Jean-Jacques Reibel

INTERCONTINENTAL Hong Kong’s managing director Jean-Jacques Reibel will be relocating to Los Angeles in April 2016 to become the opening general manager of the new InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles.

Reibel spent the last 12 years with InterContinental Hong Kong as its managing director and prior to that, was managing IHG’s other properties in the US for 20 years.

In his stead, Claus Pedersen will become the hotel’s new general manager. Pedersen, current vice president of hotel operations at MGM Macau, had previously spent six years at InterContinental Hong Kong from 2005 to 2011 holding various posts. Before moving to MCM Macau, Pedersen was InterContinental Hong Kong’s resident manager.

Reibel’s last day at InterContinental Hong Kong will be on February 27 while Pederson will assume his new position effective from March 1, 2016.

AS we wrote in our Overheard column on Monday – Hilton Worldwide to launch 13th brand – the chain has now revealed its Tru colours with the announcement of a new midscale, lifestyle hotel brand.

The first Tru by Hilton property will open by end-2016 in the US with a total of 102 hotels already signed and an additional 30 hotels in various stages of approval in cities including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Denver, Portland and Nashville.

Features of the hotel concept include The Hive, a shared-space lobby that allow guests to lounge, work, eat and play. The front desk, termed the Command Center, will have a wall that displays real-time social media feeds, and offer snacks, refreshments, alcohol and other sundries for purchase.

A rendering of The Hive

Rooms are equipped with platform beds, 55-inch TVs, spacious bathrooms, plentiful power points and complimentary WiFi. Mobile check-in and digital keys are also available as an added convenience on the Hilton HHonors smartphone app.

Meanwhile, complimentary breakfast comes in the form of a toppings bar where 30 sweet and savoury items are at the guests’ disposal to create their own type of bagel, donut, yogurt or oatmeal.

“More than 40 per cent of all US hotel stays are within the midscale and economy sectors and Tru by Hilton addresses a gap in the marketplace by appealing to the youthful mindset demographic, pushing the industry to marry quality and value,” commented Jim Holthouser, executive vice president, global brands, Hilton Worldwide.

“We’re breaking through the clutter of undistinguished offerings to capture the hearts of today’s travellers and anticipating the needs of tomorrow’s guests, while delivering a hotel that’s a place travellers will want to go to rather than just through.”

THE Israel Ministry of Tourism has tripled its marketing budget for India to US$3 million this year on the back of record year-on-year arrival growths of 13 per cent last year.

“Israel has been gaining popularity in India after we hosted the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) convention at the beginning of last year. In order to build on this momentum, we have increased the marketing budget significantly. We expect to welcome at least 60,000 Indian tourists by the end of 2016,” said Amir Halevi, director general, Israel Ministry of Tourism.

“We will be investing a lot on digital marketing, PR and FAM trips for journalists and the travel trade. We also plan to engage Bollywood.”

Part of the budget will also be used to launch an advertising campaign across print and digital channels during India’s summer season. Both country’s tourism boards will also be rolling out joint promotions with Indian OTAs like Ezeego.com.

Hassan Madah, India director, Israel Ministry of Tourism, said: “At present, we are working on the creatives of the campaign, which will target major Indian cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

“Our focus last year was on B2B platforms as we wanted to educate the travel trade about our product offerings. However, we want to do more B2C activities in 2016.”

However, the trade feels that lack of direct connectivity remains an obstacle. “Israel needs to open up more direct flights from cities like New Delhi in order to maintain strong arrivals from India,” said Ashok Singhal, founder, Maestro Travels.

INBOUND agencies in Thailand are seeing no discernible impact on either arrival numbers or bookings following reports that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus was found on a 71-year-old Omani man who travelled to Bangkok.

“We have not received any inquiries so far or cancellations. We are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with the ministry of health as well as the ministry of tourism,” said Laurent Kuenzle, CEO, Asian Trails.

Concurring, Siprang Srinarintranon, spokesperson for Diethelm, said: “I don’t think it will have a negative impact. The government has already identified the persons who came in contact with that patient and they seem to have everything under control.”

The MERS virus was responsible for more than 30 deaths in South Korea last year and first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is also a cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed hundreds in Asia after it first broke out in 2003.

“The fact that many countries here were affected by SARS means that there is a higher level of awareness when considering the current risk of MERS,” said Jesper Palmqvist, area director Asia Pacific, STR Global.

As of press time, 32 individuals have been quarantined for observation and the Omani patient is reported to be in stable condition.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health is coordinating with 37 airlines to inform passengers arriving in Thailand from countries with reports of MERS to strictly abide by preventive measures.

(From left) Jesper Palmqvist, area director Asia-Pacific, STR Global; Clarence Tan, senior vice president Asia, Middle East and Africa, InterContinental Hotel Group; and Kenneth Gaw, president & managing principal, Gaw Capital Partners.

CONTRARY to popular belief, data presented at the Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) 2016 has shown that the occupancy rates of hotels in Thailand have set new records in 2015.

Jesper Palmqvist, Asia-Pacific area director, STR Global said that there has always been fluctuation in occupancy, especially during periods of crisis and political unrest. However, “the main strength of the Thai market is how fast it can recover,” he stated.

A panel discussion at TTF concurs, arguing that no matter how unstable Thai politics becomes, the economy had always survived the setback and rebounded.

Yet, there are concerns that the market is becoming stale. Tim Hansing, CEO of Red Planet Hotels, opined that the Thai market has already reached maturity and is becoming less attractive than other emerging markets in the region for hotels to invest in. “It is bland. There are more opportunities elsewhere,” he said.

Emerging beachfront destinations such as Samui, Hua Hin and Krabi remain the only bright spots for growth.

As well, Mike Batchelor, managing director of Investment Sales Asia, JLL, pointed out that there are still more unfulfilled demand in the midscale segment, even in Bangkok.

By Athip Jittarerk