Parsvnath Hotels Ltd. a subsidiary of Parsvnath Developers Limited (PDL), India's leading real estate and Infrastructure Company, has received 5 star category project approval from Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for its hotel project, situated at Hyderabad.

The project spread over an area of approximately 11063.68 sq. meters area would offer a judicious blend of Shopping Mall, Office Complexes and a Five Star category Hotel.

BSEL Infrastructure Realty Ltd has sold its stakes in BW Highway Star Hotel project at Balewadi, Pune. The firm had 17 percent stake in BW project and it has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange about sell out.

1,058,824 shares of face value Rs 10 each has been sold to Kamat Hotels (India) for Rs 79,411,800 while remaining 941,176 shares to Unity Realty and Developers
(subsidiary of Unity Infraprojects) for Rs 70,588,200.

Experts believe that ongoing global financial crisis is a major cause that prompted BSEL Infrastructure Realty Ltd to get out of the project.

The State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in the country, has picked up 19.7 per cent equity in Orissa-based Mayfair Hotels and Resorts (MHRL) through a private equity (PE) deal, for an undisclosed sum.

The group currently has four hotels in the state and plans to use the funds to expand organically and geographically.

The deal was for 37.33 lakh shares with a face value of Rs 10 each. Post-deal, the promoters' share will be 80 per cent.

Dubai - A Dubai hotel is trying to ease the pain of the global financial crisis by offering free dinners for laid-off workers, media in the United Arab Emirates reported.

The three-star Arabian Park hotel is offering its free dinners from December 15 until January 15 to locals and foreigners who can prove they were fired.

"(The scheme is) to remind people of our value for money," the hotel general manager Mark Lee told the Gulf News.

The city, best known for its gleaming skyscrapers and man-made islands, is often compared to Las Vegas.

Government and hotels are likely to review mandatory safety and security norms for the hospitality industry. Security norms need to be more stringent in the wake of the terrorist attacks on prestigious five star hotels in Mumbai. The vice-president (hotels) at India Tourism Development Corp. Ltd, Sudhir Sibal said that as terrorists are updating themselves with time, hotel industry should also become more updated.