Hotelier India Awards concludes it Grand Jury Meet for its 11th edition hosted at JW Marriott Sahar, Mumbai, today. The jury meet this year witnessed some paramount strategical changes in its judging process. With the ever-increasing number of nominations received each year, the team at Hotelier India decided to adopt a two-tiered system for its judging process. Having received a record 1465 nominations this year, the first round of preliminary jury was set in place to screen the nominations that were then judged by the Grand Jury. The panel at the preliminary round, which was held at ISH, New Delhi, on November 30, 2019, included Jaideep Dang, MD, Hotels and Hospitality Group, JLL; Manav Thadani, Co-Founder, Hotelivate; Vijay Thacker, Director, Horwath India; Kapil Chopra, Founder and CEO, Postcard Hotels; Gurmeet Sachdev, Publishing Director, Hotelier India; and Dilip Puri, Founder & CEO, Indian School of Hospitality.
The other momentous development was its decision to completely move the jury process onto a digital platform. This shift obviated the need for any printed nominations and also helped fast-track the complete process, which was very well received by the jurors. This year also saw nominees submitting their entries in a 90-second video format, which was specifically called in for the PR category. This helped the jury gain clear insights about the creative approaches and strategies adopted by the PR executives of the respective hotels.
While vetting the nominations, one critical observation that was made by the jury was that, this edition witnessed the highest participation from independent hotel brands; a segment that has shown a staggering growth across all regions. Commenting on the entire process, Neeraj Govil, Area VP – South Asia, Marriott International, stated, “We received a terrific bunch of nominations this year, with a large number of hotels participating across India. And as we went through the nominations, we realised it was very difficult for us as a jury, to pick one winner because there were so many great profiles and amazing works that’s has being done across the spectrum of hotels. What was most pleasing about the nominations this year is that it wasn’t just the big brands and hotel companies that participated, but we saw participation from number of independent brands. It was a treat to learn about these hotels and the work that is being done there.”
Having closed doors on the jury meet, the industry now awaits the final results and the prestigious winners of the 11th edition of the Hotelier India Awards.
The Grand Jury:
- Anshu Sarin CEO, Berggruen Hotels Pvt. Ltd.
- Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts
- Jaideep Dang, Managing Director, Hotels and Hospitality Group, JLL
- Kapil Chopra, Founder and CEO, Postcard Hotels
- Manav Thadani, Co-Founder, Hotelivate
- Neeraj Govil, Area VP – South Asia, Marriott International
- Praveen Chander Kumar, Area Director – West India and General Manager, Taj Lands End Mumbai
- Rajiv Kaul, President, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts
- Ranjit Batra, President, Hospitality Management, Panchshil Realty
- Rattan Keswani, Dy. Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels Limited
- SK Mohapatra, Executive Director, Mayfair Hotels & Resorts
- Sanjay Sethi, CEO, Chalet Hotels
- Satyen Jain, Director, The Pride Hotels, India
- Suresh Kumar, Founder Kue Advisor
- Vijay Thacker, Director, Horwath India
- Jean-Michel Cassé, COO – India and South Asia, AccorHotels
