NOVOTEL Pune opened its doors earlier this week, becoming the latest property to debut under Accor’s Novotel brand in 4Q2013 after Novotel Goa Shrem Resort and Novotel Ahmedabad.

Jean-Michel Cassé, senior vice president, operations, Accor India, said: “Accor is focused on India as a core growth market and the expansion of the Novotel brand in 2013 has been positive with three significant openings during the year. Novotel Pune is the eighth Accor property in Maharashtra.”

Novotel Pune offers 223 guest rooms including 14 suites, five F&B outlets, and flexible banquet offerings with a divisible ballroom and six additional meeting rooms across 1,022m²of indoor and outdoor space. An interactive virtual concierge service allows guests to browse information of the hotel and the neighbourhood via a touch screen panel.

The hotel’s general manager, Bandish Mehta, said: “Initially, we are looking at ARRs of around US$81.12 and an average occupancy of 50 per cent. We expect 70 per cent of our business will come from corporate and MICE segments and the rest from the leisure segment.”

In 2014, the French hospitality group will keep up its expansion plans in India, with 10 new properties in the pipeline.

Cassé said: “We are entering new markets like Kolkata and Chennai. We have five hotels under construction in Chennai, and the first two hotels opening will be a Novotel and Ibis. We are opening a Novotel property in Kolkata early next year.

“Even though we are present in Gurgaon, we have no property in Delhi. Next year will also see the opening of first Pullman, Novotel and Ibis at the Aerocity, (where) we have 1,100 rooms under development,” he added.

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) announced yesterday a new codeshare agreement with Taiwan-based EVA Air.

The deal will see SIA add its code to an EVA-operated flight between Singapore and Taipei, while EVA will tag its code to SIA flights on the route.

Passengers of both airlines will thus be able to choose from three flights for travel, with SIA running two flights and EVA the third.

EVA Air became a member of Star Alliance in June this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 20, 2013), joining other airlines such as SIA in the alliance.

JAPANESE hospitality company Fujita Kanko has opened a new hotel in the northern city of Sendai under its Washington brand, which the company says is a “high grade of budget hotels”.

The 223-key, newly built Sendai Washington Hotel is located across the JR station in Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi prefecture and largest city in Tohoku region.

All guestrooms come with free Wi-Fi while a women-only section of the hotel offers rooms with amenities and décor catering to the female traveller.

Additionally, Sendai Washington Hotel features a restaurant serving local products and Sendai specialties.

Fujita Kanko operates another eight Washington hotels in Tohoku region, the upscale Towada Hotel in Akita Prefecture, and Hotel Chinzanso in Tokyo that was last year rebranded from the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 29, 2012).

OUTRIGGER Hotels and Resorts has relaunched its education and loyalty programme for participating travel consultants.

Renamed Outrigger Expert Agent from Outrigger Specialist Program, the refreshed programme has also been migrated to a new technology platform with enhanced functionality to allow consultants to easily keep track of their learning course.

“This accessibility feature is something our (travel consultant) members have been asking for. The simpler navigation and clearer presentation of courses also make the portal more user-friendly,” said Elizabeth Agustin, integrated marketing manager for Outrigger Enterprises Group.

“Internally, it gives us the ability to update the training materials more easily and quickly to make sure we always are offering the most current, accurate information to our Outrigger Expert Agents,” she added.

Two bonus promotions are being offered to certified consultants as part of the relaunch.

Those who complete any of the five optional learning courses and quizzes before January 31, 2014 will earn double Expert Reward Points, plus two Continuing Education Units towards the Certified Travel Associates and Certified Travel Counselors designations upon successful completion of each of the five Outrigger learning courses.

In addition, they can also earn double reward points for qualified bookings made from October 15 to December 21, 2013 for client stays at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach from October 15 to December 21, 2013 and from April 28 to June 13, 2014.

Current certified Outrigger Hospitality Specialists will automatically be registered in the new programme as Outrigger Expert Agents, and will be able to download a copy of a new certificate in their name with the new Outrigger Expert Agent logo. Other key components, such as booking procedures and reward points redemption, remain unchanged.

More information about the Outrigger Expert Agent is available at www.outriggeragent.com.

JETSTAR Asia is ramping up Singapore-Penang flights during the Lunar New Year period in 2014 to meet an anticipated increase in demand.

Nine additional flights will operate on top of the LCC’s regular double daily return service between January 28 and February 9, 2014.

For the exact dates and timings of the flights, visit Jetstar.com.

Singapore and Malaysia will mark the Lunar New Year with public holidays on January 31 and February 1, 2014.

ACCOR has redefined its business model, splitting the company into two divisions based on its core competencies of asset management and services to owners.

HotelServices will be the hotel operator and brand franchisor arm that focuses on fees and P&Ls for the group’s 3,600 hotels under 14 different brands, while the yield-oriented arm, HotelInvest, will act as the hotel owner and investor for its 1,400 owned or leased properties.

Driving Accor’s restructure is Sébastien Bazin, who became the group’s chairman and CEO in August (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 28, 2013). He said: “Accor is a strong and unique group poised to derive benefit from rich opportunities. However, it deserves a much higher ambition to create sustained value.

“(Accor) requires the in-depth, rapid transformation of both its business model and its organisation, as well as a clear and long term vision, and to stay the course. With this new strategy, our aim is to unlock Accor’s full potential through its two core activities and maximise value creation for shareholders.”

The French hotel group will move from its current hybrid set-up to a geography-based organisation, enabling decision-making closer to the frontline at lower running costs. The brands will be clustered in three segments – luxury/upscale, midscale and economy/budget – with synergies in support functions across the brands.

Accor will be managed by a new 10-member executive committee, including the five regional heads of operations, and Sven Boinet, who joins as group managing director, chief transformation officer, human resources and legal affairs.

THE Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DoT) is focusing on developing Mindanao as a tourist destination despite security concerns in the area.

Art Boncato, assistant tourism secretary with Mindanao as a special project, said his priority is to increase accessibility by encouraging international commercial and chartered flights to come to Davao, Mindanao’s gateway and most urban destination.

He disclosed that South Korean carriers Air Busan, Jeju Air and Jin Air are considering stopping in Davao. The city is home to some 5,000 South Koreans and tourist arrivals from South Korea are on the rise.

Meanwhile, SilkAir, the only foreign carrier flying to Davao, this month raised frequencies from five to six times weekly from Singapore via Cebu.

Asked about the safety situation in Mindanao after the recent strife in Zamboanga, Boncato said: “It is most crucial…to strengthen our local government units and local communities to respond (to this kind of problem).”

He added that tourism is a vehicle to peace and tourists would come to see Mindanao as peaceful, beautiful and worth the visit. “It’s a matter of positioning and sharing it with the rest of the world,” Boncato noted.

Mindanao is currently being marketed as a mainstream destination in the country alongside Bohol and Palawan in the DoT’s promotions in Europe.

HOSHINO Resorts is gearing up for the launch of its new Bali property in 2014, heralding the Japanese high-end resort operator’s arrival on the international hospitality scene.

The new resort in Ubud will be the fourth property to carry the company’s flagship brand, Hoshinoya, offering 30 rooms, a restaurant, spa, and banquet room.

“Hoshinoya is a ryokan brand, but we mix Western and traditional Japanese concepts. Our goal is to open Hoshinoya Bali in December 2014,” said Takuya Yoshioka, who handles the company’s global sales & marketing.

He expects up to 50 per cent of guests at Hoshinoya Bali to be Japanese, for whom Hoshinoya is already a household name.

The company’s expansion ambition is driven by CEO Yoshiharu Hoshino’s desire to bring Japanese brand hotels to the world, Yoshioka explained.

Acknowledging that Bali has no shortage of high-end international hotel brands, he commented: “Competition will be harsh, but we believe if we can compete in such a market, we can be an international brand. It’s very important to us that Hoshinoya Bali succeeds, and then we can move on to the next destination.”

“Someday if you go to London or Rome, we’ll be there,” he quipped.

Hoshino Resorts currently operates three Hoshinoya properties, one each in Karuizawa, Okinawa and Kyoto. In addition to Hoshinoya Bali, the company will open Hoshinoya Fuji in Yamanashi (20 to 30 rooms) in 2015 and Hoshinoya Tokyo (80 rooms) in the Marunouchi district in 2016.

It will also open two resorts under its traditional ryokan brand Kai in Tochigi’s Nikko and Kawaji in 2Q2014. Both properties are expected to have 30 rooms, each boasting a private hot spring. “The aim is to reach 30 Kai properties in the next few years,” said Yoshioka.

With Singapore being the fifth largest source market for Hoshinoya Kyoto after South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the UK and the US, Hoshino Resorts also works with luxury travel agencies in Singapore such as Fascinating Holidays and Quintessential Travel Planner.

“We have also applied for two booths at next year’s NATAS Fair in February, one for Hoshino Resorts and one for Hoshino Resort Tomamu,” he shared.