FASTBOOKING, a Paris-based specialist in web-driven hospitality sales and marketing programmes, has set its sights on expanding its reach within Asia, especially in the flourishing markets of China and India.

According to Henry Teng, managing director, FastBooking Asia, the company intends to add 1,000 to 1,200 hotels to its existing portfolio of 1,400 member properties across Asia, over the next two years.

The company has 7,000 hotels across 70 countries under its belt at the moment.

In China, FastBooking is looking to increase its crop of hotels from the current 100 to 500 within the next two years, with properties in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou targeted first.

Plans have also been drawn up to grow the number of properties in India from 16 to 400 over the next 12 months, particularly in New Delhi and Mumbai.

The company is also looking to seal partnerships with several property management system providers in an attempt to accelerate its regional expansion.

Meanwhile, Teng told TTG Asia e-Daily that the company recently introduced tools to help member hotels manage traffic on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

These social media products will be released full-scale in the first quarter of 2012, according to FastBooking co-founder and COO, Soraya Kefs.

THE ABU Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) -owned Hyatt Capital Gate hotel will become the first independently-branded Hyatt property outside the US when it opens by year-end.

As a standalone brand under the Hyatt umbrella, the five-star Hyatt Capital Gate will have its own distinctive logo and brand identity, and will target high-end business travellers.

The hotel will offer 189 guestrooms and suites occupying the 18th to 33rd floors of the Capital Gate building, which forms part of ADNEC, the largest conference and exhibition venue in the Middle East.

“From a very early stage ADNEC and our partners, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, envisioned Hyatt Capital Gate as a one-of-a-kind property, in a global city and located inside one of the world’s most outstanding buildings,” said Sanjay Tanna, business development & investments director, ADNEC.

“The standalone identity conferred on Hyatt Capital Gate is an apt reflection of the distinctiveness and splendour of the property.”

Group and corporate clients of Hyatt Capital Gate will be able to avail of the 73,000m2 of indoor event space at ADNEC – which includes three 750-pax banqueting halls, and 20 smaller meeting rooms that can each accommodate ten to 100 pax.

THE SEVENTH China Business Travel Forum came to a close in Shanghai yesterday, with the annual B2B conference having provided a series of educational insights for those seeking a better understanding of the Chinese business travel industry.

Hosted by American Express Global Business Travel, in partnership with the Shanghai International Conference Management Organisation (a division of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Council), the conference drew some 43 suppliers from the airline, hotel, car rental and GDS industries, and over 2,000 visitors, compared to around 1,700 last year.

New to the conference was the Senior Executive Summit, which saw some 15 procurement officers from Chinese-owned companies discussing business travel procurement developments, and how China’s five-year plan and new social media platforms were impacting business travel.

Another first was the creation of a MICE area showcasing American Express Meetings & Events, a division that has been rebranded from its former name, Corporate Meetings Solutions (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 26).

Meanwhile, central to the plenary session was the release of results for the 2011 China Business Travel Barometer survey, which revealed that corporate travel budgets in China have continued to rise despite growing financial uncertainty elsewhere (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 10).

By Patricia Wee

CHINA’s significant growth in GDP continues to steer the progress of the local MICE and business travel industry despite the lacklustre global economy, according to findings from the 8th Annual China Business Travel Barometer.

Commissioned by American Express Global Business Travel, the study surveyed 286 executives from 211 Chinese owned and 65 non-Chinese owned organisations with 100 or more employees in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, between July and August this year.

Results of the study, announced at the 7th Annual China Business Travel Forum which concluded yesterday, revealed that companies’ travel budgets have continued to rise, due to a strong desire to strengthen client/partner relationships and develop business in new markets. RMB72 (US$11.30) out of every RMB100 spent on travel and entertainment expenses is invested in growing and sustaining business.

Chinese companies retain an optimistic outlook on business travel, with an expected average budget hike of six per cent, and fourty-six per cent of companies surveyed saying their budgets would grow in 2012.

MICE budgets have also seen an increase, with thirty per cent of Chinese-owned companies surveyed saying they were likely to have four or more MICE activities a year, compared to only 16 percent of non-Chinese companies.

Meanwhile, despite the rosy outlook, companies in China are starting to pay attention to hotel and accommodation costs (77 per cent), followed by MICE spending (58 per cent), and air travel (53 per cent).

Cindy Zhou, senior buyer, finance & operations services at Roche based in Shanghai, said: “Our budget this year continues to remain around the same as last year, but we are paying close attention to cost; face-to-face meetings are very important for the business still.”

By Patricia Wee

TTG ASIA’s ongoing Facebook competition recently found its first lucky winner in Chiew Chi Yuen, a travel consultant with Malaysia’s S&C Leisure.

Chiew won for himself a two-night stay for two in a Grand Executive Suite at the Grand Hyatt Macau, complete with Grand Club Lounge privileges, after ‘liking’ the TTG Asia Facebook page and subscribing to the travel trade magazine.

Next month’s prize will be a four-day three-night stay for two persons in a Lagoon Pool Villa at the Furama Xclusive Villas & Spas, Ubud-Bali.

Members of the travel trade industry stand to win prizes every month by ‘liking’ the TTG Asia Facebook page, and increase their chances by subscribing to the magazine.

For more details, visit www.facebook.com/ttgasia

THE OPENING of Ibis Tokyo Shinjuku on November 1 marked the debut of Accor’s economy hotel brand in Japan.

The property, a rebranded hotel with 206 guestrooms, will undergo an extensive refurbishment over the following months.

Once the makeover is completed, the Ibis Tokyo Shinjuku will add to almost 100 hotels and over 17,340 rooms in Ibis’ Asia-Pacific network.

Michael Issenberg, chairman and COO of Accor Asia Pacific, said: “This addition of Accor’s strongest hotel brand will extend the network’s portfolio in Japan, offering guests a comprehensive hotel selection to choose from.”

Patrick Basset, Accor’s vice president for Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan, said: “This hotel is the first Ibis hotel brand to set foot in Japan, but it will be the 10th hotel in Accor’s Japan network.”

Accor’s other Japanese properties include one each in Hyogo, Aichi, Shizuoka, Kanagawa, Chiba, Tokyo and Gumma, and two in Hokkaido.

IT’S BUSINESS as usual in Thailand’s far north and southern regions, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand scheduled to bring in about 300 international buyers to attend two travel marts in Chiang Mai and Phuket this month.

The buyers, comprising about 200 travel experts from Asia and South Pacific, and 100 more from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas—including 20 from Argentina and Brazil (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 8), will be arriving via Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

They will then take connecting flights to Chiang Mai to attend the Chiang Mai & the North Tourism Forum (November 22-23), and afterwards fly direct to Phuket to attend the Phuket-Andaman Travel Mart (November 25-26).

In addition, TUI Frankfurt office will be sending some 150 travel experts from Germany to Phang Nga for the launch of its summer 2012 brochure on November 10, while Thai Airways International will be flying in 336 VIPs, media and travel experts from Denmark on its inaugural Copenhagen-Phuket direct service on November 12.

Meanwhile, Bangkok-based Destination Asia (Thailand) managing director, Pornthip Hirunkate, said the DMC was able to retain eight out of 10 incentives groups between October and November, by diverting them to either a combined Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai itinerary or just Phuket.

While Phuket International Airport reported a 20 per cent growth in passenger arrivals for October, compared to the same period last year, Chiang Mai-based Standard Tour director for MICE department and worldwide leisure market, Vorapong Muchaotai, said it was slightly more difficult to gauge the situation in Chiang Mai.

Even though hotels in Chiang Mai have been receiving increasing numbers of domestic guests, there have been some cancellations from international markets, due to the floods as well as the postponement of the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek festival, which will now start on December 14.

By Sirima Eamtako

ASIAN Trails has urged overseas tour operators to think twice and consult their handlers for an accurate picture on the ground before cancelling trips to Thailand, after a New York-based client axed two groups in a row without seeking its opinion.

The two groups were bound for Bangkok and north Thailand for a 10-day stay. The operator sends 15 groups to Thailand annually, with average group size of between 35 and 45 pax.

“There is NO problem for us to operate tours on almost normal itinerary. They never asked for our opinion, but simply canceled the two groups,” said Asian Trails CEO Luzi Matzig.

“The floods in Ayuthaya are receding and yesterday one of our Swiss groups from Voegele Reisen visited three of the main temples in Ayuthaya for the first time in three weeks,” he added.

“The whole of downtown Bangkok is still dry and today Asian Trails operates city and temple tours, floating market of Dam Noen Saduak, etc, as usual. All transfers operate normally and all hotels except the Sofitel Centara in Lardprao and the Chao Phaya Park are open and fully functional.

“There are no problems at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The Asian Highway from Bangkok via Ayuthaya is again open for traffic.”

Asian Trails had approximately 500 pax cancelled for period of stay November 1-15, he told TTG Asia e-Daily in an email interview. But of the 500, only 100 are from Europe and the US; 400 are from Asia.

Said Matzig: “The tourism industry needs the support of its principals overseas, and the fact that (the operator) has now cancelled two Thailand tours in a row causes additional stress on guides, drivers, restaurants, etc, who then lose badly-needed income.”

He urged: “Give some thought when deciding on whether to operate or cancel future Thailand tours, simply because CNN shows worst-case scenario footage from ‘yesteryears’ repeatedly to boost its ratings, while governments issue overly-cautious travel advisories to (protect themselves).”

SRI Lankan tourism authorities have buckled under industry pressure and agreed to reduce new online visa processing fees for overseas visitors, which were due to take effect beginning next year (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 30).

The US$50 fee will be reduced to US$10 for South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nationals and US$20 for non-SAARC nationals. There will also be a fee waiver for passengers transiting through Colombo—valid for stays of up to 48 hours, and children under the age of 12.

Sri Lanka Tourism Authority chairman Nalaka Godahewa told reporters last week that the government had decided to reduce the processing fee after receiving industry feedback that the high price would hamper inbound travel.

According to Nihal Perera, chairman of Colombo-based Sparklink Travels, many overseas tour operators complained that the fee would cut into their margins. “There was some hesitancy to promote Sri Lanka by operators because of this new cost,” he said.

India, Sri Lanka’s top source market, also raised concerns over the rate and requested that a nominal sum be implemented for SAARC nationals.

S. Paramanathan, president of the Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka, said the local travel trade had been particularly concerned that the fee would affect Indian arrivals.

LE MÉRIDIEN is making a comeback in Bali following an agreement between Tiara Raya Bali International (a company of Ristia Group) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to jointly develop an existing resort there.

Formerly known as Ristia Resort, the property will be rebranded as the Le Méridien Bali – Jimbaran, under the management of Starwood, and is scheduled to open in mid-2012.

Ristia Group chairman Richard Wiriahardja said: “We are excited to announce our collaboration with Starwood on Le Méridien Bali – Jimbaran project. We believe that our distinctive design and location is the perfect fit for Le Méridien.”

Starwood Hotels & Resorts South-east Asia regional vice president Chuck Abbott said: “The development of Le Méridien Bali will add onto our strong presence in South-east Asia and re-establish Le Méridien brand in Bali.”

Le Méridien Bali will offer 123 suites, including 28 Aqua Suites, four rooftop villas—each with an Indonesian style Bale Bengong outdoor lounge area and private plunge pool, and four penthouse suites.

Facilities will include a three-storey restaurant and bar, a lagoon swimming pool and sundeck accessible from ground floor guestrooms, a spa and fitness centre, and 200m2 of meeting space.

Starwood previously managed Le Méridien Nirwana Golf & Spa Resort in Tanah Lot, until its management was taken over by Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts in 2010.