A NEW company that provides white-label hospitality solutions to independent hotel owners with distinctive assets in South-east Asia and beyond has been launched.

Led by two hoteliers who had previously worked with world-renowned hotel brands, Michael Luible and Stephan Gnagi, VIVE’s first project, which it is conceptualising, managing and operating, is a 271-room hip four-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur’s affluent district Damansara.

To be named Qliq Hotel, it is part of a mixed-use development that includes residential and commercial areas and a performing arts centre.

Luible,VIVE’s executive director, opened and repositioned One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives and Capella in Singapore. He was also involved in rebranding and upscaling One&Only Kanuhura, Maldives, and was regional director of One&Only Resorts. Luible also served as general manager of Le Touessrok Mauritius and Raffles Hotel Singapore, and was managing director of Karma Resorts before setting up the new venture.

Gnagi, VIVE’s managing director, held senior management positions with The Savoy Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, One&Only, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Fairmont Raffles Hotels International.

Also on VIVE’s board of directors are investment banker Tatang Tabrani; Linda Wong, who specialises in M&As, real estate and commercial transactions; and Susie Cheah-Gnagi, specialist in sales and marketing and the development/distribution of wellness products.

Luible said VIVE aimed to be unique by providing bespoke and tailormade white-label solutions for each property, its geographies and market. It hopes to build up a portfolio of properties that are “distinctive in design and branding, always genuine and consistent in service, developed at exceptional locations, focused on smart utilisation of land and space, and are integrated with the community and environmental-friendly”.

The type of properties include urban-iconic hotels and residences, resort getaways and heritage landmarks.

“We believe there is a demand for owners to create their own brand instead of developing the brand of international management companies,” he said. “Owners don’t have to communicate through corporate layers. Due to our lean structure, we are able to offer attractive fees and light overheads.”

BALI will host the Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) next year to provide a platform for inbound, outbound and domestic businesses in a single event, with organisers hoping to make the inaugural event the largest B2B and B2C travel fair in Indonesia.

Organised by the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Bali Chapter and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the event will run from June 10 to 14.

The show’s B2B portion will be held in Nusa Dua and the B2C event in Kuta.

ASITA Bali Chapter chairman, I Ketut Ardana, said: “BBTF 2014 (is intended to) establish a new benchmark for travel and tourism events in Indonesia.

“We will do this by serving the inbound, outbound and domestic markets and bringing together over 500 domestic and international sellers representing the top hospitality and travel brands, not only from Bali but all over Indonesia.

“More than 500 domestic and international buyers will also be representing the top multi-national and unique leisure brands across the globe.”

The travel fair will include business sessions, tourism seminars and see the promotion of best practices for MICE and leisure travel management.

Ardana said the association chose to hold the show in June to coincide with the island’s annual Bali Arts Festival, which over the years has managed to attract international and local spectators and participants.

To introduce the event to the international travel community, BBTF’s organising committee has scheduled table-top roadshows in Singapore, China and Indonesia for September.

NATIONAL flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is aiming to double its fleet and passenger numbers over the next two years, sealing a multi-million dollar agreement with SITA to upgrade its infrastructure.

Kevin John Steele, managing director and CEO, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said: “Over the next two years, we plan to double both our fleet and our passenger numbers, while also improving customer service and significantly reducing our operational costs.

“SITA will help us upgrade our systems architecture, which will enable us to launch new user-friendly products, as well as innovative tools for our staff. In addition, SITA will proactively manage our network infrastructure in line with our specific business objectives, so we can focus on our growing business, while remaining up-to-date with the latest technology.”

The 10-year deal will see SITA provide infrastructure at Biman’s global locations and deploy a new private automatic branch exchange at Biman’s offices in Dhaka, which will be integrated into the airline’s call centre.

SITA will also deliver a suite of applications adapted to the airline’s needs to any device and location as part of its flexible, on-demand IT services and industry software offerings, allowing for the creation of efficiencies across data, servers and applications.

It will equip Biman staff with tablets integrated with business applications to enhance in-flight services.

Separately, Biman has signed an agreement with Dutch-Bangla Bank for the use of the latter’s Nexus Payment Gateway to settle online transactions, thereby allowing cardholders with locally-issued Visa, MasterCard and Nexus Debit Cards issued by Dutch-Bangla Bank to book flights directly through the Biman site.

Dutch-Bangla Bank alone accounts for almost 2.5 million out of the total four million payment cards used in Bangladesh.

MALAYSIA’S PST Travel today unveiled a new dedicated B2B site for local travel consultants, equipped with a booking function for instant confirmation.

Accessible at b2b.pst.com.my, PST is waiving the monthly subscription fee for the use of the site’s Internet booking engine (IBE) during the launch phase between August 5 and 31.

PST Travel’s B2B unit head, Robert Saw, said: “We are confident that most of our existing consultants will see the benefits of using this IBE and that it will give them a positive return on investment.”

PST Travel CEO, Ngiam Foon, said: “We have very attractive fares for travel from points in Malaysia for select destinations in ASEAN and North Asia compared to what the average consultant can obtain from their GDS.”

He said cost savings could run up to 80 per cent on select airlines during the launch phase.

“I hope the savings made will drive consultants to (book through) our IBE instead of just using it for their search convenience…Another very compelling reason to use our IBE is the ease of finding the lowest available fare without much ticketing knowledge,” he added.

Ngiam explained that the new site’s launch was timely and would address current challenges faced by consultants, especially the small and medium-sized agencies, which include a dire shortage of staff with sufficient ticketing knowledge, reluctance to commit more financial resources to fund any increased bank guarantees and a lack of access to attractive fares.

SAME-DAY hotel booking app, HotelQuickly, has expanded into New Zealand where it will take aim at the domestic market.

A media statement released by HotelQuickly stated that the company “believes in the potential of the domestic New Zealand market” as travel trends gradually shifted towards “last-minute, spontaneous bookings”.

Users can now book hotels in Auckland and Rotorua at the eleventh hour, and more cities will be added over the next few weeks.

HotelQuickly also recently upgraded its app to allow multi-night bookings. Sam O’Connor, New Zealand country manager, HotelQuickly, said: “Our customers signalled unmistakably that they want to use HotelQuickly also for longer stays. We conduct a lot of surveys with our users, in order to find out what really counts.”

HotelQuickly was first launched four months ago in six countries across Asia (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 3, 2013) and now offers hotel options in 11 countries.

It joins the growing tide of last-minute booking services available in Asia as the idea catches on across the region, spawning other competitors such as CheckInTonight.asia, which was inaugurated last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 21, 2012).

BRITISH Airways (BA) is set to increase its London-Hyderabad services from six flights per week to daily beginning October 27, on a Boeing 777-200 in a three-class configuration.

The airline had last upped the frequency of the service from five- to six-weekly flights in October last year.

Christopher Fordyce, regional commercial manager, South Asia, BA, said: “It is a joyous moment for us at BA to further enhance our services to India, which is our second-largest market outside the UK.

“For BA, Hyderabad is truly a key market in our South Asian network. We have witnessed tremendous growth in the market since 2008, resulting in concerted growth in the outbound business and leisure tourism.”

According to VisitBritain, some 339,000 Indian nationals travelled to the UK in 2012.

Subhash Goyal, chairman, STIC Travel Group, commented: “The frequency enhancement to Hyderabad will help to meet the growing demand of business as well as the leisure segment, while providing them more connectivity options.”

BA presently operates 46 flights a week from London to five Indian cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru.

ACCOR is strengthening its presence in Manila with the addition of two new hotels to the Philippine capital city next year – the Mercure Manila Ortigas and Novotel Manila Araneta.

The two properties will join the existing Sofitel Manila Plaza.

Said Patrick Basset, senior vice president, Accor Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia Laos and the Philippines: “Accor is well in place to expand our network into other key business and leisure areas such as Cebu and Davao.”

Basset added that Accor was “actively seeking more development opportunities in key cities and secondary cities” as the Philippines continues to enjoy economic growth and political stability.

The stronger demand from the domestic market for international standard accommodations, especially in the midscale and economy segments, also presented additional opportunities for expansion.

Basset is aiming to introduce other Accor brands in the Philippines, such as the higher-end Sofitel So, Pullman, MGallery, and the economy ibis, ibis Styles and ibis budget “to cater to different markets, from economy to luxury”.

Set for launch in 1H2014, the 150-key Mecure Manila Ortigas is located in the heart of the emerging central business district of Ortigas centre, and will offer meeting rooms, an all-day dining restaurant and gym.

On the other hand, Novotel Manila Araneta will become the only branded hotel in Cubao, Quezon City when it opens its 401 rooms and suites in 2H2014. The property will offer conference facilities including a 1,000m² pillarless ballroom, F&B outlets, a swimming pool and gym.

BEST Western International will take over the management of two hotels in Tasmania formerly operated by Accor, and relaunch them as Best Western Hobart and Best Western Plus Launceston.

Both properties bring Best Western’s total number of Tasmanian hotels to seven and are undergoing refurbishments to their facilities.

Rob Anderson, chief executive, Best Western Australasia, observed: “For the year ending March 2013, there were 931,000 visitors to Tasmania, up 10 per cent from 845,800 for the previous year.

“If these numbers are any indication, then people will need more quality hotel options to choose from when travelling around Tasmania.”

He said the 140-room Best Western Hobart’s rooms and meeting spaces were undergoing a soft refurbishment that would be completed in 2H2013, while the 116-key Best Western Plus Launceston would receive new in-room furnishings and amenities.

“Both hotels already have modern amenities and facilities so we will look to mainly improve the current on-site restaurants and dining areas; update the conference facilities and ensure the most up-to-date Wi-Fi services and in-room services are available in both hotels,” explained Anderson.

Best Western Hobart offers eight event spaces, including the 300-pax The Goulburn Room, Embers Restaurant and Embers Cocktail Bar & Lounge.

Located 15 minutes from Launceston Airport, Best Western Plus Launceston features Snappers Restaurant for Tasmanian produce and wine, Tram Bar, two 150-pax conference rooms and five categories of guestrooms.

SOUTH Africa Tourism (SAT) will make its debut at the NATAS fair this month and pair up with the local travel trade in a bid to reel in more Singapore travellers.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, Hazel Ngubeni, high commissioner of the Singapore South African High Commission, said: “South Africa is too under-marketed in Singapore, so it is our mandate to make sure we make progress with promotions here.”

She added that more had to be done to educate the industry, and hence SAT will hold a seminar for 80 outbound travel consultants this month.

According to Ngubeni, more than 7,000 Singaporeans holidayed in South Africa last year, a number the commission aims to double for 2013. “Singaporeans are very well-travelled, but there is this gap with South Africa,” she lamented.

Ngubeni said that South Africa’s nine provinces including Gauteng, Western Cape and Kwazulu Natal offered wildlife, adventure, beach, luxury and retail attractions, the last of which she expected would appeal to the Singaporean traveller.

Acknowledging that some still perceived South Africa to be an unsafe and undeveloped country, she said: “I want to remind them that we were the host country of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and during that preparation phase we had lifted the standards of everything, from safety to amenities and infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, Chan Brothers Travel marketing and communications manager, Michelle Yin, said the agency had registered consistent year-on-year growth of 10 to 15 per cent in the sales of their South Africa packages. Chan Brothers offers both nine- and 12-day options.

SAT, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Changi Airport Group signed an agreement in June this year to collectively invest S$1 million (US$800,154) to promote travel to South Africa. SIA currently operates daily flights to Johannesburg and four-weekly flights to Cape Town.