Global Staff Movements -  Who is in and who is out

Edited by Benoit Gateau-Cumin - President, The Boutique Search Firm

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Six Continents move to demerge in the balance

(Reuters)  -  Embattled hotelier Six Continents faces a crucial shareholder vote on Wednesday on its demerger proposal, which hangs in the balance as investor interest builds in bids for the group instead.

The world's biggest international hotel group needs a 75 percent majority vote on Wednesday to separate its hotels and UK pubs, but it is fighting off a bid from millionaire entrepreneur Hugh Osmond and a potential one led by private equity firm CVC.

Six Continents, which runs the InterContinental and Holiday Inn hotels, says it is pressing ahead with Wednesday's vote and will not be derailed in its push towards demerger after it received proxy votes for the meeting on Monday morning.

Osmond, who wants an adjournment or a vote against demerger, reiterated on Tuesday he would walk away if the vote goes against him.

Osmond is expected to make a direct appeal to shareholders at the meeting, which will be chaired by Ian Prosser of Six Continents. Chief Executive Tim Clarke and Finance Director Richard North are also expected to made short addresses to shareholders.

Although the vote will be close, many investors are expected to give the company one last chance and vote for the certainty of demerger rather than risk waiting for Osmond to sweeten his bid or for another acceptable bid to emerge.

"If the demerger goes ahead, then this will spark an auction for the two separate businesses, which must be a better option than waiting for Osmond," said one UK investor.

Six Continents's two biggest shareholders, which together own 10 percent -- U.S. fund Bernstein Investment Research and Management and San Francisco-based Dodge & Cox -- are set to support the company, while many UK shareholders are seen likely to swing behind the management, industry sources said.

KNIFE EDGE

The outcome of the vote was already on a knife edge over the last week as shareholders have been bombarded with a war of words from Osmond and Six Continents.

Then late on Monday CVC admitted it had been in talks with other private equity and hotel groups to form a consortium to bid for Six Continents.

CVC is believed to have held talks with U.S. buy-out firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Marriott International MAR.N , while Sheraton group Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc HOT.N has shown interest in a consortium bid.

As the crucial vote approaches, Osmond was silent on whether he would sweeten his paper bid of 621 pence a share, which values the company at 5.4 billion pounds ($8.7 billion), arguing that a vote against demerger was a vote for shareholder choice.

Six Continents shares closed up 0.8 percent at 591p.

Six Continents has insisted it is not expecting any bids ahead of the vote, but the emergence of CVC may mean an adjournment could lead to at least one bid to rival Osmond.

CVC stressed its plans were at an early stage and that no consortium had been formed or proposal made to Six Continents. CVC has not asked the group to defer or delay the vote.

Many Six Continents shareholders are unhappy with Osmond's bid due to the small amount of cash being offered, as well as no partner being named to run its hotels and an over-generous incentive scheme to Osmond and his partners.

Osmond's bid offers 36 shares in his shell company, Capital Management and Investment Plc (CMI) CMIP.L , for each Six Continents share or a slightly lower-valued alternative in shares and cash of 1.4 billion pounds. CMI shares closed off 1/4p at 17-1/4p.

The Six Continents meeting is due to be held at 1030 GMT at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London on March 12.

If a 75 percent vote is reached, the demerger will be set for approval by the English court on April 10 and finalised on April 14 to create two groups -- InterContinental Hotels Group Plc and pubs and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers Plc.

Speech by WTO President Francesco Frangialli at the inauguration of the ITB

Mr. Minister of the Economy and Labour,
Mr. Mayor,
Mr. President of Messe Berlin,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a singular paradox that the ITB -- this great fair dedicated to tourism, an activity that is the synonym of peace - is opening at a time when the world is preparing to go to war! Do we really have the heart to think about travel, relaxation, leisure and holidays, while weapons are at the ready and people are bracing for suffering?

This antinomy, however, is only illusory: it is when times are getting harder, when images of destruction and hate swirl all around us that the need to get away and escape is most keenly felt.

For the past two years, we have been wrestling with this contradiction.

Since 11 September, we have been experiencing the most serious crisis in the history of world tourism. Djerba, Bali, Mombassa… the attacks have come one after another, targeting foreign visitors who have become innocent victims of conflicts with which they have nothing to do.

Despite this, fear has not managed to sweep everything away and tourism has not collapsed as some were only too quick to predict. In 2001, despite the combination of the tragic attacks in New York and Washington and the worldwide economic downturn that had already begun even before the attacks, the number of international tourist arrivals fell by just 0.5 per cent, while domestic tourism increased in all countries, as those who chose to travel did so to destinations closer to home.

In 2002, despite an economy that was still in the doldrums, tourism managed to turn the trend around. With 715 million international arrivals representing an increase of 3 per cent, the industry was back to positive growth. Although this recovery will in all likelihood be less spectacular when the revenue figures become known, it once again demonstrates our industry's resilience.

The Americas suffered in 2002, but the Asia-Pacific region continued with a rapid growth rate of 8 per cent. The biggest surprise was the Middle East: despite all the tensions in the region, it saw an 11 per cent increase in international arrivals, thanks largely to the strong performance of intraregional traffic. Europe more than held its own with a 2.4 per cent increase in flows.

The sector's performance over the past few months confirms what I said here in Berlin last year: our confidence is based on consumer behaviour. The need to travel, whether for business or leisure, is already too deeply ingrained in our societies to be easily effaced. In spite of all the obstacles and risks consumers may perceive, they will do what they can in order to travel even if it means reducing their expenditure, changing their destination, postponing their trip or shortening their stay.

This exceptional steadiness of demand makes it possible to overcome higher prices on the supply side, resulting from higher energy, security and insurance costs that have repercussions on the entire sector.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Although history never repeats itself quite the same way each time, we can look back to many instances where pre-crisis growth rates were recovered quickly after a brutal shock brought about by a regional or a global crisis. The most appropriate reference point for the current situation is undoubtedly the Gulf War. It should be recalled that on that occasion, tourism did not go into recession. Growth slowed down to 1.2 per cent in 1991 but never turned negative. The following year the industry posted a spectacular 8.3 per cent jump.

This fair is thus opening at a time when we are perhaps at the lowest point of the curve. Tourism consumers and enterprises are just like other economic operators in this respect: they put off their decisions because there is nothing they dislike more than uncertainty. Even before it has begun, the Iraqi conflict is already having a negative impact on our industry by fuelling fear, creating a wait-and-see attitude, discouraging bookings, and delaying investment plans. The situation is bound to clear up one way or another. I am convinced that none of us here wants to see such a clarification resulting from the worst possible outcome for our sector: war. Everyone knows that tourism and war are incompatible.

They are like fire and water, and nothing good ever happens when the two meet. We would like to believe that those who hold the future in their hands will make their decisions rationally and that they will take into account, among other considerations, the consequences of their choices for vital sectors of the world economy such as transport and tourism.

But if war were to break out, we can only hope that it is as short and as geographically limited as possible. And let us keep in mind that there are two powerful reasons to remain reasonably hopeful and optimistic.

The first is that never in the history of tourism has there been a deep and lasting recession. Tourism has always bounced back and it has always done so quickly. In these difficult times, the tourism industry is not a particularly weak sector of the world's economic activity. On the contrary, it is a factor that ensures stability and promotes recovery. This applies not only to the world economy, but to the German economy as well.

The second reason for hope has to do with the fact that the tourism industry has always come out of crises in much better shape than it has gone into them. The economic and financial crisis of Asia-Pacific and Russia in 1997-1998 is a clear example: these destinations came out of the recession stronger and more firmly on the road to sustainable development. We can see this happening once again. The adjustment period we are going through is accelerating changes in consumer habits and transforming the fabric of industry. It has seen the arrival of new operators, especially in air transport, while others have disappeared. It has led to restructuring and regrouping, the implementation of new technologies, the modernization of marketing techniques, the strengthening of cooperation between the private and public sectors, to the benefit of all involved.

The World Tourism Organization invites you to look at the situation in one year's time, at the ITB 2004, where we shall surely see a tourism industry - both Germany's and the world's -- that is stronger, more certain of its economic foundations and more confident about its future.

Thank you.

News@PATA

PATA APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR FOR AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

PATA is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Chris Flynn as PATA Director-Australia & New Zealand, effective April 1, 2003. Operating out of PATA's Sydney office, Mr. Flynn will bring to PATA a strong track record in international and domestic tourism. Prior to the PATA position, Mr. Flynn held several management positions in the airline and hospitality industries in New Zealand, Asia, the United States, U.K. and Europe. PATA President and CEO, Mr. Peter de Jong, said: "Chris will bring a high level of energy to our vital membership base in Australia and New Zealand. He is PATA's first appointment in our move to invigorate PATA membership in the Pacific area. PATA will also be working on creative new approaches to the Pacific Islands and Micronesia." For further information e-mail: communications@pata.th.com.

THREE PATA TASK FORCE REPORTS OUT NOW

Three PATA Task Force reports are now available: 1) PATA Macao, China Task Force: Learning from the Past, Re-engineering for Future Success 2) PATA Hangzhou, China Task Force: Gearing-up for International Tourism 3) PATA Bali Recovery Task Force Report. The reports provide practical advice for their respective host destinations and serve as useful case studies for others. Each report is priced at US$25 for PATA members and US$35 for non-members. For information and to order, please contact PATA Coordinator-Publications, Ms. Patcharin Hongprapat. Tel: (66-2) 658-2000 ext. 121. Fax: (66-2) 658-2010. E-mail: publications@pata.th.com.

MEKONG FORUM PROMISES A MARKETING FOCUS

The 8th PATA Mekong Tourism Forum, to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 28-30, 2003, will be marketing-focused to help delegates meet the new challenges faced by the industry. A highlight of this year's programme is the keynote address, "Facing the Marketing Shift" by Chairman of Tourism Victoria, Australia, Mr. John Morse. Mr. Morse will show how the Mekong region must adapt to changes in the tastes, spending patterns and demographics of travellers. Delegates can look forward to other in-depth presentations on topics such as market intelligence, market diversification, crisis management and an aviation update. For information and to register, contact PATA Manager-Development, Mr. Aaron Tan. Tel: (66-2) 658-2000 ext. 125. Fax: (66-2) 658-2010. E-mail: aaron@pata.th.com. Or visit www.pata.org.

LIVE GRASSHOPPERS AT PATA ANNUAL INDUSTRY DINNER

To get revellers hopping, PATA has booked the Grasshoppers for the PATA Annual Industry Dinner (PAID) on April 14, 2003. As Jakarta's most popular live band, the Grasshoppers play a wide range of musical styles, old and new, as well as songs from many countries. It promises to be a fun-filled evening of free-flowing drinks and fabulous food. Tickets to PAID are US$60. To register for the 52nd PATA Annual Conference and reserve a PAID ticket, e-mail conference@pata.th.com.

SPECIAL PATA LIFE MEMBERS' EVENT AT CONFERENCE

PATA Life Member Mr. Joop Ave has invited all PATA Life Members attending the 52nd PATA Annual Conference to a special evening function on Tuesday, April 15 at 2000. The outdoor venue is yet to be confirmed. Conference fees are waived for all PATA Life Members. PATA Life Members yet to register for the Conference are should tel: (66-2) 658-2000 ext. 114. Fax: (66-2) 658-2010. E-mail: conference@pata.th.com. Or visit  www.pata.org  .

INVITATION TO STUDY IN HAWAII

PATA is inviting eligible executives to apply for one of four PATA scholarships to the 25th Executive Development Institute for Tourism (EDIT) programme in Honolulu, Hawaii, June 9-27, 2003. The three-week programme features lectures, class discussions, case studies, group presentations and field visits conducted by experts. The course is designed for travel industry professionals with managerial responsibilities. If your organisation is a PATA member, you are encouraged to apply. You may also apply on behalf of your employees. The application deadline is April 20. For programme and application details visit www.tim.hawaii.edu/edit/. E-mail: aye@pata.th.com.

EUREKA MEETS ASIA IN MAY

EUREKA, a pan-European network for industrial research and development, will hold its third EUREKA [meets] ASIA conference in Macau SAR, May 26-30, 2003. EUREKA's objective is to enhance global competitiveness and quality of life through uniting the technical and economic strengths of its members and exploiting advanced technology. Eureka has 34 full European government members including the European Union. For information visit www.eureka-asia.org.mo.

NEW TOURISM DEGREE COURSE IN AUCKLAND

Auckland Institute of Studies (AIS) is expanding its travel and tourism programme. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the AIS will introduce a new Bachelor of Tourism Management degree by the end of 2003. For further information contact the AIS, Head of Travel and Tourism. E-mail: semisit@ais.ac.nz. Web site: http://www.ais.ac.nz/courses/intersc/tourism/tourist.html

NEW MEMBER-TO-MEMBER DEALS

PATA will soon launch a special section on www.pata.org where PATA members may extend exclusive deals on their products and services to other PATA members. The list of specially-priced products and services will be hosted in the members-only area of www.pata.org. PATA members should send information on their special-price offers to communications@pata.th.com .

PATA STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE CENTRE WORLDWATCH

** Of 400 corporate travel managers surveyed by the U.S.-based Association of Corporate Travel Executives, 82 percent said their employers would reduce international travel in the event of a war with Iraq.

** According to the International Monetary Fund, economic growth in Asia is likely to be faster than the rest of the world in 2003. However, war in Iraq and a slowing U.S. economy could cool growth. Excluding Japan, Asia's economy is projected to grow six percent this year.

** The Canadian Tourism Commission has announced the total number of international overnight travellers to Canada increased by 4.7 percent in December 2002, compared to December 2001. There were 1.8 percent more arrivals over the whole year.

** The Hong Kong Tourism Board has announced that in January 2003, Hong Kong SAR received 1,545,978 tourist arrivals, a 31 percent increase over January 2002. The biggest increase came from China (PRC), with 65 percent more arrivals

Jurys holds on to profits growth

Caterer.com  -  Irish hotel group Jurys Doyle has reported continued profit growth in the two months since the end of October 2002.

The company, which today reported full-year results for the eight months to 31 December, recorded a pre-tax profit of €38.3m (£26.4m), compared with €51m (£35.2m) for the 12 months to 30 April 2002.

Turnover reached €183.8m (£127m) during the eight-month period.

Chief executive Pat McCann said: “A key objective for the management team during the period was to maintain the profit growth reported for the first six months to 31 October 2002. I am pleased to report that we achieved this objective.”

He added: “The main highlights for the period included good profit growth reported by our London hotels and the strong profit recovery in our Washington hotels.”

McCann said the strength of the three-star Jurys Inns had been one of the key drivers of performance during the period, with Jurys Inns in Ireland and the UK reporting double-digit profit growth, compared with the eight months to 31 December 2001.

He added that the company’s larger hotels in Dublin continued to be hit by reduced corporate business, but that its five-star hotels had delivered good profit increases.

Jurys said it was too early to give an indication of the outcome for the current year as it was uncertain how international events would affect business over the next few months.

The company announced that it was changing its financial year-end from 30 April to 31 December last July

Europe’s largest hotel companies and WorldRes form new Joint Venture

Three of  Europes largest hotel companies - Accor, Six Continents and Hilton International - have invested in WorldRes Europe, a new joint venture created to market and sell hotels online throughout Europe. WorldRes is contributing its reservation technology and European subsidiary. This agreement is currently under review by the European Commission regulatory approval.

"We have been a WorldRes partner and investor since 2000. They continue to interface with our central reservation system, thus using the best technology for selling our hotels online," said Jean-Marc Espalioux, CEO of Accor. "We have agreed to invest and promote WorldRes Europe as the optimal means to find and book our hotels online. WorldRes Europe will make our hotel brands available to anyone with online access, including Web sites, call centers, tour operators and travel agents".

The hotel companies have agreed to offer very competitive inventory and rates through WorldRes Europe, making it easy for web sites around the world to market and sell Europes leading hotel brands. WorldRes Europe will sell the hotels through a variety of methods, including commissionable retail rates, wholesale net rates, packages and private negotiated rates.

"We need to distribute our hotels online as broadly and as efficiently as possible," said Richard North, CEO of Six Continents Hotels "WorldRes Europe has demonstrated its ability to establish a fully automated, low-cost, high quality multi brand distribution outlet that is attractive to hotel suppliers, internet retailers and consumers alike. These are the very qualities that Six Continents Hotels seeks when selecting distributors to sell our rates and inventory and Worldres Europe fits that bill perfectly.

WorldRes has been a leading online hotel distribution network in Europe since it began operations there in 1997. The network powers top European travel web sites and search engines, including Opodo, AOL UK, Lycos Europe, Virgin Airlines, Accommodation Search Engine (ASE), Freeserve and Hotel.de. WorldRes booking engine operates in seven languages including Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

"Hilton International acknowledges the growth in the online travel market. Our investment in WorldRes, will ensure that online travel in Europe remains competitive and offer the best value for our customers." said David Michels, CEO of Hilton Group plc.

WorldRes Europe is also working with other major European hotel companies, distributing their hotels through the same platform and network of web sites on the same terms as Accor, Six Continents and Hilton International. Thousands of individual hotels throughout Europe are already selling through the same network, simply by accessing the WorldRes system (www.worldres-europe.com)

Online hotel bookings are the success story of e-commerce and Europe is the worlds largest hotel market--this joint investment in WorldRes Europe is a very important step for all of us.," said Wolfgang Kitza, CEO of WorldRes. "We have been working with the worlds leading hotel companies for years. Through our links to their reservation systems and our joint investment in WorldRes Europe, we will continue to work closely together to further improve the technology and efficiency of online booking."

Outlook:  Whitbread

The Independent -  One of the surprise out-performers in the stock market so far this year is Whitbread, a company which these days has virtually no connection with its past as a brewer. Instead, it is a curious assortment of leisure interests from Pizza Hut and Beefeater restaurants to David Lloyd tennis clubs and Marriott hotels.

David Thomas, the company's media shy chief executive, wouldn't agree that the shares are rising because people see his company as the next Six Continents, ripe for break-up, securitisation and asset-stripping bids. Rather, he would say, it is because he is delivering, and there is some truth in that perception.

Mr Thomas's latest trading update was like a ray of sunshine amid the gloom; he's not meeting all three of the targets he set himself after the humiliation of the failed Allied Domecq deal, but he's close enough. Double-digit earnings growth, 5 per cent growth in like-for-like sales, a 1 percentage point rise per annum in return on capital, these are quite demanding targets and Mr Thomas seems to be delivering. Few expected him to survive after the battering his reputation received during the battle for the Allied Domecq pubs estate, but he doggedly hung on in there and today the whole company seems much improved.

Even so, it still seems a bit of a hotchpotch of unrelated assets. Nonsense, says Mr Thomas, who insists the company is supremely well placed to exploit changing lifestyle and demographic trends. One is the growing numbers of cash rich, time rich over-55s, with good health looking to indulge themselves. Another is the move towards eating out. Britain still has a long way to go before it reaches the level of eating out that occurs in the US, where 50 per cent of all food consumed is in restaurants. Fine, but Pizza Hut alongside David Lloyd tennis clubs?

Conglomerates are not the investment fashion of our times even where all the assets involved are loosely based around discretionary leisure spending. Managerially, there is nothing that unites Costa Coffee with tennis clubs and hotels, and as long as his shares continue to trade at a discount to assets, Mr Thomas will always be vulnerable to a break-up bid.

Rezidor SAS adds New Lifestyle Hotel Brand "Cerruti"

Rezidor SAS Hospitality announces the addition of a new lifestyle hotel brand bearing the name of the well-known fashion brand "Cerruti." The new brand joins Rezidor SAS' current four brands: Radisson SAS, Regent, Country Inn and Park Inn. Contracts for the first Cerruti Hotels have already been signed.

With the name Cerruti, Rezidor SAS Hospitality now enters the lifestyle hotel market with a brand that embodies a particular lifestyle. Cerruti's clientele are typically stylish, thirty-something urbanites, internationalists, and independent people who are familiar with fashion. They typically appreciate high quality, understand fine fabrics, details in construction, glamour and color, but want to enjoy it at the right price point. Cerruti's clientele are typically modern but classic, up-to-date but timeless, elegant and relaxed. Cerruti's market matches the new consumer market that Rezidor SAS hopes to attract with their new hotels of the same name.

Dynamic cities, outstanding hotels

Cerruti hotels will initially be developed in new and up coming areas of dynamic European cities. Rezidor SAS Hospitality has already signed the contract for the first Cerruti Hotel, opening in Brussels. Cerruti Hotels will be both new builds and conversions of historic buildings, but each hotel will possess a distinct architectural character and each will be characterized by an imposing entrance. They will range in size from 120 to 175 individually designed, highly-equipped rooms. The hotels' restaurants, called Cerruti Cafes, and Italian-style wine bars, called Enotecas, will play central roles in establishing the hotels as independent attractions within their own local market. Each Cerruti hotel will also offer two or three boardrooms, rather than conference facilities, along with select fitness and spa facilities.

Statement of style

For guests, the Cerruti hotel experience will be comfortable, visually and socially interactive, but also highly and quietly efficient. Exciting and confident, the design will challenge but not exclude, will be chic but not minimalist. It will set the scene as the place in town for people living or visiting the cities with its food, wine, style, design, music, light, art, people and rooms. The rooms will have the best of everything: from the size of the beds to the quality of the technology, the sound and vision, the build of the bathrooms, and the personal bars. The holistic experience will be priced with a transparency that engenders confidence and trust, loyalty and reward.


Kurt Ritter, president & CEO of Rezidor SAS Hospitality, said, "This is the fulfilment of one of my long-cherished dreams. Lifestyle hotels with a Mediterranean touch are not only very much to my personal taste but also ideally enhance our brand portfolio."

Gianluigi Facchini, chairman of Cerruti's executive board, is delighted with this new opportunity. "We are very proud that the Cerruti brand is the bearer of a new message and, in the near future, will be synonymous with perfect design and a modern lifestyle in the hotel business."

Rezidor SAS Hospitality is the master franchise holder for the Radisson SAS, Regent, Country Inn and Park Inn brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company currently operates 126 Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts with over 37 properties under development. The Radisson SAS portfolio now extends to 40 countries.

Rezidor SAS has held the Radisson master franchise since 1994. Regent, Country Inn and Park Inn joined the portfolio in 2002. Rezidor SAS operates two Park Inn Hotels: Berlin, Germany (1), Cape Town, South Africa (1), and 12 Country Inn Hotels located in Europe: in the United Kingdom (2), Germany (7), and Austria (2), including the recent opening at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. There are currently two Regent hotels: Berlin, Germany (1) and Almaty, Kazakhstan (1). The company projects that it will have 700 hotels across all brands, operating within the EMEA region by 2012. Rezidor SAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAS Group.

Cerruti is part of the FINPART Group, which, among other prestigious brands, owns Frette, one of the most renowned names in the Hotel industry. The Cerruti brand history started in 1881 in Biella with the foundation of the Textile industry. Over the years, it has become one of the world's most famous fashion brands. In 2001, the FINPART Group acquired 100% of Cerruti Holding.

Mandarin Oriental New York to set new precedent in luxury guest experience

With its international reputation for outstanding service, as well as its restaurant and spa expertise, Mandarin Oriental is set to provide an unparalleled New York guest experience upon debuting its luxury new hotel in late 2003. With its exotic oriental origins, an individuality that is reflective of Manhattan’s culture and style and a holistic approach to service, Mandarin Oriental, New York will distinguish itself as the city’s most dynamic property.

As part of the AOL Time Warner Center, the hotel’s 251 superbly-appointed guestrooms and suites will be located on floors 38 through 54, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering sweeping panoramas of Manhattan.  Soaking tubs with picture windows located directly above, will provide a unique experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere in the city. Each guestroom, with is oriental design accents, will also feature sophisticated technology, from Bose speakers and flat panel televisions to a highly personalized entertainment system.

Whether delivering 3,000 roses upon request, surprising couples celebrating an anniversary with a champagne breakfast in bed, or providing monogrammed pillow shams for returning guests, the luxury hotel group is committed to completely delighting and satisfying its guests and exceeding their expectations.

Each floor will offer a personal butler on hand to deliver gracious and attentive service 24 hours a day.  The hotel’s concierge will provide guests with priority access to the restaurants in AOL Time Warner Center, in addition to securing tickets for the city’s most sought-after theatrical performances, cultural events and popular restaurants. They can also arrange airport limousine service as well as New York City and area tours. Naturally, as is the standard with Mandarin Oriental hotels and resorts, same–day dry cleaning, shoeshine and pressing are just a few of the many valet services that will also be available to guests. Pressing facilities will be promptly handled at any hour and rooms serviced twice daily.

Mandarin Oriental, New York’s holistic approach to service will be found in every detail, including the in-room bath amenities by Aromatherapy Associates. Guests will be able to choose from a menu of therapeutic products, entitled, “De-Stress,” “Relax,” “Renew,” and “Revive,” all of which are derived from essential oils and deliver therapeutic results.

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, New York, a 14,500-square-foot oasis of tranquillity, will provide restorative treatments complemented by Asian-based rituals designed to facilitate lasting effects.   Guests will also have access to a complete state-of–the art sports and fitness centre, featuring multi-sensory exercise equipment and a 75-foot, sky-lit lap pool.

Designer Tony Chi will lend his style and expertise to Mandarin Oriental, New York’s signature restaurant, Asiate, creating a dining and lounging experience with views unparalleled anywhere else in

the city.  In addition, a cocktail bar off the lobby will project a local ambience, perfect for one-on-one or group gatherings.

For social events, the hotel will feature a 6,000 square foot pillar-less ballroom with stunning vistas of Central Park, while several flexible meeting rooms will offer western views.  Meeting spaces will have

highly advanced audio-visual capabilities, including permanently installed broadcasting systems satisfying network requirements for live feeds.

Mandarin Oriental, New York will have a strong sense of place, from its breathtaking views to its prestigious location.  Situated within the exclusive new AOL Time Warner development at Columbus

Circle, the property offers immediate access to luxury retail shopping, such as Hugo Boss, Cartier and

Josesph Abboud; world-class entertainment at Jazz at Lincoln Center; and some of the city’s best dining options including Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s steak house and Thomas Keller’s French Laundry. In addition, Mandarin Oriental, New York is within proximity to many of the city’s most exciting attractions and entertainment options, including Central Park, Carnegie Hall and the Broadway Theater District. 

Mandarin Oriental is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most prestigious hotels and resorts.  In total, the Group operates 18 luxury hotels in key business and leisure destinations, with three additional hotels under development, including New York (opening late 2003), Washington D.C. (opening 2004) and Tokyo (opening 2006).  Mandarin Oriental now operates some 7,000 rooms in eleven countries with nine hotels in Asia, six in The Americas and three in Europe.

Indonesia to host conference of ASEAN Hotels

Indonesia will host the conference of the ASEAN Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHRA) in September, a businessman has said.

`We will improve the tourist exchange program among AHRA`s member countries,` secretary general of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, Adnand Karamoy, said here Monday.