230 hotels for Clean India

In what the industry calls a first-of-its-kind initiative, a total of 230 hotels, including 170 major ones, under the Hotel Association of India (HAI), have pledged that more than 500 of their employees will clean about 230 km of road around their hotels

“It’s simple and directly proportional: if the country isn’t clean, we attract less tourists,” Vikramjit Oberoi, President, Hotel Association of India said, “It makes sense for the hospitality sector to embrace the government’s clean India initiative. EIH has tasked at least three employees per hotels to dedicatedly clean the areas around their hotels,” Oberoi, who is also the chief operating officer and joint MD of the group's flagship EIH remarked.

Several five-star chains have beautified the areas around their hotels for years. The ITC Maurya and Taj Palace Hotels in Delhi and The Leela in Mumbai are examples of hotels that have kept pavement plants well-pruned and dust free.

Now they plan to do more. “All participating hotels are cleaning more than just the immediate surroundings and will cover a wider radius,” Nakul Anand, executive director, ITC added.

Industry executives said it’s difficult to define the size of the areas to be cleaned as its spread widely across geographies. Each partner hotel is working on the project as a single unit, setting its own goal and deciding how to go about it. Some hotels have given the power to general managers to schedule cleaning activities, while some others have dedicated staff to look after surrounding areas, clean nearby railway stations or public toilets around monuments.

It makes sense for the hospitality sector to embrace the government’s Clean India initiative. EIH has tasked at least three employees per hotels to dedicatedly clean the areas around their hotels. Vikramjit Oberoi President, Hotel Association of India