09/07/2010  SHERATON SET TO OPEN EIGHT MORE HOTELS IN CHINA.

     Starwood announced that its Sheraton Hotels & Resorts plans to open eight more hotels in China before the end of 2010, and another 18 by 2015.

     The Sheraton brand also marked a major milestone this month with the opening of its 30th hotel in Greater China- Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel, which is Starwood's 60th property in Greater China.

     Sheraton is our most prolific brand in China, accounting for half of Starwood's current portfolio in this dynamic, fast-growing market. We are delighted to expand Sheraton in established cities like Beijing and Shanghai, while simultaneously introducing the iconic hotel brand to emerging business hubs and resort destinations," said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. "China is leading the recovery in global tourism in 2010, and by 2020, it is expected to be the world's largest tourism market. And as the Chinese pick up the pace of their domestic and international travel, they are going to stay with the brands they know, which will have a phenomenal impact on our global business."

09/06/2010  THE CONSEQUENCES OF VIRTUAL MEETINGS

    No one can dispute the success of Telepresence* and the impressive increase in virtual meetings; Now, a surprising new study finds that over the next 10 to 15 years these virtual meetings media could replace up to 70 percent of internal travel and 10 percent of external travel.

    According to Bernstein Research, the result could lead to an aggregate reduction of 21 percent in corporate travel spending.

    As the Bernstein report details, "Technical advances in video conferencing have moved the capability to an entirely new level over the last 18 months, so that it now has the potential to fundamentally impact business travel". According to the report, in the next 10 to 15 years, the United States telepresence or virtual meeting market will be worth US$30 billion. Small companies will be responsible for almost half of that amount.

09/06/2010  ALOFT HOTELS MAKES EUROPEAN DEBUT

    loft Hotels introduces style at a steal to the capital of Europe with the opening of Aloft Brussels Schuman.

    Starwood and its new destination sensation brand, Aloft(R) Hotels, announce that Aloft Brussels Schuman, the first Aloft hotel in Europe, opens today. Aloft Hotels delivers urban-inspired, modern design and an energetic guest experience at an affordable price point.

    Owned by Thornsett Group, Aloft Brussels Schuman introduces style at a steal to Belgium. Located in the heart of the buzzing European Union district, the hotel will feature 147 loft-like guest rooms, including three "Breezy Lofts" (Aloft's re-interpretation of a suite), a buzzing bar scene in the open lobby, an urban-inspired grab-and-go café and industrial design elements throughout. A vision of W Hotels, Aloft's stylish urban attitude is set to shake up the European mid-market hotel scene.

09/06/2010  GREEN GRASS THINKING - FRESH 'GRASS CARPETS' IN MEETING ROOMS

    In a bid to inject some creativity into traditional and often mundane business meetings, Crowne Plaza is laying fresh green grass in conference rooms at a number of its hotels across the UK and Ireland.

    The new rooms, filled with living grass, aim to stimulate creative thinking among business guests by helping them step away from a traditional office environment into an unconventional space.

09/02/2010  TUI TRAVEL BLAMES SMALL AGENCIES + DYNAMIC PACKAGING FOR ITS WOES

    The bigger travel companies in the UK are trying to play the blame game according to a recent report in TTG/UK.

    After the recent collapses in the UK - there is plenty of bad blood floating around in the market.

    Tuis chief financial officer Paul Bowtell said: The later booking curve plays into the hands of smaller operators who can pick up relatively cheap distressed airline stock which can they can package up.

09/02/2010  PANDOX SNAPS UP NORGANI

    Swedish hotel property company Pandox is to purchase Norway-based Norgani Hotels for an acquisition price of 1 billion euros.

    The deal, which is conditional on funding and the approval of competition regulators, will see Pandoxs portfolio swell by 73 hotels and one conference centre located across Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark (a total of 12,900 rooms).

09/02/2010  HEDNA U RELAUNCHES

    HEDNA relaunched its popular HEDNA U educational effort in Omaha and is described as one of the best educational products available on electronic distribution.

    HEDNA U is designed to educate industry up-and-comers about electronic distribution. The interactive one-day seminar began with a history of electronic distribution followed by sessions on content, system functionality, the Internet and social media.

    "The interactive format worked well with good interaction between the students and the presenters," says Keith Cotton of Hotel Booking Solutions and chair of HEDNA's Education Committee. "The students also liked the casual approach and the opportunity to interject comments and ask questions throughout the sessions."