innovative hotel concepts drive business in uae

6 MAY 2014
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REGIONAL VIEW
AVIATION UPDATE
EYE ON AMERICA
ADA inks MoC with Fujairah
Airport
Turkish Airlines reports 25%
Middle East growth
An overview of the latest
developments in the region
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CIAL
INNOVATIVE HOTEL CONCEPTS
DRIVE BUSINESS IN UAE
M THI ALL
OR S
E I AN
NS D
ID
E
Emaar unveils its ‘Manzil’ brand
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Tuesday 6th May 2014
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Hilton Worldwide inks contract
with MAF properties
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H
ilton Worldwide have inked
a management agreement
with Majid Al Futtaim
(MAF) Properties.
The agreement was signed
to further expand the hospitality
company’s mid-range Hilton
Garden Inn brand in Dubai.
The new 370-room Hilton
Garden Inn Mall of the Emirates
will be developed adjacent
to the shopping, leisure and
entertainment centre.
Adrian Kurre, global head, Hilton
Garden Inn said: “Hilton Garden Inn
Mall of the Emirates will perfectly
complement the brand pipeline of
Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Al Mina
and Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Al
Muraqabat. Both properties are
expected to open in 2015.”
Hilton Garden Inn Mall of the
Emirates will feature two food and
beverage outlets, an outdoor pool,
a business centre, flexible meeting
space with four rooms.
Click here for full story Carlson announces
members of
Quorvus Collection
Emaar unveils its ‘Manzil’ brand of boutique hotels
C
D
ubai recently welcomed an
authentic Arabesque design
with Emaar Hospitality Group –
‘Manzil’ property.
This is the fourth hotel brand
under Emaar Hospitality Group,
following The Address Hotels +
Resorts, Vida Hotels and Resorts
and Dubai Inn.
‘Manzil’ is an upscale boutique
brand which showcases a
Courtyard and a traditional Arabic
‘majlis’ for networking.
The first property under the new
brand will be Manzil Downtown
Dubai (formerly Al Manzil), located
opposite Souk Al Bahar. The hotel
will boast 197 rooms.
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The new brand targets younger
generation of travellers and
entrepreneurs, especially from
the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) countries.
The hotels will also draw on the
‘mashrabiya’ facade - a theme that
extends to lobbies and aisles.
Click here for full story arlson Rezidor Hotel Group
recently disclosed the three
first member hotels of Quorvus
Collection - Symphony Style Hotel
Kuwait, May Fair Hotel London, and
G&V Royal Mile Hotel Edinburgh.
Wolfgang M Neumann, president
& CEO of The Rezidor Hotel Group
said: “The Quorvus Collection is our
latest luxury brand. Each member
property has its own unique style,
personality and heritage.”
The Symphony Style Hotel
Kuwait offers 169 rooms and suites.
Travel
Daily Middle East
The property features three
wishes its– Cucina
readersthatSeason’s
restaurants
serves
Italian cuisine; Luna with Arabic
Greetings and a very
food with a Mediterranean twist, and
Choco
Café shares
a coffee
culture.
Happy
New Year
2014
The May Fair Hotel London offers
404 bedrooms including 12 suites.
The May Fair Theatre is
highlight with its 201-seated private
screening room. And finally, the
G&V Royal Mile Hotel Edinburgh
offers 136 rooms and suites.
“The Edinburgh and Kuwait
hotels will join the Quorvus
Collection immediately, and we
anticipate The May Far joining the
collection later in summer of 2014.
We aim to grow a global
portfolio of 20 hotels in operation
and under development by 2020
through conversions and newly
built urban hotels and resorts”,
added Neumann.
Editor: Charmaine Fernz Regional Director: Paul Adams | Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott TRAVEL DAILY ASIA
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Tuesday 6th May 2014
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CIAL
W
Hyatt Place
Dubai opens for
business
flydubai announces
new routes
H
I
n a bid to strengthen its route
network, flydubai alongside the
Arabian Travel Market (ATM)
announced five new destinations
including Delhi.
The airline has doubled its
network in India with addition
of flights to Delhi, Kochi and
Thiruvananthapuram.
Kazakhstan will join flydubai’s
network for the first time and
flights will launch later this year
to two destinations - Almaty and
Shymkent.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive
officer of flydubai said: “Today’s
route announcements are a clear
demonstration of the important role
Qatar Airways receives its A380
by June
Q
atar Airways has rolled out its
aircraft expansion strategy at the
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2014.
The airline’s chief executive
officer HE Akbar Al Baker
announced the arrival of the first
Airbus A380-800 by early June, the
first of 13 such on order.
The airline’s new A380 luxury
first class seats are a highlight this
year at ATM.
“We have no doubts that our
new A380s will
play a key role
in our strategic
expansion plans,
and will help
expand onboard
capacity,” said Al
Baker.
The A380’s new
first class seat was
also unveiled to
the Middle East
market for the first time.
The airline also has plans to
significantly expand its fleet with
300 additional aircraft, worth more
than USD$ 60 billion, on order
including, 80 Airbus A350s, 13
Airbus A330 Freighters, 60 Boeing
787s, 13 Boeing 777s (including
freighters), 50 Boeing 777x, 80
Airbus A320s Neos and 13 Airbus
A380-800s.
Click here for full story we are playing in the development
of the tourism industry and there
remains much opportunity.
Another market that has
become important to flydubai’s
network is Russia and last year
flydubai doubled its network to
eight points.
These announcements bring
total number of new destinations
since start of the year to nine.
Hofuf in Saudi Arabia, Moscow
in Russia, Aden in Yemen and
Kandahar in Afghanistan were
latest additions.
flydubai will also operate daily
flights between Dubai and Moscow
starting from 23 September 2014.
Click here for full story TAT rolls out a new tagline
T
he Tourism Authority of
Thailand (TAT) Dubai and
Middle East Office had Thawatchai
Arunyik, governor, Tourism
Authority of Thailand, Tanes
Petsuwan, executive director TATEurope, Africa and Middle East
Region, Chalermsak Suranant,
director, TAT Dubai & Middle East
Office and 15 top executives’
travel agencies in the UAE at an
event in Dubai.
The networking function
witnessed TAT announce their
marketing strategy for the Middle
East market in 2014 with a focus on
wedding and honeymoon tourism
and a new tagline promotion.
Thawatchai Arunyik, governor,
Tourism Authority of Thailand said:
“The Middle East market has been a
growing and increasingly important
source market of visitors to Thailand.
During last two years, number
of visitors to Thailand from Middle
East has grown considerably.
While UAE remains in top position
bringing an estimate of 124,000
visitors to Thailand in 2013, other
GCC countries are also emerging
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yatt Hotels & Resorts
along with wasl Hospitality
announced the opening of Hyatt
Place Dubai in Al Rigga.
The new property boasts
210-rooms and marks a significant
milestone for the Hyatt Place brand
as it continues to expand outside
United States. “The hotel will cater to
both business and leisure travelers
with its high-tech design,” said
Pablo Graf, senior vice president of
operations, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts,
Southwest Asia.
The hotel offers a Gallery
Kitchen breakfast, flexible meeting
and function space, a coffee to
cocktails bar featuring specialty
coffees, premium house beverages
and cocktails and a Gallery café
featuring sit-down dining for lunch
and dinner hours Hyatt Place
Dubai/Al Rigga is part of a mixed
use development established by
wasl properties.
Click here for full story as potential expanding markets
including Oman, KSA and Kuwait.”
The destination will introduce
major romantic attractions in
northern and southern Thailand with
a focus on the location.
The new tagline ‘Amazing
Travel
Daily Middle East
Thailand It Begins with the People!’
wishesonitsthereaders
Season’s
focuses
uniqueness
of
‘Thainess’ and the Thais’ hospitality.
Greetings and a very
Chalermsak Suaranat, director,
TATHappy
Dubai and
Middle
East2014
Office
New
Year
further added: “We wanted to give
the tagline a real tangible meaning
and so we are excited to virtually
meet, greet and engage directly
with our Arabic speaking travellers
through the launch of our new
Arabic social media platforms and
upgraded website.”
The rest of the year TAT Dubai
& Middle East Office will be
implementing a range of marketing
strategies such as the ‘Thai
Experience’, ‘Thai Way of Life’ and
‘Thai Culture’.
TAT Dubai will also continue
to promote ‘value-driven
activities’ with an aim of boosting
sustainable tourism.
Editor: Charmaine Fernz Regional Director: Paul Adams | Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott TRAVEL DAILY ASIA
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Tuesday 6th May 2014
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Oceanic Khorfakkan unveils
beachfront villa
★ MGM starts work on new Las Vegas arena
MGM Resorts
International has
celebrated the start
of construction work
on a major new arena
project in Las Vegas. In
partnership with AEG,
MGM is developing a
new US$375 million indoor arena, which will be able to seat 20,000
people for major sporting events, such as boxing and Ultimate Fighting
Championship (UFC) bouts, plus concerts award shows and other
events. Located west of the Las Vegas Strip, between New York-New
York and Monte Carlo resorts, the new Las Vegas Arena will open its
doors in spring 2016.
★ Virgin adds new Dallas business flights
T
he on-going Arabian Travel
Market (ATM) 2014 witnessed
the launch of Oceanic Khorfakkan
Resort & Spa new luxury beachfront
villas and villettes.
The villas have been designed to
cater to modern travellers, whether
in small groups or extended families.
“The launch of the new Oceanic
Villa Property will give the brand
greater visibility and boost the
property portfolio,” said Ian Philips,
general manager, Oceanic
Khorfakkan Resort & Spa.
The ground floor of each villa
offers three interconnecting options.
Ayla Hotels expands UAE presence
A
yla Hotels and
Resorts recently
announced its second
hotel in Al Ain which will
open by June.
The Ayla Bawadi Hotel,
a four-star property, will
have 90 rooms and suites
and target both business
and leisure travelers.
Mohamed Soussan,
general manager of Ayla
Hotels and Resorts said the main
focus of the group would be to
increase awareness of Al Ain as a
destination and Ayla as a brand.
Virgin America
will launch a series of
new "business-friendly
flights" from Dallas' Love
Field Airport. Taking off
in October 2014, the
new services will link the
Texas city with New York
(LaGuardia), Washington
DC (Ronald Reagan National), Los Angeles and San Francisco airports.
All services will operate with three classes of service - first class,
premium economy and economy, all with Wi-Fi, in-flight entertainment
and in-seat power outlets. All new routes will operate three times a day,
except the New York service which will have four daily flights.
★ Outrigger Waikiki plans US$100m revamp
The alcohol-free hotel features
three food and beverage outlets,
Pulse Health Club and two
meeting rooms.
Resnet highlights need for local
language interfaces
Outrigger will invest
US$100 million in a
major refurbishment
of its beachfront resort
in Hawaii, Outrigger
Reef on the Beach,
Waikiki. The planned
renovation will see an
existing five-storey
building demolished and
replaced with landscaped gardens, swimming pools, lounge areas and
open-air dining facilities. This will also offer better sea views from the
hotel, and a new tower, set back from the shoreline, will add more than
200 hotel rooms to the property. Construction will begin in 2017 and is
estimated for completion in 2019.
★ Disney World to open Seven Dwarfs ride
Walt Disney World
in Florida is launching
a new rollercoaster ride
based on the classic
Disney movie, 'Snow
White and the Seven
Dwarfs'. Set to open on
28 May, the new Seven
Dwarfs Mine Train ride
Travelwill
Daily
East
be theMiddle
main feature
New Fantasyland
wishes ofitsthereaders
Season’s
area of the theme park. Disney World said the new attraction features
Greetings and a very
an "innovative new ride system that allows cars to pivot back and forth
during the twists, turns, hills and drops of the
ride". The
will be
Happy
NewrideYear
2014
accompanied by music from the animated movie.
R
esNet World who work with
hotels to maximize their
e-distribution revenues has seen
significant increase in demand for
its solutions that cater to Arabicspeaking travellers.
This would also include its Arabic
Internet Booking Engine.
Saahil Metha, founder and
managing director of ResNet
World said: “We are witnessing
high demand for Arabic content
and online services in the
hospitality industry.
More and more hotel guests in
the Arab world are booking online
and we help hotels respond to this
need by converting their information
and booking engines available in
languages of the region.”
The company offers its clients
complete 24x7 Arabic support
with its vast local knowledge and
presence.
Responding to the rising need
for online Arabic content in the
hospitality industry, the company
has developed over 30 Arabic
websites for its partner hotels over
the past 12 months.
Advertise with TDME today! Email us at
[email protected]
★ IHG expands in Florida
InterContinental
Hotels Group (IHG)
has added two new
properties in Florida.
The new-build
Staybridge Suites St
Petersburg (pictured)
celebrated its grand
opening last week,
adding 119 long-stay suites to the city of St Petersburg. Meanwhile the
beachfront Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort
will become the brand’s fifth resort in Florida, and offers a range of
leisure facilities including watersports, swimming pool with a waterslide
and lazy river, basketball and tennis courts and mini-golf.
Editor: Charmaine Fernz Regional Director: Paul Adams | Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott TRAVEL DAILY ASIA
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Tuesday 6th May 2014
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The Middle
East market has
been a growing
and increasingly
important source
market of visitors
to Thailand.
During last two
years, number
of visitors to
Thailand from
Middle East
has grown
considerably.
While UAE
remains in top
position bringing
an estimate of
124,000 visitors
to Thailand in
2013, other GCC
countries are
also emerging
as potential
expanding
markets
including Oman,
KSA and Kuwait”
Thawatchai Arunyik,
governor, Tourism
Authority of Thailand
Qasr Al Sarab reveals Royal Villas
T
he Qasr Al Sarab Desert
Resort by Anantara recently
unveiled an exclusive collection
of 10 royal villas called the Royal
Pavilion Villas by Qasr Al Sarab.
Anantara Hotels Resorts &
Spas area general manager, Wael
Soueid said: “With the launch of
the recently opened Anantara Al
Yamm Villa Resort and Anantara
Al Sahel Villa Resort on Sir Bani
Yas Island, we are continuing
to support Abu Dhabi’s diverse
tourism offering. These products
cater to families and couples
looking for bespoke luxury.”
The main pavilion showcases
its own restaurant, lounge, spa
and a terrace too.
Guests staying at the Royal
Pavilion Villas by Qasr Al Sarab
can also enjoy two activities per
guest per night.
The list includes camel riding
in the dunes, hard and soft
dune drives and dune bashing,
archery, desert walks, desert land
sailing and fat biking as well as
the falcon and saluki show.
Click here for full story Turkish Airlines reports 25% Middle East growth
T
urkish Airlines recently reported
a positive growth in passenger
traffic from the Middle East with a
25.8% in 2013 compared to 2012.
The airline recorded an increase
in passenger figures from the
Middle East at 19.6%. Last year,
Turkish Airlines carried over 3.7
million passengers from the Middle
East region.
Adem Ceylan, vice president
of marketing & sales for Turkish
Airlines in Middle East & Cyprus,
said: “With a stronger focus on the
region, we will continue to play a
key role in connecting passengers
seamlessly with the rest of the.”
Globally, the airline recorded
48.3 m passengers in 2013, a 23%
increase, compared to 39 m in 2012.
This year, the airline projects
passenger traffic to be about 60 m,
which will represent a 25% growth.
This will be further supported
by increase in number of aircraft,
currently at 247, and expected to
reach 263 by the end of the year.
Some 17 new destinations, including
Abha and Ahvaz in the Middle East
are being planned in the coming
months taking the total number of
new destinations in 2014 to 20.
The passenger load factor saw
an increase of 1.4 points, bringing it
to an all-time high of 79%.
The carrier recorded a 22%
growth in passenger traffic in Dubai;
43% in Abu Dhabi; 30% in Qatar;
and 35% in Kuwait, in 2013.
Click here for full story Hyatt profits jump in Q1
Air India Express to expand fleet
yatt achieved a strong rise
in profits in the first quarter
of the year. The hotel group
generated pre-tax earnings of
US$172 million in Q1 2014,
31.3% higher than the US$131m
it generated in the same period
last year. Net profits surged from
US$8m to US$56m.
"In the first quarter, Hyatt's
adjusted EBITDA grew more
than 30%, driven by continued
robust demand and healthy
rate growth among both transient
and group guests as well as
strong performance from recent
acquisitions and openings.
These results demonstrate the
power of our differentiated business
model and multiple earnings tools,"
said Mark S. Hoplamazian, Hyatt's
president & CEO.
The group's revenue per
available room (revPAR) increased
7.7% in Q1 2014, but there were
some marked differences in terms of
regional performance.
Hotels in the Americas achieved
an 8.6% jump in revPAR, while
ir India Express is planning to
expand its fleet of Boeing 737s.
The airline's CEO, K Shyam Sundar,
said he intends to lease 19 Boeing
737-800 aircraft over the next three
years, to reach target fleet size of
36 aircraft by 2017.
“The first four new aircraft will
H
A
ADA inks MoC
the growth rate in Asia Pacific was
7.3%. In Europe, Africa and the
Middle East however, the revPAR
growth rate was just 5.3%.
Hyatt added eight new hotels
to its portfolio in the first quarter of
2014, including four Hyatt Place
properties in the US, Hyatt Place
Amsterdam Airport, Hyatt Regency
Chongming in China, and the
Hyatt Raipur and Hyatt Regency
Ludhiana in India. But the company
also removed 10 hotels from its US
portfolio in Q1 2014.
Hyatt expects to open
approximately 40 hotels in 2014.
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A
help us in getting back to our
original fleet size of 21, while
the rest will be for expansion,”
Sundar said.
The new aircraft could see the
airline launch more international
routes to destinations including Iran
and CIS countries.
Travel Daily Middle East
its readers
Season’s
with wishes
Fujairah
Airport
Greetings and a very
Happy New Year 2014
bu Dhabi Airports and
Fujairah Airport recently
inked a Memorandum
of Cooperation (MOC)
to develop an airport
development master plan.
This plan will ensure the
delivery of an adequate
expansion program for
Fujairah International Airport.
The Department of Civil
Aviation for Fujairah intends
to undertake an expansion
program to enhance the airport’s
facilities. This cooperation will
see Abu Dhabi Airports assisting
Fujairah Airport with preparation
of a list of proposed component
projects that will form the expansion
program, and provide administrative
assistance during construction.
Editor: Charmaine Fernz | Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott Regional Director: Paul Adams Travel Daily ME is a publication of Travel Daily Media Limited (UK). All content is fully protected by copyright law. Written permission from the Editor-in-Chief Mark Elliott ([email protected]) is required to reproduce any material.
While every care has been taken in the preparation of Travel Daily Asia no liability can be accepted for errors or omissions. Content is published in good faith. Responsibility for editorial comment is taken by Charmaine Fernz.