PLUG-AND-PLAY platform Commeasure is offering smaller or independent hotels a way to drive more direct bookings through their own web and mobile sites by drawing on economies of scale traditionally available only to major hotel chains.

Established by two former MakeMyTrip.com executives Amit Saberwal and Kunwar Asheesh Saxena, the Commeasure platform was created to help hotels, especially those with fewer resources, build up their web and mobile sites so that they are comparable to those run by large hotel chains and OTAs.

Commeasure offers expertise in design, product management, marketing and technology by pooling resources across multiple hotels for economies of scale, and will manage the customer acquisition cycle ­– generating traffic, providing the tools for booking and engaging with hotel customers – during the initial rollout of the solution.

The platform is scalable and built on cloud with the latest technology stack.

The company is also offering a money-back guarantee during their inaugural run which is comprised of 20 pilot hotels.

Amit Saberwal, founder and CEO, explained that many hoteliers have fallen behind as customer acquisition evolved in complexity over the years.

“Solutions available to them were either too expensive or addressed only one part of the customer acquisition problem. A quick look at the scenario revealed a huge opportunity to bring small, independent and boutique hotels at par with bigger international chains on the customer acquisition front,” he said.

“That’s when we decided to build a comprehensive plug-and-play solution for hotels that would enable them to acquire customers from their own mobile and websites and thus lower their cost of distribution.”

INDIAN buyers at The Americas Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition are seeing Eastern Europe and other less traditional destinations gain traction as MICE destinations for the balance of value for money and exotic factor.

“Asia is still popular for Indian MICE travellers but the destinations are almost ‘templatised’ while the US involves more distance and budget constraints,” said Subash Nair, director of Chennai-based Purple Aura, whose meeting demand to the US is dominated by software companies.

“Turkey and Greece are deemed good value for money and are building up as meetings destinations. This is driven by better air connections – Turkish Airlines has flights to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai while Emirates offers fantastic connectivity to Istanbul and Athens from India,” he added.

Similar trends are observed at Gurgaon-based Yexplore, according to chief explorer, Sachin K Bansal. “Eastern Europe like Prague, Budapest and Slovenia are gaining popularity as meeting and incentive destinations. We have seen 25-30 per cent year-on-year growth (for these destinations), and Slovenia has started tourism promotion in India,” he said.

“Corporate budgets have not increased, and Fortune 500 companies executives have been to Asia,” he added. Far-flung destinations like the Caribbean and Africa are also picking up as C-level incentive destinations, Bansal continued.

Meanwhile, CVBs in Central and South-eastern Europe are starting to show a stronger interest in the Indian outbound MICE market, although efforts appear to be in early days.

Martina Fundaro, representation North America of Prague Convention Bureau, commented that the East is a rising market for the Czech Republic, with India being “the top MICE market from Asia”.

Likewise, Hungary Tourism senior project manager, Alice Sipos, added: “India and China are the main leisure source markets from Asia, but MICE market from Asia is still nascent.”

Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau, which has been attending tradeshows in China, has plans to “conduct more research on India” to build upon the Turkish capital’s strengths as a congress destination, shared sales & marketing coordinator, Cagla Demircioglu.

SPANISH hotel company Meliá Hotels International is crafting a new global sub-brand and will base the concept on the only Sol hotel in Bali.

Already renamed the Sol Beach House Benoa, the property will be slotted into the Sol Beach House category – one of four new concepts Meliá announced on June 16. The other three are: Sol Hotels; Sol Katmandu Park & Resort; and Sol House.

Said a company spokeswoman: “The concept of Sol Beach House is one of feeling that you have your own house on the beach with a hippie chic style that combines modernity with a vintage touch.”

The concept will also cover dining with extended breakfast hours for guests who want to sleep in, brunch-style buffets and restaurants where footwear is optional.

Gabriel Escarrer, vice president and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, said: “This (brand) rejuvenation is aimed at boosting growth in key holiday destinations, improving their attractiveness and competitiveness.”

Meliá’s spokeswoman added: “The Sol Beach House Benoa will provide a Mediterranean feel that we could use as a model for future growth in Asia.

“So far one pilot room has been remodelled, but in the next few weeks renovation work will start on all the rooms and outlets to fit the new style.”

Sol Beach House Benoa is the group’s only property under the Sol name in South-east Asia and one of two properties that will be used as role models in constructing the Sol Beach House brand DNA, the other being Cala Blanca at the resort of Palma Nova on Mallorca.

Both hotels feature a lake-style swimming pool, beach club and activity programmes aimed at adults ranging from yoga and sports classes to local handicraft workshops.

GARUDA Indonesia relaunched Jakarta-Tokyo (Haneda) services on June 15 to meet market demand and broaden its flight network.

The daily flight is served with Airbus A330-300 aircraft in two classes with a total capacity of 251 passengers.

The occasion signifies an important moment in the airline’s history, echoing the flag carrier’s maiden flight from Indonesia to Japan on March 13, 1962 which departed from the old Kemayoran Airport Jakarta for Haneda Airport via Hong Kong, using a Lockheed L-118 Electra.

Emirsyah Satar, president and CEO of Garuda Indonesia, said the relaunch of the service was part of Garuda’s strategic efforts to broaden its services to Japan and beyond. “The service allows Garuda passengers to continue their journey to other cities in Japan with connecting All Nippon Airways flights, or eventually to the US with codeshared Delta Air Lines flights,” he said.

With the opening of the Jakarta-Tokyo (Haneda) direct service, Garuda now serves 39 weekly flights to Japan, including Jakarta-Osaka, Denpasar-Osaka, Jakarta-Tokyo (Narita), Denpasar-Tokyo (Narita) and Denpasar-Tokyo (Haneda).

SENTOSA Island’s new multimedia night show Wings of Time begins today, and promises to wow with a range of effects from robotic water fountains to pyrotechnics.

Wings of Time tells the tale of two teenagers, Rachel and Felix, who help a bird-like creature, Shahbaz, find its way home through time and space.

French events company ECA2 was brought in to work on the project. CEO Jean-Christophe Canizares said of the challenges involved: “We are developing a night extravaganza designed to awe audiences every single day. That is first and foremost a technical challenge to take into account the sea water, heat and humidity. The second is the challenge of creating an immersive experience with a wow factor, and that comes from the music, story and choreography of effects and talents.”

Shows run daily at 19.40 and 20.40 along Siloso Beach. Premium seats are priced at S$23 (US$18) while standard seats cost S$18 (S$15 for local residents).

Wings of Time replaces Songs of the Sea, which ended in May after a seven-year run (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 11, 2014).3

BALI has seen an influx of high-spending Chinese tourists in the first four months of 2014, buoyed by convenient air connections and diversions from other South-east Asian destinations.

Bambang Sugiono, director of Gajah Bali Tour, told TTG Asia e-Daily during the recent Bali & Beyond Travel Fair: ““What is worth noting is that the number of travellers seeking higher-end accommodation has increased significantly since the fourth quarter of last year.

“There was some concern that the new law (on optional tours) imposed by the Chinese government would affect arrivals to Bali. Instead, we have not only seen growth in total arrivals but also seen high spenders coming in.”

From January to April, Chinese arrivals to Bali numbered 191,413 compared to 128,125 for the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

Highlighting the good air access between Bali and Chinese cities, he added that other push factors were Thailand’s political situation and the fallout from Malaysia Airlines’ missing flight MH370.

“The pattern is they come for a 5D4N trip with two nights in a villa and the rest in a resort, spending a minimum of US$1,200 per stay,” Bambang observed.

Ayana Resort and Spa Bali sales manager, Rosa Yeoh, said: “During the Lunar New Year holiday period, for example, our spa facilities were busy with Chinese guests. Even with our Spa on The Rock (the most expensive spa pavilion with exclusive spa treatment), the Chinese contributed some 95 per cent of sales.”

The Stones Legian, Bali, an Autograph Collection Hotel has also been getting high-end business from China. Irawan Hadiwijaya, the hotel’s sales manager, said: “We not only get Chinese guests staying at our Pool Suite but also (those) requesting helicopter transfers from the airport to the hotel, which by car only takes 15 minutes.”

A helicopter ride costs around US$2,700, including a 30-minute scenic ride.

ITALIAN flag carrier Alitalia is now working on a strategic partnership with Etihad Airways that will see it give up 49 per cent of shares in exchange for cash.

An Alitalia press release dated last Friday stated: “The board of directors of Alitalia – Compagnia Aerea Italian, chaired by Roberto Colaninno, met today in Rome to approve the proposal presented by Etihad Airways for a partnership between Alitalia and Etihad Airways. The board delegated the mandate to negotiate the contract to the president and chief executive officer.”

The New York Times reported that Etihad’s offer included an initial investment of 560 million euros (US$759.7 million) in exchange for a writedown of several hundred million euros in debt and the termination of 2,200 jobs. This makes up 15 per cent of the Italian carrier’s workforce.

Alitalia remains on the brink of bankruptcy after racking up 840 million in net losses after it was pulled back from the edge and privatised in 2009, according to the same New York Times report.

THE improved version of Travelport Mobile Agent (TMA) is set to be released on July 30, giving users access to a range of new features.

TMA, developed in partnership with Travelport Developer Network member TTS, lets travel consultants make customer bookings from their mobile devices and was first launched in 2011.

Significant features in TMA 3.0 include
– Improved, user-friendly interface and graphics for easier navigation and quicker access
– Enhanced content with improved data and access to more detailed information
– Faster travel platform response to command entries
– Customisable quick keys, PKeys, history and passenger name record stored in cloud, allowing the information to be synchronised across multiple devices
– Integration with Travelport’s Travelport ViewTrip itinerary tool
– Newsfeed with relevant travel articles

These come on top of the original TMA including full integration with Apollo, Galileo and Worldspan platforms.

TMA 3.0 will be available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play beginning July 30.