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  • Earthquake strikes northern Italy

    At least one person was injured and dozens have needed to flee their homes following a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in north-central Italy.

    The earthquake, which occurred at 12: 33 a.m. local time on Friday in Tuscany, was followed by a sequence of nearly aftershocks including a 4-magnitude one.

    Several buildings have partially collapsed and one person is reported to was injured, in keeping with reports.

    The tremors were felt in nearby regions including Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Liguria and Emilia Romagna.

  • Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis to be converted to Radisson Blu

    Chartres Lodging Group today announces the purchase of and upcoming conversion of the Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolistoa Radisson Blu property, element of the Radisson hotel group’s upper-upscale brand portfolio. With renovations to start this year, the valuables is ready to be completed and rebranded in 2014.

    A top Minneapolis hotel in an A+ downtown location, the Radisson Plaza currently boasts 360 guest rooms, occupying 17 floors of the 36-story Plaza Seven building. The hotel contains a popular restaurant and bar, in addition to 22,000 square feet of meeting space, access to underground parking, and an instantaneous link to the city’s climate-controlled skyway system. Currently flagged as a Radisson with the newest renovations occurring in 2003, Chartres Lodging will renovate and rebrand the hotel as a life-style-oriented, upper-upscale flag: Radisson Blu.

    The update project will include, but not be limited to, complete renovations of hotel guestrooms and bogs; a whole renovation and expansion of the property’s meeting space; a re-imagined lobby and guest welcome-way; refreshed on-site dining options including FireLake Grill House restaurant; and a rejuvenation of public spaces, corridors, and the atrium.

    “We actively seek for opportunities to accumulate hotels which are well located in rising urban and resort markets, and that present us with the chance to reposition the asset through renovation and powerful asset management. The Radisson Plaza is quite well-located in downtown Minneapolis and is a part of a high-quality, mixed use complex. Acquiring this hotel from Carlson gives us the opportunity to build on the momentum of Carlson’s aggressive expansion of their upper-upscale Blu brand,” stated Maki Nakamura Bara, President & Co-Founder of Chartres Lodging Group.

    Leading the investment transaction, Kirk Pederson, COO & CIO of Chartres Lodging Group, further explains, “We will collaborate with Carlson as they continue to manage the hotel and we execute on a complete renovation program. We will be increasing the meeting space and undertaking a full rooms renovation inclusive of the bathrooms, corridors, and executive lounge. The hotel’s FireLake Grill House, a local favorite, will also be refurbished. The lobby and entry will receive a dramatic new look consistent with the Blu standards. This is going to be another exciting repositioning of a quality hotel by Chartres Lodging, similar to other projects we have recently undertaken including the Ocean Resort (now the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach), the Novotel New York Times Square and the Baltimore Tremont Plaza (soon to rebranded to Embassy Suites).”

    Robert Kline, CEO & Co-Founding father of Chartres Lodging Group, also adds, “Minneapolis has been enjoying a strong recovery. It has a highly educated workforce, contributing to its ranking as having the 2nd lowest unemployment rate in the country. The city has even been enjoying positive office absorption for the last five years. The lodging market has, consequently, been experiencing a healthy rebound. The rebrand of this institutional, quality hotel is entirely in keeping with our real estate investment strategy.”

  • News: Saudia expands OnAir inflight connectivity

    Saudia is expanding its inflight connectivity programme on routes between the dominion of Saudi Arabia and most of Saudia worldwide destinations. This comes after Saudia was providing OnAir’s GSM and Wi-Fi on its A330s for just about three years.

    Saudia’s passengers have taken to social media to claim how much they value staying involved with family, friends and associates, updating social media and surfing the web during flights. Comments have included: ‘Thanks, it’s excellent because it’s easy to take advantage of;’ ‘I used my mobile on a flight today: excellent;’ and, ‘Awesome: keep going.’

    Saudia’s new A330s, if you want to be delivered throughout this year and next, could be equipped with Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir. They may join the A330s already flying with OnAir connectivity, bringing the whole to twelve. The airline’s existing and planned fleet of 20 B777-300ERs also will have OnAir’s GSM and Wi-Fi services fitted, enabled by the Thales TopConnect solution. Both fleets will use Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband, the simplest satellite network designed specifically to supply consistent global coverage.

    “Our experience has shown very clearly that passengers desire to have the ability to use their phones, tablets and laptops to stick involved during flights. That alone is a superb enough reason to give connectivity more widely because we value customer satisfaction very highly,” said Mr. Tarik Sindi, VP Marketing & Product Management of Saudia.

    The Connected Aircraft

    OnAir is building on its heritage of passenger connectivity by optimizing using inflight connectivity pipe, providing applications for cabin crew and the cockpit which help streamline airline operations.

    “The way forward for connectivity is especially exciting. There’s far more to it than connectivity for the passenger,” said Ian Dawkins, OnAir CEO. “Airlines run highly automated, complex IT systems. However, the interface between the crew and the bottom relies heavily on paper. That’s outdated, slow, inefficient and dear. We help airlines utilise their IT better, using the connectivity pipe to make operations way more efficient.”

  • Developments in the Sri Lankan Tourist Industry.

    Since the end of the 26 year Civil War in 2009, the Sri Lankan Government is keen to cultivate the image of a peaceful country which is welcoming to foreign tourists. National and international investment has vastly improved most of the road infrastructure of the island and, in 2014, just over 1.5 million tourists visited Sri Lanka, compared to just over 40,000 in 2010. The government is keen to attract wealthy tourists from Western Europe, China and North America by developing luxury resorts in Kuchchaveli, Passikudah and Kalpitiya; areas that are all located in the north or the east of the island which were especially affected by the Civil War.

    However, it is alleged that large scale tourism projects are having an adverse effect on local communities and, in some cases, the local habitat. At Kalpitiya, on the north-west coast, there are plans to establish 17 luxury hotels accommodating up to 10,000 beds. However, this appears to be at a high cost to the local fishing communities who have reportedly been forced off their lands and who have been denied access to the sea. It has also been reported that construction work is destroying areas of mangroves where local people once fished for prawns and other shellfish.

  • BRAND USA expands international network

    Brand USA, the general public-private partnership liable for promoting the us as a premier travel destination, appoints in-market representation firms in key markets – India, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    “When we have now fully established all international offices, Brand USA can have representation inside the markets that generate 93 percent of inbound travel to the us,” said Chris Thompson, President and CEO for Brand USA.  “We sit up for working much more closely with the travel industry and media partners worldwide to draw rapidly increasing numbers of international travelers to the U.S.”

    Brand USA has partnered with the next representation firms:

    India
    Sartha Global Marketing was named in-market representative firm for India. The organization was instrumental in Brand USA’s first and highly successful trade mission hosting 50 U.S. delegates in Mumbai and New Delhi. Additionally they facilitated the primary Brand USA pavilion at SATTE, the biggest networking forum for the travel & tourism industry in South Asia.  Moving forward, the recent Dehli based organization will work closely with in-market and U.S. partners to enhance the destination profile and educate stakeholders. Additionally, they are going to work aggressively to extend arrivals to america, encourage repeat visits and escalate visitor spending through marketing, promotional and public relations efforts.

    Australia/New Zealand
    Gate 7, marketing and representation agency focusing on the promotion of travel and tourism, will represent Brand USA in Australia and New Zealand. The recipient of multiple travel industry awards, Gate 7’s appointment is the primary time Brand USA has engaged representation within the Australian and New Zealand markets. Gate 7 may be liable for the general strategic framework, consumer segmentation and direct marketing outreach in Australia and New Zealand.  Additionally, the team will implement marketing initiatives, travel trade training and public relations outreach; oversee the cooperative marketing partnerships and liaison with the media buying and artistic agencies.

    China
    China’s leading destination marketing company, AVIAREPS Marketing Garden Ltd. was named Brand USA’s in-market representative.  With offices in Beijing and Shanghai, the brand new Brand USA China team could be liable for promoting tourism from China to the usa and for working hand-in-hand with key travel agent, airline, media, and brand partners throughout China, to advertise the us as a global-class destination. Together with the outlet of its two new offices in China, Brand USA may also be launching a brand new representative office in Hong Kong via ConnectWorldwide.

    Hong Kong/Taiwan
    Connectworldwide BrandStory to function the representative firm for Brand USA’s Hong Kong and Taiwan operations. BrandStory can be answerable for expanding Brand USA’s media network and travel trade outreach in these markets, in addition to developing co-operative partnership programs with the trade and media to extend visitation to the us.
    Thompson added, “With the launch of our consumer campaign in more markets later this year, and our enhanced representation worldwide, we anticipate that more visitors will favor to discover America.”