Oakwood has made its foray into Australia’s luxury hotel and serviced apartments segment with the signing of Oakwood Premier Melbourne.
Scheduled to open in 1Q2022 within a 40-storey tower, Oakwood Premier Melbourne will be situated along the Southbank of Melbourne city at Fishermans Bend.
Oakwood Premier Melbourne to open in 1Q2022
Oakwood Premier Melbourne will house 392 hotel rooms and serviced apartments, of which 154 rooms will cater to transient travellers on short stays, while the remaining 238 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, ranging from 35 to 65m2, will cater to guests looking to reside mid- to long-term.
Proposed facilities within Oakwood Premier Melbourne include an all-day dining restaurant, meeting venues, a sky lounge, a lobby bar and fitness centre, as well as upscale retail spaces.
Located along the southern banks of the Yarra River, Oakwood Premier Melbourne will be in close proximity the Melbourne Convention Centre, the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium and the National Gallery of Victoria.
This signing follows the recent announcement of Oakwood Hotel & Apartments Dandenong in April 2019.
A Cascais street art tour hosted by local residents in Lisbon, a Refugee Voices tour led by a Syrian refugee in Berlin, a walking tour of Covent Garden guided by an ex-homeless Londoner and a reforestation project in Iceland’s Haukadalur valley are just among Contiki’s newest offerings of conscious travel experiences for Europe trips in 2020.
Those offerings are part of the travel provider’s new commitment to have a conscious travel experience on every single trip by 2021.
Contiki launches conscious travel experiences in Europe (Pictured: A group on a Contiki tour in Berlin)
The brand-new conscious travel experiences have been handpicked especially for travellers aged 18 to 35, aiming to give Contiki guests a fresh perspective while also giving something back to the communities visited on their trips, and delivering to the growing trend for conscious and ethical travel among Gen-Z travellers.
The Cascais street art tour in Lisbon showcases the culture of a Cascais neighbourhood that was historically regarded as dangerous and blighted by poverty. The local street artists knew the perceptions of the place were unfair, so they started a project of regeneration, creating a unique urban art gallery. Travellers will be taken on a walking tour through the neighbourhood to learn about the street art in the area, the residents who have created it and what they hope to change with their art.
Unseen London is a not-for-profit walking tour hosted by men and women who have experienced homelessness in London. The guides know the secrets of London’s winding historic alleys better than anyone, and will show travellers a fascinating city not usually seen by tourists. Travellers will be taken to Covent Garden in the heart of London’s theatre and arts district for a unique insight into the city’s culture.
The Berlin Refugee Voices tour, led by a Syrian refugee, take travellers to places of historical significance in Berlin. The guide draws parallels between Europe in the 20th century and what has happened to Syria in the 21st, using Berlin’s turbulent past to gain a new perspective into the attitudes that Syrian refugees face in today’s world. Travellers will hear first-hand the story of a Syrian refugee, the struggles of displacement and the experiences that come from creating a new home in a new city.
The Iceland Reforestation programme is located in the Haukadalur valley, a geothermal wonderland on the popular Golden Circle route. Iceland has suffered intense deforestation throughout its history, with forest coverage dropping to as little as 0.5 per cent by the early 20th century. As part of a Golden Circle tour, travellers will get to reduce their carbon footprint and leave their mark in Iceland by planting five trees each in the valley.
Alongside the four new conscious travel experiences, the new Contiki trips also include a variety of foodie experiences that give back to the local community, like a Salzburg Farmers’ Dinner in Austria, where guests get to eat locally grown produce that supports local farmers; Dining with Locals in Bosnia, which features homemade dinners prepared with local produce that supports the Sarajevo community; a farm-to-table meal at Stella Croatica in Split, which boasts authentic Croatian family recipes and local ingredients with minimal environmental impact; and an Icelandic dinner at Efstidalur organic farm, where visitors can eat homemade delicacies like cheeses and skyr from local recipes.
The Okura Prestige Bangkok has appointed Dutch native Niek Hammer as its new general manager.
Hammer began his career at Hotel The Grand, a Westin Hotel & Resorts International property in Amsterdam, and later spent two years at Chateau Elan Winery & Resort, a Marriott International hotel in Braselton, Georgia.
Prior to his new role, Hammer was general manager of Hotel Okura Macau.
He also previously held the position of assistant F&B director at Hotel Okura Amsterdam, and subsequently, the hotel’s deputy general manager with F&B oversight.
Indonesia-based OTA Tiket.com has unveiled its ambitions to become a superapp in the travel industry, as the company keeps its sights trained on the millennial market.
Speaking at Tiket.com’s recent eighth anniversary event in Jakarta, Gaery Undarsa, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Tiket.com, said that the OTA will focus on becoming a superapp in the travel industry by developing features such as Flight Online Check-in and Access to WhatsApp – the latter allows passengers to use WhatsApp to communicate with the customer care staff for quick assistance.
(From left) Archipelago International’s Chris Legaspi, Tiket.com’s Gaery Undarsa and concert promotor Roderick Tjandra at Ticket.com’s launch of new millennial-centric features in its bid to become a superapp (Photo credit: Kurniawan Ulung)
With domestic users making up 90 per cent of Tiket.com customers and millennials comprising 60 per cent of them, Gaery said that the OTA aims to attract more youths with the addition of new features that cater to their demands and needs.
One of its new features is Tiket Anti Galau (which literally translates to “anti-anxiety”), which enables customers who have purchased tickets through Tiket.com to make cancellations and obtain a full refund.
Geary said that this feature suits millennials whom he observed could easily feel galau (Indonesian for “anxious”) when making decisions in many areas, including the booking of airline tickets. With Tiket Anti Galau, they have the option of cancelling their trip on the day of departure.
Recognising that cafés and coffee shops are among millennials’ favourite hangout spots, Tiket.com has teamed up with its merchant partners to push out promotions and discounts.
“If they use the Tiket.com app to buy Citilink airline tickets, they will get free meals onboard wherever they go,” Geary said.
Tiket.com allows travellers to search for nearby hotels and to quickly obtain information about attractions and destinations, including lesser-known Instagrammable spots usually sought after by millennials.
(From left) Legaspi, Tjandra and Undarsa share Tiket.com’s performance at the OTA’s eight anniversary in Jakarta (Photo credit: Kurniawan Ulung)
Gaery claimed that among online booking platforms in Indonesia, Tiket.com is in the top two in terms of growth of sales. But he refused to disclose the company’s revenue for this year, only revealing that it was 2.5 times that of last year’s, and a figure that reached tens of trillions of rupiah (US$1 is equivalent to 14,000 rupiah).
He added that Tiket.com’s users had doubled to 15 million this year, including six million who made transactions through the app.
Gaery said that airline ticket sales remained the biggest contributor to his company’s revenue this year, with 80 per cent of the ticket sales from inbound trips and 20 per cent from outbound trips. But, he added, the growth of sales from hotel bookings surpassed that from airfare tickets.
“We enjoyed a six-fold increase in the growth of hotel booking sales this year,” he said, adding that Tiket.com had experienced “massive growth” since 2017. Today, the OTA partners with around 11,000 hotels across the country, including 145 members of Archipelago International.
Gaery added that Tiket.com would deepen its market penetration in other South-east Asian countries, especially Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as the trio were Indonesian travellers’ most-visited countries.
The company seems well-positioned to tapping the three markets given that they have offices and staff in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
When asked about next year’s target, Geary said that he is confident that the new millennial-centric features, wider expansion and stronger partnership with various parties will result in a threefold increase in revenue in 2020.
Avis Budget Group has appointed Keith Rankin as president of the international region, which includes Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In his new role, Rankin will be working towards digitising Avis Budget Group’s business and revolutionising the future of mobility.
“The world of mobility is changing, heightened by advancing technology and the consumer need for a more on-demand and personalised experience. Across the international region – and globally – we are transforming as a business to not only be a part of this shift, but to be a leading voice in the future of mobility,” said Rankin.
He added: “We’re making the overall customer journey more transparent, convenient, personalised and seamless. From our Avis and Zipcar mobile apps to connected cars and new offers and processes, we’re focused on providing mobility on-demand where and when you need it.”
Prior to his new role, Keith was CEO for the automotive division at Barloworld in South Africa – a licensee partner of Avis Budget Group.
Keith started his career at Avis in 1998 where he led the financial planning department. In 2000, Keith was involved in the purchase of Avis businesses in Norway and Sweden. He was later appointed as CEO of Avis Car Rental Southern Africa in 2004.
The global passenger demand growth has slackened in July due to tariffs, trade tensions and uncertainty surrounding Brexit, according to the IATA.
Total revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose 3.6 per cent, compared to the same month in 2018, but down from the 5.1 per cent annual growth recorded in June. All regions posted traffic increases. Monthly capacity increased by 3.2 per cent and load factor rose 0.3 percentage point to 85.7 per cent, which is a new high for any month.
IATA: Global passenger demand growth has slowed down in July, down from the 5.1 per cent annual growth recorded in June
“July’s performance marked a soft start to the peak passenger demand season. Tariffs, trade wars, and uncertainty over Brexit are contributing to a weaker demand environment than we saw in 2018. At the same time, the trend of moderate capacity increases is helping to achieve record load factors,” said Alexandre Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.
This July, international passenger demand rose 2.7 per cent compared to July 2018, which was a deceleration compared to the 5.3 per cent growth recorded in June. Capacity climbed 2.4 per cent, and load factor edged upward 0.2 percentage point to 85.3 per cent. All regions reported growth, led by airlines in Latin America.
Asia-Pacific airlines’ July traffic rose 2.7 per cent over the year-ago period, a slowdown compared to June growth of 3.9 per cent and their weakest performance since early 2013. Capacity increased 2.4 per cent and load factor rose 0.2 percentage point to 82.6 per cent.
US-China and Japan-South Korea trade tensions as well as political tensions in Hong Kong have all weighed on business confidence, said IATA.
European carriers registered a modest 3.3 per cent annual growth in July, down from a 5.6 per cent year-over-year increase in June. This was the slowest rate of growth since mid-2016. According to IATA, continuing uncertainty over Brexit and slowing German exports and manufacturing activity contributed to a weakening in business and consumer confidence. Capacity rose 3.2 per cent, and load factor climbed 0.1 percentage point to 89.0 per cent – highest among the regions.
Middle East carriers had a 1.6 per cent increase in demand for July, well down on the 8.3 per cent growth recorded for June, after the end of Ramadan. Weakness in global trade, volatile oil prices and heightened geopolitical tensions have been negative factors for the region, said IATA. July capacity climbed 1.0 per cent compared to a year ago and load factor rose 0.4 percentage point to 81.3 per cent.
North American airlines’ traffic climbed 1.5 per cent compared to July a year ago. This was down from 3.5 per cent growth in June, reflecting the slowdown in the US and Canadian economies and the trade disputes. July capacity rose 0.7 per cent with the result that load factor climbed 0.7 percentage point to 87.9 per cent – second highest among the regions.
Latin American airlines experienced a 4.1 per cent rise in traffic in July, which was the strongest growth among the regions but a decline from 5.8 per cent year-over-year growth in June. It occurred amid continued disruption following the demise of Avianca Brasil and more challenging business conditions in some key regional economies. Capacity rose 2.7 per cent and load factor climbed 1.1 percentage points to 85.6 per cent.
African airlines’ July traffic rose 3.6 per cent – a significant decline from the 9.8 per cent growth recorded in June, as weakening business confidence in South Africa offset solid economic conditions elsewhere on the continent. Capacity rose 6.1 per cent, and load factor slipped 1.7 percentage points to 72.9 per cent.
Domestic travel demand outperformed international growth in July, as RPKs rose 5.2 per cent in markets tracked by IATA, up from the 4.7 per cent growth in June. Domestic capacity climbed 4.7 per cent, and load factor rose 0.4 percentage point to 86.5 per cent.
China’s domestic traffic rose 11.7 per cent in July – an acceleration over the 8.9 per cent growth recorded in June and the strongest domestic performance. Growth is benefitting from lower fares and more connections.
Japan’s domestic traffic climbed 4.7 per cent in July, up from 2.6 per cent in June. Business confidence and economic growth are relatively positive at the moment.
Asia-Pacific continues to drive global demand for commercial pilots, technicians and cabin crew, according to a new Boeing report.
The 2019 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook stated that the region will account for more than one-third of anticipated global demand, or 816,000 total new commercial aviation personnel, over the next 20 years.
Boeing: APAC fuels greatest demand for commercial pilots, technicians and cabin crew
The forecast projects that the Asia-Pacific region will need 244,000 new commercial pilots, or 38 per cent, of the total number of pilots needed around the globe. This demand, stemming from a mix of anticipated fleet growth, retirements and attrition, will be most significant in China – the country is expected to need 124,000 pilots, which is more than half of the total needed in the region. South-east Asia and South Asia follow, accounting for 20 per cent and 17 per cent of the demand, respectively.
Asia-Pacific is also expected to lead global demand for maintenance technicians (249,000, or 39 per cent of global demand) and cabin crew (323,000, or 37 per cent of global demand), with China leading demand for both (124,000 maintenance technicians and 150,000 cabin crew).
Over the next 20 years, airlines around the world will need 44,000 new airplanes, with more than 17,000, or 39 per cent, of those airplanes delivered to the Asia-Pacific region.
The 2019 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook is an industry forecast of new aviation personnel demand. It is closely tied to projections for new airplane deliveries around the globe, and also takes into account annual aircraft utilisation rates, crewing requirements by region and regulatory requirements.
The full Pilot & Technician Outlook report can be read here.
Portuguese hospitality brand Tivoli Hotels & Resorts will be diversifying its portfolio by introducing the brand into the Chinese market in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province.
Tivoli Chengdu, built in partnership with Chengdu Qingyang Urban and Rural Construction Development, will sit on the south-western edge of the International Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Park. Located in the western part of Chengdu, the property will be in close proximity to the Nancaoping Ecology Park and the Tianfu Golf Club.
Tivoli Chengdu
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Tivoli Chengdu main entrance
Tivoli Chengdu hotel room
Tivoli Chengdu Conference Centre
Slated to open in 4Q2019, Tivoli Chengdu will be located together with Oaks Chengdu, adding 400 keys in categories ranging from deluxe rooms to suites and serviced apartments.
The dual properties will offer eight F&B options, including all-day dining, Chinese cuisine, specialty dining, coffee shops, as well as a lounge and bar area. Guests will also have access to spa and fitness facilities, a children’s club and banqueting and meeting facilities.
Indoor theme park Hello Kitty Land Tokyo, also known as Sanrio Puroland, has pushed out a scarily cute programme for this year’s Halloween, in collaboration with Japanese horror production company Obaken.
The Puro Halloween Party, Kawaii Masquerade, which will take place from September 13 to October 31, will follow in the tradition of previous editions where visitors can choose from two separate events: The Kawaii Masquerade at daytime or a scarier night-time version.
Puro Halloween Party: Kawaii Masquerade
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Puro Halloween Party: Kawaii Masquerade
Lady Kitty House night-time
Lady Kitty House daytime
During daytime, Lady Kitty House morphs into a beautiful doll house with special photo spots. At the Wisdom tree, visitors can meet and greet some of their favourite Sanrio characters dressed in Halloween costumes. They may even score a big hug with the characters during Hug Time.
In conjunction with the event, a new Halloween menu has been launched offering a wide variety of black- and purple-coloured dishes, such as Cinnamon’s black Halloween ramen or PomPomPurin’s masquerade donuts with pumpkin cream.
In the afternoon, the Halloween event changes to a scarier night-time setting. At the Halloween parade, visitors can snap photos with Hello Kitty Land characters, including Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, My Melody, Kuromi, Wish Me Mell and PomPomPurin, who will dance and parade in Halloween outfits. On weekends, an hour before closing time, the Lady Kitty House will turn into the Horror Doll House.
Marketed as the most spine-chilling part of the event, the Ghost Pierrot Masquerade at the Discovery Theatre will feature a play created in collaboration with Obaken. Visitors will be able to actively participate in the event which promises many unexpected and creepy turns. The minimum age limit for entry to this event is 10.
Hotelbeds has launched a fully automated loyalty platform for retail travel agent clients in South Korea.
Touted to be a “vastly improved” loyalty scheme for retail agents, the Star Rewards programme offers a faster, automated and more user-friendly interface to drive bookings in exchange for vouchers which can be redeemed online for a wide range of products and services from various brands.
Hotelbeds rolls out fully automated loyalty platform for retail travel agent clients in South Korea
Replacing its predecessor G-Shop which was used by legacy GTA clients, the new platform offers points to retail customers for every booking made through the Bedsonline booking platform. Clients can accumulate points in return for vouchers that can be spent on a wide range of goods and services via a user-friendly online interface.
Following extensive consultation with customers, the GTA retail brand in the South Korean market will progressively rebrand under Bedsonline, the retail travel agency brand of parent group Hotelbeds.
As part of this change, the combination of the GTA retail brand’s content with the existing Bedonline hotel offering will increase the number of hotels available to customers from 55,000 to 180,000.
Victoria Fernandez, retention marketing manager at Hotelbeds, said: “Now that we have moved all legacy GTA clients to the new platform, we need to go a step further and test the scheme with more clients who were not previously members of any of our loyalty schemes.
“The benefits of Star Rewards are three-fold. We have connected the business intelligence database, where all the bookings are stored, with the incentives platform. This means that clients can see how many points they have earned on a daily basis and convert them into vouchers,” she added.
“We have also signed single catalogue agreements with just a handful of providers for different regions offering access to a wider range of products and services than ever before, including household brands such as Amazon, Nike or Apple. New vendors are automatically added to the new catalogue which is being updated all the time. Last but not least, all the vouchers can be redeemed online which means the client can receive their product or service without any intervention from Hotelbeds.”
Giny Jin-Young Jun, regional sales manager, South-east Asia and Korea at Bedsonline, said: “Star Rewards marks a step change in the way we offer incentives to clients, moving towards an increasingly automated model. We are confident that Star Rewards will incentivise our existing clients to place more bookings with us and help us to increase our competitive position in this market. We will monitor client behaviour on the platform and adapt their strategy where necessary and incentivise clients through targeted campaigns in order to drive bookings and further growth for the business.”
