TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Saturday, 27th December 2025
Page 1516

Club Med out of Dong’ao, China before time’s up

0
Club Med undeterred from opening in China

Club Med has ceased operations of its first beach resort in China, Club Med Dong’ao Island since June 1, 2017.

Set on an island neighbouring Hong Kong and Macau, the property owned by China’s GREE Group had originally opened under the Club Med brand – with the 5T (Tridents) luxury section launched in 2014 followed by the 4T premium section in June 2015.

Club Med undeterred from opening in China

Sebastien Portes, ‎general manager Hong Kong & Macau at Club Med, told TTG Asia that both Club Med and the owner had agreed on the outcome after “friendly negotiations”, citing strategy and business adjustments from both parties as factors.

“Club Med re-evaluates its portfolio every year (and) we are not at the level expected,” he added.“Unexpected extra costs and access difficulties to the resort by ferries made it impossible for Club Med to manage this resort in (accordance) with its quality standards.”

Local partners and agents were informed of Club Med’s decision prior to the closure. Guests who had bookings were compensated and/or offered stay in other Club Med resorts.

The hotel’s ‘Gentil Organisateurs’ (ambassadors and hospitality staff) were relocated to other Club Med resorts, and local staff remained in Dong’ao as per GREE’s new management direction.

While all Club Med intellectual property were removed and Club Med’s unique business model discontinued, resort hardware has remained.

Contrary to Club Med’s account on the mutual agreement to separate, industry sources claimed otherwise.

Shenzhen-based Shangpin Tours (Southern Region), general manager, Jason Liang, said: “It’s typical to see owners end management contract and take the operation back after experiencing stable and lucrative growth. Frankly, weekend getaways have been so popular in China and demand is always there for holiday resorts.”

Hong Kong-based Lotus Tours’ general manager and chief distribution officer, Keller Mak, observed similarly that the Club Med product had done well in the mainland market, but pointed out that it was not the case in Hong Kong.

She, too, was unsurprised by the premature termination of Club Med’s management contract. “If they don’t feel ready to do it on their own, they will ask for professional management. However, once they have learnt the ropes, they’d do it by themselves,” Mak said, adding that Club Med’s international Gentil Organisateur experience was what set the resort apart from the others.

Mak said she would wait and see what the Dong’ao premise can offer before putting the product back on the agency shelves.

Guangzhou-based GZL International Conference and Exhibition Services, project director, Landy Leung, would still recommend the product to clients – but noted that her clients trust international hotel brands.

Portes reiterated the closure of Club Med Dong’ao island does not affect growth plans in China and Asia. In China, it will open three new resorts under Club Med Joyview in January 2018 – namely in Golden Beach, Qinghuangdao; Great Wall; and Anji (near Hangzhou).

Short-term rental start-up brings home US$3m in seed funds

0

GuestReady, a PropTech startup in the urban short-term rental management space, has closed US$3 million in seed funding and will be acquiring Easy Rental Services, a former competitor in London and Paris.

Currently operating in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, the startup says it plans to utilise the seed funds to expand to five more cities by summer 2018.

Developing an improved product

Beyond geographical expansion, GuestReady is also planning a move further into the B2B space by building a product backend to automate and streamline property management tasks.

The funding round was led by Impulse VC, with participation from Xponova and Boost Heroes, the venture capital firm led by Fabio Cannavale, founder of the Lastminute Group, among others. Existing investors including Swiss Founders Fund and Senn & Partners also renewed their investments.

Since its launch in August 2016, GuestReady has acquired a portfolio of about 600 apartments and welcomed over 20,000 travellers from over 120 countries into their apartments. Initially an on-demand platform for activities like cleaning, GuestReady now focuses exclusively on fully managed properties that they advertise on short-let platforms like Airbnb, HomeAway, and Booking, among others.

The company has been focusing on developing a product that provides the property owners full visibility and control over the calendars and financials of their properties. It syncs real time with sales-side platforms like Airbnb, and provides a lean logistical setup that allows it to minimise the turnaround time between guests.

Aviation roundup: Air China, Scoot, and Hainan Airlines

0

Air China to launch inaugural LA-Shenzhen route

Air China will launch thrice-weekly services connecting Los Angeles to Shenzhen starting December 7.

Operated with a Boeing 787-9, flight CA769 will depart Shenzhen on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 23:30 and arrive in Los Angeles at 20:00. Flight CA770 leaves Los Angeles at 22:50 those same days, for arrival in Shenzhen at 05.40 two days later.

This will be the first direct flight between the two cities.


Scoot to launch Palembang flights, up Bali frequency

Scoot has launched ticket sales for its four-times-weekly services between Singapore and Palembang, which will commence on November 23.

To be operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, flight TR250 departs Singapore at 15.00 on Tuesdays and Sundays to arrive in Palembang at 15.10. On Thursdays and Saturdays, it departs Singapore at 10.30 and 11.05 respectively, for arrival in Palembang at 10.40 and 11.15.

TR251 returns from Palembang at 15.50 on Tuesdays and Sundays, arriving in Singapore at 18.15. On Thursdays and Saturdays, it departs Palembang at 11.20 and 11.55 respectively, for arrival back in Singapore at 13.30 and 14.25.

On the same date of the route’s launch, Scoot will add a third daily service between Denpasar and Singapore, served by an Airbus A320 aircraft. TR284 will depart Singapore at 10.30 for arrival in Dempasar at 13.20. On the return, TR285 leaves Denpasar at 14.05 and arrives in Singapore at 17.00.


Hainan Airlines links NYC with Western China

Hainan Airlines has introduced two new routes between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Chongqing.

Services to Chongqing commenced on October 21, and flights to New York from Chengdu will begin on October 27. Each route will be operated twice weekly.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, flights from Chongqing to New York depart at 22.00, and will land at 00.50 the following day. The return flight, occurring on Thursdays and Saturdays, will depart New York at 02.50 and arrive in Chongqing at 05.55 the following day.

Flights will depart Chengdu at 22.00 on Thursdays and Saturdays, and will arrive in New York at 00.50 the following day. The return leg will see flights depart New York at 02.50 and arrive in Chengdu at at 05.55 the following day on Fridays and Sundays.

[Sponsored Post] JW Marriott Hotel Macau

0

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites, and 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings.

Situated within Galaxy Macau – one of the world’s most spectacular entertainment and leisure destinations – JW Marriott Hotel Macau is redefining the standard of meetings in Asia. The dazzling array of state-of-the-art meeting facilities in these hotels allow you to unleash endless possibilities at your next event, be it an imaginative team-building adventure or a stylish high-profile launch – our hotel let you dictate a bespoke experience where the only limit is your imagination.

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites exquisitely styled and furnished, as well as 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott and the brand’s flagship property in Macau. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms on the 2nd floor provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings or breakout sessions.

JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s ballrooms are equipped with the latest high-tech facilities to ensure that your conference or social gathering is a success. With our audio and visual equipment, operators can coordinate a flawless event without the hassle. For example, at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom lighting, colors and other stage effects can be controlled effortlessly and seamlessly with just a click on an iPad.

 

A medium-scale company planned to organize a team-building activity at the Grand Resort Deck. Due to unexpected bad weather on the day, our MICE team quickly organized an indoor treasure hunt team-building activity in the hotel to accommodate the sudden change.

A corporate training session was hosted in the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom by an international top tier technology brand. To ensure their displayed products were well cared for when the clients were away from the exhibition, our teams carefully locked away the products and stationed our hotel staff to ensure no one could enter the venue during the break time.

One of the world’s most valuable luxury brands organized a meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Ballroom for 200 internal staff. In order to perfectly pair the event with their luxurious brand image, our MICE team carved all the guests’ names on a rectangular-shape cake, with our gourmet expertise.

Although fireworks are generally not allowed in Macau, our MICE team struck out to meet the exceptional needs of our clients and successfully received a fireworks permit from the Macau government.

We specialize in business events of all sizes, with adaptable venues and state-of-the-art facilities. Delicious catering, from coffee breaks to elaborate sit-down meals can be offered to your meeting guests. Start planning your meeting or event with us by contacting our MICE team at (853) 8886 6888 or mhrs.mfmjw.sales@marriott.com

[Sponsored Post] JW Marriott Hotel Macau

0

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites, and 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings.

Situated within Galaxy Macau – one of the world’s most spectacular entertainment and leisure destinations – JW Marriott Hotel Macau is redefining the standard of meetings in Asia. The dazzling array of state-of-the-art meeting facilities in these hotels allow you to unleash endless possibilities at your next event, be it an imaginative team-building adventure or a stylish high-profile launch – our hotel let you dictate a bespoke experience where the only limit is your imagination.

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites exquisitely styled and furnished, as well as 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott and the brand’s flagship property in Macau. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms on the 2nd floor provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings or breakout sessions.

JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s ballrooms are equipped with the latest high-tech facilities to ensure that your conference or social gathering is a success. With our audio and visual equipment, operators can coordinate a flawless event without the hassle. For example, at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom lighting, colors and other stage effects can be controlled effortlessly and seamlessly with just a click on an iPad.

 

A medium-scale company planned to organize a team-building activity at the Grand Resort Deck. Due to unexpected bad weather on the day, our MICE team quickly organized an indoor treasure hunt team-building activity in the hotel to accommodate the sudden change.

A corporate training session was hosted in the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom by an international top tier technology brand. To ensure their displayed products were well cared for when the clients were away from the exhibition, our teams carefully locked away the products and stationed our hotel staff to ensure no one could enter the venue during the break time.

One of the world’s most valuable luxury brands organized a meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Ballroom for 200 internal staff. In order to perfectly pair the event with their luxurious brand image, our MICE team carved all the guests’ names on a rectangular-shape cake, with our gourmet expertise.

Although fireworks are generally not allowed in Macau, our MICE team struck out to meet the exceptional needs of our clients and successfully received a fireworks permit from the Macau government.

We specialize in business events of all sizes, with adaptable venues and state-of-the-art facilities. Delicious catering, from coffee breaks to elaborate sit-down meals can be offered to your meeting guests. Start planning your meeting or event with us by contacting our MICE team at (853) 8886 6888 or mhrs.mfmjw.sales@marriott.com

[Sponsored Post] JW Marriott Hotel Macau

0

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites, and 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings.

Situated within Galaxy Macau – one of the world’s most spectacular entertainment and leisure destinations – JW Marriott Hotel Macau is redefining the standard of meetings in Asia. The dazzling array of state-of-the-art meeting facilities in these hotels allow you to unleash endless possibilities at your next event, be it an imaginative team-building adventure or a stylish high-profile launch – our hotel let you dictate a bespoke experience where the only limit is your imagination.

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites exquisitely styled and furnished, as well as 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott and the brand’s flagship property in Macau. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms on the 2nd floor provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings or breakout sessions.

JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s ballrooms are equipped with the latest high-tech facilities to ensure that your conference or social gathering is a success. With our audio and visual equipment, operators can coordinate a flawless event without the hassle. For example, at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom lighting, colors and other stage effects can be controlled effortlessly and seamlessly with just a click on an iPad.

 

A medium-scale company planned to organize a team-building activity at the Grand Resort Deck. Due to unexpected bad weather on the day, our MICE team quickly organized an indoor treasure hunt team-building activity in the hotel to accommodate the sudden change.

A corporate training session was hosted in the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom by an international top tier technology brand. To ensure their displayed products were well cared for when the clients were away from the exhibition, our teams carefully locked away the products and stationed our hotel staff to ensure no one could enter the venue during the break time.

One of the world’s most valuable luxury brands organized a meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Ballroom for 200 internal staff. In order to perfectly pair the event with their luxurious brand image, our MICE team carved all the guests’ names on a rectangular-shape cake, with our gourmet expertise.

Although fireworks are generally not allowed in Macau, our MICE team struck out to meet the exceptional needs of our clients and successfully received a fireworks permit from the Macau government.

We specialize in business events of all sizes, with adaptable venues and state-of-the-art facilities. Delicious catering, from coffee breaks to elaborate sit-down meals can be offered to your meeting guests. Start planning your meeting or event with us by contacting our MICE team at (853) 8886 6888 or mhrs.mfmjw.sales@marriott.com

[Sponsored Post] JW Marriott Hotel Macau

0

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites, and 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings.

Situated within Galaxy Macau – one of the world’s most spectacular entertainment and leisure destinations – JW Marriott Hotel Macau is redefining the standard of meetings in Asia. The dazzling array of state-of-the-art meeting facilities in these hotels allow you to unleash endless possibilities at your next event, be it an imaginative team-building adventure or a stylish high-profile launch – our hotel let you dictate a bespoke experience where the only limit is your imagination.

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites exquisitely styled and furnished, as well as 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott and the brand’s flagship property in Macau. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms on the 2nd floor provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings or breakout sessions.

JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s ballrooms are equipped with the latest high-tech facilities to ensure that your conference or social gathering is a success. With our audio and visual equipment, operators can coordinate a flawless event without the hassle. For example, at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom lighting, colors and other stage effects can be controlled effortlessly and seamlessly with just a click on an iPad.

 

A medium-scale company planned to organize a team-building activity at the Grand Resort Deck. Due to unexpected bad weather on the day, our MICE team quickly organized an indoor treasure hunt team-building activity in the hotel to accommodate the sudden change.

A corporate training session was hosted in the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom by an international top tier technology brand. To ensure their displayed products were well cared for when the clients were away from the exhibition, our teams carefully locked away the products and stationed our hotel staff to ensure no one could enter the venue during the break time.

One of the world’s most valuable luxury brands organized a meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Ballroom for 200 internal staff. In order to perfectly pair the event with their luxurious brand image, our MICE team carved all the guests’ names on a rectangular-shape cake, with our gourmet expertise.

Although fireworks are generally not allowed in Macau, our MICE team struck out to meet the exceptional needs of our clients and successfully received a fireworks permit from the Macau government.

We specialize in business events of all sizes, with adaptable venues and state-of-the-art facilities. Delicious catering, from coffee breaks to elaborate sit-down meals can be offered to your meeting guests. Start planning your meeting or event with us by contacting our MICE team at (853) 8886 6888 or mhrs.mfmjw.sales@marriott.com

[Sponsored Post] JW Marriott Hotel Macau

0

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites, and 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings.

Situated within Galaxy Macau – one of the world’s most spectacular entertainment and leisure destinations – JW Marriott Hotel Macau is redefining the standard of meetings in Asia. The dazzling array of state-of-the-art meeting facilities in these hotels allow you to unleash endless possibilities at your next event, be it an imaginative team-building adventure or a stylish high-profile launch – our hotel let you dictate a bespoke experience where the only limit is your imagination.

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites exquisitely styled and furnished, as well as 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott and the brand’s flagship property in Macau. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms on the 2nd floor provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings or breakout sessions.

JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s ballrooms are equipped with the latest high-tech facilities to ensure that your conference or social gathering is a success. With our audio and visual equipment, operators can coordinate a flawless event without the hassle. For example, at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom lighting, colors and other stage effects can be controlled effortlessly and seamlessly with just a click on an iPad.

 

A medium-scale company planned to organize a team-building activity at the Grand Resort Deck. Due to unexpected bad weather on the day, our MICE team quickly organized an indoor treasure hunt team-building activity in the hotel to accommodate the sudden change.

A corporate training session was hosted in the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom by an international top tier technology brand. To ensure their displayed products were well cared for when the clients were away from the exhibition, our teams carefully locked away the products and stationed our hotel staff to ensure no one could enter the venue during the break time.

One of the world’s most valuable luxury brands organized a meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Ballroom for 200 internal staff. In order to perfectly pair the event with their luxurious brand image, our MICE team carved all the guests’ names on a rectangular-shape cake, with our gourmet expertise.

Although fireworks are generally not allowed in Macau, our MICE team struck out to meet the exceptional needs of our clients and successfully received a fireworks permit from the Macau government.

We specialize in business events of all sizes, with adaptable venues and state-of-the-art facilities. Delicious catering, from coffee breaks to elaborate sit-down meals can be offered to your meeting guests. Start planning your meeting or event with us by contacting our MICE team at (853) 8886 6888 or mhrs.mfmjw.sales@marriott.com

Booking.com shows greater love for tourism start-ups

0
Gybels: pushing forward 'great startups' that lack resources

Booking.com is turning its attention to mentoring start-ups at that are at seed level with Booster Lab, an offshoot from its Booster programme launched in June which saw three Asian start-ups, Authenticook, LocalAlike and Backstreet Academy as among finalists receiving no-strings-attached grants from Booking.com to scale up their businesses.

Booster Lab not only focuses on start-ups that bring local and/or marginalised communities into tourism, but makes a deliberate attempt to support those that have the potential to alleviate overcrowding, an issue that has created resentment and anti-tourism in some destinations.

Gybels: pushing forward ‘great startups’ that lack resources

Fittingly, the first Booster Lab will be held in Barcelona, Spain this December, covering start-ups in Europe, and is slated to run globally, including in Asia-Pacific, throughout 2018. It features a regionally-focused weekend programme of workshops, mentoring plus a chance to pitch for growth-hacking grants of up to 25,000 euros (US$29,396).

In an interview with TTG Asia, Marianne Gybels, manager Booking Cares who leads the development of Booster, said one of the major learnings from Booster was that many of the 700 applicants were “great start-ups with amazing ideas but are still at seed level – no staff, do not make revenue – and so didn’t fit our Booster which are for start-ups that are ready to scale”.

“We want to push them forward,” she said.

When asked what sort of solutions Booking.com was looking for in alleviating overtourism, Gybels said: “We have a team called Destinations Unlock to look at these start-ups. For example, there are many beautiful destinations in the world, yet we tend to concentrate on the same areas. A new destination can be a city within a city. For example, in Amsterdam city, there are so many beautiful surroundings that are waiting to be unlocked. Showing different sides to a destination (can) help spread tourism to more areas.”

Booster Lab has 265 applications from Europe and will be selecting 15 start-ups soon.
The grants of up to 25,000 euros each are much smaller than Booster grants. Singapore’s Backstreet Academy, for instance, received this year’s top Booster grant of 400,000 euros that it asked for, while Thailand’s LocalAlike got 300,000 euros.

One reason is, as Booster Labsstart-ups are at seed level and have not made any business investment, the risk of them just walking away after receiving a grant is real.
Gybels said the grants “truly have no strings attached” and are meant to ease the “struggle these start-ups go through”.

“We want to show our commitment to them and are happy to share our knowledge and expertise in helping them scale.”

Find out how Asian start-ups are using the grants in tomorrow’s TTG Asia e-Daily.

  • reporting live from ITB Asia

WTTC’s first city-level study shows fastest growing cities are in Asia

0
Six of 10 fastest growing cities are in China; Chongqing in (pictured) in top spot

WTTC has produced its first study that looks at the economic and employment impact of travel and tourism on cities, and found that the top 10 fastest growing cities are all in Asia.

The research looks at 65 global cities, chosen for being tops for arrivals and visitor spend, of which 21 are in Asia-Pacific.

Six of 10 fastest growing cities are in China; Chongqing in (pictured) in top spot

Rising prosperity across the region is fuelling increased travel demand, and investment in transport and hotel infrastructure, the report indicated. As well, government policies that facilitate the ease of borders crossings have helped to boost travel and tourism connectivity across the region.

Notably, the study revealed that the world’s top 10 fastest growing cities are in Asia, and projected that the region’s cities will continue to be at the forefront of tourism growth over the next decade.

Chinese cities took the top five spots, with Chongqing in pole position with a 14 per cent growth per year. It is followed by Guangzhou (13.1 per cent), Shanghai (12.8 per cent), Beijing (12 per cent) and Chengdu (11.2 per cent).

The remaining cities are Manila (10.9 per cent), Delhi (10.8 per cent), Shenzhen (10.7 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (10.1 per cent) and Jakarta (10 per cent).

In general, Asia-Pacific records almost six per cent of annual growth – 50 per cent more than the world average of four per cent.

Gloria Guevara, president & CEO, WTTC, said: “The power of Asian cities when it comes to driving the travel and tourism sector is clear to see in this new data.

“With this level of forecast growth, the importance of investment in long-term planning, infrastructure and sustainable public policies cannot be underestimated. It is vital that city authorities understand the economic impact of travel and tourism, GDP and employment contribution, and not just visitor arrivals, as they seek to develop new products and opportunities to increase traveller spend and sustainable growth.”

Other highlights from the report include the doubling of Singapore’s travel and tourism contribution in the past 10 years to US$12.4 billion in 2016 and supporting 164,000 jobs; and Macau coming up as the most tourism intensive city in Asia-Pacific with 27 per cent of the economy a direct result of tourism spend.

  • reporting live from ITB Asia