Hotel News in Brief

Aug 06, 08 | 1:46 am

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the signing of an agreement with the Mohammad Omar Bin Haider Group (MOBH), to develop a Crowne Plaza hotel in the International Media Production Zone, Dubai, UAE. The signing of Crowne Plaza Dubai - International Media Production Zone (IMPZ) took place at MOBH's head office in Dubai.  The event involved key business leaders Omar Mohammad Bin Haider and John Bamsey, Chief Operating Officer, IHG and signified the third development agreement between the two companies. Speaking at the signing, John Bamsey, Chief Operating Officer, IHG, Middle East and Africa, said: "Crowne Plaza is widely recognised around the globe as providing quality accommodation for business travellers.  We are very happy to be, once again, working alongside MOBH to develop the UAE's fourth Crowne Plaza property, and our third property with this very highly regarded business partner, in the UAE. "Crowne Plaza Dubai - IMPZ will be in a convenient location, providing much needed accommodation to international business travellers, who will visit this district daily. IHG is committed to providing these corporate travellers with high-quality accommodation that meets the needs of their very busy lifestyles." Crowne Plaza Dubai - IMPZ will comprise 250 rooms and 70 serviced apartments and will be ideally located in the heart of one of Dubai's newest business hubs, the International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), a key location set to house top media companies from across the globe.

 
Phuket's first Exhibition & Conference centre was launched yesteday (August 5) at Royal Phuket Marina, Thailand's most exclusive luxury lifestyle yachting community. This Facility will be known as the ‘Royal Phuket Marina Exhibition & Conference Centre'. The 2,500 square metre ‘RPM Convention Centre' paves the way for a new era of large-scale conferences and expos on the island. Three times larger than any existing exhibition facility on the island, it envisages hosting one or two high profile events every month. The exhibition centre opens in December, in time to host "Asia's favourite boat show", the annual Phuket International Marine Expo (PIMEX). The initiative is a joint venture between Royal Phuket Marina and Informa (www.informa.com), the largest publicly-owned organiser of conferences and courses in the world, staging over 10,000 events annually. "We are delighted to extend our global business commitment and presence in Phuket," said Informa Yacht Group CEO, Will Morris. "As one of the world's premier tourist destinations, this island paradise has the potential to become a leading international venue for conventions and expos."

 
Hilton Miami Airport Hotel receives Green Lodging designation. The Hilton Miami Airport Hotel proudly celebrated with tourism officials, hotel executives and team members at an eco-friendly ceremony officially designating the 500-room hotel as a member of the State of Florida's Green Lodging program. The hotel is the 199th in the State of Florida and 40th in the Hilton Family of Hotels to be so recognized.  The voluntary state initiative provides the lodging industry with technical assistance, encouraging hotels and motels to adopt cost-saving "green" practices that help reduce waste and conserve natural resources.

Beijing hotels slash tariffs. Just days out from the start of the Olympics, many hotels in Beijing have been forced to slash prices due to a lack of demand. Reservations have fallen well short of expectations at many of the city's hotels as tourists stay away because of visa restrictions and bad publicity about China. More than half the rooms in four-star hotels over the Olympic period are still available and hotels three stars and below have reduced their tariffs to as low as as 10 percent of the original rate. Air pollution remains a big problem in the city although the China Daily newspaper insists air quality is excellent. Source: TelstraClear

Moscow Has Enough Rooms in Hotels for Tourists. Moscow hotels may accommodate 20 percent to 30 percent more tourists each day, Moscow Tourism Committee Chairman Grigory Antyufeev told Interfax Monday to deflate the rumors about the lack of rooms in the city's hotels. "It is evident that certain unfair and weak tourist firms set to crying that we lack the hotels. For some reason, St. Petersburg where the number of hotels is three times less, other cities have enough hotels. Their number is sufficient everywhere but for Moscow," the bureaucrat said. The Moskva Hotel will open next year. "It will open next year. But this is what I mean, quite a few cried that you had demolished Moskva, Intourist, Rossia. At the same time, the total number of demolished places was set off by the rebuilt ones with vengeance," Antyufeev said. According to the official, 47 hotels for over 11,500 guests overall have been launched in 2005 through the first half of this year in Moscow. The plans were to build 28 hotels this year; of them, eight hotels have been put into operation and the remaining 20 are at the launching stage or at the stage of completing construction. Five hotels, including three in downtown Moscow, will open in the nearest two or three months, the official promised. Source: www.kommersant.com


London's economy hit as tourism tapers off. Rising inflation and faltering consumer confidence are hurting London's tourism industry, according to the British capital's tourism authority, with prospects poor for the rest of this year and next. More than 25 million people visited London last year, making travel and tourism an enormous contributor to the economy. It generates 16.6 billion pounds ($35 billion) of business and employs more than 250,000 people, according to Visit London. But a weakening dollar, rising inflation and a general downturn in major world economies have taken a toll in recent months, and the impact is likely to last well into 2009. "Economic conditions have deteriorated badly since May, with business and consumer confidence weakening significantly," Visit London said in its latest quarterly report. Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Five-star Vila Sol Resort on Portugal's Algarve becomes a Renaissance Golf & Spa Resort. A great climate for year-round golf and tennis, spectacular scenery, and a wealth of historic and cultural attractions and traditional crafts and gastronomy have brought travelers in the know to the Algarve, on Portugal's dramatic southernmost shoreline, for centuries.   Now is a great time to visit the Algarve and the newly rebranded Vila Sol Algarve, A Renaissance Spa & Golf Resort.  Located on 150 hectares of tranquil countryside of Vilamoura, the five-star resort features 275 varied guest accommodations, 27-hole Donald Steel-designed golf course, 15,000-sq.-ft. Vila Sol SPA, swimming pools, tennis courts and Solito Kids' Club.

Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced the signing of its second property in Nigeria, on the shore of the Gulf of Guinea. The 250-room Hilton Lagos Airport, expected to open in Q4 2010, will be owned by Aero Marine (West Africa) Ltd., and will be managed by Hilton Hotels Corporation. Lagos is known as the commercial and cultural heart of Nigeria, with the Hilton property located adjacent to the international terminal of Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA). As the country's busiest airport, it has shown a steady increase in passenger traffic from within Africa and around the world, now handling over 3.6 million passengers per year. Jean-Paul Herzog, President, Hilton Hotels, Middle East and Africa, said: "I am delighted that we are expanding our presence in Nigeria with this new airport property. The new Hilton Lagos Airport property and the existing Transcorp Hilton Abuja will complement each other. Our Hilton network in the African continent is growing rapidly, with other projects in Kampala, Malabo, Accra and Cape Verde joining the already operational Hilton hotels in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Yaounde, Sandton, Durban and Rabat." Hilton Lagos Airport will become Hilton Hotel Corporation's eighth property in Africa. It will feature a pool, fitness and health spa, and an all-day restaurant, in addition to a fine dining restaurant, lobby bar and pool snack bar. For special events and business travel, the hotel will also house a ballroom and well-appointed meeting rooms. "The signing of this agreement with Hilton is the start of a fruitful relationship, and a clear indicator of Nigeria's continued economic expansion. We are excited about bringing this world-class Hilton property to Lagos," said Chief E.O Okunowo, Chairman/ CEO of Aero Marine (West Africa) Ltd.

Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand's leading hotel group is delighted to announce the completion of an extensive Bht 200 million plus renovation to its award winning property the Centara Grand Beach Resort, Samui. Superbly located along Chaweng, Koh Samui's finest beach, the 5 star deluxe Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui offers first class Thai hospitality together with exceptional facilities, a tranquil ambiance and sheer beauty. Designed in a colonial architectural style with its own extensive landscaped gardens and situated directly on the beachfront at Chaweng, the 4 storey hotel has 203 deluxe sea facing rooms and suites all with private balconies, in a complex of units designed to accentuate the natural tropical environment. A central feature of the hotel, the stunning lobby with its sweeping staircase - reminiscent of a set from "Gone with the Wind" -  received Bht 12 million of loving care to ensure that it retained the style and elegance for which it is justly renowned. Over Bht 160 million was lavished on the 203 guest rooms and suites - Bht 90 million on the normal rooms and suites and an incredible Bht 70 million on the pool suites.