The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is set to manage its first Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo properties in Bintan, scheduled for opening in the island’s Lagoi Bay area come 2019.

Resulting from a dual-brand management agreement with Graha Agung Indahsentosa, both hotels will have access to a spa and share a 9.2ha beachfront site owned by the developer.

Graha Agung Indahsentosa’s Arief Sugianto (left) and IHG AMEA’s Rajit Sukumaran

The 250-room Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach will feature a large pool, an all-day dining and specialty restaurants, and signature offerings such as the Kids Eat & Stay Free programme. The hotel will also offer eight versatile meeting spaces, including a large ballroom with a capacity for 300 people, and function rooms that can hold between 20 to 100 delegates.

Hotel Indigo Bintan Lagoi Beach will feature a variety of locally inspired dining options at its neighbourhood café and a destination beach restaurant, in addition to a gym, infinity swimming pool and board room.

Indonesia is already home to 22 IHG properties across four brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express – with a further 23 hotels in the development pipeline.

Pentahotels, Rosewood Hotel Group’s neighbourhood lifestyle brand, has revealed the details of a brand refresh as it gears up for global expansion.

With a new brand message “We Don’t Do Normal”, the rejuvenation ranges from roll-out suites that feature private gamer gadgets to a pioneering “check in at the bar” concept.

The group will also deploy a brand communications campaign with a focus on digital channels. This will include an updated web presence, a brand video, social media activations, guerrilla marketing campaigns, fresh collateral for guests, clients and investors, and a new CRM system to strengthen pentahotels’ customer engagement capabilities.

Pentahotel Hong Kong, Tuen Mun (photo credit: Facebook/pentahotels)

As part of brand’s global expansion, the 298-room Pentahotel Hong Kong, Tuen Mun, this week opened its doors as the first international brand hotel to set anchor in the Tuen Mun area of the New Territories in Hong Kong.

Housed in a former industrial high-rise building a three-minute walk from the Tuen Mun MTR – West Rail Terminal Station, the property offers ready access to seafood markets, heritage sites and Buddhist monasteries, retail options and popular local eateries.

The group has also finalised agreements with Capital Group to open pentahotels’ first Russia hotel in Moscow in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted in the city.

Pentahotel Moscow – Arbat will be situated within one of the four famous Book Houses on Novy Arbat, around 1.6km from the Red Square.
With 228 guestrooms, the hotel will boast facilities such as a pentalounge, European-led design elements, meeting spaces, a gym, and lifestyle features including billiards tables and digital entertainment.

Pentahotels is also set to make its Bangkok debut with the Pentahotel Bangkok, Ploenchit come 2020.

Adventure travel company Indotrek has recently acquired the Kingfisher Ecolodge in Champasak, Southern Laos.

Situated adjacent to the RAMSAR protected wetlands of Ban Kiet Ngong, a short transfer from Pakse airport, Kingfisher Ecolodge is a collection of wooden bungalows that overlook the nearby wetlands and the Bolaven Plateau in the distance.

Kingfisher Ecolodge (pictured) reopens in October

The ecolodge is currently undergoing renovation before reopening in early October 2017. Further expansion of the lodge to roll out a number of larger bungalows are in the pipeline for the coming year.

Meanwhile, all current contracts with agents and DMCs will be honoured, according to an Indotrek statement.

Jeroen Bekebrede as been appointed as the new general to helm the lodge’s daily operations. An experienced hotelier in Laos, he was most recently heading the team at La Folie Lodge in Champasak.

Here’s our weekly roundup of new routes, flight frequency changes and partnerships.

Delta links Shanghai, Atlanta
Delta Air Lines will launch a new service between Shanghai and Atlanta in July 2018, the airline’s fourth US gateway to the Chinese city after existing services from Detroit, Seattle and Los Angeles.

Utilising a 291-seater Boeing 777-200LR, the service is scheduled to depart Atlanta at 15.00 and arrive in Shanghai at 18.50 the following day. The return flight will depart Shanghai at 11.40 and arrive in Atlanta at 14.55.

Thai Smile introduces Lucknow-Bangkok route
Thai Smile Airways has begun four-times weekly flights from Bangkok to Lucknow, the capital of the Indian state Uttar Pradesh.

WE333 will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, departing Bangkok at 20.00 and arriving in Lucknow at 00.20. The return flight operates on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing Lucknow at 01.20 and arriving in Bangkok at 06.30.

The route will utilise an Airbus A320-200 offering 162 seats across two classes.

Jetstar Pacific goes from Vietnam’s Quang Binh to Chiang Mai
Vietnamese LCC Jetstar Pacific will begin a new international route between Quang Binh and Chiang Mai on August 11, the first airline to operate flights between the two cities.

On Mondays, flights will depart Dong Hoi at 14.35 and arrive in Chiang Mai at 16.15, while on Fridays flights will depart Dong Hoi at 15.05 and arrive in Chiang Mai at 16.45.

On Mondays, the return flight will depart Chiang Mai at 17.25 and arrive in Dong Hoi at 19.05, while on Fridays flights will depart Chiang Mai at 18.00 and arrive in Dong Hoi at 19.40.

The one hour 40 minutes route will be served by a 180-seater Airbus A320.

AirAsia opens Davao-Kuala Lumpur flights
On December 21, AirAsia will commence four-times weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur to Davao in the Philippines.

On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, flight AK590 will depart Kuala Lumpur at 10.25 and arrive in Davao at 14.25, while the return flight AK591 will depart Davao at 14.55 and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 18.45.

The new route is the fourth direct route from Malaysia to the Philippines after Manila, Cebu and Kalibo.

Air New Zealand doubles capacity to Bali
In 2018, Air New Zealand will double the capacity on its seasonal Auckland-Denpasar (Bali) route and extend the season by two months.

The airline currently operates twice-weekly services from Auckland to Denpasar between end-May and mid-October, increasing to three services per week during peak times.

Next year, the route will start at the beginning of April, with up to five-times weekly services using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, translating to more than 1,500 seats available per week each way.

SilkAir transfers two SE Asian routes to Scoot
SilkAir will transfer its services to Kuching in Malaysia and Palembang in Indonesia to Scoot, starting October 29 and November 23 respectively. Currently, SilkAir flies four-times weekly to Kuching and thrice weekly to Palembang.

Scoot targets to commence sales of its Kuching and Palembang services in August and October respectively.

Japan Airlines, Vietjet seal partnership agreement
Japan Airlines (JAL) and Vietjet have entered into a codeshare deal for all services between Japan and Vietnam, as well as the domestic flights of both airlines.

JAL currently operates daily non-stop services between Tokyo (Narita) and Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi respectively, as well as between Tokyo (Haneda) and Ho Chi Minh City.

Scoot has announced the addition of five new destinations – two longhaul and three shorthaul routes – by June 2018 as it marked the completion of its merger with Tigerair Singapore yesterday.

The two longhaul destinations are Honolulu, Scoot’s maiden US destination, and Harbin in north-east China. The three shorthaul routes will be Kuching and Kuantan in Malaysia, and Palembang in Indonesia.

Together with the addition of Tigerair’s network, the five new services will bring Scoot’s total destination count to 65 across 18 countries.

All Tigerair flights will now operate under the Scoot brand and flights will operate under the TR flight designator code. Both airlines now operate under a single brand and operating licence.

Aside from launching a new cabin crew uniform, Scoot has also changed its Get Outta Here! tagline and adopted a new slogan, Escape the Ordinary.

The airline has also rolled out its first A320 aircraft, previously operated by Tigerair and repainted with the Scoot livery, named “Conscious Coupling” in commemoration of the integration. The current Tigerair fleet will be progressively repainted and the complete livery change is targeted to be for completion by mid-2018.