Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has rebranded to Radisson Hotel Group with immediate effect, announced the company at the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin.
The launch of the group’s new identity is “a significant milestone in a five-year operating plan”, targeting to leverage “the powerful, international brand equity of the Radisson name” to increase awareness in the marketplace and marketing efficiency across the global portfolio.
The launch of the group’s new identity is a significant milestone in a five-year operating plan
At the IHIF, the newly rebranded group also unveiled the launch of Radisson Collection, which will launch in June 2018 as “a premium collection of exceptional hotels” to cater to the consumer demand for individuality and more personalised experiences. It will replace the company’s Quorvus Collection brand, and 14 hotels are expected to join the collection following the launch.
The other brands remain as Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson Red, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn Suites by Radisson and Prizeotel, but all are to undergo a refresh.
The new brand architecture will also include a refresh of its Radisson Rewards global loyalty programme and the launch of RadissonHotels.com as a new global, multi-brand digital platform.
Currently the 11th largest hotel group in the world, Radisson Hotel Group is made up of eight hotel brands with more than 1,400 hotels in operation and under development.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts has announced a “significant shift” in the leadership structure of the family-owned and -operated company, as CEO Lindsey Ueberroth hands the mantle of president to former executive vice president, Michelle Woodley.
Apart from Woodley’s promotion, Kristie Goshow has been named chief marketing officer; and Caroline Michaud has been promoted to executive vice president, corporate communications & public relations.
CEO Ueberroth commented: “We have made the strategic decision to harness the skillset of experts in key functional areas outside of our family, which will allow us to augment our existing strengths and better position our company on a global scale.”
As president, Woodley now oversees multiple departments across the company including sales, marketing, IT, revenue management, and customer relations. She will also work closely with Ueberroth on financial planning and talent management, support the development of other strategic areas of focus and serve as a company spokesperson.
During her 15-year tenure with Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Woodley has held positions including senior vice president of global marketing strategy, senior vice president of revenue management & distribution and most recently, executive vice president.
Prior to joining Preferred Hotels & Resorts in 2002, Woodley has more than 10 years’ experience in senior positions for marketing, operations, and distribution for international hotel chains such as Swissôtel and Raffles Hotels & Resorts.
Taking over Casey Uberroth, who remains on the board of directors, new chief marketing officer Goshow leads the company’s global marketing strategy, responsible for driving revenue, brand awareness and engagement through the I Prefer Hotel Rewards programme, all brand, regional and cooperative marketing efforts, and e-commerce and digital marketing initiatives.
Goshow, most recently senior vice president of commercial at Viceroy Hotel Group, brings with her 20 years of tourism and hospitality experience, including with Sabre Hospitality and Jumeirah.
In her position as executive vice president, corporate communications & public relations, Michaud drives the global integrated media relations strategy for Preferred Hotels & Resorts, defines the voice behind messaging campaigns for the company’s executive team, and is responsible for the company’s intranet and extranet channels.
Michaud joined Preferred Hotels & Resorts in 2012 as senior manager of public relations for the Americas, bringing with her experience working at travel- and hospitality-focused public relations agencies in New York City and Chicago.
Melbourne Airport is teaming up with AccorHotels to build a 464-room hotel operating under the three-star ibis Styles and four-star Novotel brands in the airport’s new property precinct, The Hive.
To be located just steps away form Terminal 4, the mixed-use hotel will feature a wellness centre, conference rooms, pool, gym and rooftop garden, cafe, bar and combined restaurant facilities.
Melbourne Airport has teamed up with AccorHotels to build this dual-branded hotel in its new property precinct, The Hive
Melbourne Airport chief of property, Linc Horton, said the hotel expansion will support the airport’s growth in aviation.
“Demand for air travel in and out of Melbourne is at an all-time high – and it’s going to continue to grow strongly,” he said, adding that the new hotel will help support forecast passenger figures of almost 70 million travellers by 2038.
“Currently our on-airport hotels are operating at significant capacity year round so it is crucial we expand our hotel amenity,” he explained.
Construction is set to commence in 2H2018, and public consultation is underway on the preliminary development plan. Comments close on March 19, 2018.
Hopes are high that Thailand’s oldest beach town, Hua Hin, will soon become a bigger draw for overseas visitors as it gets a much-anticipated boost in air accessibility through a new international connection operated by AirAsia.
The Malaysia-based LCC last week announced the launch of four-times weekly flights linking Kuala Lumpur to Hua Hin from May 18, ending months of speculation among industry members over this new route.
A night market in Hua Hin
Tom Thrussell, Centara’s vice president of brand, marketing and digital, commented: “I think this could be a good start and it will hopefully pave the way for even broader access in the future. The Asian markets who make short stays to Thailand have been less inclined to visit Hua Hin in the past because the journey time from Bangkok, at either end of a short stay, eats into too much of their break. This new accessibility will change that for one of these markets for now at least.”
This new international link will mark “a turning point for Hua Hin’s tourism fortunes”, believes David Barrett, chief executive of Bangkok-based DMC PIGS, making Hua Hin more popular among a younger international crowd.
Despite Hua Hin becoming “cooler” with more good bars and restaurants popping up, noted Kim Martin Rasmussen, product manager at Exo Travel Thailand, it is likely to remain a stronger draw for the Asian and domestic markets. Phuket and Koh Samui still remain the preferred destinations for Exo Travel’s agents and clients by far, he added.
That said, Hua Hin and neighbouring Cha-am in 2018 are already chalking up the same number of room nights as all of 2017, which will translate into an increase for Exo Travel overall for the destination this year, shared Rasmuseen. Most of the extra bookings this year will come from the UK, German and French markets, he added.
Franck Rodriguez, general manager of the newly opened Holiday Inn Vana Nava Hua Hin, is confident that the resort town is on its way to “becoming a more rounded destination”, pointing to the wide variety of products that Hua Hin currently offers, including meeting venues, international shopping centres, hospitals and an airport that just turned international.
The owning family of Holiday Inn Vana Nava Hua Hin, Proud Real Estate – which is also behind several high-profile developments like Vana Nava Water Park, True Arena sports complex, Bluport mall and an upcoming beach club – envisions a “cross-promotion” strategy to market Hua Hin to visitors, Rodriguez told TTG Asia.
Urging stronger destination marketing efforts for Hua Hin, Barrett added: “Over the past decade, Hua Hin has been promoted as a second-tier destination in Thailand for both leisure and MICE. Hopefully, with AirAsia paving the way with flights, Hua Hin will receive more promotional backing from the Tourism Authority of Thailand and tour operators.
“I would like to see greater cooperation between the private and government sectors, coming together to create a clear destination identity for Hua Hin,” he added. “Destination branding is key.”
Singha Estate, the property arm of Thai beer company Boon Rawd Brewery, last week announced it will buy six hotels across four countries from Hawaii-based Outrigger Hotels for US$250 million.
These properties are namely Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort and Castaway Island in Fiji; Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort and Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort in Thailand; Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort; and and Outrigger Konotta Maldives Resort.
Beach Bure at Castaway Island in Fiji
The investment is outlined as part of Singha Estate’s strategy to “invest in hotels and resorts in prime tourist destinations” and “diversify the company’s geographic risk”, the company said in a statement.
The latest announcement comes on the back of recent deals signed by the Thai developer in Bangkok and the Maldives last year.
Nearly seven years after the triple disasters of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown virtually crippled Fukushima’s tourism industry, the number of foreign overnight travellers has recovered to levels last seen before the disaster.
In the first 10 months of calendar 2017, a total of 78,680 foreign visitors spent at least one night in the prefecture, surpassing the 77,890 visitors in the same period in 2010. Final statistics for the full year are not available, but prefectural authorities expect the 2017 figure to eclipse 2010’s figure of 87,170 foreigners who stayed in the prefecture.
Tourist visiting Ouchijuku Village, a former post town along the Aizu-Nishi Kaido trade route in Fukushima
Visitor numbers collapsed in the months after the March 11 earthquake and a mere 23,990 foreigners stayed in calendar 2011.
“We have been working with the Fukushima government to promote the prefecture at international events, focusing on events in countries where we have already seen visitor numbers recover, such as Taiwan, Thailand and Australia,” said Kazuhiko Yoshioka, director of overseas promotion for the Fukushima Prefecture Tourism and Local Products Association.
Yoshioka shared that the organisation plugs the prefecture’s samurai history, onsen, fruit, scenery and seasonal highlights as part of overseas promotion. Information on the destination is also shared online.
“Getting the message across can be difficult,” he admitted. “We have found that the best way to overcome worries about safety is to ensure that up-to-date and accurate information is accessible and then to share that information as widely as possible.”
Travel operators concur that visitor numbers have bounced back strongly.
Paul Christie, CEO of Walk Japan, said the company’s walking tour in the footsteps of famous poet Basho in Tohoku are “selling very well – so well, in fact, that they are sold out months in advance.”
“We have found that whatever problems happened in Fukushima seven years ago are no longer in the forefront of people’s minds,” he said. “I have been quite surprised, but it is really not an issue for the vast majority of people.”
At Nippon Travel Agency, Kaho Mori, assistant manager of the inbound division, observed: “There is interest in Fukushima Prefecture as part of our tours of the Tohoku region. We are getting a lot of interest in that part of the country from visitors from North America, although less from European countries.”
Love is in the air on The Riviera in Malacca with the launch of Love Harbour Melaka, an integrated attraction taking in hotels, wedding planning services and retailers.
Positioned as the first love-themed harbour in Malaysia, the development offers wedding planning services and a “cross-century love theme” pavilion. It also houses business including boutique hotels, F&B establishments and various retailers including bridal shops and other specialty shops.
New harbour-side attraction beckons lovebirds to Malacca
Construction on the development began in 2015, a collaboration between Mythas Legacy, a Malaysian-based property management and tourist attraction development company, and First Avenue Partners (Asia).
Apart from local visitors, the developers expect the attraction to also attract lovebirds from overseas.
“The new harbour will be one of the major draw-cards to what is already an outstanding tourism destination,” said Mythas Legacy’s CEO, Hedki Heng.
He targets 1.6 million tourist visitors annually, and revenues of RM32 million (US$8.2 million) in the first year, RM48 million the next, and RM72 million in the third year.
While a statement from the developer touts a new “game-changer” that promises to “turn the tide for tourism”, Mythas Legacy is still on the lookout for more tenants.
“We are seeking more tenants and businesses from various fields such as F&B, bridal shops, wellness establishments, home decorations, etc. We target relevant tenants and businesses that can add more value to the growth of Love Harbour Melaka,” Heng said.
The two-hectare attraction has 100 tenant units, and a further RM15 million is planned to be invested to promote the area.
A travel agent was gifted with a car at the Sabre & Malaysia Airlines Gala Dinner last week, an event celebrating Sabre’s over 20-year partnership with the Malaysian national carrier while rewarding the contribution of top agents across the country.
“From the time when Malaysia Airlines was a founding shareholder of Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific (formerly known as Abacus) to today, Malaysia Airlines and Sabre have built a strong, strategic partnership based on a common vision, and by working together to provide the best services to agencies and travellers in a competitive and evolving market,” said Jorge Vilches, senior vice president, air line of business, Sabre Travel Network.
The gala also marked the culmination of a agency reward programme called the 2017 MAB & Sabre Awesome 10-Month promotion, which kicked off in March 2017 and generated “significant business growth” for Malaysia Airlines on the Sabre platform.
During the event, which brought together 250 industry stakeholders, Sabre agents with the most ticketed bookings for Malaysia Airlines were rewarded with prizes, with the top agent bringing home the grand prize, a Nissan Grand Livina.
Additionally, Sabre is pursuing new projects with Malaysia Airlines and is the first to launch Malaysia Airlines Government Travel Services this year. This service will accelerate the digitisation of the booking experience for government official travel on Malaysia Airlines through the Sabre platform.
Hyatt Hotels and Tianfu Minyoun Hospitality have partnered to bring 50 Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels to China, with franchise agreements for the first three hotels under the agreement already signed.
Under the strategic development agreement, Tianfu Minyoun will develop the 50 hotels in cooperation with Chinese investors over the next five years, the first three being Hyatt Place Nanchong Gaoping, Hyatt Place Changchun Jingyue and Hyatt House Changchun Jingyue.
More Hyatt-branded properties will be opening in China over the next few years
The Chinese hospitality company will operate and manage the three hotels.
Additionally, Tianfu Minyoun is planning to develop hotels under The Unbound Collection by Hyatt and Hyatt Centric brands in “unique and attractive” destinations across China.
President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said: “Hyatt continues to seek innovative ways to build a diversified brand portfolio by collaborating with owners and developers who share our values and our commitment to expanding our brand growth in a country with such significant growth potential.”
Tianfu Minyoun is the first authorised third-party management company for franchised Hyatt hotels in China, distinct from exclusive franchise and brand agency models, added Hyatt’s Asia Pacific group president David Udell.
Testament to the capacity of the partnership, Tianfu Minyoun has secured a credit line of RMB30 billion (US$4.7 billion) from Sinhuan Tianfu Bank, which would go towards the construction and renovation loans for hotel owners of the projects contemplated by the strategic development agreement.
Tianfu Minyoun has also teamed up with Road King Investment Group to establish a RMB10 billion industrial fund to support the agreement.
Luxury hospitality company Rosewood Hotel Group has appointed Noel Merainer as vice president – development, Asia-Pacific to lead the group’s expansion in the region.
In his new role, he will be responsible for the development of the company’s four distinct brands, including ultra-luxury Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, deluxe New World Hotels & Resorts, neighbourhood lifestyle pentahotels, and the newly launched business and lifestyle hotel brand KHOS.
Merainer has 17 years of experience in the hospitality sector, having held various positions at Marriott International for eight years including vice president, development planning and feasibility for Asia-Pacific. He was also regional director of revenue management at Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, following six years in operations with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.
