IHC-IIHM International Hospitality Day Awards celebrates the Glamorous Hospitality Industry of Mumbai

The Mumbai chapter of IHC-IIHM International Hospitality Day celebrations was held on July 1st at a glamorous ceremony organised at the Aurika Mumbai SkyCity by International Hospitality Council UK and International Institute of Hotel Management. Glamour city’s well known and celebrated hospitality personalities were present at the occasion, many of whose contributions to the industry were acknowledged appreciated by the IHC-IIHM awards.The Mumbai chapter of the award ceremony was indeed special as there were a number of special categories introduced specially for this city’s glittering and glamorous hospitality fraternity. “It’s a special feeling to be able to celebrate IHC-IIHM Hospitality Day at Mumbai, the city of grandeur and glamour. We are honoured to be able to felicitate some of the iconic hospitality personalities of the city on this occasion,” said Dr Suborno Bose, Founder and Chairman IIHM and Chairman IHC.Prof David Foskett OBE, the legendary hospitality educator and author, praised the Indian Hospitality industry and said, “Today, we celebrate success. We celebrate the Champions of our industry, who work so hard to promote this industry and to create employment and hope for young people.” Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar, congratulated IHC and IIHM for this endeavour by saying that, “IIHM has become an organization that selectively decides what Hospitality is going to look like in the next five years. I see IIHM becoming a core institution in leading the hospitality conversation in the country.”

Padmashri Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Mr Nakul Anand, Chairman, IIHM Young Chef Olympiad Global Advisory Council, in a joint statement added the great news that IIHM Young Chef Olympiad, India Qualifiers are opening their doors to the all the Indian students of Hotel Management thereby making it a bigger than ever before. The winner of the Qualifiers will represent India at the International Young Chef Olympiad, the biggest culinary olympiad for culinary students. The awards list is exhaustive but each person is worth mentioning. They were as follows: The IHC London and IIHM Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 went to: Chef Anton Mosimann, Swiss chef and former Maitre de Chef at The Dorchester, London.Danny Pecorelli, MD of The Exclusive CollectionPatu Keswani, MD, Lemon Tree HotelsRanju Alex, Area Vice President, South Asia, Marriott InternationalAnuraag Bhatnagar, CEO, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and ResortsSanjay Sethi, MD and CEO, Chalet Hotels.Both Mr Bhatnagar and Mr Sethi were bullish about the current trends of the Hospitality industry. Mr Anuraag Bhatnagar during his acceptance speech said, “Thank you so much for acknowledging the achievement and the learnings so far. The next couple of decades are the best time in Hospitality Business. It can only be fuelled by the passionate aspiring youngsters who want to make Hospitality a part of their lives and we owe it to them to ensure that we pave the way for their success.” Mr Sanjay Sethi, thanked IHC and IIHM and said, “The Hospitality industry is now break form a stride into a run. The visible future for the industry, especially for the young people is very bright.”

The next category of awards was the IHC London and IIHM Inspirational Hospitality Leaders of 2024. The awardees were: Nikhil Sharma, MD and Senior VP, South Asia, Radisson Hotel GroupJaideep Dang, MD, Hotels and Hospitality Group, JLLJatin Khanna, CEO, Sarovar Hotels & ResortsChef Rahul Akerkar, Creative and Culinary Director Aditya Birla New Age HospitalityDeep Kalra, Chairman, MakeMy TripRohit Khattar, Founder Chairman ,Old World HospitalityMany hoteliers were acknowledged for their exceptional contribution to the hospitality industry. They were presented the IHC London and IIHM Outstanding Achievement and Contribution to the Hospitality Industry 2024: Manish Dayya, GM, Sofitel Mumbai BKCHarkaran Singh-GM, Aurika Mumbai SkyCitySunil Narang-GM, Four Seasons Hotel MumbaiPuneet Narula-Business Head, Jio World Convention Center, Mumbai, RILVarun Chhibber, GM, St Regis MumbaiDietmar Kielnhofer, Area Vice President and General Manager Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel and ResidencesSameer Sud, GM, Leela Mumbai.Bhagwan Balani, GM, ITC Maratha, MumbaiNikita Ramchandani, Multi-Property VP Marriott International, Mumbai MarketChandrashekhar S Jaiswal, GM, Maharashtra Tourism Development CorporationMehrnavaz Avari – Area Director, Taj UKRajiv Kapoor – GM, Fairmont MumbaiSumeet Suri – GM, The Westin Mumbai Garden CityVikas Singh – Executive Chef, The Westin Mumbai Garden CitySubhabrata Roy – General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott MumbaiAjeesh Gopalan, Station Manager, Air India ExpressAfzal Khan, GM, President – IHCL SeleQtions, MumbaiKuncheria Thomas, Director – Touracle, Hon Secretary, Skal AsiaSagar Dighe, Director & CEO, SATS Food Solutions India Pvt. LtdWomen achievers have a special place in the IHD awards list and Mumbai was not behind.

The IHC London and IIHM Women Achievers in Hospitality 2024 went to:Krishani Nitan Chhatwal, Director/Board Member, Shrem Infrastructure Pvt LtdSonakshi Yajurvedi, Senior Area PR Manager, Radisson Hotel Group – South AsiaReema Singh, Director Communications- India HiltonDivya Agha, GM, Marketing Fortune Park Hotels LtdRakhee Lalvani, Founder, Rla And Consultant, IHCL For Diversity and InclusionReema Diwan, VP – Design and Technical Services, India and South Asia, Accor Hotels⁠Durba Datta, Multi-Property Director of Housekeeping at The Westin Powai Lake and Marriott Executive ApartmentsManisha Bhasin, Corporate Chef, ITC Ltd – Hotels DivisionGunjan Bisarya, Head – Housekeeper, ITC Ltd – Hotels Division Some of the other special categories included IHC London and IIHM Outstanding Hospitality Influencer Award 2024 that went to Divia Thani, Editor, Condé Nast Traveller India and Kalyan Karmakar- Food Blogger and InfluencerNew talent and hard working individuals were appreciated by the IHC London and IIHM Rising Star of 2024. They were: Siddhant Santosh Dhuwali, Owner & Founder Di Mora Pune, Baglami Bombay, La Cena ThaneRickey Bhardwaj, Junior Sous Chef, JW Marriott Juhu, MumbaiAditya Bhagat, Assistant Relationship Manager, National Accounts-Sales and Marketing, IHCLDigvijay Singh, Holistic Fitness and Wellness coach The IHC London and IIHM Hospitality for a Cause 2024 award went to the Saksham Project to support SOS Children’s Villages of India, EIH Ltd and EIH Associated Hotels Ltd. A special award IHC London and IIHM Outstanding Contribution to the development of Tourism 2024 Award went to Jayashree Bhoj, IAS, Secretary (Tourism), Government of Maharashtra, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department. Finally, the IHC London and IIHM International Hospitality Day Special Jury Award went to Shafquat Ali, Publisher, Hospitality Horizon magazine & Curator, Food Food TV Awards and Bibhor Srivastava, MD, Events, ITP Media India. The IHC-IIHM Honours List recognized the organizations from Mumbai who have excelled at the Art of hospitality and made guest have treasured experiences.The event also boasted of the Best personalities awards which recognized the members of Hospitality community, who have personified hospitality as an attitude and not just a profession. The International Hospitality Day by IHC and IIHM celebrates Hospitality as character and inspires the young members of this extremely dynamic industry to embark on a journey of service and hospitality excellence.

About IIHM: IIHM (International Institute of Hotel Management) is one of the largest chain of premier hospitality and hotel management schools across India that started its journey in 1994 at Kolkata. IIHM is a part of Indismart Group, the conglomerate that operates the Indismart Hotels. IIHM campuses are located across eleven National and International cities with the associate institute IAM-IHM located in Kolkata, and Guwahati. Students passing out of IIHM are armed with an international degree from the University of West London and equipped with global hospitality skills that enable easy placements in any hospitality brand across the world. IIHM is dedicated to its pursuit of excellence in teaching and placements. Real time experience is the key to success in hospitality and that makes the institute popular. In recent years, IIHM has been instrumental in organizing the Worlds biggest Culinary Olympiad Young Chef Olympiad, with participation of over 50 countries, a unique idea and initiative inviting young culinary talents across the world. It has MoU’s with over 50 countries for student and faculty exchange bringing the best of education for its students from around the World. The institute has bagged several prestigious awards in the past 24 years. The list includes the Best Education Brand Award from Economic Times consecutively 7 years in a row in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024, Most Valuable Global Hospitality Education Brand 2023 by Zee, Institute of Excellence in Domestic and International placement by TV9 Bangla and Excellence in Academics at Institutional Infrastructure by Times Excellence Awards. Best Placement Institute by ASSOCHAM 2021 & Educational Excellence Award by ASSOCHAM 2023 It was also featured in Forbes Magazine as Great Indian Institute and Great Place to Study consecutively in the year 2018 – 2019 and 2019 – 2020. IIHM was also awarded as one among the World’s Greatest Brands & Leaders 2015-16 by URS International (IMEA – Process Reviewer PriceWaterhouseCoopers PL) and also received the Best Institute in Hospitality Education 2017 Award by ASSOCHAM from Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister of State for HRD (Higher Education), Govt. of India.