UP FR ONT IHG to expand luxury UK portfolio
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP (IHG) is to add 13 luxury and upscale properties in the UK, in a deal that will spell the end of the fledgling Principal Hotels brand. Te agreement will see real estate investment company Fonciere des Regions purchase 13 properties under the Principal Hotels and De Vere brands from current owners Starwood Capital, with IHG rebranding and operating the hotels under a mixture of its Intercontinental and Kimpton brands, as well as a yet-to-be-launched upscale conversion offering. Te deal includes the recently opened Principal London, as well as the forthcoming Grand Birmingham (pictured), the Principal Manchester, and the Principal Met Hotel in Leeds. IHG says the move will see it become the largest luxury hotel operator in the UK, and will act as a launchpad for its Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants brand in the UK.
ihg.com
WEIRD WE ATHER C R YO S E I SM
FROST QUAKES
Scientists call it a cryoseism. The rest of us can stick to the terms frost quake or ice quake. It’s a seismic phenomenon that occurs when groundwater freezes and then cracks loudly. Often it is so loud it’s more of a thunder clap or a boom, accompanied with the sort of tremors you’d associate with an earthquake. They can cause cracks in the ground as long as several kilometres. Many frost quakes
were reported in Canada during the very cold winter of 2013-2014, especially around Toronto. “Around 11pm Christmas Eve, people reported hearing a loud boom,” said the website Global News. “It rattled houses, leaving many to believe that a tree had fallen on their rooftop. Then again, it could just have been a very noisy Santa.”
15
BRAND NEW
Air Italy has unveiled the carrier’s new livery. The Air Italy name was previously used by a subsdiary of Meridiana, but will now be the brand for the Meridiana group as a whole, with a new livery that takes the maroon colour used by Qatar Airways. The Qatari airline acquired a 49 per cent share in Meridiana in 2016. It is understood the new Air Italy will increase
its fleet to some 50 aircraft in the coming years, by leasing B737 Max 8, A330 and B787 aircraft from Qatar Airways. These will enable Air Italy to rapidly expand its network of domestic and international services, competing with legacy carrier Alitalia.
airitaly.com
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om JUNE 2 0 18
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 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
