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Category: News

  • News: Boeing signs six plane manage SWISS

    Boeing, the Lufthansa Group and Swiss International Air Lines have announced a commitment today for 6 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes.

    The airplanes, worth $1.9 billion at list prices, were selected for the airline’s long-haul fleet renewal.

    “The Boeing 777-300ER is the best size and range to fulfill our Swiss market needs,” said Harry Hohmeister, chief executive officer of SWISS.

    “We have made a landmark decision to further put money into a complicated aircraft fleet to retain our competitive edge over lots of our competitors who’re operating aircraft with greater than 300 seats on similar routes.”

    The Boeing 777-300ER is the most important long-range twin-engine commercial airplane on the earth, seating as much as 386 passengers in a 3-class configuration and has a maximum range of seven,825 nautical miles.

    “The 777-300ER is a fave a few of the world’s leading airlines, bringing unrivaled twin-engine efficiency and reliability to the long-range market,” said Todd Nelp, vp of European Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

    “We are honoured by SWISS’s decision to place the 777-300ER on the forefront of its fleet renewal and sit up for playing a key role in its future success.”

    SWISS is a part of the Lufthansa Group and currently serves 69 destinations across 37 countries worldwide from Zurich, Basel and Geneva international airports with a fleet of greater than 90 narrow and wide-body airplanes.

  • Rotana moves into Bahrain with Muharraq property

    Hotel giant Rotana has opened its first property in Bahrain, Majestic Arjaan by Rotana.

    The new property is conveniently located within the Busaiteen district at the island of Muharraq, just a few minutes from town of Manama.

    With the hole of this hotel, Rotana now operates 11 properties under the ‘Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana’ brand.

    Majestic Arjaan by Rotana is a primary-class property, which was developed with both short and longer term guests in mind.

    The hotel offers 128 suites, that are designed in a contemporary style, which includes spacious studios, one, two and 3 bedrooms apartments.

    The hotel features the newest high-tech facilities including fully-equipped meeting rooms with the foremost up-to-date audio-visual equipment.

    It also gives guests of venture to wind down and relax at any of the various leisure facilities including an out of doors temperature controlled swimming pool and a completely-fledged fitness centre, with steam and sauna rooms.

    Majestic Arjaan by Rotana also boasts three specialised food and beverage venues to fit every guest’s palate and dining needs, inclusive of: Ginger All Day Dining – offering international buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition á la carte; Ginger Lounge – a lobby café offering a tempting array of mouth-watering delicacies, light snacks and fresh fruit cocktails along with an outstanding choice of freshly-baked pastry takeaways; and Aquarius – an informal dining experience by the pool complemented by hearty refreshments comparable to light snacks and fresh salads.

    Commenting in this announcement, Omer Kaddouri, executive vice chairman, Rotana, said: “This opening of Majestic Arjaan by Rotana represents a terrific achievement for Rotana, and a main milestone in our technique to expand further within the Middle East and African region.

    “This is our first property in Bahrain, a desirable city with a gorgeous liberal lifestyle, a rich history and culture, with a powerful demand for luxury hotels that provide world-class hospitality.”

    A key appointment to the valuables includes Raiz Saban, a well-respected veteran of the hospitality industry with greater than 22 years of expertise within the business, as general manager.

    He will lead a team of seasoned hotel professionals who’re expected to play strategic roles in leading Majestic Arjaan by Rotana’s bid to capture a massive share of industrial within the Kingdom of Bahrain.

  • 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.

  • 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.”