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  • Marriott International rolls out free WIFI in middle east hotels

    JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels and Resorts and Renaissance properties are actually offering free WIFI in public areas of its full service hotels.

    Rolling out around the Middle East and Africa from February 2013 onwards, the extended WIFI service will allow people to get connected in Marriott lobbies, food and beverage outlets and another public areas. Besides the free WIFI offering, Marriott will continue to supply paid access to high-speed bandwidth both wired and wireless in guestrooms, in addition to bespoke connectivity progammes for conference spaces.

    Jeff Strachan, Vp Sales and Marketing, Marriott International Middle East and Africa, commented: “Our hotel lobbies are a hive of activity, as people meet, greet and plan their day ahead; therefore it is necessary for Marriott to enable guests to be connected across all areas of the hotel. It is usually important for us to provide our guests practical services which make staying with Marriott a soothing, efficient and value effective experience.”

    Launching this month according to customer feedback, this extended WIFI platform is absolute to make Marriott guests more connected.

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  • News: Europcar rewards its International Franchisees’ Network

    Europcar, the leader in car hire services in Europe, has rewarded its best performing franchisees at ITB in Berlin.

    Franchisees were nominated within five categories:  “Best Performer”, “Technical Solutions”, “Customer Satisfaction”, “Commercial Vehicles” and “Best Newcomer”.

    This is the 1st time Europcar has rewarded its international franchisees’ network with dedicated trophies”.

    2013 winners are:

    –    Best Performer : Europcar Zambia:  Grant GATCHELL, General Director
    –    Customer Satisfaction: Europcar Switzerland: Carlos SARDINHA, General Manager
    –    Technical Solutions: Europcar Oman: Nitin SAPRE, General Manager
    –    Best Newcomer: Europcar Chile: Cristian PEREZ MOORE, General Manager
    –    Commercial Vehicles: Europcar Denmark: Poul TVEDE, General Manager

    “We are very proud to reward our greatest franchisees for the primary time. It’s essential for Europcar that its franchisees’ network gets further integrated and recognised within our group. We’ve got created our new Awards to spotlight the correct performances and share the finest practices. Our franchisees give the Europcar brand a global presence and high visibility, but in addition a terrific diversity to handle our customers needs: this can be a strong asset we needed to recognize and emphasize as we plan to develop further the Europcar franchisees’ network in the next years”, explained Marcus Bernhardt, Chief Commercial Officer, Europcar International.

    Europcar franchisees’ network includes already 132 countries, with greater than 6000 employees in over 1650 locations. Europcar continues to expand its network with several openings planned for the time of 2013 including Puerto Rico, Singapore, Paraguay, Bolivia, South Korea and Vietnam.

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  • UK recession fails to dampen appetite for overseas holidays

    The recession isn’t ruining the UK’s appetite for an awesome holiday. More people than last year are saying they’ll take a chief holiday overseas (73% in 2013 vs 66% in 2012) and there’s a growing intention to book a vacation of seven nights or more (95% in 2013 vs 89% in 2012).

    These are two of the insights from BDRC Continental’s annual Holiday Trends survey.

    For the primary time in four years, however, the number planning a ‘staycation’ has dropped. After a dreary 2012, ‘the weather’ is the principle cause of the united kingdom being thought to be less appealing than many years ago. But London bucks this booking trend, boasting a rise in holidays already booked within the capital in 2013 compared with the identical period last year. The Olympic legacy evidently lives on, with almost a 3rd (31%) of these who were either considering London as a vacation destination or had already booked a visit to the capital citing the Games as having a good influence in this decision.

    The research also reveals that travellers don’t take their holiday decisions lightly. Two fifths of respondents (41%) stated that they use review sites for many / each of the holidays they take, rising to just about half (49%) among people with children. Trust in review sites is robust, with over half (52%) trusting the review to be a correct overall reflection of the destination. And this trust seems to be well placed – evidence means that review writing is just not generally dictated by the standard of the vacation experience, with propensity to write down one similar whether the experience was positive or negative.

    Steve Mills, Director at BDRC Continental, says: “Following several dire domestic summers for weather, apparently we’re finally starting to see a softening of the staycation effect and stronger consideration of trips abroad.  Our findings are supported by a robust begin to the year for a lot of outbound tour operators and travel agents. With the rage towards late bookings, the market is increasingly volatile, so it’ll be interesting to peer how these trends pan out inside the coming months and the impact that the elements and current weakening of Sterling have that can be purchased.”

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  • News: Middle East carriers top global passenger growth

    Middle East airlines posted the strongest growth rates for January with a 14.3% increase prominent, in accordance with the newest report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

    The increase renowned was nearly evenly matched by a 14.4% growth in capacity, the report found, while load factors for the region stood at 78.6% for the month.

    The rate of growth in air travel within the region far exceeded the worldwide average, said the report, which noted that 1 / 4 of the rise in international air travel in January in comparison to October was carried by Middle East airlines.

    IATA said Middle East carriers have benefited from network expansion into emerging markets where demand for air travel have been supported by robust economic growth.

    Outside the region, the aviation body said the worldwide air travel demand statistics for January show a continuation of the uptick in passenger travel that began on the end of 2012.
    Overall, demand was up 2.7% at the previous January that’s slightly prior to the two.2% expansion in capacity. Load factors stood at 77.1%.

    “Passenger travel is growing consistent with business confidence levels. Recent months have seen some positive economic signs emerge in both america and China, and the Eurozone crisis seems to have stabilized,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

    Airlines in emerging markets have taken the best share of the expansion in passenger travel over recent months. On international markets, half the expansion in air travel during the last 4 months was carried by Asia-Pacific airlines.

    By contrast, European and North American airlines continue to record the slowest growth rates on international markets. “In contrast to the full international market trend, European airlines have seen no growth in international passenger volumes since October 2012,” IATA said. “Although the height of the Eurozone crisis appears to have subsided, several economies inside the region are facing slow or no economic growth and high unemployment rates.”

    The report also warned of different factors that can impede air travel growth around the globe, including high oil prices and potential fallout from US budget cuts. “But inspite of those headwinds—real and potential—we still see underlying support for continued and potentially even strengthened growth,” Tyler said.

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  • Destinations where hotels are the star attraction

    We all travel for our own reasons; whether it’s to get a break from everyday life, to take a look at local cuisine, or to take a look at a well-liked attraction. But have you travelled simply to visit a selected hotel Well, if you’re searching for a break from the tried-and-true chains, or one more reason to take a holiday, the travel experts at Hotels.com® have you ever covered. For a completely unique sleeping experience Hotels.com looked to its Hotel Price Index™ (HPI™) as inspiration for this list of eight hotels where an overnight stay is also as memorable because the trip itself.

    Hotel:Featherbed Railroad Company
    Location: Nice, California, U.S.
    What makes it stand out In case you grew up with Thomas the Tank Engine, this hotel will make your childhood dreams come true. The hotel features nine railway cabooses, all individually decorated in themes starting from Las Vegas bordello to Easy Rider, which actually comes with an “Easy Glider” chair with saddlebags, Harley Davidson touches and a headboard with handlebars. In line with the HPI, if you’re Canadian you would already be planning a visit to this popular state, which has two Californian cities at the Top 10 International Destinations list. So we predict a trip to “Nice” just is sensible!

    Hotel: Capsule Hotel and Sauna Cosmo Plaza Akabane
    Location: Tokyo, Japan
    What makes it stand out Because the name suggests, it’s not a gigantic space. In point of fact it’s just large enough for travellers to crawl in and get caught up on sleep. Not for the claustrophobic traveller, this contemporary sleeping area is worth sorting out for those searching for a futuristic experience – plus if you’re on a good budget, this feature is amazingly wallet-friendly. This city is likewise increasingly popular among Canadians, cracking the end 50 International Destinations list in 2012 to take a seat at number 31.

    Hotel: Hotel Im Wasserturm
    Location: Cologne, Germany
    What makes it stand out A stay on this cool hotel gets you an inside view, literally, of a few of Germany’s history. This landmark is the largest water tower of the 1800s and even though it was redesigned inside to deal with 88 rooms, it maintains its classic heritage.

    Hotel: Jumbo Stay
    Location: Arlanda, Sweden
    What makes it stand out The Ice Hotel has some serious competition, as this pick is constructed from a grounded 747 (that’s a jumbo jet for non-plane enthusiasts). The décor and colors are an homage to the 1970s – called the golden era of air travel. There are 25 guest rooms with one located within the cockpit, plus the rooms come equipped with LCD TVs where you are able to view the schedule of exits.

    Hotel: Sarah Cruise
    Location: Venice, Italy
    What makes it stand out There’s no better solution to get into the Venetian mood than by sleeping at the water. This eco-friendly, 25-room boat is basically a bed and breakfast so that you can spend your mornings dining at the deck (weather permitting needless to say). Ever popular Venice is a go-to for love. The town sailed up four spots in 2012 at the HPI Top 50 International Destinations list to number 26.

    Hotel: Madonna Inn Resort & Spa
    Location: San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
    What makes it stand out Contrary to its name, this property was not named after the famous entertainer – even though it is simply as unique. It includes 110 guest rooms with names like “Austrian Suite,” “Safari Room,” and “Jungle Rock” that feature a lot of eclectic designs to cater to quite a number tastes. Fans of “The Bachelor” might recognize this property because it was featured in Season 14.
    Hotel: Burj Al Arab
    Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
    What makes it stand out While this hotel isn’t for the budget-conscious (it’s upwards of $2,000 per night), it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to feel like royalty. Shaped like a sail and found on a personal island with a non-public beach, this hotel takes luxury to new levels. While we predict this extravagant city would entice everyone, it has experienced increased interest from Canadian travellers and in 2012 entered the head 50 International Destinations list at number 44.

    Hotel: Dream Cave Pension
    Location: Goreme, Turkey
    What makes it stand out This hotel is found in a place of Turkey known for its unusual rock formations, so it only is sensible that they’d build one right into a hotel, right Although the encircling area is amazingly beautiful, the choice of staying in a fairy chimney makes it an excellent enough selling point for us.

    It’s time to get inspired and simply because you sleep in a hotel, doesn’t mean it ought to be boring. For more travel inspiration, the HPI is a superb resource. Whether you’re trying to find five-star hotels that won’t leave you broke, or the following up-and-coming destination, this report and website will provide you with the interior scoop. So get packing.

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