Hotel News in Brief
Aug 18, 09 | 1:45 am
World Travel Market is to ask gay and lesbian holidaymakers how they want the travel industry to market to them. The customer panel forms part of the Gay Marketing Masterclass seminar at WTM, organised and hosted by gay specialist marketing consultancy Out Now, and is the first time the industry has sought the views of gay and lesbian customers at a trade event. The sector is growing in importance during the current worldwide financial downturn, with experts saying it is more resilient during tough economic times than the heterosexual market. US research shows that, while many heterosexual travellers are planning to cut back on their travel spend, more than half of gay consumers (55%) plan to spend as much on travel this year as they did in 2008, while 7% are looking to spend more. Out Now founder and chief executive, Ian Johnson, who is chairing the 90-minute masterclass at WTM, said: 'The travel industry can struggle when it comes to marketing to the gay and lesbian community. ‘The gay and lesbian market is even more important to the travel industry than it ever was before as it has a more resilient appetite for travel, meaning the industry cannot afford to get its marketing strategy wrong. ‘Gay customers really are the greatest experts of all when it comes to designing gay marketing strategies that work. That's why this year Out Now is bringing the opinions of gay travellers themselves into the discussion at WTM. ‘In hearing their opinions, discovering relevant motivators and unlocking the key travel concerns of gay and lesbians customers themselves during this innovative seminar, those attending will discover a wealth of practical information able to be profitably applied to the development of their own lesbian and gay marketing strategies during 2010 and beyond.'
The first Middle East Spa Summit has paved the way for future editions following the successful debut in May at The Hotel Show 2009. Delegates attending the three day conference rated the seminar programmes as ‘excellent' and work is already underway by The Hotel Show organisers, dmg world media Dubai, to build on this success at the second Middle East Summit in 2010. Maggie Moore, Exhibition Director of The Hotel Show, said: "Figures released earlier this year revealed that the spa industry in the MENA (Middle East & Africa) region generates a whopping US$631 million annually from over 824 facilities, 60 percent of which are located in or around hotels. "It was obvious that the industry needed a dedicated summit and this close relationship of hotels and spas made The Hotel Show the logical venue, bringing greater value to both exhibitors and visitors." The 3-day programme, saw visitors attend from the UAE as well as 19 other countries. Attendees included CEOs and upper management of hotels, spa & club managers, architects and designers as well as spa supply companies and hotel managers. www.thehotelshow.com.
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Indonesia Tourism Report Q3 2009" report to their offering. The Indonesia Tourism Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, tourism associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Indonesia's tourism industry.
Steady Start To 2009
Indonesia had a relatively strong start to 2009 according to tourist arrivals data. About 1.82mn tourists visited the archipelago over the January-April period, representing annual growth of 1.35%, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS). At a time when its neighbours are struggling with falling visitor numbers, this is an impressive result. Looking forward, Indonesia should continue to benefit from its status as a 'low-cost' Asian holiday destination. It has not been as affected by the ongoing credit crunch as some of its peers have. However, it is hard to see how the country will entirely escape from the ongoing economic crisis gripping developed world markets. We still believe that a very slight fall in tourist arrival numbers is the best case scenario for 2009, with 2010 proving essentially flat. Beyond this point however, we see scope for a rapid rebound in the industry as demand returns. Fundamentally, we can remain upbeat on the long-term potential for Indonesian tourism.
Difficult Operating Environment
The current global economic slowdown is providing a challenging backdrop for companies operating within the Indonesian tourism industry at present. A report in The Jakarta Post underlined the seriousness of the current situation, quoting Harry Waluyo, director of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Data and Network Centre, as saying that the domestic tourism industry could lose 20% of its workforce, 4.41mn people. The analysts will continue to monitor the situation in Indonesia to see if any further changes to our tourism forecasts prove necessary. For now, the country's attraction as a 'low-cost' destination is insulating it from some of the turmoil gripping other Asian tourism sectors.
Less than a year after completing the re-building of London's Grosvenor House and barely three years since completing the total refurbishment of its near neighbor, the InterContinental London Park Lane, ReardonSmith is leading the design team managing the transformation of another hotel legend on Park Lane - The Four Seasons. This is the first time that the building has been entirely stripped back to its structure, heralding a major upgrading of all services, substantial internal re-planning, building extensions and a reinvigorated level of chic sophistication. "Four Seasons as a brand is, of course, a benchmark for luxury hotels and the Park Lane hotel is particularly special because it was the first new build hotel for the group, announcing its global expansion beyond the Canadian base and helping to establish the blueprint for service, architecture and design that went on to become so valued across the world," says James Twomey, the ReardonSmith project director. "When the hotel re-opens, it will once again be one of the finest examples of a truly world-class hotel - with very chic and unique interiors and a building infrastructure to support impeccable service."
Twitter has recently moved to shut down web promotions company uSocial.net, by claiming the advertising agency is "spamming". According to uSocial CEO Leon Hill, Twitter recently sent accusations via a brand-management organisation that uSocial are using Twitter for spam purposes. Despite this, uSocial say the claims are false. "The definition of spam is using electronic messaging to send unsolicited communication and as we don't use Twitter for this, the claims are false." Said Hill. uSocial believe the claims are due to a service the company sells which allows clients to purchase packages of followers to increase their viewership on the site. "The people at Twitter who are sending these claims are just flailing around trying to look for any excuse they can, though it's going to take much more than this if they want us to pack up shop." Said Hill. "We're not going away that easily." The service in question can be viewed on uSocial's site by going to http://usocial.net/twitter_marketing.
Sprice.com has emerged as the definitive market leader in Asia Pacific, reaching over one million visitors per month. This milestone solidifies Sprice.com's position as the fastest-growing travel search engine since establishing its presence in the region in 2007. "We are very pleased to be the number one travel search engine in Asia Pacific now. Clearly, our strategy is working. Our strong and growing database of hotel and travel content is proving immensely popular with travellers in the region," said Vikas Gulati, Vice President of Asia Pacific, Sprice.com. In response to its growing popularity, Sprice.com has enhanced its hotel application to provide users with a more superior search experience. Consumers are now able to search, in real time, availability and prices of hotels housed in one of the largest online databases existing currently. Furthermore, users can refine their search according to the hotel rating and amenities they desire. For example, a user searching for four-star hotel in Singapore with a swimming pool, a fitness centre and Wi-Fi will be able to choose from over 43 hotels. Users are also able to directly search on the websites of Sprice.com's key hotel partners.
The developers Waldeck Capital LLC and Raiffeisen evolution, together with hotel operator The Rocco Forte Collection, are delighted to announce that The Augustine has been named the Best Hotel, Czech Republic in the Europe & Africa Property Awards 2009 in association with CNBC Arabiya. The award recognises the gargantuan challenge involved in creating The Augustine out of seven buildings, which all date to different eras, have completely distinct structures and are built from a diverse range of materials on various levels, into one seamless property, while remaining true to the buildings and their heritage. Restoring more than 800 years' of art and architecture, structure and craftwork was something of a grandmaster chess game. Before the construction work could begin, a complete historical survey of all the structures, materials and finishes in the buildings took place, followed by concept studies. After almost two years and 27 concept studies, and with 84 financing models and 63 legal agreements in place, the building work finally started. The goal was to create a hotel that would become recognised as one of the most beautiful properties in the world and this award validates what we set out to achieve. The award will be presented at a ceremony in London in October. The Augustine will then go head to head with the winners from the Asia Pacific, UK, Americas and Arabia regions to compete in the World's Best category of the International Property Awards, the world's most prestigious competition dedicated to finding the best real estate professionals across the globe. www.waldeckcapital.com.
Customers searching thomascook.com for a holiday will now be offered three airport parking and lounge options relevant to their package from the live Holiday Extras system. Russell Gould, director of e-commerce at Thomas Cook UK and Ireland, said: ‘This is a natural fit for our customers. ‘By integrating Holiday Extras' range of products into the www.thomascook.com holiday search journey, we are giving our customers added value at the right time.' David Stratton, head of sales at Holiday Extras, added: ‘Research shows that 40% of travellers flying from the UK want to book airport parking or a hotel. ‘With this new system the best possible prices for airport car parking and lounges are presented to the customer at the right time.'
