SINGAPORE-based hospitality group Grace International soft-opened its second boutique property, The Saff, in Chinatown late last year. Occupancy has been “better than expected” so far, according to The Saff’s marketing manager Velda Mah.

Business travellers make up 30 per cent of the clientele, Mah said, adding that the 79-room hotel is working closely with online travel agencies to move its rooms, as its target market is largely the “Internet-savvy”.

“The Saff is different from The Scarlet (Grace International’s other boutique hotel),” she explained. “It is more eclectic and cultural, compared to The Scarlet’s glamorous Baroque style. The Saff is also priced lower than The Scarlet, with published rates starting from S$230 (US$186).”

Meanwhile, Grace International will close The Scarlet’s Desire restaurant for a complete overhaul. The revamped outlet will open this September as a chic bistro under a different name, and will continue to welcome corporate and private events, said Mah.

The group is also surveying North America for opportunities to take its boutique hotel business beyond Singapore’s shores.

AIRASIA X, the longhaul affiliate of Malaysia-based low-cost carrier (LCC) AirAsia, recorded stellar results for the first quarter of the year.

The airline carried 640,000 passengers in the first quarter of 2011, a year-on-year increase of 56.5 per cent. It added six new routes during the same period, to Mumbai, Delhi, Tehran, Seoul, Tokyo, and Paris, while its aircraft fleet size increased from eight to 11.

AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, said: “Our continued rapid growth trajectory is testament to the breakthrough longhaul model that we have pioneered, which unlocks significant latent demand that exists between South-east Asia and the major markets in North Asia, Australia, India, Middle East and Europe, which are unserved by traditional low-cost carriers.”

AirAsia X’s first quarter passenger traffic grew by 59.8 per cent year-on-year to 3.6 billion Revenue-Passenger-Kms (RPKs), making it the second largest LCC in South-east Asia, after AirAsia Malaysia.

Its capacity grew by 48 per cent during the same period to 4.5 billion Available-Seat-Kms (ASKs), resulting in a load factor of 81 per cent, an increase of six percentage points over the same quarter last year.

BEST Western International has opened the BEST WESTERN Mangga Dua Hotel and Residence in Jakarta, the chain’s first property in the Indonesian capital, and its third in the country.

Offering 148 rooms and 20 suites, the hotel is situated in the Mangga Dua shopping area, close to major shopping malls WTC Mangga Dua and Mangga Dua Square. Also in the vicinity are the Jakarta Convention Center, corporate offices and banks.

Facilities at BEST WESTERN Mangga Dua Hotel and Residence include an outdoor swimming pool, a restaurant serving international food, a lounge bar, a steam room/sauna, a convenience store, massage service and eight meeting rooms with a capacity of 550 people.

THE BURGEONING hotel sector in the Middle East and North Africa is both a boon and bane to tourism, with oversupply threatening to derail overall profitability, according to a presentation at the World Travel Market Vision Conference – Dubai on Tuesday.

Euromonitor International travel and tourism industry analyst, Nadejda Popova, warned that oversupply was a pressing issue, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai the most exposed.

“Although arrival numbers are growing in these cities, supply is outpacing demand, resulting in lower than expected occupancy rates and RevPAR figures,” she said.

Popova pointed out that the Middle East benefits from some of the highest RevPARs worldwide, and “may be undergoing a small structural change post-crisis, as the luxury price proposition corrects itself”.

Popova also revealed new hotel development in the region had slowed as a result of the global downturn. However, she said the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan all have more than 3,000 rooms each in the pipeline, based on studies by hospitality research firm STR Global.

Asian hotel chains such as Dusit, Shangri-La, Banyan Tree and Anantara are all contributing to the expansion, opening properties in the UAE, Egypt and Oman. Budget hotels are also expanding, with Accor leading the way with four Ibis-branded hotel openings in the region by 2012.

World Travel Market exhibition director, Simon Press, said: “The Middle East and Africa are now an integral part of the global travel and tourism industry. The region’s inbound tourism numbers are growing, but hotels need to balance the expected increase in demand with the number of rooms available.”

UAE-based Islamic hospitality group Lootah Hotel Management (LHM) will launch the first shariah-compliant resort in the Maldives by 2013, having signed a memorandum of understanding with Maldives’ Kalaidhu Investment this week to undertake management of the resort.

The US$85-million property in the Maldives will comprise 50 luxury villas with private swimming pools, an exclusive beach, a restaurant, a recreation centre, a spa, and a marina.

Shariah-compliant hotels and resorts, operated based on Islamic principles, are fast becoming popular in the Arab world with their no alcohol, halal-prepared food policies and range of separate facilities for males and females, including gyms and spas.

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) expects to sell some six million seats – two million for travel within Malaysia and four million on international routes – during its Global Deals, Dream Getaway sale, which previewed last week in Jakarta (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 26).

MAS regional vice president Azman Ahmad told TTG Asia: “It is still early to derive the numbers, but the response so far has been very encouraging. We are targeting an estimated RM108 million (US$36 million) in revenue for the 16-day campaign period from May 3 to 18.”

The promotion, offering discounts of up to 95 per cent on economy-class seats and up to 75 per cent on business-class seats until May 18, is valid for travel from May 3 to March 31 next year to destinations in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

Hot seats on routes to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ho Chih Minh City and London are being snapped up quickly.

Bookings made under MASHolidays’ Free and Easy programme are entitled to the discounts.

By Ellen Chen

KUONI has completed its takeover of Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) as planned (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 7).

With its acquisition of GTA from Travelport, which will be integrated into the Division Destinations arm of the Kuoni Group, Kuoni will become one of the leading global providers of online destination management services.

The new CEO of GTA is Rolf Schafroth, a member of the Kuoni Group executive board and responsible for Division Destinations. He will also continue to serve as CEO of the Kuoni Destination Management unit.

HOLIDAY Inn last week relaunched the Holiday Inn Chiangmai, Holiday Inn Resort Regent Beach Cha-Am and Holiday Inn Resort Phi Phi Island, completing the Thailand phase of its US$1 billion global brand refresh programme.

“We are delighted to complete the Thailand phase of the refresh project,” said Alan Watts, vice president of operations, South-east Asia, InterContinental Hotels Group.

“Although tourism in Thailand dipped in recent years due to unprecedented internal events, 2011 sees the country re-emerging strongly once again as a business and leisure destination of choice for local, regional, and international travelers,” he added.

Holiday Inn’s refresh programme creates a more contemporary brand image as part of the brand’s drive to increase quality and consistency across its global portfolio.

Aside from the introduction of modern amenities and facilitie, and improved room fittings and standards, its revamped hotels also offer an up-to-date sensory experience (look, feel, and scent), including a new logo and signage.