TravTalk India Online Magazine
With an endeavour to provide immersive and enriching experiences, Welcomhotels by ITC Hotels are offering sustainable weddings that are not only eco-friendly, but also lights on the conscience. The trend of sustainable wedding is catching up with the millennials, says Amaan Kidwai, Area Manager, Welcomhotels – North.
Janice Alyosius
The pandemic has challenged the conventional style of “big fat weddings”. In today’s scenario, people want to reduce the carbon footprint during weddings. Welcomhotels by ITC Hotels is winning appreciation for the enriching experiences that it offers in this field. Its ‘WeAssure’ initiative aims at enhancing the existing hygiene and cleaning protocols across all Welcomhotels addressing every facet of operations.
On how the trend of sustainable wedding is catching up with the millennials, Amaan Kidwai, Area Manager, Welcomhotels – North & General Manager, Welcomhotel Sheraton, New Delhi, said, “Climate change is a much-discussed topic among millennials these days and it is one of the biggest contributors of the environmental crisis that we are witnessing. They (millennials) want to live with an intent that is focused on reducing the harm to environment through their interactions. Thus, more and more guests at Welcomhotels are choosing outdoor wedding setups for day events making best use of ample natural light and air. They are choosing decor concepts having recyclable natural elements like cane baskets and lanterns, plants and flowers, and earthen pots.”
In sustainable weddings, guests make green choices in every little way, be it adding locally grown flowers, or reusable décor that do not harm the environment.
Kidwai said that sustainable weddings are not only eco-friendly but lights on the conscience too. He said Welcomhotel by ITC, Amritsar, offers heritage setting with beautiful lawns, cost effective initiatives like floral decors and biodegradable cutlery to reduce the carbon footprint. The entire supply chain follows responsible practices. Every wedding has many areas where shift to sustainability can be practised, from transportation to decors, or something as minor as limiting the usage of fire crackers, he added.
Speaking of the sustainable practices Welcomhotel is adapting in planning a wedding, Kidwai highlighted elements from their various properties across India. He said that at Welcomhotel Sheraton, New Delhi, they endorse locally produced food. The Sunya Aqua is provided in reusable glass bottles and is purified through a new purification system, meaning no transportation is used, eradicating the creation of emissions and waste management issues, as well as eliminating the single-use plastic. This is zero-mile water, he added.
Welcomhotel Katra has opened new horizons for weddings and MICE in India. The hotel is placed in vicinity where “sattvik weddings” can take place and the curated wedding menus use locally grown ingredients sourced from the farming community of the neighbourhood. The design philosophy of Welcomhotel Shimla is modern with minute elements of the old-world charm and has all the makings of a “green hotel” with commitment to sustainability – ecological, social and economic. The building is laid out to receive maximum natural light and all guest room windows are designed at very specific angles to receive incessant sunlight from dusk to dawn. Additionally, open lawns and grand heritage at Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, Amritsar, helps the guests to envisage a green and floral wedding. As far as using biodegradable cutlery is concerned, hotel uses ‘khulads’ (cups made of clay) and ‘doonas’ (bowls made of dry leaves) for select offerings.
Going green is the trend. The brand Welcomhotels by ITC Hotels is designed with an endeavour to provide immersive and enriching experiences. The brand is reflective of the warmth of Indian culture while upholding the benchmark service standards that ITC Hotels is known for. From curated journeys that enhance leisure trips, to those that help maximise the efficiency of business stays, at Welcomhotel, every effort is made to add value to the new-age traveller. It is this vision that helps enrich the lives of the guests, the community, and our hotel associates through integrated efforts and holistic initiatives, revealed Kidwai.
