Best Holiday Lettings

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  • Focus: St Christopher’s Inns Release Open Graph Facebook App for Hostels

    St Christopher’s Inns have released an Open Graph Facebook App to assist customers share their trips on Facebook. By publishing stories via Facebook’s Open Graph, the app allows customers to simply share their hostel bookings with friends.

    The app is released to coincide with the impending change in Facebook’s wall feed design. ““We desired to help customers share their trips with their friends in a visible and non-intrusive way. Open Graph allowed us to integrate booking a hostel in the Facebook experience in a more engaging way”” said Duncan Robertson, Digital Director at St Christopher’s Inns.

    Uptake was better than expected with over 6000 impressions generated from customers sharing their bookings throughout the app at the first day. ““We hope to look this figure grow significantly as we glance at more interesting how to aggregate hostels – a fundamentally social experience – into the social web.”” says Duncan.

    The app was inbuilt-house and extends the custom built booking system released by St Christopher’s in 2012. The system includes the choice to pay in six currencies, full payment or deposit toggle and a mobile optimised booking process – a primary of it’s kind within the hostel industry. St Christopher’s run 20 hostels and hotels across Europe and sleep over 750,000 guests annually.

  • Focus: European City Breaks by Train – and never the same old Suspects!

    Taking a city break, to enjoy just a few days of sightseeing and relaxation in a thrilling setting, has long been a favored solution to spend the weekend. And what finer strategy to travel than by train

    Of course, you are take away by the undeniable fact that lots of the train deals appear to visit the usual places that you’ve already been to 3 times. Fear not, however; there are new city breaks by train which are certain to yield up some unique memories.

    City Breaks to Avignon
    Instead of doing the usual thing in Paris, why not take the train for a city break in Avignon Famed for its Papal Palace, Avignon is without doubt one of the most lovely locations within the south of France.

    Located at the River Rhone, the town is surrounded by perfectly intact stone walls. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the world’s largest Gothic palace, too. In case you take a walk along town walls, you’ll be capable to visit a couple of museums along the best way.

    City Breaks to Lille
    If you’re searching for a cultural overload, the town of Lille is the only in an effort to visit. It enjoys a very unique cultural mixture of Flemish, Burgundian, French, Dutch, German and Spanish influences.

    It makes for an appropriate city break because it is found only two hours clear of London. There are three very accomplished museums, incredible Flemish cuisine and stunning architecture.

    City Breaks to Delft
    Instead of compacting past the hordes of visitors that flock each year to Amsterdam, consider visiting the house of the Dutch Royal Family in Delft. It’s a far prettier city than Amsterdam can claim to be.

    Delft is extremely, really easy to get around. Nearly your entire sights are within walking distance of each other. Delft is additionally in a major location for tourists, as other Dutch attractions are placed quite within sight.

    City Breaks to Lucerne
    The Swiss city of Lucerne is a perfect destination in the event you and your partner would like to stroll around an exquisite lake while taking within the sights, enjoying the timbered houses and Medieval architecture.

    The museums and art galleries will certainly keep you busy over the weekend. If you’ve had your share of the local culture however, you are able to always visit Mount Pilatus, a 2,100m tall mountain that overlooks Lake Lucerne.

  • Abu Dhabi plans major tourism push in Saudi Arabia

    Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry is planning per week-long promotion of the destination and its expanding offering in Saudi Arabia later this month with a high profile participation at Riyadh Travel Fair to be followed by a 3-city road show.

    The promotion, organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, is being supported by a variety of industry stakeholders including hotels and resorts, Etihad Airways, headline attractions and a novel integrated wellness facility on Saadiyat Island.

    The destination sales blitz begins at Riyadh Travel Fair – the Kingdom’s leading tourism trade exhibition, which runs on the Four Seasons Hotel – Kingdom Tower inside the Saudi capital from April 23rd-26th.

    The Abu Dhabi delegation will then move directly to road show presentations to the Saudi travel trade in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.

    “We have superb airlift from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi with three providers – Etihad Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines and NASAIR – now servicing a combined total of 68 scheduled non-stop flights every week from the dominion,” said Mubarak Al Nuami, director promotions & overseas offices, TCA Abu Dhabi.

    “This give us huge potential to draw Saudi visitors to our emirate where we believe our product mix will meet their specific needs – one in every of our main focuses now’s to make this target market fully conscious of the truth that there may be now much more to look and do in Abu Dhabi and to steer them to stick with us longer than they currently do on average.”

    Saudi Arabia is currently Abu Dhabi’s sixth largest overseas source marketplace for hotel guests.

    In the 1st two months of this year some 12,322 Saudis stayed within the emirate’s 141 hotels and hotel apartments and delivered 27,256 guest nights. They stayed, on average, 2.25 nights.

  • MENA to have 50 New Starwood Hotels in next five years

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc is strengthening its position because the leading hotel operator around the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region with an existing portfolio of 82 hotels, representing nearly 22,000 guest rooms, the vast majority of which might be operated under Starwood’s world-renowned Sheraton and Le Méridien brands. The corporate announced today that it’s going to increase its MEA portfolio by greater than 60% with nearly 50 new hotels set to open over the subsequent five years, adding greater than 14,000 guest rooms to the region while creating thousands of local employment opportunities. With over 20 hotels expected to open by the tip of 2015, Starwood is on target to arrive a milestone 100 hotels across MEA. Further underscoring the significance of the region as one among Starwood’s fastest growing hotel and travel markets, earlier this month the corporate relocated its global headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut to Dubai for a month-long immersion.

    “Dubai epitomises the changing face of travel, and we think this relocation will deepen our relations with partners, associates and customers. The insights that come from experiences like this move make us more agile in today’s rapidly changing world.”

    “Starwood continues to work out demand for growth of all of our brands around the Middle East and Africa despite economic and political uncertainty in some parts of this incredibly diverse region,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “Rapid economic growth, rising personal incomes, a growing middle class and ever greater global connectivity are driving new travel patterns and insist for travel, and this region is on the center of those trends and a key focus of our growth strategy.”

    With greater than 70% of the world’s economic growth coming from fast-growing markets over the following couple of years, Starwood is concentrated on expansion in developing MEA markets akin to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa and Nigeria. The corporate can also be eager about growth opportunities in key emerging markets including Iraq, Pakistan, Angola, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and East Africa.

    By 2017, Starwood will operate greater than 130 hotels in MEA, marking some key milestones, including:

    *  Portfolio growth of over 60% inside the UAE with 12 new hotels, including six in Dubai, bringing Starwood’s portfolio to greater than 30 hotels around the country. Starwood’s growth plans within the UAE also include expansion into Sharjah and Ajman.
    *  Rapid expansion across Saudi Arabia with six new hotels slated to open by 2015 bringing Starwood’s portfolio to fifteen hotels on this key developing market.
    *  The re-entry of Starwood into Iraq with the milestone signings of 3 hotels across three brands within the city of Erbil, located inside the re-emerging Kurdistan area of the rustic.
    *  Momentum in Nigeria with two new Starwood hotels, under the company’s Four Points by Sheraton brand.
    *  Addition of 2 new hotels in Algeria with a brand new Sheraton hotel in Annaba and 4 Points by Sheraton in Oran.
    *  The launch of Starwood’s Aloft Hotels brand in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Aloft will even open its second property within the UAE within the emirate of Sharjah.
    Starwood Strengthens Luxury Portfolio

    In 2011, Starwood introduced its ultra-luxury St. Regis Hotels & Resorts brand within the region with the outlet of The St. Regis Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. This was followed by last year’s debuts of The St. Regis Doha and The St. Regis Mauritius, marking the entry of the logo into Qatar and Africa. This year, Starwood will unveil a second St. Regis hotel on Abu Dhabi’s vibrant Corniche, making it the best city on the earth to boast two St. Regis hotels. The logo will soon enter the Egyptian market with the outlet of The St. Regis Cairo.

    Starwood can be seeing rapid growth of its contemporary, design-led W Hotels brand. Following the successful launch of the emblem within the region with the hole of W Doha in 2009, Starwood has plans to open six more W Hotels across MEA in key markets, including three in Dubai and one each in Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Amman by 2017.

    “Our long-established presence, local teams, and powerful relationships inside the region remain a competitive advantage, and position us well to milk the various opportunities for future growth,” said Simon Turner, President of worldwide Development & Acquisition, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “We have a healthy pipeline of latest hotels under development within the Middle East and Africa, and expect our growth to continue in 2013 as we glance to expand in markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.

    Conversion Opportunities in MEA

    In addition to new hotel openings, Starwood is seeing increasing opportunities for hotel conversions in MEA. Prior to now ten months, Starwood has signed three conversion deals inside the region, including Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates, which opened last month.

    “Thanks to Starwood’s nearly 50 year history within the MEA region and the proven strength of our brands, the corporate is easily positioned to take full good thing about growth,” said Roeland Vos, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa & Middle East. “We are seeing an enormous landscape of independent hotels ripe for flags within the region and we predict to capture greater than our justifiable share of conversion opportunities across all of our brands. The new conversion of the Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates is a testament of this strategy.”

    As Starwood continues its extensive expansion across MEA, the corporate is additionally taken with upgrading its existing portfolio of hotels inside the region, primarily under the Sheraton and Le Méridien brands.

    Starwood Relocates Global Headquarters to Dubai

    Earlier this month, Starwood President & CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company’s top executives relocated to Dubai where they’ve been conducting day-to-day business from this increasingly important global destination and travel hub. Following the company’s successful relocation to China in June 2011, this second leadership move reflects Starwood’s innovative management solution to cultivating a more global culture by understanding, appreciating and leveraging different societal perspectives and approaches to business and hospitality.

    “With 80% of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it’s simply impossible to guide a really global business from a boardroom in Connecticut,” said van Paasschen. “Dubai epitomises the changing face of travel, and we predict this relocation will deepen our relations with partners, associates and customers. The insights that come from experiences like this move make us more agile in today’s rapidly changing world.”

  • News: Second HRG Latin American Forum scheduled

    Following on from the success of the primary HRG Latin American Forum staged last year, a second event will occur on 8 April in Brasil.  HRG Brasil, a business unit of Grupo Alatur and the strategic partner for Hogg Robinson Group (HRG), the award-winning international corporate services provider, within the region, will host the daylong meeting to explore the trends and challenges specific to the region against a world backdrop.

    Taking place at Villa Noah, in São Paulo, the agenda includes lectures from Mário Sérgio Cortella, philosopher and PhD in education and from journalist Maurício Kubrusly.  Similarly Susan Lancaster, International Development Director at HRG and Tiffany Serviss, vice-president for technology from HRG may also be portion of the meeting programme. “Our goal is to create a forum for the regional market to have interaction, benchmark and network, in order that we will continue to guide the growth and development of corporate services, focusing particularly on travel, meetings and mobile technology across Latin America”, explains Daisy Karla De Marco, HRG Brasil Director.

    In addition to debates on best practice, challenges, trends and tools to confirm control, compliance and security within a company travel programme, the Instituto Alatur in partnership with Universidade Anhembi Morumbi can be presenting the Brazilian Travel and Meetings Index.