Swiss-Belhotel International will be making its debut in Thailand, as the company steps up its expansion plans in South-east Asia.
The Hong Kong-based hospitality company is currently in advanced negotiations with its partners for four new hotels in three key cities: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.
Swiss-Belhotel to make its foray into Thailand with four new hotels; Swiss-Belhotel Makassar, Indonesia pictured
Other established and emerging locations will also be considered in future, including cities and beach resorts, as Swiss-Belhotel International strives to build a nationwide portfolio, said the company in a statement.
By end 2020, the group expects to boost its global portfolio to 250 properties comprising approximately 25,000 rooms.
Swiss-Belhotel International currently has a collection of 145 hotels and resorts across 22 countries, either operating or in the pipeline. This includes properties in five of the ten ASEAN member states: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Vietjet links up Danang with Singapore and Hong Kong
Vietjet will launch two international routes connecting Danang with Singapore and Hong Kong.
Launching on December 20, 2019, the Singapore-Danang route will operate daily return flights. The flight will depart Singapore at 10.50 and land in Danang at 12.30. The return flight will leave from Danang at 12.20 and arrive in Singapore at 15.55.
Also operating daily, the Hong Kong-Danang route will commence operations on December 12, 2019. The flight will depart Hong Kong at 17.20 and arrive in Danang at 18.05. Returning, the flight will depart from Danang at 12.45 and land in Hong Kong at 15.30.
LOT Polish to fly direct from Poland to Sri Lanka
LOT Polish Airlines has launched regular seasonal flights between Warsaw and Colombo. Using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the route will be operated three times weekly until March 28.
LO69 will depart Warsaw at 14.25 and arrive in Colombo at 16.15 on Fridays, Wednesdays and Sundays, while return flight LO70 will take off from Colombo at 08.05 and land in Warsaw at 14.00 on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
IndiGo, Qatar Airways to announce strategic deal
Indian LCC IndiGo and Qatar Airways will make a strategic business announcement on Thursday, which media reports said would involve a codeshare agreement.
IndiGo shares, which rose as much as five per cent early in the day, pared those gains to trade up one per cent on Tuesday afternoon.
Qatar Airways has in the past shown interest in investing in IndiGo but the Indian airline has resisted, according to a Reuters report. However, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar al-Baker has said that the airline was not looking at a stake purchase in IndiGo.
Sala Hospitality Group has appointed Benjaporn Magroodtong as group director of sales & marketing, based at the company’s Bangkok headquarters.
A Thai national, Benjaporn was previously the company’s director of sales – a position she has held since July 2015. With 20 years of experience with brands such as JW Marriott and Anantara, she will now be tasked with developing and executing sales and domestic marketing, branding and advertising.
From left: TTG Asia’s Xinyi Liang-Pholsena; Oakwood’s Dean Schreiber; Airbnb Trips’ Parin Mehta; TripAdvisor Experiences’ Dan Penner during ‘The Rising Tide of Experiential Travel’ session at the inaugural SG Tourism Leaders Engagement Series
No longer a niche segment, experiential travel is now mainstream as technology, social media, and greater connectivity between places drive travellers to seek out deeper engagement or unique activities in the places they visit.
Such growing demand for immersive, customised travel has also given rise to serious business propositions for the travel and hospitality industries, shared panellists during ‘The Rising Tide of Experiential Travel’ session at yesterday’s inaugural SG Tourism Leaders Engagement Series, which was held at One Farrer Hotel.
From left: TTG Asia’s Xinyi Liang-Pholsena; Oakwood’s Dean Schreiber; Airbnb Trips’ Parin Mehta; TripAdvisor Experiences’ Dan Penner during ‘The Rising Tide of Experiential Travel’ session at the inaugural SG Tourism Leaders Engagement Series
Dean Schreiber, CEO, Oakwood, and managing director, Oakwood Asia Pacific attributed the rise in experiential tourism to better access to information, which allows travellers to make decisions based on Instagram posts or TV shows like Game of Thrones, with surging global interest to visit Croatia as a prime example.
Parin Mehta, managing director, Airbnb Trips, Asia Pacific remarked: “It really boils down to the fact that people want to brag about what they’re doing and tell their friends about it… I think we’ll see (experiential travel) accelerate even further in the coming years.”
“Low-cost airlines are also making everything so much more accessible, allowing access to a diverse range of cities,” added Dan Penner, senior regional manager, Asia Pacific, TripAdvisor Experiences.
As travellers become more “globally curious” by the day, the trio of travel industry leaders stressed the need for their businesses to continuously evolve to retain their competitive edge.
The growing interest in immersive travel has driven Airbnb Experiences – created about three years ago – to break down its tours into more refined categories such as Adventures and Animals, with more categories expected to be added to its growing portfolio.
“One of the things we do a lot is listen to our guests and understand what they want, and we’re able to then launch new categories that fit what they want,” Mehta noted. For instance, travellers can book a surfing lesson with a world champion, as well as cook a local meal with a renowned chef.
“We look for three things in hosts: insider access, quality, and the idea of hospitality or human connections. The human host is a vital part of (an Airbnb experience). Sometimes our guests forget the activities they did, but they always remember the host,” Mehta elaborated.
Oakwood earlier this year launched a gin package at Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore, enabling overseas guests to taste and learn about locally-distilled gin at the serviced apartment. At the same time, the increasing appetite among travellers “to experience the local food culture” has driven Oakwood to gradually “move away from restaurants” and serve up new ways of meeting guest needs, such as partnering food delivery options, Schreiber said.
“Now we can be more focused on the customer experience, rather than providing F&B. It’s all about being able to customise and personalise the experience for our guests, and responding to what the customers want,” Schreiber stated.
Likewise, Penner added that TripAdvisor Experiences’ recent sales ban on attractions with whales and dolphins in captivity is a clear response of how the travel giant is responding to customers’ changing preferences.
Meanwhile, TripAdvisor has in recent years evolved from a reviews site into a planning and sharing space for recommendations and ideas, Penner stated.
“We’re making ways to plan your trip online, share it with your friends, and get recommendations from your group. We’ve also introduced a tool to plan your trip more holistically – think flight, hotel, experiences,” he explained.
When asked whether he has noticed a growth in any other sector, Mehta pointed to the rise of responsible travel, where travellers seek purpose, such as volunteer with an NGO or charity.
As well, Schreiber expressed his desire for slow travel to take root among today’s travellers.
“The whole slow travel concept is about trying to shift a lot of the business out of the great cities that are being destroyed by mass tourism. Slow travel is something as an industry we should probably encourage,” he opined.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has alleged that the design for Jewel Changi Airport was plagiarised from Qatar’s Hamad International Airport’s expansion, according to a report by The Straits Times.
During a recent unveiling of the expansion plans in Doha, Al Baker was quoted by the report as saying: “When I show you the images later (of the planned enhancements), you will realise that somebody copied our design, which was already on the table nearly six years ago… We had individuals from that country, I will not name it, that took our design and did it.
Changi Airport Group and Safdie Architects have hit back at allegations that Changi’s Jewel is a copycat design
Al Baker’s reference was immediately obvious — the expansion plans for Qatar’s Hamad International Airport feature an indoor waterfall and large gardens that bear a striking resemblance to Jewel Changi Airport’s offerings, said the report.
In response to the copycat allegation, Changi Airport Group’s chief executive Lee Seow Hiang told The Straits Times: “We value the originality and creativity of ideas as we innovate to elevate the Changi experience for all our visitors. We respect intellectual property rights and expect the same of all our partners.”
World-renowned Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, who was the brainchild behind Jewel Changi Airport’s design that has received international acclaim since its April opening, has also hit back at the allegation, according to another Straits Times report.
Safdie was quoted by the report as saying: “We have been pursuing the concept of gardens as a focal point for the public realm for many decades. We have also explored the concept of harvesting the rain into internal rainfalls at Ben Gurion Airport (Israel) and Marina Bay Sands.”
“The success of these explorations have further inspired and led us to create a new icon in the Jewel that we see today – a new kind of urban place that celebrates the elements of nature and urban life.
“We are delighted that Jewel’s uniqueness and originality has been well-recognised by the international community and resulted in many wanting to emulate it.”
Galaxy announces new Andaz Macau hotel to open in 2021
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Andaz Macau is set to open in 1H2021
(Back row, left to right) Hyatt Hotels & Resorts’ Andreas Stalder; Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Scott Kreeger; Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s Mark Hoplamazian; Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Francis Lui; Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s David Udell; Hyatt Hotels & Resorts’ Brian Lum; and Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Raymond Kwok witnessed the signing of the contract by (front row, left to right) Hyatt Hotels & Resorts’ Stephen Ho and Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Troy Hickox
The luxury lifestyle hotel will feature a dedicated check-in lounge catering to large MICE groups, over 700 rooms and suites, an Andaz lounge, a bar and restaurant, state-of-the-art fitness centre and an indoor pool.
Andaz Macau will be connected to the integrated resort Galaxy Macau, offering 1.1 million m² of entertainment, retail and leisure attractions. The hotel will also provide guests with easy access to the integrated resort’s 120 dining options, such as Michelin Stars, and Broadway Food Street at Broadway Macau.
David Udell, group president, Asia-Pacific, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said: “Global in scale while local in perspective, the Andaz brand is on track to double its footprint in Asia-Pacific by end of 2020 with a strong pipeline across Greater China in destinations such as Macau and Taipei, as well as Sanya, Shenzhen and Xiamen.”
China’s hotel operator and franchiser Huazhu Group is expanding its global reach through a multimillion-dollar deal.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary China Lodging Holding Singapore, the company has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all shares in German luxury hotel group Deutsche Hospitality, whose portfolio includes the Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, for a base cash consideration of about €700 million (US$775 million).
Huazhu snaps up Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts for US$775 million; Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof in Frankfurt pictured
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and certain other closing conditions, and is expected to close early next year.
That values Deutsche Hospitality at 17 to 18 times its 2019 expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or at less than 10 times expected 2022 core earnings, according to a Reuters report.
Correction: An earlier version of this story wrote that Huazhu Group was buying Deutsche Hospitality from Egyptian travel company Travco; that is incorrect as Travco Group, its subsidiaries in Egypt and abroad have no relation to this transaction. Travco Group’s involvement with Steigenberger Hotels is only limited to the 50 per cent ownership in the Steigenberger Middle East joint venture, which is the Middle East arm of Steigenberger Hotels.
Hotel guest acquisition platform SiteMinder has launched the Hotel App Store, a marketplace said to allow hotels to better pick and connect applications to their business systems for greater guest experiences and revenue.
The product, which was unveiled at World Travel Market London, is a significant step forward for hotels that have been challenged with changing guest behaviour but have lacked access to technology that keeps them ahead of those trends, said the company in a statement.
SiteMinder launches the Hotel App Store
Until now, marketplaces have been closed environments for hotels, accessible only by using a marketplace provider’s designated property management system (PMS).
SiteMinder’s Hotel App Store has opened up this access to all hotels, by allowing them to connect to more than 100 applications, including revenue management and upselling, guest messaging, guest review management, room controls, airport transfers and keyless entry, through a single interface and from a selection of more than 80 PMSs or SiteMinder’s channel manager.
SiteMinder’s Hotel App Store will feature in-built smart technology that recommends only relevant applications to hotel users, based on their profile and past selections, said the company in a statement.
Among the applications available through the Hotel App Store are Cendyn, TrustYou, OpenKey, Welcome Pickups, and Oaky, as well as UK-headquartered For-Sight and upgrade2.
“Over the years, we have witnessed numerous hotel technologies emerge to better support hoteliers with their day-to-day, yet never before have hoteliers had the opportunity to select freely from those choices, using the system they know and trust. Hoteliers remain anchored down by the challenges of data and accessibility. We solved the data challenge through SiteMinder Exchange and now, with the Hotel App Store, we’re making accessibility another issue of the past,” said Dai Williams, chief growth officer at SiteMinder.
The Hotel App Store comes 18 months after the launch of SiteMinder Exchange, a connectivity hub that allows hotel data publishers and developers of hotel application software to transfer guest information between their systems. From today, hotels using a data publisher connected to SiteMinder Exchange, which includes PMSs and SiteMinder’s channel manager, can use the Hotel App Store to access applications.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be extending the free visa-on-arrival for citizens of 20 nations for another six months, from November 1, 2019 until April 30, 2020, after the Thai government greenlit the decision.
This is the fourth time the government has extended its visa-on-arrival fee waiver, since it was first introduced in November 2018, in a move meant to boost tourism arrivals while enhancing ease of entry into the country.
Thailand extends free visa-on-arrival for citizens of 20 nations until April 30, 2020
Citizens from the 20 nations – Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China including Taiwan, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan – are exempted from the 2,000 baht (US$66) visa-on-arrival fee for single-entry leisure travel in Thailand for not more than 15 days.
The government first approved the visa-on-arrival fee waiver from November 15, 2018 to January 14, 2019, then extended the measure to April 30, 2019, before extending it again to October 31, 2019.
Totalstay, part of B2B accommodation provider WebBeds, has launched a brand new booking website for global travel agents.
The new totalstay.com website contains enhancements that provide more than 20,000 travel agents worldwide with a tool to access, search and book more than 250,000 hotels across 10,000 destinations.
Totalstay rolls out new booking site for travel agents
Totalstay.com retains many of the existing features while adding new functionality to make searching and booking hotels faster, easier and more intuitive.
Some of the new features include:
Single search box function where users can discover the best accommodation by destination, hotel name, landmark or airport
Users can pre-filter search results by a huge range of feature.
Cancellation terms now appear earlier in the booking process
Google Maps and TripAdvisor reviews enable agents to make more informed decisions for their clients with enhanced information at their fingertips
Enhanced quote functionality allows agents to build a single quote for a range of properties, with or without prices, to email their customers
Basket/multi-component functionality enables users to add multiple hotel items to their basket
Quick view and flexible display means users can view hotel images, facilities, reviews and location all on one page as well as hide prices from screen display
Intuitive and simple design means a smoother and faster booking journey and checkout
