G6 Hospitality, known for its iconic economy lodging brands, Motel 6, and Studio 6 in the U.S., Canada and Hotel 6, Estudio 6 in Latin America, announced today it is continuing its global portfolio expansion by signing an area development agreement with Auromatrix Holdings Pvt. Ltd (Auromatrix). This new partnership will introduce Motel 6, Studio 6 and Hotel 6 brands to India, marking G6 Hospitality's first foray into this market.
France-based Louvre Hotels Group (LHG) has acquired Indian hospitality chain Sarovar Hotels pipping NYSE- listed global hospitality major Wyndham Hotel Group (WHG) following a month-long battle. DNA Money had first reported about Louvre looking to acquire Sarovar Hotels on October 11, 2016, followed by another story about Wyndham getting back in the game for Sarovar on November 21, 2016. Sarovar has 73 hotels' portfolio, majority of which are management contracts. Louvre is owned by Jin Jiang International, one of China's leading travel and tourism conglomerates.
Hotel companies like Marriott International and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) are increasingly shifting their focus to Chinese travelers due to a surge in China's travel market, according to a recent article by Business Vancouver. This shift in focus has resulted in major expansions in China, with some international hotel chains even launching brands tailored to Chinese guests. Our research shows China overtook the United States as the number one business travel market in the world in 2016, with spend forecasted to grow 10.1 percent to $320.7 billion USD.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the voice of the global business travel industry – is pleased to announce the launch of its operations in Australia and New Zealand in partnership with btTB. The goal of the partnership is to deliver world-class education and networking opportunities to the business travel community in the region. The partnership between GBTA and btTB will provide corporate travel professionals with a variety of unparalleled opportunities to build their careers through education across all levels of travel management as well as through valuable networking events. The partnership will officially launch with the btTB Conference in partnership with GBTA, to be held on 2-3 May 2017 in Sydney. Numerous initiatives will be announced during the Conference to drive continuous engagement, development and networking opportunities for both buyers and suppliers throughout the year. "As a global organization, GBTA is committed to delivering world-class education, events and research for travel professionals around the world," said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA Executive Director and COO. "Australia and New Zealand are important markets for the business travel industry and this partnership with btTB provides us the opportunity to not only provide education to travel professionals in the region, but also to provide them with a platform through which their voice can be heard." "We are really looking forward to working with the team at GBTA to deliver travel buyers and suppliers a platform to come together to share knowledge and build valuable relationships," said Nigel Wardropper, managing director at btTB and PASA. "The partnership with GBTA will provide world-class content, resources and education, which combined with the brand strength and history of btTB with the business travel community and our extensive reach to the professional procurement community through our PASA brand, will deliver professional travel management to a wider audience than ever before." "The new partnership combines the resources of the region's leading procurement organisation with the world's leading business travel association," said Tony O'Connor, Director of the consultancy Butler Caroye, who will lead business development efforts in the region for the partnership. "It will be the perfect vehicle for travel buyers and suppliers to really understand each other." As part of this initiative, GBTA will form an Advisory Board for the region to provide input on content and to act as a voice for travel buyers. If you are a travel buyer interested in participating, please contact Nigel Wardropper at [email protected].
Welcome Chinese is the only certified program for international tourism providers that is authorised and developed by the Chinese Tourism Academy (CTA). The aim of this program is to guarantee that Chinese Free Independent Travellers (FITs) travelling in Europe and abroad find facilities such as hotels, restaurants, shops, attractions, etc. which offer the standardised services they require.
Today Mantra Group launched the world's first Pokemon Go-friendly hotels in Sydney and Melbourne, encouraging fans to 'Pokestop By Our Bar' with free Pokemon Go Lures to increase their chances of catching one of the virtual pocket monsters.
IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world's leading hotel companies, today announces the launch of a new franchise model for its Holiday Inn Express brand in China. The new model, called Franchise Plus, has been specifically tailored for the Chinese market and provides owners with all of the benefits of operating a franchise model, but with additional benefits and features from IHG's managed model.
The UNWTO predicts the Indian outbound travel market will account for 50 million tourists by 2020, and its total outbound spending is expected to cross the US$28 billion mark. This, coupled with the country's new generation of middle class tourists, set to grow even further, makes it a potential tourist goldmine for thousands of destinations and travel businesses.
Gaurav Sarin's primary goal as the new Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Miraya Hotel Management is to further develop Vantage Hospitality Group's Value Inn Worldwide® and Value Hotel Worldwide® brands throughout India.
The GBTA Foundation – the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association – announced today that Star Alliance has joined the "Gift of Knowledge" as a Gold Partner. Through the initiative, GBTA will be utilizing funds raised to create and deliver an innovative and comprehensive program to further develop the travel management profession in China.
Best Western International has opened its first hotel in the Japanese city of Kagoshima, where all rooms offer spectacular views of the Sakurajima volcano. Located in southwest Japan's Kyushu Island, Kagoshima is nicknamed the "Naples of the East" due to its scenic bayside location, overlooked by the stunning volcano.
Vantage Hospitality Group, a top 10 global hotel company with over 1,200 properties, is continuing its worldwide expansion by entering into an exclusive master license agreement with Miraya Hotel Management to introduce the Value Inn Worldwide® and Value Hotel Worldwide® brands to India. The announcement was made at the Hotel Investment Conference South Asia in New Delhi.
Best Western International, The World's Largest Hotel Chain®, is expanding its regional operations offices in Thailand & Turkey. The company, which operates more than 4,000 hotels worldwide, established its regional head office for Asia in Bangkok in 2001. Since then, the rapid expansion of Best Western's regional portfolio required the office to expand its coverage to oversee an Asian portfolio that stretched from the Middle East to Japan.
Hotels.com™, the leading online accommodation booking website, has rolled out a creative new online campaign aimed at putting Thailand back on top of travelers' wish lists. Named after the traditional Thai welcome gesture, the "Wai Thailand™" campaign invites Thais of all ages and occupations – as well as past and potential future visitors – to submit their own "wai" photos via a tailor-made Facebook app.
For each culinary event, guests can choose from four different packages: the Silver Packages are priced for food only; the Gold Packages include food and free flow of soft beverages and juices; the price of the Platinum Packages include food and free flow of soft beverages, juices and house wines; and the Titanium Packages include food and free flow of soft beverages, juices, house wines and champagne.
The business tourism market is not homogenous, according to Professor Bob McKercher and Grace Ho of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in a recently published research paper. The "filtering effect" of distance influences the tourist profiles and behavioural patterns of business visitors from short- and long-haul source markets. Focusing on in-bound tourists to Hong Kong, the researchers reveal that despite general similarities, the two types of visitor have different profiles and travel, activity and expenditure patterns. Knowledge of these differences, they argue, will be beneficial to hospitality and tourism enterprises and the local destination marketing organisation.
The GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – announces the results of its first GBTA BTI™ Outlook – India report, a semi-annual business travel outlook and overall economic analysis of India. The report, sponsored by Visa Inc., includes the GBTA BTI™; an index of business travel spending that distills market performance over a period of time.
CapitaLand's wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has entered into a strategic alliance with Beijing Vanke Co., Ltd. (Beijing Vanke), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vanke China Co., Ltd. (Vanke), to drive Ascott's expansion plans in China. Vanke is one of the largest property developers in the country. Beijing Vanke will leverage its significant presence and expertise to develop serviced residences in China. Ascott will in turn provide its leading capabilities in managing award-winning serviced residences.
Imagine a river. It runs pleasantly through fields that rely on it for irrigation. It quenches the thirst of people who could always use more water. Now, imagine that river is about to be flooded with rain, a sea of rain. Will the locals catch that water and contain it? Or will they be overwhelmed?
The St. Regis Mauritius Resort, which officially opened its doors earlier this year, today celebrates the unveiling of The St. Regis Villa. Spanning 1,659 square metres, The St. Regis Villa is the largest and most exclusive full-service private residence in Mauritius, offering families and groups of friends the ultimate luxury experience, combined with bespoke service and refined elegance both befitting of the destination and true to the St. Regis legacy. Located on the south-western tip of the island, the resort marks the St. Regis brand’s debut in Africa.