Cyprus offers to cover cost of holidays affected by Coronavirus

Key Take Away

The battle to lure tourists to the Mediterranean is hotting up with Cyprus declaring it will go one step further than its competitors, footing the bill for anyone whose holiday is ultimately ruined by a coronavirus.

The only bills the Greek Cypriot government will not cover are those for repatriation flights and taxis to airports.

Cypriot authorities are demanding that, initially, visitors carry health certificates proving they have tested negative for Covid-19 at least three days before departure

For More Information

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/29/cyprus-cover-cost-holidays-affected-by-coronavirus-covid-19

Senior Management of Sayaji Hotels announces to forgo their salary for an indefinite period

Key Take Away

In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, Suchitra Dhanani, founding director of Sayaji Hotels has announced to forego 100 percent of her salary for an indefinite period.

In similar lines, Saba Dhanani, Director of Operations, Sayaji Group, Sumera Dhanani, Business Analyst Manager and Jameel Sayed, Director of Operations would also forgo their salary for an indefinite period.

Hopefully this would help some of our staff who had been the pillar of our success story. This is the least we could do during the lockdown

For More Information

www.hotelierindia.com/business/10975-senior-management-of-sayaji-hotels-announces-to-forgo-their-salary-for-an-indefinite-period

France to reopen restaurants, bars and beaches from June 2

Key Take Away

France will allow restaurants, bars, and beaches to reopen from June 2, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe stated. But limitation will be that there depending upon zone (i.e green, orange).

For More Information

www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france-restaurants/france-to-reopen-restaurants-bars-and-beaches-from-june-2-pm-idUSKBN2342TL

National Restaurant Association of India seeks rental waiver of malls

Key Take Away

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has expressed two concerns to mall owners — waiver of charges of rentals and a revised revenue-sharing model, and sought  their urgent intervention to help the beleaguered sector which is staring at closure due to the COVID-19  pandemic

Considering that the proportion of fixed operating expenses in our business is very high, this may lead to
massive operating losses 

For More Information

www.newindianexpress.com/business/2020/may/28/nrai-seeks-rental-waiver-of-malls-2149020.html

30,000 weddings cancelled in Gujarat amid COVID-19 pandemic

Key Take Away

March and April are considered the peak season when the maximum number of weddings take place in the state but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has severely hit the wedding industry

At least 30,000 weddings planned across the state have been called off or postponed in the last two months People have been canceling their bookings and are waiting for the next auspicious season in December and January.

Some couples even opted for court marriages and planned to organize a proper wedding ceremony afterward

For More Information

www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/may/27/30000-weddings-cancelled-in-gujarat-amid-covid-19-pandemic-2148686.html

Restaurants listed on Swiggy? Now you can get credit to buy raw materials with this new service

Key Take Away

Swiggy is looking to provide credit to restaurants, which are facing challenges in procuring raw materials, as part of a service that is currently in the pilot stage, a source aware of the development told Financial Express Online.

The new B2B service called Swiggy StaplesPlus will supply more than 250 raw materials, packaging material, fruits and vegetables, poultry and grocery, and dairy essentials apart from credit facility to restaurants, another source said.

For More Information

www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/swiggy-to-launch-new-service-staples-plus-to-offer-credit-to-restaurants/1972562/

Home Chef Serves Up Data Breach for 8 Million Records

Key Take Away

The hacking group ShinyHunters has hit a popular mail-order meal kit company, Home Chef. Home Chef’s customer records were leaked as a result of the breach, according to a notice posted on the company’s website stating that customer information was exposed.

 In all, 8 million records were put up for sale from Home Chef starting two weeks ago, according to the outlet.

People who reuse the same passwords are at a higher risk, and security researchers have advised that Home Chef customers should change all reused passwords immediately.

For More Information

www.oodaloop.com/briefs/2020/05/26/home-chef-serves-up-data-breach-for-8-million-records/

threatpost.com/home-chef-data-breach-8-million-records/156031/

International quarantine rules ‘another blow’ to tourism and hospitality industry

Key Take Away

From June 8, anybody arriving in the UK from an international country via plane, train or ferry, will be required to isolate for two weeks, with fines of up to £1,000 given out to those breaking the rules announced by the Home Secretary  Priti Patel.

The idea of ‘air bridges’ is also being championed, which would see agreements made with countries with low R numbers to let passengers travel between them without going into quarantine.

For More Information

www.boutiquehotelier.com/international-quarantine-rules-another-blow-to-tourism-and-hospitality-industry/

IHM Ranchi successfully organizes Jharkhand Cookery League season-2

Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition,(IHM) Ranchi is an autonomous Institute under the Department of Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Jharkhand which organized an online cookery contest “Jharkhand Cookery League Season-2” for Hotel Management students and Non-Hotel Management students contest started from 6/05/2020 ends on 20/05/2020.

The total number of 70 recipe videos and including 47 entries from 15 Hotel Management Institutes and 23 entries from Non-Hotel Management categories marked their presence from pan India in this contest.

Various categories of participation included “Traditional Jharkhand Cuisine, Indian vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes (participant’s choice), Baked food (sweet or salty), Sweets (Indian or Continental)”.

The competition was partnered by pioneers viz. Jharkhand Tourism, Sunday Cook Show as the “Broadcast partner”, Hospemag.Me as the “Media Partner” whereas Radisson Blu Ranchi & Chanakya BNR are the “Industry partner” and Creative Bit being the “Technology Partner”.

The result of “Jharkhand Cookery League-2” was announced on 27th May 2020. Dr. Bhupesh Kumar, Principal, IHM Ranchi appreciated and congratulated the winners and all the participants. He said that this league has taught the participants that one must explore his/her creative skills and constantly aspire to improve it.

Winners under the Hotel Management category are:

Ms. Simran Suruti, a student of IHM Ranchi, was declared the winner for her recipe “Gud Peetha” an authentic dish of Jharkhand

Ms. Dolly Sekhari, from The Lalit Hospitality school, was 1st runner-up for her recipe “Rose Rabri”

Mr. Nishant Singh from IIMT University Meerut stood 2nd runner-up for his recipe “Bihari chicken”.

Winners under the Non -Hotel Management category are:

Ms. Amrita Kumari won the contest for her recipe “Patal Ki Mitahi”

Ms. Nihu Aggarwal was declared 1st runner-up for her recipe “Kadhai Baby Corn”

Ms. Afshan Afroz stood 2nd runner-up for her recipe “Chicken Yakhni Pulao”.

Rajesh Namby appointed as general manager of The Lodhi, New Delhi

Key Take Away

The Lodhi, New Delhi has announced the appointment of Rajesh Namby as the general manager of the hotel. Having rich experience spanning over two decades in the hospitality industry. He was associated with renowned hotel chains like The Leela, Hyatt, Hilton, and Taj Group.

His last assignment was as general manager of The Leela Palace. He was associated with the Leela Group for 17 years and was an integral part of their culinary operations. Under his leadership, The Leela Palace, Udaipur saw new developments and consecutively won several accolades.

For More Infomation

www.hotelierindia.com/operations/10973-rajesh-namby-appointed-as-general-manager-of-the-lodhi-new-delhi

PIL wants Cameras in Every Restaurant & Kitchen to help monitor compliance

PIL sought Centre's direction to direct all Delhi restaurants to install CCTV cameras in the kitchen and food preparation areas and to create a record of activities by employees and staff. 

The plea said it is the right of the public to know whether a restaurant is following all the government norms and guidelines of re-opening and suggested that wherever possible, live feed be made visible from outside so that the customers can decide whether they want to dine in the restaurant, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Centre to treat as a representation a plea seeking installation of CCTV cameras in the kitchen and food preparation areas of restaurants to check on cleanliness and hygiene precautions taken by the staff to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, also said that while deciding the representation the concerned authorities shall keep in mind the suggestions made by the petitioner regarding the installation of CCTVs in the restaurant kitchens.

Drafted As Quarantine Centres, Punjab Hotels Stare At Losses, "Stigma"

Key Take Away

Hoteliers demand that the state and central governments announce a special economic package to help them tide over this crisis

The government decided to offer their hotels as quarantine centers to Non-Resident Indian (NRI) evacuees has their left hotel owners in Punjab fighting a dual battle-of financial losses and the stigma of having operated as a coronavirus quarantine center.

For More Information

www.ndtv.com/video/news/news/drafted-as-quarantine-centres-punjab-hotels-stare-at-losses-stigma-549705www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-lockdown-punjab-hotels-turned-quarantine-centres-fight-losses-stigma-2234313

Himachal to open its doors for Tourism in Winter

Key Take Away

Himachal to open its doors for tourism in winter probably says, CM Jairam Thakur. It is notable that in this time of COVID -19 pandemic tourism industry is going through a huge loss. There is no change of opening the tourist place in the summer season

There is approx 3084 hotel n 1654 homestay, likewise, there are 44552 rooms available that are still under lock. According to people related to tourism, the state is bearing more than approx 7 crores of loss

For More Information

Baby chef sets Instagram on fire!

https://www.instagram.com/kobe_yn/

View this post on Instagram

I’m thinking about sweets early today because the long weekend starts now! The folks at @skippybrand reached out to me a couple days ago and asked me to partner on a s'more inspired peanut butter treat, and what we came up with was these SKIPPY® PB Banana S'mores. This recipe is extra fun for all tiny chefs because you can eat all the ingredients as you go!!! Spoons and forks not needed! The recipe is posted over on the @skippybrand channel, or at the end of my behind-the-scenes Stories. #ad #sponsored #partner #peanutbutter @skippybrand

A post shared by KOBE EATS (@kobe_yn) on May 22, 2020 at 12:00pm PDT

Marriott is posting new job listings for hotel staff in early sign of recovery

By May 25, 2020, Marriott's Careers website listed 2,031 openings. That's up from a low of 1,764 on May 19, or 267 additional job listings. A large majority of Marriott's hiring recovery appears to be in China, where front-of-house positions from everything including front-desk clerks to massage therapists have begun flooding the company's HR sites.

The company is hiring for as many as 90 new positions at the W Chengdu, 77 at the Shenzhen Renaissance, and another 60 at the Shenyang Marriott.

source

The Future Of Restaurant Dining? Design saves us?

French designer Christophe Gernigon has conceptualised Plex’Eat, a suspended plexiglass shield for people to safely eat at restaurants while maintaining distance.

As people sit at a table in an eatery, Gernigon’s plexiglass shields hang from a cable attached to the ceiling like pendant lights and surround each diner’s upper body. The design is reminiscent of a lampshade, comprising a cone or a cylinder dangling from the ceiling. The shape of Plex’Eat is a larger and more chic version of the protective visors that frontline workers wear.

“Design’s role is to give a new spark to our everyday lives. When I saw proposals to place plexiglass dividers on restaurant tables, it gave me the impression of being in a prison visiting room. I told myself that I had to imagine a more beautiful, attractive, poetic and elegant object that offers a unique experience. Even if we don’t want to remain indefinitely under a bell jar, the Plex’Eat protective bubbles will let restaurants open rapidly in total security,” says Gernigon.

source

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Dubai is ready to reopen its doors to receive visitors and guests from all over the world

Key Take Away

In light of the effective management of the Emirate of Dubai to contain the global pandemic and continue its efforts to control the spread of the Corona, the city is taking carefully studied measures and procedures to reopen its various economic sectors in stages

Dubai put detailed instructions for reopening commercial activities for various government agencies and private companies, including the hospitality sector

Maintaining its commitment to ensuring the public safety of the city's residents and visitors.

For More Information

www.gulfnewstoday.net/2020/05/dubai-is-ready-to-reopen-its-doors-to.html?m=1

Google Maps helps healthcare workers find hotels

Key Take Away

As part of its broader COVID-19 response, Google has given healthcare providers the option to add virtual care offerings to their search and Maps profiles and made government coronavirus-related announcements more prominent in search. Google is adding a new Maps feature to help those individuals find special accommodations when they're done their daily shifts. This feature will help those workers who want to keep their families safe.

The new feature is only available in the US and UK, but Google plans to roll it out to other countries in the future

For More Information

www.engadget.com/google-maps-search-frontline-healthcare-worker-hotel-finder-144000833.html?utm_campaign=fullarticle&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=inshorts

Six Senses Con Dao Appoints New General Manager and Director of Sales and Marketing

Key Take Away

Eric Hallin appointed as a New General Manager and Director of Sales and Marketing brings more than 40 years of international hospitality experience. With her goal-oriented and strategic mindset, and a great deal of passion for high-end travel, he makes a perfect fit for Six Senses Con Dao

He brings a fresh breeze to the resort and its hosts, sharing his working philosophy that a general manager is only as good as his ability to inspire, motivate, and empower his team.

For More Information

www.sixsenses.com/en/corporate/media-center/press-releases/2020/six-senses-con-dao-appoints-new-general-manager-and-director-of-sales-and-marketing

532 flights operated on Day 1, over 39,000 people travelled: Puri

Key Take Away

The airlines resumed operations after a two-month nationwide lockdown was imposed to contain the spread of the virus. The airlines, which were allowed to operate one-third of their pre-lockdown domestic services

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted that 532 domestic flights operated on Monday and 39,231 passengers traveled 

States like Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, which are home to some of the busiest airports in the country, were reluctant to allow domestic flight services from their airports, citing swelling Covid-19 cases there

For More Information:

https://www.livemint.com/