p28 hotels jan30 27/1/09 17:20 Page 28
Hotels & resorts
Rupert Murray
020 7921 8010
rmurray@ttglive.com
For the latest luxury news and to subscribe visit
ttgluxury.com
In brief
‘Alliances are key
■ Design Hotels opens all-pool property in Bali
Design Hotels will open its new member hotel
Alila Villas Uluwatu on April 1, 2009. The Bali-
based resort is the first all-pool villa property
to luxury survival’
in a new generation of Alila Hotels and Resorts.
Rupert Murray.
■ Hilton franchise deal in French Polynesia LUXURY hotel groups claim they will be seeing
Hilton Hotels has entered into a franchise licence more independent luxury properties looking
agreement with Louis Wane for three hotels, on to join them in 2009 in order to ride out the
Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora, in French Polynesia. economic downturn.
The hotels have been rebranded as the Hilton Groups such as Preferred Hotel Group and
Hotel Tahiti, the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Great Hotels Organisation claim they are
Spa and the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa. receiving growing numbers of applications to sit
under their sales and marketing umbrellas.
■ Ritz-Carlton launches ‘Reserve’ in Thailand Great Hotels Organisation said it had received
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is launching a integration requests from almost 400 hotels in
brand extension for “the most discerning global 2008, and it expected the number this year to be
travellers” called Ritz-Carlton Reserve. It will club higher.
together developments in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Carly Gotz, group director of business devel-
Turks & Caicos and the UAE offering “one of a kind, opment, said: “Our consumers still plan to travel
low-density resorts in choice settings”. The first this year, but will be looking for newer and
Reserve hotel will be Phulay Bay in Krabi, Thailand. unique destinations in areas that will allow their
money to stretch even further.”
ttglive.com
For the very latest hotels and resort Chris Fradin, Preferred director of marketing
news, visit
ttglive.com/hotels
for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Inde- Devi Garh in Udaipur is a Preferred Hotel boutique member
pendents have to cut costs; they save money by
joining us and benefit from a far larger audience. The group has recently invested heavily
Training is free
“The key is to be nimble in difficult times and in its websites, a move that chairman John
our expertise and knowledge of the wider market Ueberroth believes is vital in the present climate.
at Worldhotels
means we can offer good and rapid advice on “Our ongoing investment in website develop-
what hotels need to do to maximise potential.” ment underscores our commitment to members.”
WORLDHOTELS has introduced an unlimited
training programme for staff working in any of
its several hundred four and five-star properties. Crunch bites Big Apple hotels
The move gives access to 120 training courses
for a one-off fee, with a view to helping hotels LUXURY hotels in New York have seen a “Corporate travellers have slowed down from
through challenging times. significant drop in corporate customers in the all our source markets, and in particular the
Each hotel can send all its staff on as many past few months, but one leading property said global financing and banking sectors,” he said.
courses as it likes in a choice of seven languages it was offsetting the fall with a corresponding “Domestic leisure travel has also slowed and
and 14 destinations. rise in leisure guests. this has a huge impact on rates.”
The courses range from yield, revenue and The Jumeirah Essex House has seen its Dawson said the hotel was adopting a policy
front office management to sales, international proportion of business guests drop from 80% to of “deconstructing” the rates – in a similar way
marketing and distribution, and traditional hotel 70% this month, according to general manager to airlines and tour operators.
operations. Scott Dawson. “To get people through the door we are
Chief executive Michael Ball said: “Especially The New York Palace Hotel has seen a similar offering a basic room rate without breakfast or
in challenging times like these, the importance shift, with the most significant trend being for Wi-Fi. That’s how sensitive the market is.”
of well-trained staff to a hotel’s success cannot smaller meetings. The New York Palace Hotel has also seen a
be underestimated. To ease pressure on hotel Dawson said he did not expect the economy downturn in the corporate market, but a boost
budgets, we decided to introduce this bold move to pick up until at least the first quarter of in leisure – thanks to TV series Gossip Girl, which
to assist both the hotels and their staff.” next year. is largely filmed there.
28 30.01.2009
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