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Category: News

  • Days Inn set to make Saudi debut

    Wyndham Hotel Group is planning to open the primary Days Inn hotel in Saudi Arabia, the 56-room Days Hotel Olaya in Riyadh. The hotel is the 1st of 10 Days Inn hotels planned inside the country as section of an exclusive development agreement announced late last year with Riyada International Hotels and Resorts.

    “We are extremely excited to introduce the enduring Days Inn brand to Saudi Arabia,” said Eric Danziger, Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive officer. 

    “Designed to cater to the growing demand for reasonable but prime quality accommodation within the Kingdom, we see the introduction of Days Inn because the natural next step, having successfully established our midscale Ramada brand with Riyada International Hotels and Resorts during the last eight years.” Eric added.

    Nestled in downtown Riyadh, between the long-lasting Faisaliah and Kingdom Towers, the hotel is spread across six floors and lines standard rooms and suites, in addition to meeting facilities and a cafe.

    “The opening of our first Days Inn hotel in Saudi Arabia further strengthens the long-standing partnership between Riyada and Wyndham Hotel Group,” said Muhammad Al-Amir, founder and managing director of Riyada International Hotels and Resorts and master franchisee for Ramada® hotels within the Kingdom.  “Both companies are well positioned to expand the emblem around the country over the approaching years, to the advantage of both business and leisure travellers.”

    Days Inn is likely one of the largest Wyndham Hotel Group brands, with over 1,820 hotels and 147,000 rooms worldwide. Existing Days Inn hotels within the Middle East include two hotels in Jordan and one in Bahrain.
     
    “We are fully committed to growing our presence inside the Gulf, and the chance within Saudi Arabia principally is considerable,” Danziger added. 

    “Through the established presence of Ramada, the introduction of Days Inn and the planned launch of both Super 8® and our namesake upscale Wyndham® Hotels and Resorts brand, we’ll soon have the range available in the market to supply an answer to virtually all sorts of traveller.”

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  • News: All Nippon Airways Dreamliner flights to renew in June

    All Nippon Airways has confirmed it is going to resume Boeing Dreamliner flights in June after the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau issued a revised Technical Circular Directive for the plane.

    ANA is the biggest operator of the aircraft on the earth, with a fleet of 17 Boeing 787s.

    Ethiopia Airlines earlier became the primary carrier to come to the Dreamliner to service, with commercial flights beginning over the weekend.

    Boeing was working with carriers to exchange potentially faulty batteries.

    A series of incidents affecting the batteries saw the Dreamliner grounded in January, with Boeing engineers working “around the clock” to repair the issue over the last weeks.

    Some 50 Dreamliners are presently in service world wide, which every having to be modified by a consultant Boeing team before it would return to the sky.

    ANA is currently working with five Boeing support teams to retrofit new systems on its 787 aircraft.

    This involves replacing existing batteries with new batteries, changing to new battery chargers and installing new battery containment boxes and venting system.

    The improvements would require approximately one week per aircraft, with work on all seventeen aircraft scheduled to be completed by the top of May.

    In addition to those modifications, ANA would be undertaking additional checks and tests to be sure the security of its aircraft and peace of mind of its passengers.

    Osamu Shinobe, president, ANA said “Our priority is to make sure the security of our passengers.

    “We are pleased that the Federal Aviation Authority and JCAB are satisfied with Boeing’s plans to handle the battery issues at the 787 aircraft and we’re working closely with Boeing and our own engineers to undertake these improvements.

    “Only once we are fully satisfied with the security of our 787 fleet can we return the aircraft to service.”

  • Starwood to extend Latin America hotel footprint by 50%

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts increases its operating hotel footprint in Latin America by 50 percent through the next five years, opening an ordinary of 7 new hotels per year within the region.

    Emphasizing Latin American’s growth potential as one of the most world’s fastest growing hotel and travel markets, Starwood’s CEO Frits van Paasschen and members of the company’s senior executive team visited Latin America last week, traveling to key growth markets, including Brazil and Colombia.

    “Macro-economic trends continue to reshape the Latin American travel and business landscape, creating strong growth in lodging demand and lots opportunities for Starwood to expand inside the region,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

    “At an analogous time, Latin America’s middle class grew by 50 percent within the last decade and this increase in wealth signifies that there are an increasing number of those with the means to travel and an increasing appetite for global, luxury brands like ours.” Frits added.

    As the 1st international hotel company in Latin America dating back to the outlet of the Sheraton Maria Isabel in Mexico City in 1963, Starwood today is the most important high end hotel operator within the region with 72 hotels in 13 countries and a complete of 15,600 rooms. Since 2007, the corporate has grown by 36% in Latin America.

    In the last two years the corporate opened 13 hotels, including its debut in Costa Rica with Westin Playa Conchal, Starwood’s first all-inclusive hotel on earth.

    Starwood has a pipeline of nineteen hotels with a complete of three,200 new rooms in development. Within the rest of 2013, Starwood expects to open six more hotels with a complete of one,100 rooms, covering four brands across four countries.

    “Latin America is emblematic of the expansion we’re seeing in regions worldwide and key to our development plans,” said Simon Turner, President of worldwide Development & Acquisition, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “There is robust affinity for all of our brands within the region around the luxury, upper upscale and mid-market segments, and we’re trying to build in this interest with new world-class hotels within the right places, with the correct partners.”

    “We are optimistic concerning the way forward for our company in Latin America because we’ve various competitive advantages, including an extended-established presence for greater than 40 years, local know-how and robust relationships driven by our in-market teams,” said Osvaldo Librizzi, co-president of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Americas. “Combined with our world-renowned lifestyle brands, we’re well-positioned to grow and maintain our lead available in the market.”

    Brazil
    With greater than 80% of the world’s economic growth coming from fast-growing markets over the following few years, Brazil is a key focus for the corporate. Underscoring the significance of the rustic, van Paasschen and members of Starwood’s senior executive team met with hotel owners, customers and investors in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife, and Salvador to judge new projects. Additionally they visited the enduring Sheraton Rio Hotel & Resort in Rio de Janeiro, one among Starwood’s most respected owned-assets within the region. In 2012, the hotel began a multi-million dollar renovation project that’s component to Sheraton Hotels & Resorts’ ongoing commitment to improve its global portfolio and reflects Starwood’s unwavering commitment to Brazil. Renovations are expected to be complete by the second one quarter of next year.

    “There is vital opportunity for hotel development in Brazil by reason of its sheer size, natural beauty, and relative under penetration, particularly on the high end. We wish to bring our skills and expertise at operating high-quality branded hotels to this dynamic market, and believe rising rates and occupancies, and clear pent up demand for travel, make this a promising time to pursue growth opportunities,” added van Paasschen.

    Starwood currently has eight hotels in a few of the main cities within the country, including Sheraton Rio Hotel & Resort and Sheraton Barra Hotel & Suites in Rio de Janeiro; Sheraton Vitoria Hotel; Sheraton São Paulo WTC, Sheraton Porto Alegre Hotel, Four Points by Sheraton Curitiba, Four Points by Sheraton Macaé and the Sheraton da Bahia Hotel in Salvador, that is celebrating its recent inauguration today. Sheraton Reserva do Paiva Hotel & Convention Center near Recife is scheduled to open within the first quarter of 2014.

    Colombia
    Starwood executives also hung out in Colombia meeting with owners and partners and visiting the positioning of the longer term W Bogota, that allows you to mark the brand’s entry into the rustic. Previously years, Colombia has made important steps in enhancing its economy and hotel infrastructure, becoming a fine looking destination for foreign investment and international hotel brands. Starwood have been found in Colombia for nearly two decades, and today, the corporate has several exciting projects inside the pipeline, including Four Points by Sheraton Bogota, Sheraton Cartagena Hotel, and W Bogota- all slated to open in 2014.

    “We believe that Colombia is a rustic ripe with opportunities for growth and we plan to expand our brands within the major cities and secondary markets within the future years with development partners who’ve a proven track record of success and seek a brand new and exciting growth vehicle,” van Paasschen concluded.

    Starwood currently has four hotels in Colombia, including Sheraton Bogota Hotel, Four Points by Sheraton Medellin, Four Points by Sheraton Cali and Aloft Bogotá Airport.

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  • News: Turkish Airlines starts flights to Kuala Lumpur

    Turkish Airlines has now started flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Istanbul. The addition of this route is a part of Turkish Airlines rapid global expansion. It’s now the world’s 4th largest flight network, with 222 destinations in 99 countries.

    Roundtrip flights between Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur can be operated thrice every week on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Flights between both cities could be increased to four times weekly with the addition of a Wednesday flight beginning 17th June.

    The addition of this destination also signifies that Turkish Airlines passengers coming from UK airports (London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh), will now be capable to reach Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul.

  • News: DoubleTree by Hilton launches in Australia

    Hilton Worldwide has announced that it’ll introduce its fastest growing full-service brand, DoubleTree by Hilton, to Australia when it rebrands four Northern Territory hotels on 1 May 2013. The country’s first three DoubleTree by Hilton hotels: DoubleTree by Hilton Darwin, DoubleTree by Hilton Esplanade Darwin, DoubleTree by Hilton Alice Springs will open alongside Hilton Darwin within the Territory.

    “We are delighted a good way to introduce the DoubleTree by Hilton brand to the Australian market and so as to add another Hilton Hotel & Resort within the region’s most important areas of growth,” said Ashley Spencer, vp, operations, Australasia, Hilton Worldwide. “We has been seeking to enter into the Northern Territory for a while and are committed to creating these properties the leading full-service hotels available in the market.”

    The Northern Territory hotels are each located at the doorstep of a few of the main incredible tourism experiences Australia has to supply, in addition to being in prime locations for business travellers within the mining and resources sectors.

    Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory and the gateway to legendary outback destinations together with the Kakadu National Park and the Katharine Gorge. With a multicultural population of just 129,000, Darwin is famed for its laid-back lifestyle, markets and festivals, Asian cuisine and enormous natural harbour, that’s bigger than Sydney’s.

    Alice Springs is found inside the ‘red centre’ of the vast Australian continent and is the departure town for visiting Australia’s famous red rock Uluru, a five-hour drive from the town centre.

    “The launch of DoubleTree by Hilton in Australia – our 30th country and sixth continent – marks the start of a really exciting expansion for our brand,” said John Greenleaf, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton. “We are thrilled to open not one, but three hotels in Australia’s extraordinary Northern Territory and look ahead to introducing Australian travellers to the very best level of caring service synonymous with DoubleTree by Hilton – epitomised by our warm chocolate chip cookie welcome for each guest at check-in.”

    DoubleTree by Hilton knows that little things can mean everything in relation to a rewarding travel experience, and strives to bring each guest the special comforts and acts of kindness which are unique to the emblem – starting with the nice and cozy chocolate chip cookie welcome and spreading through every stage of the hotel stay. The amenities that guests will enjoy include the invigorating array of CITRON body care products by Crabtree & Evelyn, 24-hour business and fitness centres, outdoor pools, a number of foods and drinks offerings to fulfill every guest’s need, complimentary high-speed internet access in public areas, and an industry-recognised service culture that’s built round the idea of CARE (Create a Rewarding Experience for guests, team members and the community).

    As participants inside the Hilton HHonors guest loyalty programme, all four hotels will offer guests the power to earn and redeem Hilton HHonors points. Gold and Diamond HHonors members may also receive complimentary breakfast.

    The 235-room Hilton Darwin, overlooking Darwin Harbour is solely a number of minutes’ walk from downtown inside the vibrant Darwin Harbour area, and steps from fantastic shopping, dining and entertainment. Guests can decide to relax on the outdoor swimming pool and 24-hour fitness centre, sample a number of the finest cuisines in central Darwin or sip a cocktail on the lounge. Six meeting rooms, including a Grand Ballroom with a 14-metre ceiling height are designed to house a number conferences and events.

    Northern Territory Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Matt Conlan, said, “We’re delighted to have Hilton Worldwide, an industry leader, establish its brand within the Territory. The Hilton Darwin and 3 DoubleTree by Hilton hotels, will enhance the variety of accommodation choices available to visitors in locations which are ideal for holiday and business travellers alike.”

    Hilton Worlwide’s area general manager for the Northern Territory, Martin Kendall could have overall responsibility for all four hotels, supported by Carey Osborne, hotel manager for both DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in Darwin, and Clinton Farley, general manager for DoubleTree by Hilton Alice Springs. Selected renovations are planned to start in late 2013.

    With the outlet of the Northern Territory hotels, DoubleTree by Hilton are available in additional than 340 locations in 30 countries on six continents. The 1st DoubleTree by Hilton opened in Arizona in 1969 and because 2008 the logo was expanding rapidly worldwide.  Greater than 50 DoubleTree by Hilton hotels will open globally in 2013 alone.