HYATT International is venturing into the mid-market segment in Asia, with plans already underway to introduce its Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands in China and India.

The continent’s first Hyatt Place will debut in Bangalore in 2012, while management agreements have already been signed for two Hyatt Places and one Hyatt House in Shanghai—to be launched from 2014 onwards.

Steve Haggerty, global head, real estate and development, Hyatt Hotels, said: “We have reviewed both China and India from the outset because of their critical mass to serve the market.”

“For China, we have been there for long time, and feel the market is ready because of proliferation of brands like old full-service hotels and inconsistent budget hotels,” he added. “There is a gap between five-star and budget hotels. The size of the market is large and it will be new proposition for China.”

The four properties in the pipeline are new-build products offering 100-250 rooms, located in urban or suburban locations. Hyatt Place offers limited services and at least one F&B outlet serving multiple cuisines, one to two small meeting rooms, and fitness facilities. Hyatt House, on the other hand, is an all-suite concept featuring larger rooms, small kitchenettes and social gathering areas, catering to customers looking for extended stays.

As for expansion plans, Hyatt Hotels senior VP for real estate and development in China, Nong Xia, said: “We will control the numbers and won’t compete directly with five-star or budget brands. Potential locations (in China) are Beijing, Hangzhou and Dalian at the first stage. Gradually, the brands will venture into second-tier cities.”

THE WORSENING flood situation in Thailand may have cost its tourism industry about 10 billion baht (US$324 million) in damages so far, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT).

TCT president Piyaman Techapaiboon told TTG Asia e-Daily the figure included a loss of about four billion baht from domestic travel, the main contributor to Central Plain tourism during the low international season of October.

Additional losses were calculated based on the ripple effects from the widespread flooding, which is expected to hinder inter-regional travel for company events and seminars scheduled this month.

Last year, Thailand generated about 400 billion baht from domestic tourism.

Piyaman said the tourism council would continue to assess the impact on a day-to-day basis, and was keeping a close eye on Bangkok in particular, amid news that the capital was bracing for floods this week (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 11).

As for international markets, Piyaman said: “Cancellations remain at a ‘normal’ rate. For instance, hotels on Sukhumvit Road have reported they are still running at a good occupancy, albeit seeing some impact on the local corporate market.”

In a bid to help affected tourism operators in flooded areas, TCT will be proposing that the government help shoulder staff wages and remove social security payouts in October.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand also has a loan scheme in place for tourism operators affected by natural disasters.

By Sirima Eamtako

LAMPUNG, a province located on the southern tip of Sumatra island, is hoping to leverage on its hosting of this year’s Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo (TIME) to showcase what it has to offer to international buyers.

Lampung governor Sjahroedin said: “I’m hopeful that TIME will serve as the momentum to boost our efforts to improve regional tourism as the primary means for facilitating local development, and ultimately the general welfare of the people.”

“I believe the event will serve as an eye-opener for the international community (of what Lampung has to offer).”

Sjahroedin said the launch of TIME 2011 in conjunction with the annual Krakatau Festival in Lampung was the perfect platform to showcase the destination’s potential.

Indonesia Ministry of Culture and Tourism director general of tourism marketing, Sapta Nirwandar, agreed, saying that with Lampung opening up to international tourism, it would add variety to the list of destinations available in Indonesia.

“Lampung has a lot of potential,” Nirwandar said. “Krakatau is known worldwide—it is an icon of Lampung. However, other products, such as cruising around the (Krakatau) volcano, still need to be developed.”

Last year, Lampung received about two million domestic visitors, as well as 3,500 from overseas—a number which is expected to grow by five to ten per cent this year, according to Lampung Regional Tourism office manager, Gatot Hudi Utomo.

Sjahroedin said a host of infrastructural developments were in the pipeline to facilitate the expected increase in arrivals, including a bridge connecting Java and Sumatra across the Sunda Straits, and over 150km of roads linking Bakauheni to South Sumatra.

Sjahroedin added: “Our airport (Raden Inten) is being extended to have a 2500m-long runway, and it will be extended to 3,000 metres (at a later date) and become an international airport.”

AIRASIA’s plan to gain a foothold in Vietnam by establishing a new low-cost carrier (LCC) came to an abrupt halt after regulatory approval was denied for its proposed joint venture with VietJet Aviation.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam objected to the use of the AirAsia branding in the joint venture, which would have resulted in a new LCC called VietJet AirAsia.

AirAsia explained in a statement to the Malaysian stock market that the joint venture had been allowed “to lapse with immediate effect”.

AirAsia deputy group CEO Kamarudin Meranun suggested that the airline had not given up its aspirations of tapping Vietnam’s fast-growing market.

“In the proper time and condition, we may re-look the opportunity for a joint venture with VietJet, but it has to be the right time, environment and condition,” he said.

A 6.8-MAGNITUDE earthquake struck off the coast of Bali earlier today, damaging buildings in resort areas, and sending residents and tourists fleeing into the streets.

The epicentre of the quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres, 143 kilometres south-west of Nusa Dua.

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying: “No fatalities or injuries were reported, but, several hospitals, temples and houses were slightly damaged.”

According to Sutopo, Denpasar experienced the strongest impact of the tremor.

“A milder impact was felt in Kuta, Ubud, Tabanan and several places in East Java like Gambiran, Muncar, Negara, Srono, Genteng and Banyuwangi,” he said.

No tsunami alert has been issued so far.

A MISSING ‘zero’ on its website cost Taipei-based Lion Travel Service more than NT$500,000 (US$16,500) in losses when a number of online customers signed up for an erroneously priced tour of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in Japan.

The four-day package, which takes travellers on a mountain-sightseeing route between Tateyama, Toyama and Omachi in Nagano, was supposed to have been priced at NT$24,900 per pax.

Instead, the tour was priced at NT$2,490 per pax and published on Lion Travel’s website at 23.00 on September 29.

By the time the error was rectified at the start of the next working day, 24 online customers had already booked the tour, according to Liu Leng-Hon, a vice president at Lion Travel.

Explaining the decision to honour the transactions, Liu said: “Even if we could avoid responsibility, Lion would insist on making good on its customers’ claims even though it means taking a loss.”

Liu added: “Lion’s work environment heavily relies on its e-commerce model, so controls are in place for the listing of online prices, price changes and tour group sizes so that error is kept within reasonable limits.”

Roget Hsu, secretary general of Taiwan’s Travel Agent Association, said the country’s Consumer Protection Commission allows online sellers to withdraw or correct mistaken pricing only if no orders have been made.

“Once there has been a booking, the travel agent must honour the price,” he said.

By Glenn Smith

THE PERTH Convention Bureau (PCB) recently launched Redefine Perth, a campaign targeting business event planners from South-east Asian markets, especially Indonesia and Singapore.

Paul Beeson, PCB CEO, said: “The corporate and incentive market was a key part of our success in recent years, of which South-east Asia was a core contributor.”

“Quite a few groups visited Perth recently from all over South-east Asia and specifically, a great deal from Indonesia and Singapore – hence the focus of this new campaign.”

Redefine Perth incorporates print and online ads inviting planners to register interest in the capital of Western Australia, as well as recently concluded networking events in Jakarta and Singapore. PCB’s Singapore office is playing an active role in the campaign.

“We’ll continue to concentrate much of marketing spend on South-east Asia,” said Beeson. “The growth of the region, and our proximity to it, means this market will continue to be a core focus.”

“In particular, Singapore and Indonesia look set to continue as our high-growth markets,” he added.

Aside from South-east Asia, PCB is also looking at growing China, especially in view of new direct Perth-Guangzhou flights operated by Southern China airlines.

By Amee Enriquez

FASTBOOKING, an online solutions provider for the hospitality industry, has reached an agreement to distribute its client properties via Travelport’s recently-launched hotel booking platform, Travelport Rooms and More.

An improved version of existing online leisure portal Travelport Leisure, Travelport Rooms and More allows agents to compare deals and commissions across aggregators – thanks to meta-search technology from Sprice.com, which was acquired by Travelport in May last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 29).

FastBooking said in a press statement that the partnership would “boost the visibility of its client hotels among the 65,000 connected travel agency customers in the worldwide Travelport network and create more high-value opportunities”.

Alain Hirschfeld, marketing director, business development for FastBooking, added: “Our goal is to increase our hotels’ online business with travel agencies worldwide and to consolidate our position in this high-potential segment.”

Other aggregators that have joined the Travelport Rooms and More bandwagon include Agoda, Kuoni Connect, LateRooms.com, Transhotel, Ctrip, Zuji, Cleartrip and TUI Cars.

THE SINGAPORE Tourism Board (STB) has seized Tourist World Travel Services’ (TWTS) Travel Agents License, following a string of complaints against the company since last year.

According to a press statement, the escalating trend of complaints since February 2010 forced STB’s hand, resulting in an investigation that revealed TWTS had “engaged in business practices contravening the Travel Agents Act and Regulations”.

STB issued in July this year a notice of intent to revoke TWTS’ license, which was subsequently surrendered on August 19.

Two enforcement checks were conducted in the following weeks to ensure that TWTS had ceased operations. A raid was also carried out on the ex-agent’s premises on September 16, following a tip-off that TWTS was still offering travel products and services.

The ensuing case against TWTS remains under investigation.

SINGAPORE Airlines’ new medium- and longhaul low-cost subsidiary (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 26) is slated to take off in April next year.

The Straits Times reported yesterday that Scoot Airlines would start off with a single Boeing 777-200 aircraft, before expanding its fleet to four 777-200s within three months and 14 by mid-2016.

While exact destinations have yet to be confirmed, the airline is expected to fly to destinations in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe.