PUTTING its foot to the pedal is Fujita Kanko, set to open two new overseas offices in Bangkok and Jakarta this month alone.

The 60-year old company, which operates the Washington and Gracery hotel chains in Japan, as well as Hotel Chinzan-so Tokyo, is gunning for ambitious 25 per cent growth in overseas guests by 2019.

It also hopes to build international awareness of its brands among travellers.

“Adding Bangkok and Jakarta bases is a critical step in our business plan,” said Akira Segawa, Fujita Kanko’s president and CEO.

“South-east Asia is a strategically important market – an increasingly strong inbound market for Japan, and also a very popular destination for Japanese travellers.”

Fujita Kanko currently has offices in Shanghai, Seoul, Taipei and Singapore, and its Singapore operation was merged with its Jakarta office last month. The consolidated office will oversee business in Malaysia as well.

Last year, the company also announced it will open a hotel in Seoul in 2018, its first overseas property since 2002.

Segawa said: “We’ve built a broad range of hospitality expertise, and offer some of Japan’s most upscale, exquisite properties. We’re eager to welcome more international travellers, and to build local businesses, including opening hotels, in other Asian markets.”

STARWOOD Hotels and Resorts Worldwide made its market debut in Myanmar with signing of the Sheraton Yangon last week.

Owned by Family Business Group Hotel, the hotel is located in Tamwe Township near Kandawgyi Lake and scheduled to open in mid-2017.

The hotel will feature 375 guestrooms, three dining venues, a spa, fitness centre, swimming pool, and 1,880m² of events space.

While the Sheraton brand is widely thought in the hospitality industry to have lost ground to new brands launched by chains catering to increased customer sophistication and changing demographics, Starwood is not giving up on its storied brand.

Starwood earlier this week launched a 10-point plan to revive Sheraton, including the creation of a new tier of hotels, Sheraton Grand, and a US$100 million marketing campaign.

HUGE changes await the beleaguered Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as it restructures into a new “start-up company”, including a rebranding and revisions to its fleet and routes.

MAS parent company, Khazanah Nasional, said its third quarterly progress update of MAS’ restructuring that the national carrier will be “principally commercial” while remaining “a full-service international airline, maintaining current domestic routes”.

Khazanah is porting over MAS’ assets and liabilities to Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), the new company that takes over MAS operations on September 1, according to an article byReuters.

At the centre of MAS’ attempt to reinvent itself is MAB’s managing director and group CEO, Christoph Mueller, who has been credited with turning around carriers such as Lufthansa, Irish national carrier Aer Lingus and Belgium’s Sabena.

Said Mueller to Reuters: “It’s not a continuation of the old company in a new disguise, everything is new.”

Khazanah’s press statement said the revamped airline will be like a “start-up company” – equipped with a “refreshed Malaysian-centric brand”, young fleet and updated products on all longhaul flights, including flat beds in Business class and a better in-flight entertainment system. A new catering concept and more customisable flight experiences will also be on offer.

The new MAS will serve destinations in South-east Asia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Saudi Arabia, and is exploring potential partnerships that will see Africa, the US and Europe covered within its network even as it mulls further route rationalisation.

It has already suspended flights to Frankfurt, Kunming, Krabi and most recently, Kochi in India.

The airline’s costs are 20 per cent above its rivals and Mueller was reported as saying that it will take three years to close the gap and return to profitability.

Furthermore, despite having denied rumours of aircraft sales not a month ago, Mueller also confirmed to Reuters that MAS has been trying to sell two of its Airbus A380s.

Revamped MAS will likely have a smaller fleet, but retain all of its current types of aircraft.

THE Akaryn Samui Resort and Spa has been rebranded under the Outrigger brand after being bought over by Outrigger Hotels & Resorts for a “very good” price.

Bangkok-based Akaryn Hospitality Management Services was the owner and operator of Akaryn Samui, and released its flagship luxury resort to Outrigger for the “very good” offer for the five-star resort, said founder and managing director Anchalika Kijkanakorn.

Now named the Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort, the property was launched in 2012 and is situated in Hanuman Bay for privacy. It is 10 minutes away from Samui International Airport.

The resort features 27 Garden Pool Suites, four Ocean View Pool Suites, 3 Ocean Front Pool Suites and 18 Garden Pool Villas, all of which come with a balcony or terrace, private pool, Wi-Fi, and air-conditioning.

Three restaurants, a bar, swimming pool with swim-up bar, spa, and fitness centre are some of the other amenities within resort premises.

The acquisition is part of Outrigger’s bid to reach beyond its native Hawaii, as it told TTG Asia e-Daily earlier this year.

There are currently nine Outrigger properties, two each in Hawaii, Fiji, and Thailand, and one each in Guam, the Maldives and Mauritius, and the company is planning properties in Seychelles, Thailand, Indonesia, Micronesian, Palau, Okinawa, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

AIMING to groom a new generation of start-ups focused on travel commerce, Travelport today announced the development of a seed-stage investment and mentorship programme.

The programme will be handled completely by Travelport experts with start-up experience and mentorship background, running in four-month cycles with up to four start-ups accepted in each cycle.

Participants in the programme will have access to Travelport’s experienced staff of product managers, designers, developers and coaches across the world as well as to its APIs, software development kits and data feeds.

Travelport will also provide office space and other practical support services under the programme, which is similar to Travelport’s own in-house incubation scheme.

At the end of each cycle, the start-ups will be given the chance to pitch their innovations to senior Travelport executives, investors and other potential business development partners in the travel industry.

Jason Nash, head of marketing and product incubation, said in a statement: “We’re serious about redefining travel commerce and we know there are some highly talented developers and travel start-ups out there who are also looking to have a positive impact on the travel commerce landscape.

“Our programme is different because we’re running it completely in-house with dedicated experts which really demonstrates how involved we want to get and our level of commitment to taking the most successful ventures forward.”

Application details can be found on Travelport’s website here.

AirAsia Group also launched its own incubator programme for start-ups in the travel, payment and retail verticals in April this year.

ACCOR has announced the opening of Sofitel Xining and The Sebel Xining, its first Sebel property in China.

Located in the west of Xining City, both Sofitel and The Sebel are just 30 minutes from Xining Caojiabao Airport, 15 minutes from the old town and 20 minutes from the high-speed train station.

Sofitel Xining offers 492 rooms and suites, and three restaurants to cater to all tastes. Nabe is Xining’s first full-service Japanese restaurant, while Le Chinois serves Chinese haute cuisine and local specialties, with private dining rooms for special occasions. All-day dining outlet Kwee Zeen features Chinese, South-east Asian and European food.

For meetings, the hotel’s function rooms have a total capacity of 2,500m² for up to 1,000 pax.

Leisure options include an indoor pool, gym and spa that specialises in traditional oriental rejuvenating treatments. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel.

For The Sebel Xining, each of the 197 apartments has a fully equipped kitchen, living area and bathroom. A direct connection to Sofitel Xining provides guests access to the hotel’s facilities.

The hotel complex is part of the Xining Xin Hua Lian City Complex, which comprises a five-star hotel, high-end shopping centre, office buildings and residential towers.

To celebrate the openings of both properties, guests can enjoy one night in a Sofitel Luxury Room at RMB1,088 (US$176) or a Sebel Superior Apartment at RMB988.

This includes free buffet breakfast for two, RMB100 F&B credit at restaurant outlets and late check-out. Packages are valid until June 30.

SINGAPORE-BASED budget carrier Jetstar Asia will be relocating its Kuala Lumpur operations to the new klia2 terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) effective July 8.

The new terminal for LCCs is less than 2km from the KLIA Main Terminal, but passengers transferring from the Main Terminal must clear immigration and pick up their checked bags before moving on to the next flight at klia2.

However, flight schedules, groundhandlers, check-in facilities or check-in timings remain unchanged, and Jetstar Asia’s straight-to-gate web check-in services will continue to be available in the new terminal.

Travellers who have booked travel between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur on and after June 2 will receive an updated email itinerary indicating the new departure terminal.

For more information, visit Jetstar Asia’s website.