EYEING a bigger slice of Asia’s burgeoning budget accommodation segment (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 14, 2011), Red Planet Hotels has acquired a 16.05-per cent stake in Tune Hotels to become the hotel chain’s third-largest investor.

Tim Hansing, CEO of Red Planet Hotels, which is a major franchisee of Tune Hotels in South-east Asia, said: “This significant investment and commitment to the Tune Hotels brand is indicative of Red Planet Hotels’ well-balanced long-term development programme and provides tremendous value growth to our existing shareholders.

“As we move towards becoming a major owner and operator of Tune Hotels properties, this investment and endorsement of Tune’s board and management allows Red Planet Hotels to participate and contribute constructively and meaningfully for the benefit of both companies.”

The Bangkok-based Red Planet, which manages US$180 million worth of hotels and 3,191 rooms in operation or under construction in Asia, will operate 10 hotels and 1,623 rooms across Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia by end-2012.

Earlier this month, Red Planet debuted its first Tune Hotel in Jakarta and its fourth Philippine property opened in Makati (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 9, 2012). Later this year, it will open a 130-room Tune hotel in Bangkok’s Asoke district in September, a 143-room hotel in Pekanbaru, Sumatra and a 150-room hotel in Patong, Phuket in December.

Established in 2007, Tune Hotels currently has 24 properties worldwide with 3,859 rooms, while plans are afoot to add 38 more hotels with 10,106 rooms, including its first hotels in India, Scotland, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

PENTAHOTELS is planning to unveil a total of 80 properties worldwide by 2020, with 60 per cent of the openings in Asia and the rest in Europe.

Sonia Cheng, CEO of Hong Kong-based New World Hospitality, which owns the Pentahotels brand, said: “Half of the expansion in Asia will take place in China. We will look into first-, second- and even third-tier cities. In some major cities, we will even target having three or four hotels due to the high growth. Our business model in China is to (focus on) hotel management, so we will work with local developers and owners for upcoming expansions. Still, we plan to own and manage 30 per cent of the new hotels in China.”

Apart from its two existing properties in China, which include the recently rebranded Pentahotel Beijing (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 7, 2011) and Pentahotel Shanghai, the group will launch a 197-room hotel in Guiyang next year and a 390-room hotel in Shenyang in 2014. Future properties will be located in urban centres, convention and exhibition complexes, airports and rail stations, Cheng revealed.

Hong Kong’s first pentahotel will debut in summer 2013 in East Kowloon near Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. Built, owned and managed by the group, this 32-storey hotel is set to be the largest pentahotel property with 720 rooms.

“As a design-led hotel, it’s different from traditional hotels. We don’t have a large lobby but stylish settings to woo the young at heart. We are aiming the FITs and digital nomads, as well as entrepreneurs who work nearby,” said Cheng.

Rates for pentahotel Hong Kong are not yet available but they will be much higher than Shanghai and Beijing where rates average around US$70, Cheng said.

Highlighting the role of travel experts in pentahotels’ development, the group’s vice president of sales and marketing, Dexter Chia, said: “We have developed a lot of travel (consultant) support for pentahotels in Shanghai and Beijing. When pentahotel Kowloon joins sister hotels in Shanghai and Beijing, business will be mutually reinforced through ‘road warriors’ who travel between these cities.

“Hong Kong travel (consultants) may not yet be familiar with the penta concept, so we’ll be arranging trial stays when pentahotel Kowloon opens and encourage bookings through incentives.”

JETSTAR will start thrice-weekly Darwin-Singapore-Osaka flights from November 1, adding a new international link to its domestic network in Japan.

Building upon the existing Darwin-Singapore service, this sector will be flown on Airbus A321 aircraft, while the longhaul Singapore-Osaka leg will be operated on A330 planes with economy- and business-class seats. Osaka is the fourth longhaul destination from the airline’s Singapore hub.

According to Jetstar Group CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, the new service will capitalise on the group’s growing presence in the Japanese market, following Jetstar Japan’s launch  earlier this month (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 9, 2012).

Hrdlicka said: “This new service means Darwin will be connected to Osaka as well as Tokyo, and by extension, to three other major Japanese cities via Jetstar Japan’s domestic network.

“For Australian and Singaporean tourists, this new connection will make it easier to explore everything Japan has to offer. We expect this new link to encourage more outbound tourism from Japan, particularly combined with a domestic network that makes it more affordable to reach international flights to Darwin and Singapore.”

Jetstar Airways also operates a A330 service from Melbourne to Singapore, which can be connected to the Osaka flight.

Tickets for the new Darwin-Singapore-Osaka route are now available from A$359 (US$370), while a promotional fare of A$259 will be offered for a limited period.

With this new service, the Jetstar Group will operate up to 31 international services per week to Osaka, including Jetstar Airways’ longhaul services from Cairns and the Gold Coast in Australia, and Jetstar Asia’s shorthaul international services from Singapore via Taipei and Manila.

CEBU Pacific is set to begin a thrice-weekly direct service from Singapore to Iloilo on November 9.

Dubbed the “Province of Festivals”, Iloilo, which lies on the south coast of Panay Island in the Philippines, will become the airline’s fifth domestic hub.

“The launch of this new route will be in time for the delivery of three more brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft in the second half of 2012,” said CEB VP for marketing & distribution, Candice Iyog.

In line with the announcement of direct flights from Singapore to Iloilo, CEB will also introduce twice-weekly flights from Hong Kong to Iloilo, four-weekly flights from General Santos to Iloilo, and increase the frequency of the daily service from Manila to Iloilo to seven times a day.

Meanwhile, CEB is holding a seat sale for its Singapore-Iloilo flights until July 19 or until seats last. Valid for travel from November 8, 2012 to January 31, 2013, all-in, one-way tickets from Singapore to Iloilo are selling from as low as S$44.66 (US$35) per pax.

THE WORLD Ecotourism Conference (WEC) 2012, which will be held in South Korea’s Gyeonggi province/Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from September 2 – 5, will see a gathering of around 300 local and international delegates.

The theme for the annual conference, Ecotourism for Global Peace, is aimed at bringing together regional countries to promote collaborative and peaceful development of Transboundary Protected Areas.

During the plenary sessions, the success stories of corporate social responsibility programmes and rural ecotourism initiatives in developing countries will be used to demonstrate the value of ecotourism beyond socio-economic empowerment, and as means to maintain social stability in tourism destinations.

Lee Choon Loong, WEC 2012 convenor and CEO & president of DiscoveryMICE Malaysia, the company that is organising the event, said: “Gyeonggi Tourism Organisation and Ecotourism Korea, together with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Ministry of Environment, have prepared an event that will introduce delegates to two iconic ecotourism sites in South Korea – the DMZ near the border of North Korea and the Bukhasan National Park in Seoul.”

“There will also be two full-day technical tours, where delegates will get the opportunity to observe the development of the DMZ area as a peace park and ecotourism site. This will be followed by a post-conference spiritual journey at the Bukhansan National Park,” he added.

“Having a conference in South Korea is also in support of South Korea’s presidential directive to develop the DMZ area for eco-tourism, and to coincide the event with International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress, which starts on September 6 in Jeju Island.”

WEC 2011 was held in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

LE MERIDIEN Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort has launched thirteen new Premium Villas situated on a 1.6-ha beachfront plot of land, west of the main hotel.

Embracing the boutique villa concept, the Premium Villas are set in their own private area adjacent to the main hotel. Six of the villas are lined along the beach – offering views of the Andaman Sea and direct beach access, while the other seven face the garden.

The villas range from the 188m2 one-bedroom villa with direct pool access, to a two-bedroom beachfront pool villa measuring 550m2. Each villa is complimented with a garden or patio, a private pool, Jacuzzi and gazebo.

Shared facilities include two swimming pools, a fitness centre, a sauna, and a steam room, while other recreation, spa and dining amenities are accessible at the main hotel.

“We are thrilled to introduce these thirteen premium villas to the luxury travellers. They are ideal for those wanting to indulge in a bit of extra luxury within a private environment,” said Dominik Stamm, general manager of Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort.

“The expansion of our villa product is part of our strategy to further grow the luxury segment, as we see great potential of this market in this region,” he added.

QANTAS has applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), seeking approval to integrate Jetstar’s existing and future joint venture airlines and all operational, scheduling, pricing, marketing and purchasing functions in Asia-Pacific. The move could pose a problem for travel consultants, who face increased competition from direct bookings made through Jetstar’s Asia, Japan and Australia websites.

A Jetstar spokesperson said: “We sought this approval to enable the implementation of Jetstar’s Pan-Asia strategy, to (boost cooperation) between Jetstar branded airlines including Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific, Jetstar Japan and in the future, Jetstar Hong Kong.”

“Cooperation between Jetstar branded carriers allows the Jetstar Group to achieve economies of scale, which in turn helps maintain low fares. We know that offering low fares creates new demand for travel and supports existing markets.”

Justine Lally, marketing manager of APT Touring, an Australian outbound tour operator that has preferred agreements with Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Emirates, doesn’t believe Qantas’ strategy is going to impact its outbound business.

Barry Mayo, chairman of House of Travel, parent company of the TravelManagers group of home-based agents in Australia, added: “It would be in Qantas’ interests to continue to work with the industry, and there are no indications that this will be anything different.”

“Qantas/Jetstar’s application to the ACCC to authorise joint venture coordination is an attempt to compete on a more level playing field, reduce its dependence on end-to-end carriage, and provide access to a larger customer base and additional revenue.”

Qantas said in a statement: “(Our) investment in the Jetstar Pan-Asia strategy and the substantial public benefits that will result from its implementation are predicated on the ability of Jetstar LCCs to coordinate their operations through a single brand, go-to-market strategy and business model.”

“This will provide Australian consumers with a new and convenient one-stop shop to book itineraries across the Jetstar network, with one website for all Jetstar flights. Australian consumers can quickly and easily understand the choices on offer, and book a complex itinerary involving multiple Jetstar branded airlines in a single transaction.”