STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts has concluded the month-long immersion of its senior leadership team in Dubai, from where over 200 of the company’s senior leaders and general managers ran day-to-day operations.

In March, Starwood president and CEO, Frits van Paasschen, and members of the senior leadership team met with 3,000 associates, conducted close to 50 owner meetings and visited all 14 Starwood properties in the city.

The team also rendezvoused with government officials and potential development partners in fast-growing markets of 19 cities across 12 countries, including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and India. Executives also met up with more than 150 corporate and leisure customers who drive business to hotels globally.

This is Starwood’s second leadership move after a similar one in China in June 2011.

“With 80 per cent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it’s important for us to remain at the forefront of new travel demands and changing travel patterns,” said Simon Turner, president of global development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

“The Middle East is experiencing rapid economic growth, a growing middle class and ever greater global connectivity, and the Dubai relocation will help us expand all of our brands across this important region.”

Starwood last month announced plans to grow its Middle East and Africa portfolio by over 60 per cent, with almost 50 new properties hitting the market within the next five years, offering 14,000 more guestrooms in the region.

The number of properties operated by Starwood in the Middle East and Africa is likely to cross 100 by 2015, with 82 currently in operation and more than 20 set to launch by then.

THE rise of the Internet has not eclipsed the role of traditional distribution channels, which still play an important part in Australia’s inbound tourism sector.

According to a joint study by Tourism Australia and PwC, the role of online sources throughout the customer purchase cycle is gaining traction, but differs across the stages of the cycle itself – dreaming, planning, booking, destination and sharing.

Such a shift has been prompted in part by the presence of OTAs and airlines that offer direct bookings, especially low-cost carriers.

However, digital bookings are less prevalent in emerging markets due to poor Internet penetration, infrastructure and trust. On the other end of the spectrum, Internet use for planning and booking has plateaued in mature markets.

The study reported that while 46 per cent of travellers to Australia are booking at least part of their trips online before arrival, brick-and-mortar establishments play a role in converting the remaining 54 per cent.

In emerging markets and for key purchases such as airfares and tours, the conversion rate of traditional distribution channels is as high as 90 per cent, according to stakeholders consulted during the study.

Meanwhile, even companies that have seen strong growth with a 100 per cent online presence and booking system are moving into traditional wholesale and retail channels in pursuit of further market growth.

Longhaul travel is also proving to be a weakness for online travel, with stated and observed customer behaviours indicating a slower take-up rate of online methods when booking longhaul travel to Australia.

MICROTEL by Wyndham aims to almost double its number of hotels in the Philippines to a total of 20 within the next three years, as domestic and Asian travellers continue to drive demand for limited service accommodation.

Marie Jehan Balbanero, marketing manager of both Microtel Inn & Suites (Pilipinas), master franchisor of Microtel in the Philippines, and its sister company Paramount Hotels, said that a Microtel would open next year at the University of the Philippines information technohub in Quezon City and another near the industrial park in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

“We will have at least one Microtel in every regional business and tourist hub, in addition to the hotel opened in General Santos, Mindanao last year and another opening at the Acropolis in Quezon City, Metro Manila in the middle of this year,” said Balbanero.

Currently, Microtel has a stable of 11 hotels spread across Palawan, Boracay, Davao, Mindanao, Manila and Luzon.

While it offers limited service, Microtel Philippines follows the international Microtel standards in the US, Canada and Mexico. According to Balbanero, this means that all properties will be newly constructed, with similar facilities, furniture and fixtures as their foreign counterparts.

She also said that Paramount Hotels is looking to expand its portfolio of smaller inns and suites, following last year’s opening of its Santomas Suites in Batangas.

AMADEUS has acquired the customer relationship management and loyalty solutions division of Turkey-based Hitit Computer Services, absorbing Hitit Loyalty’s operations as part of Amadeus’ emerging airline IT business.

The move allows the technology provider to drive a new IT revenue stream by adding and enhancing airlines’ capability to attract and retain customers throughout the value chain.

This will cater to airlines’ frequent flyer, corporate, partnership and alliance management needs.

Amadeus will integrate Hitit Loyalty’s system with its Altéa suite this year, offering Hitit Loyalty products both as an add-on module to Amadeus Altéa or as a stand-alone product.

Said Julia Sattel, senior vice president, airline IT, Amadeus: “Loyalty is one of the key drivers connected to the core passenger servicing business of any successful airline, and being able to offer this service allows us to not only increase the value of our Altéa proposition but also to broaden our IT portfolio to better serve existing and future customers.”

VIETJET Air will launch its second international route in summer, connecting Hanoi and Bangkok on a daily basis beginning June 1.

The new service augments its current schedule of domestic flights to nine cities in Vietnam, as well as its daily Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh City route that was just launched this year.

Flights to Bangkok will depart Hanoi at 10.50 and touch down in Bangkok at 12.40, while flights on the return leg will leave Bangkok at 13.35 and land at 15.25 in Hanoi.

HARRIS Hotels has come up with a service allowing customers to consult with doctors online, in line with its focus on healthy lifestyles.

The Dokter Gratis service, a free online chat with doctors, is the product of a collaboration between Tauzia Hotel Management and Health2i, and is available at the Harris Hotels website.

Tauzia Hotel Management’s corporate director of sales and marketing, Antoine Villette, said: “It’s (part of) Harris Hotels’ consistent efforts to promote healthy living. Through this service, people can enquire about any medical conditions or health topics online in the comfort of their homes or while travelling.”

The service is meant to provide advice and identify early symptoms of medical conditions, but is not accompanied by immediate diagnosis and prescription. Users are therefore advised to consult a doctor in person.

Villette said Indonesians were growing more conscious about their health.

Asked if the service was meant to drive hits to the brand’s website, Villette said: “The target is not the number of hits but to see what general health concerns guests have. We do not get the detailed conversations between guests and the doctors, but we will receive information on the topics (discussed). We will then list the top topics and plan (programmes) for implementation in the hotels accordingly.”

Villette expects such a service to have a middle- to long-term impact in incentivising guests to choose Harris Hotels, alongside other initiatives.