THE ROOM REPORT ➔ Guildford's Edwardian touch
ACTE UPDATE
RON DILEO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE TRAVEL EXECUTIVES (ACTE)
A NEW four-star deluxe Radisson Edwardian Hotel opens in the very centre of Guildford at the end of September as part of the town’s regeneration plans. It becomes Radisson’s 14th property and one of only two outside London. Interiors of the 183-room hotel are inspired by
DUKES LONDON'S SUITE NEW LOOK
THE Dukes London hotel has debuted its newly refurbished suites, including the penthouse, which now features its very own exhibition. All 11 suites now present a
mix of classic and contemporary design elements from British interior designer Shaun Clarkson, with elements including a marble en-suite bathroom, writing desk, Play- Station and/or Xbox, flatscreen TV and wifi access. As part of the hotel’s new partnership with Thomas Goode & Co Ltd, the Duke of Clarence suite will feature a rotating display of themed porcelain pieces. The impressive 700ft2, fifth floor penthouse overlooks Green Park. Rates for the suites start from
£480 per night. The hotel is located in a private courtyard near London's Green Park and Buckingham Palace.
local author, Lewis Carroll, plus there are two contemporary restaurants, a bar, an al fresco dining terrace and a spa with swimming pool, mud room and fully equipped gym. The hotel façade, as pictured above, is a striking glass structure with double-height atrium inside.
Free wifi internet access, laptop
safes, personal phone numbers, mobile phone hire and a Business Centre will appeal to the corporate market, so too event space for up to 400, which includes a stage and seven hi-tech meeting rooms. Weekday room rates start from £185 (including VAT) for a double.
MARRIOTT AUTOGRAPH ADDITIONS
MARRIOTT'S Autograph Collection is signing up a raft of European properties, with six additions from luxury Italian brand Boscolo Hotels set to join its luxury selection. The first four Boscolo Hotels join
the collection in September. They are: the 1920s-era Boscolo Palace Roma, located on Rome's Via Veneto, which has just completed a refurbishment; Boscolo Venezia, which is housed in Venice's historic Palazzo Rizzo Patarol, formerly home to the French Embassy;
Boscolo Prague in the former headquarters of the Czech Postal Service; and the opulent Boscolo Budapest, which houses the New York Café, a historical meeting place for artists in Hungary. Managing director for Marriott
International in Europe, Amy McPherson, says, ”We believe that the Autograph Collection is a huge growth platform for us and a key part of our European expansion strategy as we seek to reach 80,000 rooms in Europe by 2015.”
IN MY last column I discussed how the world of business travel had, in my view, reached a natural inflection point. Perhaps the first positive thing in over 25 years. A culmination of a perfect storm, brought about by mobile technology, where everyone from supplier to buyer, and most importantly, business traveller, wins. My column definitely caught the imagination of many industry players and I have been overwhelmed by the number of business travel professionals from every segment of the sector asking me to expand on my argument and discuss where travel management might evolve. For me there are a number of distinct areas where this perfect storm will bring changes. The two most striking are what I call 'spot buying' and 'gamification'. These are phrases and trends that we will see more of in the coming months. Let’s first take spot buying. Business travellers, due to mobile technology can now buy elements of their trips outside of a corporate programme. If corporate buyers and travel managers allow this then the amount of travel that is actively managed through corporate supplier discount programmes will come down as market forces have their way. Where in the past corporate buyers and travel managers looked to have 75-80 per cent of their travel spend under some form of contracted programme, they may need to bring that number down to negotiate with perhaps 60-65 per cent of their programme spend and 'spot buy' the difference. If the trend begins to manifest in the middle of a supplier contract they should let the relevant suppliers know sooner rather than later because not doing so will give the appearance of over committing and under delivering. Gamification, meanwhile, is describes the notion of creating games and loyalty programmes to incentivise the right behaviour among travellers. This makes sense because these types of programmes where people compete on points are powerful and are proven to influence behaviour. Gamification is all about leveraging your message through behavioural influence. With such changes emerging it falls
to the travel industry to be prepared.
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