Rising stars of the hospitality fraternity in North India felicitated on the occasion of the 3rd International Hospitality Day

• International Hospitality Council honors Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, as the Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2018
• 28 top hospitality brands felicitated their best employees at a glittering awards ceremony organized by the International Institute of Hotel Management
• A panel discussion by industry veterans focused on the future of hospitality business in India

New Delhi, April 27, 2018: On the occasion of the 3^rd International Hospitality Day, twenty eight most promising employees of some of the top hospitality brands of North India were felicitated with the ‘Best Hospitality Personality 2018 Award’. The glittering awards ceremony was organized by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), in association with the London-headquartered International Hospitality Council (IHC), at The Roseate House in Delhi, the hospitality partner for the event.

During the event, leading hospitality brands like The Leela Palace New Delhi, ITC Hotels, Roseate Hotels and Resorts, The Lalit Group, Accor Group of Hotels, IHG Hotels, The Park New Delhi, Radisson Hotels and many more top chains, identified one hardworking and dedicated staff who has contributed outstandingly to the hotel and to the industry in keeping with principle of ‘Service with a Smile’. (Full list of awardees at the end of the Press Release)

On 24^th April 2016, Dr Suborno Bose, the Chief Mentor of IIHM, in association with the International Hospitality Council (IHC), instituted the International Hospitality Day as a unique initiative for recognizing, celebrating, promoting and educating the best of hospitality. Today International Hospitality Day is celebrated by over 50 countries and the world’s premier hospitality institutions to recognize the hospitality industry and its people, whose untiring efforts over the years have created memories for millions. In India, this day is celebrated by IIHM at its seven campuses in Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Bengaluru, in partnership with the hospitality stalwarts of the respective city.

“International Hospitality Day brings together all the professionals who work in this industry throughout the world under one umbrella of the International Hospitality Council (IHC) and celebrate the success of this industry. This year, over 50 countries around the world are celebrating this amazing day,” said Dr Suborno Bose on the occasion.

As per IHC’s Chairman Prof David Foskett, “We have much to learn from one another, from each country – traditions, culture and understanding – irrespective of religion, class or color. To be hospitable is to be human. So, let us celebrate the International Hospitality Day. Let us link arms across the world and show people through all sorts of activities the greatness and the humanity of hospitality.”

A major highlight of the event was the announcement of Mr Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, as the recipient of the Best Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2018, a prestigious award that is given every year to one of the most distinguished hospitality business leaders. Ritesh Agarwal today has a network of over 2200 hotels in 154 cities of India and is widely recognized as the man who is changing the hotel business paradigm of India.

Moreover, a panel discussion on the topic ‘Gen X and Gen Y… Are we ready for the business and the future of Hospitality’ was also held as part of the event. Mr. Abdullah Ahmed (Director, IIHM Delhi) was the Moderator for the panel discussion. The panelists included Mr Zubin Songadwala (GM, ITC Maurya), Ms Maulina Gupta (GM-Hyatt Place, Gurugram) and Mr Vikas Kapoor (VP-Operations, Radisson Hotels Shimla and Khajuraho). These industry veterans highlighted the need for the hospitality brands to keep pace with the constant change in technology and preferences of the youth in order to stay relevant in future.

Concurrently, IIHM also flagged off a Hospitality Goodwill tour from Pune to London whereby 3 cars will carry the message of Hospitality by road. This convoy will move from India to the United Kingdom, crossing 13 countries enroute in around 2 months. The countries that these cars will cover during the journey include Nepal, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France and UK.

Representatives of various nations congratulated IHC and IIHM on this unique initiative. Damiano Francovigh, the Italian Consul-General, said, “I wish all success to this initiative launched by IIHM and the IHC. It is great to have 50 countries come together to celebrate this initiative across the world.”

Bruce Bucknell, the Hon’ble British Deputy High Commissioner, said, “I am delighted to see that this initiative by IHC and IIHM is taking place.”

The Ambassador of Thailand to India, Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi took the opportunity to remind everyone of the core Indian value of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’. “It means ‘Guest is God’ and International Hospitality Day is a reminder of this value.”

Following is the full list of the awardees of the ‘Best Hospitality Personality 2018 Award’:

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newsvoir)