STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide will cease managing Le Méridien Khao Lak next January, ending the hotelier’s decade-long relationship with the resort.

The announcement puts an end to recent disputes between the global hotel brand and the resort owner, clearing the way for Anantara Hotels and Resorts to assume management of the property, according to a well-placed industry source speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Vitya Holding Company announced that the management agreement of Le Méridien Khao Lak would cease on January 15, 2014. The resort is owned by Vitya Holding Company and has been managed under the Le Méridien brand,” said Starwood in a joint statement it issued with the resort owner.

“Both companies have discussed and re-evaluated their strategies for the future and mutually agreed to de-flag the hotel under the Le Méridien brand moving forward… Starwood Hotels & Resorts will continue to explore opportunities to further expand the Le Méridien brand throughout Thailand, as well as its other brands into Thailand in the near future.”

While the termination of the management contract had been on the cards for some time, negotiations had recently reached a deadlock over the exit date, said the source.

“They’ve (Starwood and Vitya) been in a termination dispute over the precise exit date with Starwood obviously wanting as much time as possible before ending its management of Le Méridien (Khao Lak),” he said, adding that Anantara would take over management of the property.

Minor Hotel Group, which owns the Anantara brand, would not comment directly on whether the company has an interest in the 258-room property.

“Minor Hotel Group is currently considering many growth and development opportunities across Asia-Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Africa, especially for key brands such as Anantara and AVANI,” said a spokesman.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts recently launched new sales offices in Vietnam and Indonesia to tap its increasing customer base and the growing outbound opportunities in South-east Asia.

The new offices will act as support for Centara’s resorts in the respective countries while helping to raise the profile of its 58 properties across Asia. The expansion is also part of the group’s strategy to set up offices throughout the region prior to the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, said: “Our strategy is to increase the number of our own sales offices throughout the Asia and Indian Ocean regions and in other key markets.

“Our Vietnam office will handle both sales and promotional activities, and also support our recently launched loyalty card, Centara – The 1 Card. Our new Jakarta office will allow us to become closer to the Indonesian travel industry and consumers. This is important for our growth plans, as we expand our number of properties and destinations that are of interest to Indonesian travellers.”

The Vietnam office in Ho Chi Minh City will be led by Nguyen Thuy Y Nhu (Jenny), a Vietnamese national with nine years’ experience in international sales, marketing and public relations.

Maria Lastfi Erma, who boasts over 13 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry, will head the Jakarta office as director of sales for Indonesia.

Plans to open a sales office in the US are also in the pipeline, according to a Centara spokeperson, adding to the group’s existing offices in the UK, Germany, France, Russia, the UAE, South Africa, India, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

ARCHIPELAGO International this week unveiled the new HARPER Hotels & Resorts brand, with the first property due to open this summer in Kuta, Bali.

Seven more are in an advanced stage of construction in Bandung, Banjarmasin, Bogor, Makassar, Samarinda, Surabaya and Jogjakarta.

An upper mid-scale brand, each HARPER Hotels & Resorts brand property will have 100 to 250 guestrooms and be located in either city or resort locations. Rooms will be a minimum bay size of 28m² and 40m², while suites will be 1.5 times bay size.

All HARPER Hotels will have a Rustik Bistro & Bar offering French and Indonesian home comfort foods, such as beef rendang and beef bourguignon, wine and cocktails.

HARPER Hotels in city locations will feature also executive floors with club lounges and ladies-only rooms.

Archipelago International’s vice president sales and marketing, Norbert Vas, said: “In our increasingly anxious world, people want comfort and functionality. It’s no secret that today’s guests want to be reminded of home and feel cocooned (when they stay in a hotel).”

Vas pointed out: “Travellers today do not use the working desks provided in the room much. After a long day of business, they work and eat on the sofa or even in bed.

“The rooms in all HARPER Hotels will not have desks. Instead, they will all have comfortable sofas and high coffee tables – bigger and higher, so guests can eat and work at the same time while sitting in a sofa.”

The new hotel concept targets Indonesia’s growing number of international arrivals and the more sophisticated domestic travellers, according to Vas.

GRAND Prix Season Singapore will descend upon the Lion City from September 13 to 23 this year, bringing a host of festivities to accompany the Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix.

This year’s in-circuit concert will boast big names such as The Killers, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Big Bang and Tom Jones, to keep the music-loving traveller entertained.

The Bacchanalia Brunch Series at Coleman Street and Artichoke’s menu of ‘dude’ food dishes called ‘Dude, Where’s My Food? A Week of Food Deviance’ will satisfy the tastebuds of travellers.

Visitors who enjoy a night out will be glad to know nightlife highlights Amber Lounge and Podium Lounge are making a return. New events such as Zouk presents I Am Hardwell, Bed Invasion: 50’s Miami White at Tanjong Beach Club, and Parc Ferme 2013 will also be making their debut in this year’s lineup of events.

Other events include a pop-up exhibition by art historian Marc Restellini at Fort Canning Centre, night golfing at Marina Bay Golf Course, and shopping deals along Orchard Road.

More information can be found at www.yoursingapore.com/gpss.

FACED with an economic slowdown, increasing operation costs and rising room supply in many cities, hotels in India are rolling out discounts for the July to September period in the hopes of attracting more guests and shoring up RevPAR.

A Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India study reveals that in year-on-year comparisons for the January to June period 2013, average room rates fell 11 per cent in New Delhi, occupancy tumbled six per cent and RevPar slid 10 per cent.

Rakesh Lamba, managing director, Omega Hospitality Services, noted: “The persistent fall in RevPAR is the biggest challenge for hotels, especially in a dull business environment and high-cost regime.”

Padmini Narayanan, managing director, Chennai-based Aakshaya Tours, said: “Room rates have fallen 27 per cent in Chennai (for the January to June period), partly due to new supply of more than 1,000 new rooms in the city and partly due to the downturn in business sentiment across the country. Discounts are the only way for hotels to fill up rooms in the lean season that will last till October.”

Trade sources report that among hotels slashing rates are Vivanta by Taj Hotels and Resorts, and Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts properties, offering discounts between 10 and 20 per cent.

Veer Vijay Singh, COO, Vivanta by Taj Hotels and Resorts, said: “In a slowdown situation, people become very cautious about spending and trade down on hotels they wish to stay in. Domestic tourism has grown and taken up our offers and discounts.”

However, Bruno Aloysius, manager-sales and marketing, Ramada Resort & Spa, Kochi, said: “Many hotels are maintaining the same rates as last year, which is de facto a discount of seven to 10 per cent.

“Some hotels are extending discounts well into the high season period of October and November. This is an unhealthy practice.”

AIRLINES have started shifting operations to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, and will begin flying out of the new facility on July 25.

Valuair and Firefly are the latest carriers to move over to the new airport located in the Deli Serdang regency in North Sumatra, about 42km from Medan city centre.

Passengers travelling to and from Medan from July 25 onwards will be sent an updated itinerary.

Last week, AirAsia announced it had completed systems migration to Kualanamu (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 17, 2013).

The new Kualanamu International Airport is Indonesia’s second-largest airport after Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport, according to Firefly’s media release, and replaces the congested Polonia International Airport.

Located on the outskirts of Medan, Polonia will be converted into a military airport.

LUXURY cabin concept hotel YOTEL is planning a 600-room cabin hotel in Orchard Road, scheduled to open in 2018.

Gerard Greene, co-founder and CEO of YOTEL, said: “Given Yotel is heavily inspired by Asian culture, it is fantastic that we are launching such an iconic project as our first project in Asia.

“YOTEL will bring a unique hotel experience to Singapore, it’s a perfect time for the city to embrace a new and exciting brand, a first for Singapore and the launch of affordable luxury for the hotel scene in Asia.”

The Japanese-inspired YOTEL features cabins that are bigger than the original Japanese capsule accommodation, but smaller than a traditional hotel room.

According to Jo Berrington, sales and marketing director of YOTEL, like their flagship cabin hotel in New York, cabin sizes in Singapore will vary between 16m² for a premium cabin, to 102m² for a VIP suite.

The Singapore hotel will also have YOTEL’s signature elements such as a Club Lounge space with ‘Club cabins’ that double up as meeting and work spaces during the day, but transform into a restaurant/bar space in the evenings.

Berrington said: “We will draw inspiration from the innovation that Singapore is famed for and we think that Singaporeans will understand our brand and appreciate our points of difference.”

Whether or not YOTEL Singapore will choose to replicate ‘YOBOT’ – the now infamous ‘world’s first’ luggage storing robot, which has become an attraction in its own right and a permanent feature at YOTEL New York – has yet to be decided.

“The Singapore hotel will be a launchpad for our brand to expand to major cities and airports throughout Asia,” said Joe Sita, CEO of IFA Hotel Investment, a major stakeholder in YOTEL.

According to Berrington, Singapore is YOTEL’s “new centre of Asia” and Hong Kong is next on its list for expansion.