NOVOTEL Vines Resort in Swan Valley, Western Australia is running a campaign that gives out a discounted or free night’s stay to guests who have a certain amount of social capital online in a bid to boost its own online presence.

Guests who have a certain number of followers or likes on Instagram or Facebook will be entitled to participate in this deal that runs until March 31, 2016. For example, guests with 1,000 Instagram followers will receive a 10 per cent discount, and for 10,000 followers or more the room is free.

To qualify, guests need proof of their fan base upon booking and to post a minimum of two photos throughout their stay.

“We saw the impact the bloggers had with their social media throughout their stay and it made us think it was an area we could tap into a little better than we had been,” said Carly Odgers, marketing manager of Novotel Vines Resort.

Hosting a group of bloggers from Singapore in partnership with Scoot in February inspired Novotel Vines Resort to use social media as currency.

“It’s a more cost-effective way to market and use the social media influencers to gain traction for your property,” Odgers added.

Stockholm’s Nordic Light Hotel claims to be the world’s first hotel to have implemented this strategy. Over seven months ending December 2014, 194 guests traded their social media connections for a total of 423 free nights’ accommodation.

MELIÁ Hotels International has signed up two new hotels on Bali to take its total on the island to six, with both to operate under the Spanish chain’s Sol House beach brand.

The 132-room Sol House Kuta Bali opened only recently but will be adapted in the next few months to fit in with the brand’s concept of a casual setting for the young, lifestyle-conscious clientele.

Sol House Jimbaran, also on the southern tip, is a 178-room condominium-style complex that is scheduled to open in 2018.

In a statement Meliá said the two new properties, along with its contract for a 200-room and 26-villa Sol House eco-resort on Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island, would reinforce its presence in Asia.

Other markets the group is looking to open up in are Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and Lombok in Indonesia.

Now represented in five countries, the group’s Asian division says it expects to surpass one million stays this year with an average of 55 per cent of clients coming from domestic markets.

Vice president of Meliá Hotels International for Asia-Pacific, Bernardo Cabot, said the company’s long experience in traditional western vacation markets will help in developing the Sol House resort brand in Asia.“For several decades our company has led the vacational sector in much of the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

“So we are in the best of conditions to expand into the main holiday destinations of Asia-Pacific and satisfy the expectations of modern travellers, offering innovative experiences that revolutionise the traditional sun-and-beach concept,” he said.

KERALA’s newly unveiled tourism campaign for 2015 could backfire as its alcohol ban kicks in, with the conference and convention sector in particular expected to take a hit.

Since April 1, only 24 five-star hotels in Kerala have been licensed to serve India-made foreign liquor.

This spells trouble for Kerala Tourism’s Rs150 million (US$2.4 million) Visit Kerala 2015initiative, which was rolled out on April 15.

“We will focus on products that are unique to Kerala like Ayurveda and spice route. We will foray into new markets like China by participating in trade fairs and roadshows and organising fam tours. Kerala will be promoted as a major wedding and MICE destination through online campaigns,” said G Kamala Vardhana Rao, secretary, Kerala Tourism.

The NTO has also reduced luxury tax rates from 12.5 per cent to five per cent to help hotels reduce room tariffs during the low season.

However, Kunju Michael, managing director of Hotel Maharani in Calicut, lamented that the alcohol ban will drive tourists to other destinations instead.

“The ban will have a direct effect on services like conferences and conventions. I presume that every year we’ll see a 10 per cent drop in the business,” he added.

Similarly, Abraham George, chairman and managing director, Intersight Holidays and president, Kerala Travel Mart, believed that the ban would have a negative effect on MICE and convention businesses.

“We are discussing with the government to amend the rules and allow us special licences for conferences and conventions,” he added.

Nevertheless, Kerala Tourism will continue venturing into new markets in China and Sri Lanka through trade fairs, roadshows and fam tours, court upcoming markets like the US, and continue aggressive campaigns in traditional markets such as the UK, France and Germany.

A focused Ayurveda and monsoon campaign will be conducted in the Middle East where 90 per cent of the Indian diaspora is from Kerala.

Kerala recorded 923,000 foreign tourists in 2014.

Additional reporting by Rohit Kaul

MARKING its 20^th anniversary since it opened in 1995, Singapore Marriott Hotel this month took on a new name in a nod to its history.

The newly christened Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel comes with a new logo as well.

The luxury hotel is situated at the junction of Scotts Road and Orchard Road and within the same development as the iconic Tangs department store, and is owned by Tang Holdings.

Special discounts and dining offers have been rolled out to commemorate the hotel’s anniversary, including an Ultimate 3-Day, 2-Night Luxury Escapade package deal available from May 4 to July 31.

Call (65) 6831-4555 for more information and bookings.

SPA and F&B day resort Gourmet Farms in Tagaytay has unveiled its new line-up of products targeting leisure travellers, events and agritourism.

Gourmet Farms’ organises pre-scheduled day tours of its organic farm facilities, where it grows lettuce, herbs, indigenous herbal teas, raises organic pork and poultry, and roasts high-value, locally sourced coffee beans including civet coffee.

While Gourmet Farms does not market itself as a B&B, it hosts specialised spiritual and wellness detox retreats for religious-oriented groups of up to 30 pax, who can pre-book a whole day or 3D2N weekend stay at the resort’s 20 casitas with ready access to its chapel and function area with audiovisual equipment and Wi-Fi.

The farm’s product is served on the a la carte and banquet menus of its restaurant, The Dining Room. Capable of accommodating up to 150 pax, the restaurant has two private dining areas, one for six guests and the other for 15.

For banquets, the al fresco garden can hold up to 300 pax.

Gourmet Farms is promoting its farm and restaurant as part of the ongoing Flavours of the Philippines festival in the run-up to the Madrid Fusion Manila gastronomy congress and exhibition.

SUCCUMBING to the competitive market of online hotel bookings, Singapore-based AsiaRooms.com has folded after seven years of losses, said a local report.

According to Singapore daily Today, AsiaRooms.com’s staff were notified of the closure in late February and by April 2, web visitors were redirected to sister site LateRooms.com.

Both brands are owned by TLRG, which is in turn owned by travel giant TUI Group.

Andrea Tarpey, TLRG’s head of communications, told Today that AsiaRooms.com’s closure was due to a “highly competitive market” and that the site has not performed up to expectations.

However, AsiaRooms.com will honour existing reservations with the same team in place to support customers, said Tarpey in the article.

THE Malaysian government’s proposal to do away with the 10 per cent service charge imposed by hotels and restaurants has met with resistance from major stakeholders, who say that the move will hurt worker wages.

Since the introduction of a GST this month, the government has mooted the idea of only allowing restaurants and hotels that have a collective agreement with their staff to continue charging for service.

A collective agreement is a commercial agreement negotiated collectively between a company and the relevant trade union.

Authorities later suggested the removal of the service charge altogether, which the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and the Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) have criticised.

Both organisations say the service charge should remain as is for the benefit of rank-and-file workers.

MAH is urging the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to intervene and hold an inter-governmental meeting to find an amicable solution, while MTUC has threatened nationwide picketing if the service charge is abolished.

Samuel Cheah, president of MAH, told TTG Asia e-Daily today that the fee collected goes back to the staff and, while only seven per cent of the hotel industry is unionised, the Letter of Appointment contract between the employer and employee should also count as a collective agreement.

To find a resolution, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism wants to hold a meeting with government agencies, consumer associations, unions and associations from hotels and the F&B industry.

Hospitality consultant, Reginald Pereira, CEO of MIHR Consulting, opined that the service charge should be incorporated into the pricing and workers be paid a fixed salary.

“Workers benefit because they get a higher contribution to the Employees Provident Fund and with a higher fixed salary, it becomes easier for them to apply for loans. Employers benefit because their payroll remains constant despite fluctuations in hotel revenue,” he said.

“When Singapore can implement fixed salaries successfully in the hospitality industry and there are no issues about it, why can’t we do the same here?”