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  • News: New appointment for Pegasus Solutions

    Pegasus Solutions has named Rick Huntley to the worldwide position of vp, human resources. Huntley brings greater than three decades of expertise to his role, which include guiding Pegasus because the company continues its global expansion plans.

    Rick Huntly“Rick has an effective understanding of worldwide human resources policies and programs which is critical to our ongoing international growth,” said David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. “His expert management of multi-site and international settings will serve our employees world wide as they address the wishes of our clients.”

    Most recently, Huntley served as vice chairman of human resources North America and Global for Intertek’s Oil, Chemical and Agri Division in Houston. He was also a vice chairman with Williams Companies, and company director of human resources with Raytheon in Dallas. Huntley has also held director level positions for other growing companies, including Teledyne Systems Company and Northrop Corporation.

    His management expertise combines elements of high technology, call center and client services, which will bridge Pegasus’ organizational lines in any respect levels. Huntley could be based in Pegasus’ Dallas office.

  • IHG offers free internet for all loyalty members worldwide

    IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) today announced that it’ll be providing free internet to all its 71m loyalty programme members, worldwide. The announcement comes as IHG reveals the result of a world online survey* which show that just about 1/2 adults (43%) would select to not stay in a hotel that charged for internet.

    IHG is the primary and only hotel group to supply free internet in all hotels to all loyalty programme members, globally – whether or not they stay the night or are available in for a coffee or an impromptu meeting. It’ll benefit millions of guests globally as IHG has the foremost rooms and is in additional countries than any individual of the opposite four largest hotel companies on earth**. This would start from July 2013 for Elite members and extend to all members during 2014.

    The move comes as IHG announces that it’s going to be enhancing and renaming its industry-leading loyalty programme Priority Club® Rewards as IHG Rewards Club in July and introducing a number of new benefits for members.

    Richard Solomons, Chief Executive, IHG, said:
    “In today’s fast-paced world, we all know that travellers must stay connected and free internet access is increasingly important. i’m proud that IHG is the 1st hotel company to supply free internet globally to all our loyalty programme members.

    “2013 marks 10 years since IHG became a standalone company. Whilst we’re relatively young as a business, our brands, equivalent to Holiday Inn and InterContinental, have a deep history and a strong heritage and are instantly recognised by millions around the globe.

    “Renaming our industry-leading loyalty programme as IHG Rewards Club might help our guests remember the fact that all our brands are a part of an identical IHG brand family.
    “Whether it’s a business stop-over or a family holiday, our guests can pick from greater than 4,600 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories, secure within the knowledge that every carries the IHG badge of responsibility, trust and confidence that they could depend upon.”

    Internet access is increasingly important to hotel guests and a key consideration when planning their hotel stays. New research* commissioned by IHG reveals that:
    *  43% of adults surveyed said that they might choose to not stay in a hotel that charged for internet.
    *  23% of respondents said that free internet in rooms and through the hotel is the main amenity when staying in a hotel for business, in comparison with *  7% who chose room service.
    *  Travellers from China placed essentially the mostsome of the most importance on online connectivity – with nearly half (47%) listing it because the most crucial thing to them when staying in a hotel for business, followed by those from Russia (26%), the united states (23%) and India (22%).
    *  Travellers from the united kingdom (18%) and the U.S. (14%) both listed buying internet because the second most disturbing thing when staying at a hotel after noisy guests (22% and 24% respectively).

    Globally, more female respondents (14%) say free internet during the hotel is major to them when staying for leisure, in comparison to 2% who listed having an in-room hairdryer.

    IHG Rewards Club, formerly Priority Club Rewards, is the world’s first and biggest hotel loyalty programme, providing existing, industry-leading benefits including points that never expire, no blackout dates for Reward Nights, flight rewards, music downloads and free nights at any IHG hotel anywhere on earth.

    From July, new benefits will include:
    *  free internet to all Elite status members from July 2013 and increasing to all members during 2014;
    *  the facility to earn Elite status faster by staying in three or more of IHG’s hotel brands;
    *  Reward Nights will count toward earning Elite status; and
    *  Platinum Elite members’ “extra” nights will roll over toward maintaining their status of their next membership year

    Booking directly with IHG provides guests with access to the very best available rates through our ‘Best Price Guarantee’ and ensures they qualify to earn points for his or her IHG Rewards Club account.

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  • News: All change in Reading UK this Easter

    Passengers in Reading are being asked to organize themselves for 10 days of changes to coach services as their new station arrives this Easter.

    Staff from Network Rail, First Great Western and Reading Borough Council are readily available from 7.30am until 6.30pm on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th March to reply to questions on the £895m investment within the area along with the upgrade of the station and work to unblock the bottleneck at the railway.

    From Friday 29th March to Sunday 7th April there’s planned disruption to coach services, with passengers being urged to envision before they travel. From Tuesday 2nd April commuters shall be ready to use the station’s four new platforms, two new entrances and a spectacular new link bridge for the primary time.

    Bill Henry, Network Rail programe director, said: “We realise it will likely be an inconvenience to passengers to devise other ways while we undertake probably the most ambitious portion of this huge project thus far. If there has been some other way that shall we deliver the improvements we might do it. But passengers should remember that through the 10 days of disruption to coach services we plan to realize up to lets in 20 weekends of labor.

    “By compressing together the work we have to can we are on track to complete the upgrades three hundred and sixty five days prior to schedule in 2015. This Easter is an historic one at Reading – because it will see the fantastic new parts of the station being opened to the general public for the primary time. It should also see the most important commissioning of recent track, signalling and infrastructure works at one time within the history of Network Rail. We have got a major task just before us, but all of it is only possible in the course of the patience of the travelling public and for that i need to thank them.”

    During the 10-day period, the platforms that trains arrive into and depart from will change, and passengers are being asked to ascertain which platform their trains will depart from on arrival on the station. First Great Western may have staff reachable to assist customers while they get used to the changes.

    First Great Western managing director, Mark Hopwood, said: “The works going down over Easter are the foremost extensive phase of the upgrade scheme up to now. Network Rail is doing a lovely job improving Reading station and we’re expecting unveiling the newest phase inside the redevelopment of our station to customers after Easter.

    “We have sought to minimise disruption to our customers’ journeys so far as possible as Network Rail carries out these essential works, with a view to mean improved journeys for thousands of rail passengers. However, many journeys would be affected and I’d encourage anyone travelling through Reading and surrounding stations in this period to match their journeys before they travel.”

    After the primary phase of the hot station opens on 2nd April, there’ll be around year of further improvement works. These will include the demolition of the old link bridge and replacing old canopies and platforms, bringing them as much as the traditional of the hot parts of the station.

    By spring 2014, the complete station upgrade might be complete, with the complete project, including a brand new viaduct to unblock the bottleneck at the railway, remaining heading in the right direction to be finished in 2015 – 365 days earlier than schedule.

    Passengers and the general public also are set to profit from work Reading Borough Council is doing to enhance the areas outside the station’s two new entrances.

    Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for regeneration, transport and planning, said: “When complete the council’s new interchanges, to the north and the south of the station, will markedly enhance our surroundings in and round the station, providing much improved facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and bus and taxi passengers.

    “The opening of the newly re-furbished subway underneath the station creates a route right into the city centre for folks approaching the station from the northern side. For the tens of thousands of passengers who use Reading station daily, including to take into accounta good many Reading residents in fact, the hot station can be a massive improvement.”

    The station upgrades are only one portion of the Reading improvement scheme, which also includes the development of a brand new train care depot, a viaduct to offer extra space for trains, the widening of Cow Lane, new signalling to enhance reliability and the introduction of overhead electrical lines to permit new state-of-the-art electric trains to run.

    Network Rail started work to construct the brand new viaduct in January 2013.

  • Ritz-Carlton in digital focus at ATM

    The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is launching a completely-integrated social media campaign which will offer visitors a singular interactive experience. at ATM The move is per The Ritz-Carlton commitment to deepen connections with existing and prospective guests in an atmosphere where they spend increasing amounts of time.

    As component of the posh hotel company’s social media outreach in the course of the Middle East’s largest travel trade event, The Ritz-Carlton has members in their social media engagement team present on their stand at ATM.  Throughout the @RitzCarlton twitter handle, the team will provide live content and updates from the development. With a sizeable choice of The Ritz-Carlton Twitter followers comprising of trade partners, customers and the media, this can be a perfect platform to initiate and build brand conversation relevant to the fair.

    The introduction of a dedicated ‘Tweet Bar’ at the Ritz-Carlton stand HC5240 located within the Arena Hall, will give the brand’s global Twitter following access to news from the development because it unfolds in Dubai, including highlights from exclusive talks and seminars. Further, visitors checking in at ATM on Foursquare will receive pointers on one of the best things to determine and do in Dubai, as recommended by The Ritz-Carlton concierges from both hotels within the city. The Ritz-Carlton also uses Foursquare and The Ritz-Carlton Mobile App to tailor local content and supply engaging information relevant to their guests. This may be dropped at life at ATM where a sequence of QR codes can be utilized to download property insights, including recipes from chefs and guided tours of hotels.

    “Our social media interactions at Arabian Travel Market are a natural extension of our ‘Let Us Stick with You’ brand philosophy. We wish to enrich the experience on the show for visitors, as well as being an awesome luxury travel information resource for our Twitter followers by providing news because it is occurring from the show,” said Chris Gabaldon, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. “Each of The Ritz-Carlton social media channels grow in importance to us year-over-year as our guests live increasingly in their lives within the digital space. Use of Facebook alone already stands at 40% of time spent online inside the UAE, 30% in Kuwait and 21% in Saudi Arabia making Facebook an increasingly important channel for us to converse with our Middle East guests.”

    The Ritz-Carlton has a proven track record of using social networking platforms to construct and enhance the logo and produce people together inside the same physical space or event. It successfully used Twitter to underscore its central role at global events corresponding to Toronto International Film Festival and IMEX America, whilst broadcasting and conversing in regards to the brand’s messages on a big scale and likewise drawing foot traffic to physical spaces by engaging with other attendees.

    The effectiveness of The Ritz-Carlton social media direction and content has resulted in significant year-on-year increases across all leading platforms, including Facebook which has jumped 118 percent to a couple of million fans around the company’s brand page and 48 hotel Facebook pages. To boot, the emblem Facebook Page’s year-over-year growth in “People Talking About This” went up 746%.

    “The Ritz-Carlton philosophy is built round the concept of providing unique experiences for our guests on the way to leave indelible memories they put off from every visit to 1 of our hotels.  With the ongoing growth and influence of social media – on both a neighborhood and global scale – we’re seeing this amplified online greater than ever before,” continued Gabaldon.

    “It is therefore essential for us to stay relevant to the patron and be strategic and sensitive in regards to the ways that we engage within the space. The Ritz-Carlton brand carries expectations of excellence, and that i can proudly say that while each of our social channels perform in several ways, all of them convey a truth and authenticity that may only be conveyed by us. We reap great have the benefit of being part of the web conversation and learn much by being attentive to guest feedback. The following portion of our continued strategy makes a speciality of developing additional global social media assets and online engagement channels to succeed in a broader audience of geographies and demographics, incorporate more video, and play host to user generated content for our guests who would like to share their Ritz-Carlton experiences inside the digital space.”

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  • News: Pacific World continues European expansion

    Pacific World have recruited Ville Mineurn to hitch the London team as Destination Manager for England.  His recruitment forms a part of the newest stage of the organisations European expansion, which has already led to the hole of offices in Paris and Monaco this year.

    EMEA Regional Director, Shaun Casey commented, “As an organisation, Pacific World is exclusive within the undeniable fact that it’s the talent which we acquire that drives the business forward. Our strategic expansion into new destinations is dictated entirely by the information and expertise of our staff. We’re very excited to be welcoming Ville on board, allowing Pacific World to bring clients to 1 of the highest MICE destinations on the earth.”

    Commenting on his appointment Ville Mineurn said, “I am very happy to be a part of Pacific World in London. i suspect that the industry knowledge and talents that I actually have developed, coupled with my passion for the town, will enable me to supply a singular level of service for Pacific World customers.”

    Casey continues, “Pacific World actively seeks to recruit professionals who’ve a deep understanding of the industry, and of specific destinations. Mineur, originally from Finland, began his career in London as a representative for a well-known tour operator. Then, during his career, Mineur has gained a deep understanding of the MICE industry in London, and has undertaken roles in both sales and operations”.

    Following their worldwide rebranding in November last year, Pacific World as a world brand is recognised for delivering operational excellence, creativity and best-in-class customer support internationally. Through working closely with local governments and convention centres, the worldwide MICE company currently delivers event solutions in over 15 countries including China, India, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Greece, Scotland, Portugal, Spain, and Southern Africa.