Mumbai, Oct 19: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India’s (HRAWI) 19^th Regional Convention in Nashik concluded recently with the massive participation of various stakeholders from the industry. The event was inaugurated by Mr Venkatesan Dhattareyan – Regional Director, IndiaTourism (Western and Central Region) and Mr Dilip Vengsarkar, former Indian cricketer, who delivered the keynote address. The convention witnessed one of the largest congregations of professionals from the hospitality industry in the Western region of India after a gap of two years. Over the two days of the convention, the HRAWI organized a bouquet of business sessions on Human resources, New trends in F&B in the post-pandemic world, Best of international & domestic brands, Sustainable designs and Unconventional destinations.

This year’s theme for the convention was ‘Here To Win’, to celebrate the resilience of the hospitality industry through trying times and was attended by hospitality professionals, owners and operators of hotels and food businesses. Shri Mangal Prabhat Lodha – Tourism Minister of Maharashtra, while he could not attend the convention, extended his best wishes to the HRAWI and reiterated the Government’s commitment towards offering assistance to the industry stakeholders.

“Before the 1983 Cricket World Cup, captain Kapil Dev had stated in response to a question, ‘We are here to win’. Following that, India went on to achieve what had seemed impossible – lifting the World Cup. I believe that the hospitality industry too will successfully bounce back in the post-pandemic era with the same motto – Here to Win,”

Shri Dilip Vengsarkar, former Indian cricketer

“The convention turned out to be a much awaited event for the hospitality industry. The event offered hoteliers and restaurateurs an opportunity to express and share experiences from the days of the pandemic induced lockdowns. It also gave us an opportunity to share best practices and strategies for overcoming the hurdles to keep the business alive and thriving. We thank Mr Venkatesan Dhattareyan and Mr Dilip Vengsarkar for being part of our convention and for encouraging the industry. We also thank the speakers and moderators of the business sessions for hosting immersive discussions on a variety of subjects that are important to our sector. Special thanks to the Organizing Committee for their remarkable efficiency in putting together this event. The convention was indeed a show of strength, spirit and resilience of our industry, and of course, we are here to win,”

Mr. Pradeep Shetty, President, HRAWI.

The first business session on Human Resources – Revolving Doors to Opening Human Doors was moderated by Mr Kamlesh Barot of Revival Indian Thali with Mr Natwar Nagar, Founder & CEO of The People Network; Mr Riyan Bhatia, Enterprise Account Director at LinkedIn and Mr Yogendra Agnihotri, Sr. Director – HR (South Asia) at Radisson Hotel Group as the speakers. The following session on New Trends in F&B in the post-pandemic world was moderated by Mr Nirav Gandhi, Sr. VP of HRAWI and had Mr Ganesh Kumar, Corporate Director at Qmin Operations; Mr Anurag Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO of Charcoal Eats; Chef Rakesh Sethi, Corporate Exec Chef at Radisson Hotel Group and Mr Sandeep Talaulicar, MD of Mr Chow as speakers.

The next two business sessions were hosted on Deciding Between the Best of International & Domestic Brands and Sustainable Designs: Only Way Forward. The former session was moderated by Mr Jaideep Dang, President, JLL Hospitality with Mr Zubin Saxena, MD of Radisson Hotel Group; Mr Suhail Kannampilly, CEO of The Fern Hotels & Resorts and Mr Kapil Chopra, Founder of Postcard Resorts as the Speakers. The latter was moderated by Mr Reza Kabul, of ARK Reza Kabul Architects and had Mr Faizan Khatri, Principal Architect, Founder of FK’D, Faizan Khatri Design workshop; Ms Viraj Patki, CEO of PG Patki Architects; Mr Sahil Khan, Sr. Director, Design & Technical Services – South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group and Mr Sanjay Patil, Sr. Architect at Environ Planners.

The speakers for the last business session on Unconventional Destinations were Ms Shoba Mohan, Founder Partner of Rare India and Mr Sandeep Talaulicar, MD of Mr Chow as Speakers. Special dignitary – Shri Chandrakant Pulkundwar (IAS), Municipal Commissioner and Administrator too, attended the session.

About Hotel & Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI)

The Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) is a 72 years old Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Western India. Its members include various restaurants and smaller Hotels up to 5-Star Deluxe categories. The bulk of its members like any growth economy are made up of restaurants and budget hotels. With membership base spread across Western India, HRAWI covers Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and is considered to be the voice of the Hotel Industry. The association is part of the national body of Federation of the Hotels & Restaurants Associations of India (FHRAI), located in New Delhi, which was originally founded in Mumbai in 1950 by the late Mr J.R.D. Tata. 

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