Alvaro Rey, general manager, InterContinental - Travel Daily Media

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

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