TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Tuesday, 30th December 2025
Sister Publications
TTG Asia TTGmice TTG India TTGssociations TTG Asia Luxury
TTG Asia | JAL steps up sustainable aviation efforts
TTG Asia | Productivity in tourism economy takes centre stage at 11th GTEF
TTG Asia | Hilton appoints Marco Neukom to lead dual Bali hotels
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Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi likely new chief at Uber

By TTG Asia
0
No word on who might be succeeding Khosrowshahi (pictured) at Expedia

Uber’s search for a new chief may finally come to a close with Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi reportedly chosen for the role, although the company has made no official announcement.

The chief executive post at the ride-hailing company was left empty after co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned in June under investor pressure. Other candidates in consideration for the job were Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Meg Whitman and General Electric’s Jeffrey Immelt, according to CNBC.

No word on who might be succeeding Khosrowshahi (pictured) at Expedia

Kalanick still holds a seat in the board, 10 per cent of stock and 16 per cent of voting rights.

Meanwhile, Khosrowshahi has been at the helm of Expedia since 2005, growing the online travel company’s annual revenue from US$2.1 billion to US$8.7 billion in 2016 through expanding considerably into new geographical markets and verticals, Tech Crunch wrote.

Opposition to tourism tax not letting up in Malaysia

By S Puvaneswary
0
Shaharuddin expects there will initially be some guests who will refuse to pay the tax

In Malaysia, the unpopular tourism tax will be enforced nationwide on September 1 but grievances continue to pour in from local hoteliers and agents.

Among them, any tourist who checks in early or checks out late at hotels from September 1 will be made to pay a tourism tax of RM10 (US$2.34) for the extension, on top of the RM10 tax per room, per night.

Shaharuddin expects there will initially be some guests who will refuse to pay the tax

“It is unfair but hotels have no choice but to charge because we have no letter in black and white from the government telling the hotels otherwise. If we don’t charge the guest, the hotel will have to pay the tax for the guest,” revealed Shaharuddin Saaid, Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (MAHO) executive director.

Guests who receive complimentary rooms from hotels will also have to pay the tourism tax.

Other issues brought up at the meeting last week with Royal Malaysian Customs Department, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture include whether budget accommodation operators with dormitories of four to six beds are going to charge guests.

Shaharuddin challenged: “Do you charge only one person, or every guest in the room? Also with such budget accommodation where the room rates are as low as RM100, the tourism tax of RM10 per room per night is more than the Goods and Services Tax (GST) of six per cent. This is unfair!”

He had also expected a certain amount of confusion in the early days of implementation. He said: “Tourists may argue with hotels and refuse to pay. We will then be made responsible and pay on their behalf. The government had also not given enough time for hotels to upgrade their accounting systems to facilitate the collection of the tourism tax. The GST should not be charged on the tourism tax but if the systems have not been upgraded properly, this may show.”

He opined that the tax will also have an impact on long stay guests such as corporate clients. The association had proposed a cap on the number of days the tax can be applied to, regardless of the number of days the guest is staying.

“We have also stressed to the authorities in our last meeting that starting the tourism tax on September 1 gives unlicensed accommodation operators in the country an unfair advantage as they have not been registered with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to collect the taxes. There are more than 8,000 of them listed on accommodation portals like Booking.com and Airbnb website.”

Moreover, the exemption for clients of agencies that have signed contracts with overseas partners for the current contracting period until March 31, 2018 will not be implemented without an official letter from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

Nanda Kumar, managing director of Hidden Asia Travel & Tours, said the agency still has to pay over RM120,000 in tourism tax to hotels for advance bookings made before the tax was introduced.

Update
The Royal Malaysian Customs Department issued a circular on August 29 stating:

– no tourism tax will be levied on early check-in and late check-out so long as no room charges are imposed. However, complimentary stays offered by an operator to a tourist will still be subject to the tax;

– in cases where more than one tourist is staying in the same accommodation at the same time, e.g. dormitory arrangement, and the tourism tax for that accommodation has been paid by any one of the tourists, the other tourists are not liable to pay tourism tax for that accommodation.

For Kosmopolitan Hospitality, a less-is-more approach to owner management

By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena
0
De Souza: managing ambition of younger owners

As a young hotel management company, ‘less is more’ is a strategy that Bangkok-based Kosmopolitan Hospitality abides by when it comes to cultivating relationships with hotel owners.

Established in 2015 by CEO Glenn de Souza – formerly Best Western International’s head honcho in the region – the firm was selected by Wyndham Hotel Group (WHG) to be its preferred development partner in Asia. The alliance has so far seen the launch of six hotels and 761 rooms under WHG in the region since the deal was inked two years ago.

De Souza: managing ambition of younger owners

“Our company philosophy is to work with less owners than more owners. We want to go for one hotel with one owner, then go to the second, the third and so on,” said de Souza. “Delivery of the bottomline to the owner of the hotel we manage is critical, because the bottomline is where they can generate additional properties for us as well.”

While relationships remain the core to its business, an interesting challenge that has arisen is the increasingly younger profile of hotel owners in South-east Asia.

“Owners are much younger and demanding, averaging around 20 to 35 years old, and they have drastically changed the hotel scene (from) 20, 30 years ago,” said de Souza. “Most of them are using or have inherited the money from their parents, and we have to teach them about the hotel business.”

Managing owners’ ambitions and earning their trust is hence important, he pointed out, especially when some of them are eager to build five-star properties for the prestige factor without fully understanding the requirements and investment needed for high-end hotels.

“Our business is run from the business to economy class – that’s where the success is. F&B business is diminishing and outsourced; rooms is where you make 80 per cent of the profit and three- and four-star segments is where you make the most money,” de Souza explained.

But when it comes to the hotel development, Kosmopolitan Hospitality’s ambitions is anything but small as it targets 50 hotels under WHG’s brands in the next five years. Under construction over the next two years are another 10 WHG hotels spanning 1,960 keys, with six of them in Thailand, three in Myanmar and one in Christchurch.

Ramada is the “easiest sell” among the WHG brands, de Souza told TTG Asia, due to the brand’s good visibility and lower investment costs in the region. While Howard Johnson boasts prominence in North Asia, Kosmopolitan Hospitality is currently in talks with several owners to bring this brand into South-east Asia.

When asked which are the growth spots in the South-east Asia hotel sector, he said: “Thailand is a mature tourism industry but still have growth. Emerging markets like Myanmar and Vietnam, like Halong, Phu Quoc and Hoi An for the latter, are still new to international brands.”

However, the problem of finding “good manpower” remains a perennial challenge across South-east Asia, which is exacerabated with the opening of more hotels in the region, he added.

[SPONSORED POST] 12 Advantages Of Revenue Management Technology

By TTG Asia
0

Hotels invest big in their revenue management software. These significant investments mean it’s extremely important to recognize that revenue management technology brings unrivaled advantages to a hotel’s business.

Below are 12 advantages provided by today’s best-in-class revenue management systems:

1.    The Dashboard

Today’s best-in-class revenue management systems (RMS) display data in a dashboard format to provide quick insight into historical and future business performance. The dashboard gives key data to confidently check the hotel’s health and help drive revenue decisions.

Think of the dashboard as the general command center for the system. The dashboard gives users a central location to view their data at quick, high levels – and displays it in different summaries and breakdowns to help them decipher large volumes of data and key performance metrics.

The dashboard may include calendar views with heat maps that visually identify upcoming dates with high or low occupancy levels. This makes it easy to spot any date ranges that need extra attention or investigation with a quick glance. General managers can benefit from checking here for daily occupancy checks and sales managers often reference this in conjunction with incoming group accommodation requests.

Interactive and adjustable graphs and charts allow users to ‘slice and dice’ data to compare the elements that are the most important to them. This type of customization allows users to quickly drill down into their data to analyze the performance metrics that are critical in that moment.

It also equips core members of hotel operational teams with key revenue management insights to integrate revenue management strategies into their own processes.

2. On-Demand Performance Support

With technology systems continually improving, redesigning and updating workflows, it’s becoming increasingly challenging for users to keep up with all of the “newness.” In fact, the time an employee spends trying to navigate and learn new technology negatively cuts into their overall productivity on the job.

Performance support has become critical in boosting the performance of revenue managers. To address lag times from starting a role to fulfilling a role’s responsibilities effectively, many hoteliers are turning to advanced hospitality learning technologies to drive change in their strategies.

Automated technologies focus on improving both system and employee interactions. These new technologies push information to users at the moment they need to perform an unfamiliar task. With near real-time access to information, these sophisticated learning platforms transition away from teaching employees system specifics – focusing, instead, on training them how to process information and solve business problems.

Performance support technology has long advanced past the point of providing handouts with screenshots and procedural steps. The best learning platforms now incorporate gamification, serve employees with real situations to work through and give the ability to practice solving these problems. This helps hotels retain and train their employees, which are both huge advantages in a high turnover industry such as hospitality.

3. Experienced Client Support Teams

Successful hotels connect with their guests on meaningful levels, with designated hotel experts interacting with visitors at various touch points during their stay. The valet team greets guests upon arrival, the front desk staff checks them into their rooms, the restaurant crew serves food and keeps drinks filled, and housekeeping safeguards a clean and comfortable stay. These touch points are designed to make guests feel welcome, satisfied and confident in their decision to stay at the hotel. And in a social world bursting with big data, guests – and their satisfaction – are the hotel’s ultimate livelihood.

Partnerships with solution providers are extremely similar, with touch points ranging from the initial sales discussions to ongoing system usage. Top revenue management solution providers know the important role that trusted client support plays in revenue solution performance. They provide clients with experienced support teams that guide, encourage and cheer users on as they tackle and elevate their revenue performance.

Experienced account managers guide clients through solutions that fit best with their revenue needs and budgets, project managers provide smooth implementation periods, and ongoing client support teams engage in proactive conversations that make them feel confident in their system abilities – cheered on by a champion for long-term revenue success.

4. Remote Accessibility

From online shopping to personal banking to ordering take-out, mobile devices have pretty much supplanted desktop PCs for virtually any available online service. This need for mobility has extended into the expectations of hoteliers and their systems.

Top revenue management solution providers recognize the advantages that remote accessibility provides clients, with cloud-based tools allowing clients to utilize their systems on-the-go and out of the office. Software as a Service (SaaS) products help reduce expensive onsite equipment costs and pricey software upgrades that typically plague clients. Reduced expenses also broadens the range of services that are available to clients. Without out all the costly extras, clients now have access to services that may have previously been out of their budgetary reach.

Mobile revenue systems that are available for smart devices also allow decision makers to make critical decisions on-the-go from their phone at any time and any place. From GMs checking occupancy in the hotel lobby to revenue managers reviewing metrics before a last minute meeting, the accessibility provided by mobile apps is an advantage everyone can appreciate.

5. Online Reputation Insights

The rise of online social platforms have given hotel guests an immediate (and bigger) voice with the hotels and services that they are buying from, and that voice has the potential to directly impact an organization’s bottom line. Every good or bad hotel review can be found immediately online – and reaches innumerable prospective customers. This undoubtedly has had a significant impact on the role of guest reviews and how hotel reputations are being factored into today’s revenue management decisions.

Hoteliers can utilize their RMS to evaluate opportunities to influence purchases at the point of decision making and identify their opportunities to increase guest satisfaction. Reputation evaluations also allow hotels to leverage their reputation in meaningful ways – whether it’s a pricing-related change or an operational advantage.

Graphical displays provided by the RMS help hoteliers visualize their market position in both rate and reputation. This visualization arms them with additional insights and data to measure the impacts of their online reputation performance. The correlation between a hotel’s rate and reputation helps hoteliers identify new pricing opportunities, especially when there are visible changes in relative trends of rate and reputation.

6. Optimal Pricing

Revenue managers across the globe spend large portions of their days managing rates. They are constantly lowering, raising, and analyzing their hotel’s pricing. With the hotel’s bottom line depend- ing heavily on the revenue generated from proper pricing strategies, simply managing rates without looking at the whole picture can unfortunately become a quick go-to scenario.

Best-in-class revenue management solutions understand the critical need for optimal pricing strategies after all, the hotel’s livelihood depends on it. And with constant increase in market pressures and channel complexity, it is easy to miss the ongoing importance of valuing inventory and using availability controls. When pricing is managed independent of availability controls, the pricing decisions aren’t actually optimal – meaning that revenue is likely being lost.

Revenue management systems that optimize both pricing and availability allow hotels to outperform their competitors that are restricting themselves to managing pricing alone.

7. Group Business Management

The group pricing capabilities of advanced revenue management systems go well beyond the limited functionalities of other revenue systems, and they give sales managers the insights they need to capture the most profitable group business. Group displacement evaluations allow sales managers to weigh potential group business across multiple dates, understanding the financial impacts of accepting a group over periods of high or low transient demand. This allows the sales manager to identify if accepting a potential group will make the hotel money, or if it will end up costing the hotel money to take the business.

Strong RMS group pricing modules provide far more than forecast comparisons; these powerful evaluations consider and assess group costs and commissions, conference and banqueting, ancillary spend and profits, group rates and displaced transient revenue. Their reports and graphs give sales managers the confidence to recommend the best rate by arrival date and intelligently consult with flexible groups on optimal date ranges. They also provide granular insights on displacement revenue and additional revenue streams, profit margins and profit per room night in “real-time.”

These are some of the high-powered tools giving sales managers the confidence and insights they need to make profitable group rate recommendations quickly and accurately. And in today’s extremely competitive markets, increased guest response times and services are fundamental to a hotel’s success.

8. A Magic 8 Ball

If the ‘sport’ of revenue management was similar to the sport of golf, mulligans would come up clutch for today’s revenue managers. Unfortunately, in the game of real life, real money is left on the table if a revenue manager acts on a gut feeling that doesn’t pan out the way that they originally thought.

Today’s leading revenue management systems provide predictive analytics that allow revenue managers to truly understand the impacts of their hunches before setting them in motion. Scenario analysis capabilities in automated revenue management systems allow hotels to explore performance outcomes if a decision is changed or if guest behavior (demand or wash, for example) differs from the current expectations.

Users can also use this advanced capability to learn how sensitive their system is to changes in particular inputs. Utilizing this type of scenario feature is quick and easy, allowing users to experiment more – really understanding how and why pricing and availability recommendations are made in a very intuitive way.

9. (The Right) Big Data

Revenue management systems have been giving hotels big data before it was even known as “Big Data,” and the industry’s big data story continues to see increasingly larger pools of emerging data sources –including social media, reputation management engines, web traffic sources, weather and information related to hotel competitors.

Leading revenue management solution providers know the importance that using the right data has on revenue performance results. RMS technology will continue to incorporate different sources of big data into its analytics when the right types of data are statistically significant and will drive better revenue performance.

Revenue technology providers invest significantly in adding the quality data sources that improve hotels’ pricing strategies and decisions – not harm or dilute them.

10. Powerful Analytics

Revenue management technology is a fine weave of art and science in the powerful benefit of analytics. By pairing the inputs and core analytical capabilities with insightful visual displays, science has long proven to marry well into the art of revenue management.

Digging into the abilities of leading revenue management solutions uncovers extremely powerful performance-driving capabilities such as: analytical market segmentation, accurate unconstrained demand, high-performance forecasting models and the crucial integration of fixed-price and price-sensitive demand.

Folding these types of powerful analytical capabilities into a sophisticated system interface provides hotels with insights into the highest data-driven intelligence available. Being presented with powerful analytics is more than just a game changer in today’s revenue management technology –and it can’t be kept a secret.

 11. The Pursuit of Innovation

The pursuit of innovation is revolutionizing products in every industry. Innovation in the revenue management industry, specifically, has been on fire over the years and leading revenue management solution providers are always in hot pursuit of pioneering fresh ideas and solutions. This ranges from recent innovations like mobile apps and reputation pricing integrations to high-powered analytics that take revenue management systems to the next level.

Top revenue management solution partners also integrate client feedback into their innovation process. Product upgrades implement both innovation and feedback to ensure that updates provide the maximum value to clients.

12. Confidence

Revenue management technology provides hotels with many different gifts that all work together to bring them revenue management’s ultimate gift: confidence.

Innovation gives hoteliers confidence that their technology will continually bring them insightful features, products and upgrades.

The right data gives the confidence that the revenue management system is delivering the most optimal decisions.

Predictive analytics gives confidence in understanding the impact of a hotel’s hunches – and the sensitivity of their system.

Group management capabilities allow hotels to extend revenue management beyond just rooms and into their different profitable areas.

Optimal pricing strategies give hotels confidence that they aren’t leaving money on the table.

Online reputation data gives hotels confidence to take maximum advantage of their team’s hard work in delivering total guest satisfaction.

Remote accessibility gives users confidence that they can make changes or access their system when and where they need to.

Client support gives hotels confidence that they have a true partner personally invested in their revenue management success.

Performance support gives users confidence that they have vital user support in their moments of need.

Dashboards and reporting features give hoteliers the data insights needed to make confident revenue decisions.

Confidence is key in knowing that decision makers are making the most informed revenue decisions and strategies for their hotels. Confidence is the ultimate advantage that a revenue management technology provider brings today’s hotels –all year long.

After knowing the advantages provided by revenue management system, if you start thinking of getting a system for your hotel too, here’s the ebook you shouldn’t miss – “The 2017 Smart Decision Guide to Hospitality Revenue Management” which gives you everything you need to know about selecting the right revenue solution and/or services for your organization. Download it for free now

 

Qantas posts second highest profit on record, plans A380 cabin overhaul

By TTG Asia
0
Qantas A380 fleet set for a multi-million-dollar upgrade

After completing a three-year turnaround programme, Qantas is reporting its second best year in terms of underlying profits while unveiling a multi-million dollar cabin upgrade for its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s.

For FY2017 ending June 30, the Qantas Group posted underlying profits before tax of A$1.4 billion (US$1.1 billion) and a statutory profit before tax of nearly A$1.2 billion. The underlying result represents the second highest performance in Qantas’ 97-year history, down 8.6 per cent compared with last year’s record.

Qantas A380 fleet set for a multi-million-dollar upgrade

Overall, the FY17 performance shows the group’s margin advantage over many of its competitors, underpinned by completion of its three-year transformation programme, it said in a statement.

Through the programme, initiated to make the group profitable, Qantas managed to “tackle some difficult structural issues, become more efficient and (improve) customer service”, said CEO Alan Joyce.

Along with its financial results, Qantas also announced it will upgrade its Airbus A380 fleet to meet increased customer demand for premium cabins on flights to the US, Europe and Asia.

On the upper deck, 30 economy seats will be removed and partitions rearranged, making room for the addition of six business class and 25 premium economy seats, increasing the overall seat count on the aircraft by one and increasing premium seating by 27 per cent.

The airline’s all-new premium economy seats will be installed in a 2-3-2 configuration. This seat is almost 10 per cent wider than the model it replaces and will debut on the incoming 787 Dreamliner later this year.

Business Class Skybeds will also be replaced with the latest version of Qantas’ Business Suites, and first and economy class seats will be refurbished with new cushioning and improved inflight entertainment.

Work on the first A380 is expected to begin in 2Q2019, with all 12 aircraft set to be upgraded by the end of 2020.

World Dream readies to sail from Hong Kong, Guangzhou

By TTG Asia
0
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Come November, Genting Cruise Lines will launch the 151,300 ton, 3,400-passenger World Dream from dual homeports in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Nansha) to Vietnam and the Philippines.

Genting’s second ship under the Dream Cruises brand will set sail on 6D5N cruises to Manila and Boracay (November 17, 2017 to March 31, 2018), alternating with 6D5N journeys to Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang in Vietnam (December 3, 2017 to October 14, 2018).

Dream Cruises’ all-inclusive Dream Palace concept will offer additional suites on World Dream, allowing guests to enjoy dedicated butler service in addition to a host of complimentary privileges including set menu meals in all Dream Palace outlets, set meal credit in five specialty restaurants, premium beverage package, city shuttle transfers, and more.

World Dream will be home to two new restaurants highlight steak and seafood respectively, as well as an integrated medical and spa facility with a dedicated doctor. The new ship will add a novel marketplace and bazaar concept, in addition to new luxury retail options like Tiffany & Co.


World Dream to carry 3,400 passengers over 18 decks

Among the ship’s entertainment options are a new outdoor plaza in the pool area, the largest indoor virtual reality and game area at sea with Vesaro car racing simulators, and a laser show featuring fireworks display.

World Dream’s twin sister ship Genting Dream, meanwhile, will be deployed at her new homeport in Singapore with new itineraries to North Bali and Surabaya in Indonesia, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia and Phuket in Thailand.

Said Kent Zhu, president of Genting Cruise Lines: “Genting Cruise Lines is reinforcing our position in the Pearl River Delta Region by welcoming World Dream to begin her service with (the) dual homeports… following in the footsteps of Genting Dream previously.”

“Designed to cater to the growing Chinese market with tailor made facilities including quad occupancy staterooms to accommodate family travellers, World Dream will further build upon our commitment to this region which has seen Guangzhou (Nansha) evolve into China’s second busiest port and the strengthening of Hong Kong as a premier fly/cruise hub,” he added.

Eastern European countries bring market mix to GTEF 2017

By TTG Asia
0

The Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF), which promotes sustainable development of the global tourism industry with a focus on China, is scheduled to host its sixth annual edition in Macau on October 16 and 17.

Themed Regional Collaboration Towards a Better Future, the forum will embrace China’s “16+1” economic framework, with the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) as featured partner countries and Guizhou Province as featured Chinese province.

Supporting China’s Belt and Road initiative and 16+1 economic framework

The 16 CEECs are Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

In support of the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, GTEF 2017 will also engage leaders in the public and private sectors in a forward-thinking dialogue on regional collaboration and sustainable tourism development.

Speaking at a recent GTEF roadshow in Beijing, Pansy Ho, vice chairman and secretary-general of GTEF, said: “We will continue to support our nation’s Belt and Road Initiative and promote regional collaboration to achieve strategic compatibility and complementary advantages along the Belt and Road regions, and to attain cooperation, common development, interconnection and interoperability around the world.”

The roadshow – which saw participation from outbound operators and agencies, travel executives in Beijing and MICE operators from Macau – led to further sign-ups for the forum’s business matching platform.

Skinner takes the GM’s reins at Tour East Australia

By TTG Asia
0

Tour East Holdings has appointed Jeff Skinner as general manager, Tour East Australia.

Based in Sydney, he will head all aspects of the company’s Australian international inbound operation, as well as the company’s Indian operation into Australia.

Prior to his appointment, Skinner was director of the Dynamic Tourism Group and chairman of the Global Tourism Network, organisations he founded in 2013.

Other previous appointments include general manager roles with Tourism Queensland, Territory Discoveries, the Sydney Aquarium Group and the Gazebo Hotel Group. He also spent time as the head of marketing at Qantas and Viva Holidays’ Readyrooms division.

His overseas experience includes a managing director role in the UK with Top Deck Travel’s wholesale division, before he relocated to Australia to manage the company after it became part of the Flight Centre Travel Group.

InterContinental Bali GM, regional operations director roles for Koth

By TTG Asia
0

Michael Koth has been appointed general manager of InterContinental Bali Resort.

Besides overseeing the daily operations of the resort, Koth also holds a dual role with InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) as director of operations for AMEA resorts Malaysia, Indonesia & Thailand, where he is responsible for Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn Resorts and Holiday Inn Express throughout the region.

The German-Swiss national has more than three decades of experience within IHG across Europe and the Middle East.

More recently in 2012, Koth was appointed regional general manager Northern Gulf, and in 2015 became director of operations Levant where he was based in Amman, Jordan to manage 13 hotels of three IHG brands in two countries.

New hotels: Rosewood Sanya, Mercure Maldives Kooddoo and more

By TTG Asia
0

AccorHotels opens two resorts in the Maldives
AccorHotels has opened the midscale Mercure Maldives Kooddoo (pictured above) on Gaafu Alifu Atoll. The property is situated adjacent to Kooddoo domestic airport, and is the first beachfront property directly accessible via a 55-minute flight from Malé without an extra speedboat journey. The property boasts 68 villas, 43 of which are over-water while 25 are on the beach; some of which also feature a private swimming pool.

Dining options include all-day-dining Alita Restaurant; Vistas, an over-water restaurant and lounge serving tapas and cocktails; while the Alita Pool Bar offers drinks and light bites. Recreational facilities include a 50m-long lagoon-side swimming pool, tennis and badminton courts, fitness facilities, a Kids’ Club, as well as a Dive & Water Sports Centre.

Elsewhere in the atoll nation, the French hospitality group will manage its first luxury resort come September 1, which will be repositioned in late 2018 following a series of enhancements.

Set on the private Meradhoo Island in Gaafu Alifu Atoll, Dhevanafushi Maldives Luxury Resort boasts 21 island villas and 16 ocean villas with private pools. Facilities include three restaurants, a cocktail bar, spa, fitness centre, a PADI-certified dive centre, and a 24-hour butler and private chef service. The resort can be accessed by a 55-minute flight from Malé Airport and a 15-minute speedboat transfer.

Rosewood Sanya
Located in Haitang Bay, Sanya on Hainan Island, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts’s first resort in China offers 246 ocean-facing rooms, of which 45 include balcony plunge pools. Facilities include a 110m-long infinity pool on the 13th floor, a health club complete with an indoor yoga studio, spa and five F&B options. For meetings and events, the hotel offers 3,425m2 of space which includes six function spaces, a 1,500m2 pillarless ballroom and The Pavilion – a Rosewood signature residential-style meeting and function space with a sea view terrace and open show kitchen.

Wild Coast Tented Lodge
Resplendent Ceylon’s newest luxury retreat, the Wild Coast Tented Lodge, sits on the edge of Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park. The eco-friendly property offers 36 safari-style tents – four of which are beach-facing with private plunge pools, while 16 will be located around five watering holes.

Amenities include the Ten Tuskers bar, Dining Pavilion, a library and the Sanctuary Spa. The property also has vehicles available to take guests on guided safaris through the park, in addition to a variety of lectures and workshops. The resort will also house a conservation station dedicated to monitoring and protecting wildlife in the surrounding area. Bookings are now available for stays from October 15, 2017 onwards.

ibis Melaka
Malaysia’s UNESCO World Heritage town of Melaka has welcomed a new ibis property. All of the 249 guestrooms are furnished with the chain’s signature Sweet Bed by ibis, and come with Wi-Fi access and a flat-screen TV. There are three F&B options – the ibis Kitchen Restaurant serving local and international fare; the Lobby Bar and Café for drinks; and a Grab and Go counter with light snacks. Other facilities include a garden gym, as well as three meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 200 people.

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TTG Asia | Productivity in tourism economy takes centre stage at 11th GTEF
TTG Asia | Hilton appoints Marco Neukom to lead dual Bali hotels
TTG Asia | JAL steps up sustainable aviation efforts