At a glittering ceremony held in Belgrade, Serbia, International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), Geneva conferred on Capt. Krishnan Nair, Chairman of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, the prestigious ‘Hotelier of the Century’ award. The award was presented by Dr. Ghassan Aidi, President, IH&RA. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Aidi said, “Capt. Nair is an icon of a hotelier with vision. The quality and service seen at The Leela Hotels across India remains unparalleled and is a new benchmark for luxury hospitality.” — Photo by The Leela

At a glittering ceremony held in Belgrade, Serbia, International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), Geneva conferred on Capt. Krishnan Nair, Chairman of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, the prestigious ‘Hotelier of the Century’ award. The award was presented by Dr. Ghassan Aidi, President, IH&RA. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Aidi said, “Capt. Nair is an icon of a hotelier with vision. The quality and service seen at The Leela Hotels across India remains unparalleled and is a new benchmark for luxury hospitality.”

The event was attended by several hundred renowned international leaders and industry luminaries, as well as, representatives and members of the IH&RA from several countries. Accepting the award, Capt. Nair said that he was humbled by this great recognition from his peers in the hospitality industry. “I dedicate this award to the people of India and to Smt. Sonia Gandhi, under whose inspirational leadership India continues to achieve greater heights to make India a superpower, alongside the U.S. and China.”

This is only the second time in 140 years that this unique award has been presented to an international hotelier. The previous recipient of this celebrated accolade was Mr. Joseph Giacoponello, former President of the Leading Hotels of the World, New York.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the IH&RA is the only business organization representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Its members are hospitality associations, hotels and restaurants from across the globe. Recognized by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry, estimated to comprise 300,000 hotels and eight million restaurants, employs 60 million people and contributes 950 billion USD annually to the global economy.

About Hotel Leelaventure Limited: Hotel Leelaventure Ltd. operates The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Kovalam (Kerala), Gurgaon and Udaipur. New hotels will soon open in New Delhi (2010) and Chennai (2010); with plans to develop hotels in Agra, Hyderabad and Pune. The group has marketing alliances with Germany based Kempinski (Hoteliers since 1897); US based Preferred Hotel Group and are members of Global Hotel Alliance based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Edwin Philips
9611805080
The Leela