HILTON Kuching in Sarawak is scheduled to complete its RM20-million (US$7 million) upgrading programme, started in November 2010, by year-end.

Renovation work will be wrapped up by then on the remaining 199 of the 315-room total.

Director of sales, Angela Tan, said: “The makeover to the guest rooms features contemporary furniture, 37-inch LCD TV, fresh wall coverings and carpets, modern lighting, ultra-comfortable beds and refreshed bathrooms.”

According to Tan, the renovation was expected to have little impact on rates “as it (rates) flows with market demand. Inflationary growth is expected.”

Renovation of the hotel’s MICE facilities has been completed.

“The four meeting rooms were refurbished with new wall coverings and carpets as well as up-to-date meeting furnishings. A reception area, ideal for tea breaks and cocktail events, that opens out to the poolside terrace, was added. The business centre was also made over,” Tan said.

“Improvements were also made to the grand ballroom and the prefunction room with lightings, carpet and wall coverings.”

Enhancements at the executive lounge include extension of its floor-to-ceiling windows to the edge of the building to heighten unobstructed views of the Sarawak River and city.

“The lounge also features complimentary computer work stations and WiFi Internet access,” Tan said.

By N. Nithiyananthan

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts has revamped the website used exclusively by its trade partners.

Senior vice president – sales and marketing for Centara Hotels & Resorts, Chris Bailey, said: “We have upgraded and simplified our online information and reservations system for the travel and hospitality industry on the site designed specifically for our trade partners.”

Travel agents, tour operators, events planners and buyers, and other travel industry professionals can now access support services, information, and the latest travel industry rates on www.chr.co.th.

Centara’s new corporate website has been launched simultaneously.

DUE to overwhelming response, the first TTG Travel Agent Conference at ITB Asia is moving to Ballroom 2 at Suntec Singapore, from Ballroom 1 initially, to accommodate a larger audience.

As of 11.00 today (August 26), 341 registrations have been received, with travel agents across Asia signing up, alongside a strong representation from home base Singapore.

To register for the free three-hour conference on October 21, go to www.ttgasia.com/tac. The event is open to all TTG Asia readers and ITB Asia delegates on a first-come-first-served basis, with priority given to travel agents and tour operators.

TTG Asia is also inviting agents to send in any questions they may have for the speakers (see the speaker line-up and programme when you register), so that these queries may be weaved into or addressed at the end of their presentations. Channel your questions to ttgnewsdesk@ttgasia.com. Please indicate whom the questions are for.

One of the many key How To topics is a session by Adrian Caruso, Australia’s top travel agency coach, on How to beat the Internet. Caruso will show agents why their customers are booking on the Internet instead of booking through them, how to reclaim their clients, and why CRM needs to be the “entire focus” of their business.

Said Caruso: “Agents are being beaten by the Internet because they act like the Internet. Agents who act like the Internet are those who provide lots of information, compete on price and are a booking system. They must change the way they think of themselves.”

In another highlight, one of the trade’s most illustrious CEOs, Hans Lerch, vice chairman and CEO of Hotelplan Holdings and board member of Abercrombie & Kent Group, will be put “on the firing line” following his keynote on travel agency survival.

Lerch will be interviewed by two individuals, one from the trade, who understands the workings of the business, and the other a seasoned trade journalist. The Q&A with Lerch will be conducted by Judy Lum, group vice president – sales & marketing, Tour East Group, and Raini Hamdi, group editor – Travel Group, TTG Asia Media.

There will also be several rapid fire sessions of around 20 minutes each, covering topics such as How to retail travel today, How to buy travel today, How to achieve customer service excellence, How to customise the travel experience (see the full programme when you register).

Travel agents will receive immediate confirmation upon registration. Non-travel agents are also welcome to register, but as priority is given to agents, their registration will be on a waitlist; they will be notified by October 11 about whether their places have been confirmed.

TTG Travel Agent Conference at ITB Asia will be held at Suntec Singapore, Ballroom 2, 9.00 to 12.00 on October 21.

SINGAPORE Airlines’ (SIA) new medium- and longhaul low-cost subsidiary (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 26) could possibly be named Scoot Airlines.

According to aviation news website Flightglobal.com, the online domain name scootairlines.com has been registered in Singapore by TBWA Worldwide, SIA’s advertising representative.

Aerospace trade publication Aviation Week also recently reported that SIA had filed an application with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore for rights to the brand name Scoot.

The new LCC is planning to adopt existing SIA Boeing 777-200 aircraft as its fleet mainstay ahead of its commercial launch next year.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts has taken over the management of the West Sands Phuket and rebranded it as Centara Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket.

The five-star property located on Mai Khao Beach is set on 47 acres (19 hectares) of land, bordering 500 metres of beach frontage.

The resort features a waterpark with 12 waterslides and a 335-metre lazy river, several F&B outlets including a beachside barbecue and a Thai restaurant, a Spa Cenvaree, a fitness centre, tennis courts, and a kids’ club.

The present accommodation totals 316 rooms built under the first phase, consisting of 115 deluxe rooms, 97 one-bedroom suites, 36 one-bedroom grand suites, 18 two-bedroom grand suites, 12 three-bedroom penthouses and 38 beach and pool villas.

A second phase is to be completed in October next year, and a third phase in October 2013, which will take the total number of keys to 784.

THE BAY Hotel, owned and managed by Bay Hotels and Resorts, will open in Singapore around October-November.

The four-star property located on Telok Blangah Road and nearby to Sentosa will cater to both business and leisure travellers.

The hotel will offer 333 keys, including 42 standard rooms, 278 deluxe rooms, seven executive rooms and six suites.

There will be a swimming pool and a gym, as well as three F&B outlets, including an all-day dining venue serving pan-Indonesian and European cuisine, a lobby lounge, and a tapas bar and grill.

THE NINTH edition of Tourism Australia’s B2B event, India Travel Mission (ITM), will take place at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre from August 25-28.

Around 40 sellers from Australia and 90 buyers from across India are expected to participate in the event which will feature two new products – luxury lodges and self-drive tours.

Tourism New South Wales, Tourism Queensland, Tourism Victoria and South Australia Tourism Commission will be represented at ITM.

According to Tourism Australia country manager – India, Nishant Kashikar, the NTO is focused on targeting segments like DINKS, honeymooners, young couples, families and MICE from India.

COMPASS Hospitality, a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Compass Capital International, has reported that year-to-date occupancies at its Bangkok properties have recovered to around 90 per cent, but that room rates remain under pressure.

According to executive vice-president operations, Bernard Ng, occupancies at Compass’ 20 hotels in the Thai capital – consisting of about 2,900 rooms, mostly in the mid-tier segment – dipped to 80 per cent last year, due in part to the political crisis in the country.

Ng said the rebound this year was originating from its main markets, including Japan, the Middle East, Europe and the US, in addition to growth from new markets such as India and China.

He added that rates remained stagnant due to pressure from existing supply and new competition, but declined to reveal any figures.

Compass continues to expand in Bangkok, where 19 of its 20 hotels are located on Sukhumvit Road. These include the 582-room Windsor Suites on Sukhumvit 20, which came under Compass management in January.

The 79-room Citrus Sukhumvit 13 is slated to open by year-end, and three more mid-tier hotels and one serviced residence are under construction. All will be located along Sukhumvit Road.

Elsewhere in Thailand, the chain manages four hotels – two in Pattaya and one each in Hua Hin and Koh Samui – with another two under construction in Phuket.

By Sirima Eamtako

PEACH Aviation, Japan’s first dedicated low-cost carrier (LCC), will start operations on March 1, 2012.

Co-owned by All Nippon Airways, Hong Kong-based First Eastern Investment Group, and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 10), the LCC will offer four daily flights from Osaka-Kansai Airport to Sapporo, and three daily flights from Osaka-Kansai to Fukuoka.

Pending approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Peach has not yet released information about its fares.

The carrier is expecting to grow its fleet of Airbus A320s to 10-strong, and operate the aircraft on domestic as well as regional routes.

Peach Aviation is one of two LCCs that ANA is establishing, the other being AirAsia Japan (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 21).

TIGER Airways is looking to generate between US$100 million to US$150 million through a rights issue, which will be underwritten by its two majority shareholders Temasek Holdings and Singapore Airlines (SIA).

The move comes shortly after Tiger Airways resumed domestic operations in Australia, following a six-week suspension by the country’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 10).

Although Tiger Airways has not yet confirmed how the capital will be utilized, the extra funds will come as a welcome relief considering its first-quarter loss of US$17 million, and the financial impact of the grounding on yet-to-be-announced second quarter results (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 5).

SIA and Tiger Airways requested for trading in their shares to be halted earlier in the day, pending the announcement of the rights issue.