p30 hotels jan23 20/1/09 15:54 Page 30
Hotels & resorts
Rupert Murray
020 7921 8010
rmurray@ttglive.com
For the latest accommodation news, visit
ttglive.com/hotels
Premier Inns’
Manor House
Octopus extends
its hotel portfolio
consumer facing and business partner divisions.
Kay McLellan.
Premier offers
OCTOPUS Travel has trebled its hotel range with In 2007, the company had a turnover of
the launch of a new technology platform. £200 million.
£5 incentive
The consumer and trade distributor has Octopus’s new site features hotels only, having
transformed its business model to use multiple previously offered GTA transfers and tours.
suppliers outside of parent company GTA. Gaston said this was a deliberate move, and
A CLUSTER of Premier Inns around Gatwick has Gareth Gaston, managing director of Octopus that additional products, excluding flights, might
started offering agents commission. Travel, said that in order to grow it had become be reintroduced at the end of the year.
In a bid to drive more weekend traffic through a “standalone entity” and had struck deals with He said: “We want to grow the company
the five hotels, business development manager other wholesalers and large hotel chains. It now significantly, but we’re not planning to take on
Ian Jackson is turning to the trade. features 60,000 hotels, up from 20,000. the likes of Expedia. We’re not a big company
The hotels are often full during the week with Gaston said new technology offered Octopus and we don’t pretend to be.
business travellers and staff from airlines such greater flexibility and scalability, improved “We could not have grown the business with
as First Choice, Thomas Cook and Virgin Atlantic. ability to manage supply, more effective pricing just 20,000 hotels, as customers expect choice
But Jackson believes agents could play a vital and enhanced payment options. and GTA can’t offer the breadth for customers.”
role in securing weekend bookings. The platform will drive plans for “significant” He said Octopus remained profitable and
“Agents need to be incentivised to push it, so volume growth over the next year in both the largely unaffected by the economic downturn.
we are offering £5 commission on a £55 weekend
room rate,” he said.
A new Premier Inn is due to open in August,
taking the total in the Gatwick area to six.
In brief
■ Dubai hotels join discount promotion
Several of Dubai’s biggest hotels have joined
the tourist board to offer a month of heavily
discounted deals. The promotion, which also
includes restaurants, tours and shopping, ends
on February 15. Jumeirah, Le Royal Meridien, One
& Only and Grosvenor House are all taking part.
dubaiupdate.co.uk/offers
Dance complex opens in Sharm
Rex Resorts is giving away trips to
St Lucia and Antigua to encourage THE CREATOR of the Soho Square entertainment “It has come at the right time because
agents to log bookings via its online complex in Egypt believes it will attract tourists the English market in particular is looking at
training programme. The two agents to the resort of Sharm el Sheikh in droves. non-Euro destinations and Sharm offers an
who log the most in January and February will Emad Aziz dreamt up the idea over a decade affordable, high-class option. It has been a very
win a seven-night holiday. Runners-up receive ago and in just a few weeks’ time the £80 million expensive project but it made sense to spend
an iPod and there are other free stays on offer. project will officially open. more money to make sure it was right.”
For more information visit
rexpertsonline.com He said: “I knew Sharm was lacking a modern, Aziz, who owns two Savoy resorts next to Soho
sophisticated entertainment centre. Square, is confident that the mile-long stretch
ttglive.com
For the very latest hotels and resort
“The people here are surprised to see it of bars, restaurants, kids’ areas, discos and
news, visit
ttglive.com/hotels because it looks like it belongs in Dubai. cyber cafes will soon pay for itself.
30 23.01.2009
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