p32 Hotels Dec4 1/12/09 15:01 Page 32
Hotels & resorts
Rupert Murray
020 7921 8010
rmurray@ttglive.com
For the latest accommodation news, visit
ttglive.com/hotels
Hotel brands face
‘spoilt brat’ effect
Rupert Murray.
15 or fewer rooms to shut, while
NEXT YEAR will be one of budget and small hotels which
reckoning for the hotel industry have reduced prices “too far
Sandals launches
and only those who adapt already” will suffer drops in
will survive, warned the boss standards and profit, and in turn
10 weeks of prizes
of the Supranational Hotels a reduction in market share.
consortium. His advice is for hotels to
Niels Pedersen (right), man- respond to “massive social
GIRL-GROUP The Saturdays have been testing out aging director of the 1,200- changes” by, for example,
Sandals resorts. Una (pictured) and Vanessa member group, envisages flat cutting out formality in service
stayed at Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore or falling tariffs, continued severe cost-cutting, and replacing it with humility.
Island while Rochelle and Mollie both went to and more managers opting to leave the industry. “Too many hotel staff retain an innate
St Lucia, staying at Regency La Toc Golf Resort & “The business travel market will continue snobbishness which they use to offset their low
Spa, and Grande St Lucian Spa & Beach Resort. slowly to decline, remain price-sensitive, and the pay,” he added.
Sandals is launching an agent incentive, length of stay shorten further,” he said. “And finally, the profession will have to redis-
entitled “10 reasons to book Sandals and Beaches “And a new generation of spoilt-brat cover the back to basics psychology that worked
in 2010”, to run for 10 weeks from December 16. executives with excessive expectations will well in the 1960s. This involves co-operating
Prizes including wine, theatre tickets, and a week’s complain and switch loyalties to the point where with competitors, not being greedy, employing
stay at Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas. hotel branding becomes meaningless. staff genuinely good at service, and learning to
To enter, agents must make a booking to any “Hotels will find it desirable to trim operating value and tolerate all sources of business, how-
Sandals, Beaches, Grand Pineapple or Royal budgets by up to 40% by, for example, halving ever small, difficult, and from whatever origin.”
Plantation resort from December 16 to February reception staff, doubling the workload of clean- Pedersen concluded that next year would be
28 and complete the online training programme. ers, and sacking unproductive management.” particularly tense and that the industry should
Pedersen also expects many properties with not expect much improvement before 2015.
In brief
■ Mandarin marks Barcelona debut with offer
Mandarin Oriental opened its first hotel in
southern Europe last week. The 98-room
Mandarin Oriental Barcelona has a second-night-
free launch offer, available until March 31, 2010.
■ London hotel occupancy rates nudge up
London hotels saw a 1.5 percentage point rise in
year-on-year occupancy levels in October, taking
the average to 85.1%, one of the highest in the
UK, according to TRI Hospitality Consulting.
■ Alila heads to India with Goa beach resort
Alila Hotels & Resorts will open its first property
in India this month. The 149-room Alila Diwa Goa
is situated on Majorda Beach.
FORTRESS FOR SUCCESS: Anantara has just opened Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort in Abu
ttglive.com
For the very latest hotels and resort
Dhabi. The 206-room hotel has been designed to resemble a desert fortress. It will be
news, visit
ttglive.com/hotels followed in May by Anantara Kihava Villas in The Maldives, set on Kihavah Huravalhi
32 04.12.2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64