AKARYN Hospitality Management Services (AHMS), the brainchild of Thai boutique resort Aleenta’s founder Anchalika Kijkanakorn, will be launching two new brands, akyra and Akaryn, in Thailand this year. This will expand its regional portfolio to 10 properties within five years.

All positioned as luxury resort brands, Aleenta provides a pure and simple resort experience, akyra targets young and energetic travellers, and Akaryn focuses on more mature crowds, Anchalika explained.

The 62-key akyra Chura Samui on Chaweng Beach, slated to open in June, will be the first resort under AHMS management.

A 30-key property on Choeng Mon Beach, Koh Samui, acquired earlier this year, will be closed from May 1 for renovations and expansion to 60 keys. It will re-open as the first Akaryn resort.

The 28-key Aleenta Phuket – Phang Nga Resort and Spa, opened in 2006, will be rebranded under Akaryn this year. Another Akaryn resort with 26 pool villas is being developed on a small island off Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Anchalika said her first resort, the 23-key Aleenta Hua Hin – Pranburi Resort and Spa that opened in 2003, would remain as the only Aleenta property.

AHMS was looking to open a few more properties in Thailand, as well as in Bali, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, Anchalika added.

By Sirima Eamtako

EXPEDIA is planning to spin off its TripAdvisor brand into a separate publicly traded company by the third quarter.

TripAdvisor, which was founded in 2000 by Stephen Kaufer, provides user-generated reviews and advice on hotels, flights, attractions, vacation packages and other travel services.

The new company will include the domestic and international operations associated with TripAdvisor Media Group, which includes its flagship brand, as well as 18 other travel media and advertising brands.

Expedia will continue to operate its travel transaction brands including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, eLong, Hotwire, Egencia, Expedia Affiliate Network, CruiseShipCenters, Venere, Classic Vacations and carrentals.com.

ACCOR will launch its Sofitel, Pullman and Formule1 brands in India by year-end, bringing the company’s total number of brands in the country to six.

Accor’s CEO, Denis Hennequin, said: “Accor is excited about the growth prospects in India and where we are taking a multi-segment approach to the market. This will see Accor participate in the upscale and luxury segments while developing strongly in the budget and mid-scale segments.”

Sofitel will debut with the opening of the 302-room Sofitel Mumbai BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) in the third quarter. The hotel will feature four dining outlets, eight meeting rooms and Sofitel’s signature So Spa. An additional Sofitel is scheduled to open in the Mulund area in Mumbai in 2015.

Pullman is also due for a third quarter launch, with the 284-key Pullman Gurgaon providing 13 meeting rooms and three restaurants. Three additional Pullman hotels are committed in India, including at Delhi International Airport in 2012.

Budget hotel brand Formule1 will open two hotels in Pune and Noida in the fourth quarter. Ten Formule1 sites have been secured throughout the country so far.

Accor has commitments for 62 hotels in India and remains on track to achieve its previously announced ambitions of 90 hotels in the country by 2015. Currently operating nine hotels in the country, Accor will open 21 hotels in India between now and end-2012.

ADRIAN Zecha, founder and chairman of luxury travel brand Amanresorts, will be presented with the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award at ILTM Asia’s fifth edition in Shanghai in June.

The first Amanresort, Amanpuri (Place of Peace), was opened in Thailand in 1987 by Indonesia-born Zecha, at a time when the concept of small boutique resorts was still in its infancy.

Meanwhile, to help the global luxury travel industry better understand the Asia-Pacific region’s many differing cultures and travel requirements, a new Education Programme will be launched at ILTM Asia.

A number of key travel influencers will give insight into buyer behaviour and values across four outbound Asia-Pacific markets – India, Japan, China and Australia. The programme will also host three supplier-led seminars giving advice on selling spa and wellness programmes, authentic and sustainable travel, and luxury cruises.

The Ultratravel Forum which immediately follows the Education Programme will reveal the findings of ILTM’s global research project, The Future of Luxury Travel – A Global Trends Report, and feature a panel discussion addressing the question, “Is the Asian Luxury Traveller dictated by culture, wealth or both?”

Hosted by ex-CNN Asia anchor Michelle Han, the panel will include hotelier and restaurateur Loh Lik Peng; Paul Dickinson, sales & marketing director of Virgin Atlantic; Steve Odell, senior vice-president of Silversea Cruises; and managing director of Taj Hotels & Resorts, Raymond Bickson.

The award ceremony, Education Programme and Ultratravel Forum will be held at the Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai on June 13. ILTM Asia will take place at the adjacent Shanghai Exhibition Centre from June 14 to 16. For the full programme, visit www.iltm.net/asia/forum.

STARWOOD Hotels and Resorts Worldwide’s hotels in Japanese cities unaffected by the tsunami, earthquake and ongoing nuclear scare are “doing alright”, according to Sheraton Grande Toyko Bay Hotel’s general manager, Akira Osada.

Osada was talking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the Starwood Expo Singapore roadshow yesterday, where he was representing the group’s 15 properties in Japan.

Osada said that apart from the new The Westin Sendai, now closed as a result of utility shortage and other operational difficulties resulting from the disaster, other Starwood hotels in the country were experiencing “business as usual”.

Illustrating the sense of normalcy elsewhere in Japan, Osada said the 238-room Sheraton Hiroshima Hotel had gone ahead with its March 28 opening and was “doing well” in terms of occupancy. “In the south, where Osaka is, hotels are also busy because many foreign companies that were based in Tokyo have relocated to the Kansei region. The St. Regis Osaka, opened last October, is doing well.”

“However, in general, occupancy in hotels in Tokyo is very low,” said Osada. “What will truly help Tokyo’s tourism get back on its feet is the reopening of Tokyo Disneyland. The people want it to reopen to bring tourists back and to feel that life is normal again.”

“Its reopening is important to Sheraton Grande Toyko Bay Hotel, as it is just next to the park and 90 per cent of our guests are Disneyland visitors,” he added.

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) is planning to include Japan as one of the exhibiting countries at Thailand Travel Mart (TTM) Plus 2011, despite suspending promotions to the Japan market this month.

The NTO is planning to offer the Japan National Tourism Organisation a six-booth exhibition space. If all goes as planned, it will be the first time the mart will feature an exhibiting country beyond Thailand and the Greater Mekong Subregion.

TAT’s deputy governor – international marketing for Asia and South Pacific, Sansern Ngaorungsi, said some 280 international buyers had already registered for the mart in Bangkok from June 8 to 10, almost hitting TAT’s target of more than 300 buyers.

Meanwhile, Sansern explained that the temporary halt of marketing promotions targeting Japan was in anticipation of the market there slowing down due to ongoing nuclear woes.

Japanese arrivals to Thailand are expected to drop by about 10 per cent this year. Last year, Thailand recorded 993,674 Japanese visitors, 1.07 per cent fewer than in 2009.

Sansern said the trade was expecting the Japanese market to pick up during the May Golden Week. The TAT would then reinstate its promotional activities targeting Japan, as well as kickstart new initiatives like hosting 60 Japanese buyers to attend TTM Plus 2011, another smaller mart in Bangkok and post-event tours to Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi.

By Sirima Eamtako

SIX Malaysian Visa Facilitation Service (VFS) centres will open in India over the next two months, which will further facilitate Indian arrivals to the country.

Tourism Malaysia’s director India, P Manoharan, said VFS Global, which administers the two centres opened last year in Hyderabad and Mumbai, would manage the new centres in Cochin, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh. This brings the total number of VFS centres in India to eight.

Manoharan added that Tourism Malaysia would also continue to aggressively promote the country to metro and second-tier Indian cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli and Cochin. The NTO will be focusing on experiential tours to Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast and Sabah and Sarawak.

India was the fastest-growing market for Malaysia last year, with a 17.1 per cent growth in tourist arrivals over 2009. This year, Malaysia’s tourism ministry has set a target of 700,000 Indian visitors, an increase over last year’s 690,849.

VIETNAM will welcome a new economy hotel chain in three months when the M²Boutique Mekong opens with 34 rooms.

Described by its creator, Serenity Holding co-owner Louk Lennaerts, as “an ibis with emotion”, the brand name highlights the attention paid to every square metre of its rooms, which average 15m². Average rate will start at around US$45.

Though small, the rooms are meant to surprise and evoke a cosy feel, with unconventional design and unusual multi-functional uses, Lennaerts explained. For example, some rooms may be used for a one-hour lunch package, where guests can have a meal in 20 minutes, a spa session in 20 minutes and snooze the rest of the time.

Another 40-room M²Boutique will open in five months in Hue, while the brand will also be in locations such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dalat, Danang, Phu Quoc and Sapa in two years.

When asked why they chose Vietnam, Lennaerts said: “Vietnam is a green area. Everything you do here, you are new. We want to be a real trendsetter.”

Serenity, based in Ho Chi Minh City, manages the M²Boutique brand, as well as other hotel properties such as the newly-launched five-star Fusion resorts (see Fusion Maia puts a new spin on all-inclusive).

FIVE-month-old Fusion Maia Da Nang in Central Vietnam is attempting to shake up the luxury resort scene with its all-inclusive spa concept, said to be the first of its kind in Asia.

The five-star beach resort offers 87 pool villas and breakfast service at any place or hour, with all spa treatments included in the room rate. It also has two bars, a restaurant and a meeting room for small-to-mid-sized groups.

Fusion Maia general manager Michelle Ford said the resort had been attracting many Germans, Australians and Asians, and would be running at 100 per cent occupancy during Easter weekend. Most of its business comes through agents, she added.

Introductory rates start at US$260 nett per room per night for agents, US$270++ for corporates and US$290++ for Internet bookings, said Serenity Holding director of sales and marketing Timothy Lai.

Serenity, based in Ho Chi Minh City, manages the Fusion brand, together with other hospitality projects such as the soon-to-launch M²Boutique (see M²Boutique enters economy hotel market).

Serenity co-owner Louk Lennaerts said: “We took something luxurious and made it free. When there are no limitations, people feel they are treated very well. I believe in five years’ time, 15 to 20 per cent of hotels will be all-inclusive.”

Drawing a comparison to Club Med, he explained that while Club Med was more group-centric, Fusion was tailored to individuals.

Five to six all-inclusive Fusion resorts will come up across Vietnam, in places such as Dalat and Phu Quoc by end-2012, said Lennaerts.

JONES Lang LaSalle is selling the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel in Singapore. The sale of its interest in the property by international tender was launched yesterday.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ managing director investment sales, Mike Batchelor, who is leading the sales process, said: “The hotel is expected to receive strong interest from a diverse cross sector of both regional, as well as global investors.”

The 320-room Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, which opened in 2008 as part of Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 3, is being sold with the benefit of a long-term management agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group under their Crowne Plaza brand.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ senior vice president investment sales, Tom Oakden, said: “The profile of investors of most of Singapore’s key hotels remains local families, family-controlled public companies or foreign-owned sovereign wealth funds that typically hold assets for extended periods of time.”

“With a tightly-held hotel market in Singapore, on average, only one internationally branded hotel has been offered for sale each year over the past 10 years.”