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Archives for June 2009

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“Europe’s troubles can be found in the fall of average room rates”

The European hotel industry posted mixed year-over-year results when reported in U.S. dollars, euros and British pounds for May 2009, according to data compiled by STR Global.

“Europe’s troubles can be found in the fall of average room rates”, said James Chappell, managing director of STR Global. “In U.S. dollar and euro terms, the region reports the highest drops in ADR for the month and year-to-date May compared to Asia/Pacific, the Americas and Middle East/Africa.”  

“For May, of the 40 markets tracked on our European Hotel Review, only four increased their average rates in local currency terms: Frankfurt, Tel Aviv and the northern European markets of Helsinki and Malmo”, Chappell added. “The trade fairs helped Frankfurt to achieve the highest ADR increase of 22 percent for the 40 markets tracked”. 

Highlights from market performers for May include (year-over-year results, all currency figures are in euros): 

• Frankfurt, Germany, reported the largest occupancy increase, rising 7.6 percent to 59.9 percent.
• Budapest, Hungary, experienced the largest occupancy decrease, falling 21.5 percent to 60.4 percent, followed by Geneva, Switzerland (-21.2 percent to 58.8 percent) and Tel Aviv, Israel (-21.0 percent to 71.0 percent). 
• Frankfurt posted a 22.4-percent jump in ADR to EUR114.47, the largest increase of that metric.
• Three markets posted ADR decreases of more than 25 percent: Moscow, Russia (-41.9 percent to EUR165.49); Düsseldorf, Germany (-32.9 percent to 79.34); and Cardiff, United Kingdom (-25.5 percent to EUR64.90). 
• Frankfurt reported the only RevPAR increase, up 31.7 percent to EUR68.55.
• Seven markets experienced RevPAR decreases of 30 percent or more: Moscow (-49.7 percent to EUR101.15); Düsseldorf (-41.5 percent to EUR41.52); Madrid, Spain (-36.4 percent to EUR61.15); Budapest (-34.4 percent to EUR45.48); Prague, Czech Republic (-33.2 percent to EUR59.00); Stockholm, Sweden (-32.8 percent to EUR77.41); and Dublin, Ireland (-30.0 to EUR59.17).

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Starwood enhances Aloft website

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has enhanced Aloft website with the addition of interactive features.

The site (www.alofthotels.com/explore) includes a guided insider’s tour of the hotel, maps and city guides for each location and engages visitors through a series of original, branded games in order to bring “the Aloft experience to life”. 

The Aloft brand’s new online experience includes: An Insider’s Virtual Tour (access to each area of the hotel and its unique design features); Destination Map and City Guides; Gaming and Trivia (tunes, bartending, online billiards, travel trivia games); Aloft Radio (music with the special Aloft playlist). 

Brian McGuinness, Starwood’s SVP - Specialty Select Brands, said, “With the new site we wanted to extend the same energy and vibrancy one finds at each Aloft property to our virtual home and provide a truly unique and memorable experience that resonates with the savvy, Gen Y traveler.” 

Aloft hotels’ target audience is described as savvy, design-conscious consumers. 

The company is working on an aggressive growth plan, with close to 50 properties set to open by the end of this year.

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AirAsia gets ready for the US

Low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd is gearing up for its foray into the US.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes has said that the budget airline would fly to North America once it sorted out the legal issues and obtained clearance from the respective countries. 

The airline has also signed a sponsorship deal with National Football League’s (NFL) Oakland Raiders.

“The main benefit of this partnership is reaching a large market. We see California as a big market for us. In the east coast of US, there is New York. This is also a great stepping stone to do flights to San Francisco and Hawaii,” Fernandes reportedly said.

Azran Oman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, told abs-cbnNEWS.com that the airline might fly to the US by next year although this will depend on the progress of negotiations.

“We target to fly to the US starting next year but we don't know yet where and when exactly. We have to see which airports would be willing to work with us and we have to ask for approval from the US government,” he said.

Earlier this month, AirAsia had announced the firm order for 10 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft for its low-cost long-haul affiliate AirAsia X. 

According to the group, the move “is set to seal the airlines’ vision to be the world’s first long-haul and short-haul low cost airline”.

“By buying the Airbus A350, AirAsia and AirAsia X have now got its strategy fixed all the way to 2020. The vision of creating the world’s first long-haul and short-haul low cost airline is complete,” Fernandes had said.

Read more: AirAsia X

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Ryanair signs deal with Webloyalty

Ryanair has announced a partnership with Webloyalty, a provider of online savings, discount and protection programmes.

Customers booking online with Ryanair will have the option to join Shopper Discounts & Rewards, Webloyalty’s membership programme designed for regular online shoppers.

As a result of this tie-up, Ryanair UK passengers will be offered discounts of up to 20% at over 700 online retailers. Members benefit from best price guarantees, automatic extended warranty protection, and ongoing rewards such as cash back cheques – for £10 per month.

Martin Child, managing director, Europe of Webloyalty, said: “Our model will help Ryanair to reward its repeat customers whilst providing a revenue stream and repeat business to their web pages with minimal effort required by them to implement the programme.”

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Google works on a trip planning tool

Google is foraying into the world of travel with the launch of Google City Tours.

The feature is a Google Maps application. City Tours is a new feature that presents the user with predefined tours around specific areas. The site generates suggested itineraries for destinations around the world, and allows users to customise their schedules according to how many days they are visiting, and what they want to see.

According to a description on Google Labs, the search engine’s experimental playground: “City Tours helps you identify points of interest and plan multi-day trips to most major cities. You just specify the location of your hotel and the length of your trip and City Tours will map out an itinerary for you.”

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Lonely Planet’s first concept store to open in Sydney

The world’s first-ever Lonely Planet concept store is set to open in early July as part of Sydney Airport’s $500 million International Terminal redevelopment.

Lonely Planet and Lagardère Services Asia Pacific have joined forces to create the concept, which will sell the full range of Lonely Planet’s digital products and travel guides.

“Airports are strange places,” said Howard Ralley, Lonely Planet’s sales & marketing director. 

“You’re half-excited and half-bored. Everyone waiting for a flight wants to be inspired or have their attention diverted, so we figured where better to open the world’s first Lonely Planet store showcasing all that we do, from digital services to guidebook content.  As well as over 500 books, videos and quality travel gear, there’ll be i-touch screens to deliver expert information from our authors, plus the ability to print your own custom guidebook from our Pick & Mix chapters.”

The store has been designed by Studio Red, a Sydney-based design studio specialising in retail interior design. One of their key inspirations was Lonely Planet’s iconic array of guidebooks. The designers have created a graphic montage of book covers which appear to spring from the wall. Products are framed in a 3D-designed bookcase which is offset by intersecting suspended ceiling fins to suggest movement and travel.

The store’s interior design is also distinguished by a supergraphic world map, displaying Lonely Planet images from around the world.

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Carlson Hotels focuses on demand forecasting

Carlson Hotels Worldwide has selected QL2 for its Carlson Hotels Stay Night Automated Pricing (SNAP) initiative.

QL2 will provide on-demand data on competitive and market dynamics for 700 of the Carlson Hotel properties in the United States and Asia Pacific.

The SNAP process optimises pricing in order to maximise revenue through demand forecasting. 

The QL2 Data Services provides Carlson Hotels Worldwide with specific, manageable data on properties, rates, amenities and other factors that matter when making strategic pricing decisions.

Jim Rozell, senior director of revenue optimisation at Carlson Hotels Worldwide, said, “SNAP is allowing us to push revenue management from a centralised function out to the operational levels of our properties where we can now empower hotel employees that are busy providing guest services to also make data-driven revenue optimisation decisions with the click of a mouse.”

“Their (Carlson’s) vision for SNAP of combining current competitive and market data with historical insights is an industry first,” said Russ Aldrich, chief executive officer, QL2.

Read more: forecasting

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`Worst hotel in the world’ tag works for a budget hotel in Amsterdam

A hotel in Amsterdam, which describes itself as the `the worst hotel in the world’, has reportedly become quite popular.

The campaign, by advertising agency KesselsKramer, paints the Hans Brinker budget hotel in Amsterdam as dirty, uncomfortable and as one that lacks basic necessities such as beds. Yet it has been a huge success with travellers, reported News.com.au.

The hotel is running at around 80 percent occupancy. The success has been put down to the advertising campaign, which “takes honesty to the extreme” and are “revered and reviled in equal measure”, the company’s website says. 

Dave Bell, Creative Director and Partner at KesselsKramer, says the hotel has found a unique selling-point. 

“Everybody is always trying to be the best, but there are merits in being the worst,” Bell said. “Maybe more people should strive to be the worst at something, when you’re the worst you have a lot more room to be creative and do your own thing.”  

The hotel promotes itself as “accidentally eco-friendly” in a YouTube video – having a lack of services such as cleaning and elevators that are out of order means it uses less energy. 

‘Worst hotel in the world’ campaign

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BA to allow customers to compare costs with low-cost airlines

British Airways has launched an online price checker to highlight no-frills airlines’ “hidden” additional charges.

BA’s Value Checker allows consumers to see how much extra they have to pay the value airlines for additional features including using a debit card, checking-in and priority boarding. All of these come with the price of a ticket on BA.

As per the information available, the tool enables passengers to select how they wish to travel – whether to check in at the airport or online, choose a seat, put luggage in the hold or opt for drinks or snacks. It then calculates and compares the respective costs imposed by Ryanair and easyJet against that of BA’s full service.

A report filed by telegraph.co.uk highlighted: Among the extra charges on Ryanair are an £80 fee for checking in at the airport for a return flight and a £260 charge for putting a 23kg bag in the hold on a return flight (£58 with easyJet). To book priority boarding on a return flight costs £8 at the airport with Ryanair and £6 online. This service costs from £5.90 with easyJet. All the above are free on BA.

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MakeMyTrip adds rail bookings

Online travel agency MakeMyTrip.com has added rail bookings to its portfolio of services.

The new rail booking engine has been developed on the basis of an extensive usability test and interactions with customers.

“This is the first time in India that customers can book return trips for train tickets, which we believe is a key differentiator in terms of features. With this MakeMyTrip becomes the first travel company to offer complete travel solutions. Rail travellers can look forward to exciting offers and good times ahead,” said Sachin Bhatia, co-founder, MakeMyTrip.

Online rail booking grew by 100 percent last year. According to a release, 25 percent of rail tickets (about 200,000 a day) are booked online now. 

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) reportedly did 19 million transactions in 2007-08 and 38.7 million (estimated 75 million passengers) in 2008-09. Of the latter 5.3 million transactions (sales $100 million) were conducted in March 2009 alone.

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