NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW 4
Royal set to open five Perfect Day private islands
Harry Kemble
harry.kemble@
travelweekly.co.uk
Royal Caribbean International will open five ‘Perfect Day’ private islands over the next five years and has revealed that its yet-to-be-named ‘Spectrum 2’ ship will sail in Europe.
The line will open ‘Perfect Day at
CocoCay’ in the Bahamas in May. It will be followed by private islands in Asia, for the Chinese market, one off the coast of Australia and another in the Caribbean. Speaking at a Travel Weekly
Executive Lunch, the line’s president and chief executive, Michael Bayley, said: “We have been busy acquiring land around the world and each one will have a slightly different concept, depending on what each market’s idea of a perfect day is.” Ten Royal Caribbean ships will
feature CocoCay in itineraries this year, and in 2020 ships will stay later into the evenings. In 2021, vessels will stay overnight. Royal Caribbean is also building “limited overnight accommodation” on the island, which will offer “a suite-
Michael Bayley: ‘We have been busy acquiring land around the world’
5 STORIES HOT
L CRUISE class experience”. A pier that can accommodate
two ships, including one Oasis- class vessel, is being constructed. “You could go on one ship, spend
a few days at CocoCay and get back on another ship,” said Bayley. Royal is preparing to launch
Spectrum of the Seas, its first Quantum Ultra-class vessel, in Shanghai in April. Bayley hinted that the second Quantum Ultra-class vessel,
currently known as ‘Spectrum 2’, will sail out of Barcelona after its launch in autumn 2020 and will visit the UK. Royal is poised to announce a major investment in port infrastructure in Barcelona. Bayley confirmed Royal was
likely to exercise five options for new-builds it has registered with shipyards. This would be in addition to five ship orders set to
be delivered in the next five years. › Royal looks forward, page 16
5 Affordable rebrands with star logo
Ben Ireland
ben.ireland@
travelweekly.co.uk
Affordable Car Hire has rebranded for its 15th birthday, having settled a legal row with Avis Budget, and launched a motorhomes division.
The trade-friendly car and
motorbike hire, airport parking and airport lounges specialist has a new star-shaped ‘A’ logo, its five points reflecting the five products it sells. Under the fresh strapline
‘Rentals Made Simple’, Affordable’s
star also represents its five key pledges: affordability, trust, service, quality and flexibility. Founder and director Angela
Day announced the rebrand at this week’s Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards. She said the “enhanced” website would bring the brand “up to date”, make it faster and capable of displaying more product. She added: “We had reached a level with the current platform where we needed to reignite it.” The new Affordable Motorhomes
division offers commissionable rentals in 20,000 locations across
6
travelweekly.co.uk 17 January 2019
had initiated proceedings in early 2017, claiming Affordable failed to pay monthly invoices, and sought $2.2 million for bookings it claimed it had not been paid for. Affordable launched a
150 countries from the UK to Japan and can be booked online. Day said: “A lot of people
were asking if we could offer motorhomes. We built it from there.” Affordable settled out of court
with Avis Budget in November, but Day was unable to comment on details for legal reasons. Avis
$15 million counterclaim against Avis in April 2017, alleging breach of confidentiality and arguing that invoice errors were the car hire giant’s fault.
“The court case closing was a big milestone,” said Day. “The team literally wept when it was over. Now we have got through it we’re moving forward in our 15th year.”
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