Hotels & Accommodations

MakeMyTrip Adds 900+ Premier Inn Hotels

Published

6 days ago

July 30, 2025

MakeMyTrip has partnered with Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel chain. Renowned for offering great value rooms in towns and cities, the addition of Premier Inn further strengthens MakeMyTrip’s international hotel portfolio with a brand known for its scale, reliability and value, offering Indian travellers more relevant choices across key cities in the United Kingdom.

MakeMyTrip has been steadily expanding its international hotel supply through a direct contracting strategy focused on high-demand outbound destinations. In the past year, the platform has added over 2,000 directly contracted hotels across 50 cities in 20 countries. These 50 cities collectively account for more than half of India’s outbound travel.

Speaking about the development, Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said: “Over the past twelve months, we have pursued a focused strategy to deepen our international accommodation offerings across key hubs, particularly in long haul markets such as the UK, Europe, and the USA. These initiatives are beginning to show results, with a steady uptick in the value contribution of international stays on our platform. Our partnership with Premier Inn in the UK, one of the most preferred destinations for Indian travellers, is a key part of this strategy.”

Tim Sleep, Director of Sales & Distribution at Premier Inn, said: “Connecting with MakeMyTrip is an exciting addition to our OTA partnerships and growth. It will drive increased awareness across India and surrounding markets for us, giving travellers even more opportunity to benefit from our unrivalled number of hotels across the UK, Germany and Ireland.”

Source link

Hotels & Accommodations

Gulmarg authorities take over 137-year-old Nedous Hotel owned by J&K CM Omar’s relatives

Published

58 minutes ago

August 5, 2025

Fayaz Wani

SRINAGAR: The Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) on Monday took over possession of the famed 137-year-old Nedous Hotel for operating without a valid lease and flagrant violation of directions of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir.

The hotel, which was established in 1888 and owned by relatives of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, had allegedly been operating without a valid lease since 1985.

The GDA took action under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1988, in compliance with orders issued by both the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of J&K.

The Assistant Director of Tourism, acting as the designated Estate Officer, oversaw the eviction and transfer of premises to GDA. The operation of taking over possession of the property passed off peacefully in presence of a local magistrate and police personnel in strict compliance with orders of J&K High Court and Supreme Court of India.

A few days back, the GDA served an eviction notice to the hotel management through the Estates Officer (Assistant Director Tourism), following which the take over was processed.

“In exercise of powers conferred under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1988 and in compliance with the orders of the Hon’ble High Court J&K and the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, it is hereby ordered that the persons presently in unauthorised occupation of the public premises known as Hotel Nedous, Gulmarg, are hereby directed to vacate the public premises forthwith and handover the possession,” read the eviction notice issued by Estates Officer Gulmarg to the hotel management.

Source link

Hotels & Accommodations

Minor Hotels expands footprint with Avani’s first Singapore hotel

Published

2 hours ago

August 5, 2025

TTG Asia

Minor Hotels has broken ground on its first Avani property in Singapore, marking a key milestone for the lifestyle brand. Located at 24 Peck Seah Street in the Tanjong Pagar district, the 14-storey hotel is scheduled to open in 2Q2027.

Developed through a partnership with Singapore-based Kajima Development and Abu Dhabi-based Al Wathba Investment, Avani Singapore will feature 200 keys and offer an elevated urban escape that blends the heritage charm of the shophouse precinct with the brand’s modern aesthetic. Facilities will include a pool deck, gym, dining outlets, and a pedestrian link connecting Peck Seah and Tras Street.

Minor Hotels has broken ground on Avani Singapore, its first property in the city, scheduled to open in 2027

The hotel’s location, less than 200m from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station and 350m from Maxwell MRT Station, will provide seamless access to key business and leisure districts including the Downtown Core and Marina Bay.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by over 50 guests, including William E Heinecke, chairman and founder of Minor International; Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels and group CEO of Minor International; Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, managing director of Al Wathba Investment; and Shuichi Oishi, CEO of Kajima Development. Also present were the ambassadors of Japan and Thailand to Singapore.

Heinecke opened the event with a speech highlighting the project’s strategic significance and its role in expanding Avani’s presence in major global cities. A project overview followed, after which guests gathered for the ceremonial turning of the soil.

“With our trusted partners Kajima and Al Wathba, we are bringing to life a project that not only reflects our shared commitment to innovation and excellence, but also celebrates the city’s unique blend of culture and modernity,” said Heinecke.

Source link

Hotels & Accommodations

Why green hotels are adding more plants

Published

3 hours ago

August 5, 2025

Lee Tulloch

The Jewel at Changi airport is a shopping mall that houses 2000 trees and palms and 10,000 shrubs, a hedge maze and a rain vortex cascading seven storeys, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.

Pan Pacific Orchard is divided into Forest, Garden, Cloud and Beach.Credit: Darren Soh

At the Pan Pacific Orchard on Orchard Road, the impressive 23-storey tower has four separate climate zones – forest, beach, garden and cloud – with dense greenery settings, enormous plant-covered pillars and cascading water features.

And at the new Mandai Rainforest retreat by Banyan Tree, just 30 minutes from Singapore’s central business district, vines trail from platforms and balconies and greenery springs up in every passage and corner of the contemporary building. The plan is for the resort to entirely disappear into the rainforest as the plants grow.

While it’s common to be surrounded by plants at resorts in natural environments like tropical jungles or alpine forests, it’s city hotels that are really getting the green-up.

Some of the hotels in the 1 Hotel brand feature about 4000 plants. Clearly, a few hanging pot plants or rubber trees in pots won’t do any more.

This is part of a broader healthy building movement, which takes a holistic design approach, viewing the construction of a building and its inhabitants as deeply intertwined; human nature as well as plant nature.

It seems to me that this should be the most fundamental consideration of building design, but I think we’ve all seen buildings that have the opposite effect, ignoring the mental health aspects of existing in spaces unsympathetic to our innate biological connection with nature.

Brutalism appears to be in fashion again, but no matter how visually stunning those spaces are, they’re difficult to live in.

As the global population continues to urbanise, architects and designers are trying to figure out how people can reap the benefits of being in nature without going outside.

We’re lucky in Australia that even our biggest cities provide access to water, trees and natural light. But other urban environments are often land-locked concrete jungles.

The Japanese have always been respectful of the natural world, and even Tokyo, with its population of 37 million, can feel tranquil because of the access to Zen gardens and gorgeous interior tree plantings.

When we travel, we spend a lot of time in artificial environments – planes and airports, notably. Research shows that guests spend more time in biophilic hotel lobbies and rooms. It’s understandable that we would want to stay in a space that’s green and uplifting.

It’s a green revolution.

Source link