AS PART of its plans to double in size over five years, Thailand-based Minor Hotel Group is making a strong push for its Anantara, Avani and Oaks brands in Asia as well as beefing up its focus on corporate and MICE business.

China is a big part of its growth story – both for inbound and outbound, Michael Marshall, senior vice president, commercial operations, Minor Hotel Group, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“We have six projects in China (for core brand Anantara), with the first two opening this year in Sanya and Xishuangbanna,” he said, adding the company was also in the midst of setting up a sales office in China to tap outgoing traffic.

Minor has also established sales presence in India, Russia and the UAE this year, while it intends to expand its Singapore office.

“We’re increasing our sales network to be able to focus on the corporate market and MICE,” said Marshall.

He pointed out that the company had recently set up the systems needed to participate in RFPs, launched a new booking engine and upgraded its website. Its hotels are now directly bookable through GDSs, using the Global Hotel Alliance code.

In the same vein, a dedicated MICE programme Discover the Art of a Perfect Meeting has been rolled out, with the three Anantaras in Bangkok as well as Eastern Mangroves in Abu Dhabi especially suited for meetings and incentives, Marshall said.

MICE business is also an interest for Minor’s more contemporary Avani brand, which is a tier below Anantara. With already two properties in Sri Lanka, rebranding of Golden Palm Tree in Malaysia to Avani Sepang Goldcoast is underway, which will be ready by 2Q2013.

“It has a big meeting room that can hold up to 1,200 people, so it can be used for weddings, conferences and retreats. We’re looking at China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and also Malaysian guests,” said Marshall.

With currently around 80 hotels (some 40 under Oaks, 20 under Anantara and three under Avani), Minor is about to enter Laos and Cambodia as new destinations, while further expansion opportunities are being explored in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Marshall explained that the company was looking at building up clusters with its complementary brands. Having acquired Oaks’ serviced apartment business in Australia last year, Minor has had a relook at the brand to prepare it for expansion within Asia.

The first Oaks outside of Australia recently opened in Thailand in the same complex as Anantara Bangkok Sathorn, while an Oaks will come up just a hop away from Anantara Sanya. This means that guests can enjoy shared facilities in some cases, while sales/marketing and operations will also be easily executed.

“(We’re becoming) more international, but the Thai essence will always be there…Thailand is still going to be a very strong platform for us, and we will definitely get more properties in Thailand,” said Marshall.

IN A SETBACK to Indian travel consultants fighting foreign airlines’ zero commission regime, the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) has maintained a February 2011 decision by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that there was no evidence of cartelisation among the carriers.

In its December 7 ruling, the tribunal said that the airlines in question – Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Air France, Air Canada, Swiss International Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Singapore Airlines – cannot be viewed as a group or enterprise. The tribunal also noted that none of these airlines individually held a dominant position in the market.

Rajji Rai, advisory board member of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and chairman of the Swift Group, said: “We are all disappointed with the decision. The tribunal seems to have given concession to the airlines.

“All the airlines started the zero commission regime around the same time and used exactly the same reasons for doing so. This amounts to nothing but cartelisation.”

He added that he would suggest bringing the matter to the Indian Supreme Court when TAAI’s managing committee meets in Indonesia tomorrow.

The appeal was filed by TAAI, which had approached CCI in December 2009 after the nine airlines announced an end to the commission structure for travel consultants. In its petition, TAAI alleged the decision was anti-competitive and a move of cartelisation.

The airlines maintained that their decision had been independent and there was no cartelisation involved.

Other associations have also lamented that the ruling was a “setback”.

“I think neither COMPAT nor CCI understood the reasons behind travel (consultants’ move to) challenge the decision of airlines to follow a zero commission regime. It is a matter of survival for us,” said Biji Eapen, national president, IATA Agents Association of India.

“I think it is high time all the travel (consultants) come together and take up our cause. The solution to this issue lies in our unity,” he added.

Subhash Verma, president, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, said: “The decision by COMPAT is unfair and one-sided. CCI has never done a study in detail to evaluate the crux of this issue.”

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) will sell its 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic to Delta Air Lines for US$360 million in cash, a transaction which is expected to be completed in 4Q2013.

SIA had acquired 49 per cent of Virgin Atlantic in March 2000.

In a press statement, SIA said it had been evaluating strategic options for the stake for some time, as the investment has not performed to expectations and the synergies the parties originally hoped for have not materialised.

Commercial arrangements between SIA and Virgin Atlantic, encompassing codesharing, frequent-flyer programme ties and reciprocal lounge access, are expected to remain in place after the divestment.

APPLE Vacations & Conventions will operate six direct charter flights between Kuala Lumpur and Hokkaido this month, with the first service launched last Sunday from the Malaysian capital to the Japanese city and onwards to Taipei.

Malaysia Airlines’ A330-300 aircraft will be utilised on the Kuala Lumpur-Hokkaido leg, while China Airlines’ A330-300 aircraft will operate the service from Hokkaido to Taipei.

The final departure from Kuala Lumpur to Hokkaido will be on December 29, returning on January 3.

According to Desmond Lee, the travel firm’s managing director, Hokkaido had always been the company’s best-selling destination during the year-end school holidays.

Lee said: “The charter services offer convenience to travellers, as there are no direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Hokkaido. It usually takes about 15 hours on a scheduled airline with transit in Osaka, Tokyo or Seoul. Our direct charter service to Hokkaido takes only eight hours.”

“We offer all inclusive packages of either six days/four nights or seven days/five nights, priced from RM6,000++ (US$1,964). That works out to be about 20 per cent cheaper than a similar all-inclusive package on a (scheduled) flight,” he added.

This is the third year that Apple Vacations & Conventions is operating charters to Hokkaido during the year-end school holidays. New to the table is the combination of Hokkaido and Taipei charter service on December 9.

Said Lee: “We were testing the Malaysian market to see if there is demand for twin city combinations. We saw a full charter on this flight and in future we will look at organising more charters, twinning Hokkaido with another city.”

LANGHAM Hospitality Group has inked an agreement with Huatang Grand Hotel Company to manage a new luxury hotel in Datong, Shanxi, China.

Langham Place, Datong, slated for a 2014 opening, will be located in Yudong New Area, the future commercial centre of the Chinese city.

Carrying a five-star label, the hotel will have 293 guestrooms, including 37 suites, extensive banqueting venues, and innovative dining venues including Ming Court Chinese restaurant, a sister outlet of the group’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong.

Langham Place, Datong will also come with its award-winning Chuan Spa, providing guests with a range of wellness and beauty treatments based on the philosophies of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The spa will have private treatment and relaxation rooms, as well as water and heat therapies.

A swimming pool and a comprehensive fitness centre add to the hotel’s list of leisure facilities.

UPGRADING and refurbishment works at Centra Coconut Beach Resort Samui will be completed by the end of this year, allowing it to ring in 2013 with new features and facilities.

Highlights at the revamped property include Cense by Spa Cenvaree, a fitness centre, and a remodelled beachside pool area with a swim-up bar within a lagoon pool.

The resort’s lounge and restaurant will also offer new outdoor seating, while bicycles will be provided to all guests who wish to explore the vicinity. Table tennis will also be featured in the resort’s leisure activities.

Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, said: “The Centra brand is all about delivering quality without the extra facilities that may be above the needs of our guests, and Centra Coconut Beach is…an outstanding example of the brand.”

THE combination of being in the second fastest growing economy in Asia and having a stable political environment is benefiting the luxury hospitality sector in the Philippines’ capital city, according to a C9 Hotelworks report.

The Manila Hotel Market Update report, released by C9 Hotelworks, noted that the country’s economy had grown 7.1 per cent last quarter, just a few points behind China.

The report pointed to an aggressive pipeline of growth and investment in the luxury sector, with 5,797 hotel rooms opening in the upper tier of the market over the next five years, representing a 37 per cent growth to existing supply. The development will include the introduction of international hotel brands such as Raffles, Fairmont, Grand Hyatt, Shangri-La, Sheraton and Westin.

The research also detailed a rise in overall average room rates of six per cent and occupancy in luxury accommodation of 72 per cent. Business visitors to Manila take up 57 per cent of total occupancy, followed by leisure travellers and the MICE segment at 21 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Said C9 Hotelworks managing director, Bill Barnett: “Step back in time three decades and hotel headlines would be surprisingly similar to those today – Manila Bay asserting itself as a tourism hub in Metro Manila, and a new business district flexing its muscles within the competitive hotel landscape.

“But this time around it is Manila Bay featuring the evolution of Pagcor Entertainment City and Resorts World, while the new CBD is not Makati but neighbouring Bonifacio City. This is the new storyboard of Mega Manila.”

At the end of 2011, Manila had 15,567 hotel rooms with 57 per cent of these being in the upscale tier. While luxury supply once grew at only 3.2 per cent between 2004 and 2011, there is now significant demand at the top end of the market.