Top Asia-Pacific Destination
Markets – Fourth Quarter The
top 10 destination markets for total GDS room nights in Asia-Pacific
during the fourth quarter 2002 were, in order:
Full
Year 2002 GDS Hotel e-Commerce for Asia Pacific
The
top 10 destination markets for total GDS room nights in Asia-Pacific
during the fourth quarter 2002 were, in order:
"Shanghai leads the region with extremely
impressive growth in hotel bookings over last year. All the top ten cities experienced sharp growth, indicative
of strong intra-continental travel throughout the year," said Jan
Tissera, vice president of international sales for TravelCLICK. To
receive a free listing of fourth quarter results by top 50 cities
worldwide in electronic bookings, please e-mail emonitor@travelclick.net.
GDS hotel booking summaries by individual local market are available for
downloading on the TravelCLICK's public Web site at www.travelclick.net. About
TravelCLICK TravelCLICK (www.travelclick.net) is the leading
provider of solutions that help hotels and other travel industry suppliers
maximize net revenue from electronic distribution channels. TravelCLICK's
competitive benchmarking reports provide hotels with price and booking
performance information unavailable through any other source. The
company's exclusive electronic marketing networks allow hotels and other
travel related suppliers to target promotional messages to specific travel
agents, consumers, and group meeting planners when they are booking
travel. Established in 1996 and headquartered in the Chicago area,
TravelCLICK operates in more than 140 countries around the world. The
company has over 6,000 clients, including national and international
companies such as Accor, Air France, Avis, Best Western International,
British Airways, Choice Hotels, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Four
Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Grupo Posadas, Hilton Hotels Corporation,
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, Leading Hotels
of the World, Loews Hotels, Lufthansa, Marriott International, The
Peninsula Group, Radisson, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, SAS, The Savoy
Group, Shangri-La Hotels, Sol Melia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts,
Thistle Hotels, USAirways, Virgin Atlantic and Wyndham Hotels &
Resorts. Accor Sales Hold Steady in 2002, Increasing 0.9% Like-for-Like PARIS, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
% change % change
(in euro millions) 2001 2002 (reported) (like-for-like)
Hotels 5,049 5,034 -0.3% 0.0%
Services 498 469 -5.7% +16.9%
Other businesses 1,743 1,635 -6.2% -1.1%
Total Group 7,290 7,139 -2.1% +0.9%
Consolidated sales ended 2002 down by 2.1% on a reported basis. Like-for-like, however, sales rose by 0.9% over the year, including a 3.8% increase in the fourth quarter. Hotels Hotel sales were stable, declining by 0.3% for the year, with business firmer in the fourth quarter. The contribution from newly opened hotels added 3.5% to sales growth. On a comparable basis, sales rose by 0.6% for Business and Leisure Hotels and by 3.4% for Economy Hotels Europe. Sales for Economy Hotels US were down 4.2% like-for-like. Services Sales of services rose sharply in 2002, increasing 16.9% like-for-like. The
reported decline of 5.7% was due to currency devaluations in Latin America. In
terms of earnings, the currency effect should be more limited, because of
higher interest rates and the fact that expenses are denominated in local
currencies. Other businesses Reported sales from other Group businesses (travel agencies, casinos, restaurants and onboard train services) contracted by 6.2% for the year, mainly due to the sale of a 50% stake in Accor Casinos. 2002 profit before tax In September 2002, Accor announced a full-year objective of euro 700 million in profit before tax. Despite an environment that was less favorable than expected, the final figure, which will be released on March 5, 2003, should be very close to that objective. With 150,000 associates in 140 countries, Accor (OTC: ACRFY; Euroclear: 12040.PA) is the European leader and one of the world's largest groups in travel, tourism and corporate services, with two major international activities: -- hotels: 3,835 hotels (441,418 rooms) in 90 countries, casinos,
travel agencies, and restaurants;
-- services to corporate clients and public institutions: each day,
13 million people in 32 countries use a broad range of services
(food vouchers, people care and services, incentive, loyalty
programs, events) engineered and managed by Accor.
Further information on Accor is available on Internet at http://accor.com/.
Consolidated Sales
(in EUR millions)
First Quarter
2001 2002 Change Change
2002/01 2002/01
Reported Like-for-Like
Hotels 1,121 1,135 +1.3% -1.9%
Business and leisure 610 608 -0.4% -2.5%
Economy 221 237 +7.0% +4.1%
Economy U.S. 289 290 +0.2% -5.1%
Services 116 123 +6.0% +14.0%
Other activities 416 408 - 1.9% -2.4%
Travel management 124 116 -5.9% -9.8%
Casinos 71 72 +2.1% +0.8%
Restauration 115 118 +2.2% +3.8%
On-board train services 63 65 +4.4% +3.5%
Other 44 37 -16.6% -10.9%
TOTAL 1,652 1,666 +0.8% -0.9%
Second Quarter
2001 2002 Change Change
2002/01 2002/01
Reported Like-for-Like
Hotels 1,359 1,344 -1.1% -1.2%
Business and leisure 727 719 -1.0% -0.9%
Economy 266 292 +9.8% +3.4%
Economy U.S. 366 332 -9.3% -5.1%
Services 126 125 -0.6% +21.5%
Other activities 463 451 -2.6% -4.3%
Travel management 142 121 -14.6% -12.0%
Casinos 75 76 +1.9% +0.6%
Restauration 123 115 -6.4% +3.2%
On-board train services 70 72 +2.5% +1.6%
Other 53 66 +25.1% -15.8%
TOTAL 1,948 1,920 -1.4% -0.4%
Third Quarter
2001 2002 Change Change
2002/01 2002/01
Reported Like-for-Like
Hotels 1,348 1,324 -1.8% -0.1%
Business and leisure 682 689 +1.1% +1.3%
Economy 281 300 +6.8% +2.7%
Economy U.S. 385 334 -13.1% -4.7%
Services 123 104 -15.6% +14.7%
Other activities 426 389 -8.7% +0.4%
Travel management 115 110 -4.3% +2.1%
Casinos 76 44 -42.4% +1.6%
Restauration 108 89 -17.6% +3.3%
On-board train services 75 77 +1.9% -2.1%
Other 52 70 +34.1% -7.1%
TOTAL 1,897 1,817 -4.2% +1.0%
Consolidated Sales Fourth Quarter December-end 2002 (YTD)
(in EUR 2001 2002 Change Change 2001 2002 Change Change
millions) 2002/01 2002/01 2002/01 2002/01
Reported Like- Reported Like-
for- for-
Like Like
Hotels 1,221 1,231 +0.8% +2.9% 5,052 5,034 -0.3% 0.0%
Business
and leisure 680 704 +3.5% +4.4% 2,704 2,720 +0.8% +0.6%
Economy 255 270 +5.8% +3.8% 1,022 1,100 +7.4% +3.5%
Economy U.S. 286 257 -10.1% -1.3% 1,326 1,213 -8.5% -4.2%
Services 134 118 -11.5% +17.1% 498 469 -5.7% +16.9%
Other
activities 438 387 -11.8% -2.0% 1,740 1,635 -6.2% -1.1%
Travel
management 120 106 -11.5% -3.5% 499 453 -9.3% -6.2%
Casinos 81 49 -38.8% +3.4% 302 242 -20.1% +1.6%
Restauration 126 102 -19.1% +8.5% 472 423 -10.3% +4.8%
On-board train
services 69 69 +0.6% -1.7% 277 284 +2.3% +0.2%
Other 43 61 +39.1% +1.9% 189 234 +21.2% -8.3%
TOTAL 1,793 1,736 -3.2% +3.8% 7,290 7,139 -2.1% +0.9%
Hotel RevPAR* by segment Average
December 2002, YTD Occupancy Rate Room RevPAR
Rate
(en %) (var. (var. (var.
in pts) in %) in %)
Business and Leisure Europe 63.5% -1.7 +2.2% -0.4%
Economy Europe 73.9% -1.3 +4.7% +2.8%
Economy Lodging (in USD) 65.2% -1.2 -1.5% -3.3%
* owned, leased and managed
Hotel RevPAR* by country Number Average
December 2002, YTD Of Rooms Occupancy Rate Room RevPAR
Rate
(in local currency) (in %) (var. (var. (var.
in pts) in %) in %)
France 82,254 70.9% -1.1 +3.9% +2.3%
Germany 29,487 63.0% -2.8 +1.6% (1) -2.7%
U.K. 8,820 75.0% +1.9 -0.8% (2) +1.8%
The Netherlands 5,206 74.7% -0.7 +3.6% +2.6%
Belgium 5,046 70.8% -0.2 -1.3% -1.5%
Italy 3,210 62.9% -4.0 +4.0% -2.2%
Hungary 3,278 59.8% -0.6 -4.0% -5.1%
U.S.A. (Business and 3,481 62.6% +0.7 -3.2% -2.2%
Leisure)
* owned, leased and managed
(1) -3.1% excluding new openings
(2) +2.4% excluding new openings
Source: Accor Cendant Reports Record Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2002 4Q 2002 Adjusted EPS from Continuing Operations Increased 38% to $0.29 4Q 2002 Reported EPS from Continuing Operations Was $0.24, Versus a Loss of ($0.33) in 4Q 2001 4Q 2002 Revenue Increased 54% (5% Organically) and Adjusted EBITDA Increased 22% (16% Organically) Full Year 2002 Adjusted EPS from Continuing Operations Increased 31% to $1.26 Full Year 2002 Reported EPS from Continuing Operations Was $1.04 Versus $0.36 in 2001 Company Reiterates its Projection of 2003 Reported EPS from Continuing Operations of $1.46, representing a 40% Increase Over 2002 N/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD)
today reported record fourth quarter 2002 Adjusted EPS from continuing
operations of $0.29, an increase of 38% year over year, in line with the
Company's projection. Reported EPS from continuing operations was $0.24, up
from a loss of ($0.33) last year. Reported EPS from continuing operations in
fourth quarter 2002 includes a $0.06 per share non-cash charge to reserve for
the Company's estimated liability for all remaining CUC-related securities
litigation. As previously disclosed, the Company also recognized a $0.03 per
share D&O insurance recovery benefit in connection with the settlement of
CUC-related shareholder derivative actions. The Company also affirmed that it
expects reported EPS from continuing operations of $1.46 in 2003, an increase
of 40% over 2002. Cendant's Chairman, President and CEO, Henry R. Silverman, stated:
"The diversity and scale of our business model, which we use to manage
risk, proved successful again in the fourth quarter. Despite the continued
challenging environment for travel and corporate spending, the majority of our
businesses performed at or ahead of plan, enabling us to achieve record
results. "During the fourth quarter, we continued to deploy our free cash flow primarily to strengthen our balance sheet. Exclusive of the approximately $600 million we temporarily drew on our revolving credit facility to complete the Budget transaction, we retired approximately $240 million in long-term debt and repurchased $79 million in stock. We also renewed and upsized our revolving credit facility and, in January, we issued $2 billion in medium-term notes, which, along with our expected 2003 free cash flow of approximately $2 billion, should give us significant financial flexibility to continue to repay debt and repurchase stock. (Net cash provided by operating activities exclusive of management and mortgage programs is projected to be at least $2 billion.) "I am also pleased to report that, for the full year 2002, we
generated revenue growth of 64%, including 3% organic growth, and Adjusted
EBITDA growth of 32%, including 11% organic growth. During the fourth quarter,
our revenue growth was 54%, including 5% organic growth, and our Adjusted
EBITDA growth was 22%, including 16% organic growth." See Table 10 for
more information regarding our organic growth. For Reconciliation of Fourth Quarter Reported EPS to Adjusted EPS and other reports, Click Here Current value of AAA ratings Is a
hotel’s AAA rating as valuable today as it was in the past? Has that value been eroded by technology?
Your AAA rating may actually be more important than ever.
In the post-9-11 era most properties have faced tougher competition
not just to succeed, but to survive.
Hotels have dealt with this challenge in a variety of ways.
Some reassessed, refocused, and increased their sales
efforts. Others offered lower
rates. Still others offered
additional services and special inducements while striving to maintain
pre-9-11 rates and retain market share. Many have employed a combination
of these and other strategies with varying degrees of success.
Many hotels, including several of our clients, believe that a
high AAA and MOBIL rating can enhance their overall appeal and may give
them an additional competitive
edge. To this end they have
committed to maintaining their current rating or even earning another
diamond or star. This goal
may be achieved by improved guest service, enhanced physical facilities,
or a combination of the two. Obviously a high rating
alone is no assurance of success, but it can be one more positive
marketing tool. The marketing
value of AAA and MOBIL
ratings is assured as long as the public’s trust in them continues.
All indications are that this trust is still strong and will remain
so. Technology already influences how travelers access and use
rating information. While the number of Internet inquiries and booking rise
steadily, AAA members still use more than 20 million TourBooks annually.
One might accurately predict a decrease in the number of TourBook
users, but offset by a corresponding increase in Internet users.
The format and mode change; the final result does not.
As long as the public has trust in ratings, the ratings will have value. In the current period of uncertainty and keen competition,
that value may have
increased. Authors: Pacific World
Hong Kong Acquires Leading Events Solutions Provider, EventClicks announced today that it has
been purchased by leading Asian destination management company Pacific
World Ltd. Hong Kong. EventClicks will continue to manage its Hong Kong
and Singapore operations independently under the direction of Pacific
World Chairman Mr. Jacques Arnoux. Pacific World Ltd. Hong Kong Managing
Director Ms Peggy Lau said, “We are delighted with this new acquisition
and we look forward to supporting EventClicks in the region.” As a result of this union, both
organisations will be in a position to expand their current service
offerings to corporate clients both within Asia-Pacific and in the
long-haul markets. Pacific Word's network of fulfilment services and
established and extensive reputation both locally and overseas is now
combined with EventClicks' technology and regional sales and marketing
efforts. The result is a
powerful value-proposition for any corporation looking for end-to-end
solutions to meetings management.
“We are very pleased to be joining
the Pacific World family,” said Annie Fournier, founder and Vice
President of EventClicks. ”Thestrengths of each organisation compliment
each other perfectly and will allow us to offer meetings consolidation
services to corporations in the region. By combining our global sales
network, technology and regional fulfilment, I believe we will together
gain a significant competitive advantage in the region.” About….. Pacific World is a regional
conglomerate of companies with operations throughout South East Asia and
China. First established in Hong Kong in 1972; today, the Pacific World
Network operates 14 offices in 8 countries extending from Beijing to Bali.
Founded by Jacques Arnoux, one of Asia's pioneers in Destination
Management, Pacific World has become the leader in incentive destination
management servicing for South East Asia and China. EventClicks offers a comprehensive
service for worldwide event organizers bringing corporate meetings,
incentives, and conferences to the Asia-Pacific region. It offers an
unbiased, one-stop 'total solution' to suit the needs of international
planners. By: Elizabeth Lauer Ivey HVS International Thousands of U.S. hotel properties and the
majority of hospitality enterprises rely on decades-old applications
written in obsolete programming languages. Along with the inflexible
databases and the cumbersome hardware systems on which they reside, many
of these applications may no longer be supported by their creators.
As distribution partners and the travel sector collectively embrace the
Internet, the hospitality industry is grappling with a potent mix of legacy and
web-aware systems. Since legacy applications are tightly tied to
the way hotels operate today, the health and flexibility of those
applications directly affect a company’s ability to manage information
lucratively, to expand geographically, to offer differentiated services
and to benefit from more efficient Internet-based distribution systems.
A
cocktail of integration complexity and costly “middleware” patches
creates serious inefficiencies and frustrations for operators, employee
users, and even consumers. The potential for efficiency and cost
savings increases significantly when business applications can use the
same operating system and network. Additional benefits offered by
“next generation” programs and platforms include increased levels of
interoperability and reduced cost of ownership. What is a Legacy System? A legacy system consists of some combination
of the following: early software programming languages, older
proprietary hardware, unsophisticated databases and/or non-existent
network protocols. If this sounds like your hotel operation, don’t
panic. These systems underlie almost every corporate enterprise but
are especially prevalent in the hospitality industry. By definition
many legacy systems are cryptic in appearance, antiquated in platform, and with some
notable exceptions, weak in functionality. Good Help is Even Harder to Find Despite
their perceived stability, legacy systems are likely to be inflexible,
expensive and difficult to maintain. A Gartner Group study
estimated that 60 percent to 80 percent of an average company's IT budget
is spent on maintaining existing mainframe (or mini-computer) systems.
These systems are increasingly dependent upon “super users”- tenured
individuals working miracles to optimize functionality through a myriad of
interfaces and Byzantine data extraction. This
observation is not meant to minimize the role of these persons, for they
are vital to every organization. Yet no matter how dedicated they
are paid to be, the day will come when they will retire, expatriate or
simply grow tired of working with last century’s tools. Consider
that the number programmers who can handle former language standards such
as COBOL is declining annually. Recruiting personnel to support
legacy systems is becoming more difficult, while 4GL programmers and
network engineers enter today’s workforce in droves. Likewise, the
next generation of hotel employees (those graduating from high school and
college over the next five years) is already proficient in Windows and
browser-based applications. This workforce will be more reluctant to
work with older, less intuitive systems. If a hotel company wants to
attract and retain a savvy workforce, it should give employees modern
tools and the opportunity to cultivate their own technology skills.
When
debating the organizational challenges of replacing older systems, never
underestimate the sophistication of the current or potential labor pool.
“Legacy systems can create a subtly negative atmosphere among staff, who
may feel the lack of investment is in them, that management doesn’t care
about the tools they use”, says Paul Major, Director of Hospitality IT
for Aspen Skiing Company. “It’s difficult to attract a talented
prospective hire when they see a system that they stopped using 10 years
ago,” he adds. Can’t seem to keep your knowledge workers?
The high level of turnover only compounds the need for more user-friendly
systems. Can’t This Wait? There
are many forces influencing those faced with the dilemma of upgrading
legacy systems. Some internal factors include the need to
standardize systems across multi-property operations, the desire to move
to a modern platform, ease of training in a high turnover environment,
tighter integration between sales and property management systems, and the
need for increased marketing and e-commerce capabilities. A major
external force is the technology shift within the distribution community.
Facing extreme market pressures, travel agents and consolidators are now
joining the movement towards adaptive web-based systems. Finally,
the consolidation taking place in the vendor community has resulted in
reduced support levels for legacy product customers. No matter how
compassionate you believe your current PMS vendor to be, it’s only so
long before the gentle prodding to upgrade turns into a harsh
ultimatum. Will
your property or portfolio be prepared for this scenario? The most
important options to exercise are 1) voice, assuming the needs of
the operation can be articulated and 2) choice, assuming all
suitable alternatives will be considered. Use these
intelligently and above all, strategically. Migration Strategy and Planning Before beginning any modernization or
migration project, hotel operators and executive management must
understand exactly what their current information management needs are and
whether the existing or proposed systems adequately support the business
strategy, including the possibility of unforeseeable changes in strategy.
It is critical (not optional) to develop a vision of what the information
architecture should be in two years, four years and a decade from now.
Understanding the benefits of migrating and discussing those benefits from
a business perspective is an early step to migration planning. What to look for in a new system Various
technology initiatives dealing with distribution, loyalty program
administration, customer information, and transaction billing have
historically operated without coherence. Few organizations have
constructed the infrastructure to support this level of integration, but
for just about any business the competitive future depends on an immediate
commitment to new technology adoption. What
is the greatest reason for replacing legacy systems? It is the
“quest for efficiency” according to Jeff Parker, IT Director for
Denver-based Magnolia Hotels - an expanding collection of upscale urban
properties in Colorado and Texas. Parker elaborates, “Not just
efficiency in operational procedures, but efficiency in user
administration, back up and recovery procedures, data extraction,
property-level support and ease of training across all hotel
departments.” Information
must be readily available throughout the property, chain, or ownership.
To understand and anticipate the behaviors of customers, analytic
functionality has become essential. To drive revenue and occupancy
while managing multiple distribution channels requires flexible yield and
channel management tools. To capture information across multiple
customer touchpoints requires superior levels of integration between
systems that have not been previously linked. Integration is
dependent upon the use of open standards, as well as development tools and
methodologies that companies like Microsoft, IBM CISCO, and Sun have
agreed upon to power client-server and web-based systems over the next
decade. Some
hotel operators are so fearful about the loss of historical data they cite
this as the #1 reason for staying on their current system. If this
seems like a familiar fear, the questions to ask is, “How useful is that
data in its present state?” (By the way, it is YOUR data and any
vendor that tells you that you can’t take it with you when you go is
just trying to keep you with them.) But before you insist on packing
that “baggage”, determine the value of your legacy data. Should
all customer data be retained or just data from customers that have stayed
eight or more nights in the last calendar year, paid rack rate, dropped at
least $100 per stay on ancillary services and/or live within a 3 hour
drive? Now, if you can get that level of customer detail from your
current system in less than a day, you probably don’t need to pull the
plug yet. But when an executive has to ask “How many programmers
are needed to run that kind of report?” then evolution should not be put
off much longer. System Selection Selection
of a new technology partner is never an easy task but the stability of the
company, as well as the commitment to ongoing development is essential.
Instead of obsessing over having 100% of the desired functionality today,
look for partners with a track record in continued product enhancement.
If the articulated development track supports the property’s IT vision,
then the opportunity to influence that development can be very rewarding.
Many
vendors have found it impossible to allocate programmers to the
development of new applications on new platforms, while continuing to
support existing clients. Yet the vendors must demonstrate their own
ability to keep pace with technology on behalf of their market. In
today’s competitive technology marketplace, consider the benefits of
choosing a market challenger vendor over one claiming to be a “market
leader”. Challenge convention, shop around objectively and don’t
allow managers to choose a system simply because it’s the devil they
know. Think you can’t afford it? Despite an economy on the mend, the
hospitality industry continues its cash struggle for the most basic
capital projects. Spending money to keep legacy applications over
the next few years may be a mistake. Making strategic business
plans based on (or constrained by) legacy applications can be a very
expensive mistake. The opportunity cost of remaining on legacy
systems, especially unsupported ones, can be staggering. Hotels and resorts that remain on legacy
products are not able to benefit from the ‘collective industry wisdom’
incorporated into modern systems. If you cannot sustain parity, then you are far less
likely to achieve a competitive advantage. Nimble corporations
are certainly discovering the opportunity to leapfrog their competitors by
modernizing or migrating legacy systems in the very near term. The future and longevity of your operation
just might be dependent upon a bold move today. Despite the pain of
organizational change associated with new technology and process
improvement, your employees and stakeholders are likely to be thankful
some day. In
conclusion: when aging, disparate technology systems
impair a company's potential for growth, customer service delivery,
efficiency or business process change then it's time to leave your
legacy. Author:
Study:
Online Hotel Booking Problematic eTurbo.com -
The hotel industry as a whole has a ways to go when it comes to
making the room-booking process user friendly, says a new study by a
U.K.-based travel and hospitality consulting company. In fact, things are
so bad designwise that many customers are confused by the prices
displayed, and about half the time they cannot determine whether a
displayed price is per room or per person, according to a report from
Southampton, England-based Travel UCD , which calls itself a
"usability consultancy specializing in front-end design of travel and
hospitality Web sites." The company said its 50-page report, entitled
"Hotel Booking Process Design and Usability," studied the user
interfaces of 87 travel agency, hotel booking agency and hotel chain Web
sites. Only 48 percent of rates displayed on search results pages explain whether the price is for a room - the hotel industry standard -- or for a person, which is the holiday/vacation industry standard, Travel UCD said. However, most of the major U.S. sites -- Expedia.com , Travelocity.com , Hotels.com and Priceline.com -- made it very clear. For example, checking
for rates on a five-night stay at London's Le Meridien Grosvenor House in
June, the search results at Expedia clearly stated that the price was per
room --an average of $408 per day for the Royal Club Executive Class room.
A check at Hotels.com for rooms on the Strip in Las Vegas made it crystal
clear what one was paying for. A Travelocity check in Boston also made it
clear. Priceline specifies that when you name your own price, it is per
room, per night. Asked how the top U.S. travel sites rated, a spokesman for Travel UCD said only that the study included Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline, "however, the purpose of the report is not to comment on individual sites but to provide a sector overview, with recommendations on where the industry can improve." The report says that
many hotel Web sites are unable to offer rooms for child occupancy, or,
conversely, accept bookings for child occupancy when legal regulations
forbid such reservations. "With online hotel reservations predicted
to reach 20 percent of all online travel bookings by 2005, Web sites are
striving to achieve maximum user stickiness," said Alex Bainbridge,
Travel UCD senior consultant and author of the study. "Many sites do
not meet the usability needs of their customers, despite the keenness of
consumers to book on the Web. The majority of problems are simple design
errors..." The report, targeted
at hotel groups, online agencies and e-wholesalers, measures each site's
efficiency and error count, and examines the learnability, memorability
and user satisfaction of each. Nation's
Top Industry Leaders and Economy Experts Optimistic on This Year's Outlook
at Economic Summit 2003 eTurbo.com - According to conclusions reached by 18 of the nation's foremost business and economic experts today at the Economic Summit 2003, which was hosted by Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association and attended by 300 of the region's top business leaders, Southern California can look forward to continued growth in the real estate market, while anticipating improvements in the technology and local tourism industries and trade with China -- all positively impacting the state of the region's economy in the coming year. The
Summit showcased three industry economic panels, each comprised of five
speakers who addressed the economic realities facing Southern California's
economy, the effects of the digital revolution on the entertainment
industry, as well as the global economy's impact on the local economy.
"Our region represents more than half the entire Californian
economy," said Ali Soltani, President of the Beverly Hills Chamber of
Commerce and Civic Association. "This event brings together the top
minds in economics available with business leaders who want to be ahead of
trends." Leading figures from the area's top financial industry firms and UCLA's Anderson Forecast delivered overall optimistic predictions about international and maritime trade, the entertainment and real estate industries, and the domestic hotel/tourism outlook for Southern California in the coming year. "With the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined, we're handling 65% of the nation's entire cargo," said Larry Cottrill, Assistant Planning Director/Manager of Master Planning for the Port of Long Beach. "Long-term forecasts predict a 5% to 6% average growth rate in container trade." "The
entertainment industry can look toward a fairly positive year as
well," said Walter Zifkin, CEO of the William Morris Agency. "I
would rate the entertainment industry a seven out of ten for 2003,"
said Zifkin. "This will be a strong year for music and television, as
well as reality TV. Together with recent technological changes, the
entertainment business is also experiencing growth from expanding into
Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. The forecast is very good." Another market that is showing strength for the coming year is residential real estate. "Real estate prices are going through the roof -- the region is realizing record increases in housing prices, especially in L.A. and Orange County thanks in part to record low interest rates," said Christopher Thornberg, Senior Economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast. "It's a good time to buy real estate. Additionally, there is also a substantial spike in rental demands." Commercial prospects
are not quite as bright in San Francisco where some real estate businesses
are converting commercial properties into residential rentals to capture
the spike in that market. As far as the region's tourism industry is
concerned, Bruce Baltin, Senior Vice President of the Los Angeles office
of PKF Consulting, noted that San Diego, along with other up-and-coming
destination resorts in Carlsbad and Dana Point, saw a phenomenal 20%
growth in this past year. "Benefiting from the downturn in air
travel, cities like San Diego are enjoying intra-state tourism from Los
Angeles residents. The hotel industry is figuring out that the domestic
market is the main target," said Baltin. Another strong market trend is the move toward the technology sector. "It's my number one bet for the next year," said Dr. Silva. "Technology is perhaps the one market that will experience growth, because people realize that technology is always evolving, always changing -- it's here to stay." All the panelists were fairly optimistic about how the economy would fare in the coming year. "We are in the midst of a modest recovery that is similar to the 1991 economy," said Thomas McManus, Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at Banc of America Securities LLC. "And because we
went into the recession gradually, we will exit gradually. We should see a
recovery beginning in mid-2003." Still, the speakers advised caution
and patience on the consumer's part, while weathering out the volatility
of the economy. "Improvement in consumer confidence may actually
allow the stock market to do a little better," said John Manley, JR,
CFA Managing Director of Salomon Smith Barney. "In a recession,
investor confidence is mostly needed for the economy to pick up. The
numbers will tend to go higher then." Infrastructure
needed for World Heritage tourism: Govt ABC News
-
The Federal Government (Australia) says tourism operators at
Australia's 14 World Heritage areas should be allowed to build regulated
infrastructure. Visit
Philippines 2003 kicks off Tourism
secretary Richard Gordon said that Manila’s historic district will be
the showcase of VP 2003. Year-long
activities have been scheduled in Intramuros. The
arrival of China Sea Discovery Cruise Ship, with 640 Taiwanese tourists on
board, in Manila coincided with the kick-off. An executive of the Manila
Economic Cooperation Office in Taipei said the occasion was an excellent
opportunity to let tourists experience that the Philippines is a safe
destination, contrary to its often negative image in news coverage. Gordon
said the Department of Tourism will aggressively pursue the cruise market. Great
Eagle’s suites rated in 10 most high-tech rooms TravelWeeklyEast.com
- The Great Eagle
Hotel’s “Langham Suites” have been ranked among the world’s ‘Top
10 High-tech Hotel Rooms’ by British newspaper, The Sunday Times.
The
six suites, a new feature at the Great Eagle in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
have broadband Internet access, 37” plasma TV and DVD surround-sound
home theatre. The
suites also feature The Great Eagle’s new signature “yume” beds. Langham
Hotels International Ltd. owns a number of international hotels including
The Langham Hilton in London, Sheraton Towers Southgate in Melbourne, Le
Meridien Boston, Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto and the Sheraton Auckland
Hotel and Towers. UK
visitors fell in December, says BITOA Caterer.com
-
The number of overseas visitors to the UK in December fell by 2.18%
compared with the same month in 2001, says the British Incoming Tour
Operators Association (BITOA). For
the year of 2002 as a whole, numbers were down by 1.77% compared with
2001, according to the association’s monthly Business Barometer. BITOA
said the figures “are not the best of results but probably, under the
circumstances, as good as we could have hoped for. They are certainly
better than earlier forecasts had indicated.” The
market remains uncertain because of the current political situation and
prospects for 2003 continue to remain fragile, BITOA added W Hotels Survey Says Angelina Jolie and George Clooney Are Most Desired Single Celebs Vin Diesel and Sandra Bullock Are Runners-Up in W Hotels/Match.Com Online Valentine's Poll PRNewswire/ -- With what unattached celeb would you want to share some "pillow talk"? According to a W Hotels/Match.Com online survey the men clearly love Angelina Jolie while the gals are head-over-heels for George Clooney. A whopping 29% of the male respondents chose Angelina Jolie as a bedmate, followed by 18% for Sandra Bullock and 13% for Alyssa Milano. An even-more impressive 39% of the female vote went to George Clooney, with Vin Diesel a not-so-close second at 15%. The survey gave a list of ten celebrities-including actors, musicians,
models and athletes-to consider as bed mates. Survey surprises include:
heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio garnering a paltry 5% and a measly 2% for
gorgeous Tyra Banks. Ashton Kutcher and Anna Nicole Smith were the least
favorites among the choices. Here are the results: Males Celebs: Female Celebs:
George Clooney: 39% Angelina Jolie: 29%
Vin Diesel: 15% Sandra Bullock: 18%
Hugh Grant: 10% Alyssa Milano: 13%
Justin Timberlake: 6% Anna Kournikova: 9%
Eminem: 6% Cameron Diaz: 8%
Leonardo DiCaprio: 5% Salma Hayek: 8%
Taye Digs: 5% Wynona Ryder: 4%
Prince William: 4% Mariah Carey: 3%
Jimmy Fallon: 3% Tyra Banks: 2%
Ashton Kutcher: 3% Anna Nicole Smith: 1%
MEGA-PRIZES UNDER PILLOWS-AND EVERYONE WINS SOMETHING
The survey was conducted in conjunction with the launch of "Pillow Talk," W Hotels' winter promotion where guests get to "play" by looking under their pillows to find scratch game-cards with chances to win sexy prizes, including tickets to the 2004 Grammy's. By putting one's head down to rest at any W Hotel guests have a chance to win amazing prizes including access to some of the hottest tickets in town like the 2004 Grammy's. Other prizes include: a DKNY wardrobe, keys to a new Infiniti G35 Coupe, a JetBlue flight for two for a fabulous 3-night stay at W San Francisco; a "Hot and Spicy" weekend trip to Mexico City for the opening of W's newest property; a pair of W-designed Vespa motor-scooters; and lunch with singer Tyrese. These and other prizes, including wonderful W signature face and body mists, will be given away on the first night of any stay at a W Hotel between now and March 31st, 2003-and everyone is guaranteed to win something. A BOXING RING TO ENCOURAGE PLAY "PILLOW FIGHTING" To kick-off "Pillow Talk," passers-by will be lured into a boxing ring installed at W New York (49th St. and Lexington Ave.), where they'll have the chance to playfully pillow fight with some of the W Catalogue's sexiest male and female models. Anyone who enters the "ring of fun" will have a chance to win a pair of 2003 Grammy tickets. LARGEST VALENTINE'S DAY PAJAMA PARTY FOR SINGLES In addition, W Hotels will join MatchLive.com, an affiliate of leading online dating service Match.com, to throw the largest-ever cross-country "pajama party" in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles-giving singles a fun option besides staying home solo with a box of chocolates on February 14. For additional information, or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.matchlive.com/. Travel & Leisure also jumps on board to hold their own PJ parties at W Atlanta and W Seattle. These will be held throughout Valentine's Day week. For more information on W Hotel's Pillow Talk promotion, visit http://www.whotels.com/ The first W Hotel opened in New York in December 1998. There are now five W Hotels in New York City (W New York, W New York - Court, W New York - Tuscany, W New York - Union Square and W New York - Times Square) and 17 hotels brand-wide in the U.S. and abroad. New W Hotels are in development or under construction in Mexico City and Seoul, Korea. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit http://www.starwood.com/ . Source: W Hotels
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