New hotels: Kota Kinabalu Marriott, Adina Apartment Hotel Brisbane, and more

August 3, 2018

Kota Kinabalu Marriott, Malaysia
Located along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens on Sabah’s waterfront, the new hotel offers 332 guestrooms and suites decked out in a design that pays homage to the rich heritage of Borneo’s Kadazandusun tribe. Recreational facilities include an outdoor infinity pool with views of the South China Sea, a 24-hour gym and a spa. There are also five F&B options, ranging from the Japanese teppanyaki dining room to the rooftop bar. For events, there is 1,300m² of versatile space available across five function rooms and a Grand Ballroom that can accommodate up to 650 guests.

Adina Apartment Hotel Brisbane, Australia
TFE Hotels has opened the doors to its latest property, a 220-key hotel housed in a restored heritage-listed building that was completed in 1922 to accommodate the Queensland Government Savings Bank. Each apartment boasts TFE Hotels’ new signature Dreamcatcher bed, and has its own kitchen, laundry and living room with the ease of full hotel services including a restaurant, bar, 24-hour reception, room service and meeting facilities.

Standing on the corner of George and Elizabeth streets in the city centre, the hotel is located close to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre and Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Southbank.

Mövenpick Asara Resort & Spa Hua Hin, Thailand
The Asara Villa & Suite Hua Hin has undergone a complete rebranding and refurbishment by Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. The upscale resort now features 96 private suites and pool villas. The 120m² suites offer large balconies or terraces featuring day beds, as well as bathrooms with indoor and outdoor rainshowers and bathtubs. Meanwhile, the one- and two-bedroom villas span 150m² and 200m² respectively, and include luxurious indoor living areas, outdoor decks and private plunge pools.

Also available is a 400m² two-bedroom beachfront villa with three separate pavilions, its own private beach area, large outdoor decks and a plunge pool overlooking the sea. Facilities on-site include the Asara Spa, a gym, outdoor infinity swimming pool, two restaurants and a bar.

Libre Resorts opens in Lijiang, China
The second upscale hotel in Libre Resorts’ portfolio, Libre Resorts Lijiang has opened in China’s Yunnan province. The resort features 455 premium deluxe rooms and 86 luxurious villas. Amenities include an all-day dining restaurant, a tea house and lounge, family club, spa, fitness centre and a Japanese hot spring. Meanwhile, events can be held at the neighbouring Lijiang International Convention Center.

First Capri by Fraser in Japan to open in Ginza

By TTG Asia

August 3, 2018

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04-Ground-floor-and-social-living-spaces — Spaces on the ground floor to facilitate play and social interaction

Capri by Fraser is debuting in Japan with an opening in the Ginza district of Tokyo.

In line with the brand’s design centricity and millennial focus, Frasers Hospitality has partnered Japanese architect Kengo Kuma – whose work includes the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic National Stadium – for the development of the property.

Spaces on the ground floor to facilitate play and social interaction

According to a statement from Frasers Hospitality, Kuma will channel his vision of challenging traditional urban spaces towards reinventing the concept of a hotel lobby, which will include social spaces on the street level connected to the pool, bar and Spin & Play, the brand’s innovative launderette offering.

Another highlight of Kuma’s design will be an origami roof at the entrance which regulates light entering the building.

The 190-room Capri by Fraser, Ginza / Tokyo will also feature meeting and conference facilities, as well as model after the digital core offering of Capri by Fraser, China Square / Singapore, which serves as a testbed for brand experiences.

Since its launch in 2012, Capri by Fraser has grown to become Frasers Hospitality’s fastest-growing brand with 16 properties in 14 cities with over 3,500 rooms, owing to rising demand from millennial travellers.

Capri by Fraser, Ginza / Tokyo will join Fraser Suites Akasaka, which is due to open in 2020 and Fraser Residence Nankai, Osaka, which opened in 2010 as the hospitality company’s debuting property in the country.

Hainan uses homesharing to rejuvenate village tourism

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2018

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Hainan-Qiongzhong-Li-and-Miao-Autonomous-County-Shihan-Village — Village in Hainan's Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County

Hainan Tourism Development Commission has teamed up with Xiaozhu.com to leverage the rise of homesharing and develop rural tourism, including through establishing a Hainan Tourism B&B Association.

Wang Liantao, co-founder and COO of Xiaozhu.com, has been named president of the new association, while the commission will play a supervisory role. The association aims to regulate the development of the B&B industry in Hainan, establish a mechanism for police-citizen interaction, solve problems in B&B operations, improve the industry’s service level and drive competition.

Village in Hainan’s Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County

The agreement will also see the partners jointly promote villages in Hainan, build village B&B accommodation for poverty alleviation, and establish a B&B industry association.

The development comes as village homesharing becomes increasingly seen as a driver of village rejuvenation. According to a data report Xiaozhu released earlier this month, the platform now has over 30,000 village B&Bs. Each village B&B creates six local jobs on average, it said.

Stressing the importance of developing village tourism, Ao Liyong, deputy director of Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission, shared that there are about 516 rural tourist sites across the island, bringing about 1.75 billion yuan (US$256.7 million) in revenue in the first half of this year, up 14.2 per cent year-on-year.

Zhang Xinhong, chief information officer of the State Information Center, added that the sharing economy has created a historic opportunity for China’s economic development, breaking geographical boundaries to connect resources in villages and cities.

In 2018, Chinese sharing economy companies markedly increased their competitiveness globally, and both central and local policies provided unprecedented support to the sharing economy, playing a positive role in leading innovation and poverty alleviation, according to a statement.

Meanwhile, Xiaozhu plans to build a hands-on classroom for homesharing entrepreneurship in Hainan’s villages, providing better solutions for B&B entrepreneurs and operators.

The Chinese homesharing platform has over 420,000 house listings in 652 cities across the world and over 35 million active users. In the first half of 2018, Xiaozhu reached strategic collaboration with Fliggy, the tourism brand of Alibaba Group, and agoda.

Cathay plans further cost cuts

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2018

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After cutting 600 jobs in Hong Kong last year, Cathay Pacific Airways is looking at restructuring its overseas operations to further ward off competition from budget carriers and mainland China airlines.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Cathay would consolidate overseas sales, marketing, cargo and airport operations functions in some cities, with an unspecified number of jobs lost, citing an unnamed source.

Cathay Pacific is planning to restructure overseas operations; the company has about 7,600 employees based in 100 locations outside Hong Kong

The airline posted a net loss of HK$1.26 billion (US$160.5 million) in 2017. As part of its restructuring, Cathay is seeking to trim costs by more than HK$4 billion over three years.

Overseas operations include North-east Asia, comprising Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

The restructuring process has yet to be finalised, Cathay Japan said, in the statement to Bloomberg. A spokeswoman at Cathay’s South Korean office said it was undergoing structural changes in line with what had been done at the Hong Kong headquarters and declined to specify whether there would be job losses, added the Bloomberg report. Taiwan operations would follow the structure set by the head office, Cathay’s Taipei office said.

The company has about 7,600 employees based in 100 locations outside Hong Kong, according to SCMP.

Cathay is reorganising other teams to enable quicker and better informed decisions to be made, following the redesign of its head office structure, the carrier’s Hong Kong office.

Amadeus reportedly in talks to buy TravelClick

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2018

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amadeus-madrid — Reports say Madrid-based Amadeus IT Group is in talks to buy TravelClick

Amadeus IT Group SA is reportedly in discussions with Thoma Bravo to buy TravelClick which, if successful, will boost its new hospitality platform business.

TravelClick’s software is used by hotels for business analytics, reservations, guest management and marketing. Its products are used by hotel chains including the Hilton, Marriott, Langham, Mandarin Oriental, Radisson and Accor brands.

Reports say Madrid-based Amadeus IT Group is in talks to buy TravelClick

Bloomberg reported that TravelClick could fetch as much as US$3 billion in a sale and might attract other suitors, citing anonymous sources asking not to be identified because the deliberations were private. The talks were advanced, though no final decisions had been made and Amadeus could decide against the purchase.

Representatives for Madrid-based Amadeus and Chicago-based Thoma Bravo declined to comment.

Thoma Bravo bought TravelClick in 2014 for US$930 million. The software company then bought ZDirect, a customer relationship management platform, in 2015 for an undisclosed amount. This year, it said it purchased Dallas-based Digital Alchemy, said the Bloomberg report.

Hyatt, Small Luxury Hotels of the World enter loyalty alliance

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2018

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Hyatt Hotels and Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) are joining hands to allow members of the World of Hyatt loyalty programme to earn and redeem points during stays at participating SLH hotels.

Scheduled for launch at the end of the year, the loyalty alliance will apply only to bookings made via Hyatt channels.

World of Hyatt programme members will be able to enjoy loyalty benefits at participating SLH hotels

Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt, said: “Our members will soon be able to earn and redeem World of Hyatt points in more places, including many new locations in Europe and Asia.”

Filip Boyen, CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, foresees the partnership will help boost occupancy at SLH hotels given their exposure to the World of Hyatt programme’s more than 10 million members.

Hyatt has 700 properties worldwide, while SLH’s collection counts over 500 independently owned hotels.

Asian cities take top spots in GlobalData’s arrivals ranking

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2018

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bangkok-grand-palace — Bangkok was the top tourist destination by arrivals for the third consecutive year

Asian cities outnumbered their counterparts in Europe and America in a ranking of destinations by international tourist arrivals in 2017, according to GlobalData.

In the top 10, Asia was represented by seven cities – Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen. In comparison Europe, the Middle East and America were limited to one city each – London, Dubai and New York City respectively.

Bangkok was the top tourist destination by arrivals for the third consecutive year

According to GlobalData, depreciation of most of the Asian currencies (except the Chinese yuan) played a vital role in attracting international visitors to Asian cities.

Bangkok remains the top international tourist destination globally for the third consecutive year, with 20.8 million international visitors in 2017. Tourism-friendly visa policies, strong promotional efforts and low cost connectivity drove Bangkok to the top spot.

London was the second most preferred destination with 20.4 million international visitors riding on the back of depreciation in the value of the British pound since the Brexit referendum, followed by Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong with 17.4 million, 15.8 million and 14 million, respectively.

However, despite lower hotel costs, the occupancy rate in most of the Asian cities was around 70 per cent, lower than cities in Europe and America in 2017. GlobalData attributed this to the growth in hotel development in recent years outstripping the increase in the number of travellers.

Exception is seen in Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul, where business purpose tourists helped maintain occupancy rates at more than 80 per cent. In terms of average daily rate, New York City leads the pack, followed by London.

GlobalData expects Asian cities to continue to dominate the top 10 arrivals ranking, primarily due to reasons such as the advent of LCCs and the development of highways and railways in the region.

Onyx inks dual-property deal for Amari brand in Malaysia

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2018

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Amari_KL_and_Penang_Signing — From left: SP Setia's Wong Tuck Wai, Khor Chap Jen and Mohd Zahid, with Onyx Hospitality Group's Douglas Martell and Markus Aklin

Onyx Hospitality Group has signed agreements with Malaysian developer SP Setia Berhad to launch Amari hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

Set to open within the upcoming KL Eco City mixed-use development in the capital’s Mid Valley district in early 2021, the 252-room Amari Kuala Lumpur will enjoy direct access to corporate office buildings, residential towers, a retail mall and integrated rail hub with inter-city and inter-state rail connections.

From left: SP Setia’s Wong Tuck Wai, Khor Chap Jen and Mohd Zahid with Onyx Hospitality Group’s Douglas Martell and Markus Aklin

Amari Penang, scheduled to open in late 2020, will offer direct connectivity to the Setia SPICE Convention Centre. The world’s first hybrid solar powered convention centre incorporates a 10,000-seat events arena, aquatic and sports centre, and a lifestyle and retail village.

The hotel is located in the Bayan Lepas district of Penang island, close to multinational corporate offices, Penang Golf Club, shopping malls and places of interest.

Both hotels will feature key Amari brand signatures including service from Amari Hosts, the street market-style Amaya Food Gallery, Cascade lounge, meetings facilities and gathering spaces. Other facilities include pools and terraces, as well as a fully equipped fitness centre.

Amari Kuala Lumpur and Amari Penang will join Amari Johor Bahru, which opened last year as the brand’s first in the country.

Onyx said it has five properties in the pipeline in Malaysia.

Aviation roundup: AirAsia, Cathay Pacific and Qantas

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2018

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AirAsia to launch Chiang Mai-Taipei route
AirAsia will commence four-times weekly flights between Taipei and Chiang Mai on September 30. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flight FD243 will depart Chiang Mai at 13.55, touching down at Taoyuan International Airport at 18.45. The return flight will leave Taoyuan at 20.10 and arrive in Chiang Mai at 23.10.

Cathay Pacific to take off for Seattle
Come April 1, 2019, Cathay Pacific will become the only airline to fly nonstop between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Hong Kong. Operated with the airline’s Airbus A350-900 aircraft, CX 857 will depart Seattle on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 01.05, arriving in Hong Kong the following day at 05.25. The return flight, CX 858, will depart Hong Kong at 23.55 on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, arriving in Seattle at 21.00 the same day.

Qantas’ Dreamliner goes to Hong Kong
Qantas will deploy the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on select routes to Hong Kong, namely Brisbane to Hong Kong (from December 19), Melbourne to Hong Kong (December 13, 2018 to March 29, 2019) and Sydney to Hong Kong (from March 30, 2019).

Qantas’ Dreamliner carries 236 passengers across three cabins – the latest version of the airline’s business class, premium economy and an improved economy class with extra storage compartments and more legroom.

Hong Kong joins Los Angeles, New York, London and San Francisco as international destinations served by the Qantas Dreamliner, which is gradually replacing the Boeing 747 on key Qantas routes.

Build and they will come

By Rohit Kaul

August 1, 2018

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Armani-Dubai — More hotel openings put pressure on Armani Dubai’s (pictured) rates

Market sentiments among hoteliers in the UAE are as bullish as the room pipeline in the country. Despite seeing rate pressure amid a heightened supply, industry executives expect improved inbound numbers and new products will keep the sector buoyant.

According to a report by Colliers International, hotel developments in the UAE significantly rose in 2017 with approximately 6,000 rooms added, up 8.2 per cent from 2016. The UAE is expected to have more than 170,000 hotel rooms by 2020.

Chris Hewett, director at TRI Consulting, estimated that RevPAR in 2018 could drop by as much as seven per cent.

More hotel openings put pressure on Armani Dubai’s (pictured) rates

However, hoteliers in the UAE remain unperturbed, confident that demand will continue to grow on the back of new feeder markets and stronger marketing efforts from the tourism board.

“The market is more competitive now as many new hotels have been added to the inventory. We are not seeing a decline, but a bit of pressure on rates because of the supply,” shared Mark Kirby, general manager, Armani Hotel Dubai.

“Overall, growth in the Chinese market has helped to absorb the pressure. We are also seeing an increase in demand from new markets like the US, Brazil, South Korea and Japan,” he added.

Positive market sentiments are also reflected in the robust expansion plans of hotel chains already operating in the region.

For instance, AccorHotels will debut the luxury So/Sofitel brand in the Middle East when So/Uptown Dubai opens in 2020, while UAE-based hospitality chain Rotana has opened two new hotels in Dubai this year, and is preparing to open up another in Abu Dhabi as well.

“With continuing investment in infrastructure and appealing tourism offerings, Dubai will continue to attract both business and leisure tourists,” stated David Prince, Rotana’s area vice president.

Sharing similar sentiments, Pradeep Kumar MG, corporate vice president finance, Roda Hotels & Resorts, commented: “The government of Dubai is doing a lot of promotion and we expect tourism inflow will grow strongly in the coming days. There has been a slight change in RevPAR but average occupancies remain strong.”

Meanwhile, hotels in Sharjah recorded a 70 per cent occupancy rate from January to June last year. The emirate is looking to add an additional 1,000 four- and five-star rooms and suites by end-2020.

The Ras al-Khaimah Tourism Development Authority aims to have 10,000 hotel rooms in the destination by 2020, up from the current 5,400.

New hotels: Kota Kinabalu Marriott, Adina Apartment Hotel Brisbane, and more

First Capri by Fraser in Japan to open in Ginza

Hainan uses homesharing to rejuvenate village tourism

Cathay plans further cost cuts

Amadeus reportedly in talks to buy TravelClick

Hyatt, Small Luxury Hotels of the World enter loyalty alliance

Asian cities take top spots in GlobalData’s arrivals ranking

Onyx inks dual-property deal for Amari brand in Malaysia

Aviation roundup: AirAsia, Cathay Pacific and Qantas

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