Best Holiday Lettings

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  • Madame Zingara’s electrifying season extended in Cape Town

    Madame Zingara have been charming audiences along with her Miracle Tour since her much anticipated return to the Cape in January this year.

    The unique show has continually evolved, introducing several new local and international acts through the run, making a re-energised body of labor.

    In the words of Richard Griffin, producer and managing director of Madame Zingara: “the Miracle Tour is possibly our greatest yet”.

    The experience begins from the instant guests speak with the girls in box-office who’re renowned for his or her exceptional service.

    On arrival on the tent, explore Victoria’s playground, snap an image with Miss Guided, have your tarot cards read, your face painted theatrically or adorn yourself on the Bijoux Boutique which offers a wild array of feather boas, masks, hats or jewellery.

    Once you could have transformed yourself prepare for an evening of glitzy escapism.

    A bouquet of talent choreographed by the formidable trio of Richard Griffin, Craig Leo and Valentina Love, lead guests to an international where they’re encouraged to go away their worries on the door for the night.

    Be enchanted by aerial trapeze acts, the seductive flexibility of contortionism and the hypnotic boleadora by brawny Argentinean’s and the disciplined art of high adrenaline juggling.

    Not to say The Specifics, the beautiful and dynamic vocal quartet with their energetic stage presence, who get both old and young on their feet.

    David Green, chief executive, V&A Waterfront said: “The central purpose of the V&A Waterfront has always been to give visitors a way of life experience, and a measure of our success on this regard was when the favored Madame Zingara chose to pitch their enchanting tent on our property.

    “Not only has the vibrant Theatre of Dreams added a thrilling new entertainment dimension to our after-dark offering, it has also attracted new footfall to our property, while thoroughly entertaining our existing visitors.

    “We are delighted that Madame Zingara has chosen to maintain their tent firmly pegged on the V&A Waterfront this winter.”

    Guests are served an equally astounding meal prepared lovingly by gourmet chefs.

    Madame Zingara has earned her stripes within the field of entertainment, captivating both national and international audiences.

    More Information

    The show runs nightly from Tuesday to Sunday.

    Tickets range from R385-1,250 per person, counting on seating area and packages. 

    For additional information visit the official website.

  • News: InterContinental Hotels tap into China

    InterContinental Hotels Group has begun adding its entire portfolio of four,600 properties world wide to China travel retailer Ctrip.com International via a reservations system connection designed and implemented by DerbySoft.

    “We are happy to have a successful reference to IHG through DerbySoft, and Chinese customers can easily reserve more global hotels through Ctrip,” said Maria Maohua Sun, Ctrip’s Senior Vice chairman and Head of Hotel Business Division. Online travel bookings in China overall are expected to arrive nearly $14.4 billion this year, in step with PhocusWright. 

    With 160 operating properties and 30% of its global pipeline in China, IHG recognized the necessity to directly connect its central reservations system (CRS) to China’s largest travel portal allowing online booking of its properties for both outbound and inbound Chinese travelers.  As a result of DerbySoft connection to IHG’s CRS, Ctrip users could be ready to view real time availability and receive an instant booking confirmation.

    “Having worked with DerbySoft since 2007 on numerous technology projects, we were extremely confident of their ability to assist us with this complex direct connection,” said IHG Vp of Distribution and Intermediary Sales Andrew Rubinacci. DerbySoft was the primary technology provider to attach a world hotel company’s CRS to Booking.com, the Amsterdam-based division of Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN), when it connected IHG to Booking.com in 2008. 

    The XML-based connection between IHG and Ctrip, facilitated by DerbySoft, went live this week. Over a better several weeks, DerbySoft will continue rolling out IHG’s 4,600 properties onto the Ctrip system. “We are proud to have created this new reservations connection between these two major industry players,” said DerbySoft Vice chairman of Connectivity Keith Cotton. “Our distributed technology platform, which gives extremely flexible and unique solutions to deal with different business rules of both partners, includes servers strategically positioned all over the world to supply reduced latency and exceptional system response times for both Ctrip and IHG..” 

      DerbySoft builds highly customized electronic “pipelines” that transmit accurate room availability, rates, and inventory (ARI) from the hotel companies’ CRSs to 3rd-party online booking channels, and in turn deliver the reservations made at the travel booking websites back to the hotel companies’ central reservations systems.

  • U.S. Travel urges caution in keeping with IG Report

    Following today’s release of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s report on travel to a 2010 IRS conference, Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, released the subsequent statement:

    “The IG report describes instances of inappropriate and wasteful spending at the portion of IRS employees, who clearly went too far beyond the guidelines installed place to offer protection to taxpayer dollars. Make no mistake – this behavior is both appalling and damaging. Yet that is incumbent on our leaders not to lose sight of the price that responsible travel and face-to-face meetings create for constituents. It’s always the most productive and effective way for presidency professionals to achieve the necessities in their roles.

    “Our experience within the private sector means that cutbacks on business travel and meetings directly impact company performance. In line with a study conducted last year by Oxford Economics, of these employees whose companies reduced business travel spending since 2007, only four percent stated that these cutbacks helped company performance while 57 percent believe that reductions in business travel hurt their companies’ performance.

    “When conducted responsibly, government conferences, meetings and travel deliver important services to businesses and individual taxpayers – including safety inspections, disaster relief assistance, corporate training on taxes and government regulations, services for the army and more.

    “While Congress and the IG should do all they could to root out wasteful spending, let’s not hamstring the effectiveness of federal agencies within the process. We urge all parties to exercise caution in responding to today’s IG report.”

  • News: Starwood Hotels concludes month-long immersion in Dubai

    Marking the belief of Starwood’s month-long relocation to Dubai, Frits van Paasschen, President & CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has shared highlights and insights from the company’s immersion within the Middle East.

    Throughout the month of March, van Paasschen and members of Starwood’s Senior Leadership Team met with 3,000 associates, conducted nearly 50 owner meetings and visited all 14 Starwood hotels in Dubai, that is the company’s second largest hotel market behind only Ny city. The team also took good thing about Dubai’s strategic location to travel to 19 cities across 12 countries, meeting with government officials and potential development partners in fast-growing markets, including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and India. In the course of the five-week relocation, the team travelled 61,000 kilometres (38,000 miles) – the equivalent of circling the globe one and half times.

    Over the process the month, greater than 200 of Starwood’s senior leaders and General Managers travelled to Dubai because the company ran day-to-day operations almost 7,000 miles and an eight-hour time zone difference far from the company’s global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

    During the relocation, Starwood executives also met with greater than 150 corporate and leisure customers who drive business to hotels globally. The center East is an increasingly important outbound travel market, and regional membership in Starwood Preferred Guest, the company’s loyalty program, has increased 140% over the past five years.

    “It is tough to overstate the opportunity of our business on this region of the sector. By bringing our executives here and spending time with our partners and native teams, we’re uniquely positioned to exploit this once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity,” said van Paasschen. “I don’t have any doubt that our time spent here will drive future hotel contracts within the region, accelerate Starwood’s position because the most global high-end hotel company and additional define our culture.”

    Last month Starwood announced that it’s going to increase its Middle East and Africa (MEA) portfolio by greater than 60 percent with nearly 50 new hotels set to open over a better five years, adding greater than 14,000 guest rooms to the region and creating thousands of local employment opportunities. With 82 operating hotels and over 20 hotels expected to open by the top of 2015, Starwood is heading in the right direction to arrive a milestone 100 hotels across MEA.

    “With 80 percent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it’s important for us to stay on the forefront of latest travel demands and changing travel patterns,” said Simon Turner, President of world Development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “The Middle East is experiencing rapid economic growth, a growing middle class and ever greater global connectivity, and the Dubai relocation may help us expand all of our brands across this significant region.”

    The company also announced a comprehensive renovation strategy for its Le Méridien brand, for which Starwood and its ownership groups will invest greater than $200 million within the renovations of 13 hotels and resorts inside the MEA region over the subsequent 3 years.

    Following the company’s successful relocation to China in June 2011, this second leadership move reflects Starwood’s innovative management technique to cultivating a more global culture by understanding, appreciating and leveraging different societal and associate perspectives and approaches to business and hospitality.

  • DoubleTree by Hilton moves into South Africa

    Hilton Worldwide has announced the official opening of the primary DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in South Africa – the 183-room DoubleTree by Hilton Cape Town – Upper Eastside. Owned and operated by Upper Eastside Hotel under a franchise license agreement, the newly renovated, upscale full-service property is found in Cape Town’s upcoming district of Woodstock, a dynamic area that is home to an abundance of stylish art galleries, boutiques, music bars and classy restaurants.