Shangri-La’s Sentosa resort rolls out ‘daycation’ deal
Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa is offering its plethora of leisure facilities for people seeking an afternoon retreat.
The Rasa Sunset in Paradise Package, available on Fridays, weekends, eve of public holidays and public holidays, include beach access from 16.00 to sunset at 18.45; pool access from 18.45 to 21.00; complimentary sea sports until 18.45 (single kayak, double kayak, triple kayak, stand up paddle board, or pedal boat); a welcome cocktail/ mocktail; dinner by the pool; complimentary Wi-Fi; and a complimentary parking coupon.
Holistic rejuvenating body massages and treatments are available at Chi The Spa. Guests can pre-purchase spa credits via the Rasa Sunset reservations platform.
Advance reservation for the Rasa Sunset in Paradise Package is required due to limited availability per day.
To reserve, visit bit.ly/rasasunset.
Indonesia commits 100 billion rupiah to hotel quarantine programme
Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MOTACE), Ministry of Health, and the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (IHRA) are working together to qualify a list of three-star accommodation across the country to house Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms as well as medical personnel.
The programme will be backed by a budget of 100 billion rupiah (US$6.7 million), revealed MOTACE minister Wishnutama Kusubandio, who added that Jakarta and Bali will see the first implementation, followed by North Sumatra, West Java and South Kalimantan.
Meals, laundry and support from medical personnel will be provided throughout the 14-day isolation programme, with MOTACE stepping in to provide medical staff to ensure compliance by hotels and residing patients.
To qualify for the programme, hotels must have suitable facilities and be able to comply with the requirements and protocols established by the Ministry of Health. The hotels are also not allowed to accept other guests during the programme.
To date, hotel brands Yello Hotels, Ibis, POP! Hotels, Mercure and Novotel in Jakarta and the surrounding areas are deemed to be ready, so are Ibis Kuta Bali and Novotel Banjarmasin Airport in South Kalimantan, according to Wishnutama.
Earlier this week, Terawan Agus Putranto, minister of health said the government would appoint 10 to 15 hotels of two- and three-star categories in Jakarta alone, providing 1,500 to 3,000 rooms in anticipation of hospital room shortage as the number of local infections continue to climb.
Haryadi Sukamdani, IHRA chairman said the move to use hotels for quarantine is not new, as many hotels have previously welcomed medical personnel and members of the public desiring self-isolation.
The fact that no new Covid-19 clusters were found in those hotels provided evidence that it was safe to transform hotels into quarantine centres, thanks to strict implementation of health protocols, Haryadi said.
Hotel groups with such experience include Aryaduta Hotels and Artotel Group, both of which partnered with medical institutions to provide necessary care.
The five-star Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel in Jakarta offers a self-isolation package, with prices ranging from 650,000 rupiah (US$44) to 900,000 rupiah per night for different room types. Besides laundry service and three meals a day, the guests can request for a rapid swab test. Medical attention is provided by doctors from Sahid Sahirman Medical Centre and Pelni Hospital.
Vivi Herlambang, director of business development, sales and marketing with Sahid Hotel & Resorts, told TTG Asia that the self-isolation package idea was birthed when the hotel was appointed by the government to accommodate medical staff during the country’s first large-scale social restriction a few months ago.
Medical personnel from Pelni Hospital had then asked if some patients could be accommodated at Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel while they waited for the results of their swab tests. The hotel agreed, and developed that capability further.
To ensure the safety of regular hotel guests, only patients with mild symptoms are allowed and both sets of customers are clearly separated.
Asymptomatic Covid-19 patients at the hotel are also under strict surveillance to prevent them from leaving their room.
IHRA Haryadi said the government’s latest decision to appoint specific quarantine hotels would not upset ongoing self-isolation programmes developed by hotels. Instead, people now have a wider choice of properties they can go to for quarantine.
Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas reopens with offers
Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas in Malaysia is welcoming guests once more, with a series of offers that will allow guests to stay, play and recharge across its varied leisure facilities.
From now until December 31, 2020, guests can enjoy resort credit of RM$150 (US$36) per room per stay or RM$250 per villa or residence per stay when they book the Best Flexible or Stay Longer rate at the property.
Golf enthusiasts can enjoy the Stay & Play package which comes with accommodation in a room or villa; daily breakfast for two at Turmeric Restaurant; and one-round of 18-hole golf course at either Ocean or Valley Course at The Els Club for two.
Perfect for family and friends, the Villas & Residences Retreat offer includes accommodation in a villa or residence; daily breakfast; complimentary daily lunch in villa or residence; one-time complimentary in-room minibar; and early check-in at 12:00 and late check out at 16:00, subject to availability.
Alternatively, the Splashing Fun offer will entice young families, where guests will receive a one-day pass to Adventure Waterpark for two adults and one child aged up to 12 years old, daily breakfast for two, and accommodation.
ILTM Cannes moved to 2021
International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) has postponed its annual Cannes gathering to 2021 in light of Covid-19, but will hold a virtual event next month to connect luxury travel suppliers and buyers across the globe.
Entitled ILTM World Tour – access all areas, the one-off virtual event will take place across three consecutive days, over three consecutive weeks, reaching three buyer source regions.
The sessions will take place in Asia-Pacific from November 17-19, before moving to Europe, Middle East and Africa from November 23-25, and both North and South America from December 1-3.
Alison Gilmore, ILTM portfolio director, said: “We have created this one-off event to design a truly global business opportunity for all our ILTM suppliers and buyers and planned it so that we respect all time zones. With a three-week time frame, everyone can create their own strategy and arrange meetings that will work for them.
“We know that the unprecedented events of 2020 have meant the luxury travel industry has had to adapt their business strategies. With target markets shifting as some borders remain closed, we want the objective of the ILTM World Tour to offer a global proposition to open up opportunities for all participants and be a time to bring people together, uniting through shared experiences and business, whilst we plan for our return.”
Trade hails arrival of One&Only Desaru Coast
Tourism providers in Malaysia welcomed the opening of ultra-luxe resort One&Only Desaru Coast – the brand’s first Asian outpost – as timely as it offers them an opportunity to tap the under-served upmarket segment in the destination amid the pandemic.
Uzaidi Udanis, president, Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association, said that the award-winning resort, which opened its doors earlier this month, “caters for the high-end segment which is sorely needed” as luxury hotels and resorts in the country remain scant.
“With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysians are not allowed to travel overseas. The high-end domestic segment is often overlooked by the travel trade as they usually holiday abroad. But this is the time to capture this segment and the opening of One&Only Desaru Coast is timely,” he added.
Adam Kamal, head of procurement & domestic market, Ice Holidays, shared that One&Only Desaru Coast has created buzz among the elite for being the brand’s first property in Asia, throwing up an opportunity for agents to tap high-yield domestic tourists for higher returns.
He opined: “Travel agents need to be smart in coming up with innovative packages so that domestic travellers buy from them.”
Spread across 51ha, One&Only Desaru Coast offers a collection of 42 Junior Suites, a pair of two-bedroom Grand Suites and an exclusive four-bedroom Villa One. All suites boast private plunge pools, as well as indoor and outdoor living spaces. Nestled on the south-eastern shoreline of Malaysia, the tropical retreat is designed by Kerry Hill Architects.
PATA Youth Symposium to focus on sustainable technologies, careers in tourism post-Covid
This year’s PATA Youth Symposium, with the theme The Future of Travel, will take place alongside the Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020 as a four-part series from September 22-25.
The event is organised by the PATA in collaboration with Leshan Normal University, and supported by the Guam Visitors Bureau, iFree Group, MAP2 Ventures, Myriad International Marketing, and Talent Basket.
“This year’s PATA Youth Symposium has been tailored to provide the next generation of young tourism professionals with industry insights, mentorship opportunities and peer-to-peer inspiration. Furthermore, we have organised a much-requested panel of HR experts from well-loved brands to give youth advice on how to find their next job, particularly during this current environment,” said PATA youth ambassador Aletheia Tan, who is also the organiser of the event.
PATA CEO Mario Hardy added: “The PATA Youth Symposium is the perfect opportunity for young tourism professionals to learn from today’s leaders but also, more importantly, for leaders and industry stakeholders to hear from the future of the industry – the youths themselves. Hence, the Youth Symposium is designed to initiate constructive conversation and facilitate cross-cultural collaboration in order to create a more responsible, inclusive and sustainable travel and tourism.”
The first part of the Youth Symposium, The Future of Tourism, opens with a keynote speech by Hafizuddin Haslir, regional business development manager, Euromonitor International on September 22 from 12:00-13:00 (GMT +8). Haslir will be presenting on Travel 2040: Sustainability and Digital Transformation as Recovery Drivers, and explore how the industry must grapple with the fact that travel as we know it is over. He will also provide insights into the latest outlook for global tourism demand and its impact on travel, future travel trends, and new sustainable technologies that will disrupt and transform the industry. This session is open to the public and interested parties can register here.
The second and third parts of the PATA Youth Symposium, Mentorship Session and Student Chapter Roundtable Discussions, are by private invitation only. The Mentorship Session has confirmed a total of 19 mentors from various sectors of the industry with representatives from Myriad International Marketing, Guam Visitors Bureau, Khiri Reach, TTG Asia, Catalonia Tourism Board and the IATA.
The Student Chapter Roundtable Discussions provide an opportunity for PATA Youth to present their passion projects from academic years 2019-2020. During this session, peer-to-peer learning and inspiration is at its highest with youths from around the world representing their colleagues, universities and destinations on an international stage.
During the fourth and final part of the Youth Symposium, happening on September 25 from 12:00-13:00 (GMT +8), HR experts Orapin Musiknavabutr from Minor Hotel Group; Pinky Tan from Visa Worldwide, and Savitri Meyer from Agoda, will sit down for a panel discussion on Getting a Job in a Post-Covid-19 World.
The session will look at the challenges and opportunities that youths face, as well as how tourism jobs will adapt in the future, what skills are predicted to be in high demand, and what resilience looks like. The session is open to the public and interested parties can register here.
IHG plants voco flag in the US and Greater China
IHG has further expanded voco’s global footprint, with the launch of the upscale hotel brand in the US and Greater China.
The group has signed agreements to develop three voco franchise hotels in the US, including New York City; St. Augustine, Florida; and Columbia, Missouri. Among the trio, the first voco-branded hotel expected to open is the Franklin Hotel located in the Upper East Side neighbourhood of New York City.
IHG is also set to debut voco in Greater China, with the brand’s first property in the region to open in Hangzhou very soon. Next will be a conversion property in Wuhan, an independent hotel which will be rebranded as voco Wuhan Xinhua in 2021.
Over in the EMEAA region, the company now has 36 hotels which are open or in the pipeline, with 24 conversion and new-build hotels due to open in key cities such as Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Frankfurt, Edinburgh, Krakow, Danang and Den Haag over the next five years.
Since the brand’s launch in 2018, a mix of 12 conversion and new-build voco hotels have opened across the UK, Continental Europe, the Middle East and Australia.
voco has seen an uplift in conversion activity during 1H2020. The brand’s current development pipeline of 28 properties will take it into 19 countries over the next five years, and IHG said that voco remains on track to open more than 200 hotels in urban and leisure locations over the next decade.
Across the full breadth of its portfolio, IHG CEO Keith Barr said that conversions accounted for a quarter of the group’s signings overall in 1H2020, led by voco. Rebranded properties include brands such as Regent, InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
RedDoorz maintains growth in Indonesia
With an expanding hotel portfolio and strong domestic bookings for its properties in Indonesia, RedDoorz is claiming victory against the Covid-19 pandemic and remains upbeat about tourism prospects.
The budget accommodation group’s general manager – Indonesia, Mohit Gandas, told TTG Asia in an interview that there has been more than 100 hotels joining the network every month.
There are presently more than 1,400 RedDoorz properties across at least 120 Indonesian cities.
“We are pleased to see the growing supply and footprint our team is able to acquire and retain in Indonesia, especially amidst the global pandemic,” Mohit said.
Room demand has also picked up following the Indonesian government’s decision to ease movement restrictions and facilitate economic recovery, although it has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
However, with the domestic market being RedDoorz’s traditional leading source of business, Mohit is optimistic that local bookings will pave a firm path to recovery.
“We foresee the post-Covid-19 budget accommodation business to be dominated by domestic travel – especially in Indonesia, which has always been the biggest market for us,” he said. “Before Covid-19, close to 90 per cent of our demand came from the domestic market. As such, we anticipate an enormous potential for the budget stays in Indonesia once all travels resume.”
Mohit observes that Indonesians are eager and willing to travel, and are open to alternative accommodation as long as “they are reassured on the health and safety protocols”.
“Since we launched our HygienePass initiative, we have been seeing a rise in demand for our properties that are HygienePass-certified. The 400-plus HygienePass-certified properties that we have currently are the first to see more than 100 per cent increase in occupancy rates, as compared to the non-certified properties,” he shared.
Despite being a budget accommodation specialist, Mohit asserted that RedDoorz abides by a strict health and safety standards not unlike that of higher categories of hotels.
RedDoorz HygienePass certification programme is done in collaboration with Ikatan Ahli Kesehatan Masyarakat Indonesia (IAKMI), the Indonesian public health association.
Properties participating in the programme must go through two separate, comprehensive audits by RedDoorz and IAKMI in order to obtain certification. The first audit uses RedDoorz’s proprietary digital technology solution developed specifically for HygienePass, enabling key elements of the audit and certification process to be implemented digitally. IAKMI then independently assesses each establishment before awarding the HygienePass certifications.
Mohit said that the programme was inspired by the Singapore government’s SG Clean certification, which rallied stakeholders, businesses, and the public to adopt good sanitation standards and hygiene practices.
“As Singapore is known for its industry-leading practices, we wanted to bring the same standards of hotel sanitation and hygiene measures to our other markets to help boost consumer confidence,” he said.
New hotels: Park Hyatt Auckland, Andaz Xiamen, and more
Park Hyatt Auckland, New Zealand
Overlooking Waitematā Harbour, the hotel has been designed to reflect a Māori wharenui (meeting house). Within the seven-storey hotel is 195 guestrooms, where lead-in rooms start from 47m2, going right up to the 245m2 Presidential Suite. For events, the property offers more than 9,500m2 of flexible event spaces, including a ceremonial garden, meeting rooms and Waka; the rooftop bar. Also on offer are four F&B venues, such as the Onemata, the hotel’s signature restaurant serving local produce.
Andaz Xiamen, China
Part of the mixed-use development The MixC, the Andaz Xiamen houses 304 rooms, including 20 suites with separate living rooms. All non-alcoholic minibar drinks and snacks are complimentary in each guestroom, as are local telephone calls and Wi-Fi. The hotel offers almost 2,000m2 of Nanyang-inspired event space, including seven standalone spaces ranging from 80m2 to 900m2. Recreational facilities include a 24-hour fitness centre, yoga room, heated 25m outdoor swimming pool, alongside four F&B venues.
Aloft Jakarta TB Simatupang, Indonesia
The second Aloft in Jakarta features 170 guestrooms furnished with complimentary Wi-Fi, 49-inch LCD TVs, as well as mobile key access. Aside from offering a variety of dining options – the brand’s signature W XYZ bar, Fraya, Southside Rooftop Bar and Lounge – additional facilities include a 24/7 Re:charge fitness centre and kids’ club. For events, eight meeting rooms and the ballroom are at guests’ disposal.
InterContinental Residences Jakarta Pondok Indah, Indonesia
IHG has opened its first residences under its luxury brand, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, in Indonesia. Residences come fully-furnished with kitchen and a separate dining area, and would be ideal for long-term business guests working in the country’s capital. The residences are connected to the five-star InterContinental Jakarta Pondok Indah hotel, giving residents access to the hotel’s range of facilities including a 24-hour fitness centre, steam room, sauna and outdoor swimming pool.
The luxurious InterContinental Singapore has launched exclusive two-, three-, and five-night packages for wholesale and travel agents.
Priced from SG$890 (US$657) nett for two nights, the package includes breakfast and afternoon tea for two guests, and return limousine transfers in a Mercedes S-Class.
The three-night package throws in dinner for two while the five-night package features two dinners for two at award-wining restaurants Man Fu Yuan or Ash & Elm.
Hotel guests can also enjoy curated experiences of the city, such as discovering the vicinity in a Vespa sidecar and guided heritage trails of the surrounding neighbourhood.