THE ROOM REPORT IN BRIEF
• A POLL of 30 UK-based Choice Hotels owners revealed that just over half expect all its hotels across the country to benefit from a rise in bookings during this Olympic summer. Nearly 30 per cent think only London hotels will benefit from the Games.
• THE JW Marriott Marquis Dubai hotel is due to open in two phases later this year, becoming the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world. The 1,608-room property stands 355metres high and will feature nine restaurants, a spa, 32-metre pool, two ballrooms, 24 meeting rooms and a total of 5,100m2 of event space. “The hotel will fill a gap in the market where groups and conventions of up to 1,000 people can meet, sleep and dine under one roof,” says the hotel’s general manager, Rupprecht Queitsch.
• PREMIER Inn is now offering free wifi access for 30 minutes or 24-hour access for a £3 charge. Guests staying for more than three nights can benefit from a £10 fee for a week’s access. The scheme is being rolled out across all the group’s 600-plus UK properties.
• APEX Hotels opens its third London property, the Apex Temple Court, in March. A £60million conversion to a historic building just off Fleet Street sees the new four-star hotel feature 184 guest rooms, a gym, bar and restaurant, plus free wifi access throughout the property.
• TWO Hilton-branded hotels will operate side by side for the first time in Europe in a new development at Frankfurt Airport. A striking building, called The Squaire, houses both a regular Hilton hotel and a Hilton Garden Inn, totalling over 500 guest rooms and suites between them. Simon Vincent, area president, Europe, Hilton Worldwide, says, "The Squaire is one of the most architecturally impressive buildings in Europe and we are delighted to welcome these two spectacular properties to our portfolio in this iconic, design-led development.” The building is 14km from the city centre and located directly above the ICE Railway station.
• THE first Hotel Indigo has opened in continental Europe. The Inter- continental Hotels Group's youngest brand has expanded beyond the UK with the opening of the Hotel Indigo Berlin Centre Hardenbergstrasse in the heart of the city. A second Hotel Indigo is due to open in Berlin later this spring. There are currently 38 Hotel Indigo properties around the world – including seven locations in the UK – with a further 62 in the development pipeline, all due to open in the next two to three years.
➔ Olympics double
ACTE UPDATE
RON DILEO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE TRAVEL EXECUTIVES (ACTE)
THE topic of expense management and how to report ancillary fees has dominated ACTE discussions within the travel industry for some time. One solution, mobile travel management, is finally getting its sea legs as a trusted industry option to streamline the reporting process. Automating the expense process,
IN MID-MAY this year Staybridge Suites London Stratford City and a new look Holiday Inn open their doors in the capital. A hybrid of hotel and apart-
ments, the 162-suite Staybridge property is adjacent to the Olympic Park, with direct views onto the stadium, and is the brand’s new European flagship. There will be 162 suites, 103
studio suites, 15 studio deluxe suites and 44 one-bed suites. All have fully equipped kitchens, air conditioning, flatscreen TVs and complimentary internet. In the public area there is a
hub kitchen that serves buffet breakfasts, an exercise room,
laundry room, 24/7 shop and a meeting room. Rates reduce based on the length of stay, ranging from £200 to £120 per night (plus VAT). It is a five- minute walk from the DLR and London Underground. The 188-room Holiday Inn London Stratford City offers a restaurant, all-day lounge bar and outside terrace and seven meeting rooms – all with natural daylight – for up to 100 delegates theatre style, 40 boardroom style and 60 for banqueting. Guest rooms have flatscreen
TVs and desks, and there is free wifi throughout, plus a gym, business centre and parking.
THOMPSON'S UK DEBUT
at least to some extent, can help alleviate the headaches and allow time for travel managers to focus on the crux of their job – servicing the needs of their travellers and finding the most cost-effective solutions. At ACTE’s upcoming Global Education Conference in San Francisco, April 22-24, we’ll continue to focus on technological advances and our keynotes will enlighten attendees on this topic while sessions will feature case studies from those who have successfully adopted mobile travel management strategies. Adopting a mobile apps strategy
can make travellers the architects of their own experiences before, during and after the journey – often saving the company money and the traveller time which, ultimately, translates back into money for the employer. Technology designed to support
NORTH America-based Thompson Hotels has opened its first UK property in a joint venture with the Harilela Group. Belgraves is located in London’s Belgravia area and brings ’a little New York attitude coupled with traditional British hospitality’, says the hotel group. The sleek new hotel has 85 rooms and suites – with silver-grey wooden floors and marble bathrooms – a gym, bar
and the 80-seat Hix Belgravia restaurant with a private dining or meeting room for up to 22 people. Room rates start from £336 per
night for a king superior. “We’re finally ready to open our doors to London,” says Jason Pomeranc, co-owner of Thompson Hotels. “Belgraves is a truly creative collaboration which will have a huge impact on Londoners and international travellers alike.”
and simplify the expense manage- ment process for travellers is becoming more mainstream. New apps can automate expense reporting while giving travellers mobile access to itineraries. Flight reservation apps make it possible for travellers to book entire business trips from their mobile device – and within policy. With more travellers openly communicating with each other about their travel programmes and the wide availability of mobile technology to improve the travel experience, corporate buyers and travel managers can no longer avoid making needed changes, which have been imminent for quite some time. Mobile and electronic expense management is not to be feared. It’s an empowering tool for all parties involved and travel managers can use it to influence traveller behaviour. As an industry, we’re making the change together. What was once expense report drudgery will become, increasingly, a seamless detail that will allow us all to focus more on the bottom line, and on our jobs.
www.acte.org
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