New hotels: Swiss-Belsuites Pounamu Queenstown, Sheraton Petaling Jaya, and more

October 27, 2017

Swiss-Belsuites Pounamu Queenstown
Swiss-Belhotel International has opened the Swiss-Belsuites Pounamu Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island. The property offers 64 self-contained, serviced en-suite studios and apartments, all of which come with a washing machine, dryer, under-floor heating and complimentary Wi-Fi. Apartments come with floor-to-ceiling windows, open-plan living spaces and fully equipped kitchens, while studios feature a kitchenette. Facilities on-site include a children’s playground, BBQ facilities, a heated spa, a bike rental service, as well as a complimentary concierge service to organise trips and activities.

Sheraton Petaling Jaya
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts has opened the Sheraton Petaling Jaya in Malaysia. Located 20 minutes away from Kuala Lumpur, the new-build offers 253 guestrooms, all of which are come with specially-created Le Grand Bain bath amenities. Club Room guests have exclusive access to the 300m2 Club Lounge and can enjoy views of the city from its 31st floor perch. Recreational facilities include a fitness centre, and outdoor infinity pool on the 33rd floor. The property is also home to six F&B venues, as well as 3,000m2 of flexible event space across 14 meeting rooms.

Le Méridien Suzhou, Suzhou Bay
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts has made its debut in Suzhou with the opening of of Le Méridien Suzhou, Suzhou Bay. Offering 285 rooms including 20 suites, rooms in the property offer panoramic lake and city views through floor-to-ceiling windows. There are also six villa rooms that boast a hot spring. Facilities include a gym, 25m-long indoor swimming pool, spa, yoga rooms, kids’ club, three restaurants, and a lobby lounge. For meetings and events, the hotel offers nearly 4,000m2 of meeting and banquet facilities across two pillarless ballrooms, four function rooms, and an outdoor lawn.

Fairfield by Marriott, Coimbatore
Located in the business hub of Coimbatore, this hotel by Marriott International features 128 guestrooms. Amenities on-site include a fitness centre, an all-day dining restaurant serving Indian and Western cuisines, a 24/7 Market for drinks and snacks, business centre and three event spaces. Nearby tourist attractions include the Anamalai Tiger Reserve; Monkey Falls, a natural waterfall and popular swimming spot; and 34m-tall Adiyogi Shiva statue.

Hotel Ease
Young hospitality company Tang’s Living Group has brought its second hotel brand to Hong Kong. The 160-room Hotel Ease Tsuen Wan is the first hotel under the Hotel Ease brand. Room sizes range from 20m2 to 30m2, and each room provides a smartphone for guests to stay connected via free international calls and Internet access. Guests can also enjoy a meal or indulge in a cocktail at Eat@ease, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant with an industrial chic interior design.

Three new hotels to rise in Sentosa

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2017

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sentosa-palawan-beach — The hotels will be located in the Palawan area

Recognising the lack of mid-tier hotels in Singapore’s Sentosa, Far East Hospitality will add to the island attraction three new hotels, targeted to open mid-2019.

“With these three new properties, we hope to fill the gap of the mid-tier segment, while catering to the growing category of discerning travellers and Singapore’s robust staycation market,” said Arthur Kiong, CEO, Far East Hospitality.

The hotels will be located in the Palawan area

The company has signed a term sheet with Fontaine Investment to operate Village Hotel Sentosa, The Outpost Sentosa and a yet-unnamed third hotel, all located at Artillery Avenue in the Palawan area.

Village Hotel Sentosa, with 606 keys, targets the mid-tier market, including travellers from regional and international markets and Singaporeans looking for a family weekend getaway. Far East stated the hotel is also well suited for business meetings, networking events, as well as company retreats, with team-bonding activities such as cooking and fitness classes available.

The 193-key Outpost Sentosa, the debut Outpost property, will cater to young couples, while the third hotel will feature 40 keys and geared towards the upscale market. The properties are expected to offer activities such as aqua-based fitness classes, outdoor movie screenings, kids carnival and pool games.

How Chinese luxury travellers rate travel agents services

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2017

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Customised travel services are experiencing a surge in popularity, forcing China’s travel agencies to place a strong emphasis on the quality of travel itineraries to retain customers, according to the latest Hurun Report.

More than half of luxury travellers (58 per cent) surveyed have experienced customised travel services. Fifty-five per cent of travellers report that the provision of such services is why they chose one agency over another.

Luxury travellers are partial to travel agencies that provide well-designed itineraries, personalised services, and are actively problem-solving, placing 59 per cent, 55 per cent and 49 per cent of the emphasis on each aspect respectively. The emphasis placed on the problem-solving ability of travel agencies has experienced an 11 per cent increase in two years.

Aspects that respondents felt least satisfied with include poorly-organised itineraries (29 per cent), bad food (24 per cent) and tour guides not meeting expectations (21 per cent).

Best China/Hong Kong/Taiwan outbound luxury travel agencies 2017
Agencies in the Hurun Mainland China Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 12 ranking include 8 Continents, Diadema, D-Lux*, CITS Amex, HHtravel, My Tour, Magic Travel, Ctrip, Zanadu, CITS, CTS and CYTS.

Agencies in the Hurun Hong Kong Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 6 include Wincastle Travel, Cathay Pacific Holidays, Charlotte Travel*, American Express, Swire Travel, and Westminster.

Agencies in the Hurun Taiwan Outbound Luxury Travel Agencies 2017 Top 6 include One Style Tour*, Seascape Escape, Let’s Travel*, American Express, International Travel Information Services and Lion Travel.

Agency names are listed alphabetically; * denotes newcomers

Strongest waves of interest for Thai beaches

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2017

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Beaches and islands prove to be Thailand’s most powerful attractions for international travellers, with Krabi entering TripAdvisor’s top five Thai destinations in terms of search traffic growth for the first time this year, after registering the highest increase at 41%.

Krabi is followed by Kathu and Nai Yang in Phuket, at 37% and 31% respectively. Tied in fourth place with a 10% increase in searches is Chiang Mai in the north and border city Hat Yai in the south.

As for visitor origin markets, China continues to contribute the highest percentage increase in search traffic on TripAdvisor, with a year-on-year increase of 30%, outpacing the overall international average of 4%. India and Indonesia followed in second and third place, with year-on-year search increases of 16% and 12% respectively.

Top five Thai destinations with the biggest increase in international traveller interest:

Note: Exact percentages rounded to zero decimal points; year-on-year growth comparing July 2016 – June 2017 versus July 2015 – June 2016

The largest sources of search traffic for Thailand are China, the US, the UK, Australia and Russia. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), China and Russia were also two of the largest contributors to Thailand’s inbound tourism and inbound expenditure in 1H2017.

Top five inbound countries by overall search traffic:

Note: based on total number of searches (unique sessions) for Thailand on TripAdvisor (excluding Thailand), July 2016 – June 2017

Out of the top five inbound markets, Chinese travellers have the shortest planning lead time of approximately 51 days and stay for nearly four nights. Russian travellers take around 60 days to plan a trip but stay the longest with approximately 11 nights per stay.

Travellers from the US, the UK and Australia stay for an average of six nights and take the longest to plan, with lead times of 108, 102 and 82 days respectively.

On average, international travellers visiting Thailand start planning their trip 65 days in advance, and stay for almost five nights.

Among Chinese travellers searching Thailand, there was continued interest from second-tier cities of Hangzhou, Dalian and Qingdao. The surge in interest comes amid increasing disposable income in these cities and improved flight connectivity to South-east Asia.

Top five Chinese cities with biggest increase in traveller interest to Thailand:

Note: exact percentages rounded to zero decimal points; year-on-year growth comparing July 2016 – June 2017 versus July 2015 – June 2016 with a minimum session of 50,000

Tourism tax troubles surface in Malaysia

By S Puvaneswary

October 27, 2017

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While Malaysia’s new tourism tax may be the answer to the tourism ministry’s reduced  promotional budget and the need for infastructural development funds, it has burdened agents with teething costs and compromised the competitiveness of the budget travel segment.

Under the tax, which kicked in on September 1, foreign tourists are charged a flat rate of RM10 (US$2.40) per room per night for all accommodation types, except premises with less than five rooms.

Diethelm Travel Malaysia’s managing director, Manfred Kurz, said his company had clients from Europe and the US complain when asked to pay the tax at hotel, which they thought was already included in the package price.

Diethelm’s overseas agency partners had attempted to pay the tax on behalf of clients, but hotels insisted the tax be paid by guests at check-out, according to Kurz.

“Now clients pay the hotels then get reimbursed by their travel agents back home, but this is a hassle. Our fear is that our tour operator partners will be reluctant to promote Malaysia in future if the (inconvenience persists).”

Raaj Navaratnaa, general manager at the Johor-based New Asia Holidays Tours & Travel, added that the company had to shoulder the tax after a group of 30 youth from Singapore refused to pay.

And although those affected may apply for an exemption with the government (with approval on case-by-case basis), the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents remains concerned about members who are burdened with large sums while awaiting exemption or refunds.

Beyond the teething stages, longer term impacts are expected in the budget segment. PK Leong, president, Malaysia Budget Hotel Association, said for budget hotels that charge RM50 per room night, the RM10 tourism tax is a significant 20 per cent extra.

“We had members saying that guests walked out when they (found out) about the tax. Where do you think they will go? Airbnb operators will benefit because they are unregulated and unregistered and (hence) do not have to collect the tax.”

“By implementing this tax in a hurry, and without registering all accommodation providers, the government has created a lopsided and unfair market. Us small business operators who abide by the law and register with the government are being punished,” he lamented.

Raaj also foresees longhaul backpackers would shorten their stay in Malaysia in the long run, benefiting neighbouring countries, like Indonesia and Thailand.

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s overseas promotional budget was this year slashed from RM200 million to RM110 million. Tourism and culture minister, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, estimated the new tax would bring a return of over RM210 million a year based on an average occupancy of 60 per cent of the 237,391 rooms registered with the government.

[Sponsored Post] JW Marriott Hotel Macau

By TTGmice

October 26, 2017

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With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites, and 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings.

Situated within Galaxy Macau – one of the world’s most spectacular entertainment and leisure destinations – JW Marriott Hotel Macau is redefining the standard of meetings in Asia. The dazzling array of state-of-the-art meeting facilities in these hotels allow you to unleash endless possibilities at your next event, be it an imaginative team-building adventure or a stylish high-profile launch – our hotel let you dictate a bespoke experience where the only limit is your imagination.

With 1,015 luxurious rooms and suites exquisitely styled and furnished, as well as 2,700 sq. m. of flexible meeting space, JW Marriott Hotel Macau is Asia’s largest JW Marriott and the brand’s flagship property in Macau. The ballroom on the ground floor boasts 1,920 sq. m., which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests; while six meeting rooms on the 2^nd floor provide intimate spaces for personalized meetings or breakout sessions.

JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s ballrooms are equipped with the latest high-tech facilities to ensure that your conference or social gathering is a success. With our audio and visual equipment, operators can coordinate a flawless event without the hassle. For example, at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom lighting, colors and other stage effects can be controlled effortlessly and seamlessly with just a click on an iPad.

A medium-scale company planned to organize a team-building activity at the Grand Resort Deck. Due to unexpected bad weather on the day, our MICE team quickly organized an indoor treasure hunt team-building activity in the hotel to accommodate the sudden change.

A corporate training session was hosted in the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Grand Ballroom by an international top tier technology brand. To ensure their displayed products were well cared for when the clients were away from the exhibition, our teams carefully locked away the products and stationed our hotel staff to ensure no one could enter the venue during the break time.

One of the world’s most valuable luxury brands organized a meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau’s Ballroom for 200 internal staff. In order to perfectly pair the event with their luxurious brand image, our MICE team carved all the guests’ names on a rectangular-shape cake, with our gourmet expertise.

Although fireworks are generally not allowed in Macau, our MICE team struck out to meet the exceptional needs of our clients and successfully received a fireworks permit from the Macau government.

We specialize in business events of all sizes, with adaptable venues and state-of-the-art facilities. Delicious catering, from coffee breaks to elaborate sit-down meals can be offered to your meeting guests. Start planning your meeting or event with us by contacting our MICE team at (853) 8886 6888 or mhrs.mfmjw.sales@marriott.com