THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 39 The Review ➔ Holiday Inn Express opens at T5


THE first phase of the Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T5 is now open, with the Crimson Hotel Group property set to become the largest example of the budget brand in Europe when it is complete this Spring. After investment totalling over £16million the hotel will have 300 rooms. The first stage of the development saw the completion of 125 bedrooms and a stylish public lobby, with restaurant and bar. The second stage of the project will add a further 175 rooms, another restaurant and four meeting rooms, for up to 80 guests. All bedrooms are en-suite and amenities include tea and coffee-making facilities, flatscreen LCD TVs as standard, wireless internet access, telephone, hairdryer and ample workspace. Aly Kassam, director at Crimson


Hotel Group says, “We have identified a gap in the market for the budget conscious traveller at Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T5, which is one of the first completely new hotels to open under the latest IHG brand


ASIAN RATES STAY DOWN


THE average price of a hotel room around the world rose just one per cent in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index. Despite prices stabilising in


both the second and third quarters of 2010, the average price of a hotel room by the end of September 2010 was still lower than it was in 2004. Prices were flat in Asia and


up one per cent in Europe. The Caribbean and North America showed average prices were up four per cent and Latin America rates up six per cent. Despite staying flat year-on-


year in Asia, the average price of a hotel room in Asia was 15 per cent higher in Q3 2010 than when the Hotel Price Index was started in 2004.


THE ROOM REPORT IN BRIEF


• FOLLOWING the successful opening of the London Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel, the Portuguese hotel company is now opening its first hotel in Germany, the Pestana Berlin. The 142-room hotel represents an investment of 25million euros and is located in the city centre by the famous Ku’Damm Avenue, next to Tiergarten Park.


• DATA released by American Express Business Insights shows global spending in five-star hotels increased by an average of 14 per cent in the first three-quarters of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009. The research also revealed that travellers are taking more international trips and spending more on each journey abroad.


standards. We can offer business and leisure guests a great choice and fantastic value for money, which is just what people want in today’s market place.” The hotel is decorated in the signature style of the new Holiday Inn Express brand, while guests


can enjoy a complimentary ‘Express Start Hot Breakfast’ as part of the new brand standards of the InterContinenthal Hotels Group. The hotel is located two miles from the airport and a regular shuttle bus operates between the two.


MINTY FRESH LOOK FROM CITY INN


• THE Rezidor Hotel Group has announced two new UK hotels. Both the Radisson Blu Hotel, Newcastle (170 rooms), and the Park Inn Bournemouth (172 rooms), are scheduled to open in 2013.


• A CAMPANILE Hotel Restaurant has opened at Glasgow International Airport offering103 bedrooms. It joins sister hotel, the 106-room Campanile SECC in the city. The hotel formerly operated as the Purple Hotel and is ten minutes’ drive from the airport. Room rates start from £59 midweek and £49 at weekends.


• HYATT Hotels & Resorts has opened the Hyatt Regency Dusseldorf in the heart of the trendy Media Harbour area of the German city. The property is located in one of two newly-built 19-storey towers at the tip of Media Harbour’s peninsula. A pedestrian bridge connects the hotel with the opposite side of the harbour. The central location is close to the city’s international airport and the largest exhibition and conference centres in the city.


THE CITY Inn hotel group has rebranded as Mint Hotels as it opens two new hotels in prime city locations in London and Amsterdam. The openings will nearly double


the company's room capacity and gives it a second property in the capital, the 583-room Tower of London Hotel. In Amsterdam, meanwhile, the new 553-room property opens this spring. The rebranding follows research which showed that the City Inn


name did not do justice to the overall experience of the brand. Chief executive, David Orr, says, “Mint Hotel reflects our commitment to exceptional modern buildings, service culture and ethos. We believe it reflects our true position as a class- leading, innovative and stylish City Centre hotel brand." The group currently has six hotels – two in London, plus properties in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds.


• CONFERENCESGROUP has launched CorporateDesk, a hotel booking solution, to sit alongside its established Conferences-UK.org.uk and ConferencesVenues.com portals. The new facility provides companies with their own white label hotel booking solution and features access to over 125,000 hotels worldwide available to book online in real time.


• ROTANA Hotels has redesigned its website with a vibrant new look, significant layout updates and features to make it more user- friendly. The site features in-depth details on Rotana’s individual properties across the Middle East region and also provides information on the countries in which each property is situated.


42 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE


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