TripAdvisor announces Traveller’s Choice 2014 award for best accommodation in hotels

Indian Hotels Shine On The World Map In The 12th Edition Of The TripAdvisor Awards.

• 5th Edition of the India Awards recognizes 129 Indian Hotels across 7 categories
• India makes a definitive mark on the global hospitality scene with 8 wins in the World list, a first everfeat and 39 in Asia
• The OberoiUdaivilas, Udaipur& The Oberoi, Mumbai rank #5 and #9 respectively in the World Top hotels category
• Indian hotels sweep theB&Bs and Inns category in Asia with 12 wins

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, announced the winners of its 2014 Travellers’ Choice awards for hotels. In its 5th year in India, the awards have recognized 129 most outstanding propertiesacross7 categories – Top Hotels, Bargain, B&Bs and Inns, Family, Luxury, Romance and Small Hotels. In all the Indian hotels have won 222 awards across World, Asia and India lists.

Best Ranking Hotels Across Categories in India

# 1 Luxury The OberoiUdaivilas– Rajasthan
# 1 Top The OberoiUdaivilas– Rajasthan
# 1 Romance Taj Lake Palace Udaipur – Rajasthan
# 1 Family Orange County, Coorg– Karnataka
# 1 Small The OberoiVanyavilas– Rajasthan
# 1 Bargain Kaiya House – Kerala
# 1 Inns and B&B Jaipur Friendly Villa – Rajasthan

Speaking on the announcement Mr. Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisorIndia said “We are proud that for the first time in the history of the awards India has registered such a strong presence on the World and Asia lists. This just goes to prove the world class standards that the Indian hospitality industry, right from big hotel chains to small boutique properties employ. In fact, the beauty of the awards this year is that the standalone and boutique hotels overshadow the large hotel chains.”

The Travellers’ Choice Awards for Hotels is the most unbiased recognition of accommodations across the world. And TripAdvisor isprivileged to be able to honor hotels year on year basis the growing pool of reviews collected annually.

Commenting on the awards Ms. Deepa Harris, Snr. VP Sales & Marketing, Taj Group says “We are delighted that Taj Group has won 20 awards across categories and regions at the 2014 Travellers’ Choice awards. We would like to thank our guests who have made this possible and assure them that each and every stay will deserve our best attention. It is our constant endeavor, at the Taj, to make the experience memorable for every guest and these awards are a testament to our employees efforts to consistently deliver their best. We would like to thank our guests for choosing and believing in Taj hotels.”

Marking the World Map

India makes a strong mark in the World list with 8 wins across 5 categories. The OberoiGroup of Hotels leads the show with two hotels each in the Luxury and Top hotels list. The winning story lies in the emergence of modest accommodations like Kaiya House and Jaipur Friendly Villas in the list of Bargain hotels and Inns and B&B categories respectively.

The Power of Reviews – Business Impact

The TripAdvisorTraveller’s Choice Awards are not just about recognizing outstanding accommodations world over but bear a significant impact on the business of the winning properties. There have been examples and instances around the globe where hotels have seen a surge in their business after having won the Traveler’s Choice award. According to a study conducted by Cornell University’s Centre for Hospitality Research, increases in a hotel’s user review scores can positively influence the relationship between price increase and demand. Higher review scores allow hotels to charge more while maintaining occupancy rate.

Reaffirming the above Shweta Mehra, Owner, Jaipur Friendly Villa says “The pursuant recognitions by way of the Traveler’s Choice Awards for the past three years, has provided my modest business a pedestal which has seen at least a 20% growth year on year, both in terms of bookings and revenue. Had it not been for Tripadvisor, I wonder if all that could have ever been achieved without very painful and expensive marketing efforts.”

India – the Show Stopper in Asia

India secures the 2nd spot with 39 awards in Asia close on the heels of Indonesia with 41 awards. While there is a representation in each category in the Asia list, the highlight is India sweeping the B&BsandInns and category with 12 wins. In fact, the 8 out of the top 10 hotels in this category are from India. In the Top, Luxury and Family hotels segment also India has registered a strong presence with 8 winsin Topand 6 each in Luxury and Family.

Indian Hotels amongst the Top 10 Ranks in Asia

• B&Bs and Inns
• Jaipur Friendly Villa, Jaipur (#2), Saubhag Bed and Breakfast, New Delhi (#3), Ezhara Beach House, Kochi (#4) and Panthalams Homestay, Tamil Nadu (#5), Mysore Bed and Breakfast (#7), Royal Mist (#8), Les Hibiscus (#9), Periyar Villa Home Stay (#10)
• Top Luxury Family
• The OberoiUdaivilas (#3), The Oberoi, Mumbai (#4), Taj Lake Palace Udaipur (#5), Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas (#8), The OberoiUdaivilas (#4), The Oberoi, Mumbai (#6), The OberoiVanyavilas (#8),
• Orange County, Coorg (#1), Marigold Regency (#3)

Romance Bargain Small

Taj Lake Palace Udaipur (#9) Kaiya House (#4) The OberoiVanyavilas (#4)

The Hospitality Story – Decoding the India List

The competition between large hotel chains and standalone properties is heating up with the latter becoming a formidable force. While the chains dominate in the Luxury and Top categories, the standalone properties lead in the Family and Small categories. It is interesting to note that in Romance, the scale is only marginally tipping in favor of the hotel chains with them clocking 13 ranks out of 25 and rest being standalone properties.

Wins by StatesAcross Lists

• Rajasthan is the official leader in hospitality with hotels from the state notching an impressive 50 awards across the World, Asia and India lists. The other top performers include Kerala with 36, Karnataka with 30 and Goa with 17 awards.
• The OberoiUdaivilasretains its top spot second year in a row in the Luxury hotels segment
• Kaiya House, Kerala continues to be number #1 in the Bargain categorythird year in a row
• Jaipur Friendly Villa claims the number#1 spot in the B&Bs and Inns category for the first time
• Among the metros Delhi leads with 7 awards followed closely by Bangalore with 6.

The average nightly rate of Travellers’ Choice award-winning Top Hotels is Rs. 24,529; Bargain is Rs. 2651; B&Bs and Inns is Rs. 2052; Family is Rs. 7046; Luxury is Rs. 20,339; Romance is Rs. 23,290; and Small Hotels is Rs. 13,980.

All 7,123unique winners of the 2014 TripAdvisorTravellers’ Choice awards for hotels can be found at tripadvisor’s TravelersChoice page.