TROTTINGS = Trip Jottings
The Fox Trots: Travel Stories from The Fox.
Trottings; product updates from ILTM Cannes.
Some product updates from the ILTM exhibition in Cannes earlier this month. Business news reports from some of these organisations to be published in the Asia Pacific and Europe editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter.
Aman, London-based.
-Has 30 hotels. Recent openings include Tokyo this year. Due next: east central Japan, near Nagoya (an onsen, hot springs, 24 suites, due March 2016); Shanghai (26 villa, some of the material (stones and trees) comes from buildings lost when the Yangtze was flooded to create a dam, due 2017).
-Now concentrating on adding properties in the Americas and Europe; it has specific plans for Costa Rica, Mexico.
Como, Singapore-based.
-This little-known group will be 25-years-old in 2016, from when it started with the Halkin hotel in London. It now has 13 hotels with 700 rooms.
-Has opened the Point Yamu Beach Club on an island away from the Phuket resort of the same name.
-To complement its two resorts in Maldives, it now has a 6-berth yacht, which can sail for as long as three days.
-Refurbished its Metropolitan hotel in London.
Doyle, Ireland-based.
-Called the Doyle Collection. Owns and operates in Bristol, Cork, Dublin, London, Washington – more than one in Dublin and London. Sold its hotel in Boston to fund refurbishing at others.
-Despite the small numbers it has two categories – five what it puts at luxury level. London (Bloomsbury, Kensington, Marylebone), Westbury in Dublin, Dupont Circle in Washington. And what it calls ‘urban hotels’ (although the luxury hotels are also in urban areas) – Bristol, Rivoli in Cork, Coke Park in Dublin.
Four Seasons, Canada-based.
-New this year: Bahrain, Cap Ferrat (in the south of France, a takeover), Casablanca, Dubai (Jumeirah), Johannesburg, Moscow (actually in the Red Square), Seoul.
-Due in 2016: Abu Dhabi (Al Mayrah, end-year), Dubai (Financial City, 100 rooms, April), Surfside Florida, Hawaii (Oahu at Ko Olina), Kuwait, Kyoto, London (Ten Treaty, sic, 100 rooms, late-year), New York.
-Others: Madrid 2018.
Langham, Hong Kong-based.
-Has 20 hotels, and 20 planned, in all brands.
-This year launched its Cordis (Latin for ‘of the heart’) brand. It defines this as ‘upscale’. In every Cordis there will be a ‘family room’, which could mean a room with kitchenette.
-Cordis (also awkward: ‘Cordis’s’?) planned – two in Shanghai due 2016, with Hefei, Qingdao due later. Langham expects to have Cordis’s in London, Middle East, New York.
-Also relaunching Eaton, which it describes as a ‘lifestyle’ brand. Has bought six pieces of land around the world, and will announce specifics in mid-2016.
-Its ‘Langham Place’ sub-brand is described as a ‘contemporary’ brand. Is building in Bali (173 rooms, due 2017); Qingdao; Jakarta (2017); Dubai (168 rooms, 2018).
Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong-based.
-New hotels include two in Beijing, which will give it 10 in Greater China – a definition which includes Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan. Its other projects are Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen.
-Has 11 restaurants with Michelin stars, and 16 stars overall.
-Aims to have what it calls “legendary hotels” in the cities where it has hotels.
Minor, Thailand-based.
-In the past year it has opened in new continents – Europe, South America.
-Bought Tivoli brand hotels in Portugal and South America.
-That brings another brand, when it is already confusing as some hotels/resorts in some brands are similar to those in others. Its brands are Anantara at the top, then in alphabetical order Avani, Elewana, Oaks, Tivoli.
-Anantaras planned: Banana island (20-minute ferry from Doha, Qatar, 141 rooms, now open); Oman (116 rooms, due May 2016); Sri Lanka (at Tangalle, central south coast, 152 villas/suites, due this month); Mozambique (actually an island off the main island, 12 rooms, due January 2016).
-New offers: sky safari in East Africa, with a 10-seat aircraft; Expedition Africa, self-drive with travel in 10-vehicle convoy.
Oberoi, India-based.
-Has 33 hotels.
-Now on what it says is its biggest expansion. Includes: Marrakech (with what are over-large rooms at 200sqm, 87 rooms, due Q2 2016); Ajman (the emirate next to Dubai, and which is being promoted as a Dubai beach hotel, 116 rooms, due August 2016); Chandigarh, India (20-minutes outside the city but called a city resort, 61 villas, due September 2016). All managed, not owned.
Oetker, Germany-based.
-New owners of its hotel in Marrakech this month; refurbishing is planned.
-A 2-year renovation program planned for its Lanesborough in London.
-New: Sao Paulo, 140 rooms, due 2017, management; New York, 170 rooms, due 2018, conversion. Will have equity in NY but it will not say share.
Peninsula, Hong Kong-based.
-In 2016 the company will be 150 years old, although it has only 10 hotels. The founding Kadoorie family is still involved.
-In Paris, one year since it opened, has opened six suites there with gardens and view of the Eiffel Tower.
-Renovating Chicago, as well as offering ‘Keys to Chicago’, where it works with various attractions in the city, such as art shows, to offer special packages to guests.
-Sizeable renovation in Beijing, which involves converting two rooms (and sometimes three) into one. The result will be 60sqm rooms, and a room count down from 350 to 230.
-Company is also investing in art, not just organising visits to experience it. That includes hoisting a full-size model bus on the lower roof of its Hong Kong hotel.
-Has a tour product, the badly-named Peninsula Academy (it is not a training place of any type), with a list of varying special travel experiences. The PA name is unlikely to be changed because it was a senior person, possible a Kadoorie, who proposed it.
-Projects include Istanbul, London, Yangon.
-No dates for Istanbul; we believe not before 2019.
-The London hotel would be a new-build following a demolition. Although announced nearly three years ago, the company still does not have planning permission. But it maintains that this is a normal time scale – particularly for this location, which is at Hyde Park Corner near the gardens of Buckingham Palace, the queen’s residence. As a result it cannot give an opening date; we believe not before 2020.
-Similar for Yangon, although announced a year ago, the delay is more related to the political developments in the country, resulting in delays for many government decisions. The hotel would be a conversion of what was the headquarters of the country’s railway company. We believe it will not open before 2018.
Relais & Chateaux, France-based.
-Its 540 properties count 330 Michelin stars.
-Before, R&C charged its member properties 5% per reservation, but now it charges a fixed US$12. The theory is that in exchange, properties will pay higher commission to travel agencies.
Six Senses, Thailand-based.
-In 2016, opening another in Seychelles, on an island off the main island.
-Its Bhutan properties – five lodges in different locations – are due to open over a year; we believe mid-16-to-mid-17. There would be 20 rooms each in Paro and Thimpu, and fewer in the other locations; 83 in total.
-Opening 53-flat residences in the France ski resort of Courchevel. However, SS will not handle bookings into the residences; that will be run by the Savills real estate group.
-A ‘Private Reserve’ 4-room resort is being added within its 82-villa resort in Oman.
Small Luxury Hotels, UK-based.
-Company has 520 properties, average 48 rooms; 10 years ago it was 60.
-Following some rule changes, SLH says it will be harder to join the association, and harder to stay in. With its search for new properties, it expects the balance (those arriving, those leaving) will produce a total not greatly changed at end-2016.
-Has added 25 anonymous property inspectors, +33%, and now has 100. They will inspect member properties every year, instead of every two years.
-Restarted its printed hotel directory, and its printed SLH Cookbook.
Viceroy, US-based.
-Opening: Beverly Hills (L’Hermitage, was Peninsula, due January 2016, although already shown in its portfolio list); Dubai (on trunk of The Palm, 400 rooms, due September 2016); Algarve, Portugal, 147 rooms, due 2017). Management also names Colombia (Cartagena) and Chicago, both due 2017, although these are not on Viceroy’s official list. Contrarily, on that list but not confirmed by management, is a 2nd hotel in Dubai, due 2018.
-Is adding the Zetta hotel from 2016, although already shown in its portfolio list.
-Has lost its hotel in the Maldives.
-GDS code changing this month to VG.
Different reports on these topics are published in the Asia Pacific and Europe editions of the Travel Business Analyst newsletter, the Net Value and People-in-Travel monthly-report, Facebook-Travel-Business-Analyst. They highlight some important observations on the data as presented here.
The Fox
Trottings = Trip Jottings
Foxtrots 