Credit: Wanda Realm Taian

WANDA Hotels & Resorts has opened Wanda Realm Taian in Shandong, which marks the company’s 77th property worldwide and 30th Wanda Realm hotel in China.

Located in Taian’s CBD, the hotel forms part of the Wanda Plaza Complex, next to the Taishan International Conference & Exhibition Centre, and is a 10 minutes’ drive from the Taian railway station as well as to the entrance to Mount Tai.

The hotel offers 283 guest rooms and suites housed between the building’s 25th to 37th floors with room sizes starting at 40m², featuring bathrooms outfitted with rain shower, standing bathtub and luxury toiletries.

Amenities include a fitness centre, indoor heated swimming pool and executive lounge.

For dining options, Zhen Chinese Restaurant offers a combination of Cantonese and local Shandong cuisine; Chilli & Pepper features authentic Sichuan cuisine; and the Lobby Lounge offers coffee, tea and evening cocktails alongside light refreshments.

The hotel also caters to events with the grand ballroom offering 1,200m² of pillar-free space and a 85m² LED screen. For smaller meetings, there are seven separate private meeting rooms equipped with multimedia facilities and free high-speed Internet.

To celebrate the launch, the hotel is offering special introductory rates from now until December 31, 2015, where Deluxe Room rates are priced at RMB 598 (US$93.90) per night.

Credit: Frasers Hospitality

FRASERS Hospitality has acquired a serviced residence property in Dalian for RMB481.4 million (US$71 million), which will open in 2017 as Frasers Suites Dalian.

Gearing towards its global target of 30,000 keys by 2018/19, the acquisition is one of 16 new properties the company will be establishing in China. This will bring Frasers portfolio in China to over 30 properties with over 7,000 keys, including Changsha, Dalian, Hefei, Nanchang, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuxi, Xiamen, Chengdu and Shanghai.

Residence types at the 259-unit Fraser Suites Dalian range from contemporary studios to luxurious three-bedroom apartments and facilities include a gym, swimming pool and meeting spaces.

Choe Peng Sum, CEO of Frasers Hospitality, said: “With a growth rate of seven per cent per annum, one cannot ignore the strength of China’s position as the world’s second largest economy and a strong magnet for foreign direct investment.

“Investing in Dalian, one of the country’s top 10 fastest growing cities, is our investment in the future of China. The 16 new additions not only strengthen our network in China but also place us strategically in one the country’s most thriving cities.”

Credit: Pan Pacific Perth

PAN Pacific Perth has launched a new premier tier of rooms after a multi-million dollar makeover which saw 124 rooms and suites being completely remodelled.

Together with design company Hassell, the hotel refurbished the rooms in order to better suit modern travellers.

Each premium room is equipped with new technology like interactive LED TVs and iPhone docking stations while the marble bathrooms are decked out with new lighting facilities as well as designer fittings and amenities. Rooms also include an appointed workspace with improved WiFi connectivity.

Credit: Pan Pacific Perth

In addition, Pan Pacific Perth is renovating the hotel lobby to include a new water feature and upgraded, pod-style check-in counters.

Credit: 123rf

IN AN effort to improve the skillset of Singapore’s tour guides and to better recognise their contributions to the industry, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), in conjunction with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), have launched a range of new training and development initiatives set to begin in 1H2016.

The announcement was made at a media briefing on August 20, which included the reveal that the Society of Tourist Guides Singapore (STGS) can tap into part of the S$15 million (US$10.7 million) Association Development Fund (ADF) in order to further grow the guiding profession.

Ong Ling Lee, director, travel agents and tourist guides at STB, said the industry was consulted before arriving at the changes. “Among the stakeholders we engaged include two tourist guide associations, the guides themselves, travel agents, as well as training providers,” she added.

For new entrants to the industry, a streamlined but more rigorous assessment process awaits.

Pre-licensing training requirements will be upped to 188 hours from the current 146 hours, with new curriculum such as ‘writing tour commentary’ and ‘creating a better customer experience’ added in order to better prepare guides to face the changing tourism landscape.

For existing tourist guides, a wide spectrum of professional development courses, with modules like social media strategies and marketing skills, will be introduced. A mandatory refresher course with assessment will also be required every three years.

Lastly, in recognition of their contributions to tourism in Singapore, long-service awards in the form of customised pin badges will be given to guides who have served for 10, 20 and 30 years.

Jean Wang, a veteran tour guide and honorary secretary at STGS, said: “This is something that we look forward to. Before this, there weren’t any courses for the existing guides. Also, now there are more funding possibilities for guides so that is a plus.”

Credit: Sheraton Grand Beijing

STARWOOD Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has unveiled Sheraton Grand, a new premium tier for Starwood’s existing Sheraton brand hotels.

The company is planning to launch 50 newly designated Sheraton Grand hotels around the world by year-end with plans to double that figure by early 2017.

“We expect many of our Sheraton hotels to achieve the Sheraton Grand designation, and we will work with our owners to open new Sheraton Grand hotels or renovate existing properties to ensure a consistent and exceptional experience in our new premier tier,” said Dave Marr, global brand leader at Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.

Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel and Sheraton Grand Beijing Dongcheng Hotel are some of the first few properties to fall under the new Sheraton Grand umbrella.