The Sheraton Stamford Hotel

AT separate meetings that took place last Friday, shareholders of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide have given the green light for Marriott to acquire Starwood, bringing the creation of the world’s largest hospitality company one step closer to fruition.

This is a crucial step in the merger process, which had seen interference from a third entity led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group, leading to a short but intense bidding war for Starwood.

Now with holders of over 95 per cent of Starwood shares voting in favor of the deal with Marriott last week, the merger is only a few regulatory approvals away from becoming reality.

Pre-merger antitrust reviews in the US, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions have already been cleared while approvals in the European Union and China are currently being processed.

Commenting on the shareholder meetings, Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s president and CEO, said: “With the successful stockholder approval milestone, we are that much closer to completing our transaction. Our teams continue to plan the integration of our two companies, and we are committed to a timely and smooth transition.”

As of Friday’s closing numbers, Starwood stockholders will receive 0.8 shares of Marriott common stock plus US$21 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock.

The transaction remains on track to close by mid-2016.

Marrakech, Morocco

MAKING hotel bookings on TripAdvisor at optimal times can result in savings of about 20 per cent for the period of June to August, according to the company’s recently released Best Time to Book report.

The research shows that the least expensive time to book hotels in Asia is within three months ahead of stay, when travellers can save about 23 per cent compared to the most expensive booking period.

As for hotels in the Middle East, the optimal booking period is within four months ahead, when travellers can get 24 per cent savings. Prices increase slightly between weeks three to four before dropping again for last minute deals within a couple weeks of the travel date.

The best time to book hotels in Europe is three to five months ahead, when travellers can save 23 per cent compared to the peak period.

In comparison, hotel prices in some regions can be relatively uniform over time.

For example, US hotel pricing remains fairly steady throughout the year, with those booking within two months of their trip saving about seven per cent.

Savings are also modest for those booking hotels in Central America. The best time to book is three months ahead, when travellers will be able to save about seven per cent compared to peak periods.

(From left) Rapil Zhoshybayev, commissioner, Astana Expo-2017 and Devinder Ohri, president, NATAS

KAZAKHSTAN’s tourism promotion body, Astana Expo-2017, has signed an MoU with the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) to promote Kazakhstan as a travel destination in the Singapore market.

“Singapore is the gateway for South-east Asia and is an important hub. With this MoU, we hope that NATAS will be able to promote Kazakhstan through its outbound travel agents,” said Rapil Zhoshybayev, commissioner of Astana Expo-2017.

Zhoshybayev, who is also a member of the senior management team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, added that on their part, visa requirements for Singaporeans have been waived and plans to launch direct flights between Kazakhstan and Singapore are already in the works.

Kazakhstan has been gaining prominence as a tourism destination in Singapore, and the country’s National Tourism Bureau made its debut at the NATAS Travel Fair just last month.

Agents interviewed during the show stated that Kazakhstan is a draw because of its exotic nature and is one of the few places well-travelled Singaporeans have yet to visit.

NATAS, who will be hosting the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2017 in January next year, will be inviting trade counterparts from Kazakhstan to attend the annual trade show.

THE big three US airlines, namely American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, have reportedly made a silent change to its fare policies that will result in consumers paying as much as seven times more for their tickets.

According to a report by the Business Travel Coalition (BTC), a US-based managed travel community advocacy organisation, the big three US airlines have changed their airfare policy to prevent multi-city ticketing using the lowest available fare on each segment.

This results in return fares being substantially more expensive than if tickets were to be purchased as separate one-way fares.

Leisure travelers, who usually purchase the traditionally more affordable round-trip tickets, will be caught unprepared, warns BTC.

It adds that while a travel agent will be aware of the policy change, the problem is that most consumers, especially infrequent travelers who manage their own trips, will be caught unaware when purchasing tickets on the airline websites.

Small businesses who do not have managed travel programmes and access to travel agents will likely be blindsided as well.

But even big corporations with well-developed travel management programmes will be affected. Explained BTC: “(Major corporations) will be forced to purchase a series of one-way tickets as a workaround to substantially higher multi-city itineraries issued as a single round-trip ticket.

“Those travellers, and the organisations that actually pay for the travel, will face travel agency service fees on each segment, and to add insult to injury, when travel plans are modified, they will face change and cancellation fees of up to US$200 per segment.”

BTC further cautions that if this fare-rule change were to succeed, Europe will likely be hit next as carriers there will use it as a tool against the ubiquitous LCCs operating in the region.