Author Archive for Michael
Qatar Airways Opens New Premium Lounge at London Heathrow
Qatar Airways introduced 15 new destinations in 2011, a move that plays heavily into the importance of London’s Heathrow airport as the hub of the airline’s European operations. In order to reinforce that position the airline recently announced the opening of a brand-new passenger lounge. The Premium Lounge at Terminal 4 is the second such passenger lounge from Qatar Airways, and the first of its kind in Europe.
The most significant difference between the Premium Lounge and those offered by competing airlines is the atmosphere. Rather than have the look and feel of a typical airport lounge, designers created the space to feel more like a luxury resort. The lounge includes private showers with brand name toiletries, hotel quality towels, heated floors, and other amenities. Throughout the space guests will enjoy free WiFi connection, a fully equipped business center, and power outlets at every seat.
Guests can also enjoy drinks at the Martini Bar and light meals in the delicatessen. Qatar Airlines even went so far as to hire the best talent from five-star hotels to staff their kitchen space. The entire lounge is meant to reward loyal customers with the luxury travel experience they deserve.
New Program Changes to Starwood Preferred Guest Program
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, one of the best-known names in 5-star hotels and travel, is about to turn the luxury travel world on its head. Looking to cater to a small but distinct group of travellers responsible for driving nearly one-third of the company’s profits, Starwood has developed an exclusive loyalty program they call Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG). The program offers unique benefits to what Starwood refers to as “mega travellers”; a group of sophisticated and prolific travellers who long ago were disillusioned by standard perks and points reward programs.
In order to reward this loyal group with an equally loyal resorts program, the hotel chain embarked on three-year pilot project designed to quietly discover what the world’s elite travellers desired in a loyalty program. The result is nothing less than impressive, beginning with the industry’s first 24-hour check-in option. With Your24 check-in, members can choose their own custom check-in and check-out times to meet their schedules. For example, guests who check in at 8 PM don’t need to check out until 8 PM on the departure date. Gone are the industry standard 11 AM check-outs and 3 PM check-ins.
Marriott Announces Plans for Five New EDITION Hotels
Marriott International is adding to their newest luxury brand, according to an announcement made by the company on in January. The new brand, created in a joint effort with New York’s Ian Schrager Company, is known as EDITION.
Five separate EDITION hotels are slated to open within the next couple of years in New York, London, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, and Miami Beach. A sixth property is planned for opening no later than 2015. In addition, management contracts have been signed for hotels in Los Angeles and India.
The first addition to EDITION to open is expected to be the New York property. It will be located in the historical Clock Tower Building on Madison Avenue. Marriott acquired the building from Africa Israel USA for some $165 million. It should be ready for opening later this year.
New York’s First Gay Hotel Opens in 2012
The boutique hotel is rising to new heights in New York City, as Parkview Developers plans to open the Big Apple’s first gay hotel. The OUT NYC, scheduled to open in phases throughout 2012, will be located on 42nd St. in the heart of Manhattan. Developers hope it becomes the premier resort and entertainment venue for both tourists and locals from the gay community.
The project’s first phase is the XL NIGHTCLUB, an 11,000 sq ft lounge, cabaret, and dance club set to feature noted gay entertainers John Blair and Beto Sutter. When the doors open it will be the first gay nightclub to open in the city in over a decade. Visitors can expect to see typical dance club features including several dance floors, modern LED light shows, and a state-of-the-art stage for live acts.
As for the hotel itself, current plans include a property with 105 rooms. The rooms will be designed in a chic, modern décor that speaks to the LGBT community in a way that is up-scale, classy, and sophisticated. According to officials the OUT NYC is “an idea whose time has come.” If all goes according to plans the hotel will not only be simply a place for gay tourists to stay while they’re in New York, it will become the focal point of New York City nightlife for the entire LGBT community.
Intercontinental Moscow Tverskaya – Now Open
Tverskaya is perhaps the most famous street in all of Moscow. But it also happens to be home of the brand-new InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya Hotel. After a 10 year absence from Russia, InterContinental Hotels Group makes its return with a luxury property designed to give business and leisure travellers and experience which incorporates all Russia is. Just minutes from Red Square and the Kremlin, the hotel projects an image of classic Russian design combined with a new embrace of contemporary influences.
InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya offers a total of 203 rooms including 16 junior and senior suites. There are also three penthouse suites where luxury meets culture in one of Russia’s most important forms of art: ballet. Each of the suites honours one of that country’s most famous dancers — Isadora Duncan, Vaslav Nijinsky, and Galina Ulanova. In all of the rooms guests will be treated to traditional Russian tastes perfectly accented with cog-shaped reading tables. The design is stylish and sophisticated yet purposely reflective of the city’s industrial heart.
Four Seasons Launches New Website
The Four Seasons has launched a new website. The website is uncluttered and has full-screen, crystal clear photos. One of the newest features is that each hotel integrates TripAdvisor reviews, Facebook & Twitter comments in real time.
Also integrated on the hotel page is Google Maps, which displays the hotel, as well as other attractions that are nearby.
This is a tremendous upgrade for The Four Seasons, and was rumored to have cost $18 million.
Hotels Come Together to Launch RoomKey.com
While the rise in third-party hotel reservation websites has been a boon to customers, the high fees they charge participating hotels has not always sat well within the industry. That reality has led six of the world’s leading hotel chains to join forces to open their own hotel booking website called RoomKey.com. The most significant difference between RoomKey and its third-party competitors is the fact that it will direct users to the individual websites of the 23,000 participating hotels, so that customers can make a direct booking with that facility.
The six participants include Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, IHG, Marriott International, and Wyndham Worldwide. All six companies own an equal share of the new company and will work together to further develop the site. They are also looking to add more hotel chains who might want to participate.
The new site is being made possible with technology acquired through an asset purchase from Hotelicopter. In addition to allowing customers direct bookings, the Hotelicopter platform provides an avenue for destination marketing that can help drive customers to member hotel websites while they search a specific locale. This added convenience is expected to boost web traffic and further the group’s marketing efforts.
Qantas’ New A380 First Class Luxury Cabin
Qantas Airlines has introduced a new first-class cabin on its A380 jet that looks like something out of a science fiction film. In fact, reviewers at TechEBlog had no trouble saying it reminded them of the USS Enterprise from the popular “Star Trek” series. One look and you’ll understand why.
Designed by Marc Newson, the exclusive cabin features leather seats, full-length beds, and a common social area, all enclosed in a very sleek and futuristic package worthy of any intergalactic ship. In addition, everything under passenger control is operated by LCD touch screens. Individual “suites” include futuristic sliding doors with dark window panels.
The Ritz-Carlton Announces First Hotel in Austria
The American-based Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will be making its Austrian debut during the second quarter of 2012, after being selected by Verny Capital to operate a newly acquired property located within Vienna’s historic Ringstrasse district. The announcement further solidifies the working relationship between Ritz-Carlton and Verny Capital, following the Verny acquisition of the Ritz-Carlton Moscow this past May. Verny Capital officials chose Ritz-Carlton because of their reputation as a leader in luxury hospitality.
The new hotel will be situated inside two historic, 19th-century palaces which have long been protected under Austrian preservation laws. The area in which the palaces are located is one of cultural and historic significance in part of what’s considered Vienna’s “old city.” Although specific plans have not yet been announced, it’s expected that the hotel’s 202 rooms will incorporate the city’s rich heritage as a centre for Europe’s classical music scene. Very near the site is a selection of other historically important buildings erected during the late 19th century. The location of the hotel provides easy access to all the most important sites Vienna has to offer.
PUBLIC Hotels Bring Modern Classic Style to Chicago
The former Ambassador East Hotel has been a Chicago landmark since its opening in 1926. Now, thanks to iconic hotel designer and developer Ian Schrager, the legend of days gone by has been transformed to rise to new heights of sophistication and elegance for the discriminating traveller. Schrager, widely known for his revolutionary boutique hotel concept birthed in the 1980s is once again changing the luxury hotel paradigm with a new brand known simply as PUBLIC. The brand is Schrager’s attempt to redefine luxury travel without the unnecessary excess which has long made it unaffordable to the masses. His PUBLIC brand changes the way we think of luxury hotels, thus allowing access to anyone who wants it.
At the heart of PUBLIC Chicago is a design theme that harkens back to the days of the American and European coffee houses in the 1950s. The hotel’s public spaces are designed to encourage both socialization and business interaction by including relaxing sofas and chairs intermingled with workspace tables. Soft colours and sleek lines combined with refined and low-key décor, present a sophisticated space that is instantly classic without being ostentatious. When you’re in the hotel’s lobby you will know you’re somewhere special — though you might not know exactly why.
