Ista Hotels to be Rebranded as Hyatt Hotels in India

Chicago, United States: Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced that a Hyatt affiliate has signed management agreements with IHHR Hospitality Private Limited (IHHR) for five Ista hotels in India to be re-branded by Hyatt.

Under the agreement, the fully operational Ista hotels will be known as Hyatt Bangalore, Hyatt Pune, Hyatt Hyderabad, Hyatt Ahmedabad and Hyatt Amritsar. The branding effort is expected to be completed by March 2013. The agreements were signed by both parties on October 29, 2012 in London.

Each of the five Ista hotels enjoys premium locations within their respective cities and reflect a contemporary and modern design that offers the business traveller a convenient and stylish place to live, dine and meet. In recognition of their standing as one of India’s most successful home-grown brands, Ista Bangalore and Ista Hyderabad have been awarded a position on the Condé Nast Traveller’s prestigious Hot List in 2006 and 2007, respectively. They were also ranked among the top business hotels in South Asia by Travel + Leisure magazine.

“As a company we see a perfect fit with IHHR’s forward-thinking philosophy and vision,” said Ratnesh Verma, Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in Asia-Pacific. “We feel honored to have been selected as the new brand for their portfolio in India. It is our constant endeavour to create preference for our brand by having hotels in markets where our customers are travelling. This opportunity allows Hyatt to further consolidate its distribution in India and offer its guests a choice in new markets such as Bangalore, Amritsar and Ahmedabad. The re-branding will also enhance our representation with a great collection of high quality hotels that are already recognised as market leaders in guest experience and performance.”

The mutually beneficial association between the two hospitality companies will, in turn, enable the five hotels to enlarge their global reach, become a part of Hyatt’s popular Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program and other marketing initiatives, take advantage of Hyatt’s well-established systems and processes, and participate in Hyatt’s extensive network of hotels in 45 countries. This deal will also allow IHHR to re-focus its efforts on further developments and its other brands, which include the award-winning destination spa brand Ananda in the Himalayas.

Ashok Khanna, managing director of IHHR said, “We are proud of our achievement in establishing the five Ista Hotels since the inception of the brand in 2006. We wanted to tap into the confidence and power of young India, so we listened to what those customers wanted and worked with excellent architects and designers to create Ista. Clearly we got it right, because we won awards from the writers and readers of highly respected publications. The time is now right to step back to our role as owners and hand these Ista hotels to a superb brand in Hyatt, which can take the business to the next level, through its marketing and brand strength. We are delighted with this relationship.”

“The association with IHHR comes at a particularly poignant time for us at Hyatt as we will mark 30 years since Hyatt Regency Delhi opened as the first Hyatt hotel in India’s capital. Since then, nine more hotels have opened under various Hyatt brands in India; and with the addition of the five Ista hotels, our portfolio stands at 15 business and resort hotels in India. We want to continue building on our brand’s long presence and relationships in the country and are fortunate to be a major part of the Indian hospitality industry today. We are grateful to all our developers, owners and guests for their belief and trust in Hyatt,” adds Verma.

The re-branding of the five Ista hotels as Hyatt Hotels, will mark the entry of the fourth brand from the company’s portfolio into India. Currently, India has five Hyatt Regency hotels in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, two Grand Hyatt hotels in Mumbai and Goa, and three Park Hyatt hotels in Goa, Chennai and Hyderabad. 

There are currently more than 50 Hyatt-branded hotels under development in India, which are expected to add more than 12,000 rooms. The Hyatt Place brand will be the next to enter India, with Hyatt Place Hampi opening later this year, followed by Hyatt Place Pune, Hinjewadi. The next six months will also mark the opening of three other Hyatt hotels in India – Hyatt Regency Gurgaon, Hyatt Regency Ludhiana and Hyatt Raipur, a company release said.

Soon, roads that glow in the dark and charge cars

Roads that glow in the dark and could one day even charge electric cars are set be introduced in the Netherlands.

'Smart Highways' unveiled last week at Dutch Design Week will use the latest technologies in roads which their designers claim will be 'more sustainable, safe and intuitive', the Daily Mail reported.

The companies behind the project said their goal is to turn around the usual route of transport innovation by focusing on the highway rather than the vehicles which use it.

Among the most ambitious of the ideas for the future of road travel are special lanes which will allow drivers of electric cars to recharge their vehicles as they travel along them.

 

Another plan is to fit the roads with power-saving lights which will gradually brighten as vehicles approach and then switch themselves off after they pass.

Those ideas are still some years off, but from next year Dutch roads will be painted with lines made from a photo-luminescent powder that charges in sunlight to illuminate the road for up to 10 hours overnight.

 

Another technology aimed for implementation next year is temperature-responsive dynamic paint which will make ice-crystals visible to drivers when cold weather makes road surfaces slippery.

The ideas - developed by Dutch firms Studio Roosegaarde and Heijmans Infrastructure - have already been hailed as 'Best Future Concept' at the Dutch Design Awards.

However, there is no information yet on how lanes which recharge electric cars travelling among them might work.

"Innovative designs such as the Glow-in-the-Dark Road, Dynamic Paint, Interactive Light, Induction Priority Lane and Wind Light will be realised within the following five years," Studio Roosegarde said.

"The goal is to make roads that are more sustainable and interactive by using interactive lights, smart energy and road signs that adapt to specific traffic situations," it said.

Burj Qatar wins Overall Project of the Year at ME Architect Awards

The iconic Burj Qatar, or Doha Tower as it is also known, won yet another award for its creator Jean Nouvel as it was voted the Overall Project of the Year at the fifth annual Middle East Architect Awards 2012 which were distributed at a gala ceremony in Dubai this week. The award comes soon after the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) named the building as the Best Tall Building Worldwide a few days earlier.

As many as 13 awards were distributed at the function which was attended by major industry players from across the region, says a report in mbss-india.com.

US major Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) received three awards viz Large Architecture Firm of the Year, Public Sector, Institutional & Cultural Project of the Year for the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, while William F Baker of SOM was chosen as Engineer of the Year.

GAJ from Dubai and Sheppard Robson both won two awards each. The former’s Jason Burnside received the Architect of the Year award, while the firm got Hospitality & Leisure Project of the Year award for The Chedi, Korfakkan, Sharjah. The latter was awarded for Sustainable Project of the Year and Commercial Project of the Year for its Siemens Middle East Headquarters at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.

AGi Architects, based in Kuwait and Spain won Boutique Firm of the Year and Residential Project of the Year for their S Cube Chalet, Kuwait.

Abdulla Al Shamsi from Shape Architecture was named Young Architect of the Year, Holley Chant from KEO was Principal of the Year and Buro Happold was voted Engineering Firm of the Year.

Jones Lang LaSalle to launch first real estate fund

BANGALORE/MUMBAI: Property consultancy firm Jones Lang La-Salle (JLL) India has set up a new entity JLL Segregated Funds Group to raise funds to invest in the Indian real estate market, and its first fund worth 300 crore will be launched soon in the domestic market.

Capital market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has approved the proposed fund, which will be a close-ended one with a six-year tenure, according to media reports.

"It is the first one among a series of funds that we are planning to launch in the next few months. The proposed fund will focus on city-centric residential projects with shorter cycles and high-equity returns," Mridul Upreti, CEO, JLL Segregated Fund Group told Economic Times.

Though the fund will be looking at investments based on opportunities, the focus will be on residential projects in tier-I cities. It will be aiming to fetch internal rate of return of 20-25%, and the average investment size is likely to be around . 25-30 crore.

The property consultant is in the process of appointing distributors and other intermediaries for the fund-raising exercise. JLL, a global real estate property consultancy firm, offers services like leasing, buying office space or investing in the Indian real estate space. Globally, LaSalle Investment Management, an independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle, manages $46.7 billion (as of Q2 2012) of private and public property equity investments, which invests only in real estate.

There are over half a dozen realty-focused funds like ICICI Prudential AMC - a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential Plc of UK - JP Morgan Asset Management, Reliance Portfolio Management Services, ASK Property Investment Advisor, IDFC and IL&FS that are in the market to raise fresh or follow-up funds to deploy in the real estate sector.

However, raising capital from limited partners has become much trickier, with private equity funds now being forced to show their deal pipeline in order to raise funds.

Private equity investment in the real estate sector has slowed down in the first half of 2012. There have been 29 real estate investments estimated at $1.04 billion (Rs 5,500 crore) this year, a 72% drop in cumulative deal value from 2011, which saw 87 deals worth $3.9 billion, according to research firm Venture Intelligence.

Bigger residential property markets such as the Mumbai metropolitan region and the National Capital Region fell by 60% to 15.98 m sq ft and 57% to 28.86 m sq ft respectively in the first quarter of FY2013, while the demand for commercial properties across India's seven largest cities fell by 21% in the first half of 2012, compared to a year ago, the report fruther added.

IFSEC India and Homeland Security India 2012 to begin on Nov 1

The sixth edition of IFSEC India and Homeland Security India is scheduled to begin on November 1 at the the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida. The event will be featuring more than 250 leading security companies from more than 20 countries, with more than 12,000 government officials and security professionals expected to participate in the event.

UBM India, part of United Business Media Ltd, will be hosting the International Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) show in Noida. The event will be focussing on security equipment such as CCTV and surveillance devices, access control, biometric equipment, intruder alarms and fire alarms.

According to Mr. Pankaj Jain, Project Director, IFSEC India and Homeland Security India, “It (the event) offers a platform for security professionals for JVs, partnerships and associations, sourcing, dealership and network tapping. For vendors, it is an effective launch pad and base to test market new products and generate numerous qualitative queries.”

The official also highlights the recent spate of terror attacks on South Asian cities, including those in India, and stressed the necessity for Homeland Security & Commercial Security. “It is imperative that we safeguard our banks; offices; schools and colleges; hotels; hospitals; IT and BPO organizations; entertainment and sports events; aviation, railways and highways. Critical industries such as telecom; warehousing and distribution; real estate and construction; police, prisons and law enforcement agencies; customs and excise; PSUs; Defence; infrastructure and utilities; manufacturing and industrial facilities; disasters and emergencies; jewelry / retail showrooms and of course, residences are also in the need of top-notch security,” adds Pankaj.

UBM India also provided some crtitical facts and figures on the country's security market. According to UBM, the Indian security market is expected to grow at 30-35 percent. By 2018, the homeland security market in India will touch $16 billion mark. India constitutes 3.6 percent share of global homeland expenditure and this is set to increase to 6 percent by 2020.

The Indian Government has increased its security budget by 35 percent, announced a spend of USD 1 billion on police modernization, arranged for coordinated intelligence gathering besides increasing security for critical infrastructure and its 7,500 km long coastline. Apart from hosting events, UBM India is also planning to conduct other initiatives to promote homeland security in the country.

Spain Invites Indian investment for greater economic ties

King of Spain, Juan Carlos I has invited Indian industry to invest in his country as it offers conducive industrial environment with handsome return on overseas as well as domestic investments.

Addressing a joint meeting under aegis of ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI, King of Spain also acknowledged that an increasing use of renewable energy and tourism could play a key role in business development.

In his address, ASSOCHAM Sr. Member & Chairman and Managing Director, SMC Global Securities Ltd  S C Aggarwal said that economic relations between India and Spain should intensify in tourism, manufacturing, services, IT and IT enabled services, financial services and renewable energy as these offer unlimited opportunities for two countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Textiles said that in it’s quest for economic development, India was seeking to build partnerships across the globe to source technological solutions to meet the domestic challenges.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, Senior Vice President FICCI during the meeting said, “Our educated and rising labour force, expanding knowledge based economy, innovative and entrepreneurial zeal of Indian industry, expanding middle class and their increasing incomes leading to higher domestic demand and consumption are some of the positives that must be considered by our economic partners. All these offer innumerable opportunities for Spanish companies to capitalize on while engaging with their Indian counterparts."

Ms. Kidwai also added that “this can be seen as a long –term hedging strategy for both India and Spain to counter the effects of global economic slowdown and steady their steps for achieving sustained economic growth.

“India-Spanish trade grew by an impressive 92% between the years 2006-07 and 2012. However, the trade between India and Spain totalled USD 4.8 billion last fiscal and is not even 1% of India’s global trade. In terms of investments, the cumulative Spanish investment in India amounted to USD 1.1 billion over the period April 2000 to March 2012, which was just 0.65% of the total FDI inflows in the country over the period," added Ms. Kidwai.

In his remarks, Deep Kapuria, Chairman CII Committee on Europe & Chairman Hi Tech Gears Ltd emphasized that the main industries in Spain are tourism, IT, thermal power, all of which are relevant from the view point of India.  Spain is also advanced in medical equipments including prosthetics, diagnostic equipment and medical software, he said.

Private sector accounts for 87% of Haryana’s total investments: ASSOCHAM

Private sector accounts for a whopping 87 per cent of the total outstanding investments worth over Rs 4.5 lakh crore attracted by Haryana as of June 2012, apex industry body ASSOCHAM said today.

With a share of over 4.8 per cent in the total private sector investments made across India, Haryana has attracted private sector investments (including both domestic and foreign private sector) to the tune of over 3.9 lakh crore as of June 2012, according to a sector specific analysis titled ‘Composition of Outstanding Investments Across States,’ carried out by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Besides, with a share of over Rs 82.9 lakh crore, the private sector accounts for over 59 per cent of the total outstanding investments across India worth over Rs 140 lakh crore as of June 2012, highlights the ASSOCHAM analysis.

“Flow of the private investments is decided by the attractiveness of investment opportunities as they are mostly driven by profitability considerations,” said D.S. Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the chamber’s analysis.

“Bureaucratic efficiency, infrastructure facilities, and ease of land acquisition influence the flow of private investments,” said Mr Rawat. “Tax concessions, product market conditions and exit policies are effective tools of private investment attraction.”

Jharkhand, Odisha, Chattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are other top leading industrial states where private sector accounts for over 70 per cent of total investments made across the state.

With a share of about 12.5 per cent, Gujarat accounts for the highest share in the total outstanding private sector investments (including both domestic and foreign private sectors) across India as of June 2012, according to ASSOCHAM analysis.

Of the total outstanding investments in Gujarat worth over Rs 14.8 lakh crore, private sector accounts for over Rs 10.3 lakh crore thereby registering a share of about 70 per cent in the overall investments across the western state.

With private sector investments worth over Rs 8.8 lakh crore, Odisha ranks second with a share of 10.7 per cent in the total private sector investments across India. Besides, the private sector accounts for almost 75 per cent share in the total outstanding investments worth over Rs 11.8 lakh crore across the state, according to the ASSOCHAM analysis.

Maharashtra (8.9 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (8.4 per cent) and Karnataka (7.2 per cent) are other states with maximum share in outstanding private sector investments across India.
But interestingly, the share of private investments in the total live investments across these three states is less than the all-India average of over 59 per cent, points out the ASSOCHAM analysis.

Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Assam have the least share in India’s total private sector investments which is even less than one per cent.

Surmount to showcase its might at Green Building Congress 2012

Hyderabad: Surmount, a leader in Green Building Consultancy Services, will be exhibiting its affordable community automation solutions for green projects at the 10^th Green Building Congress 2012 exhibition to be held in Hyderabad from 30th October to 1st November.

Surmount’s BuildTrack suite of solutions will be focusing on improving energy savings, safety and security and convenience for residential, commercial and township spaces. The BuildTrack brand of Home Automation solutions offered by Surmount communicates emergencies instantaneously via online, e-mail and SMS options to the owner or other authorized parties, thereby providing the ability to react quickly to them. The BuildTrack solution also offers conveniences such as video door phones and remote controlled switches for lighting and other purposes.

Surmount will be introducing its unique product, EzRemote that can be used in any home to turn on/off switches using a remote. The design is such that there is literally no change to any of the visible wiring or any changes to existing switches. 

Balbir Khera, CEO of Surmount Energy said in a statement that, “We have been a part of Green Building Congress since long and we are proud to introduce our smart home automation products to the world during each exhibition.”

Surmount Energy is a leader in Green Building Consultancy Services, automation solutions for home, township & offices; and CCTV & surveillance systems. Its services and solutions currently serve 2.2 million sq. meters of space in India across 100’s of new and existing buildings. The automation solutions offered under the BuildTrack brand are designed to meet the safety, security, comfort or convenience needs in a broad range of residential, commercial or retail situations.