THE New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel will debut in July following the rebranding of the Hotel Nikko Hongkong, announced the management of the hotel’s joint venture owning company, Fergurson Hotel Holdings.

A collaboration between New World Hotels and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, the hotel’s rebranding will include a phased HK$120 million (US$15.5 million) renovation of the 464-room harbourfront hotel. It will remain in operation while undergoing the enhancements.

Located on Mody Road in Tsim Sha Tsui East, the hotel features 464 guestrooms and suites, with seven dining options including all-day dining, specialty restaurants and lobby lounge.

Meeting spaces include a grand ballroom and 10 meeting rooms, while recreational facilities include a health club and a rooftop pool.

ROSEWOOD Hotels & Resorts has announced the opening of Rosewood Guangzhou in 2017, joining upcoming sister properties in Beijing (summer 2014), Phnom Penh, Phuket, Bali, Bangkok, Jakarta and Sanya.

Located in the heart of Tianhe District’s central business area, the luxury property will occupy the top 16 floors and podium of the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, which is currently under development. Nearby are luxury shopping malls and cultural attractions.
It will feature 251 guestrooms from 55m² and 355 Rosewood Residences, 23 of which will be duplex apartments.

F&B outlets include a bistro, bar, lobby lounge and gourmet corner. Of the nine private dining rooms in the Chinese restaurant, three will be free-standing outdoor garden villas which can be combined into one space for celebratory events.

On the 107^th floor are a contemporary, cosmopolitan restaurant as well as a sky bar with a cigar humidor area and fully equipped wine corner and cellar.

Recreational options include a two-level Sense spa with eight spa treatment suites, a health club and an indoor pool.

Occupying a total space of 2,250m², meeting facilities include The Pavilion, a residential-style function space; a 970m² grand ballroom for 700 pax; three function rooms; two VIP rooms; one bridal suite; and a Sky Mansion on the 108^th floor featuring a show kitchen terrace.

ABOUT 59 per cent of the respondents in Asia said they searched for travel accommodation online via mobile devices – 13 per cent above global average – with Thailand topping at 65 per cent, according to a AsiaRooms.com/Lenovo survey.

Of the over 12,000 respondents representing the Internet-active adult population in more than 25 major markets including the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Oceania, about 33 per cent of respondents in this region said they book travel accommodation via mobile devices (eight per cent above global average).

The study also revealed that 63 per cent of respondents in Asia are likely to use mobile devices in the future for travel accommodation booking (10 per cent above global average).

Not surprisingly, a higher percentage of respondents from Asia (75 per cent) indicated having made reservations online – mobile or otherwise – for leisure and business trips, which is 10 per cent higher than the global average.

Singapore tops for online accommodation booking, at 84 per cent.

The top reasons for respondents not wanting to use the mobile device more often is that content is hard to see on the mobile device (40 per cent) and that Internet connection on mobile devices is slow or unstable (35 per cent).

Mobile connectivity increasingly important in Asia, with 83 per cent of the respondents in this region owning a mobile phone with Internet access. This echoes Nielsen’s latest report, which states that smartphone penetration in Asia Pacific is booming, with a number of markets here already surpassing those of the US and Europe.

Said Clarence Lin, head of marketing, APAC, AsiaRooms.com, which recently launched a mobile app for on-the-go bookings: “Consumers are increasingly connected as well as demanding greater convenience at their fingertips, and this trend is here to stay…We see travel and mobility as big passion points for consumers in Asia and will continue to extend our reach relevantly in the marketplace.”

MANDARIN Oriental Manila will shut down in September after 38 years of operation, as its existing facilities and infrastructure are “no longer in keeping with the group’s well-recognised, luxury hospitality offering”, according to Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) in a press statement.

However, a new luxury 275-room Mandarin Oriental Manila is scheduled for opening in 2020. MOHG has signed a long-term contract to brand and manage this hotel, the exact location of which is yet to be announced.

The property will form part of a mixed-use development owned and developed by Ayala Hotels & Resorts, which is expanding its collection of international brands including Raffles, Fairmont, Intercontinental and Holiday Inn, all in Makati.

Torsten van Dullemen, general manager of the existing Mandarin Oriental Manila, said in the statement the hotel “has been recognised as one of the city’s most iconic hotels since its opening in 1976″.

“All hotel colleagues have been informed of the forthcoming closure and will receive full and fair severance payment and appropriate professional guidance,” he added.

CHAN Brothers Travel Singapore last month launched a membership programme in a bid to cultivate brand loyalty among its customers.

The group’s managing director, Anthony Chan, said the first-of-its kind Chan Brothers Travel Club was conceptualised in appreciation of the company’s customer base built up over the past 50 years.

He said: “Besides emphasis on product quality, innovation and value creation, one of our focus is to elevate service quality and enhance relationships with our customers.

“Every travel consultant should know the importance of cultivating brand loyalty, which has always been a key ethos of our brand.”

This free membership allows customers to earn reward points with any booking, as well as through survey participation. The points can in turn be used to redeem vouchers to offset future bookings.

Targeting 100,000 members by end-2014, Chan said the new programme also aims to court new customers, with membership open to Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans.

The company is looking to tie up with various companies for additional member benefits such as discounts, he added.

FRHI Hotels & Resorts is on track to open Raffles Istanbul this summer and, with its reorganisation by region rather than brand recently (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 10, 2013), aims to expand further in Europe and drive ROI for owners.

With the opening of Raffles, FRHI will have all its three brands represented in Istanbul, a city which last Saturday broke ground on a third airport – one that would rival Dubai’s Al Maktoum International as the world’s biggest airport capable of handling 150 million passenger movements a year when completed in 2018.

Raffles Istanbul joins an established Swissotel Bosphorus, while a Fairmont hotel will open in the city in late 2015/early 2016, according to FRHI’s senior vice president-operations Europe, based in Zurich, Aiden McAuley.

McAuley said there is room for all three brands to be in Istanbul.

“Istanbul is a huge city and is becoming even more important as a business centre,” he said.

“We’re starting to grow in Europe in cities such as Istanbul, Baku, Kiev and Moscow, while of course looking at other key cities in Europe such as London and Paris, where we are already represented, for further expansion opportunities.”

In Turkey, it is also opening two other properties in Bodrum this year.

FRHI has 105 hotels in its portfolio now and 50 in the pipeline. MacAuley added: “It is because of this exponential growth that we decided to restructure and put someone to oversee each region – me in Europe, Wayne (Buckingham) in Asia and Samir Nasser in the Middle East, Africa and India.

“We’re able to respond faster, gain better synergies and drive/deliver performance for owners.”

Under McAuley’s charge are 30 hotels in Europe, including six to open in the next two years. Citing an example of better synergies, he said the first regional GM meeting was held recently for the existing FRHI hotels in Europe, whereas before it was more on a brand basis.

“We got together to see how we could contribute to the overall success of the company and the hotels as Europe starts to improve economically, albeit in different phases.

As well, how we could work together to take advantage of parts of the world, such as Asia, that are stronger. Also, getting new hotels to open successfully and helping development to source new projects,” said McAuley.

McAuley is no stranger to the power of Asian outbound, coming from his previous position in Singapore as managing director of Fairmont Singapore, Swissôtel The Stamford Singapore and regional vice president-Asia/Pacific of Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts.