The coming hospitality boom
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The News Review:
- The coming hospitality boom
- Johnny Neihu’s NewsWatch: Journalism in the Twilight Zone
- Sundowner with Arvind Uppal MD Whirlpool India
- SMART BR PLDT FFER SUPPRT FR ASEAN MEETING
The coming hospitality boom
Express Hotelier – Sep 15, 2007
” With more developers entering into ventures with global brands for luxury and budget range hotels there is a clear cut upsurge in hospitality activities in India. Mumbai-based JLLM is planning to introduce Jones Lang’s hotel division from the US and service Jumeirah hotels of Dubai and Dusit Hotels from Thailand. Besides Ansal API has floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with Ambience Hospitality Management to build 30 hotels at various locations at an investment of Rs 2000 crore. It includes Greater Noida Mohali Jaipur Jodhpur Amritsar Lucknow Ghaziabad apart from South India. The overall project encompasses golf resorts clubs spas and palace hotels apart from the regular business and leisure hotels and serviced apartments. Further the Ascott group from Singapore has strengthened its presence in India after acquiring its fourth property the Citadines Chennai MR Gateway.
Johnny Neihu’s NewsWatch: Journalism in the Twilight Zone
Taipei Times – Taipei Times – Sep 15, 2007
A whole tome was devoted to pushing the oft-spouted pan-blue myth that Taiwan’s economy is about as healthy as rder of the Scarlet Thumb figurehead Shih Ming-teh (I©? and on the verge of collapse. It was titled “Taipei economy sags as foreigners leave for China” and came across the wires with the suitably theatrical sub-heading of “Taiwan — flatline” as if to say that emergency room doctors are juicing up the defibrillators to jump-start our faltering economy and save us from financial ruin. It starts off by painting a gloomier picture than Edvard Munch’s Scream: empty hotel rooms empty language schools before going on to talk about city bars devoid of foreign patrons. But a little research reveals that the empty bars the author talks about are located in my old stamping ground — The Combat Zone — so christened by America’s finest who used to trawl the area on their night off for a little nocturnal exercise if you know what I mean. Reuters’ man in Taiwan has obviously not been around for too long as anyone who has frequented the zone over the years would know that things haven’t been the same since the late 1970s when the peanut seller decided to sell out Son of Peanut and Uncle Sam started shipping my buddies back home. The zone has been in terminal decline ever since. The advent of bar culture and urban sprawl also helped to spell the end for the zone as Taipei’s center of alcohol-fueled shagging shifted southeast… “The stagnation of its tourism industry has generated grassroots criticism of the Taiwan government. Which tourism industry is this? The last time a bunch of middle-aged Hawaiian-shirted Americans was seen wandering around Taipei with cameras they were on clandestine CIA business. The majority of Western tourists who actually do land here are often taken by surprise: “Shit I thought the travel agent said Thailand. Taiwan has never been a tourist Mecca in the same sense as say everywhere else in Asia despite a number of good quality beaches and captivating mountain scenery. The reasons for this are numerous and have nothing to do with China’s rise. First was the small matter of 38 years of martial law. Then you had beaches liberally scattered with mines or anti-amphibious landing equipment which made them resemble the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.
Sundowner with Arvind Uppal MD Whirlpool India
Economic Times – Sep 15, 2007
ne of the biggest consumer durable brandsin the world with revenues of $18 million Whirlpool Corporation?s Indianarm is slowly and steadily inching towards the black but not much is beingspoken about its laggard growth chart in thepast. However Arvind UppalMD Whirlpool India shies away from going overboard about the prospects ofbecoming profitable sometime very soon when we meet him at Delhi?s hipbar Ricks in The Taj Mahal Hotel. ?We have a three year-plan in place andit should hopefully wipe out our accumulated losses. It?s a challengingassignment but I walked into this with my eyes wide open? says the45-year-old honcho. Uppalcame on board with Whirlpool India in 2004 after serving 18 years at the FMCGbehemoth Nestle? in India and abroad. That was when Whirlpool Indiareported losses of around Rs 90 crore and Rs 40 crore in 2005 and 2006respectively in a Rs 25000 crore strong consumer durables market… This was a 100% local confectionery company which Nestlehad acquired in China and I went there as the business development officerstarting from scratch says Uppal reminiscing his days in China and Vietnam. Later he headed theIndo-China business of Nestle from Ho Chi Min City. ?In fact I choseVietnam over Thailand which was the headquarters for the region since itoffered more as a country? says this top boss at Whirlpool. So facingchallenges at Whirlpool India was nothing extraordinary when he said yes toheading Whirlpool India. ?Starting an all new business in a foreign landis much tougher things are different when you are home? says Uppal whilethe drinks get served. As hesips his beer the ex-Nestle hand tells us about his busy schedule these dayswhat with the opening of the new facilities in Faridabad on the outskirts of theCapital. ?It should hopefully be up and running very soon? he saysexpectantly.
SMART BR PLDT FFER SUPPRT FR ASEAN MEETING
Philippine Headline News – Sep 15, 2007
along with mother company Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) provided communication support to delegates from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the recently concluded 39th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting. Smart provided wireless broadband service also known as Hotzoning to areas inside and around the Makati Shangri-la Hotel where the 39th AEM Meeting was held from Aug. Hotzones are venues that offer wireless broadband access enabling the delegates to use their laptops personal digital assistants or dual-mode phones to access the Internet. Wireless broadband access during the 39th AEM meeting was made possible through Smart Bro the revolutionary high-speed broadband Internet service of Smart and the largest fastest growing broadband service provider in the country. “The ASEAN ministers were very impressed and appreciated the very fast and reliable wireless Internet connectivity provided by Smart Bro for this event… Most delegates composed presentations on the spot and needed to communicate with people from their host countries and having a reliable Internet connection allowed them to maintain quick coordination” said Ramon Kabigting assistant secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry and Senior Economic fficial Meeting (SEM) leader for the Philippines. PLDT also backed up Smart Bro by providing Internet connectivity through DSL (digital subscriber line) connection. Smart and PLDT accommodated the communication services required by the delegates from participating ASEAN countries such as Brunei Japan Indonesia Cambodia Malaysia and Thailand among others. “Smart is committed to supporting international conferences such as these. We are proud that the Internet connection we provided using Smart Bro played a very important role in an event as successful as the 39th AEM Meeting” said Rogelio Quevedo Smart head for wholesale business. Main agenda for the 39th AEM Meeting was the approval of the ASEAN Economic Community blueprint part of the ASEAN Charter that will be finalized this coming November during the Leaders’ Summit in Singapore. The venue’s Internet connection was also a vital tool for media personnel from all over Asia who covered the event.