Vietjet will be starting two new direct routes in April, flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne and Sydney.
From April 8, the Ho Chi Minh City-Melbourne (Tullamarine Airport) service will operate six times per week, departing Ho Chi Minh City every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and from Melbourne every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Vietjet will fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney from April 12; Sydney Opera House pictured
The Ho Chi Minh City-Sydney service will also operate six flights per week from April 12. Flights will depart from Ho Chi Minh City every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while flights from Sydney will take off every Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
Air Astana will resume flights from Astana to Beijing from March 18.
The twice-weekly service will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with plans to add more flights for the summer season.
Air Astana will operate twice weekly flights from Astana to Beijing
The airline will also increase the frequency of flights from Almaty to Beijing to four times a week, with plans to increase this to daily flights during the summer season.
Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui, Thailand Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui offers 82 suites and villas set within gardens on a hillside, and 74 suites and villas with an outdoor bath, and in a range of family-friendly configurations.
Facilities include a kids’ club, F&B options, spa, exercise room, two swimming pools, and a 24-hour co-working space.
The property is located 15 minutes by car from Samui International Airport, and is nearby dining venues and scenic sites, such as Fisherman’s Village and the nearby Chaweng Beach.
The Peninsula Istanbul
The Peninsula Istanbul, Turkey The Peninsula Istanbul, Turkey is a waterfront property with three of its four buildings being protected historical landmarks dating to the early 1900s.
The property offers 177 rooms, including The Peninsula Suite which comes with its own hammam (Turkish bath), gym, and rooftop swimming pool. Available on-site are a rooftop restaurant and bar, lobby restaurant, wellness centre, indoor and outdoor pools, Turkish steam rooms, and event venues.
Located within Galataport, a new waterfront revitalisation project featuring museums, restaurants, and boutiques in the harbour district of Karaköy, the hotel is within walking distance to Galata Tower, Galata Bridge, The Hagia Sophia Mosque, The Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace.
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach, Thailand The 204-key Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach is an oceanfront sanctuary on Tawanron Beach, located nearby the fishing village of Bang Saray.
The resort boasts six restaurants and bars, three outdoor swimming pools, kids’ club, spa, fitness centre, yoga room, and event spaces.
Just a 10-minute drive to most of Pattaya’s hotspots, the resort is less than two hours by car from Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The Anam Mui Ne
The Anam Mui Ne, Vietnam The Anam Mui Ne is situated in southern Vietnam’s popular beach town Mui Ne, just a 2.5-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City via the new expressway.
Overlooking Mui Ne’s white sand beach, the resort offers 127 rooms and suites, as well as an all-day dining restaurant and grill, beachside restaurant and bar, spa, two swimming pools, water sports centre, fitness centre, yoga room, kid’s club and event venues.
The resort has also implemented an array of measures to reduce its carbon footprint with solar power and locally-sourced ingredients, and features its own water filtration plant which supplies drinking water in recycled glass bottles.
Rugby action meets family-friendly festivities at this year’s HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens happening on April 8 and 9 at the National Stadium at Singapore Sports Hub.
The two-day sporting event will feature a star-studded line-up with teams from around the globe. In addition, this year’s edition comes packed with family-packed entertainment for fans and spectators of every age.
HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens will feature a star-studded line-up with teams from around the globe (Photo: Mike Lee)
For those six and below, there is a drop-off facility with Super Mart and Hot Wheels zones; while kids aged seven to 12 have skating fun at the Roller Kids and Roller Disco Zones – instructors are present and gear are available for use.
At the beanbags zone, Minions clips will play non-stop to entertain the family – there may even be appearances by these beloved characters to surprise the little ones!
Other activities available include lightsaber duels and training with Singapore’s own Saber Authority, and surfing at The Stingray, the world’s first half-pipe surfing machine.
There will also be gastronomic treats from Michelin-starred restaurant Burnt Ends, Meat Smith, and The Travelling C.O.W.
Ticket prices start from S$69 (US$51) for adults and S$39 for those aged four to 17. Family ticket packages are also available, starting from S$149 for four people.
Jean-Pierre Joncas has been appointed general manager of Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua.
Hailing from Canada, he has amassed over 20 years of experience in international hospitality, and was most recently area general manager at Hotel Des Arts MGallery in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
In his new role at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua beach resort, Joncas will continue to develop and strengthen the hotel’s successful positioning in the Bali luxury hospitality market, improve guest experiences, increase sustainability, and inspire his team to new heights of performance.
He was also recognised by Haute Grandeur in 2022 as the Best General Manager – Global level.
With 19 brands under three distinct concepts – WorldHotels Collection, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, and SureStay Hotel Group – BWH Hotel Group (BWH) heralds an exciting new era of international hospitality in Asia, with an expanding collection of world-class hotels and resorts across the region.
Covering every segment of the market from economy to upper upscale, with locations from gateway cities to beach resorts, cultural hubs, and more, BWH sets the scene for the next Asian adventure.
BWH's exciting offerings
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In December 2022, the 160-key Villa Fontaine Premier Haneda Airport, Tokyo, was added to the WorldHotels Elite collection
Opening in December, Best Western Plus Carapace Hotel Hua Hin is set around freeform lagoon pools close to the shore
BWH will unveil Best Western Premier Hotel Malam Jabba in Pakistan in 2026
BWH’s first branded residence, Best Western Premier Sunshine Diamond River, Vietnam, is set to welcome guests in 2024
SureStay Studio by Best Western Clarkview is an affordable option with facilities for families and extended stays
Newly opened in the centre of the Thai capital, Seekers Finders Rama IV features a rooftop infinity pool
Explore Asia with the latest destinations The growth in 2022 was led by Vietnam (21 signings) and Pakistan (five signings). Two hotels were also signed in Thailand and Indonesia.
Key properties include Asia’s first SureStay Collection by Best Western property, Seekers Finders Rama IV in Bangkok and Asia’s first SureStay Studio by Best Western property in the Philippines.
Moving from strength to strength in 2023 The Group will continue to augment its regionwide portfolio of hotels and resorts in 2023, while initiating attractive promotions and leveraging the strength of Best Western Rewards, its global loyalty programme, to attract new and returning guests.
The expansion will focus on a series of key strategic markets, including Thailand and Vietnam, while also introducing more of its 19 diverse brands to the region.
Key openings in Vietnam this year will include Executive Residency by Best Western Cen Riverside Hanoi, which will mark the debut of its extended-stay Executive Residency by Best Western brand in Southeast Asia, as well as Venezia Binh Chau, BW Premier Collection by Best Western, a spectacular new development on the country’s southeast coast.
In Thailand, the Group recently opened Best Western Plus Carapace Hotel Hua Hin and will open Best Western Chatuchak and Best Western Ratchada Hotel over the next couple of weeks, followed by Best Western Click Sathorn 11 Bangkok, a modern midscale hotel in the heart of the Thai capital.
Multiple new openings are also planned in Indonesia, and exciting new concepts will be introduced to the Philippines, including Cebu’s first SureStay Plus hotel.
WorldHotels will also expand across Asia this year. In December 2022, the 160-key Villa Fontaine Premier Haneda Airport, Tokyo, was added to the WorldHotels Elite collection, and this will soon be followed by its sister property, the 1,553-key Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport – the largest convention hotel at Japan’s busiest airport.
In the third quarter, La Green Resort will open its doors near Bangtao Beach to become the first WorldHotels member in Phuket. This 420-key eco-friendly resort will join the WorldHotels Distinctive collection.
All three new properties offer WorldHotels Rewards, the industry-leading loyalty programme which offers guests exclusive members-only offers and benefits.
Powering ahead In Vietnam, BWH signed Best Western Premier Senla Boutique Saigon and Best Western Premier Sky Hue which will debut this year and 2025 respectively.
Its first branded residence, Best Western Premier Sunshine Diamond River, Vietnam, is also set to welcome guests in 2024.
As a pioneer in Pakistan, the Group will open three properties in the country’s breathtaking mountains in 2025 and 2026.
Vote for your favourite travel brand to win at TTG Travel Awards 2023, Asia-Pacific’s Most Prestigious Travel Industry Accolade Vote Best Western Hotels & Resorts (BWH Hotels) for Best Mid-range Hotel Brand here.
JLL has named Nihat Ercan as chief executive officer of Hotels & Hospitality Group, Asia-Pacific.
Bringing over 20 years of experience to his new role, Ercan will be responsible for JLL’s market-leading hotels and hospitality platform in the region, with oversight for investment sales, advisory and asset management services, and client management across 14 markets in Asia-Pacific.
Mike Batchelor, who previously held the position of chief executive officer will assume the role of chairman of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group in Asia-Pacific.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) joined forces with global marketplace WebBeds to hold the inaugural Impact Summit, held at Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld on February 8.
The high-level event saw senior executives from the TAT and WebBeds present industry updates – including Thailand’s strategic direction and the current booking data and trends.
Tourism Authority of Thailand and WebBeds presented industry updates during the inaugural Impact Summit held in Bangkok, pictured
More than 500 hoteliers attended in person while over 400 other partners live-streamed the summit from around the world.
The TAT’s deputy governor of international marketing for Europe, Africa, Middle East & Americas, Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, and executive director for the East Asia Region, Chuwit Sirivajjakul, spoke at the even to help delegates understand the tourism environment and how to align their own business plans with the actions of the TAT.
Providing insights on industry trends, consumer habits, key markets, trends and opportunities were WebBeds’ CEO Daryl Lee and president for Asia-Pacific KS Sun, along with other commercial presidents from around the world.
During the summit, Cheawsamoot shared the TAT’s vision for its longhaul markets, which includes a focus on high value and sustainable tourism, as well as its action plan which focuses on attracting more flights and greater capacity with airlines, expanding Thailand’s source markets to more major urban centres around the world, working with new strategic partners, including airlines, airports, tour operators and travel agencies, and making Thailand an all-year-round destination for a wider variety of market segments.
Sirivajjakul also shared information about the TAT’s 2023 marketing campaigns and activations for East Asia, with a focus on the reopening of mainland China, as well as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. He also revealed how consumer behaviour has changed over the years and what opportunities lie ahead for hoteliers targeting these important markets.
Daryl Lee, CEO of WebBeds, commented: “This event marked our first Impact Summit and the fact that we chose Bangkok as the host city reflects the importance of Thailand as a global tourism powerhouse.
“This was the first of many Impact Summits and we look forward to collaborating with our esteemed partners in the months and years to come, to help forge a strong and sustainable future for the entire industry.”
SiteMinder reveals global traveller confidence is reaching new heights post-lockdown in its new analysis of more than 100 million reservations – booking behaviour trends from 2022 showed decreasing cancellation rates and increasing booking lead times, even with rising hotel room prices across key travel destinations.
SiteMinder’s new Hotel Booking Trends report has revealed travellers booked their trips on average eight days earlier, and cancelled their bookings 17% less year-on-year in 2022, despite a 24% increase in the average daily hotel room rate.
Travellers are booking hotels earlier and cancelling less
Including the most popular channels travellers used to book hotels in 2022, SiteMinder’s report also reveals the performance of OTAs, wholesalers, global distribution systems, tour operators, destination management companies and hotel-owned websites (direct booking engines) as revenue-driving channels for hoteliers across the world, with 11 new additions joining SiteMinder’s Top 12 lists for the first time.
In 2022, analysis from SiteMinder’s Hotel Booking Trends showed:
Travellers globally booked hotel stays considerably further in advance than in 2021, with hotels seeing a 38% increase in average booking lead time, year-on-year. The global average booking lead time was around 30 days in 2022, just six days shorter than the average booking lead time in 2019.
Travellers globally cancelled their hotel bookings 17% less year-on-year. The average hotel booking cancellation rate dropped to about 20% compared to 25% in 2021, with hotels in Ireland experiencing the highest rate (26%) and Indonesia the lowest (10%).
Domestic booking channels captured a lower proportion of bookings overall, however there was a clear balance between traditional and niche booking channels across markets. OTAs, wholesalers and destination management companies reasserted their dominance across SiteMinder’s Top 12 booking channel lists in most markets as international travel returned, with Booking.com remaining the most popular. Despite this, regional hotel booking channels still proved popular with travellers in 2022.
Travellers showed a continued openness to book directly with hotels in 2022, despite OTAs regaining ground. Globally, a hotel’s website was more important as a source of revenue in 2022 than it was in 2019, despite hotel websites moving down SiteMinder’s Top 12 lists in 42% of countries year-on-year. The ranking of hotel websites as a revenue generator remained on par with 2019’s lists in 72% of markets, and ahead in 28%.
Bookings via global distribution systems (GDSs) rose as business travel continued to resume with force in 2022. GDSs ranked higher in Top 12 booking channel lists in 47% of analysed travel markets this year, re-entering the top five in France and Germany for the first time since 2018.
Travellers incrementally increased their hotel stays, with the average length of stay growing only slightly in 2022 to 1.93 nights. Stays booked to Spain in August were the longest globally at 2.65 days, while Mexican reservations were the longest year-round, followed by those made to Portuguese, Thailand and Spanish properties.
Travellers continued to book accommodation through Airbnb. Featured on just 28% of SiteMinder’s Top 12 lists in 2019, Airbnb ranked in 89% of 2022 lists, highlighting the brand’s popularity with travellers and the wide variety of properties now gaining bookings from the channel, beyond simply vacation rentals.
Overall, travellers booked with more commitment to travel than the year prior. Despite the average daily rate of a hotel room rising 24% year-on-year to US$177, booking momentum remained robust, with reservation volumes rising to 104% of 2019’s levels globally by December 31, 2022.
SiteMinder’s Hotel Booking Trends report comes following the removal of travel restrictions in mainland China, triggering an acceleration of outbound bookings at the start of 2023.
According to SiteMinder’s most recent bookings data, outbound net reservations from China increased by 37% in February since mid-December 2022, with bookings to properties in Thailand and Vietnam increasing by 86% and 78% respectively. Tourists from China made 155 million outbound trips worth US$255 billion in 2019, making them the largest outbound tourism market globally prior to the pandemic.
James Bishop, vice president of ecosystem and strategic partnerships, SiteMinder, said: “The accommodation sector has remained a strong indicator of traveller confidence over the last three years, and we can see through SiteMinder’s new Hotel Booking Trends analysis that this confidence is certainly starting to embed across key travel markets globally.”
He added that changing traveller trends such as the blend of leisure and business trips and the acceleration of group bookings pave a strong growth opportunity for the accommodation sector within rebounding regional tourism industries.
“Our new Hotel Booking Trends analysis shows a clear shift in the accommodation industry toward a holistic hotel commerce strategy that ensures hotels are able to attract the right guests at the right time. From our Top 12 lists, we see hoteliers globally adopting new and established channels — both direct and indirect — to truly optimise their distribution approach, allowing hoteliers to be seen and booked according to evolving seasonality and changing traveller preferences,” Bishop said.
The new data demonstrates the global traveller sentiment reported in SiteMinder’s 2022 Changing Traveller Report, in which the majority of travellers surveyed reported they did not expect their travel plans to be held back by rising inflation, with 87% of travellers saying they are happier when they are anticipating travel, and 85% of travellers comfortable spending additional money on extras during their next stay. In the ‘new normal’ of travel, 80% of travellers said it was important to have the flexibility to easily modify or freely cancel their reservation.
Bishop noted: “Hotel businesses are certainly showing an openness to employ a broader, multi-channel approach as a way of connecting with more traveller segments, which reflect new expanded, multi-channel traveller booking preferences and a much more competitive hotel booking landscape online.”
To view all the insights from SiteMinder’s full Hotel Booking Trends report, including the Top 12 lists of top travel destinations, click here.
In his new role at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua beach resort, Joncas will continue to develop and strengthen the hotel’s successful positioning in the Bali luxury hospitality market, improve guest experiences, increase sustainability, and inspire his team to new heights of performance.
Healy has also worked with a number of Melbourne Hotels, including The Como Melbourne MGallery and Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.
Mike Batchelor, who previously held the position of chief executive officer will assume the role of chairman of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group in Asia-Pacific.
