Alvaro Rey, general manager, InterContinental - Travel Daily Media
Alvaro Rey, general manager, InterContinental - Travel Daily Media
Alvaro Rey, general manager, InterContinental - Travel Daily Media
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Tuesday 3rd January 2012 ▶ P 1<br />
≪ FACE TO FACE<br />
<strong>Alvaro</strong> <strong>Rey</strong>, <strong>general</strong> <strong>manager</strong> at<br />
<strong>InterContinental</strong> Park Lane, arguably<br />
the happiest hotelier in London ahead<br />
of the Olympic games... READ MORE<br />
≪ EYE ON NORTH AMERICA<br />
New eco-bus tours to the Grand<br />
Canyon launch, Hilton reopens in<br />
Albany and Sheraton opens in Kansas<br />
Crown Center... READ MORE<br />
≪ FAIRMONT REVEALS 2012<br />
OPENING PLANS<br />
Hotel chain targets Eurovision and<br />
Euro pilgrims in new openings, as<br />
well as new property in Jaipur...<br />
READ MORE<br />
BOOK BY<br />
18 TH JANUARY<br />
AND SAVE UP TO<br />
£500 P/P.<br />
ON<br />
SUMMER HOLIDAYS<br />
High street stores<br />
‘should adopt Apple-like<br />
concepts’: ABTA<br />
Association reveals trends for 2012…<br />
Excessive card<br />
surcharges to be<br />
banned<br />
BOOK NOW ><br />
08453 676767<br />
BA preps for ‘cyber<br />
surfing Tuesday’<br />
British Airways<br />
has dubbed<br />
today ‘cyber<br />
surfi ng Tuesday’<br />
as it expects a<br />
rush in website<br />
visits and bookings. The airline has<br />
predicted that with many Brits back<br />
at their desk today, prospective<br />
holidaymakers will turn to travel<br />
sites to research and book their<br />
next escape. It expects today to be<br />
its busiest day with a 50% increase<br />
in traffic. “The fi rst day back at<br />
work always leads to a spike in<br />
visits to our website, and this year<br />
with the excitement of The London<br />
2012 Games and an extra holiday<br />
for the Queen’s Jubilee, we know<br />
planning holidays is going to be at<br />
the forefront of everyone’s minds,”<br />
said Andrew Crawley, commercial<br />
director at British Airways.<br />
High street travel agencies will<br />
have to create an interactive<br />
and fun store concept similar to<br />
Apple to get consumers through<br />
the doors, a new ABTA report<br />
has said. The association's 2012<br />
<strong>Travel</strong> Trends Report said that<br />
while bookings through high<br />
street had increased by 7%<br />
year-on-year, shops will have<br />
to move away from 'rows of<br />
booking agents behind desks' to<br />
differentiate from online. Agents<br />
have been advised to use their<br />
training, expertise and technology<br />
such as iPads to develop<br />
personalised inspiration for<br />
clients, who will expect a tailored,<br />
authentic holiday. Beach holidays,<br />
'adult gap', cruises and wedding<br />
Photo credit: 1000 Words / Shutterstock.com<br />
will remain popular holiday types,<br />
with all-inclusive an attraction for<br />
those on a budget and 'remote<br />
and discreet' trips favoured by the<br />
luxury market. The mid-market<br />
will continue to see the most<br />
pressure, as middle class families<br />
are most affected by the downturn<br />
and holidayed less during 2011.<br />
Meanwhile, over 55s and under<br />
24s look set to take multiple trips<br />
within the year.<br />
The eurozone crisis, high<br />
inflation and low economic<br />
growth will impact holiday spend<br />
alongside tax increases (APD and<br />
ETS) so package holidays with<br />
financial protection are expected<br />
to remain popular. Click here for<br />
full story.<br />
Airlines continue tax campaign as ETS hits<br />
Bosses at easyJet, IAG,<br />
Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic<br />
have continued to express their<br />
call to scrap APD as the Emissions<br />
Trading Scheme kicked in on<br />
Sunday. Carolyn McCall from<br />
easyJet, Willie Walsh from IAG,<br />
Michael O'Leary from Ryanair<br />
and Steve Ridgway from Virgin<br />
Atlantic combined to ‘Axe the Tax’<br />
in November before the Treasury<br />
announced it was to increase APD<br />
later this year.<br />
It has continued to call for APD<br />
to be scrapped but agreed that the<br />
environmental aspect of ETS was<br />
a step in the right direction. “Under<br />
ETS, UK airlines face paying €400m<br />
a year by 2020. Annual revenue<br />
from APD already stands at £2.5bn,<br />
and the Government wants it to<br />
rise to £3.6bn by 2016,” the airlines<br />
explained in a joint statement.<br />
Click here for full story.<br />
Excessive credit card and<br />
debit card surcharges are to<br />
be banned this year following an<br />
investigation by Which?. Fees on<br />
the sale of airline fares currently<br />
add up to another £12 on prices,<br />
while charges put up to £92 extra<br />
on holiday bookings.<br />
The ban would mean no<br />
company could make profit from<br />
the charges, which are thought to<br />
have increased 1,400% in seven<br />
years.<br />
“We want consumers to be<br />
able to shop around,” said Mark<br />
Hoban, financial secretary to the<br />
Treasury in a report from Metro.<br />
Click here for full story.<br />
£26m compensation<br />
granted from 2011<br />
collapses<br />
Around £26 million in<br />
compensation was paid out<br />
to consumers last year following<br />
24 travel company collapses, new<br />
figures have revealed.<br />
Almost 74,000 travellers were<br />
affected by company failures<br />
during 2011 with the average<br />
claim at £353, although the<br />
numbers were lower than 2009,<br />
when 189,000 passengers were<br />
hit and £47m was paid out.<br />
In addition, the research by<br />
Kelkoo showed that 71% of<br />
consumers would find it difficult<br />
financially to book a holiday until<br />
compensation has come through,<br />
which can take up to four months.<br />
The travel company has now<br />
warned that collapses during<br />
2012 could take place during<br />
peak booking periods such as<br />
early this year and summer. Click<br />
here for full story.<br />
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Managing Editor: Amanda Greenwood | Managing Director & Editor: Gary Marshall<br />
36-38 Hanway Street London W1T 1UP United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 207 2686560
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WWW.TRAVELDAILY.CO.UK Tuesday 3rd January 2012 ▶ P 2<br />
FACE TO FACE<br />
Greece posts<br />
tourism bill for<br />
growth<br />
<strong>Alvaro</strong> <strong>Rey</strong>, <strong>general</strong> <strong>manager</strong> at <strong>InterContinental</strong> Park Lane<br />
▶ How did the hotel perform during 2011?<br />
We had a great year and it feels like we haven’t stopped for the past 12 months. 2011 was one of<br />
the best years in our history. The hotel performed well after the refurbishments (see more below) and<br />
we have become fully fl exible in our size and service to help compete against the other luxury hotels<br />
in London. New stand-alone and big groups with brand names have launched or re-opened hotels in<br />
London so being fl exible has helped us to compete, plus we have explored new markets. It’s been a<br />
perfect year.<br />
▶ How has the hotel performed during the year?<br />
Occupancy has increased and the average room rate has been up. Events have been good too, there<br />
was a small drop between October and December on the amount of people participating in the events<br />
but this was only minor. December started weak but there were a few last minute events booked in such<br />
as cocktail evenings.<br />
▶ How have London’s new openings affected the hotel?<br />
Openings are always important and make you think about new product. It’ll [new openings] help the<br />
city as London will always continue growing. I think we differentiate from the others as we are active.<br />
Our hotel closed in 2005 and reopened in 2007 with a new lobby, bar and lounge and we are currently<br />
going through a soft refurbishment of rooms and connecting suites.<br />
It’s not just been the physical but also our staff training, which has helped us retain employees. Our<br />
changed strategy has seen our 50% turnaround of staff reduced to 27% so that makes a big difference<br />
to the dynamic of the team and service we provide to guests.<br />
Our restaurants and bars also continue to be successful.<br />
▶ Will you be making any changes ahead of the Olympics? How will the<br />
games affect your hotel?<br />
We will continue with room renovations but also some interesting new suites will be released before<br />
the Olympics. There will also be a little renovation at the entrance to complement the lobby and bar. It’s<br />
an innovation outside that no other hotel in London has and should be ready after Easter.<br />
We have partnered with LOCOG during the Olympics and are part of the family so we will be totally<br />
full during the games period. A lot of people [i.e. hoteliers] complain about the games but I think it will<br />
be great for the city. Summer would usually be very quiet in London during a normal year so I think<br />
people should be happy and look at ways to profi t. It’s about the pre and post event too for the future.<br />
People will come here to see the Olympics but they should also see what is going to happen. We try<br />
to create problems but should also see how it will benefi t from it in the future. We have the chance to<br />
showcase the city.<br />
▶ What new programmes will be put in place for 2012?<br />
We have currently been working to launch programmes for our employees, so every Wednesday we<br />
take members of different departments on a tour of the parks near the hotel. We go during different<br />
times of the day and tell them about the surroundings and history, plus it’s a chance for us and them to<br />
meet and catch up on life and work. It’s about listening to people in a relaxed way and talk freely.<br />
In March 2012 we will be extending tours onto our guests, which they can choose to do on their own<br />
or with an employee. By then all employees would have done the programme so they could be from any<br />
department and it allows guests to increase their knowledge of London.<br />
Throughout the year there will also be chefs, festivals, paintings and craft activities each month.<br />
▶ How does the hotel work with UK travel agents?<br />
We have a strong relationship as a big team [under IHG], we visit a lot of businesses and have lots of<br />
fam trips both locally and other countries. The domestic market is important to us as more are coming<br />
to the city and they take up dining and theatre tickets too.<br />
Greece’s Ministry of Culture<br />
and Tourism has presented a<br />
new tourism bill to help boost the<br />
country’s economy into 2012. In<br />
a presentation on 20 December<br />
last year, Minister of Culture and<br />
Tourism Pavlos Yeroulanos said<br />
its strategies would focus on<br />
rural tourism; tourist ports and a<br />
simplifi ed licensing process for<br />
tourism businesses to increase its<br />
prospects. It is hoped the former<br />
will create jobs and support local<br />
produce, as well as support fi shing,<br />
gastronomy and wine tourism.<br />
Click here for full story.<br />
Fairmont reveals<br />
2012 opening<br />
plans<br />
Baku will receive a Fairmont hotel in 2012<br />
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has<br />
announced it will debut in three<br />
new destinations next year and add<br />
more than 1,300 rooms around the<br />
world. In the fi rst half of the year,<br />
the hotel chain plans to open the<br />
Fairmont Jaipur with 199 rooms,<br />
nine villas and a Presidential Suite.<br />
In addition it will open a property<br />
in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is host<br />
nation for the Eurovision Song<br />
Contest next year. it will have 318<br />
rooms and is based in the Flame<br />
Towers, a multi-use building<br />
overlooking the Caspian Sea.<br />
Meanwhile, Fairmont will also<br />
be targeting football fans with the<br />
opening of Fairmont Grand Hotel<br />
Kyiv in Ukraine, the fi rst luxury hotel<br />
in the city. “International growth is<br />
a key focus at Fairmont and I fully<br />
expect 2012 to be a busy year for<br />
us,” said Jennifer Fox, president of<br />
Fairmont. Click here for full story.<br />
Domestic tourism<br />
team up for<br />
campaign<br />
VisitEngland has teamed up<br />
with cottages4you to launch a<br />
marketing campaign for domestic<br />
breaks. Advertisements will begin<br />
on Boxing Day as part of a £1<br />
million campaign to promote<br />
holidays in the UK to Brits. “The<br />
self-catering sector is incredibly<br />
important to domestic tourism – *5.2<br />
million overnight domestic holidays<br />
were taken in a rented property<br />
last year generating £17 billion in<br />
tourism spend,” said Tim Holt, head<br />
of marketing at VisitEngland.<br />
Click here for full story.<br />
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Managing Editor: Amanda Greenwood | Managing Director & Editor: Gary Marshall<br />
36-38 Hanway Street London W1T 1UP United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 207 2686560
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WWW.TRAVELDAILY.CO.UK Tuesday 3rd January 2012 ▶ P 3<br />
Funway kicks off 20th anniversary<br />
Iberostar opens second Tenerife hotel<br />
Funway Holidays has started to<br />
celebrate its 20th anniversary<br />
in 2012 by offering travel agents<br />
the chance to win a bottle of<br />
champagne. Any agent who makes<br />
a Far East booking between 1<br />
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January and 31 March 2012 will<br />
be entered into a draw. In addition,<br />
every booking more than £2, 000<br />
during the celebration period will be<br />
entered into a draw to win £20 of<br />
shopping.<br />
Tune Hotels opens<br />
second London<br />
property<br />
Malaysian budget hotel<br />
chain Tune Hotels opened<br />
its second London property at<br />
Liverpool Street last week. Located<br />
just 500m from Liverpool Street<br />
train station, the new Tune Hotels<br />
property features 183 en-suite<br />
bedrooms and a private courtyard<br />
garden.<br />
"We are committed to London as<br />
one of our core markets and will be<br />
striving for Liverpool Street to follow<br />
in the success of our Westminster<br />
property which has achieved<br />
average occupancies in excess<br />
of 96% since opening in August<br />
2010,” said Mark Lankester, group<br />
CEO of Tune Hotels.<br />
Iberostar Hotels & Resort s<br />
opened its second city hotel last<br />
week, in Tenerife. The Iberostar<br />
Grand Hotel Mencey was opened<br />
by Miguel Fluxa, executive chairman<br />
at the hotel chain in a ceremony<br />
mirroring its original opening in the<br />
1950s. The hotel opening follows the<br />
group’s fi rst city hotel in Istanbul and<br />
is based in Santa Cruz.<br />
EYEONAMERICA<br />
NORTH<br />
٭<br />
New Grand Canyon eco bus tours launch<br />
Grand Canyon Tour and <strong>Travel</strong> has launched<br />
new environmentally friendly tours to the<br />
tourist attraction. The new tours, known as<br />
VIP Spirit, use low emission mini-buses<br />
to reach the national park with just 12<br />
seats and extras such as larger windows,<br />
flat-screen TVs, surround sound, upgraded seating and<br />
limousine lighting. “We’ve provided the best full size motor<br />
coach tours to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam for many<br />
years” said the company’s Mike Rancilio. “We’re now able<br />
to integrate that knowledge, superior customer service and<br />
experience into the VIP Spirit brand and are extending it to<br />
reach our other destinations such as Zion National Park,<br />
Hollywood and Death Valley”.<br />
٭<br />
Hilton reopens Albany hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts has returned to Albany<br />
in New York state by renaming a Crowne<br />
Plaza hotel in the city. The property will now be<br />
known as Hotel Albany and is the first Hilton<br />
in the Capital District region. Its 386 rooms will<br />
now go through a renovation, as well as the<br />
lobby, offices and garages in the first months of this year.<br />
٭<br />
Sheraton opens in Kansas Crown Center<br />
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has taken over a hotel in Kansas<br />
City’s Crown Center. The 730-room hotel will now be redesigned<br />
to the chain’s name and product offering in a £8.3m renovation.<br />
Its lobby will be converted into a Link@Sheraton hub with<br />
technology powered by Microsoft. It will also receive an indoor<br />
and outdoor pool, Sheraton Club Lounge and fi tness centre<br />
alongside the current meetings and events space.<br />
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Managing Editor: Amanda Greenwood | Managing Director & Editor: Gary Marshall<br />
Advertise with TDUK today! Email us at advertising@traveldaily.co.uk 36-38 Hanway Street London W1T 1UP United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 207 2686560