Category Archives: Hotels

Following the success of the recently extended Business and First-class stopover offer, Oman Air is launching another attractive offer for all its passengers. Partnering with the Grand Millennium Muscat, Oman Air’s guests, travelling through Oman on to their end destination, can now enjoy a free night’s accommodation in this luxurious hotel in the centre of Muscat.  Passengers travelling from the Far East on their way to Europe, or vice-versa, can now leave the airport in Muscat to enjoy a complimentary 5-star night in the capital, as well as an opportunity to have a glimpse of the city and its highlights and return to their travels the next day. Visitors wanting to extend their stay can avail attractive rates at the hotel. Richard Bodin, Senior Vice President of Oman Air Holidays, said, “We are delighted with the success of our previous campaign, offering a free stopover option to our premium guests. We are now broadening our offer to include all our passenger base and we are excited to partner with Grand Millennium Muscat for this campaign.” He added, “Oman Air has been successfully attracting passengers from across the world to use Muscat as a connection point to other destinations across our network. Campaigns like this are appealing to them to break their journey, step out of the airport and see some parts of the Sultanate; thereby, promoting Oman and all it has to offer.” Luca Medda, Cluster General Manager at Millennium Hotels and Resorts confirmed his company’s commitment to the campaign, “We are keen to promote Oman to travellers across the globe, and what better way than to get them to actually sample our quality and the famous Omani culture and …

Emaar Hospitality Group is strengthening its market outreach to China with a sales and marketing partnership agreement with Youli Hospitality Consulting, the country’s leading representation company. As part of the agreement, Youli Consulting will promote the hotels under Emaar Hospitality Group’s premium luxury Address Hotels and Resorts and upscale lifestyle Vida Hotels and Resorts across all key markets in China including Beijing and Shanghai. Youli Consulting will promote Emaar Hospitality Group among Chinese travel and tour operators in addition to driving Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MiCE) traffic covering leading corporates. The hotels will also be promoted through a dedicated WeChat/Weibo account to engage the digital-savvy young Chinese travellers. Chris Newman, Chief Operating Officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said, “China continues to be one of the fastest-growing tourism markets for Dubai, led by its ‘China Ready’ strategy. Our hotels are among the most recognised and sought-after by Chinese visitors for its proximity to attractions such as Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall that are visited by 97 per cent of all tourists to the city. Through our partnership with Youli Consulting, which has rich sales and marketing experience in the industry, we aim to strengthen guest arrivals from China.” Li Lei, Founder of Youli Consulting, added, “Dubai is today among the most in-demand destinations among the Chinese travellers. As a leading representation company in the country, we understand the aspirations and needs of Chinese guests and we will promote Emaar Hospitality Group’s hotels in Dubai to young travellers, middle-class families, MiCE agencies and corporates. We are confident that our integrated approach to enhance the visibility of our partner brands as well as our practical experience to make overseas hotels ‘China …

Emaar Hospitality Group partnered with Claviger, the region’s leading sales representation group, to promote the sales of hotel rooms across the GCC region. The sales representation agreement between Emaar Hospitality Group and Claviger covers the promotion of hotels under the premium luxury brand Address Hotels + Resorts and the upscale lifestyle Vida Hotels and Resorts as well as Armani Hotel Dubai. Claviger will leverage its in-market presence across the GCC region to promote the hotels, with a particular focus on families and corporate guests. Led by its dedicated sales associates, the company will highlight the exceptional features and amenities offered by Emaar Hospitality Group’s hotels in Dubai to high net worth individuals and corporate houses as well as conduct roadshows and customer events. Claviger will also highlight Emaar Hospitality Group’s hotels at specialised trade shows. Chris Newman, Chief Operating Officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said, “Our hotels, all located in central locations in Dubai in close proximity to the most popular tourist attractions, are already popular among guests from across the GCC region. Through our new sales representation agreement, we are further highlighting the value-add that our hotels offer to newer audiences through Claviger’s dedicated network.” Ahmed Baki, Founder & CEO of Claviger, said, “At Claviger, we believe in the exceptional value addition that we can provide to our partners through our expertise, in-market presence and wide network. Address Hotels + Resorts, Vida Hotels and Resorts and Armani Hotel Dubai are three popular brands with clear industry niches that we will highlight to prospective guests.” With more than 33 per cent of tourists in the region travelling for leisure, 24 per cent for business and over 36 per cent visiting …

Leading five-star hotel, Concorde El Salam Hotel Cairo which recently participated at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, added a new, classic ballroom to its portfolio in May 2019 for corporate events, weddings and social soirées. The ballroom features the main grand hall, Daleela board room, business centre with high speed internet and two Royal suites, Lina and Eden complete with butler service and reception area. The new Adam Ballroom, which combines traditional Georgian architectural styles with a modern elegance designed by international designer, Tony Dalton, will feature an 11-metre dome complete with an impressive crystal chandelier. Opened this month, the ballroom includes a 620 sq. m. main function room, Daleela board room for executive meetings, a business centre and two landscaped designed outside terraces perfect to unwind and enjoy the lavish coffee breaks on offer. Additionally, Adam Ballroom complex has two luxurious private guest suites and reception area on the first floor. Moteia Ismail, Chairman of Concorde Hotels and Resorts in Egypt, said, “With the capacity to accommodate up to 620 people in a theatre-style layout and 520 people for banquets and receptions, the Adam Ballroom is the perfect venue for everything from executive board meetings to lavish conventions and luxurious weddings.” Boasting 325 guest rooms including suites with free Wi-Fi internet in all rooms and outlets, the hotel features an ‘Executive Floor’ with executive rooms and a private executive lounge which has been specially designed to meet the demands of business travellers, while leisure guests can take advantage of the hotel’s cabana pool side rooms. The hotel offers guests a well-equipped fitness centre offering massage with Thai masseuse, an outdoor heated swimming pool, glass squash court, an equestrian training …

Amadeus signed a landmark hospitality distribution agreement with Booking.com to integrate its accommodation content into the Amadeus Travel Platform for the first time. Amadeus’ extensive travel seller network will make Booking.com’s content available to even more travellers worldwide. Every day more than 1.5 million room nights are reserved across 228 countries and territories worldwide via the Booking.com platform. Thanks to a new partnership between Amadeus and Booking.com, travel sellers will now be able to access the vast and rich content of the company’s extensive listings. This includes everything from hotels, motels and resorts to homes, apartments and many other unique places to stay provided by Booking.com through the Amadeus Travel Platform. As a result of this partnership, travel sellers will directly benefit from an increase of 30% in the accommodation options made available by Amadeus. They will be able to access the new content in the coming months through multiple points of sale including Amadeus Selling Platform Connect and, for corporate bookers, through Amadeus Cytric Travel & Expense. Ripsy Bandourian, VP of Partnerships at Booking.com, said, “We’re constantly on the lookout for strategic collaborations that can enable us to reach even more people around the globe, empowering them to easily discover and book their ideal travel experiences via Booking.com.” Jorge Elliott, EVP of Travel Content Sourcing, Travel Channels, Amadeus, said, “We’re confident that the partnership between Amadeus and Booking.com will bring a number of benefits to our travel seller community. Amadeus’ technology combined with Booking.com’s content means that travel sellers can search, book and integrate Booking.com’s content seamlessly, ensuring the booking process is simple, and trips can easily be customised for travellers.” Peter Waters, EVP, Hotels, Mobility & Insurance, Amadeus, …

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts launched a worldwide campaign celebrating Global Meetings Industry Day (#GMID19), the annual celebration that profiles the importance of business meetings, events and incentive travel to individuals, businesses and communities around the world. The 2019 GMID campaign celebrates the people of Four Seasons whose skill, creativity and innovation create exceptional event experiences that go above and beyond the ordinary. “Our Four Seasons meetings and events teams are true masters of their craft, creating personalised, innovative events that make the extraordinary happen,” says Ben Trodd, Senior Vice President, Sales and Hotel Marketing, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “On Global Meetings Industry Day, we thank our partners for entrusting us with their most high-profile gatherings, and we also recognize the talented Four Seasons craftspeople who transform our properties and bring these events to life. Their dedicated efforts, creativity and passion continue to impress guests from around the world and ensure our clients trust and return to Four Seasons year after year.” From an exclusive Florentine palace dinner alongside the Duomo curated by Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, to a private mixology class led by one of the world’s leading mixologists at the renowned Fifty Mils bar in Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City, event planners have confidence in Four Seasons to create customised, unique events that are thoughtfully curated for any occasion. Meetings and events are an important business for Four Seasons, and property teams work seamlessly together to craft custom events that transform spaces, celebrate food and beverage craftsmanship and deliver Four Seasons service excellence. No event is identical, and Four Seasons continues to lead the industry by transporting events outside of traditional ballrooms and into the inspiring, expansive …

Airbnb announced that its global accommodation and experiences platform will be available in Arabic to enable its growing community across the Middle East and North Africa region to access an even more seamless travel experience. The localised web platform and iOS and Android apps are part of Airbnb’s ongoing commitment to the region and will further Airbnb’s mission to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. All of the popular features of the Airbnb platform will be accessible in Arabic: listing pages with thousands of homes bookable for great stays, experiences around the world and lots of content on how to travel or host with Airbnb.  Airbnb has also released new data to show that across the Middle East and North Africa region more than 70,000 listings are now available to book on the Airbnb platform. As of 1 January 2019 in the UAE, 10,000 listings were available on the Airbnb platform and hosts in the UAE welcomed more than 145,000 guests from around the world – showing more than 63% year-on-year growth. Hadi Moussa, Regional Manager Middle East & Africa at Airbnb, said, “The Middle East and North Africa region is extremely important to us, so we are delighted to launch Airbnb in Arabic today. People from across the region have been using Airbnb since it was founded ten years ago to book magical travel experiences. We want to create a true sense of belonging for them by ensuring they can do so in their native language going forward.” Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said, “Our ongoing partnership with Airbnb helps Dubai maintain its global competitiveness in a highly digitised marketplace …

Bahwan Travel Group, the leading travel company in the Sultanate of Oman, has chosen to renew its technology agreement with Sabre Corporation. Under the new agreement, Bahwan Travel will benefit from Sabre’s latest technology and solutions to accelerate business growth in Oman and the region. This renewal provides Bahwan Travel with continued access to Sabre’s portfolio of innovative technology across the region, including its industry-leading Sabre Red 360 agency solution and the latest data analytics, personalisation and automation capabilities. “As online travel is growing year-over-year, it is imperative for us to invest in our online platform, and provide our customers with a more personalised and seamless travel shopping experience,” said Gururaj, General Manager, Bahwan Travel Group. “Sabre by far is the most advanced technology provider in the travel industry; its global expertise in online travel, impressive dedication, and scale of cutting-edge technology made it a logical choice to help us grow our business, be more efficient, and add value for customers.” “As travellers’ expectations rise in line with technology adoption, Bahwan Travel Group understands the role of technology in serving its tech-savvy travellers,” said Abdul-Razzaq Iyer, Vice-President, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “Bahwan Travel has a strong vision for growth in the online space and we are working with the team to provide technology, expertise and best practices to build its competitive advantage as a leading online travel agency in the region.” Bahwan Travel Group will have access to Sabre’s marketplace of more than 420 airlines, 750,000 hotel properties, and hundreds of tour operators, rail, car and cruise providers, enabling it to sell personalised travel packages from suppliers all over the world. The agency accesses the marketplace through the new …

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has revealed its new all-suites brand, Atwell Suites, to thousands of IHG owners and operators at its Americas Investors & Leadership Conference in Las Vegas. The new upper-midscale hotel brand will target an estimated $18 billion industry segment with strong guest and owner demand. The Atwell Suites brand builds on IHG’s heritage of pioneering new growth opportunities for hotel owners and operators that better serve travellers. Through this strategy, IHG has successfully cultivated a dynamic portfolio of unique midscale and upper-midscale brands across the mainstream category including Holiday Inn Express, one of the industry’s fastest-growing brands catering to shorter, smarter stays; avid hotels; and best-in-class extended stay brands Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, catering to stays of a week or more. Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer, IHG, commented, “The Atwell Suites brand is tailor-made to meet the significant demand in the upper-midscale segment for a new all-suites brand. Our newest offer gives owners and guests something different to what’s out there today – a stylish suite with the flexibility for guests to work, socialise or explore over a four-to-six-night stay. As we focus on accelerating our growth, the brand will further extend our leading position in the mainstream space.” Elie Maalouf, Chief Executive Officer, Americas, IHG, commented, “IHG continues to be an industry leader in purposeful and effective hotel brand innovation that anticipates the needs of the market, owners and guests – ultimately delivering long-term value and high guest satisfaction. The Atwell Suites brand is the latest example of how we identify a new growth opportunity from deep traveller insights and collaborate with our owners to develop a new brand customised to better serve guests. This …

UAE-headquartered TIME Hotels has signed an agreement with Dubai-based Plan B Solutions, to offer its guests the opportunity of enrolling in the TIME Elite Club Membership. The cobranding loyalty programme has two tiers, the first being a complimentary level where would be members can enroll for free, by simply downloading the eliteclub mobile app and registering. Members can earn two points for every one US dollar spent in any participating TIME hotel and points can be redeemed, through the eliteclub e-commerce platform against gift certificates, retail products or cash vouchers, which can be spent at any TIME Hotel. “Elite Club is all about adding value to our proposition. Guests can earn points every time they stay or dine with us, which can be saved and redeemed at a later stage. Although we already have a very loyal customer base, we thought this was another way of saying thank you for their continued loyalty,” said Mohamed Awadalla, CEO, TIME Hotels. The executive tier of the programme comes with an annual membership fee of AED 990, but opens the door to a world of advantages, including unlimited discounts of up to 50 per cent on F&B, free upgrades and up to 20 per cent discounts on rooms; AED 1,600 worth of complimentary voucher packages, containing free accommodation and breakfast, plus free access to 100 swimming pools and beach resorts for two people, at all hotels enrolled into the eliteclub loyalty scheme. “This loyalty programme also allows members to take advantage of considerable discounts and value-led offers, not only from TIME Hotels but from an extensive collection of bars, restaurants and experiences, as well as another 30 branded hotel partners across the globe,” …