World of Travel / Environment-friendly tourism

The hospitality industry is in a unique position to lead the way in environmental sustainability. As tourists and vacation seekers become more conscious of the environment, they would be comfortable staying at hotels and resorts that align with eco-friendly initiatives and practices.

This feature outlines the benefits of implementing eco-friendly measures in the hospitality industry. It’s about making environmentally responsible decisions in areas such as energy and water use, waste management, and sustainable sourcing.

With the right practices and investments, hospitality businesses can work together for a larger industry cause that aligns with global concerns.

Joining hands and moving in one direction is fast becoming the need of the hour.

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

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World of Airda / Sterling Goa – Varca

This sunny resort in the Sterling network is located in Varca, famous for its white sands and quiet beaches. Sterling Goa Varca is spacious in design and has 71 well-appointed rooms. It comes with the Sterling blueprint of facilities and support amenities that can make your vacation really enjoyable.

The Holiday Activity Centre at the resort ensures that the guests have a great time playing indoor and outdoor games. Come to Sterling Goa – Varca to experience a tropical paradise.

In this feature, we talk to a Sterling member and long-term customer about his vacation experience at Sterling Goa Varca. What follows is an interview with him about his vacation with the family. This member has made an editorial request to keep his identity private, so we are not sharing his name and profile in this story.

There’s more on this story at this link > World of Airda / April 2023

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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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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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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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Mina Tilakraj takes us to the Taj

You can sit for hours, watching the Taj change its moods with every change of complexion in the skies. Interestingly, the vision of the Taj is framed differently from each window of the fort across the river Yamuna. And from what I have experienced, something magical happens when you come within sighting distance of the Taj. You see a landscape of greenery, with the river around leading you gently towards a point where the Taj rises majestically into the frame.

The magic starts even before you get there, with eager anticipation. As we are nearing it, crowds and long lines of visitors build up momentum. And when you enter the big gate, the monument stands majestically before you. The first glimpse of a demure, ivory-white dome set against the blue skies is a sight to behold. It beckons the visitor to go closer and closer, and get a view of the Taj in all its glory.

And when you get closer, you rub your eyes in disbelief and say to yourself: am I really in front of the Taj, or is this a dream?

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

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