As the 29^th SEA Games and the 9^th ASEAN Para Games are set to take place in Kuala Lumpur later this week, inbound agents are considering farther accommodation locations or shortening touring time in the destination for their Middle Eastern clients due to a lack of rooms in the capital city.
The biennial event this year coincides with the Middle East travel peak, with the latter running up to early September. Moreover, shopping is a key draw for Middle Eastern visitors to Kuala Lumpur during the current sale period (ending August 31).

Ally Bhoonee, executive director of World Avenues, said: “Middle East tourists are known to make last-minute bookings, as late as a week prior to arrival. If we cannot get rooms in Kuala Lumpur, we divert them to Penang or Langkawi first and make Kuala Lumpur the last stop before their departure.”

Saini Vermeulen, executive director, Within Earth Holidays, told TTG Asia: “When we fail to get rooms in the city, we put our guests out of the city centre such as in Petaling Jaya. They don’t mind as transportation comes to their doorstep and we still do the tours in the city, plus hotel rates are less expensive compared with the city centre. They save around 20 per cent on these packages.”

Likewise, Adam Kamal, CEO at Olympik Holidays, also diverts his Middle Eastern clients to accommodation in Selangor, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya when rooms in Kuala Lumpur are not available. The tour programme in the capital city remains unaffected.

Meanwhile, both Ally and Adam observed an overall decline in arrivals from the region this year, partly due to the economic downturn in the Middle East. Adam said: “Middle East tourists usually stay in five-star properties. This year we are seeing more demand for four-star deluxe properties. This lowers the package rate by approximately 20 per cent.”

Okura Nikko Hotel Management will rebrand the current Oita Oasis Tower Hotel in Kyushu into the Hotel Nikko Oita Oasis Tower, with a targeted reopening in December.

Currently undergoing a partial renovation to reflect Nikko Hotels International’s style, the rebranded property will benefit from Okura Nikko Hotel Management’s centralised reservation network, where reservations can be made through a website available in eight languages.

The rebranded property will help to strengthen the group’s business network and improve visitor convenience

The hotel is part of Oasis Hiroba 21, a commercial complex that also houses the Oita Prefectural Culture Center and the local bureau of Japan Broadcasting Corporation. It is the tallest building in Oita Prefecture, offering views of downtown Oita, Beppu Bay, Kunisaki Peninsula and Mount Yufu, and is located an eight-minute walk from JR Oita Station.

Hotel Nikko Oita Oasis Tower will be Okura Nikko Hotel’s ninth hotel property on Kyushu island.

Universal Studios Singapore’s has unveiled the seventh incarnation of its Halloween Horror Nights event, which will run from September 29 to October 29 this year.

Themed after seven new incarnations of sins present in modern-day life – Cruelty, Deception, Malice, Manipulation, Narcissism, Perversion and Obsession – these sins are embodied in seven characters called the Sinisters.

For the all-new Zombie Laser Tag Experience, teams of four will work together to fend off and “kill” deranged zombies in infested areas with laser tag gear. Select participants may get to wear headbands that sense concentration levels to help unlock clues. To enjoy the interactive experience, guests will have to upgrade their tickets at S$38 (US$28) each.

Headlining the haunted houses is the Death Mall where Singapore’s most malicious ghosts roam after the building suffered a structural failure. Guests can also venture Inside the Mind of a deeply depraved force of evil and experience a chilling and macabre foray into his psyche. There will be five haunted houses in total, as well as two scare zones.

There will also be two all-new shows. Laboratorium is a stunt-show that exposes the deception of plague doctors who treat humans as test subjects to find cures during the Black Death, only to create freaks with superhuman abilities.

Meanwhile, music lovers can catch the Slice of Life Tour where an album launch performance by newest pop trio Slit Face Girls turns into a bloody affair, in this horrifying twist on the Korean wave.

Selected rides and attractions will remain open during the programme as well.

This year, Halloween Horror Nights 7 starts at 19.30 and runs over 14 select nights across five weekends.

From now until September 5, tickets can be purchased at S$55 each, or purchase three to get one free. After which, a standard ticket will cost S$68.

Visit www.halloweenhorrornights.com.sg for more information.

AccorHotels will open Seoul Dragon City in Seoul’s Yongsan-gu district come October 1.

The property will feature four AccorHotel brands: the 202-room Grand Mercure Ambassador Seoul Yongsan; 286-suite Novotel Suites Ambassador Seoul Yongsan; 621-key Novotel Ambassador Seoul Yongsan; and 591-room ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Yongsan.

Seoul Dragon City ‘hotel-plex’ (rendering pictured) will be Accor’s largest project in the country

In total, the complex will offer 1,700 rooms, alongside 11 restaurants and bars, 17 meeting rooms, and two multifunction grand ballrooms. There will also be four floors of entertainment in a Sky Bridge suspended between two towers.

Highlights at the Sky Bridge include King’s Vacation, a lounge bar with an indoor miniature swimming pool, stage and SkyWalk; and Sky Beach, a space reminiscent a private beach club.

Patrick Basset, COO of AccorHotels, Upper South-east and North-east Asia hailed Seoul Dragon City – dubbed a “lifestyle hotel-plex” – as the largest project the company has signed in South Korea.

He added: “By the end of this year, the group will have 24 hotels in South Korea, which will be followed by eight more in the next two years. We will also be diversifying our brand portfolio to the luxury segment in the near future.”

HTOO Hospitality has appointed Henrik Bergqvist as general manager of Aureum Palace Hotel & Resort in Ngapali, Myanmar.

In his new role, Bergqvist will oversee and manage the daily operations and drive the growth of the 42-key resort.

Prior to joining HTOO, he was most recently the general manager of Mai Khaolak Beach Resort & Spa and Mai Holiday, in Phang Nga, Thailand.

The Swede has more than 13 years of hospitality experience under his belt, having spent time in properties such as Best Western Hotel Karlaplan and Sergel Plaza Hotel in Stockholm, and The Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Koh Samui and Centara Seaview Resort Khao Lak in Thailand.

Indonesia’s Tauzia Hotel Management has announced a new hotel brand and expansion plans in South-east Asia.

Marc Steinmeyer, president director of Tauzia Hotels, said: “After 16 years of developing properties in Indonesia, (it’s about time to) expand outside Indonesia, bringing Indonesian-born brands into the ASEAN countries, starting with Malaysia and Vietnam.”

(From left) Tauzia Hotels’ Marc Steinmeyer, Irene Janti and Armand Steinmeyer; new brand announced as the company turns 16

Tauzia’s Preference brand is scheduled to make its Malacca debut in mid 2018, while in Vietnam the company also plans to launch Preference and Harris properties spanning around 1,000 rooms, according to Steinmeyer.

Following the launch of the five-star Harris Vertu in Jakarta in January, Tauzia plans to introduce the four-star Fox Harris, the first of which is expected to enter Indonesia next month.

The new midscale brand was conceived in response to the changing hotel market, revealed Steinmeyer.

“About 10 years ago, we saw new hotel developments in Indonesia and investors put their money into building new properties. Today, with the (challenging) economy and oversupply of rooms in some destinations, we are seeing more hotels underperform and put up for sale,” he said.

“In such situations, it is hard for us to take over the management of a hotel and ask the owners to invest in renovations to match our structured brand requirements.”

Fox Harris will hence retain the market segmentation of a Harris while offering “flexibility”, requiring hotel owners only to “change the software (logo, brochures, staff uniform), but not necessarily the room size and the beds, for example”, he said.

Tauzia Hotels currently operates 51 hotels across Indonesia with more than 60 projects in the pipeline until 2022.

Asian Golf Services, said to be the first online booking portal for the golfing travel industry, has been launched to provide agents and tour operators with access to golf and transportation rates across the region’s courses.

Beyond being a booking tool, the platform also offers additional benefits such as competitive green fees, fast confirmation of tee times, golf and airport transfers, the ability to manage reservations, no cancellation or amendment charges, and no access to data/rates not visible to clients.

Managing director, David Pettigrew, shared that the B2B platform is powered by the same software behind Golfsavers, a golf booking platform for individuals, but with additional agent benefits.

Larger agents and tour operators can also access rates via XML, and the platform will further provide an API for those wishing to integrate their own booking systems.