The Sixth Hotel Investment Conference - South Asia (HICSA) 2010 is scheduled for April 7th and 8th, 2010 and is to be hosted at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai & after the overwhelming response and participation received by the awards last year at HICSA 2009, HVS has decided to continue its practice of acknowledging new hotel openings across South Asia. Instituted last year when the award was conferred upon The Crowne Plaza Today, Gurgaon and the Ibis Gurgaon, the 'Hotels of the Year Awards' aim to honour hotels that have left a commendable impression on the industry in the very first year of operations.

In line with the trend of increased segmentation within the hospitality industry, this year the 'Hotels of the Year Awards' will move a step forward by increasing the number of segments for which this award can be conferred. At HICSA 2010, instead of only two award categories, the 'Hotels of the Years Awards' will be conferred upon for four main categories: Best Luxury/ Upscale Hotel, Best Mid Market Hotel, Best Economy/ Budget Hotel and the Best Serviced Apartments. Based on HVS knowledge and our understanding of the forthcoming properties in the South Asian region, various hotels and serviced apartments that opened between December 2008 - December 2009 were invited to nominate themselves based on certain criteria. The result: 38 hotels have submitted their nominations for 'Hotels of the Year Awards' including 13 nominations for Best Luxury/Upscale hotel, 13 nomination for Best Mid-Market hotel, 7 nominations for Best Budget/Economy hotel and 5 nominations for Best Serviced Apartment.