TRAVELPORT expects to roll out a B2B2C product later this year, by which agencies can send a detailed itinerary containing images, information and live links, allowing customers to access and purchase add-ons during the rest of the travel cycle.

Aimed at making ancillary purchases hassle-free, the itinerary product supports social media integration, and will also come in a white-label version for branding.

Damian Hickey, vice president, distribution sales & services, Travelport, said: “(The product) is driven by the travel consultants’ and airlines’ desire to serve customers; airlines want to effectively continue the selling experience with passengers the whole way through, until they get home.”

Meanwhile, the sale of ancillary products is still a major topic of debate among airlines, travel consultants and GDS providers.

Ian Heywood, vice president, global supplier strategy, GDSs, Travelport, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Travel consultants are starting to book ancillaries on the GDS. This is one area in which the industry needs to work together on. Travel consultants need to be able to book ancillaries in a very efficient manner or the customer will go to another travel consultant or the airline direct.

“One thing that often comes up from travel consultants is that they are not getting paid (for the extra effort). That’s a discussion they and airlines need to have, but that’s a little of a chicken-and-egg situation.

“If travel consultants can demonstrate that they can generate that sort of additional value to the airlines, then airlines would be more willing to enter the discussion. At the moment the ancillary industry is in its infancy, so there’s got to be trust on both sides.”

Travelport currently has 24 airlines selling 50 different ancillary types across 178 countries. Within the last eight months it has signed on major LCCs Ryanair, AirAsia and Tigerair.

He added: “Ancillary revenues are very important to airlines – which don’t make a lot of money – and are estimated to reach US$45 billion next year. If you take them away from the airlines they would be making losses everywhere.”

Asked what is the weirdest ancillary item within the Travelport inventory, Heywood quipped: “(Space to transport a) hang-glider is a weird ancillary. That, and pets.”

Separately, Travelport yesterday announced its acquisition of Hotelzon, a B2B hotel distribution provider, as part of its Beyond Air offering.

Hotelzon will continue to operate under its existing brand and be led by incumbent CEO, Jani Kaskinen, who will report to Niklas Andréen, head of Travelport’s global hospitality, car and advertising business.

With the acquisition, there will be expanded hotel content in both Travelport’s and Hotelzon’s booking platforms and new technology, including Hotelzon’s corporate self-booking tool.

UNWTO and IATA have signed an MoU for joint innovation and talent development in the public and private sectors to promote competitive and sustainable tourism development, with a focus on the air transport industry.

Under the agreement, IATA will support the creation of a new category within the UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism, which will recognise innovation in marketing and product development with the objective to enhance connectivity and increase travel accessibility by airlines, travel agencies and other travel and tourism companies.

IATA will also be a leading implementing partner in the UNWTO Knowledge Network Talent Development initiative, which aims to support young talents in the tourism sector through internships, knowledge transfer and research.

Carlos Vogeler, UNWTO executive-secretary of member relations, said: “Air travel is a key driver of tourism development around the world and we are looking forward to joining forces with IATA in promoting the important innovations spurred by travel companies and further fostering young talents in the tourism and air transport sectors.”

Ismail Albaidhani, head of IATA Global Partnership and Travel & Tourism Unit, said: “We are now working very closely with UNWTO to strengthen the collaboration between the various travel and tourism value-chain partners, and today’s (June 10) important agreement establishes a solid platform to launch crucial joint-industry initiatives worldwide.”

Additionally, UNWTO and IATA agreed to co-organise an event on air travel and tourism value chains next January, in the framework of the UNWTO Awards taking place in Madrid.

MARINA Bay Sands yesterday announced it no longer serves shark fin in restaurants it owns and operates, nor offers it at MICE events at Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

This initiative, which was piloted in October 2013, is aligned to the integrated resort’s global sustainability strategy – Sands Eco360°, which drives the stewardship of responsible business operations in the areas of green buildings, environmentally responsible operations, green meetings and sustainability education and outreach.

MBS’ MICE clients can choose from the Green Harvest Menu that features ingredients sourced locally to reduce food miles. Additionally, selected seafood served at MICE events as well as restaurants owned and operated by the resort are sourced from suppliers that fish or farm responsibly.

MBS is showcasing its sustainable seafood offerings from June 8 to 15 at its international buffet restaurant, Rise, in conjunction with Singapore’s first Sustainable Seafood Festival organised by WWF. Rise will serve 13 dishes in its special sustainable seafood menu alongside daily buffet menu.

The resort will also work with its tenants to encourage sustainable practices, including recycling, reducing food wastage and removing shark fin from their menus.

HILTON Worldwide yesterday announced the signing of management agreements with Eden Group for five Hilton Hotels & Resorts properties in Myanmar.

Under the agreements, two of Eden Group’s recently opened properties in Naypyidaw and on Ngapali beach in Rakhine State will be rebranded as Hilton Nay Pyi Taw and Hilton Ngapali Beach Resort respectively. They are scheduled to welcome their first guests as Hiltons this October.

Three other hotels will open in the next three years, namely Hilton Bagan and Hilton Inle Lake in 2016, and Hilton Mandalay in 2017.

The 200-room Hilton Nay Pyi Taw will open in time for the ASEAN Summit and ASEAN Plus Summit 2014 in November. The hotel spans more than 404,000m², and will feature three F&B outlets including an all-day dining restaurant, as well as meetings and events spaces.

Hilton Ngapali Beach Resort, located on the popular beach destination overlooking the Indian Ocean, offers 51 guestrooms. The beachfront property also features an all-day dining outlet, a hotel bar and function rooms.

Hilton Bagan will offer 220 rooms; Hilton Inle Lake, 180; and Hilton Mandalay, 300 with a spacious 1,000m² ballroom.

Citing 2013’s statistics from Myanmar Tourism, Hilton said in its press statement that the country witnessed about two million tourist arrivals in 2013, a significant increase of over 90 per cent visitors from 2012, and that it is likely demand for rooms will outpace supply in the next five to 10 years.

Andrew Clough, Hilton Worldwide senior vice president of development, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, told TTG Asia e-Daily design adjustments to the hotels in Naypyidaw and Ngapali are being carried out to meet Hilton’s brand standard.
U Chit Khine, Eden Group chairman, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Although Thingaha (the existing brand for the Naypyidaw and Ngapali hotels) is quite a reputable brand in the country, we still need to learn a lot about hospitality. This is also the right time to bring such a big international hotel chain into Myanmar to promote the quality of services and to access the international market. It is very important for Myanmar to reconnect with international communities.”

Eden Group is one of Myanmar’s largest private companies founded in 1990. Its key business sectors include construction, banking, hospitality, energy and agriculture.

ASCOTT today announced it has secured its first franchise agreements in Vientiane, Laos and Bali, Indonesia.

The agreements are for an operating serviced residence in Vientiane that will be rebranded as a 116-unit Somerset Vientiane in the 4Q2014, and a 194-unit Citadines Kuta Beach Bali scheduled to open this August.

Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s CEO, said: “These franchise agreements mark a new milestone for Ascott…Franchise will be one of Ascott’s growth drivers for the future. Through the franchise agreements, we have added two more cities to our portfolio to reach 85 cities worldwide.

“Together with investments, management contracts and strategic alliances, franchise will bring us closer to achieving our target of 40,000 apartment units globally by 2015.”

He added: “As the Laos government pushes for more economic reforms and creates more special economic zones across the country, the number of expatriates and corporate travellers in the economic hub of Vientiane will increase. This will generate significant demand for our serviced residence, especially since there is a lack of international-class serviced residences in Vientiane.

“While most of our guests are expatriates and business travellers on extended stay, more leisure travellers are also choosing to stay in Ascott’s serviced residences. Bali is a popular destination for holiday, meetings and conferences…It (the Bali property) will further reinforce Ascott’s position as the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in Indonesia with over 2,400 apartment units across 11 properties in Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali.”

Ascott awarded the franchise for Somerset Vientiane to a subsidiary of LCD Global Investments, a real estate and hospitality group listed on the Singapore stock exchange.

Under the agreement, the serviced residence will be managed by Ascott for the first two years to ensure that it is refurbished to Somerset brand standards before transitioning to a franchise arrangement.

The franchise for Citadines Kuta Beach Bali was awarded to Menara Permata Propertindo.

VIVE Hospitality, provider of bespoke white label services for new or existing properties, has entered into an agreement with Malaysia’s Triton Equity to develop, brand and operate the new Qliq Damansara in Kuala Lumpur, opening this year.

Qliq Damansara is adjacent to eclectic architecture, corporate offices and the Damansara Performing Arts Centre, and provides quick access to Kuala Lumpur and key suburbs via major expressways. All rooms come with a view of lush greenery or the modern city landscape.

Michael Luible, executive director of Vive Hospitality, said: “ It was an exciting task to conceptualise and brand a quirky hotel with the needs and aspirations of ‘generation next’ in mind. We are confident the upbeat design and ambience of the hotel, combined with the intuitive, genuine and vibrant service delivery of our Talents will position Qliq Damansara firmly as the choice hotel for the avant-garde traveller within the Petaling Jaya area.”

The ‘Talents’, or ‘Qliq-ers’, are a team of service personnel handpicked through a stringent yet unique selection process, where candidates introduce their abilities through various social media platforms. They are intuitive, genuine and vibrant, thus delivering service that is prompt and effective.

The 271-room hotel also offers high-speed Internet and engaging facilities at the Qliq Corner. Visit www.qliqhotels.com to enjoy special opening rates.

COSTA Cruises’ first Around-the-World cruise customised for Greater China tourists opened for booking yesterday.

Departing from Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on March 4, 2015, Costa Atlantica (with a capacity for 2,680 passengers) will sail across three oceans and five continents, visiting 28 destinations in 18 countries and regions. Cruise fares of this 83-day voyage start at US$17,742 per person.

Guests who book External Classic Cabins (fromUS$22,580 per person) before June 30, 2014 can enjoy a special complimentary upgrade to Balcony Premium Cabins (from US$32,258 per person).

Bookings can be made through Costa’s preferred sales agents Miramar Travel, Westminster Travel and Wing On Travel Service.

Costa Cruises had last month announced in a press statement the launch of this special cruise, which would depart from Shanghai or Hong Kong for an 86-day and 83-day journey respectively, and will also provide Chinese-speaking crew members on board as well as Asian cuisines.

Buhdy Bok, senior vice president Pacific Asia & China, Costa Crociere, said in the statement: “Our aim is to further develop the Asia-Pacific cruise market…our experience in serving the Hong Kong market has shown that Hong Kong people have a great love for the joie de vivre of travelling and exploring exotic locations. We are confident the 86-day Around-the-World tour on Costa Atlantica will satisfy their infinite passion for travelling.”