Hotel News in Brief
Oct 23, 08 | 1:46 am
The COEX InterContinental Seoul was awarded prestigious Green Globe Benchmarked Bronze status under a globally recognized benchmarking program. This program recognizes COEX InterContinental Seoul's commitment to operating at the world's highest environmental standards. In achieving Benchmarked Bronze status, COEX InterContinental Seoul committed to benchmarking against Earthcheck indicators with its energy and water consumption, total waste production and community commitment; along with implementing an integrated environmental and social policy. In particular COEX InterContinental Seoul achieved Best Practice results in the categories of Energy Consumption, Water Consumption and Waste Sent to Landfill. According to Jung Moosan, the hotel's chief engineer, water from showers, saunas and sinks is reused through a recycling system to reduce the amount of overall water consumption. Fifty-three percent of the lighting fixtures use fluorescent tubes and inverters are installed so the exact amount of wattage is provided in an effort to conserve energy. He added "The waste we send to landfill is carefully separated by three people hired expressly for that purpose and food waste is sent to farm for use as pig feed." The hotel also pays a high price to throw industrial wastes away. These measures will ensure efficient practices and large cost savings, ensuring that the COEX InterContinental Seoul is on the path to securing a sustainable future for the environment.
Sir Rocco Forte, Chairman of The Rocco Forte Collection, the leading luxury hotel group in Europe, has become the second only Briton to be inducted into the University of Houston's Hospitality Hall of Honour, after his father Lord Charles Forte. The illustrious Hall of Honour, established to recognise those hospitality leaders who have made an extraordinary contribution to international business, is one of the highest accolades in the industry; and it is only the third time in the 43 year history of the programme that two generations of the same family have been recognised, after the Hiltons and Marriotts. Now part of this elite group, which also includes Walt Disney, Sir Rocco will have a permanent display of his achievements at the University of Houston's Conrad N.Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, one of the world's leading hospitality schools.
PATA Travel Mart hits high note in Hyderabad. There's a positive tone to initial feedback received from delegates attending PATA Travel Mart 2008 in Hyderabad. Results from PATA's eSurvey, conducted immediately after the event, show that 97 per-cent of Buyers rate PTM 2008 as either 'satisfactory' or 'excellent'. Some 96 per-cent of Sellers similarly rated the show. "We're delighted with this response as it reflects the commitment shown by our hosts in Hyderabad and the determination of the industry to weather the current storm", says PATA Events Director Sheila Leong. "Attendance figures across the board were extremely encouraging and reflect the continued importance of the PATA Travel Mart as the region's premier showcase event." With Seller registrations topping the 300 mark there was a noticeable increase in representation from China (PRC) ahead of the PTM2009 in Hangzhou. "We welcome the increased participation from a wide range of travel industry representatives in China and we were also pleased to see for the first time a dedicated North American pavilion," adds Sheila. Buyer delegates totalled 374 from 56 countries/regions including newcomers Romania, Maldives and Cambodia. PATA also welcomed the return of buyers from markets as diverse as Brazil, Ireland, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Peru and Saudi Arabia. India, as expected, returned significantly increased numbers in buyers attending the event (up 71 per-cent) and China (PRC) also showed a marked increase in interest (up 52 per-cent). The Buyer profile breakdown shows wholesale operators (56%); leisure & MICE (30%) and MICE specialists (5%). PATA Travel Mart 2009 takes place in Hangzhou from September 22-25.
The highly anticipated KEE Shanghai - the first overseas branch of the famous Hong Kong private members club that counts celebrities and royalty among its habituees - has now opened its doors to Shanghai society. KEE Shanghai will offer the same unique "salon" and dining environment that has proved such a huge success in Hong Kong, drawing a chic local and international following, which includes members of royal families, heads of state, renowned film directors and celebrities. International celebrity visitors include Jude Law, Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Michael Jordan, Sting and Asian celebrities Michelle Yeo, Chau Yun Fat, Maggie Q, Wong Kar Wai and Hidetoshi Nakata. Elegantly located behind the grand stone entrance and cast iron gates of 796 Huai Hai Rd, past a beautifully cultivated garden, KEE Shanghai discreetly resides in the striking 1920s heritage maison Twin Villas, a location it shares with the Richemont Shanghai headquarters, sitting above the flagship stores for China of distinguished brands such as Alfred Dunhill and Vacheron Constantin.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) will introduce its upscale, deluxe Marriott lodging brand in Phuket in early 2009 with a 202-room resort under a management agreement with Kamala Bay Terrace Co, Ltd., a subsidiary of Destination Properties. The Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa at Kamala Cove is the 11th hotel Marriott currently has under construction in Thailand and the fifth that it is developing with Destination Properties.The chic boutique-like, 202-room Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa at Kamala Cove is a conversion of the Kamala Terrace Resort which originally opened in 1993. The hotel was closed in 2005 and is currently undergoing a major renovation and expansion.
InterContinental Hotels Group announces the official opening of a new 121-room Holiday Inn Express in Indianapolis, IN. The newly converted property is located on the northwest side of Indianapolis, at the W. 71st Street exit, off I-465. "We've transformed the hotel from top to bottom, from landscaping to rooftop," Jeffrey Brown, CEO of Schahet Hotels, Inc., said. The hotel management and development company operates hotel properties in central Indiana and upstate New York, and owns and manages the new Holiday Inn Express.
WORLDHOTELS, the hotel group for independent hotels and regional hotel brands, today announced the additions of two new hotels to its growing global portfolio: Tuscana Resort in Champion's Gate, Fla., near Orlando and Hotel Le Petit in West Hollywood, Calif. These new additions bring the total number of new hotels so far in 2008 to 30 properties; the company's global portfolio currently totals almost 500 hotels in 70 countries. Tuscana Resort is the 17th WORLDHOTELS' property in Florida; Hotel Le Petit is the company's 10th hotel in California. "Adding high-quality hotel properties in key markets is critical to our organization's success," said Tom Griffiths, vice president, WORLDHOTELS, the Americas. "These properties were very appealing to us for not only their wide variety of outstanding accommodations, but also for the superior amenities, central locations and activities offered to create memorable and rewarding guest experiences. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with these outstanding hotels."
Leisure travel technology leader Comtec has announced the integration of the Sabre API into the Comtec Travelgateway. This means Comtec's travel agent and tour operator clients will have direct access to Sabre Air inside Travelink and Travelconnect for the first time. The initial integration, which uses the latest Sabre API and web service technologies, will provide access to published and CAT35 fares through Sabre. The Travelgateway can also merge Sabre content with other content already present in the system - including net fares, charter and carriers that don't yet participate in a GDS - providing agents and operators with comprehensive flight choices and fares. Comtec's customers will also be able to choose how to package Sabre's fares in order to maximise sales. Fares can be offered standalone, as part of a pre-built tour or package, as a dynamically packaged or tailor-made holiday, whichever best suits an individual agent or operator.
Travelport GDS announced the company has achieved a key milestone in the consolidation of its global data centre operations, successfully migrating its Galileo, Apollo and airline host reservations systems from Denver to Atlanta resulting in a significant upgrade in equipment and operating environment. Travelport transitioned the mainframe systems previously located in Denver to its primary Atlanta data centre. The Atlanta facility features an industry-leading technology platform in terms of functionality, performance, reliability and security to the benefit of all Travelport GDS customers - Worldspan, Galileo, Apollo and several major airlines. As part of this migration effort, more than 50 million passenger reservations were moved from Denver to Atlanta. The combined complex in Atlanta now handles a peak message rate of more than 20,000 messages per second and about 1 billion messages per day.
Hampton® (www.hampton.com), the national brand of mid-priced Hampton InnÒ and Hampton Inn & SuitesÒ hotels, today announced the official opening of its new property, the 110 room Hampton Inn Indianapolis/Park 100 located at 5860 W. 73rd Street. The hotel is owned and operated by locally based Schahet Hotels, and is located in Park 100, central Indiana's largest industrial and office park, across from Intech Technology Park, just minutes from downtown Indianapolis, Eagle Creek State Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, O'Reilly Raceway Park and the Indianapolis International Airport.
Hendrik Bosch, General Manager of the InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam, has appointed Lionel Bethaz Chef Patissier. Before this appointment, Bethaz was working at the Michelin starred Restaurant Dôme in Antwerp. In his new position, he will be responsible for the hotel's entire range of patisserie, including that of Restaurant La Rive (*). Bethaz will be reporting to Chef de Cuisine Rogér Rassin and Executive Chef Hotel Richard Matulessy.
The Monarch Dubai's signature high-end dining experience, Empire, opens its doors to give Dubai its first taste of the culinary delights and atmosphere. Keeping in line with The Monarch Dubai's overall theme emphasising intimacy, personalisation and luxury, Empire is set to inspire the pallet in a way previously unfound in the city. Head Chef Axel Godefroid, who comes to Empire after running one of Dubai's award winning fine dining seafood restaurants, describes Empire as the "diamond" of the hotel's culinary service.
