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  • News: IMEX launches new hosted buyer benefits

    Following the successful test and roll-out of a brand new single email inbox for hosted buyers at IMEX America last year, the IMEX Group is introducing a similar concept for all hosted buyers at IMEX in Frankfurt 21- 23rd May 2013.

    The new online tool works by amalgamating all exhibitor communications to a given buyer into an inbox at the IMEX website. Buyers receive a single daily email alert directing them to the net inbox which might be searched by keyword, exhibitor name and subject line. Appointments could be made directly from the messages inside the inbox. Concurrently the buyers’ diaries has been completely updated with a fresh new user-interface reducing the variety of clicks to make an appointment from 7 to three. On this way, email volumes are greatly reduced for buyers and appointment making is simpler, quicker and more productive.

    Says Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group: “This is among the main online developments we’ve made for IMEX buyers in recent times. It was warmly welcomed within the US so we predict the same reaction to its simplicity and user-friendliness for our Frankfurt show. We all know that consumers are extremely busy and one of the simplest ways we will help them maximise their business ROI from the show is to make planning and preparation as simple, targeted and as quick as possible.”

    Other new innovations for buyers include a brand new Networking Hub at the show floor to assist them meet and find peers, a brand new educational forum for corporate planners – Exclusively Corporate @IMEX, a redesigned educational programme including a brand new Research Pod on the Inspiration Centre and hundreds of latest exhibitors from both established and emerging destinations.

    Last year IMEX in Frankfurt attracted just wanting 4000 meetings, incentive travel and events industry hosted buyers from 71 countries. Total attendance over the 3 days, including trade visitors, was 14,143. Over 64,000 business appointments came about between buyers and exhibitors in the course of the show, 40,000 of that have been made between individual buyers and exhibitors (the rest being group appointments).

  • Tunisia tops holiday destination for 2013

    Members of the sales team from loveholidays.com travelled to Tunisia this spring to benefit more concerning the destination which the corporate is tipping to be the end seller for 2013.

    Al Francis, MD of loveholidays.com said “With good rates of exchange, low costs of living while there and a few excellent deals on flights and accommodation, Tunisia is showing itself to be among the many top selling destinations for 2013.  We needed with the intention that our team has the absolute best knowledge of the destination so we sent off two of them to the rustic to be told more about what Tunisia can offer our customers.”

    The team are actually ready to offer the correct advice and assistance for any travellers trying to visit Tunisia this summer.

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  • Peachtree Hotel Group acquired six hotels during Q1 2013

    Peachtree Hotel Group, one of the most nation’s fastest growing hotel acquisition, management, development and ownership groups, today announced that it acquired/invested in six hotels within the southeastern U.s.a. in the course of the 2013 first quarter. At this pace, the corporate is definitely in advance of its previously announced goal of adding 15 hotels to its portfolio in the course of the coming year.

    “Our way to hotel investment begins with being flexible,” said Greg Friedman, Peachtree CEO. “Our growth strategy encompasses one hundred pc acquisitions, participating as a majority or minority owner, acquiring first mortgage hotel loans and third-party management.”

    Jatin Desai, chief investment officer, noted that the company’s diversified acquisition technique of both real estate and note acquisitions allows it to surface transactions very early within the process which yields more opportunities.

    “During the primary quarter, we checked out greater than 100 transactions, including individual assets and portfolios, but selected only six where we thought shall we add value at appropriate risk-adjusted returns,” said Desai. “While all but this type of transactions were equity-related, acquiring hotel loans remains a high priority for us. We wish to work with owners and operators who can have the benefit of restructuring of existing loans, cash infusions or providing other creative financing alternatives.”

    “Each of those assets is a good fit and complements our growing portfolio of 25 select service and extended stay hotels. The properties’ geographic locations and dynamics match up well with our technique of owning and managing hotels in primary and secondary markets,” said Mitul Patel, chief operating officer.

    In preparation for this growth spurt, the corporate added significant bench strength to both its acquisition/financing capabilities and hotel management. “We have the depth to comfortably add 15 hotels this year and will increase our goal if market conditions warrant such.” Patel said.

    The six hotels include:

    —The 85-room and suite Hampton Inn Okeechobee in Florida Peachtree made a majority investment inside the waterfront hotel situated on picturesque Lake Okeechobee. The hotel offers meeting space to deal with as much as 35 people, state-of-the-art business center, fitness room and 24-hour Suite Shop convenience store.

    —The 96-suite Homewood Suites by Hilton Durham-Chapel Hill/I-40 in North Carolina Peachtree acquired the extended-stay property located just off I-40, with easy accessibility to area highways and minutes from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, prominent corporations, museums and other area attractions are within walking distance of the hotel in Durham. The hotel provides a complimentary breakfast bar, convenience store and outdoor pool.

    —The 98-room Four Points by Sheraton Durham at Southpoint in North Carolina Located 11 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the hotel, acquired by Peachtree, is nearby the Research Triangle Park, a hub of prestigious universities and leading tech and pharmaceutical companies and medical centers. The hotel has 1,800 square feet of banquet space, health club and indoor pool.

    —The 96-suite Residence Inn Little Rock hotel in Arkansas Peachtree made a sliver investment and now manages the extended-stay hotel. Located off Interstates 430 & 630, this Little Rock extended stay hotel is situated next to the Arkansas Heart Hospital and nearby to area attractions, along with UAMS, Verizon Arena, the Little Rock Downtown Historic District, The Clinton Library and Little Rock Zoo.

    —The 120-room Courtyard by Marriott Jacksonville I-295/East Beltway in Florida The fairway lodging certified hotel, now owned by Peachtree, offers a gym and outdoor heated pool and spa. The hotel is convenient to the JaxPort Cruise Terminal and gives overnight parking for cruise-goers and is near the Mayo Clinic, St. Luke’s Hospital, University of North Florida and Jacksonville University.

    —The 66-room Comfort Inn in Alabama Peachtree acquired the primary mortgage note.

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  • News: Norwegian Breakaway’s Captains and Hotel Director introduced

    Norwegian Cruise Line today announced the seasoned captains who will serve on Norwegian Breakaway, the company’s most innovative ship so far. Norwegian also introduced the ship’s hotel director, answerable for all guest areas, including the 28 dining options, world-class entertainment which include three Broadway shows, extensive nightlife venues, family and recreational activities and staterooms starting from studios to the posh suites inside the Haven.

    Following the ship’s transatlantic voyage and series of exciting inaugural events, Norwegian Breakaway, the biggest cruise ship to ever be constructed in Germany, will sail seven-day cruises from Ny city to Bermuda under the command of Captain Evans Hoyt, an experienced seafarer, with greater than 30 years at sea. He joined Norwegian Cruise Line in 2005.  Previously serving as Captain of the company’s U.S. flagged vessel, Pride of America, Captain Hoyt is liable for all aspects of the ship, its guests and crew.  He also served as Captain aboard three additional ships throughout the Norwegian fleet, including Norwegian Spirit. Captain Hoyt graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Long island in 1982. Born in Morocco, the son of a U.S. diplomat, he has lived in lots of different countries. Showing his true passion for the ocean, he and his wife sail the sector on their sailboat during his time without work.

    While Captain Hoyt is enjoying his vacation, Captain Hakan Svedung will take the helm of Norwegian Breakaway. He have been at sea for 35 years and is currently captain of Norwegian Epic. Captain Svedung, who lives in Sweden, has joined Norwegian in 2006; in advance of that he worked for Star Cruises, one in all Norwegian’s shareholders, for 12 years. Both captains are watching for this exciting and challenging new role.

    Norwegian also announced that Denis Prguda will function Norwegian Breakaway’s Hotel Director. Denis began his career at Norwegian in 1997 on board the Leeward and has since held a lot of positions on numerous ships in Norwegian’s fleet. His previous positions have included Food and Beverage Director and Assistant Hotel Director. He was promoted to Hotel Director in 2008.  As Hotel Director, he has led teams on Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Epic. When he’s not on board, Denis spends his vacation together with his family, including his wife and two daughters, in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

    “We carefully chose these seasoned veterans to steer the on board team to be able to launch the main extraordinary ship in our company’s history,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer. “These team members have a proven track record as successful leaders in our operations team and possess the dedication and fervour for you to make the launch of Norwegian Breakaway in Ny city our most successful new ship launch so far.”

  • Weak stirling means British holidaymakers will feel the warmth this summer

    Millions of Britons heading overseas this Bank Holiday and summer will face higher holiday costs, as research finished by foreign currency echange specialist Moneycorp shows the Pound has lost value against almost 80% of the tip global currencies before twelve months.

    Moneycorp checked out how Sterling has fared against the 50 global currencies since last May. The research revealed that the Pound has weakened against 38 out of the 50 currencies previously year.

    What it means is that British holidaymakers heading to popular destinations akin to Australia, the usa and mainland Europe, will feel the financial pinch of the weaker buying power of the Pound this summer.

    British holidaymakers must head much further afield, akin to the Far East and South America, to get real value for money. The Pound has strengthened almost 15% against the Japanese Yen since last May. That suggests for each £500 converted into Japanese Yen, that’s an additional £74 in comparison to exchanging the same quantity year ago.

    And Brits hoping to make their holiday money stretch further will probably want to consider South America, where the Pound is 11% stronger against the Argentinean Peso and three% stronger against the Brazilian Real. With the Pound also strengthening against the Peso and Real between May 2011 and 2012, by 7.1% and 17.4% respectively, Sterling is eighteen.8% stronger than the Peso and 20.7% stronger than the genuine in comparison to two years ago.

    On the flip side of the coin: Australia has long been a fave long-haul destination with the Brits, however the strength of the Australian Dollar is probably going to have eliminate many holidaymakers this year. The buying power of the Pound Down Under has crumbled in past times four years, almost 30% weaker against the Australian Dollar (28.3%). Even before 365 days, Sterling has lost 4.7% of its value against the Australian Dollar.

    Matthijs Boon, Moneycorp’s Director of Travel Money, comments: “The weak performance of Sterling over the last year means our summer pounds aren’t going to stretch quite as far this year as they did last year.

    “For more adventurous holidaymakers, one strategy to get well for money this summer is to observe long-haul destinations corresponding to Argentina, South Africa and Brazil. However, cheaper destination costs might want to be weighed up against the upper price of flights to get there, in comparison to hopping on a plane over to mainland Europe.”

    Moneycorp the best way to make your travel money stretch further this summer:

    1/ Once you haven’t booked your summer holidays yet, then consider picking a destination where the local currency has actually weakened against the Pound – there are some!

    2/ Don’t use a mastercard to withdraw money from an ATM abroad as you’ll be hit not only with the bank’s exchange rate, but additionally a currency trading fee and an ATM fee. Plus, the sum you’re taking out will even start accruing interest immediately.

    Instead, use a pre-paid currency card, inclusive of Moneycorp’s Explorer card (which permits users to load as much as 14 different currencies on one card). Since you load the cardboard up before you allow, you won’t pay a foreign currency echange fee if you withdraw cash from an ATM, and you’ll also get a greater exchange rate.

    Also, attempt to withdraw money from ATM machines in main banks instead of from machines in shops, as bank ATMs are less more likely to charge withdrawal fees.

    3/ Take a mixture of money and cards on holiday to hide the primary few days of your holiday. It really is worth having some cash for situations where a card isn’t accepted akin to taking a taxi from the airport or tipping in restaurants.

    4/ Order you travel money online to get one of the best exchange rates. That you would be able to then have the currency dropped at your house address or to a bureau on the airport you’re departing from. Moneycorp has bureaux at Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton & Southend Airports and throughout Central London.

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