism industry

In 1997, a visionary group of resort developers and RCI inked a blueprint for an independent body – an association with a purpose and an agenda – keeping in mind the nascent profile of timeshare in the country and the constructive role that could be played by developers to grow the industry.

Importantly, to work hand-in-hand with both promoters and consumers in the industry. This was how the foundation was laid for the All India Resort Development Association (AIRDA).

Today we have 26 committed members under the AIRDA banner – who are united in the cause of promoting a body that believes in ethics, transparency, and fair value to the customer.

Our member committee represents a cross-section of players in the timeshare industry – small, medium, and large – some of them with one resort location and others with over 4000 resorts. And irrespective of the size of operations, each one of them stands united behind the core objectives of AIRDA.
An association that is re-defining the organized sector of timeshare in the country.

It’s your gateway to timeshare in India.

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Airda member achieves 5-star status

In this interview, Suresh S. Patel talks about Neonz Club entering the world of 5-star hospitality and giving its members and customers a whole new experience. Suresh is the Chairman & Managing Director of Charotar Resort Private Limited.

Do tell us more about the 5-star classification for the resort.

In India, hotels are rated by The Hotel & Restaurant Approval & Classification Committee (HRACC), working under the Ministry of Tourism. Hotel ratings or classifications are systems that rank hotels based on a wide range of qualifying parameters. The objective behind star ratings is to give potential guests or customers a useful industry marker on the standard of facilities and service they can expect at the hotel or resort.

The 5-Star rating is one such milestone in our achievements. At NEONZ we have always given our projects the best in terms of investments, time, talent, and support – to reach new heights and cross new milestones. I am proud to say that we have a sense of pride in whatever we do.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Airda / November 2022

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When your vacation resort does not allow pets…

This month we’re starting a conversation on a topic that we’ve been trying to feature for a long, long time. It’s about being able to take your pets (largely dogs) along with you on vacation. And the moment you say “pets” and “vacations” in the same sentence, two things come to mind: (1) Is the resort pet friendly? (2) If it is not, can you find someone to look after your pets?

To find out more, we reached out to a group of professionals who are roughly between 30 and 40 years old – these are people who are active on the travel and vacation front. And as we have mentioned in our previous interviews, this demographic is useful to us – and relevant, in terms of vacation interests and feedback. (Where they go, what they do, and what they look for at a vacation resort.)

For this feature, we asked them about “pets and vacations” and here’s what some of them had to say.

Veena Bhaskaran – interior designer

We have a friendly dog, who loves a change of scene as often as we can manage that. Long drives, walks in the park, and vacations in country-home settings – these are some of the things he loves to be part of. But taking him to a resort at our timeshare location is not an option, because our home resort does not allow pets as part of the family. So that’s a NO even before we get there.

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

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Customer support in the hospitality industry

How important is the management of customer relationships in the hospitality industry?

Managing customer relationships is a key responsibility in any organization – more so, in the hospitality industry. We need to anticipate every wish and desire that runs through the mind of a guest when he stays with us at the resort. But there’s more to it than that – we also need to keep in touch with our
customers when they are not staying with us.

The more information you have on customers, the better your interactions will be – especially when it comes to birthdays, anniversaries, and other information about the family. And we need to greet them without intruding into personal space or time.

If your IT department can help you with the dates/days of customer visits, this information could help you with conversations that are relevant and highly personalized. So when I reach out, customers are sometimes amazed at the personal touch with which our interactions are handled.

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

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What inspiring leadership can do in the hospitality industry

Pavankumar Ramanand Yadav
Chairman, Dream Leisure Club, Ahmedabad

Pavan Yadav is the Chairman of the Yash Group of Companies which is head-quartered in Ahmedabad. He is often described as a serial entrepreneur having set up many businesses over the last 20 years – primarily in the hospitality industry. He has personally driven the growth and success of the group and helped individual resorts work towards international service standards.

Under Pavan’s leadership, the group provides travel support services to more than 500 corporates and individuals covering multiple aspects of travel. Their log book currently displays 45 lakh hotel bookings, 10 lakh flight bookings, 5 lakh railway bookings, and 3,500 cruise bookings. (These are not just numbers – each transaction translating into happy and satisfied customers.)

One project that Pavan likes to talk about is a new group venture: Dream Leisure Club Private Limited. Based on the timeshare model, Dream Leisure Club addresses the leisure and luxury segment in the industry.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Airda / March 2022

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The excitement of a temple trail

Could you tell us about your interest in old temple sites? What draws you to these locations?

I am intrinsically drawn to these locations. They continue to tell a story about times that often get abbreviated in history books at school. You need to be there to view, experience and capture the magic instilled by early temple builders in these wonderful works of art and architecture.

During September last year, I was on my way to Kolkata from Jamshedpur when on an impulse I decided to make a detour – I always wanted to visit Pathra village in Midnapur district in West Bengal. In the previous year, I went as close by as Dantan, but was unable to visit Pathra.

This time, I just did not want to miss out on the opportunity, as I had read a lot about Yaseen Pathan, who has been responsible for restoring old terracotta temples in the area over the last 40 years.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Airda / February 2022

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World of Airda / Sterling Sarisaka Feature Story

Sterling Sariska is located on the fringes of the Sariska National Park. This makes it a convenient resort to stay at and plan your wildlife safaris. A visit to Sterling Sariska helps you rediscover nature. The park’s dry deciduous forest cover is home to tigers, leopards, wild dogs, hyenas, jackals, sambar, chital, nilgai, chausingha, wild boars, langurs and birds of many kinds. These forests also have places of great historical importance like the Kankwari Fort. Sariska should be on your bucket list if you’re looking for adventure that’s off the beaten track.

Sterling Sariska has 40 well-appointed rooms including fully-equipped tents amidst the soothing silence of the jungle. Take a long leisurely swim, follow our curated trails that skirt the resort, chat up with locals you will meet on the way, or watch the deer come to a watering hole near the tents. Explore your wild side on an exciting jungle safari.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Airda / December 2021

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In conversation with Mickey Sidhu of The Himalayan Outback

Mickey Sidhu,
Founder, The Himalayan Outback

After spending 15 years in the U.S. working in the IT industry in California’s Silicon Valley, Mickey Sidhu decided to return home to India. The natural draw of the outdoors led Mickey to start The Himalayan Outback with Misty Dhillon in 2004. While Misty focused on his passion of fishing, Mickey focused on ensuring that every member of The Himalayan Outback team understood that “quality” could not be compromised. This combination has led The Himalayan Outback to be named as one of the ten fly-fishing destinations in the world, with a worldwide reputation for quality and integrity.

This philosophy has also helped establish The Himalayan Outback’s trekking and wildlife trips as among the best in the industry.

In this feature interview Mickey tells us what we can expect during a stay at his wild country lodge, The Himalayan Outback, located on the Ramganga River at the Mohan Range, (Corbett National Park) Uttarakhand.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Travel / November 2021

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