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  • Club Carlson to decide to global carbon offsetting initiative

    Club CarlsonSM, the worldwide loyalty programme for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, announced yesterday, Earth Day, that Club Carlson has become the 1st loyalty programme within the hospitality industry to decide to a world carbon offsetting initiative. Carlson Rezidor will offset meetings for all Club Carlson For Planners meetings and events around the group’s six global hotel brands totalling 1,077 hotels in operation worldwide.

    The carbon offsetting – a free service for the meeting planners – shall be managed through Carlson Rezidor’s new partner, Carbon Footprint Ltd. Each contribution should be used to speculate in renewable energy in India; and should be combined with the planting of 1 tree for each ton of carbon offset through Club Carlson For Planners events inside the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.

    “Carlson Rezidor takes sustainability seriously. In keeping with the United Nations World Tourism Organization-United National Environment Program (UNWTO-UNEP), hotels generate about 20 percent of tourism’s total carbon footprint. This innovative offsetting solution is a distinct service of Club Carlson, and should help to cut back our hotels’ and our customers’ carbon footprint”, said Suzanne Riesterer, Chief Commercial Officer. “In addition to Club Carlson For Planners members, individual Club Carlson members may have the chance to redeem their Gold Points to offset the carbon in their personal travel and to support the wind farms in India and the tree planting in Kenya.”

    The initiative launched on the end of 2012 at Radisson Blu hotels in Europe, the center East and Africa caused 433 tons being offset and 433 trees planted in Kenya. It’s element of Carlson Rezidor’s award winning Responsible Business Program that specialize in a discounted negative impact at the environment, health and safety for staff and guests, and respect for social and ethical issues in the company and community.

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  • News: New appointment for Fairmont Hotels

    Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has named Carmen Lam as vp, hotel sales and marketing, Asia Pacific. Lam, who would be based in Shanghai, joins Fairmont on this newly created role to offer sales and marketing direction to Fairmont’s impressive hotels in Asia Pacific and support to the luxurious operator’s burgeoning pipeline of regional development.

    “We’re quickly growing our footprint in Asia and are very fortunate to be adding a pacesetter of Carmen’s caliber to our regional management team,” said, Jeff Doane, Fairmont’s vp, hotel sales and marketing. “With her wealth of hotel related experience and firm understanding of the regional marketplace, she’s ideally positioned to lead our sales, marketing and branding activity throughout Asia.”

    With six hotels open and operating in Asia, including three in China, Lam will focus on maximizing results and driving performance for this dynamic mixture of resort and town center properties. She’ll even be answerable for executing Fairmont’s regional sales strategy, regional brand management, and awareness and marketing activity for brand new hotels including announced Fairmont projects in Jakarta, Bali and several other cities in China.

    Lam arrives at Fairmont having previously served as senior vp, leisure & brand sales and marketing for Hong Kong/Macau-based Melco Crown Entertainment. Over the process a career that has spanned greater than 20 years, Lam has also held a sequence of management positions with leading brands in Asia including roles with Shangri-La Hotels and InterContinental Hotels Group.

    Lam holds an Executive MBA from Canada’s Richard Ivey School of economic – University of Western, a Bachelor of industrial Administration from the University of Hawaii and an Executive Leadership designation from Cornell University. Lam can be pursuing a Doctorate on the School of Hotel and Tourism Management on the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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  • Smash-hit figures for UK visitors to Germany

    With the beginning of Wimbledon, tennis fans may be concentrating on the united kingdom and the world’s most famed tennis tournament for 2 weeks of high-speed skill and world-ranking sportsmanship.

    It seems the UK’s latest figures for overnight stays of tourists to Germany also are world-ranking! No faults here – it’s a transparent win, due to an increase of +16.3% for the month of April 2013, compared with the identical period in 2012.  The equally impressive overall figures for 2013 January-April, make it a grand-slam: +11.2% when compared with this time in 2012.

    Whether your passion is for sport and outdoor living, superb food and wine, the relaxing surroundings of the German countryside or the attractions of young and colourful youth travel in Germany’s towns and cities – UK visitors have discovered that Germany offers excellent value for money, a lot of choice and the warmest welcome; it’s a winning combination.

    Klaus Lohmann, Director GNTO UK and Ireland said: “Germany has enjoyed great success at Wimbledon, because of players like Boris Becker and Steffi Graf -sport generally has encouraged a lot of visitors from the united kingdom to find Germany for themselves.  As these latest visitor figures show, it’s increasing in popularity year on year and we’re delighted to determine that with each visit, individuals are finding Germany serves up quite a few reasons for a return match!”.

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  • News: Qantas unveils new Singapore lounge

    Qantas has unveiled its new Singapore Lounge, offering Qantas customers the top standards of luxury when travelling in the course of the city.

    Qantas International CEO, Simon Hickey, said the brand new lounge showcased the experiences and cuisine of Singapore.

    “The Singapore Lounge have been designed to enhance the destination: it’s vibrant and chic, spacious and opulent, and it’s the ideal environment for our customers to chill before their flight,” said Mr Hickey.

    “We’ve worked with our renowned Consulting Chef Neil Perry to design menus in line with his Rockpool food philosophy and popular restaurant Spice Temple, with dishes inspired by regional cuisine and flavours.”

    Customers can enjoy quite a number options from the plate of the day on the communal dining area, to food from the live cooking station, help themselves to the extensive buffet or have a snack on the bar. Spice Temple inspired cocktails can be found alongside a global-class wine selection and a barista service.

    The extensive food offering available within the lounge is designed to enhance the brand new Qantas International Sleep Service. Customers wishing to maximize sleep onboard can eat within the lounge and luxuriate in the brand new mattresses and duvets in Business Class accompanied by a T2 wellbeing tea to improve sleep comfort.

    For the primary time Qantas is operating with Sofitel outside Australia to supply customers an experience per its award-winning First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne.

    The service incorporates a tailored hosted experience for Platinum One Qantas Frequent Flyers, with exclusive services including shirt pressing, shoe shining and priority access to showers. 

    Mr Hickey said the hole of the brand new lounge reflected the Qantas Group’s technique of ‘growing with Asia’. “This multi-million dollar investment is a part of our broader commitment to enhance the experience we provide on services to and from Asia, including our A330 upgrades to start next year,” added Mr Hickey. “It also complements our new Asia schedule, which promotes Singapore as a hub for the region. We now offer more dedicated capacity, better frequencies and improved connections from Singapore to other destinations across Asia.”

    The Singapore Lounge seats 460 guests, has 20 showers, 80-inch television screens throughout and technology pods located around the various zones.

    A Singapore Lounge fact file is accessible providing further details on all elements of the living room.

  • Accor chief ousted over slow turnaround

    Hotel giant Accor has ousted chief executive Denis Hennequin following a disagreement over the pace of change on the largest hotel chain in Europe.

    A transitional team, headed by chief operating officer Yann Caillere, who takes the role of chief executive, was installed charge.

    Board member Sebastien Bazin, head of Colony Europe, was named vice-chairman to exchange Philippe Citerne, who becomes non-executive chairman.

    Hennequin becomes the third chief executive to be ousted from Accor since Usa-based Colony Capital invested within the group in 2005.

    He was hired in 2010 to accelerate an asset light strategy designed to cut back exposure to capital intensive owned hotels in favour of franchises and management contracts.

    However, stakeholders are believed to have lost patience with the rate of change, with Accor shares down five per cent in 2013.

    During his tenure Hennequin sold loss making budget hotel chain Motel 6 for $1.9 billion.

    He also disposed of gourmet caterer Lenotre and a stake in casino group Lucien Barriere, making Accor a pure hotel operator.

    In February, Hennequin launched a 3-year plan to minimize exposure to a weak Europe.

    Instead plans were installed place to step up expansion in emerging markets, while accelerating its move toward franchising or managing hotels for others to lift profit margins.

    “The directors came to the joint conclusion in regards to the group’s situation: that the method adopted is the correct one and that it’ll remain unchanged,” Accor said in a press release.

    “However, given current economic conditions and the rapid transformation of its competitive environment, Accor must accelerate the implementation of this strategy with the intention to reinforce its positions.”

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