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.

SINGAPORE Airlines’ regional wing, SilkAir, today added one more Australian destination to its network – Cairns.

The thrice-weekly service operates on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with both business and economy class seats.

Saturday flights travel direct to Cairns and return via Darwin, SilkAir’s only other Australian destination, while Monday and Thursday services fly to Cairns via Darwin but are non-stop to Singapore on the return leg.

Commenting in a press release, Cairns Airport CEO, Kevin Brown, said: “The connectivity with Singapore that the new SilkAir services provides will be a great boost for the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef destination.”

“This Singapore service is a key link in our international network, giving holiday visitors from Asia and Europe a new option for easy access direct into Cairns,” he added.

“It also offers convenient new options for local people to travel overseas, whether to enjoy Singapore as a destination in its own right or to connect through to other destinations.”

DHIGURAH island in the Maldives is set to become home to the largest tourism project in the country, with 14 room categories and 15 F&B outlets when completed.

Speaking at the Hospitality Investment Conference Indian Ocean in Colombo last week, chairman and managing director of Sun Siyam, Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, announced plans for new properties in the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

This included the 600-room resort on Dhigurah island currently in development, to boast 14 different room categories, 15 F&B outlets, family-friendly accommodations, and an underwater restaurant and wine cellar when it is finished.

Sun Siyam will also expand across Sri Lanka. In addition to the existing Sun Aqua Pasikudah, it will develop an over-water villa resort in Kalpitiya.

The project comes at the perfect time for overseas expansion of Maldivian brands, Siyam said.

“The Maldives has a form of home-grown service culture and industry know-how that is currently not being fully utilised to its full potential domestically, and certainly not on the international stage… Maldivian hospitality can create desire and demand in any region,” he added.

According to Siyam, international travellers are seeking authentic experiences, making it no longer necessary to recreate a Western travel experience in the Maldives, but instead something that is “truly Maldivian”.

Siyam launched his first Maldivian resort in 1998 and manages the The Sun Siyam and Sun Aqua brands, with three luxury properties in the Maldives and one in Sri Lanka.

STARWOOD Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is implementing today a 10-point plan to get Sheraton Hotels and Resorts back on track as the global brand of choice.

The plan includes reclaiming Sheraton’s status as a meetings brand, launching a new tier, Sheraton Grand, and re-evaluating brand standards and fee structures to improve owner economics. A US$100 million marketing campaign from this year to 2017 has also been promised.

One of the oldest brands around, dating back to 1937, Sheraton is widely thought by the hotel industry to have lost its positioning and been eclipsed by new brands launched by chains catering to increased customer sophistication and changing demographics.

Acquired by Starwood in 1998, Sheraton is the largest in the chain’s stable and second oldest after Westin Hotels & Resorts.

The 10-point plan is as follows, with immediate effect:

1. Introduce new Sheraton brand positioning
Reinvigorate Sheraton with a new vision; create a new visual identity for Sheraton that incorporates its iconic logo; enhance the digital experience and develop compelling content

2. US$100 million Sheraton marketing campaign
Roll out a multichannel global advertising campaign through 2017; execute the richest Sheraton-focused SPG promotions in Starwood’s history; ramp up media buzz and social strategy to engage consumers across all channels

3. Launch Sheraton Grand
Elevate over 100 premier Sheraton hotels to new Sheraton Grand tier; showcase Sheraton’s best properties and create a halo effect; focus first on global gateways to lure high-value travellers; encourage more owners to renovate properties to achieve new Sheraton Grand stature

4. Earn owners’ confidence in Sheraton
Laser-focus on revenue and profit-driving initiatives and programmes to boost owner value; balance building and conversion costs with exceptional guest experience; re-evaluate brand standards and fee structures to improve owner economics

5. Ignite associates’ passion for Sheraton
Enlist Sheraton general managers as leaders of change

6. Get service right at Sheraton
One way is to “tackle lowest-performing hotels, move the middle, and learn from the top”

7. Reclaim Sheraton’s status as the meetings brand
It will kick off a global customer blitz and amp up booking rewards and incentives

8. Innovate the Sheraton guest experience
Offering unique and imaginative premium sleep, entertainment, fitness and bath experiences; invigorating F&B; harnessing Sheraton Club potential

9. Differentiate Sheraton through design
Transform public spaces and guestrooms, and leverage lobby design to drive revenue

10. Strengthen Sheraton
Open 150-plus new hotels by 2020 through conversions, adaptive reuse and new-build projects; develop the right properties in the right markets with favourable returns for owners and their investors; create a flexible new-build product that enhances hotel profitability in secondary and tertiary markets.