Hotels
Melia On A Roll
Melia Hotels International is on a development roll, with a company that now has more than 350 hotels worldwide preparing to open additional properties on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Melia will open a Jamaica resort in December, with the one-time SuperClubs property found in the Montego Bay area. Among Melia brands is Innside, now found in Germany and Madrid, and which will appear in New York City in 2016. A ME hotel – another of Melia's brands – is slated to open in Miami next year. ME properties are billed as contemporary lifestyle resorts. “Sometimes people...
Club Med Celebrates
Club Med celebrated its 65th anniversary in fine fashion last night at an industry function at The Old Mill in Toronto, highlighted by the launch of its 2016 Trident brochure. Carolyn Doyon, senior vice-president of Club Med Canada and Mexico, kicked off the evening by inviting guests to “press pause” – the name of the 2016 Trident brochure. “Overall, 2015 was a very successful year and for that you should be congratulated. In Canada, we experienced a 12% increase in individual activity over the winter season and a 5% increase during the summer,” she said, adding Ontario...
Winter’s On Its Way And RIU’s Ready
RIU sounds a little bit like “renew,” which is perhaps just a coincidence for the mega-all-inclusive chain, which is forever building, renewing and renovating, writes managing editor, Michael Baginski in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier. Reportedly the 30th largest chain in the world, with over 100 hotel/resorts in 16 countries, there's always something new at RIU, prompting the company's VP of sales & business development Oliver Kluth to visit Canada regularly to update the trade on the company's latest developments. In familiar surroundings at the Toronto...
Sailing To Gold
TravelOnly is busy these days, providing its member agents with in-depth training and earning honours from its key suppliers. In Halifax, the agency group brought its East Coast associates and potential travel guests to join them at the Halifax Cruise-a-thon which showcased top cruise lines. TravelOnly also hosted a live training seminar with Celebrity, Carnival, Crystal and Uniworld that included pre-booked, on-board ship inspections. As well, three of TravelOnly's top agents – Pat Probert, Kelly Neonakis-Morash and Reese Morash – discussed the benefits of cruising before...
Sandals Takes Home 17 World Travel Awards
Sandals Resorts International (SRI) was in the winner's circle as it was honoured at the 22nd Annual World Travel Awards’ Caribbean & The North America Ceremony (held Oct. 17 at Sandals Emerald Bay Golf, Tennis & Spa Resort) with 17 awards. In addition to this distinguished accomplishment, SRI once again received the notable recognition of Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand, thus earning the title for 22 consecutive years. New to the winners’ circle was Sandals Barbados, which was awarded Caribbean’s Leading Resort after recently opening this past January. “We are...
Wyndham Has Plans For Sam Lord’s
With a growing interest in expanding its portfolio of upscale brands in the Caribbean, the Wyndham Hotel Group has unveiled plans to develop the 450-room Sam Lord's Castle Barbado, A Wyndham Grand Resort. The property will be located in the parish of St. Philip at the former site of Sam Lord's Castle – a spot renowned for pirates in the 19th century and one that carries great historical significance in the Caribbean today. The all-new construction resort is being developed with Barbados Tourism Investment, Inc. and will be managed by Wyndham Hotel Group. In addition to spacious,...
Re-Inventing B2B Loyalty
It has been a year since the revolution started and by all accounts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts' SPG Pro B2B loyalty program for meeting and travel professionals has been a rousing success. Alison Taylor, senior vice-president, Starwood Sales Organization, observed of the program: “SPG Pro allows us to reward our customers like nobody else, offering one holistic program that recognizes the personal and professional bookings with us.” Taylor continued: “Just one year in, SPG Pro has generated significant revenue, grown our member base in 189 countries, and rewarded enough...
Booking.com Is All About Business
Booking.com reports that an increasing number of leisure travellers coming to its site are also making business travel bookings. As a result, the accommodation booking platform has responded with a number of tailored services designed to provide road warriors with an easier and more rewarding experience, as well as providing employers with better value. Ripsy Bandourian, senior product owner for Booking.com, noted that: “Among Booking.com customers, location is the primary factor when selecting a place to stay when travelling for work. With around a third of US business bookings...