Hotel News in Brief

Dec 08, 09 | 1:46 am

Layaway, savings clubs and other types of installment payments are resurfacing as merchants offer prospective customers an affordable alternative for spending. National retailers are offering layaway plans, while at online travel provider BookIt.com®, customers can buy travel with no payments for six months with a finance option called Bill Me Later®. Plans that spread out payments or allow a grace period help customers who can't otherwise manage one big payment with job security a lingering concern this year. "Our guests can book their travel this fall, for the winter holidays or for spring break now and have no payments for six months," said Jesse Henson, BookIt.com Vice President of Marketing. "Many see two choices: Make a full payment or postpone travel plans. BookIt.com provides another alternative." Holiday spending is expected to average $682.74 this year, lower than the previous year, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation/BIGResearch. Travel is among shoppers' sacrifices: 28.6 percent surveyed said they planned to reduce travel or not travel at all for the holidays. "These are the people we hope Bill Me Later will benefit," Henson said. "They can still travel for the holiday by budgeting the payment later when they can better afford the expense."


Fiji Rugby has unveiled its newest ‘forward' - Tourism Fiji's iconic ‘Fiji me' logo. Under an agreement with the sport's governing body in Fiji, Fiji Rugby Union,  the national tourist office's ‘Fiji Me' logo has now been emblazoned across the chests of the national rugby team's jerseys.The logo has already been called into play twice in the international arena, featuring prominently in recent outings against Scotland and Ireland. While the final result might have gone the opposition's way in both matches, Tourism Fiji CEO Josefa Tuamoto said the very visible ‘Fiji me' logo had proven a decisive winner for the national tourist office's promotion of the destination. "We know the world is watching every time our national squad walks onto the pitch," he said. "We are renowned for our fluid and exciting style of play, particularly our sevens team now is one of the most popular and successful teams in the history of the game". "The team regularly plays all over the world so what better way to promote Fiji to a huge international audience."


The recently released ASTA Travel Agency Business Trends survey has found that consumer interest in cruises remains for high for the upcoming winter and spring travel seasons, with the Caribbean and Mexico topping the destination charts for winter travel and spring finding U.S. travelers heading to the Caribbean and Europe. "Regardless of what type of vacation a client is looking for or where they want to visit, ASTA travel agents have the experience and first-hand-knowledge to make sure their client has the best vacation possible. Whether a client is looking for a relaxing get-away at an excellent value or wants to be among the first to visit an upcoming destination, travel agents are there to help make their customer's travel dreams a reality," said Chris Russo, ASTA president and chair. Regarding winter travel, 84 percent of respondents said that their clients were considering a cruise as part of their winter vacation, while 63 percent said the Caribbean was high on their clients' wish-lists. Mexico (49%), Hawaii (36%) and ski vacations (14%) were also popular winter vacations among consumers using travel agents. Spring travel, agents reported, will include cruises (77%) and trips to the Caribbean (54%), Europe (53%), Mexico (48%) and Hawaii (36%). ASTA conducted the study to assist leisure and corporate agencies in planning for the future as well as benchmarking their first half 2009 sales performance. Along with questions about agency operations trends, the survey also asked agencies what destinations and types of travel consumers were considering for the winter and spring.


The plans for Dubai-based luxury international hospitality group Jumeirah's HanTang Jumeirah Shanghai Hotel and the global leading luxury brand Hilton's Conrad Hotel, originally scheduled for opening in 2008, have been delayed due to the Dubai debt crisis. Both the projects are located in the Xintiandi complex in Shanghai. Some insiders have raised doubt on Jumeirah's previous announcement of the Shanghai project scheduled for opening before Shanghai 2010 Expo.


Just one year ago, Sydney hoteliers were all gloom and doom but the arrival of the inaugural Telstra 500 V8 Supercars event has seen almost every hotel room in Sydney full, with occupancy rates 18% above where they were for the same period in December 2008. Accor has 29 hotels in greater Sydney under the Sofitel, Pullman, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, All Seasons and Formule 1 brands, and manages the four hotels at the Sydney Olympic Park site where the V8 race is being held. Accor's Regional General Manager for NSW, Garth Simmons said the event is a real shot in the arm for Sydney's tourism and hospitality sector, with both occupancy and rates heading upwards after a difficult first half of the year. He said the full house for the four Sydney Olympic Park hotels doubled the occupancy rate of just 50.1% for the corresponding period in 2008, so the V8s event has literally doubled occupancy for the precinct. "The race has had a significant impact on the whole of Sydney with our hotels full over the weekend," said Mr Simmons. "It builds on a big week of events in Sydney with the Danny Green fight, the Australian Open and a number of major functions making it one of the best weeks for Sydney hotels in many years. It adds to a strong revival in business travel and conferences."


Eight Egyptian, including two Nile cruise ships, and three Tunisian hotels are among the best in the world. At least that is the result of the biggest customer survey performed in the tourism industry. The survey is carried out every year by Germany's leading tour operator TUI to find the most popular holiday hotels in the world. The top 100 are awarded with the "TUI Holly", the celebrated hotel prize. The Egyptian and Tunisian Holly award-winning hotels were presented the coveted trophy yesterday in Cairo by Dr Volker Böttcher, Chief Executive of TUI Deutschland.


Tidhar Ltd. and Adi's Investments Ltd., owned by Adi and Irit Strauss, plan to build a Ritz Carlton hotel at the Herzliya Marina, at an investment of NIS 600 million. The hotel, scheduled to open in 2012, will be the Ritz Carlton's first hotel in Israel. It will have 110 rooms, including 85 apartments, along with all the luxury facilities of a five-star hotel.


The Green Leaf Foundation together with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation awarded certificates to Thai hotels which have participated in the Smoke-Free hotels and Health Promotion Hotels campaign. The event was held on 2 December, 2009 at the Conference Room, Public Relations Department Building, Soi Aree, Bangkok. The campaign was designed to motivate more Thai hotels to become smoke-free and offer smoke-free accommodation. Once they have become Smoke-Free Hotels for a set period of time, they qualify to be graded as Health Promotion Hotels by adding health and environmentally friendly programmes. These include products, facilities, and services; such as, climate friendly menus, health promotion packages, health promotion spas, etc. They help participating hotels to become more competitive in attracting visitors, while preserving the environment and promoting "healthy tourism". There are 355 hotels in Thailand currently listed as offering health promotion programmes, of which 36 hotels are environmentally-friendly certified.