HM (Hotel Management) Magazine Apr 2011 V.15.2

Vol 15. No.2 Bi-monthly April 2011

TYCOON JERRYHM exclusively goes one-on-one with leading hotel investor, Dr Jerry Schwartz

ALSO IN THIS ISSUEThe aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, online travel agents, room service, Outrigger Little Hastings Street Noosa, Hilton Melbourne South Wharf’s Michael Bourne, ITB, IHIF, hot products and much more

MIRVAC’S LEADERSHIPWith a new CEO at

the helm and stunning new rooms across

Australasia, Mirvac Hotels & Resorts is setting the pace in 2011

THE BUSINESS OF ACCOMMODATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC

LUXURY STYLE

HM GOES INSIDE AUSTRALIA’S BEST NEW ROOMS, INCLUDING THE SEBEL PIER ONE SYDNEY

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contents Bi-Monthly – April 2011

EXECUTIVE FEATURES16 In FocusIbis Christchurch General Manager Carl Braddock and leading architect Richard Dalman recall the February 22 earthquake and look at what’s next for the New Zealand city.

20 CEO TalkAn exclusive interview with Langham Hospitality Group’s CEO, Brett Butcher.

30 HM Q&AIn a rare interview, hotel investor Dr Jerry Schwartz reveals his plans for the Fairmont in Leura and where he would buy next.

36 General ManagerHM sits down with Hilton Melbourne South Wharf General Manager Michael Bourne.

38 Property ProfileBehind the scenes at Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort and Spa, Noosa.

40 Global ReportHow California’s Hoteliers are winning a greater share of the Australian market.

42 Tourism ForumThe numbers say it all: Asian travellers are dominating the inbound market to Australia.

SPECIAL FEATURES56 Hotel TechnologyRoderick Eime reports on the growth of Online Travel Agents (OTAs).

58 Hotel TechnologyJames Wilkinson looks at why lighting will be key to sustainability in 2011.

60 Food & BeverageHow better room service can make an impact on a guest's overall stay.

NEWS & COLUMNS04 Editor’s LetterWelcome to the issue by Managing Editor James Wilkinson, plus credits.

06 Check-InIn-depth news from hotels across the globe, plus exclusive columns.

22 PropertyHotel openings, closings, sales, refurbishments and change of management.

34 EventsA report on Berlin’s travel week – ITB and the International Hotel Investment Forum.

54 Hot ProductsA guide to hot products for accommodation hotels.

55 Tech ZoneHM’s dedicated technology section, featuring news, products and reviews.

62 Human ResourcesHuman Resources news for hotels.

64 PeopleProfiles, events and who’s moving where in the hotel industry.

66 Stop PressThe latest hotel industry news, plus the regular Les Clefs d’Or column.

HOTEL DESIGN46 Luxury StyleFrom Hayman to Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, HM goes inside some of Australia’s best new hotel rooms.

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Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

hotelmanagement.com.au 3

editorial

DISCLAIMERThis publication is published by The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd (the “Publisher”). Materials in this publication have been created by a variety of different entities and, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher accepts no liability for materials created by others. All materials should be considered protected by Australian and international intellectual property laws. Unless you are authorised by law or the copyright owner to do so, you may not copy any of the materials. The mention of a product or service, person or company in this publication does not indicate the Publisher’s endorsement. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Publisher, its agents, company officers or employees. Any use of the information contained in this publication is at the sole risk of the person using that information. The user should make independent enquiries as to the accuracy of the information before relying on that information.All express or implied terms, conditions, warranties, statements, assurances and representations in relation to the Publisher, its publications and its services are expressly excluded save for those conditions and warranties which must be implied under the laws of any State of Australia or the provisions of Division 2 of Part V of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof. To the extent permitted by law, the Publisher will not be liable for any damages including special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages (including but not limited to economic loss or loss of profit or revenue or loss of opportunity) or indirect loss or damage of any kind arising in contract, tort or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of such loss of profits or damages. While we use our best endeavours to ensure accuracy of the materials we create, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher excludes all liability for loss resulting from any inaccuracies or false or misleading statements that may appear in this publication.Copyright © 2011 - The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd.

MANAGING DIRECTORSimon Grover

PUBLISHERJames Wells

MANAGING EDITORJames [email protected]

NATIONAL SALES MANAGERAdam [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORRoderick [email protected]

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORSAndrew Jarvie (photography), Peter McBrearty

GRAPHIC DESIGNBen Akhurst

PRODUCTION MANAGERJill [email protected]

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGERChris [email protected]

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After such a strong finish to 2010, the tragic catastrophic events in the first three months of 2011 once more have the global hotel industry on alert to expect the unexpected. The flooding and cyclones in Queensland, the earthquake in Christchurch and the tsunami in Japan have all had significant national and international effects and the full extent of each remains to be seen.

Like many Australians, I hope that Christchurch will soon return to the charismatic, beautiful city it was until recently and that Cantabrians, especially those working in the greater hospitality industry, will again be able to provide that high level of service they are well-known for once hotels are reopened and rebuilt.

Similarly up in Queensland, where parts of the north coast are still finding their feet following the powerful winds of cyclones Anthony and Yasi in January. I was personally caught in the middle of (category 2) TC Anthony while on Hayman, which has subsequently closed for remedial work until August 2011, and cannot imagine what the residents of Innisfail and the staff on Dunk Island had to experience when the eye of TC Yasi, a category 5, went right over the top of them.

The message from the travel industry has been one of support – from Tiger Airways’ super-cheap Melbourne-Rock-hampton airfares in the wake of the tropical airport’s re-opening, to Tourism Queensland’s million-dollar incentive, Air New Zealand’s domestic seat sale and much more – and hopefully the travelling public will rally to support the devas-tated regions by staying in the their hotels, eating at their restaurants and supporting the local corner cafes.

It was a shame Christchurch had to give up the Rugby World Cup 2011 matches, but given the city could be down 1000 hotel rooms and missing a number of key tourism services, it’s an understandable decision and one which organisers will not have taken lightly.

And when the City of Christchurch is ready to once more welcome Australians, we will come, just as New Zea-landers did after the Queensland floods. The two events closer to home have seen Australians and New Zealanders forge a closer bond, perhaps one not seen since the end of World War II, and it’s made me incredibly proud to be an Australian during these times.

North of both nations, it has been incredibly saddening to see seemingly neverending earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters in Japan. A very proud nation, I have no doubt Japan will be on firmer ground again very soon and be the amazing destination to visit it has been for so many years. Until then, our hearts and minds are with the Japanese people, just as they have been with the Cantabrians and Queenslanders before then.

Yours in hospitality,

James WilkinsonManaging Editor

Expecting the unexpected

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Etihad’s chief commercial officer Peter Baumgartner talks expansion

British Airways says the Australian market is performing well for the airline ex-sydney

Accor Hospitality launches Reconciliation Action Plan in support of indigenous employment

Hawaiian Airlines is targeting Australian groups on the back of daily flights to honolulu

The Langham Xintiandi Shanghai targets the Australian incentive and conference market

Accommodation Association board members talk about the ‘new’ organisation


InterContinental Hotel Group’s (IHG) global Chief Executive Officer Andrew Cosslett has an-nounced he will step down from the top job on June 30, 2011.

Cosslett, who has been the CEO of IHG since February 2005, said he would be suc-ceeded by the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Head of Commercial Development, Richard Solomons.

“Richard is a great colleague who has been at the heart of the business since IHG became an independent company in 2003,” Cosslett said.

“He has intimate knowledge of our hotel operations and brands and enjoys close relationships with our own-ers and partners around the world.

“I know IHG will go from strength to strength under his leadership,” he said.

Cosslett’s work over the last six years was praised by the Chairman of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, David Webster.

“Andy has been an outstanding Chief Executive since joining the company in February 2005 and we are very appreciative of the contribution he has made during his time at IHG,” he said.

“While we understand and respect his decision to leave at this stage, we are extremely sorry to see him go.”

Webster said Solomons would certainly fill the big shoes left by Cosslett.

“In Richard Solomons we have an able and worthy successor,” he said. “Richard is a highly re-

spected executive, with deep knowledge of our industry, our business and our brands. He is the Board's first choice to take the company forward.”

Cosslett said the company was in good shape for Solomons to take it forward.

“We have a powerful port-folio of brands, including a now fully rejuvenated Holiday Inn, and established leading posi-tions in the biggest and fastest growing markets of the world, including China,” he said.

“The prospects for the Group are excellent and with IHG en-tering the next phase of its de-velopment, and after six years,

this is the right time to hand over the reins.”Solomons, who has been with IHG since June

1992, said he was looking forward to the challenge of the top job.

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead the world's largest hotel company and look for-ward to working with the team to take IHG on the next leg of our journey,” he said.

“We have an industry leading development pipe-line and will continue to build on our success by har-nessing the quality of our people, the loyalty of our owners and the strength of our brands. We can look to the future with great confidence,” he said.

In his 17 years of service at IHG to date, Solo-mons has held a range of senior roles, including Chief Operating Officer of the Americas Hotels divi-sion and Interim President of the Americas region.

PEOPLE LONDON

Cosslett steps down as IHG’s CEO

EMPLOYMENT SYDNEY

Accor Asia-Pacific has reaffirmed its commitment to Indigenous employment in Australia by launching a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) that’s the most comprehensive in the hospitality industry. Speaking exclusively on camera to HM at the launch in Sydney on March 14, Accor Vice President – Australia, Simon McGrath, said as part of

the plan, the company has committed to making 3% of its Australian workforce Indigenous. McGrath was

joined at the launch by Accor’s Honorary Chairman, David Baffsky, who has championed the company’s Indigenous employment over the last decade. See our full story on page 62.

Standing down: Andy Cosslett

Key dates for 2011Nominations Open Monday, May 2, 2011

Nominations Close Friday, June 17, 2011

Finalists Announced Friday July 22, 2011

Gala Awards Presentation Dinner Friday, September 2, 2011, Sydney Town Hall

Table bookings P: +61 2 9660 2113 E: [email protected]

Nominate properties online from May 2, 2011 at: www.HMawards.com.au

The HM Awards are back in 2011 and once more the focus is on recognising excellence

in accommodation across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. This year, a

record 48 Awards will be handed across the key categories of properties, departments and people. Voting commences at the end

of April and closes in mid-June, while the gala presentation dinner will be held at the Sydney Town Hall on Friday, September 2.

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The Accommodation Associa-tion of Australia (AAA) was of-ficially launched by the Minister Assisting on Tourism, Senator Nick Sherry, in Sydney on Feb-ruary 15, ending months of speculation about what the former Hotel, Motel and Ac-commodation Association (HMAA) would be called.

With the backing of industry heavyweights Accor, Constella-tion, IHG, Mantra, Mirvac, Toga and Quest, the AAA is aiming to finally unify the nation’s ho-tel sector.

“Now, more than ever, Aus-tralian hotels, motels, B&Bs, serviced apartments, time-shares, backpacker establish-ments and tourist parks need to pull together with a focus and direction that will allow them

to grow and flourish,” said AAA President Gary Crockett.

AAA (and former HMAA) Chief Executive Officer, Lorraine Duffy, said the accommodation industry’s consolidation had come about because of the need to strengthen service levels and enhance advocacy.

“We are recruiting extra staff, moving into larger premises and developing a range of policy pa-pers that will give the industry a single vision, voice and focus across all levels of government,” she said.

“The formation of the Ac-commodation Association of Australia is a new dawn for Aus-tralia’s accommodation industry.”

View exclusive interviews with AAA board members at www.hotelmanagement.com.au

The Australian Hotels Association has re-branded its accommodation division as Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) as part of a major revamp of the organisation.

Australian Hotels Association CEO, Des Crowe, said the new identity repre-sents accommodation hotels separately from the AHA’s pub members.

“We are all about a re-focusing of our efforts to ensure a more targeted response to the complex and rapidly evolving issues facing the accom-modation sector,” he said.

“The AHA has long been Australia’s only truly national ho-tel accommodation representative body.

“But no organisation can afford to rest on its laurels and we have acted in response to member feedback calling for a stronger, more distinct identity for the accommodation sector,” Crowe said.

The AHA has represented hotels since the 1840s and has had its own accommodation division since 1958.

Crowe said the AHA’s recent consultations with its ac-commodation hotel members revealed a desire to separate accommodation sector issues from the general liquor, gam-ing, food and entertainment issues being addressed on behalf of pub members.

He said the launch of Tourism Accommodation Australia would provide this dedicated voice at a national level, support-ed by a strong network of branches in every state and territory.

Carol Giuseppe from Tourism Accommodation Australia (NSW) said: “Many of the issues impacting our industry are de-termined at a state level including tax issues, domestic tourism promotions, health regulations, fire safety, stamp duty, the list goes on. Tourism Accommodation Australia will continue the necessary work to keep in touch with state politicians and local councillors and the state bureaucrats who advise them and do the implementation.”

A new Tourism Accommodation Australia National Board is set to replace the existing AHA National Accommodation Board and will be based in Sydney with an office in Canberra. Representatives on the board are expected to be heads of hotel chains and accommodation property owners.

Crowe said board would also soon appoint a National Ex-ecutive Director whose major focus will be on Canberra and national issues.

He also said TAA is committed to supporting the imple-mentation of the National Long Term Tourism Strategy.

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1. BEyOnd BESPOkEBespoke travel has been a buzzword for a while now, but it’s some-thing we’re continuing to see, particularly in South-East Asia. Hotels are extending their scope for individual tastes well beyond the pillow menu to things such as customised scents, colour schemes and even a choice of furniture.

The use of guest preference forms is also increasing. Alila Hotels & Resorts invites you to choose everything from pillows to music and movies before you arrive, while Aleenta Phuket-Phang Nga in Thai-land sends guests a holiday planner form allowing them to choose a range of additional experiences, including private dining options (at the beach, on the deck), romantic surprises and cultural activities, from cooking classes to local tours.

2. HIS And HERS ExPERIEnCESClosely linked to the Beyond bespoke trend, hotels are increasingly be-coming wise to the fact that men and women have unique tastes, and may want different things from their holiday. Clever touches can range from specially tailored surprises ‘for him’ and ‘for her’, to customised scents and toiletries made with distinctive aromas and ingredients. Even spa menus are getting a spruce up, with more treatments geared towards men, such as The Balé’s Wellness Spa in Bali, which offers a 90-minute coffee ritual designed for gents.

3. POCkET COnCIERGEHotels now recognise that a guest’s experience extends well beyond the walls of the hotel, with many offering personalised ‘what to do’

content. Wanderlust in Singapore and Home Hotel in Buenos Aires both publish guides for their guests, which are essentially concierge recommendations reproduced in print, in a sexy and portable way. Tenface in Bangkok goes one step further, providing guests with a ‘10 things to do in Bangkok’ box on check-in, which includes a Skytrain pass, simcard, iPod, a list of things to do and tips for the best places to eat, drink and shop, including maps.

4. SPIRITuAL And PSyCHO-THERAPEuTIC PRACTICEIn a case of mind over matter, we’re seeing an increase in both spir-itual and psycho-therapeutic practice being offered to hotel guests, ranging from yoga and meditation (very popular in Bali and Thai-land) to life counselling (Six Senses). The Morgans Hotel Group has recently introduced ‘The Minibar for the Mind’, replacing the traditional minibar with a custom-made box that includes conver-sation starters, a book of Collected Thoughts and a Dreams and Fears Notebook. Morgans has also employed London’s The School of Life to offer a programme of talks and lectures on everything from travel to conversation.

5. BuTLERSMost high-end hotels in Asia now offer a butler service to ensure you have just one person managing everything for you, including booking reservations for meals, tours and entertainment, confirming flights and planning activities. We’ve also noticed ‘personal assistants’ popping up, a role that seems to fall somewhere between a butler and stand-

SMITH’S TOP TEN

In an exclusive column for HM, Mr and Mrs Smith Boutique Hotels’ CEO James Lohan

uncovers the top ten hotel trends in 2011.

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ard room service, with check-in moving from the public lobby to the more intimate setting of your room. Butlers or “majordomo” are also increasingly popular in high-end properties in the Americas, such as Jade Mountain in St Lucia.

6. TECHnOLOGy iPod docking stations are fast replacing alarm clocks in most tech-savvy hotels, but those that really have their fingers on the pulse are offering pre-loaded iPods that are packed with tunes for all moods, or, in the case of The Upper House, Hong Kong, offering the whole hotel directory on an iPod. In some particularly smart set-ups, such as Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa, the iPad is replacing the morning newspaper, so your publication of choice is at your fingertips, or you can use it to book a massage or excursion.

7. PRIvATE POOLSWe love a private plunge pool, and it would appear we’re not alone. Private pool villas are one of the most notable trends on the rise, par-ticularly in Thailand where they are in hot demand. Slip into your own chilled space and leave the communal pool to the kids.

8. ECO CREdEnTIALSHotels are increasingly wearing their green credentials on their sleeves. These days, it’s not only the traditional eco-escapes talk-ing up their merits, but urban, inner-city properties that are turn-ing to rainwater harvesting, recycling and the use of environmentally friendly products. Minibars and bathrooms are getting a makeover, too, as hotels turn to locally made, organic options for food, drinks and toiletries.

9. LOCAL IMMERSIOnSAs travellers become more socially aware, they want to be plugged in to the local scene, gleaning insight into the area they are stay-ing in, rather than just shacking up in their rooms. Alila Hotels & Resorts offers a range of cultural experiences, including orphan-age visits and involvement in its Bali Life Foundation. Hôtel de la Paix in Siem Reap has an award-winning ‘Connections’ programme, which brings visitors closer to the real Cambodia with project visits and community experiences to meet the people. Gourmet immer-sion is popular, too, with hotel cooking schools on the rise. Saffire, on Tasmania’s Freycinet Peninsula, offers the chance to visit a local marine oyster farm.

10. ARTy ABOdESArt no longer performs a purely aesthetic function. At The Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart, Tasmania, the property’s covetable col-lection of Australian art is for sale. Also in Tasmania, MONA Pavil-ions not only boasts a newly opened museum on site, but streams visuals of its highlights for cutting-edge viewing from the comfort of your room. The Cullen in Melbourne employs an onsite cura-tor to guide you through the hotel’s array of original Adam Cullen artworks, and provide tips on must-see exhibitions and galleries in the area.

James Lohan is one half of the couple behind Mr and Mrs Smith. Since Mr and Mrs Smith’s first guidebook was published under James’ Spy Publishing imprint in 2003, Smith has grown under his entrepreneurial eye from a labour of love to a multi-faceted company. The introduction of an online booking service in 2005 and an in-house travel team in 2006 shifted the business in an exciting new direction, and now there’s even a three-tiered membership programme, including a full travel and lifestyle concierge, GoldSmith. James is a regular and enthusiastic contributor to key travel industry panels, provides consultancy for boutique hotels and appears regularly in the international media as a spokesperson on hotels and hotel trends.

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New Zealand Prime Minister and Tourism Min-ister, the Rt. Hon. John Key, is once again set to open the New Zealand Hotel Industry Confer-ence (NZHIC) in Auckland on May 12, 2011.

Key is one of several keynote speakers an-nounced by co-hosts of the conference, the New Zealand Hotel Council, Horwath HTL and Lowndes Associates.

Christopher Hur, Director Pacific Partners and Host Hotels – which owns 120 hotels worldwide, acquired seven Novotel and Ibis hotels in New Zealand in Auckland, Wel-lington, Christchurch and Queenstown from Tourism Asset Holdings Ltd in January 2011 – will also give a keynote address at the day-long conference at Skycity Auckland.

Kevin Bowler, CEO of Tourism New Zea-land will provide a keynote address on over-seas visitor arrival outlook and implications for

New Zealand hotel demand – including from earthquake and tsunami struck Japan (one of the largest inbound markets to New Zea-land), and the impact on Christchurch tourism whose visitor infrastructure was severely dam-aged in the February 2011 earthquake.

Craig Collins, Managing Director Austral-asia – Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels will discuss Australia and New Zealand hotel investment trends and how to maximise market value. Over $NZ220 million was invested in nine ex-isting hotels in New Zealand by overseas and local investors in 2010, the largest single year of hotel investment, according to Terry Ngan.

Norm Thompson, Deputy CEO of Air New Zealand, will address the expected 300 dele-gates, sponsors and exhibitors on its business innovation strategies employed in the last 3-5 years which has led to it winning several in-

ternational airline awards.Stephen Toplis, Head of Research at BNZ,

will again speak at NZHIC 2011 on the domes-tic and overseas economies of our main source markets and gauge how they could affect visitor and hotel demand in the next 12-24 months.

There will be six breakout panel sessions at the hotel conference according to the co-hosts, including discussion on inbound op-erator views on existing and future hotels, online/social media, new hotel products and brands, people management, hotel refurbish-ments and the impact of, and opportunities arising from, the Christchurch earthquake.

The conference dinner will again include the three New Zealand hotel awards for Sen-ior Hotel Executive of the Year, Outstanding Young Hotel Executive and Environmental Sustainability, which were all introduced at the 2010 hotel conference.

This year’s conference, to be held at the Skycity Auckland Convention Centre, has Ac-cor Hospitality as its platinum sponsor.

Registrants to the New Zealand Hotel In-dustry Conference will gain complimentary entry to the technical seminar on the after-noon of the Wednesday (May 11) prior to the conference.

This seminar, for which a final program will be released shortly, will this year po-tentially feature strata title hotels and serv-iced apartments, hotel valuations and hotel management agreement trends, according to Horwath HTL’s Terry Ngan.

HM is once more proud to be a sponsor of NZHIC and will be reporting live from the conference with exclusive video interviews with New Zealand’s hotel leaders.To view the program and register for the conference, visit www.nzhotelconference.com

Heinz Javier Colby, Group General Manager for the Blue Mountains properties Lilianfels Resort and Spa, Echoes Boutique Hotel and the Hydro Majestic Hotel, died unexpectedly from an undiagnosed heart disease, on Janu-ary 27 in Katoomba. He was 48 years of age.

“Heinz will be missed deeply by the whole team at Lilianfels Resort and Spa, Ech-oes Boutique Hotel and the Hydro Majestic Hotel. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his wife Jacqueline and his children Brandon (13) and Jordan (11),” said saddened owners Huong Nyugen and George Saad.

“Heinz was also a rare breed GM whose passion, professionalism and people skills paired with exceptional international experi-ence in hospitality management.

“He was highly disciplined and persistent - always seeking perfection with compassion.

He brought a positive energy to his team.“He thoroughly enjoyed the enormous

challenge of managing 3 iconic properties and was unphased by the numerous chal-lenges of operation and development

“In fact, Heinz was always excited by the prospect of steering enormous changes for luxury accommodation market in the Blue Mountains including the refurbishment of the Hydro Majestic Hotel.

“We are proud of Heinz's achievements, over the past 12 months and sad to lose such an incredible asset. He has put together a very solid team of professionals to ensure that his vision for the three properties continues and it is with heartfelt commitment that we carry out his vision for the Blue Mountains.”

“We join with the entire hotel industry in mourning one of its finest,” the owners said.

Colby was educated at the Hotel Consult Caesar Ritz Hotel School in Switzerland, and trained at the Dolder Grand Hotel Zurich, the Savoy Hotel London, Hyatt International Hotels in Thailand and the Philippines. He worked with Accor for a total of 12 years in Seoul, Beijing, Sydney and Singapore and with Century International Hotels over six years in Sydney, Vanuatu, Hong Kong, Yogyakarta and Bangkok. He was a superb linguist.

PEOPLE SYDNEY

Vale Heinz Javier ColbyVale Heinz Javier Colby

CONFERENCES AUCKLAND

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Love was in the air on Valentine’s Day as Ac-cor hosted an exclusive Client Recognition Dinner at Novotel St Kilda, following the AIME exhibition Welcome Event.

Featuring a gourmet menu designed by the group’s leading chefs and entertainment by number one R&B artist Jessica Mauboy, the night was a celebration to mark Accor’s 20 years in Australia and showcase Accor’s expertise in hosting outstanding events.

Accor Vice President Australia, Simon McGrath, said he was delighted to recognise the key Business Event partners who attend-ed the dinner.

“This is a very special year for Accor, marking our 20th year of operation in Aus-tralia and we couldn’t have done it without the support of you, our key clients,” he said.

Guests were transferred to the event in style via stretch limousines, with a red car-pet arrival signifying the VIP treatment that marked the importance of the occasion.

Television personality Larry Emdur was a gracious MC while the Novotel’s restau-rant was beautifully decorated, with tables themed around the different Accor brands.

With chefs from different hotels compet-ing to present their signature menus, the dishes were presented platter-style to en-courage diners to interact and try as many flavours as possible.

The menu, which showcased the finest Vic-torian produce, included Heathcote poached Yabbie tails with candied Manzanilla olives and confit tomatoes; and Mt Leura lamb infused with lemon myrtle and Murray River salt flakes.

EVENTS MELBOURNE

Accor's 20 years in Australia

NE

WS

IN

BR

IEF SydnEy As Australians and New

Zealanders settle back into their jobs and busy lifestyles after summer holidays, a new survey conducted by Medina Apartment Hotels reveals what leisure travellers really want – almost no contact. On holidays, travellers are abandoning their addiction to email and shopping, preferring to keep in touch with phone calls amongst visits to museums and reading books. The results of the survey showed that Australian travellers are more than happy to leave their addiction to email at home. Almost 50% thought a good old fashioned telephone conversation was the best way to keep in touch whilst on the road. Interestingly, the survey also revealed that almost 25% didn’t want to stay in touch at all whilst travelling. More than 50% of all respondents indicated that the best thing about being away from home was soaking up a new city’s culture including: going to museums, admiring the local architecture and checking out tourist attractions. This was in stark contrast to the less than 10% that wanted to indulge in shopping whilst travelling, with only a similar amount of people packing an extra bag for souvenirs. In line with this back to basics approach to travel, the must have suitcase items were no more high tech than a camera (34% always packed this item) and a good book (18% always packed this item). Both of these out ranked iPhones and/or BlackBerrys. When asked about hotels over 60% of respondents thought a ‘great location’ was the most important feature of a hotel followed by space (16%).

LOS AnGELES Aussie movie director-writer Michael Rymer is the winner of the 2011 Ozcar. The gong is presented each year to a prominent personality, business leader or celebrity who has helped promote Australian products or the arts to the US market. Australian hotelier Alan Johnson who operates the Ramada Plaza Hotel in West Hollywood presented Rymer with his Ozcar statuette at a luncheon attended by fellow Australian movie directors Simon Wincer, whose movie ‘The Cup’ will be released in the coming months, Rod Hardy who recently directed ‘The December Boys’, starring Daniel Radcliffe, cinematographer Dennys Ilic and showbiz legend John Michael Howson. Previous winners include Qantas’ US Senior Vice President and G’Day LA committee member Wally Mariani, playwright John Michael ‘Hollywood’ Howson and larrikin media presenter Sam Kekovich.

Larry Emdur, Jessica Mauboy and Simon McGrath at the Accor dinner

AIRLINES MELBOURNE

Tiger's Queensland expansionTiger Airways has continued its rapid ex-pansion in Queensland, with the launch of new flights to Brisbane from Sydney and Melbourne (Avalon) on February 8 and from Sydney to Maroochydore on March 27. “Tiger has recently committed to increas-ing flights across Australia by around 20% in the coming year and we are delighted

that Queensland’s capital city is first to ben-efit from our expanding services in 2011,” said Tiger Airways’ Australia’s Managing Director, Crawford Rix. “The new Brisbane-Sydney route adds more choice and con-venience for travellers but it also signifies a tremendous boost in air travel for Queens-land at a time when it's needed most.”

A Tiger Airways A320


REFURBISHMENTS LIZARD ISLAND

New look for Lizard Island

Lizard Island, Australia's most northerly island resort on the Great Barrier Reef, has completed a soft refurbishment.

The refurbishment, completed by interior architects Pike Withers, sees a fresh look for the Lodge Bar and Os-prey's Restaurant, plus new furnishings for the Anchor Bay Suites and Sunset Point Villas.

Robyn Pontynen, General Manager of Lizard Island, said: “This has been a significant project for us and we are de-lighted with the end result. Lizard Island now has a fresh, new look that accurately reflects the beauty of its surroundings here on the Great Barrier Reef.”

She said a key feature of the inte-rior design of the Suites is the seamless blend of indoors and out, thanks to an elegant and spacious open plan, with large verandah and daybed.

An Anchor Bay Suite at Lizard Island

Host venue: Hilton Sydney

As accommodation demand continues to improve, astute industry participants are getting set for the next phase of the in-dustry’s development and the next wave of market and operational opportunities. To that end, existing serviced apartment and hotel investors, operators, developers, lend-ers, advisers and other stakeholders, as well as other real estate participants will meet in Sydney on June 22, 2011 at the inaugural Serviced Apartments Summit to hear from industry experts and to network with key industry executives.

The Summit will be a pre-event to the Aus-tralia, New Zealand & Pacific Hotel Industry Conference (ANZPHIC 2011) which for over a decade has been the main event on the ac-commodation industry calendar in the region.

Serviced Apartments Summit will be host-ed by leading industry consultants, Horwath HTL and industry lawyers Blake Dawson. Over 400 delegates, as well as 40 sponsors, exhibitors and supporters are expected to at-tend ANZPHIC 2011, many of whom are ex-pected to also attend the Summit.

“These are exciting times for the industry. Demand is surging, performance is strong in most markets, the outlook is the best it’s been for many years and there’s an urgent need for new room supply,” said Summit Chair and Horwath HTL Managing Director, John Smith. “It’s time for the real estate in-dustry and the hotel industry to take another look at the serviced apartment sector to bet-ter understand it and the implications for the next stage of its development.”

CONFERENCES SYDNEY

Serviced apartments summit to be held in June

Don’t miss this important hotel industry conference

2011

BOOKMARK YOUR 2011 DIARY NOW

For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities or registration enquiries contact Terry Ngan, Horwath HTL Ltd. Tel: +64 9 306 3447 Email: [email protected]

ThURsDAY12 May 2011

sKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre


iNfocus

At 11.41am on February 22, 2011, I was in my office behind the ground floor lobby and Front Desk of the Ibis hotel. I was just about to tackle the day’s emails, after a busy break-fast and checkout, when I heard the rumble erupting from the bowels of the hotel.

I knew what it was straight away. In fact there was no anticipation or doubt at all on this occasion, it was upon us in what can only be described as a wild frenzy.

People have asked me since, what was it like? And I have replied on more than one oc-casion with “it was honestly as if King Kong had actually picked UP the Empire State

Building and was thrashing it side to side”. Unlike other earthquakes I have experi-

enced, this one moved laterally at the force of 1G (reported in the press later, as I say, thrashing from side to side). The whole office just flew off the desk, the shelves came down, and computers didn’t fall, they were thrown off the desks. You would think there had been a dust storm, I don’t know why, but the dust in the air was immediate, even in the office. I have no idea where it came from.

Next door to me is the staff canteen, and the first lunch shift had arrived. This is when our heavily pregnant HR Manager was

thrown to the floor, but thankfully picked up by Maintenance Chief Ken Delaney.

The lobby was a mess: paper and chairs everywhere, with screaming guests attempt-ing to run into the street.

The street itself was rolling like waves and buildings were coming down around people who were running aimlessly from the terror.

As we now know, many people who were in the streets and close to crumbling build-ings have now perished. To my knowledge no hotel staff from Christchurch, certainly no Ac-cor staff, were among them.

Everyone in the hotel began appearing in the lobby as the shock subsided, and an evac-uation was carried out.

What do you do? Do you immediately get out of the building into the maelstrom out-side, do you stay inside, do you send staff to evacuate floors that may not exist, via stair-wells which may not be there?

We later found that a number of building stairwells collapsed. The stairwells are pivotal in the stability of buildings. In modern NZ buildings, the stairwell is designed to float and move to absorb the movement in the building.

The evacuation actually just automati-cally swung into action in the hands of the Duty Manager Lauren Cooper and Reserva-

WHAT NOW FOR CHRISTCHURCH?Ibis Christchurch hotel’s General Manager Carl Braddock, who is leading Accor Hospitality’s recovery effort in the city, exclusively recounts the terror of the earthquake on February 22 and looks at how the industry is banding together to save the vital tourism industry in Canterbury.


tions Supervisor Cherie Lynn. There was no hesitation. Staff just took up their “normal” evacuation duties and rushed off up the stairs to evacuate the building. Their actions were despite the aftershocks – almost an automatic reflex to ensure the safety of guests.

A guest rushed back into the hotel from having been out sightseeing and told us his 80-year-old mother was in her room on the top floor of the hotel, so two of the house-boys, Dwayne Meadows and Brendon Gil-christ, immediately volunteered to go to the top of the building and bring her out, They were out the door and on their way before their safety could be considered.

By now all guests in the building were in the lobby and some had returned from shopping and sightseeing to the confusion of the lobby.

It seemed like only a moment before po-lice were on the scene urging us to leave the hotel to walk to the open area of a nearby park for safety. I must say I was reluctant to leave the hotel because, whilst the floor space was covered in wall to wall mess and debris, I could see that the hotel was – from my initial assessment – relatively secure, with no visible cracks in the columns or beams, and windows intact.

On September 4 last year at 2.35am Australian time I was sleeping soundly at the Establishment Hotel, Sydney, when I was woken by my wife ringing to say there had just been a major earthquake in my home town of Christchurch.

I had just returned from the after party of the HM Awards dinner. The television images looked very dramatic and I spent the day hugging Australians and trying to get an earlier flight home.

It turned out that the damage was not as extensive as the television pictures suggested.

The February 22 earthquake this year was something quite different. The media images have not really illustrated the severity of the damage, both in the suburbs and central city.

There are reports of one third to two thirds of buildings within the CBD that have either fallen or will be demolished as a result of structural failure.

Of course a number of these buildings are hotels. As one would expect, there has been a varying amount of damage to the hotels, from major damage to the Durham Street Copthorne, Hotel Grand Chancellor and the Mayfair Building portion of Off The Square Hotel; through to minor damage to The George, Millennium and Novotel Cathedral Square.

My own office is in the ‘Red Zone’ which can only be accessed in parts in an isolated manner. We sit across from the Crowne Plaza and next to the Durham Street Copthorne. We are unlikely to be back in until next year, and have taken up offices in Merivale.

One of the interesting questions is 'who will rebuild their hotels and to what height they want to or are allowed to?'.

With the failure of many high rise

buildings in Christchurch, there is a strong feeling amongst locals that they don’t want to work in tall buildings again. There is a different mentality that exists for tourists as most will not have these fears not having been here for the earthquake and many not even realising the failure of these buildings.

With the inevitable decrease in central city land values and the opportunity to purchase new sites in the inner city as some owners will decide to sell up and get out, there will be the opportunity for hotels to rebuild on a greater site footprint with a lower overall height.

With Christchurch having had its earthquake and major aftershock, some would suggest that it is not due any more for a few hundred years. With new stronger buildings replacing the old, it could be argued that it will be New Zealand’s safest city.

While Christchurch has lost much of its character and heritage buildings that contributed to its charm, it is still the gateway to the South Island. It will also still be the Garden City with an opportunity to build on and emphasise this. There is also the opportunity to create a new high-tech, sustainable modern city that has a new character of its own with the potential for some contemporary buildings that could become attractions in their own right. Perhaps some of these buildings will be hotels.

I would like to say a big thank you to the number of Australians who have helped out in Christchurch during the last month. We have certainly needed it. Together with Americans, Japanese and others, your presence and skills have been greatly appreciated. Cantabrians and New Zealanders won’t forget this. Although we do have each other on a lot, we are neighbours and mates after all.

THE ARCHITECT’S PERSPECTIVEDalman Architecture’s Managing Director Richard Dalman, who designed Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square, was also caught in the earthquake and he also looks at what’s next for the city.

“There is also the opportunity to create a new high-tech, sustainable modern city that has

a new character of its own with the potential for some contemporary buildings that could

become attractions in their own right.”RichARD DAlMAN, Managing Director, Dalman Architecture

Two devastating earthquakes within six

months have taken their toll on Christchurch


iNfocus

But the police were insistent and Kaye our Housekeeper gave me a good bollocking and told me to come with them!!

Once the elderly lady had come down, we all set off together into the street and the scene that awaited us there was just awful, collapsed buildings everywhere, confused people, huge piles of liquefaction bubbling into the street, broken water and sewer mains, fire, sirens, smoke and dust.

Despite this, our long walk to the park, about 10 minutes was orderly, a hush de-scending over the sirens, and a feeling of silence and awe engulfing us as we saw the massive destruction around us.

How the hell did WE get out? Thousands of people descended on the Vic-

toria Square and waited in silence for...what?We waited about an hour and then decid-

ed to walk further out of the town to Hagley Park, so the group set off again, a longer walk this time, made more difficult by the difficul-ties of an elderly couple to keep up with the rest of the group.

Luckily a car with staff members from the All Season Papanui came past and took the couple to our destination Hagley Park, where Dwayne and Brendon again, stayed with them.

Once there, we decided it was close enough to continue to the All Seasons Pa-panui Road and once again, set off for there.

We found our fourth hotel in Christchurch, the All Seasons Papanui Road, in relatively good shape, one building open, one building

closed, the staff and guests huddled outside under blankets.

The three other Accor hotels in Christch-urch – Novotel Cathedral Square, the Ibis and All Seasons Cashel Street (which we had just taken over the month before) – all fall within the heavily damaged central zone of Christchurch, and remain closed with no ac-cess even now, several months later.

The fallout for Christchurch and tourism is serious. After a record high peak in trading in January, due to the World Paralympic Games, February continued as strongly, heralding a good summer season, and even autumn and winter, typically weak in Christchurch, were looking promising with Air Asia X scheduled to fly four days a week to Christchurch from April 1. Fortunately, we were told that they still plan to fly to Christchurch, which will be a great fil-lip to Canterbury and Christchurch tourism.

Rugby World Cup was the third projected bonus to Christchurch in 2011, but these games have now been pulled amid fears that the stadium itself, plus city infrastructure, will not cope with the influx.

Thus, Christchurch has been dealt repeat-ed savage blows not only this year, but with Swine Flu and recession in the immediate past two years, the September earthquake of 2010, and now the 2011 earthquake and the withdrawal of the Rugby World Cup games from Christchurch.

Looking ahead, it will be some months, three to 12, before the centre city hotels are

opened, 1000 rooms have been lost from the total inventory in Christchurch, with some major hotels reportedly lost.

Of our hotels, the Ibis should be the first to re-open. It is structurally sound and minor surface work, painting and a massive clean will see us back in action.

The Novotel too is structurally sound, but the historic wing, Warners, looks pretty bad and may be detached from the main tower structure initially. Fortunately, the new tower structure houses all the food and beverage and confer-ence facilities plus infrastructure. So, again, after a thorough clean up and paint job, we could po-tentially re-open the Novotel quite quickly.

The hold up for both Novotel and Ibis will be access to the city and the threat from sur-rounding building collapse.

Looking at the longer term for Christch-urch, there has been much discussion about the re-structure of the city.

Many of the old buildings which have gone, and many yet to be demolished, formed the very character of Christchurch and were the basis for tourism in Canterbury.

These buildings, their style and form, must be reflected in the new architecture for Christchurch and echo the so important his-tory of the city, of which the 2011 Earthquake is a sad chapter.

Open spaces will be maintained where many buildings have fallen, which will de-crease the intensity of the CBD, it has been suggested. There will be lower concentrations of buildings and people in these areas.

Those open spaces will be designed to maintain the reputation of Christchurch as The Garden City.

We can expect many businesses to relo-cate outside the CBD initially, it is thought, and that tourists themselves may want to be outside the CBD.

In time, given the nature of urban devel-opment, the CBD will recreate itself within the bounds of statutory zoning which will be re-examined post earthquake.

So, what’s next for the hospitality industry?Firstly, I need to thank the entire Accor

network for coming to our aid. There were fundraisers everywhere and that meant a lot to the team and the wider Christchurch com-munity. I think all Hoteliers, irrespective of their companies, have worked closely together for the common Christchurch good, and this has continued in the aftermath with HANZ, RANZ, NZHC and other interests in Canter-bury hospitality meeting to assess what can be done for the city and the region.

An initial meeting recommended the set-ting up of a body that would initially press to gain greater access to the city centre, secure businesses and assets, handle the media, ad-vocate for individual businesses, and have a voice in the re-planning of the city and our industry sector.

“Unlike other earthquakes I have experienced, this one moved laterally at the force of 1G

with thrashing from side to side. The whole office just flew off the desk, the shelves came

down, and computers didn’t fall, they were thrown off the desks.”cARl BRADDock, general Manager, ibis christchurch

Damage to Ibis Christchurch afterthe February 22 earthquake


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Brett Butcher took the helm of Langham Hospi-tality Group as Chief Executive Officer at one of the most challenging periods in the industry’s

history in early 2009. Two years later, the group has seen aggressive growth to now have 28 hotels open or in the pipeline as it remains focused on its goals and ambitions to build a world class portfolio of renowned brands.

The group has begun 2011 in spectacular style with the announcement of The Langham, Chicago following a USD$150 million strategic investment in the iconic Mies van der Rohe Building (affectionately known as the IBM Building) and the signing of two management deals in Lavasa, India.

The growing brand footprint in North America through the Chi-cago deal can only benefit the total group.

“The United States is still the largest outbound travel market in the world for our quality hotels,” Butcher said. “Continued growth in the US will also help our hotels in Australia and New Zealand.

The group’s expansion strategy also continues to along the New Silk Road. In 2010, Langham has announced its first hotel in the Middle East in Doha, Qatar. Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2011, Langham Hospitality Group will open its hotel in India under the Eaton Smart brand at New Delhi International Airport – that country’s flagship infrastructure project, anchoring the group’s expansion at the crossroads of the New Silk Road.

Dynamic growth in China powers on with three new hotels opened in 2010 including: The Langham Xintiandi, Shanghai; Langham Place, Beijing Capital Airport; and a property in the group's new upscale brand, Eaton Luxe, Nanqiao, Shanghai. The group also confirmed a further six new properties in key cities.

“China has soared as an engine of growth for the rest of the world and remains an incredible global opportunity,” he said. “By 2020, it will be the world’s most visited country, overtaking the US, pulling in some 130 million visitors a year.

“Conversely, when China becomes the largest outbound market, we want to introduce this growing class of luxury traveller, hungry for European heritage to the Langham brands,” Butcher said.

Australia and New Zealand are important markets for China, he added. With China’s desire to grow its trade for core industrial and agricultural products, the ties can only expand benefiting the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific.

“The Langham, Melbourne and The Langham, Auckland are perform-ing strongly in their competitive set both in rooms and food and beverage performance,” he said. “The Melba Restaurant continues to show year on

year increases in revenue which have repaid its 2006 refurbishment sev-eral times running annual revenues in excess of AU$11 million.

“In Auckland, the introduction of Eight, which builds on the suc-cess of the Melba model, will be a new cutting edge culinary concept in the city featuring eight exciting dining experiences in one space.

“The new restaurant will capitalise on the growing trend for casual fine dining and reinforce The Langham, Auckland’s position as the premier hotel in the country,” Butcher said.

Underpinning Langham Hospitality Group’s expansion is a world-class quality management process tailored specifically for the hotel in-dustry called Q League or Quality League.

“Q League is a powerful proven management technology that sends a strong message about our commitment to our people and our partners,” Butcher said. “The Q League Model is designed to help colleagues iden-tify with Langham’s vision, mission, values and performance indicators which is why the group has taken a different approach from the norm.

He said advocacy is important in the Q League model. The Key Per-formance Indicator system is not just to track and measure performance, it is used to identify and communicate success clearly to all colleagues.

“Our values also help engage our colleagues and setting up our company culture to support our vision,” he said. “By involving our workforce, every single colleague plays a role in realising our vision – know our guests, build great memories'.

“With a foundation of quality in place, the key to what we do is to ensure that everyone knows when they are successful. That is the sin-gle most powerful message we can send our teams, our guests.

“We are at the stage in our growth where we can align all our op-erations globally to drive guest satisfaction which will help us achieve our company vision of knowing our guests and building great memo-ries,” Butcher said.

LANGHAM POWERS AHEADLangham Hospitality Group’s Chief Executive Officer, and expatriate Australian, Brett Butcher, is leading the Hong Kong-based group into new territory in 2011 as the luxury chain continues its rapid expansion. In an exclusive interview with HM, he outlines the company’s vision going forward.

Langham CEO, Brett Butcher


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Now showiNg oNliNe

Conrad is set to open a fiji property by 2014, according to executive John Vanderslice

Chateau Elan is proving increasingly popular for sole-use bookings in the hunter Valley

Accor Hospitality is committed to sustainability across its network, says Jean-luc chretien

Accor Hospitality has launched the next generation Novotel rooms in Bangkok

Jones Lang LaSalle’s global ceo, Arthur de haast, says the hotel industry is back on track

Carlson Hotels’ ceo hubert Joly said the company’s ‘Ambition 2015’ plan is on track globally

JAMES WILKINSON IN BERLINToga Hospitality has officially opened its latest Eu-ropean property, the Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hackescher Markt.

Growing in popularity across both Europe and Berlin specifically, the Australian owned and operat-ed Adina properties are spacious, stylish and located in city hot-spots.

“We're thrilled to welcome the very first guests to Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hackescher Markt,” said Toga Hospitality CEO, Rachel Argaman.

“Adina continues to expand whilst always striving to impress our guests and match their lifestyles through the signature brand elements: spacious apartments,

stand-out locations, chic interiors and exceptional life-style facilities, all infused with an Australian flavour.” Adina’s latest property is located in one of Berlin’s most exciting districts, Hackescher Markt, an area known for its bars, restaurants, cafes and art galleries.

The property also complements Toga’s two oth-er apartment hotel in the city, including one at the iconic Checkpoint Charlie.HM flew to Berlin with British Airways. BA flies twice-daily to Berlin from Sydney via London and the author recommends flying in Business Class, which features flat-bed seats, hundreds of hours’ entertainment on demand and some of the best meals in the sky. For bookings, visit www.ba.com

MANAGEMENT SYDNEY

Accor appointed to manage landmark Potts Point hotel

OPENINGS BERLIN

Toga opens another German hotel

The 227-room Crest hotel in Sydney’s Potts Point has finally re-opened, this time under the Mercure brand, after owners Australand appointed Accor to manage the landmark property.

The hotel, last branded a Chifley, was closed for the last two years and its re-opening has come at a time when Sydney has been in dire need of room inventory.

Located on the corner of Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street, Mercure Sydney Potts Point was re-cently upgraded with a AUD$30 million refurbish-ment, with new furniture and fittings and a funky, modern design by Marques Interiors.

Set high on Victoria Street above Kings Cross Sta-tion, the Mercure Sydney Potts Point offers views of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Sydney’s east and boasts a huge outdoor terrace and four meeting rooms for up to 300 delegates, making it ideal for both business and leisure travellers.

Sydney has suffered a massive rooms shortage since 2000, with Accor’s Sydney hotels alone con-sistently running between 80% and 90% occupancy throughout 2010, so according to the managers, “the addition of these quality rooms will have an enor-mous impact on the city’s infrastructure”.

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Now open: Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hackescher Markt

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BY JAMES WILKINSONHilton Worldwide has signed management agreements to operate two new-build ho-tels at the former Kawarau Falls site outside Queenstown in New Zealand.

The properties – Hilton Queenstown and Kawarau Hotel, Managed by Hilton – are lo-cated at the former Melview Developments-owned site that hit financial trouble last year.

Before the Kawarau Falls site was called into administration, hotels on the site were to be operated by Starwood (The Westin Queen-stown), InterContinental Hotels Group (In-terContinental Queenstown), Mirvac (Quay West Resort Queenstown) and Melview (Quadrant Hotel Queenstown).

The Hilton signing with new develop-ment financier BOS International confirms industry rumours circulating since mid-2010 and breathes new life into a project that will

provide a key inbound and domestic tourism boost for Queenstown.

Hilton Worldwide President of Asia Pa-cific, Martin Rinck, said the signing of the two hotels was significant for the Hilton brand in Australasia.

“We have identified Queenstown as a strategically significant location for Hilton Worldwide and we feel this project represents a development of the highest quality and world-class design,” he said.

“In addition to our award winning proper-ties in Auckland and Taupo, this development will form an essential part of our growing net-work of hotels in New Zealand,” Rinck said.

In 2007, Hilton was close to signing a deal on a site close to the town centre of Queen-stown, but that deal fell through after the project faced approval hurdles and the de-veloper succumbed to financial difficulties.

The new Lake Wakatipu waterside develop-ment will comprise a 178-room 5-star hotel to be named Hilton Queenstown and a 4-star hotel, featuring 98 one-bedroom apartment-style rooms, to be known as the Kawarau Ho-tel, Managed by Hilton.

Construction on both hotels is well un-derway with completion expected in 2011. “Queenstown has spectacular scenery and is an extremely popular year-round alpine and lake resort town… there has been an increase in demand in recent years for high quality, in-ternationally-branded hotels there,” Rinck said.

Hilton Queenstown will not only feature 178 guest rooms ranging in size from 44 to 52 square metres, but a number of meeting and event facilities, including two conference rooms (one 535sqm and another 520sqm), two boardrooms and a business centre.

Other facilities on the site include a res-taurant, bar, lobby lounge, indoor heated pool, health club, day spa and hydrotherapy pool.

The two new Queenstown properties will take Hilton’s tally in New Zealand to four, alongside Hilton Auckland and Hilton Lake Taupo.

“One year after the opening of Hilton Lake Taupo, our presence in New Zealand continues to grow with the signing of these two properties in a new leisure market for our brand,” said Hilton Hotels and Resorts global head, Dave Horton.

“We are looking forward to bringing our signature, style and authentic Hilton hospital-ity to this popular tourist destination,” he said.

Former Park Hyatt Sydney General Man-ager Marlene Poynder has been appointed to oversee operations at the two new properties.

DEVELOPMENTS QUEENSTOWN

Hilton to manage Queenstown's Kawarau Falls hotels

New build: Hilton Queenstown

DEVELOPMENTS FIJI

Conrad is set to open a new-build resort in Fiji by 2014, according to Hilton Worldwide’s Head of Luxury and Lifestyle brands, John Vanderslice. Speaking exclusively to HM on camera during ITB in Berlin, Vanderslice said the Fiji property was one of several new global developments for Conrad as the brand continues its global growth. Vanderslice, also in charge of Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand, said the luxury segment was experiencing significant growth at present. For more on ITB and the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, see page 34.

Conrad is set to open a new resort in Fiji. Pictured is Conrad Bali

Registration of interest in the first instance to:Jake Clarke 0418 663 661

[email protected] | www.mrsales.com.au

Contemporary International Hotel Landmark Site

Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia

MANAGEMENT AND LETTING

RIGHTSand Associated Real Estate

An extensively renovated 22 storey 406 room hotel. All hotel suites

feature a modern fit-out and offer Surfers Paradise or ocean views

An impressive lobby, stylish porte cochere, striking mezzanine floor and conference facilities are complemented by a restaurant and bar, lobby café, business lounge, beauty spa, pool and tennis court

The offering is extensive, three freehold lots encompassing reception, conference and meeting rooms, restaurant, beauty spa and back of house

• Management and letting rights are for 25 years expiring 2031 along with occupational authority for certain common areas

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Amora Group has taken over three Duxton Hotels, launching the brand in New Zea-land and extending the Asia-Pacific portfo-lio to seven.

The three New Zealand hotels - Amora Hotel Wellington (formerly Duxton Hotel Wellington), Amora Hotel Auckland (for-merly Duxton Hotel Auckland) and Amora Lake Resort Okawa Bay, Rotorua (formerly Duxton Hotel Okawa Bay, Rotorua) - will all officially join the Amora Group on Feb-ruary 1, 2011.

All properties have been managed by Amora Hotels and Resort for a number of years, and the re-branding of the hotels fol-lows a major refurbishment of Amora Hotel Wellington and a soft refurbishment of Amo-ra Hotel Auckland.

Amora Group Owner and CEO, Dr. Tana-pun Siriphatrawan, said following the com-pletion of an extensive room refurbishment of the 192 room Wellington property in New Zealand’s capital city, it was the perfect time to introduce the Amora brand to travellers to New Zealand.

“So we are delighted to give these three New Zealand properties the Amora name,” Dr Siriphatrawan said.

“We know that the Amora customer would

be delighted to stay, dine or meet in these three hotels and we look forward to welcom-ing both returning and new customers to ex-perience the Amora difference,” he said.

BRANDING WELLINGTON

Amora Group reflags Duxton’s NZ hotels

Formerly Duxton: Amora Hotel Wellington


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Worldhotels has unveiled its first branded hotels in Germany and Kazakhstan – Worldhotel The Rilano Munich, Worldhotel The Rilano Hamburg and Worldhotel Saltanat Almaty.

Officially launched in January 2011, they are the first of the group’s 450 hotels to display the Worldhotels brand prominently in the hotel name, exterior signage and at various points of the property.

“Our first three branded hotels perfectly represent everything World-hotels stands for,” said Worldhotels Managing Director, Robert Hornman.

“They boast excellent facilities for leisure and business guests to work, sleep, dine and unwind, whilst at the same time featuring a great location and a unique style and atmosphere.”

The new branding solution of Worldhotels was introduced in Sep-tember 2010 as an alternative to standard franchise contracts. For a competitive all-inclusive annual fee, independent hotels competing against global chains can now brand themselves as a Worldhotel while still maintaining their own identity.

Hornman said by 2013, the group plans to have added 50 brand-ed hotels.

“Our focus is on guest experience and quality, not on standardising hardware,” he said. “Our hotels offer premium facilities for discerning business and leisure travellers as well as a unique ambience and design.

“We believe that high standards don’t have to mean high stand-ardisation,” he said.

BRANDING MUNICH

Worldhotels unveils first branded properties in Europe

Worldhotel The Rilano Hamburg


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Hotel occupancy levels in Australia’s major cities are well underway to full recovery to pre-GFC levels, with Sydney the star per-former, according to Deloitte.

The Deloitte ‘Hotel Market Outlook’ re-port analyses the performance of the do-mestic accommodation sector in recent years and predicts performance for 2011 and be-yond. It also reviews the economic impacts on the domestic accommodation sector.

Deloitte’s National Leader for Tourism, Hos-pitality and Leisure, Rutger Smits, said Austral-ian hotels are on course to nationally record room occupancy levels of 65.6% by the end of 2011, improving from 62% as recorded by ABS Statistics for year-end 2009 and an expected 63.9% for year-end 2010. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is expected to increase by 9.1% on average in 2011 to $97, up from AUD$89 for 2010 and $84 as recorded for 2009.

Sydney leads the way in hotel occupancy levels, closing the year with 85.6% and an-ticipated to reach around 87% in 2011, com-

pared to a peak before the GFC of 82% and dropping to 78.8% in mid-2009.

On the back of expected room rate growth of 11.4% in 2011, Sydney RevPAR is expected to reach $171 by year-end 2011, significantly higher than the $136 recorded in 2009.

Melbourne and Brisbane are both ex-pected to achieve occupancy levels towards 82% supporting double-digit rate growth, resulting in a RevPAR lift of 13-15%. Perth is expected to push occupancy to 88% with a 20% RevPAR uplift.

Smits said the Australia and Oceania hotel industry weathered the GFC better than their counterparts in other regions. Australia and Oceania’s hotels finished 2010 with occupan-cy levels in the mid-70s, compared to Western Europe in the mid-60s, the Middle East in the low 60s and North America in the high 50s.

Smits said the economic outlook for Australia overall is positive, relative to the rest of the world, driven by an active re-sources market.

David Horbelt and Malcolm Bean have added the Reef House in Palm Cove to their growing portfolio of hotels in Australia. The former Sebel has rebranded to Reef House Resort and Spa and management has changed over to Rydges Hotels and Resorts.

“The Reef House is our second boutique property having purchased Mount Lofty House together in May 2009,” the new own-ers said. “We have both considered the Reef House to be one of Australia’s best boutique properties over the years and are delighted to include it in our business portfolio.

“This is a very unique property in an ex-traordinary location and as such, requires a commitment and business vision, effectively with the heart leading the mind, to pursue its potential,” they said.

All changes and operation will be over-seen by experienced General Manager, Kel-lie Eustace, formerly with Rydges Esplanade Resort, Sabaya Resort in Port Douglas and Rydges Plaza Cairns.

OWNERSHIP CAIRNS

Horbelt and Bean purchase The Sebel Reef House

PERFORMANCE SYDNEY

Hotels set for pre-GFC recovery in 2011

New owners: Reef House Resort and Spa, Palm Cove

MELBOuRnE Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s President and CEO, A. Patrick Imbardelli, is excited about the company’s prospects in Australia as his group’s Parkroyal brand gets set to make a return in Melbourne. Imbardelli told HM there are a number of key cities Pan Pacific Hotels Group is targeting in Australasia – including Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – and the rebranding of the Hilton Melbourne Airport to Parkroyal was a significant step in the right direction. He said the group was targeting a mixture of owned and managed properties across both the Pan Pacific and Parkroyal brands. The 276-room Melbourne Airport property, which Pan Pacific purchased from Mulpha in late 2010, was a key to the company’s Australian growth, he said. “We are delighted to bring Parkroyal back to its birth city. Visitors to Melbourne can look forward to a refreshed and updated Parkroyal brand that emphasises authentic local experiences and friendly and unobtrusive hospitality. Guests can expect Parkroyal’s unique offerings in more cities as we continue to expand the brand’s presence in Australia,” he said. Parkroyal Melbourne Airport joins Parkroyal Parramatta, Parkroyal Darling Harbour and Pan Pacific Perth in the company’s Australian portfolio.

AuCkLAnd Pullman Hotels and Resorts’ recent reflagging of the Hyatt Regency Hotel Auckland has marked the start of a big year for Accor’s hottest new brand, with New Zealand one of four debut countries for the fast-growing 5-star brand. Beyond New Zealand, the Pullman brand will debut in Vietnam, Indonesia and India in 2011 – countries that are key pipeline locations for the network that is expected to reach 50 in Asia-Pacific alone by 2014. Accor Asia-Pacific Chairman and COO, Michael Issenberg, said nine Pullman hotels are committed to open in 2011, which will take the Asia Pacific operating network to around 30 hotels by year end. “Expansion of the Pullman brand continues apace with significant growth in major markets and led by growth in China where we have nine hotels operating today and a further 16 committed,” he said. “The brand’s expansion has found traction around the world but nowhere more so than here in Asia-Pacific where the response from hotel owners and developers has been very positive.” The Pullman Hotels and Resorts brand was launched in Asia in January 2008, and has since grown its network to 18 operating hotels.

Hot market: Melbourne


hMQ&ADr Jerry Schwartz on the owners' panel at AHICE 2010


hMQ&A

The term tycoon is probably the most fitting title for the Aus-tralia’s leading private hotel investor, Dr Jerry Schwartz. Over the last decade, he has amassed a hotel empire in Australia of

2500 rooms across 10 properties and spanning as many brands.He has bought properties both big and small and still retains his

links to the way he started out – in pubs. In fact, he is as proud of the performance of Rydges World Square Sydney as he is of The Mac-quarie Boutique Hotel, just a few blocks down the street and less than a tenth of its size.

While he’s the investment tycoon, he’s by no means the traditional large-scale hotel owner. He’s hands-on and from the way he gets in-volved in purchasing at each (everything from beer to TVs), you could be forgiven for thinking that he owns one small boutique property.

Dr Schwartz is also immensely proud of his staff and at Awards nights across the three states and territories where his hotels are located – the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria – he is synon-ymous for being the first one to get up and cheer when an award is won.

A family man (his wife Debbie gave birth to baby Dane in Septem-ber 2010), Dr Schwartz is also a very giving person, with his Schwartz Foundation so far raising over AUD$2 million for charity, particularly Royal Far West and Stewart House (see breakout story).

His latest purchase, the Fairmont Resort in the New South Wales Blue Mountains town of Leura, could well prove to be his biggest chal-lenge to date. Turning around a hotel with a ‘Fawlty Towers’ tag won’t be easy, but Dr Schwartz is committed to giving the iconic property the love that it needs to restore it to its former glory.

Just how will he be able to achieve that? HM sat down with him recently to find out.

Jerry, congratulations on the purchase of the Fairmont Resort in the Blue Mountains. How do you plan to bring the iconic prop-erty back to its former glory?I think the important thing to remember is that while the previous management of the hotel may have been questionable, the actual resort wasn’t really the culprit. The views are just as stunning today as when Fairmont was at its peak. The grounds are beautiful, the ambience at-tractive and the environment in which it operates can hardly be bet-ter. Certainly, it had been allowed to run down, but already we have addressed many of those issues. Service was the key. There is a whole new management team with Geoff York as General Manager and Accor as the managers and you can see the difference already. Then we are spending many millions to upgrade all rooms, public areas and to add facilities for couples, families and groups. Already the outdoors swim-ming pool has been completely upgraded and refurbished. We are just in the process of finalising a new room concept for the resort that will be faithful to the original style while also meeting the needs of contem-porary travelers. We have many other ideas, particularly to attract the conference and family markets, and given the early response we’ve had to the changes, I’m very positive about the future. There’s a clear market need for a vibrant Fairmont in the Blue Mountains because while there are many luxury guest houses and B&Bs, there are no resorts like the

Fairmont that can cater for large groups and offer so many facilities for such a wide cross-section of guests, so this will really help attract visi-tors to the region — both from Australia and overseas.

It will be a challenge, but how long do you believe it will take to shrug off the ‘Fawlty Towers’ tag it has had in the past?As I said before, I think that image was created more because of the service than the hotel itself, and I think we’ve rectified that already. We want Fairmont to be a complete part of the community, use all the experience and knowledge of local workers and reflect the Blue Moun-tains in every way. We have many of the people back who were work-ing here when Fairmont was in its heyday. They are passionate, caring and you only have to look at the guest reviews to see that approach is making an impact. It is easy to lose a reputation, but hard to gain one, so it does take time. We need word of mouth to work well for us, and once we have conference groups coming back and experiencing what the hotel offers that will have a very quick multiplier effect. Once honeymooners and tourists see the new rooms, they will soon get out the message that not only does Fairmont have new owners and new managers, but also a new spirit and a whole new look.

You are turning the resort into an M Gallery property. Why did you choose the brand and Accor generally?Fairmont Resort is very much an iconic hotel. We wanted the hotel to be able to express itself, live the Fairmont history and image, and MGallery gave us the opportunity to operate the hotel very individually, while still being able to tap into Accor’s vast and powerful distribution system. So the front end will all be about Fairmont, the back end will be Accor.

What were the main reasons behind the purchase of the Fairmont?From a business point of view it has vast potential, and I’m always at-tracted to properties that have potential but need vigour and drive. Fair-mont was highly successful in its prime and with the road from Syd-ney to the Blue Mountains being upgraded by the day, and with all the renovation plans underway, I can only see upside for the business. But in many ways, the purchase was for personal reasons. My wife, Debbie, and I had a baby son last year called Dane and his arrival really prompted us to buy the Fairmont as we saw it as the perfect place for him to grow up. The resort is so unique — I don’t know any other hotel 90 minutes’ drive from Sydney that has so much land, facilities and is so great for families. We’d like to make it even more family friendly and fun by reopening the kids’ club, offering childcare and buying a few kennels so families can take their pets. But we also want couples to come for a romantic break, so will open another restaurant that is a child-free zone.

You continue to amass a significant portfolio of some of Austral-ia’s leading hotels. Can we take a few steps back Jerry and ask why you started purchasing hotels?When my father was alive, he became interested in hotels, having had most of his portfolio as shopping centres. I owned and operated pubs, in addition to my profession as a doctor.

TYCOON JERRYIf you don’t know the name Dr Jerry Schwartz by now, then it's only a matter of time. In a rare interview, Australia’s hotel tycoon reveals how he plans to restore Fairmont Resort in Leura to its former glory and how his Schwartz

Foundation has raised over AUD$2 million for charity.

wORdS JAMES wILkInSOn LEAd PHOTOGRAPH AndREw JARvIE


hMQ&A

So I have always seen hotels as a pivotal part of the local community. They are about people, designed to function for people. They require con-tinual planning and work. But like many things, you get back what you give.

You brand with a number of leading chains rather than just one – why do you spread the properties across so many?Initially, this occurred because the new hotel purchase came with its op-erator. I inherited different leading chains. Then I saw the need to maintain this diversity. It is important to have different marketing sources, as well as different basic standards: it keeps the operators honest, and gives me confidence to be more aggressive.

At the opening of The Sebel Surry Hills, you famously spoke about the decision to go with that brand. Tell us more about the conver-sation you had with (now former Mirvac Hotels and Resorts CEO) Andrew Turner about removing the “bank” name from the awning?I must admit that I always had an aversion to the name ‘Citigate’, because it reminded me of a bank, rather than a hotel. So it cost me many millions to upgrade the Citigate Sebel to a higher level Sebel.

You take a very hands-on approach to purchasing, particularly with technology and furniture. Why do you get so involved and not leave it to the purchasing or general managers?There are several reasons for this. Firstly, apart from the frustration, it’s fun. Secondly, I feel that if I do it myself, I can get the best possible price. And thirdly, with technology constantly evolving, the only way to understand it is to actually be involved in the major decision making.

Which areas of Australia are the best to invest at present, or showing the most potential?Obviously the higher population centres, or those areas where there is most tourism, or reason for inbound. On the other hand there is no part of Austral-ia which will not evolve, and hotels are always at the forefront of evolution.

Would you consider investing in hotels in New Zealand, the South Pacific or Asia?Sure. Except, I don’t like to travel too far, and if I am to have a hands-on participation with the hotel, then it cannot be too far from where I live, in beautiful Sydney.

Last but not least, if you could buy any hotel in the world, which one would it be? I wouldn’t be able to afford it. Just like most people like to go to a hotel to have an experience that they couldn’t have at home, me too.

THE SCHwARTZ FOundATIOnIn late December 2010, the Schwartz Foundation and the Mercure Hotel Sydney raised another AUD$20,000 for Australian children in need, taking the rolling fundraising tally to over AUD$2 million.

The latest donation was split between Royal Far West, which provides specialist health care to children from rural and remote areas, and Stewart House, which provides care to children in need of a break from their current circumstances.

“We are proud to donate to two charities that work so hard to improve the lives of children in need,” Dr Jerry Schwartz said.

“We saw an affinity with these two charities as they provide hospitality and accommodation for disadvantaged children, and see this as just one small way we can give back to the community,” he said.

The Schwartz Foundation is a registered charity which believes in not only donating money, but is moreover about making a real contribution, educating people and bettering the community. It seeks to assist charities that are changing lives and to date has given more than AUD$2 million for a range of worthy causes.

Royal Far West is dedicated to providing specialist health care to children from remote rural areas of NSW, who might otherwise not be able to access this care. This includes children with developmental, behavioural, learning, emotional and mental disorders. They provide paediatric medical care, child and adolescent mental health, ophthalmology, dental and orthodontic care.

“Without the generous support of people like Jerry Schwartz and the Mercure Hotel we simply would not be able to look after the thousands of children who come through our doors each year so we are very grateful,” said Jann Kingston, CEO of Royal Far West.

“This money will be used to make a real difference in the lives of children from remote NSW who otherwise would not have access to proper medical health care,” Kingston said.

Stewart House provides children with much deserved time away from family pressures and school situations. Children are selected by their school principals to enjoy a 12-day stay during which they are given medical treatment such as ophthalmic and dental care, emotional support and education programs to help boost their self-esteem, social skills and promote a healthy lifestyle. The program helps to make tangible improvements in children’s lives by providing access to health screening and one-on-one support.

The Mercure Hotel Sydney and other Schwartz family hotels encourage a AUD$1 per room donation for each booking across more than 2500 rooms nationally.

Schwartz said the Mercure will use the money it raises to help fund medical equipment for Royal Far West and Stewart House throughout 2011.

Pictured left to right: Jann kingston (Rural Far west); dr Jerry Schwartz; Greg Brady (General Manager Mercure Sydney); Amanda Pouli (Stewart House); and Lucie Reynolds (Royal Far west) at the cheque presentation on the terrace of the Mercure Hotel Sydney

Jerry, with wife Debbie and baby Zane


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The biggest news for Australia-Pacific to come out of ITB was undoubtedly the announcement by Hilton Worldwide’s Head of Luxury and Lifestyle brands, John Vanderslice that a Conrad

was set to be built in Fiji.Speaking exclusively to HM, he said the Fiji property was one of

several new global developments for Conrad as the brand continues its global growth.

Vanderslice, also in charge of Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand, said the luxury segment was experiencing significant growth at present.

Langham Hospitality Group was also heavily active at ITB and the news was all positive from the Hong Kong-based company.

The Langham Xintiandi Shanghai Executive Assistant Manager Jorgen Christensen, said the property, which opened for business in October 2010, was chasing a greater share of the Australian incentives market during 2011.

Christensen said the property was not only targeting the MICE market out of Australia, but the leisure segment as well.

There was similar news from sister hotel The Langham London, with Australian expatriate General Manager Katie Benson telling HM the hotel was targeting Australian incentive groups as the city becomes more affordable for Aussies and Kiwis than ever before.

Benson said given the high Australian dollar, it was the perfect time to visit the British capital.

Accor was everywhere at ITB, with the world’s largest hotel opera-tor featuring properties in almost every hall of the massive trade show.

One key message to come from the company was its commitment to sustainability by focusing firmly on saving energy and the environ-ment in 2011 and beyond.

Speaking exclusively to HM, Accor’s Executive

Vice President – Sales, Distribution and Loyalty, Jean-Luc Chretien, said conserving energy was a major priority for the group globally.

On the aviation side, Etihad Airways was championing its expan-sion into growth markets, particularly in Asia-Pacific, over the next ten years as the airline’s fleet continues to build at a rapid pace.

Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer Peter Baumgartner said during 2011 the first of 100 new aircraft will start being delivered to the airline and on the back of that, new markets will be tapped into.

Baumgartner also confirmed Perth was on the radar for the Abu Dhabi-based airline, which also plans to reach out further into China and South America as the new aircraft come online.

Over at the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), the out-look from hoteliers and suppliers was positive for 2011.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s global CEO, Arthur de Haast, said he believes the hotel industry will stay on the ‘recovery’ course during 2011 on the back of a strong finish in 2010.

Speaking exclusively to HM, de Haast said he was confident Aus-tralia, in particular, would hold up well this year.

Carlson Hotels’ President and CEO Hubert Joly was similarly con-fident and also said the company’s ‘Ambition 2015’ plan was on track globally, particularly the refresh of the Radisson brand.

Joly said the company was also rolling-out a new membership pro-gram that’s already attracted significant interest. HM flew to Berlin with British Airways. BA flies twice-daily to Berlin from Sydney via London and the author recommends flying in Business Class, which features flat-bed seats, hundreds of hours’ entertainment on

demand and some of the best meals in the sky. For bookings, visit www.ba.com

POSITIVITY AT BERLIN’STRAVEL WEEK

BERLIN WAS ONCE MORE ABUZZ FOR THE CITY’S HOSPITALITY AND TRAVEL WEEK IN MARCH AS THOUSANDS TURNED UP FOR ITB AND THE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL INVESTMENT FORUM (IHIF). HM REPORTED LIVE FROM BOTH EVENTS WITH ExCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEWS ON WWW.HoTeLMAnAGeMenT.CoM.Au WITH LEADERS IN THE HOTEL, TRAVEL AND BROADER HOSPITALITY FIELDS AND HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS.

wORdS JAMES wILkInSOn In BERLIn

The 2011 International Hotel Investment Forum


AN ACCOR HOSPITALITY PROMOTION ACCOR FRANCHISING

Resort hotels are notoriously hard to fill in tough economic times, largely because their clientele is very leisure-based and season-ally-focused and they don’t benefit from the regular day-to-day

business guests that are the bread-and-butter for city hotels.For independent resort hotels, Accor’s distribution and loyalty pro-

grams can be the perfect panacea to filling rooms year-round because they help to fill those rooms that would otherwise remain empty.

Accor’s two loyalty programs – Advantage Plus and AClub – give hotels access to a large, committed and loyal band of travellers whom they can communicate with when they need to fill rooms in a hurry.

Advantage Plus is a paid program and by joining, members receive substantial discounts on both accommodation and din-ing. AClub, in contrast, is a free membership program whereby guests accrue points for each time they stay at an Accor hotel.

Advantage Plus currently has 284,000 members and hotels that are part of Accor’s franchise network can send them emails or messages with special offers when they have ‘need’ periods.

While Advantage Plus is an Asia Pacific loyalty program, Accor’s global loyalty program, A|Club has over 6 million members worldwide.

Jess Graham of the Mercure Hunter Valley Gardens says that while at first they were wary of Advantage Plus because guests receive a dis-count they have now seen that the program is a great way to reach customers and fill rooms.

‘Advantage Plus members have been some of our best customers and have proven to be a tremendous source of repeat business with-out the need for costly marketing by the hotel,” she said. “Members respond well to last-minute offers and have regularly filled the hotel during otherwise low occupancy periods.”

One of the newest resort hotels to join Accor’s franchise network has already seen bookings coming through from Accor’s loyalty pro-grams. The Grand Mercure Apartments Cable Beach Resort comprises 150 studios and self-contained apartments and villas.

Set around a tropical lagoon-style pool and located just a short walk from Cable Beach, the resort boasts five pools, a restaurant and bar and Sorbet, one of Broome’s best day spas, as well as conference facilities for up to 100 delegates.

General Manager Gail Gower said she was attracted to Accor’s loy-alty programs because she could see they would help bring increased business to the hotel without expensive marketing.

“To have access to people who already understand the Grand Mercure brand and who stay with Accor hotels has really al-lowed us to fill rooms when we need to by communicating with these members,” she said.

Dino Mezzatesta, Accor’s General Man-ager Franchise Hotels, said that loyalty pro-grams are just one tool that Accor provides

for franchise hotels to help them manage their rooms inventory.“Advantage Plus members contribute well over 32,000 rooms

nights to our franchise hotels in Australia and New Zealand each year,” he says. “Our members are always looking for new and exciting des-tinations within our portfolio and the Resort properties are the most sought after given their locations and range of facilities.

“Loyalty programs have become a part of life and business and be-ing associated with the Accor loyalty programs gives our hotel own-ers added confidence that these programs support and showcase their hotels to this unique group of regular travellers.” For more information on franchising with Accor go to www.accorfranchise.com.au

ACCOR’S LOYALTY PROGRAMSBUILD BUSINESS

HOW ACCOR HOSPITALITy’S AWARD-WINNING LOYALTY PROGRAMS CAN HELP BUILD BUSINESS FOR YOUR RESORT.

Grand Mercure Apartments Cable Beach is the newest franchise property to join Accor

Resort hotels are very popular with Accor’s loyalty program members


feATuRefeATuRe

Michael, what are you expecting in 2011 across all market segments?We are expecting corporate and convention business to be strong over the 12 months ably supported by corporate driven FIT business. Leisure however is a different story. With the strong Australian Dollar, interest rates possi-bly poised to move again, household saving up and retail spend down, this segment has already shown in 2011 that it has been im-pacted. We are anticipating this will ease as we move into the 2nd half of the year as con-sumer confidence returns.

According to Deloitte’s latest ‘Hotel Mar-ket Outlook’, the city is forecast to reach an average occupancy of 82% and a RevPAR of AUD$156 in 2011. What more needs to be done across the board to pick the levels up to Sydney, which is forecast to hit 87% and $171 respectively?It’s really supply driven. Melbourne has a lot of new inventory and Sydney doesn’t. Melbourne however has also invested well in infrastruc-ture and this will drive a steady increase in demand. The immediate upside for Melbourne is that we have availability and that travellers (leisure and business) can plan accordingly. Moving forward Melbourne is very well placed for sustainable long term growth whereas Sydney is reaching capacity.

What level of impact did the long-awaited opening of the convention centre exten-sion at the MCEC have on business?The new convention centre is a world class facility. It has been excellent for business, not just for us, but for the CBD hotels generally.

How is the MICE market looking this year?We are very lucky in Melbourne in that we don’t just have a first class facility in the MCEC, we also have a dynamic and professional conven-tion bureau. The MCVB does a great job. It has wide industry support and represents the city very well in the ultra competitive world wide market that is MICE. As a result the MICE mar-ket for Melbourne is looking strong now and we can look confidently to the future as well. One thing I have noticed in Melbourne is that nothing is taken for granted in the MICE mar-ket. The city is prepared to and expects to fight for every event. No illusions exist with the state of the market, it is highly competitive and it ap-pears to be well understood that any over esti-mation of the city’s pulling power is a potential-ly fatal error that everyone wishes to avoid. This is a vital market for our city and our state and it needs to be given commensurate collective support by all the parties involved. It is refresh-ing that in Melbourne we truly understand this.

What other market segments are you ex-pecting to be the strongest in 2011?For us locally the corporate market is gaining

Hilton Melbourne South Wharf has been one of the Victorian capital’s long upper-upscale hotels since it opened in April 2009 and most of the credit can be attributed to General Manager Michael Bourne. The New South Welshman has been at the helm for the last three years this month and to find out how the standout property has been performing, HM sat down with him recently.

THE BOURNESUPREMACY

InTERvIEw JAMES wILkInSOn

Hilton South Wharf General Manager

Michael Bourne


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momentum. This end of the city has attracted many new commercial tenants due to the easy access and good facilities. This market has shown excellent growth to date and we confidently expect it to continue.

What market segments could be better across the city in 2011?Leisure definitely is a bit softer than expected however having said that we have to consider the new supply. This has made the market more rate competitive, which is a good thing for visitors. The local leisure market is really important for the majority of Melbourne ho-tels so it is good that there are some great deals on offer currently.

Given Melbourne is the Australian sport-ing capital - are you expecting sports travel to be strong in 2011?The Australian Open was great for us this year and the grand prix also. Big time sporting events are very important for a city and we are thankful for the passionate support these are given in Melbourne. We have the President’s Cup to look forward to this year in November and I am sure the Spring Carnival will once again be a great event and a boost for the city.

Over the last 18 months, Melbourne has been a big winner with increased seat ca-pacity and new airlines flying to the city – what level of impact is this having on the hotel, particularly from an international perspective?Melbourne Airport has done an excellent job attracting new airlines. While we do not deal much in inbound leisure, if this segment is fill-ing beds in the city we indirectly benefit. Despite this success overall however net arrivals have declined due to the increased number of Aus-tralians travelling offshore. So despite this past success we need more of it moving forward and of course the new airline deals need to continue to deliver. There is no doubt that in Melbourne Airport we have a great partner in this regard.

Flights from China are increasing to des-tinations across Australia. Are you expect-

ing strong growth from the Chinese mar-ket or do you believe Melbourne needs to do more to win a share of it?All the hotels I have spoken with in Melbourne are keen to see Melbourne become established in the Chinese market and for Victoria and Australia to do as much as possible to speed up the effective penetration of this emerging market. Tourism Australia, Tourism Victoria and the MCVB are very much onboard with doing as much as possible to understand this market and to attract increasing numbers. While there is an understanding that it won’t happen overnight and that we don’t want to put all our eggs in the one basket, there is no denying that China will be an increasingly big player in the inbound market and has the po-tential to be the biggest player. We of course need to capitalise on opportunities to engage with this market but at the same time take a long term view. It is also important as opera-tors, and we have discussed this at our Tourism Accommodation Australia (AHA) meetings, that we recognise the different expectations this market has and react accordingly.

What are some of the other challenges fac-ing Melbourne’s Hoteliers at present?We have a new government in Victoria so we are keen to ensure we are engaging with the appropriate minister/s and reinforcing our views regarding the need for continuing in-frastructure development, support of major events, support of the convention bureau and Tourism Victoria. I think we have all seen over the recent past the vital importance of the role state government plays in support-ing and even stimulating demand growth in a sustainable fashion. It is a credit to this Vic-torian government and those previous that they are very open to this engagement and consultation process. The industry certainly appreciates it. This ongoing process directly relates to Melbourne’s competitiveness as a city across market segments. Melbourne’s hoteliers are keen to ensure that Melbourne not only competes well now, but that as a city destination we continue to compete strongly well into the future.

Rooms with a view: the outlook from a guestroom at the property


PRoPeRTyPRofile

Since it opened last July, Outrigger Little Hastings Street Re-sort and Spa has been a standout property in Noosa, thanks to its location, well-appointed rooms, good local fare and

overall facilities.Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort and Spa General Manager,

Alex Chapman, said expectations were exceeded in the first half of 2010 and he’s looking at the leisure mar-ket to be strong in 2011.

To find out more about the property and what other markets will be strong this year, HM sat down with Chapman at the resort.

How has the property performed since it opened and what are you expecting in 2011 across all market segments?We exceeded expectations in our first six months of operations since opening on July 8, 2010. Interestingly enough, the treetop villas and deluxe villas have grown very popular with families and groups of couples wanting a superior escape utilising Stephanie’s Ocean Spa.

How is the MICE market looking this year?We have over AUD$2 million worth of conference business booked. Since opening, we have had a number of large national conferences with very positive comments about the conference rooms, the setting and experience. The general view is that it is refreshing to have a brand new venue on the Sunshine Coast. This market also has a positive con-tribution to the local economy.

What other market segments are you expecting to be the strongest in 2011?The leisure market from the regional drive market on weekends and from interstate, in particular Victoria, during school holidays. The im-portance of the MICE market is that it fills the resort mid-week and the leisure market fills the weekends.

What market segments could be better across the region in 2011?The international market, however having said that, this is grow-ing from New Zealand and Europe as the resort is featured in more travel programs.

The Sunshine Coast is about to be a big winner with increased seat capacity and new airlines flying to the region – what level of impact are you expecting the arrival of Tiger hav-ing on the property?Seat capacity is important for the region and we expect this new service to boost occupancies within the region.

Flights from China are increasing to destinations across Australia, particu-larly Brisbane. Are you expecting strong growth from the Chinese market or do

you believe SE Queensland needs to do more to win a share of it?I don’t believe that the Sunshine Coast is a strong desired destination for the Chinese market whereby the Gold Coast is more suited.

What makes the resort so unique in your opinion?The biggest single comment we receive from guests is that the resort is surrounded by the natural rainforest and national park and yet so close to Hastings Street shopping and the beach. The other aspect is the eco design of the property.

What are some of the unique offerings Outrigger has brought to Noosa, such as Hawaiian service and hospitality?One of the aspects I am extremely proud of is that we have retained a great deal of our initial staff and that they have all embraced the Ohana (family) mentality. It is with this, that we have brought the warmth in our hospitality and ultimate delivery of our service standards which has been continuously praised by guests.

HM CHECKS-IN TO THE NEWEST PROPERTY ON QUEENSLAND’S SUNSHINE COAST, OUTRIGGER LITTLE HASTINGS STREET RESORT AND SPA NOOSA.

wORdS JAMES wILkInSOn In nOOSA

OUTRIGGERSHINES IN NOOSA

Clockwise from above: the main pool, the top deck

(inset, right) and a guestroom


PRoPeRTyPRofile

A STAR In THE kITCHEnAt Outrigger Noosa’s View on Little Hastings, there’s a star in the kitchen by the name of Olivier Maokhamphieu, a 30-year hospitality veteran who specialises in French-Vietnamese cuisine.It’s no wonder he’s a master at that exotic mix, given he was born to a French mother and Vietnamese father, who was a respected chef during Vietnam’s French colonial rule.Olivier (Ollie) combines the Asian flavours of mint, lemongrass, ginger, coriander and the crunch and texture of Vietnamese foods, with the smooth silky sauces and robust reductions of classical French fare.He has stitched up supply agreements at View on Little Hastings with local seafood suppliers for Mooloolaba prawns, Hervey Bay scallops and other tasty morsels straight from the trawlers.

Non-seafood lovers are also in for a treat with a sumptuous range of pork, beef, chicken and vegetarian dishes along with some exquisite desserts, handmade pastries and cheeses.Local produce is a key priority for Ollie, with seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, meats and dairy products sourced direct from Sunshine Coast producers, growers and purveyors.A staunch believer in not taking short cuts, Ollie and his team make everything from scratch daily, including all stocks, reductions and marinades.“Prepping is as important as presentation,” he said. “Particular dishes are marinated for a minimum of three hours and up to 24-hours.Before moving to Noosa to take on the executive chef role at View on Little Hastings, Ollie spent most of his time cooking in Canberra at a range of fine dining restaurants.

outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort & Spa noosaLITTLE HASTInGS STREET, nOOSA, QLd, AuSTRALIA

OperatorOutrigger Hotels & Resorts

General ManagerAlex Chapman

OpenedJuly 8, 2010

Rooms & suites198

F&B outletsView on Little Hastings

ConferencingUp to 400 cocktail and 350 classroom

Recreation facilitiesThree swimming pools, gymnasium, Steam Room, Theatre

Major suppliersCoca-Cola Amatil, Carlton and United Breweries, Siteminder, Austar, Eurocom and Aarons Linen

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View on Little Hastings restaurant


gloBAlRePoRT

California’s Hoteliers are reporting significant growth from the Australian market as the dollar continues to soar above parity with the greenback.

From San Francisco to San Diego, hotels along the Californian coast are seeing growth percentages of above 50% in some cases in the wake of not just the Australian Dollar, but flight increases from Hawaiian Airlines and increased competition on trans-Pacific services between Qantas, United, Delta and V Australia.

Andaz San Diego General Manager Rusty Middleton said right now the “opportunity is great” to capture a significant share of the Australian market in California’s southernmost city.

“The Australian market is the sixth highest feeder market for San Diego,” he told HM. “Our hotel has shown over 60% growth in

this market to last year (and) typically, the guests tend to stay just over three nights in the area.

Middleton said the Australian market had helped lift the per-formance across hotels citywide.

“The San Diego Market is performing better to last year,” he said. “Our city is showing steady growth and in March we have grown in the San Diego Market about 4%.”

Across town in popular Pacific Beach, Tower23 Hotel owner and CEO Brett Miller also said the Australian market was picking up.

“The Australian Dollar’s strength, coupled with aggressive pricing across the US travel market, has created value in accommodation,” he told HM. “That means this is an excellent time for the Australian traveller, both leisure and MICE, to visit San Diego and the States.

WITH THE AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR RISING ABOVE PARITY WITH THE GREENBACK, THE CALIFORNIAN CITIES OF LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO ARE PROVING TO BE A HOTSPOT FOR AUSSIE TRAVELLERS

LOOKING TO HAVE THE CHEAPEST HOLIDAY IN DECADES.

wORdS JAMES wILkInSOn In SAn dIEGO

Deck with a view: Tower23 in San Diego


gloBAlRePoRT

Like Middleton, Miller said the Australian traveller was stay-ing longer in Pacific Beach and that has been translating into good business for the property.

“Whether negotiating meet-ing contracts or planning holi-days, the Australian guest typi-cally has a longer length of stay than a domestic traveller,” he said.

Tower23 is one of the finest boutique hotels on the Califor-nian coastline thanks to its rooms, views, food, drink and service. Located in Pacific Beach, 20 min-utes from downtown San Diego, Tower23 is just metres from the sand and features accommoda-tions in a beach-style, domi-nated by white paint and open space. The restaurant downstairs, JRDN, is one of California’s best-value and well-located eateries, while the bar inside is the coolest den-with-a-view to be until late on weekends.

“Also the rooms are all guar-anteed their own patio or balco-ny, allowing guests to enjoy the fresh salt air,” Miller said. “Some of the patios even lead onto the Tower Deck where you can order food and drinks while you are enjoying the sun.”

All this equates to a hotel well suited to the Australian traveller and while it might only be the sixth largest source market, the potential is there for strong growth.

“Pacific Beach is the perfect hub from which to explore one of Amer-ica’s best cities, San Diego and the larger SoCal region,” Miller said.

Middleton agrees that all of the hallmarks are there for San Diego to capture a greater share from down under, particularly for Andaz, given the hotel’s features, which are well suited for the Australian traveller.

“Our hotel, located in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, is San Di-ego’s premier urban resort destination for first-class service, sophis-tication and luxury,” he said. “Each room is dressed in rich textures, warm woods, and daring architectural elements, creating high design sanctuaries of cosmopolitan comfort.

“Our standard amenities go above and beyond your typical hotel,” he said, adding that’s something ideal for both short- and long-term travel-lers. “We offer a complimentary internet in each guest room, a welcome beverage upon check-in, complimentary mini bar items and non-alco-holic beverages in each guestroom, complimentary fitness centre access and VIP access to our nightclub on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.”

Middleton said the hotel also offers a complimentary car service within three kilometres of the hotel, something popular with Australian guests.

Alongside the Australian market, both Middleton and Miller are ex-cited by the potential of United Kingdom travellers in 2011, thanks to the launch of direct London-San Diego flights by British Airways in June.

“The impact will be very positive and we are thrilled to welcome British Airways to San Diego,” he said. “This direct flight launch will not only make the ease of travel to San Diego appealing, but also allow other European countries to take advantage as well.

According to Middleton, the United Kingdom is the largest over-seas market for California, with an estimated 744,000 Britons vis-iting the state each year – out of a total to the United States of 4.6 million.

Miller said: “The new direct flight gives us a great opportu-nity to compete against other destinations, such as Los An-geles, for both business and lei-sure travellers.

“We’re certainly looking for-ward to Europeans having di-rect access to San Diego’s sunny, sandy beaches and countless cul-tural attractions,” he said.

Two hours north in Los Ange-les, West Hollywood is booming for Australians, with a number of hotels reporting a strong up-swing in inbound arrivals from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

One hotel in particular ex-cited about the ongoing growth is the Ramada Plaza West Holly-wood, run by Australian Hotelier Alan Johnson.

“It’s a very exciting time in the US at the moment, particularly in West Hollywood, with the Aus-tralian Dollar above parity (with the greenback),” he told HM. “We are looking to some wonderful times ahead from the Australian inbound market.”

The Andaz West Hollywood has also been reporting strong

interest from Australia, while The Langham Pasdaena has been run-ning a number of familiarisation tours specifically targeting outbound Australian and New Zealand travellers.

A strong boost this month for Californian Hoteliers will come from Hawaiian Airlines, which launches daily Sydney-Honolulu flights on April 5.

Hawaiian Airlines’ General Manager of Sales and Marketing in Australia, Sherilyn Robinson said those services connect to 10 United States mainland destinations, including Los Angeles and San Diego.

“This is going to be a great year for Hawaiian Airlines – we have our daily services starting on April 6 and running until August 1 – and we are excited to have so much more capacity into the Australian market,” she told HM.

Robinson said the US mainland services from the airline’s Hono-lulu hub were attracting significant attention from outbound Austral-ian travellers.

“Interest is picking up with our flights to the US mainland and the most popular destinations for the Australian market are Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego,” she said.

As HM went to press, the Australian Dollar was expected to rise above AUD$1.05 for USD$1, meaning Hawaiian’s extra flights have come at an opportune time for both the airline and Australian travel-lers alike.

view exclusive interviews with Rusty Middleton, Brett Miller, Alan Johnson and Sherilyn Robinson at www.hotelmanagement.com.au

HM flew to San Diego with Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian is launching daily flights from Sydney to Honolulu and onwards to 10 US mainland destinations from April 6 until August 1, when flights then return to five times per week. Hawaiian offers complimentary meals, drinks and main

screen entertainment and two bags up to 32kg each per passenger. For bookings, visit www.hawaiianairlines.com.au

“Our hotel has shown over 60% growth in the Australian market

to last year (and) typically, the guests tend to stay just over

three nights in the area.”RusTy MiDDleToN, general Manager, Andaz san Diego

Andaz San Diego

A Tower23 guestroom

Ramada West Hollywood


TouRisMfoRuM

This year’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) has confirmed the growing importance of Asia in Australia’s future tourism growth, according to Tourism Australia Managing Director An-

drew McEvoy.“The latest international arrival figures continue to highlight the

growing importance of Asia as the key driver of Australia’s future international tourism growth,” McEvoy said at ATE, held at the Syd-ney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) during the first week of April.

“The number of Asian delegates attending this year’s ATE is sub-stantially up on last year, a further sign of the commitment to Aus-tralia’s tourism product from the Eastern travel trade.”

During 2010, international visitor arrivals were up from most Asian countries demonstrated by strong regional increases, includ-ing double-digit growth from North East Asia, South East Asia, India and Japan.

North East Asia continued to enjoy strong growth, up 14% overall, led by China (up 24%), South Korea (up 18%) and Hong Kong (up 4%). Arrivals from China in particular were aided by increased aviation capacity by a number of the country’s airlines.

Visitors from South East Asia increased 9% during 2010, driven by strong consumer confidence, solid economic growth and, in some markets, increased airline capacity. Indonesia (up 12%), Malaysia (up 12%) and Singapore (up 8%) all performed well. Within Southern Asia, India also delivered a strong recovery in late 2010, with arrivals up 11%.

“Most of the Asian markets were up and finished 2010 strongly, led by China but with strong contributions from a number of other markets in North East and South East Asia, as well as India, which recovered well in 2010,” McEvoy said.

“Last year also saw a turnaround in the Japanese visitor market. Sadly, recent tragic events will obviously have an impact on outbound travel from Japan, although it’s still a little early to put a figure on this.

“The Asian economy’s ability to weather the GFC, plus competitive international air fares and increases in air capacity, has all helped to give us a strong platform from which to tap back into the key family and couples markets,” McEvoy said.

McEvoy believes a key factor in driving Asia’s visitor numbers has been the development of successful airline partnerships within the region.

“We have maintained and strengthened our long standing aviation partners and forged new partnerships with key airlines in the region, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines and China South-ern Airlines,” McEvoy said. “This is critical in delivering the additional aviation capacity we need to meet our long term growth aspirations.

“The strong visitor numbers coming out of Asia are certainly good news for the Australian tourism industry but what’s especially pleasing is the money these visitors are putting into the economy.

“As we’ve highlighted in our recently released 2010 Tourism Indus-try Potential report, it is more than just the visitor numbers that we want to grow.

“Looking ahead to 2020, we’re very focused on growing the eco-nomic contribution that Asian and other international visitors deliver to the Australian economy,” McEvoy said.

As part of its long term tourism vision, Tourism Australia has iden-tified a number of markets in Asia, which will help drive the future growth of the Australian tourism industry, including China, South Ko-rea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Hong Kong. It is anticipated that China alone will generate up to AUD $9 billion in total tourism expenditure by 2020.

ASIA DRIVINGTOURISM GROWTH

KEY ASIAN COUNTRIES ARE PROVING TO BE A SIGNIFICANT FORCE FOR AUSTRALIAN INBOUND TOURISM.

Asian markets are proving to be a winner for Australian tourism


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Vol 15. No.2 Bi-monthly April 2011

TYCOON JERRY

HM exclusively goes

one-on-one with

leading hotel investor,

Dr Jerry Schwartz

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

The aftermath of the

Christchurch earthquake,

online travel agents,

room service, Outrigger

Little Hastings Street

Noosa, Hilton Melbourne

South Wharf’s Michael

Bourne, ITB, IHIF, hot

products and much more

MIRVAC’S LEADERSHIP

With a new CEO at

the helm and stunning

new rooms across

Australasia, Mirvac Hotels &

Resorts is setting the pace in 2011

THE BUSINESS OF ACCOMMODATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC

LUXURY STYLE

HM GOES INSIDE

AUSTRALIA’S BEST NEW

ROOMS, INCLUDING THE

SEBEL PIER ONE SYDNEY

A U S T R A L I A – N E W Z E A L A N D – A S I A - P A C I F I C

Prin

t Pos

t app

rove

d PP

2550

03/0

7998

Stephen Burt, CEO, Mirvac Hotels &

Resorts and Michael Sheridan, General

Manager, The Sebel Pier One Sydney

HM April 2011.indd 1

6/04/11 2:56 PM

Hotel & Accommodation Management

HM, now in its 14th year, is the leading

accommodation trade magazine in the

region and is distributed to most large

accommodation properties in Australia, Fiji,

New Zealand, Noumea, Vanuatu and Tahiti.

The magazine has a circulation of over

6,000 and is received by all tiers of hotel

management (from front office staff to

general managers, regional directors and

CEOs) throughout Australasia. HM also has

alliances with the AHA (Australian Hotel

Association) in Australia, the New Zealand

Hotel Council (NZHC) and the FHA (Fiji

Hotels Association).

HM SUBS FP.indd 1 7/04/11 10:43 AM

coVeRsToRy

Stephen Burt heads the Hotel Funds division of Mirvac Funds Manage-ment, which comprises two wholesale funds currently comprising 20 hotels throughout Australia and New Zealand with a cumulative value

of some AUD$1 billion. Mirvac is investing in hotel property on behalf of both Australian and offshore investors.

Burt took over the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer November 2010 for the Mirvac hotel and resort division of over 45 hotels and resorts throughout Australia and in New Zealand under such well known brands as: Quay Grand, The Como, Quay West Apartments and Resorts, Sea Temple Resorts & Spas, Sydney Marriott Hotel, The Sebel Hotels, Resorts & Residences, Hotel Lindrum, Cairns Harbour Lights, Citigate Hotels, Q Station and Harbour Rocks Hotel; along with nine stand alone day spas, eight of which are branded under Mirvac’s signature Mii Spa, plus four internationally recognized golf courses.

Burt has worked in the hotel industry for over 20 years in the fields of hotel investment, hotel operations and hotel brokerage.

He holds a Bachelor of Financial Administration. Career appointments have included Managing Director of the holding company of Radisson Hotels Asia Pacific and Joint Managing Director of hotel real estate company JLW TransAct (now Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels).

LEAdInG THE wAy In EvEnTSThe Sebel Albert Park Melbourne has been named ‘Best Meeting Venue over 500 Delegates’ in Victoria at the Meetings and Events (MEA) Industry Awards.

The MEA Awards recognise excellent business practice in the meetings and events industry. They encourage industry professionals to excel in the achievement of their business and personal goals, and reward those who achieve outstanding results.

The category for ‘Best Meeting Venue over 500 Delegates’ covers hotels and meet-ing venues, including purpose-built Convention Centres without accommodation.

Accepting the award, The Sebel Albert Park Melbourne’s Director of Sales – Conferences and Events, Keren Southgate, could barely contain her excitement as she paid tribute, on behalf of General Manager Craig Bond, to everyone who had contributed to the hotel’s win.

“We all know that to be successful, a world-class meeting venue and hotel needs a dedicated, professional team willing to go that extra mile for their clients and I am proud to say that we have that team,” she said. “In fact they’re the A-Team.

“From the food and beverage and kitchen brigade, to our entire conference and events team including technical services, everyone is passionate about their work and are fully committed to ensure that each and every event we hold is a winner.

“The hotel has been on an amazing journey over the past few years and to be recognised by the industry as the best venue in Victoria for conferencing and events catering to over 500 delegates, has definitely made the journey worth-while,” Southgate said.

As host of the gala evening as well as award recipient, the hotel’s conference and events team showed guests their winning style with a flawless event that showcased their great event spaces, as well as fantastic food and beverage and a slick technical presentation – all the ingredients for a great awards night.

The Sebel and Cititgate Albert Park Melbourne will join winners from other States and Territories for the MEA National Awards to be held in Brisbane on April 19, 2011.

MIRVACON THE MOVE

IT’S BEEN A STRONG START TO 2011 FOR MIRVAC HOTELS AND RESORTS IN AUSTRALASIA - A YEAR THAT HAS SEEN A NEW CEO TAKE THE HELM, A PROMINENT PROPERTY WIN A MAJOR AWARD AND THE COMPANY GET HEAVILY BEHIND THE NEW LOYALTY PROGRAM FOR THE GLOBAL HOTEL ALLIANCE (GHA).

Michael Sheridan, General Manager, The Sebel Pier One Sydney and Stephen Burt, Chief Executive Officer, Mirvac Hotels & Resorts and inside one of the new rooms at The Sebel Pier One Sydney


A CORnERSTOnE OF GHA’S nEw LOyALTy PROGRAMMirvac Hotels & Resorts and fellow Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) member brands have launched an industry-first guest loyalty program.

The new GHA Discovery program – the first-ever uniting independent luxury hotel brands – was created to deliver recognition and experience-based rewards across 12 brands and nearly 300 hotels globally, turning a business trip or week-end getaway into a one-of-a-kind adventure.

With a heightened level of personalised service, not points, the program also provides access to more than 1000 exceptional Local Experiences – designed by the local hotel employees to provide exclusive access to off-the-beaten path ac-tivities around the world.

Some of the benefits members can enjoy include:GOLD (from enrollment to nine nights)• Membership profile of preferences;• Choice of Gold Level Local Experience after first stay at a GHA brand;• Choice of complimentary newspaper;• Complimentary Internet access; and• Complimentary bottled waterPLATINUM (10 to 29 nights) Gold Level privileges, plus:• Choice of Platinum Level Local Experience; • Upgrade to next room category at check-in;• Late check-out until 3pm;• Guaranteed room availability 48-hours prior to arrival; andLocal amenity BLACK (30 or more nights) Platinum Level privileges, plus:• Choice of Black Level Local Experience;• Double upgrade at check-in;• Early check-in beginning at 9am and late check-out until 6pm;• Guaranteed room availability 24 hours prior to arrival;• Personal choice of local amenity; and• Local brand benefits (such as access to Executive Lounges, laundry service and

more).Local Experiences vary by membership level – the higher the membership level, the more exclusive the reward. After just one qualifying stay at a GHA hotel, Gold Level members can learn to play traditional Boduberu drums in the Mal-dives or take a sunset drive through a nature reserve in Namibia. Platinum Level members can take in a rugby match in New Zealand or rehearse for Carnival at a celebrated samba school in São Paulo, Brazil. Guests who reach the Black Level membership can enjoy access to a private cruise along the Potomac in a former Presidential yacht, a helicopter tour over the LA skyline or learn to surf in Bali.

“We are very pleased to see this project come to fruition,” said Stephen Burt, CEO of Mirvac Hotels & Resorts. “GHA Discovery will allow our guests to re-ceive enhanced service and recognition, and provide peace of mind by helping them select accommodation that meets the service standards they are accus-tomed to receiving with Mirvac, while also enjoying unique access to incredible local experiences worth talking about when they return home.”

Based on the airline alliance model, GHA is the world's largest alliance of independent hotel brands. Five years of technological development, collabora-tion, research and strategy went into creating GHA Discovery. Each member brand utilises a consistent reservations and customer database platform enabling guests’ membership status and personal preferences to be recognized at all ho-tels – regardless of the brand.

“GHA Discovery was built with the philosophy that recognition and authen-tic, local experiences – and not just collecting points – are the true pillars of a rewarding hotel loyalty program,” said Chris Hartley, CEO of the Global Hotel Alliance. “Whether taking advantage of spare time on a business trip or explor-ing a destination through a local’s eyes on a weekend, the guest experience be-gins with personal recognition at the front desk of our hotel brands and is made richer with adventures that are not easily accessible to the general public.”

GHA is currently comprised of Anantara, Doyle, First, Kempinski, Leela, Mir-vac Hotels & Resorts, Marco Polo, Omni, Pan Pacific, PARKROYAL, Shaza and Tivoli hotels and resorts, encompassing nearly 300 luxury hotels with over 65,000 rooms across 48 different countries. Guests may book a reservation with any of the 12 participating hotel brands at one centralised website at gha.com and learn more about GHA Discovery and the Local Experiences at ghadiscovery.com.

A MIRVAC HOTELS AND RESORTS PROMOTION


hoTelDesigN

LUXURY

STYLE

FROM MELBOURNE TO THE WHITSUNDAYS, PROPERTIES ACROSS AUSTRALIA IN THE UPSCALE AND LUxURY SEGMENTS HAVE BEEN POLISHING, PAINTING AND RE-DESIGNING TO WIN OVER THE EVER DISCERNING GLOBAL TRAVELLER. AND THE OUTCOME AT MANY, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING FIVE, IS NOTHING SHORT OF ExCEPTIONAL.

COMPILEd By JAMES wILkInSOn

The Sebel Pier One Sydney has undergone a stylish refurbishment with the talents of Paul Hecker and Hamish Guthrie at the helm.

Well known and highly esteemed for their work at the Ivy, Hecker Guthrie responded both to the harbourside location

and unique architectural pedigree in the design of the rooms.

A palette of clean whites and soft neutrals were combined to create a unique hotel experience.

Paul Hecker said: “We wanted to showcase the features of the original building – the timber and

ironwork and create a look that was in keeping with the location.”

The brief was to create a space that didn’t feel like a standard hotel room. These spacious rooms now portray seamlessly blended contemporary style with unique architectural elements.

The Sebel Pier One Sydney

Mirvac unveiles a grand upgrade for its hotel on Sydney Harbour.

The Walsh Bay Suite at The Sebel Pier One Sydney


we wanted to create a room product that would afford the guest a complete retreat, meaning they need not leave their room if they so choose. By providing a Butler and Concierge service, exclusive in-room spa and dining experiences, internal pool and a number of new amenities, we have ensured that Hayman can provide a personal beachfront haven.

The beachfront access and the sea views from the bedroom are key features of the villa. The internal gallery, with its own pool, day bed and personal bar open to the air, is unique and very popular with our guests.

All the furniture was custom made for the villas.

Each villa comes with its own iPad, Apple TV system and

Bose sound system. While this technology is an important feature it is designed to make guests feel comfortable in using.

Environmental sustainability is of paramount importance to everyone on Hayman and these new villas continue that commitment.

Renowned architect kerry Hill designed the new villas and appointed the furniture. His emphasis on nature and a connection with the outside environment resonates strongly on Hayman and as such he is also the designer of our new Hayman Residences set on the hillside and at the marina.

Hayman is currently closed until August 2011 it for remedial works following Cyclones Anthony and Yasi that devastated north Queensland earlier this year.

Shane Green, Hayman’s General Manager, discusses the property’s new beach villas, which opened in December 2010.

Hayman

A Beach Villa on Hayman


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Four SeasonsHotel Sydney

Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has completed the final phase of a two-year hotel refurbishment, unveiling its ‘pièce de résistance’, four newly refurbished signature suites.

At a cost of AUD$1.6 million, the final-stage of the upgrade included a complete revamp of the Presidential Suite, Deluxe Royal Suite and two Royal Suites.

Perfectly positioned on the hotel’s 34th floor, the Presidential and Deluxe Royal Suites offer panoramic views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, while the two Royal Suites offer views over Sydney’s CBD, Circular Quay and Walsh Bay.

Designed by Bates Smart, the suites were transformed to take on a New York-style apartment circa 1930, evoking a feeling of warmth, elegance and refinement.

Dramatic and theatrical, The Presidential Suite is one of Sydney’s finest for visiting royalty, rock stars and celebrities. In the generous living spaces, the dark palette and leather detailing is rich and warm. The elegant hand-selected furnishings are complemented by an eclectic collection of photography.

The master bathroom is indulgent and spacious with warm, silvery travertine that echoes the suite’s parquet floor. A luxurious large central bathtub, custom-made by Melbourne-based Apaiser, takes prime position in the bay window, offering views over Sydney’s Circular Quay.

The luxurious Royal Suites feature strong undertones of penthouse glamour but with an intriguing, metropolitan twist. Two suites are accented in light tones and the third offer darker, moodier tones.

Four Seasons Hotel Sydney reveals a stunning refurbishment of its top four suites.

Suite views: the Four Seasons Sydney now features the city's

best hotel bathtubs


We sell sleep

Sleepmaker Hospitality works with its partners to sell sleep! Sleepmakers commercial bedding products are durable, cost competitive and comfortable. We have

bedding products for all price points, all feels and all your needs. We appreciate you allowing us the opportunity to

compete for your business. We guarantee to give you and your customer a positive experience now and for the life of your

bedding and bedding products warranty. Yes we can provide you with all your commercial bedding needs, yes we can remove your old

beds and yes we can install your new beds. We can do it all, from the smallest one bedroom job to the largest hotel refurbishment or opening.

1300 798 765 www.sleepmaker.com.au

210315_SM_Hospitality_A4_FP_Ad_HMmag_Hotels_210x297.indd 1 3/03/11 11:44 AM

hoTelDesigN

The design of our new rooms drew its cues from the Melbourne surrounds. Like this city, it is urbane, tailored, sophisticated and stylish. Architecturally, the rooms are inspired by clear planning logic and modernist overtones – we are striving for timeless as opposed to fashionable.

The new rooms have been spatially redesigned to make better use of open flow. The built-in joinery is in a rich walnut finish with precise detailing reminiscent of some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants and fashion boutiques, and the complementary artwork is a series of black and white period photographs of Melbourne that have been mounted within the mirrors to give them a contemporary edge. Every room also has a separate changing area, and laptop-sized safe.

The televisions are 42-inch LG high-definition TVs. iPod docking stations are Philips. The furniture is contemporary pieces to reflect the edgy nature of Melbourne – no overstuffed armchairs here. Custom woven carpets from Brintons are based on an architecturally inspired geometric design. The corridor wallpaper has been imported from the US

Melbourne Marriott prides itself on being a hotel that allows guests to ‘perform, connect and energise’, so technology is a strong focus for us. We are one of the few hotels to have a fiber-optic backbone which delivers wireless Internet through a 6a shielded cable. This allows for a much quicker Internet connection and facilitates for faster data acquisition.

The new rooms are all accessed by energy-saving power cards, which have been installed to reduce unnecessary power use. We also use OxoBiodegradable Plastic for laundry and energy efficient baths. Outside, poolside furniture is made entirely from recycled materials.

International design firm Chada, based out of Sydney, designed the Marriott Melbourne refurbishment. We chose them because they are the only specialist hotel designer in Australia with a proven track record spanning almost 30 years. They have an impressive list of completed luxury hotel projects to their credit throughout the Australasia region, with completed hotels in Australia and New Zealand, China, India, Japan, Korea and the Pacific Rim.

George Varughese, General Manager of the Melbourne Marriott Hotel, talks about the property’s recent refurbishment.

Melbourne Marriott

Refreshed: a new room at the Melbourne Marriott Hotel


Enhance the Guest Experience with LG Hospitality TV

For more information, contact (02) 8805 4409 • Website: www.lg.com.au • Email: [email protected]

0136-10

The LG Hospitality TV range has been stylishly designed for maximum impact as well as practical benefits. Easy to use and intuitive hotel specific features, such as USB cloning, remote jack pack compatibility and integrated power saving settings deliver premium entertainment solutions designed to add sophistication and style to in-room technology.

The LD320H range is currently available in sizes 22”, 26” (HD), 32”, 37” and 42” (Full HD).

• Full interactive LCD TV• Hotel mode with USB cloning• Integrated DVB-T/C & MPEG 4• Invisible speakers• External speaker out• Power saving mode: 5 preset power saving modes (Backlight control + Screen Off)

can help reduce the power consumption• Swivel stand and anti-theft lock

hoTelDesigN

Park Hyatt Sydney offers guests an intimate, residential-style hotel with architecture, design and art that reflects the Australian landscape. The new guest rooms are designed to celebrate the indoor-outdoor experience with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open onto spacious private balconies.

The renovation program will include a complete redesign of the hotel’s guest rooms, including architectural fixtures and finishes, custom designed contemporary lighting, new furniture and unique artwork by renowned Australian artists. New interiors will feature a natural feel with rich layers of chocolate, cream and beige hues.

Park Hyatt SydneySydney’s iconic Park Hyatt has just closed for a refurbishment lasting until October 2011.

Andrew Mensforth, General Manager, looks at what’s involved.

Interior designers BARstudio designed the new rooms, which feature floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto a private balcony with views of Sydney Harbour, unique artwork by renowned Australian artists, remote-controlled blinds, marble bathroom with separate full size bath and walk-in shower, walk-in wardrobes, a 24-hour butler service, custom designed furniture and adjustable light settings.

Technology will include seven-star star rated LEd televisions, iPod docks a media hub and Radio Frequency Identification Door (RFID) locks.

Energy-efficient lighting and water-saving devices will be installed in all guestrooms, for example: LED and compact fluorescent lighting; energy management system with occupancy sensors; Wels-rated toilets and taps; thermal and acoustic rated balcony doors; recyclable timber decking; and an absorption refrigerator.

In the middle of a massive refurbishment: Park Hyatt Sydney


of data targetedis personal creditcard information*

98%

of wireless network attacksoccur at hotels*

38%

LEADINGSUPPLIERS

The biggest advantage of your wireless network - that the signal goes everywhere, is also your biggest problem. The easy “plug-and-play” functionality of your wireless access points can give you a false sense of security as there are a wide range of methods available that can be used, without your knowledge or permission, to access your once “private” network.

38% of wireless network attacks occur at hotels

98% of data targeted is personal credit card information*

The web is littered with advice and applications whose sole aim is to discover the flaws of your wireless networks. These flaws, such as poorly-configured WEP security, are the subject of numerous online

pages that offer insight, guidance and even step-by-step instructions on how to actively penetrate a wireless network with the use of easily-obtainable off-the-shelf equipment. Witness the reports in recent times of multiple high profile cases focusing on fraud perpetrated by wireless means. In some of these cases, millions of private credit card numbers have been harvested by organised gangs of hackers.

According to Trustwave, a leading US-based provider of on-demand data security, scammers focus their attacks on hotel chains that retain credit card details collected from such sources as reservations, souvenir shops, spas and golf courses. This information when kept in one central system, allows more credit card details accessible to hackers.

“We work closely our Hotel partners to identify, nullify and monitor wireless networks using worlds best practice installation methods, as well as actively helping our customer conform to the Wireless PCI-DSS wireless compliance to deliver a seamless guest experience.”

Chris Dyball, DOCOMO interTouch

Statistics released by the “Australian Payments Clearing Association”, (APCA) report that credit card fraud where the customer is not physically present during the transaction (i.e. online transactions) rose by 25% last year to $102.6 million dollars and accounts for 52% of all frauds associated with credit cards. One of the major recommendations put forward by the APCA was for credit card merchants to adopt a wider and better implementation of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards or PCI-DSS.

Clearly, it’s important for hotels to commit to provide wireless networks that are not only flexible in their design, but secure in their implementation and compliant with the relevant PCI-Data Security Standards. Cutting-edge customer service initiatives such as mobile wireless check-in for guests will succeed in the long term only when implemented with due consideration of these high-level security standards as provided by a flexible and unique technology partner.

*Trustwave Global Security Report 2010

DOCOMO interTouchCHRIS DYBALLRegional Managing Director

Hackers’ Number One Target: Hotels

Contact us to discuss your network, security or wireless requirementsph: +612 9313 0434 email: [email protected]

Docomo FP.indd 1 31/03/11 8:54 AM


A suPPlieR-sPoNsoReD secTioNBuyeRsguiDe

HOTPRODUCTS

HM PROFILES SOME OF THE LEADING PRODUCTS FOR HOTEL ROOMS IN AUSTRALASIA.

Ibos throw from Essential DetailThe Ibos throw from Essential Detail is made of 100% wool in a herringbone design – bordered with brown leather from Brazil and stitched in leather to give a very unique finish to this stylish country throw. The throw is one of many luxury products distributed by Essential Detail, a company that “aims to select and design a range of furnishings and homewares that are unique in Australia, using natural product combinations where possible”.

Tel: +61 (0)404 889343web: www.essentialdetail.com.au

The Cloud by HotelHomeAustralia’s number one luxury addition to hotel rooms is ‘The Cloud’, a feather/down bed topper by HotelHome. Discerning Hoteliers are reaping the benefits by not only installing quality commercial beds, they are also including The Cloud and receiving accolades from their guests who have slept in supreme comfort all night.

Tel: 1800 468 354 (within Australia)Email: [email protected]

Silk Shimmer Body LotionSasy n Savy, a bespoke skin care and well being product range which is Australian owned and Australian made, has been proving popular at hotels around the world of late, particularly the Silk Shimmer Body Lotion. The product features Bearberry leaf extract which is a strong antioxidant, Wild Rosella Flower extract, high in natural protein and nutrients to revive skin and restorative aloe vera to smooth and soften dry body skin.

Tel: +61 (0)2 9534 4077web: www.sasynsavy.com.au

Moccona brings sustainability in-room

Hotels can now offer premium sustainable coffee in-room with Moccona Embrace single serve

sticks. The coffee inside has been sourced from sustainable coffee farms around the world to

create a truly rewarding coffee experience for guests and at the same time enable farmers to build a sustainable future for themselves, their

families and the environment.

Tel: 1800 833 767 (AuS) or 0800 277 927 (nZ)Email: [email protected]

St Arnou Premium BlondeSt Arnou Premium Blonde is a European style blonde beer which smacks of flavour. The addition of wheat malt and the subtle hop character define this beer. Pale in colour and cold filtered, this traditional European styled lager has a smooth crisp finish that is beautifully balanced for an exceptional drinking experience.

Tel: +61 2 9227 8503web: www.st-arnou.com.au

TechzoNe

1300 769 [email protected]

Australia’s only hospitality specialist...now brings innovative Apple products to your hotel room,

where guests can access Wi-Fi, surf the Internet, listen to

music, view on-demand content or watch DVD’s.

Guests can also access hotel directories and room service,

all on a stylish Apple Mac computer.

We also offer a range of other modern hospitality

solutions including digital signage, wi-fi solutions,

IP telephony and mobile concierge software.

Hotel Hospitality + Design Expo 2011 (HHD), held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibi-tion Centre from March 14-16 was a boon for visitors and exhibitors alike, according to or-ganisers Diversified Exhibitions.

“We are delighted at the huge interest in Hotel Hospitality + Design 2011,” said Exhibi-tion Manager, Michael-William Kelly. “Based

on the success of similar shows overseas we see this as a real opportunity to bring the ho-tel, hospitality and design industries together and it has been a resounding success.

“This is an important show for Austra-lian and Asia Pacific and although niche, we are happy to report the show attracted quality delegates and key players. Exhibi-

tors were very pleased with the amount of business generated through the show. I am to confirm the show as a permanent annual industry event and we look forward to an equally successful show next year in 2012 in Sydney,” he said.

Co-locating with HHD was the Hotel Operations and Technology Expo and Con-ference (HOT), which included a conference program that featured international speak-ers. All offered their expert knowledge, advice and informed insights into how technology will change the face of the hotel industry and the opportunities for the Asia Pacific region.

Take a video tour of the Hotel Room of the Future at www.hotelmanagement.com.au

The Hotel Room of the Future at HHD

Room of the future unveiled Inside the bathroom of the future


It’s been a couple of years since HM examined the online environ-ment in depth. Our last feature was pre-GFC and the path forward looked clear and rosy. But how things change – and quickly.The perennial struggle to maintain revPAR, occupancy and revenue

remain, yet the landscape morphs between verdant pasture and dusty prairie in the blink of an eye. The stock market rollercoaster, airline strategies, consumer sentiment and behaviour and even floods, cy-clones and earthquakes all conspire to make the hotel business one of the most challenging around.

Some hoteliers still look upon the Online Travel Agents (OTAs) as the enemy of profitability, stifling rates and skewing guest book-ing trends toward last minute opportunity, pun intended. But the fact remains that OTAs are firmly entrenched in the environment and all serious hoteliers know this, as much as they might wish otherwise.

For this instalment, HM surveyed a cross-section of savvy players from the major chains to the determined independents and found that the vast majority had found their place in this unsteady world. All have learned to dampen the rough ride with careful balancing of pricing and a mix of MICE market predictability against volatile leisure demands.

TRAVELtech and No Vacancy conference organiser, Martin Kelly, is characteristically blunt in his assessment of the relationship between hotels and OTAs.

“The relationship is established and serious hotels are fully aware of their reliance on OTAs to deliver them a balanced revenue portfolio,” says Kelly, “with over 60% of bookings in 3-, 4- and 5-star properties made online, there is no going back. All that’s left now is to negotiate commissions and allocate inventory accordingly.”

Tim Hughes, VP Commercial, HotelClub Orbitz Worldwide, ac-knowledges the permanency of online intermediaries.

“Online travel is a mature business. We’re no longer a ‘revolution’ or a phenomenon,” says Hughes. “OTAs are now a permanent part of the landscape. This has also added absolute transparency and honesty to the all elements of travel, pricing, content – everything is out there.

Customers have instant and complete access to everything they need to find the best options and rates for their travel needs.”

Richard Rosebery of The Travel Marketers, has a softer view.“While OTAs have certainly served to increase consumers’ con-

fidence in online booking generally, the boutique property segment has been slower to convert,” he says. “If you’re booking a major chain 4- or 5-star room with a standardised hotel offering, then you can be confident to transact online, but niche resorts, particularly those with a high price tag, are still reliant on personal contact for final confirma-tion. However, I certainly recommend clients utilise one or more of the major OTAs as it’s a valuable branding and exposure tool.”

This opinion is largely supported by Mr and Mrs Smith’s Asia Pacific Managing Director Simon Westcott.

“At the boutique end of the market travellers still want independent advice to assist with the decision-making process,” he says. “They look to sites like ours (www.mrandmrssmith.com) as an unbiased and trustwor-thy source of information about the types of accommodation available. From the hotel’s perspective, there are advantages to working with cer-tain online brokers who regularly deliver the right kind of customer to their property that drives additional revenue through secondary spend.”

Kiwi Collection, who have recently added new front line staff and extensively revamped their website have approached it thus.

“On a property webpage we’ve replaced the GDS capability with a ‘booking request form’ function allowing consumers to select dates and leave comments regarding their stay,” says Kiwi Collection VP - Com-munications, Bradley Cocks. “The form automatically sends a form to our 24/7 reservations team who respond directly. While offline, our new 24/7 reservations team can be contacted via local phone numbers - all with access to detailed information on hotels not connected to the GDS.”

Over in the mainstream, the relationship between OTAs is certainly cemented, but not always easy.

“All major hotel chains have touted a ‘best price’ or ‘low rate guar-antee’ for many years to drive consumers to the properties’ least ex-

ONLINE SAVVY

wORdS ROdERICk EIMEHM REVISITS THE ONLINE TRAVEL AGENT ENVIRONMENT NOW THAT ONLINE TRAVEL AGENTS HAVE FIRMLY STAKED THEIR CLAIM IN THE ACCOMMODATION BOOKING MARKETPLACE.


hoTelTechNology

pensive reservation delivery medium and to comply with brand initiatives,” says Best Western’s Senior Revenue Manager, Keith Meyers. “Today, the OTAs are de-manding this same guarantee to keep a competitive edge. Parity is now required, not only by all branded hotels, but by all OTAs, with regards to availability, rate and restrictions. Once again, hotels are following the lead of the industry that first perfected revenue management, the airlines.

“The ‘internet middlemen’, or OTAs, will never go away, and become more prev-alent in the future. I call it a ‘necessary evil’. From the hotel’s perspective, more at-tention is necessary for rate and inventory management than ever before to ensure contribution from these sites are relevant to the needs of the hotels. The OTAs are here to stay, as are the GDS and travel agents.”

Alto Hotel on Bourke General Manager, Gary Strickland, warns against the temp-tation to discount when working with OTAs and follow the airlines’ lead.

“We discourage last minute discounting as this is a self fulfilling prophecy,” he says. “Continually dropping rates for late bookings has taught travellers to book their airline ticket in advance to avoid paying a higher price but in reverse leave your hotel booking to as late as possible. The hotel industry needs to learn from the airline industry and offer discounts for advance bookings with rates increasing as demand and the actual date of travel approaches. While it is difficult to resist the temptation to discount at the last minute when you have vacant rooms, yet as an industry we need to hold our nerve to ensure we can obtain a fair rate for the product and service that we offer.”

Zuji Australia Managing Director, James Gaskell, also believes there is room for all players.

“Zuji offers customers a different service to what hotels offer their customers online,” he says. “We provide a network of opportunities allowing customers to travel in their own way and in their own style. This is different to what hotels aim to achieve online. This, combined with the phenomenal growth in online travel means there is sufficient room for everyone to grow. We are forecasting strong growth in 2011. And as many hotels operate their own online systems, we believe this further reinforces that both can work alongside each other in the online do-main and is a reflection of increasing customer preference.”

The CEO at Melbourne’s Hotel Windsor, David Perry, is less optimistic about the future of OTAs.

“History shows us that middle men do not last long,” he says. “They either in-tegrate up or integrate down or disappear as they are taken over by events beyond their control. Whether that will happen with travel booking brokers is yet to be seen”

Accor’s Vice President Australia, Simon McGrath, treads the middle ground. He says while www.accorhotels.com (the number one hotel brand site in Australia for most of 2011) is now a major brand in its own right, OTAs still have an impor-tant niche to fill.

“We do not see our relationship with OTAs as a 'one or the other' scenario,” Mc-Grath says. “We are equally committed in working with indirect on-line portals. They are sometimes very effective for selling rooms in particular destinations, whereas di-rect channels may be more appropriate for our city hotels where we can sometimes offer 20 or more hotels to select from, covering all styles and price points.

“We are now working with some of these online sites to highlight our brands, so that while the booking may eventually come from a third-party source, bookers become very familiar with our brands,” he says.

Lastminute.com.au Brand General Manager Kirsty Harrison adds: “We offer our hotel partners a low cost distribution channel as well as opportunities includ-ing promotions with tourism bodies, targeted sales campaigns such as our recent Easter ‘Bunny Bonus Sale’ and the chance to participate in our very popular ‘Secret Hotels’ program where they can fill their rooms efficiently without having to adver-tise cheap rates against their brand.

“Association with a well known and trusted brand like lastminute.com.au also has its advantages. With 900,000 unique browsers visiting our site each month, regular communication with our database of more than 350,000, over 5000 Face-book ‘fans’ and over 3000 twitter followers, we have a very loyal and active cus-tomer base that our hotel partners benefit from.”

While hotels, the stalwart bricks-and-mortar in this highly volatile environ-ment, test their marketing acumen and their OTA relationships, it’s a roller coaster ride for everyone.

Wotif Group CEO, Robbie Cooke, summed it up succinctly at 2009’s Web In Travel conference with: “You’ve got to stay paranoid in this space!”

Quay West Resort Bunker Bay

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEdIAUnless you’ve been living under the proverbial rock, it’s clear that Facebook and social media generally is the online phenomenon of the decade. From a college level launch in 2004, Facebook now has over 600 million active users in virtually every country on Earth. Additionally there are hundreds of thousands of so-called ‘Fan Pages’ for everyone from Queen Elizabeth to Bon Jovi (almost 10 million fans) and everything from quilting (170,000 fans) to bog snorkelling (520 fans).

Locally, early adopters were socially-savvy Vibe Hotels and Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, quick to recognise the valuable customer relationship building and retention power of the new media.

Did you know? Over one in nine visits to all other websites directly after a visit to Facebook. Facebook accounts for 11.3% of all upstream traffic to other websites visited by Australian Internet users. This makes it the second largest source of traffic behind Google.com.au (31.7%) and well ahead of ninemsn that generates 3.8%. (Hitwise.com)

Tim Hughes, prolific online travel business blogger (alter-ego VP of Orbitz, Hotelclub, RatesToGo), encourages hotels and travel suppliers to quickly embrace social media, but not to do so without a strategy.

“I am often approached by suppliers (mainly hotels) telling me that they have opened a twitter account, started a blog or set up a Facebook fan page but nothing is happening,” says Tim in his post on www.tnooz.com.

“What should I do?” they ask. “I joined all the social networks but there is nothing there!”

In short, Tim’s advice can be distilled to this:• Decide who it is you want to talk to

and what you want to say to existing customers, new customers, loyal customers, suppliers or others;

• Monitor your social media, make it a customer service and marketing priority;

• Devote a staff member to respond to all comments;

• Collect data. All of it. Every single piece you can;

• You need to know that they like to do and what they want;

• Craft product and content plans;• Include specific product offerings and

targeted deals;• Stay with it for the long haul;• Don’t dip in and out. Be patient and be

prepared to revise strategies.For the full and valuable report, see www.tnooz.com/author/thughes/


hoTelTechNology

Over the last 12 months, Ho-teliers and owners have be-come increasingly mindful

of conserving energy for both the environment and to save on power bills. With that in mind, one area capturing the attention at present is lighting, as suppliers continue to roll-out new technology that’s resulting in significant savings for both small and large hotels alike.

While the initial cost of chang-ing to energy-efficient light-emitting

diode (LED) globes can be significant, on both the cost per globe and instal-

lation side, the recuperation of funds starts paying dividends within months.

Leading the way in lighting technology globally is Royal Philips Electronics, which recently launched a 12-watt master LED bulb (pictured), the industry’s LED replace-ment for a 60-watt incandescent light bulb.

This means Hoteliers will now have an LED alternative to the most commonly used incandescent bulb, which according to Philips Lighting General Manager Michael Downie, will save up to 80% of energy and last 25 times longer than its century-old predecessor.

Downie said for every 1,000 60-watt in-candescent light bulbs replaced with LED bulbs, there would be a saving of approxi-mately AUD$13,300 in energy related costs (based on four hours use per lamp per day at 19 cents per kilowatt hour) and 66 tons of car-bon emissions (CO2 gas emissions are based on .95 grams per kilowatt hour annually).

“We challenged ourselves to come up with an LED alternative that can mimic the traditional incandescent in light quality, shape and use, in a timeframe most did not think possible,” Downie said.

”This milestone is even more significant because we have been able to show people around the world that LED lighting can deliv-er energy efficiency and the warm white light people desire, without compromise to quality.

“This new bulb not only underscores our commitment to sustainability, it is a clear example of Philips’ global leadership in lighting innovation,” he said.

Downie said the Master LED globe uses an innovative design and remote phosphor technology to deliver the same soft white light and shape that business users are fa-miliar with in an incandescent.

IN THE QUEST TO SAVE ENERGY, HOTELS ARE

TURNING TO NEW LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY TO SAVE ON

CARBON EMISSIONS AND BILLS. HOW ExACTLY? HM FINDS OUT.

BRIGHTIDEAS

wORdS JAMES wILkInSOn


hoTelTechNology

He said the Master LED will provide in-stant plug-in savings, through extended life and reduced energy and maintenance costs, in comparison with traditional bulbs.

Hotels in Europe, Asia and the Americas and have been quick to take up the new tech-nology – with LED globes in general – and it is expected that properties in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific will follow suit.

One property with an emphasis on en-ergy saving lighting is the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane. The property’s General Manager, Peter Savoff, said like all new initiatives, “im-plementation can take some time for hotels”.

“As the Emporium Hotel is a newer prop-erty, energy conservation was an important part of the design making it easy to adapt to energy conservation,” he told HM. “The main-tenance team continue to monitor energy and ensure light fixtures are low wattage.

“A majority of the hotel has now been fitted with LED lighting or low voltage lighting from the foyer right through to the Suites,” he said.

Savoff said while there were a number of challenges in implementing the new technol-ogy, it comes down to commitment from the Hotelier and the owner.

“Price can generally deter businesses away from change and therefore it could be a bar-rier to implementing energy lighting,” he said. “However it is important for hotels to under-stand the long term benefit of such an initiative.

“These lights generally last longer and re-duce energy bills, which means cost saving to the hotel. Emporium Hotel was lucky in that the new light fittings adapted to the current power supply.

“For a number of older hotels this could be a challenge and an additional expense ensur-ing the power supply adapts top new globes.”

Savoff said once new technology was

implemented across a hotel – from lighting to general energy saving – the results were immediate.

“As technology continually changes, so do hotel processes, making it easier to adapt to energy conservation,” he said.

“Working with EarthCheck, the Emporium Hotel achieved a 41.5% better than best practice level for energy consumption per guest night.

“By simply monitoring energy usage, training staff and implementing energy effi-cient fixtures, not only can hotels reduce their environmental impact, but also achieve sig-nificant cost savings.”

Savoff said a key factor of adapting energy conservation technology was guest expecta-tions with hotels doing their bit for the en-vironment.

“Guests are now becoming more aware of their carbon footprint and hotels need to un-derstand and adapt,” he said.

International hotel technology consultant and former head of Peninsula Hotel Group’s Technology Center in Hong Kong, Fraser Hickox, said while hotels have been using energy saving globes in common areas, there has been a stronger shift of late to conserva-tion in guestrooms.

“(The shift) is already starting, but de-pending on the guestroom management sys-tem, the savings are relatively minor although results in considerably reducing the mainte-

nance cycle,” he told HM.Hickox said a number of global chains

have been leading the charge in adapting LED technology.

“Accor certainly has been a leader at in-ternational levels but the boutiques in various cities have quite an innovative approach,” he said. “Other companies including Taj Hotels in India are pursuing a policy of green hotels all using LED.

However, Hickox said price still remains a significant issue for hotel owners and man-agement companies.

“Owners and some operators often have difficulty reconciling for example an LED equivalent of a halogen light source costing up to five times of the unit it is replacing, yet the LED uses 70% less energy, contributes a very small heat load but more importantly offers up to 45,000 hours of guaranteed life against the halogen's 2,000 hours,” he said.

According to Hickox, the new LED tech-nology globally is just the start of the lighting revolution and what’s next is truly exciting.

“We are now seeing complete ceilings and walls being illuminated by 60x60 panels with the ability to change between a pastel range of colours to suit guest moods, “ he said. “This is further evolving where stars can be seen on a ceiling and video images can be used to fill the letters of large external vertical signage.”

And this is just the beginning.

“A majority of the hotel has now been fitted with LED lighting or low voltage lighting from

the foyer right through to the Suites."PeTeR sAVoff, general Manager, emporium hotel, Brisbane

Emporium Hotel Brisbane has been changing the lighting

across the hotel, from the foyer (pictured) to the Suites


fooD & BeVeRAge

The fundamental question each hotel needs to ask is "are we offering a true room service or just food delivery?" which naturally ex-pands to “is room service a genuine F&B prof-it centre or a simple value-add for guests?"

Properly executed, room service, like F&B service as a whole, can drive incremental departmental profit, attract more occupancy and help support a higher average daily rate for guest rooms. It can also make the differ-ence between a true luxury property and a simple lodging.

Room service, as would be expected, plac-es higher demands on staff at all tiers. F&B, porters, concierge as well as housekeeping all need to be trained to manage the extra bur-den, especially in upscale properties. Piles of crockery, messy trays and food scraps in the hallways are everyone’s concern. “Not my problem” just doesn’t wash.

For the four and five star CBD properties however, it’s an easy decision; guests expect and will pay for this service.

“Room service is far more prevalent for the business client who’s been at meetings all day and just wants a meal and relax,” says Paul Hutton, General Manager of Hilton Sydney. “But we are certainly having to cater to more health-conscious guests who expect fresh sal-ads and generally low calorie offerings.

“Our ‘Healthy Options’ range also details calories, sodium, protein, fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol and fibre so guests can make an informed choice when choosing in-room din-ing meals. Of course, comfort food options will always be available, but they are less in demand than before.

“Apart from business clients, our leisure guests enjoy using room service as a part of their vacation experience.

“We have what we call Sparkling Specials which include sparkling wine, handmade chocolates and chocolate-dipped strawber-ries included in the package,” he said.

For smaller, mid-scale properties, partner-ing with a local restaurant or takeaway could also be an option, but careful matching of food quality, presentation and service stand-ards is important. A pimply lout with arm-loads of pizza boxes stumbling through your foyer is not a good look. It is also reasonable that the hotel derives income for allowing the restaurant access to their guests.

An enterprising team in the US works with local restaurants offering what they call 'Vroom Service', delivering meals to hotel guests across their city, while here at home Moving Menus have provided in-room meal delivery from lo-cal restaurants for nearly 20 years in Sydney and Melbourne.

In summary, if you are going to offer room service, be prepared at all levels to maintain this service with appropriately trained staff, uniforms, delivery and service equipment as well as the mechanisms to clear up promptly afterwards.

wHEn THE MInI BAR BECOMES THE MAxI BARInside rooms is another opportunity to en-hance guest experience by offering expanded mini bar choices and upscale inclusions.

Nowadays it’s quite normal to see plung-er coffee, quality snacks, premium biscuits, branded tea in attractive dispenser boxes and vintage wine alongside the miniature spirit bottles, chilled beer and mixed nut favourites.

In this category one success story stands out; the Nespresso coffee machine. Gone (thankful-ly) are the days of ‘trucker’s blend’ instant coffee sachets, replaced instead by the sophisticated in-room cappuccino and espresso machine.

As simple as this introduction might sound, dispensing steaming hot coffee in a safe and profitable manner presents quite a challenge. Obviously the device needs to be ‘fool proof’ and capable of paying its way as well as being reliable and meeting quality expectations of the increasingly coffee-savvy guest.

Such has been the acceptance of models like Nespresso’s Essenza single head auto-matic in-room dispenser that it enjoys 100 per cent penetration across 5-star hotels ei-ther in-room, business lounge, executive club or conference centre. Single use capsules available in numerous blends and strengths ensure finicky tastes are catered for.

“Clients can use three methods for install-ing the machine: Outright purchase, lease or loan,” says Eva Caprile of Nespresso. “With the loan for example, the client pays slightly more for the capsules and needs to place a mini-mum order each month during the contact.”

Top tier hotels, like Four Seasons, take their lead from a mixture of client feedback and trends established in their properties in the UK or USA.

“Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has noticed an increasing trend to provide gluten-free alternatives for our guests, this prompted us to create an entire gluten-free menu which has been really well-received, “says Sateesh Krishnayya, Assistant Director of Food and Beverage, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney.

“In addition, the guest’s private bar has been amended to include items such as or-ganic cranberry muesli bars, sugar free con-fectionary and Australian water infused with native botanicals,” he says.

Krishnayya uses both wholesalers and di-rect purchasing for these products which in-clude T2 for herbal ‘tasine’ infusions and Bal-ance brand water blends.

So, like so many aspects of the hospital-ity industry, staying up with F&B trends is as important and potentially complicated as choosing the wallpaper and drapes.

In-room dining is an ongoing dilemma for many hotels. From simple, motel-style breakfast, to celebrity chef inspired bespoke menus and everything in between, hotels have had to make the sometimes hard decision to offer a full 24-hour room service menu, or just install vending machines in the foyer. HM Investigates.

SERVING ROOMS wORdS ROdERICk EIME


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Since 1993, AHS has been providing outsourced housekeeping services to the accommodation industry. In that time we’ve built up a team with exclusive expertise in this area. This means we’re able to provide you with a quality and standard of service that your hotel guests expect you to provide, at a more affordable price than the in-house service. Which then leaves you free to focus on what you do best – running a great hotel. For more information on AHS Hospitality, please call 1800 026 036 or visit www.ahsgroup.com.au

TMS Asia-Pacific has prompted employers to reflect on the value a properly conducted employee exit interview can have on an or-ganisation’s overall staff management and, ultimately, its service delivery.

CEO Andrew Chan said exit interviews had become particularly relevant on today’s hospi-tality and tourism employment scene where a return to a pre-GFC environment had seen in-creased numbers of vacant positions outstrip-ping the number of available candidates.

“As a result of this we are seeing a signifi-cant increase in movement in the employment arena with many companies seeing employ-ees lured away to the competition and other sectors by the promise of career advancement, higher wages and benefits,” he said.

Exit interviews, he said, hold major ben-efits for both sides of the fence.

“Not only are they seen by existing em-ployees as a sign of positive culture, they are regarded as a sign that an organisation is big enough to expose itself to criticism.

“Hearing and handling feedback is also a powerful staff development process and plays a key part in understanding people manage-ment. It also provides relevant insight into future training processes.”

Chan said that in his experience many employees had been sorry to leave their employment but had been lured away by promises of career advancement they felt they were being denied with their previous employer.

“It could just be that a properly conducted exit interview might also provide an employer with an opportunity to actually retain an em-ployee who might otherwise have left the role without airing the reasons for leaving – some-thing which might be able to be rectified on the spot to the benefit of both parties,” he said.

“Ironically as the war for talent continues to build, there is a likelihood that employers may be able to re-lure these people back to an organisation.

“But it should be remembered that not all employees leave on the best of terms so how they exit can make a major difference as to whether they return or not.

“The old adage ‘don’t burn bridges’ has never been more relevant,” Chan said.

Accor Asia-Pacific has reaffirmed its commit-ment to Indigenous employment in Australia by launching a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), the most comprehensive in the hos-pitality industry.

“With over 150 hotels in Australia, the greatest geographical spread of city and re-gional locations, and the relationships we have built with Indigenous employment partners, Accor is well equipped to achieve our goal of seeing 100 Indigenous employees trained and employed in Accor hotels across Australia each year,” said Accor’s Vice Presi-dent for Australia, Simon McGrath.

Accor has led the way in efforts to build sustainable relationships with Indigenous Australians through its pioneering ‘Indig-enous Employment Program’. Established in 2001, the Program has seen over 600 In-digenous Australians employed throughout Accor’s Australian hotel network. It has also achieved many industry accolades including the Corporate Leaders for Indigenous Em-ployment award for four consecutive years (from 2003-2006).

Accor is now embarking on the next phase of its campaign by partnering with Reconcili-ation Australia - the non-government, not-

for-profit foundation charged with continu-ing the national focus for reconciliation.

Partnering with Reconciliation Australia and implementing a Reconciliation Action Plan is a formal commitment to closing the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indige-nous Australians not only through employ-ment but also through training; partnering with Indigenous Businesses; community in-volvement to increase knowledge about the Indigenous culture and providing opportuni-ties through education and scholarships.

“We are proud of what has been achieved so far under our Indigenous Employment Program and look forward to excelling as an example within the industry and greater community of an Employer that is truly com-mitted to supporting Indigenous Australians,” McGrath said.

Minister for Indigenous Employment and Economic Development, Senator Mark Arbib thanked Accor for its leadership and vision at the launch, and praised the emphasis given in the RAP to employment and traineeship opportunities and support for growing Indig-enous businesses and development of further Indigenous partnerships.

Reconciliation Australia CEO Leah Arm-strong said: “We know from the 2010 Race Relations Barometer survey that 87% of Aus-tralians agree that the relationship with the Indigenous people of this country is impor-tant – and it is industry leaders like Accor that put this belief into practice by establishing ongoing employment and training and build-ing cultural awareness throughout its indus-try and overall community.”

to view an exclusive interview with Simon McGrath, visit www.hotelmanagement.com.au

INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT SYDNEY

Accor launches Reconciliation Action Plan

HuMAn RESOuRCES SYDNEY

TMS says exit interviews are essential

Senator Mark Arbib, Simon McGrath and Leah Armstrong at the RAP launch at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth

Fujio ShibataGeneral Manager - Australia & NZL

A Level Playing FieldBy Fujio ShibataThe investment into talent management is signifi cant. There is no question that in every boardroom across Australia those two words are now everyday edict as reference to ‘what do we do with our people’? What the real concern is how does one attract new talent into our company? And if it turned up at your doorstep in a suit, would you recognize it?Our industry is worth approximately $40 billion and employs 4.5 per cent of the Australian workforce or 752,000 people. That’s not small numbers by any means. The Age recently reported that in January 29,000 jobs were added nationally whilst the overall unemployment rate dropped from 5.3 per cent to 5 per cent and continues to fall. So what is driving these fi gures in an economy where we are seeing more jobs than there are people available? Is there a talent drain where we are losing qualifi ed people to overseas roles? Are companies just rebounding from the GFC job losses in 2009-10 and compelled to create new jobs as business returns to normal? Or is it simply harder to fi nd qualifi ed employees these days? I recently spent time with leading industry HR and Recruitment professionals to fi nd out some of the key challenges they are facing in the today’s market place. Joining me in the discussion was Nicole Salonga, Human Resources Manager at the Four Seasons Sydney Hotel, who recently hired a large number of staff in 2010 alone. A theme that kept coming up in conversation was the diffi culties in fi nding suitably qualifi ed applicants. Suitably qualifi ed here means in our case, a tertiary education, at least one year worth of work experience in the same fi eld and appropriate culture fi t. The first two we all agreed are quite common in our industry, everyone is looking for a degree of some sort and experience at a minimum level. However the third is hard to gauge as culture fit is not easily interpretable on a resume. What specifically is it about culture fit that makes it so difficult to find the right person? I was amused by a recent article that was entitled ‘The Google approach to employee selection’ in which the author goes on to say a good recruiter should look for a natural fi t. That is, in order for them to weed through over a million job applications annually, they seek out employees who contain certain personality or behavioural characteristics that are favorable to success [sic]. Sam Hamawi a Recruitment Strategy Consultant for Star City faces all of these challenges going into a project for their new development. $700 million, a new fi ve-star hotel, a 4,000 seat event centre, 20 new bars and restaurants and tasked with hiring some 500 vacant positions. Response time is something that is becoming a critical factor. “We have to act quickly or they will go somewhere else” Hamawi said. “One of the biggest challenges I fi nd is climbing salaries” adds Tara Hamilton who is a Senior Recruitment Consultant in HR for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, “you just fi nd that people are asking for more”.TMS Asia Pacifi c recently published a salary survey which went out to 10,000 industry workers across, tourism, travel and hospitality and indications were that salaries were on the rise. This was attributed to the fact that most employees (71%) surveyed placed a greater importance on salary and career progression. “I recently interviewed a candidate who was only concerned with what the salary level and benefi ts were, not about the company or the role itself” said Hamawi. We are fi nding that job seekers in today’s market as compared to fi ve years ago are driving the salaries up, there is a huge generation shift. “This generation (Y) wants what’s in it for them. What can you do for me?” added Salonga. Brand perception is surely a lure for job seekers, although Hamawi and Hamilton concedes that candidates are likely to go to another company if they pay more irrespective of how the brand is perceived. “Branding and loyalty means a lot to us” mentioned Salonga, who advocates that at Four Seasons it is just as important to promote the brand when recruiting as it is to sell the benefi t of the job. Brand is more and more an integral part of the human resources function as much as it is in marketing or sales.The job seeking landscape has changed with the advent of rapid developing technology. The way people communicate and apply for jobs is now heavily reliant on social media, it’s about keeping up on sites like Facebook or Linkedin. TMS Asia Pacifi c was the fi rst travel and hospitality recruitment company to successfully launch a free-to-download recruitment app for iphone. Candidates can now access live job vacancies instantly in the palm of their hand. We are very cognisant about the need of our candidates and clients to access news and opportunities in a fast moving employment environment. It’s no longer can you email me or call me back, these days its txt me, fi nd me on Facebook or send me an invite.Asked what the outlook of recruitment holds for the remainder of this year, Salonga said “this year will be similar to last year but we feel that we will continue to focus on quality of candidates even though there is a shortage”. Hamawi says he is “quite confi dent that this year will be positive for hiring staff” whilst Hamilton who battles with visa and work restrictions of potential employees said “with the constant external factors of the travel industry changing we are still in a period of uncertainty.”

TMS Asia Pacifi c is a leading global recruitment and human resources consultancy fi rm serving the travel and hospitality sectors with offi ces in Singapore, Shanghai, Bangkok and Sydney.

left from l-r, Sam Hamawi, Fujio Shibata, Nicole Salonga, Tara Hamilton

One area of expertise, one single focus.

MF

AHS0

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Since 1993, AHS has been providing outsourced housekeeping services to the accommodation industry. In that time we’ve built up a team with exclusive expertise in this area. This means we’re able to provide you with a quality and standard of service that your hotel guests expect you to provide, at a more affordable price than the in-house service. Which then leaves you free to focus on what you do best – running a great hotel. For more information on AHS Hospitality, please call 1800 026 036 or visit www.ahsgroup.com.au

PeoPleNews

New Chairman Peter Tudehope was unani-mously elected chairman at the AGM at the AHA (NSW) Macquarie Street headquarters.

Tudehope is Regional Manager (Australia/Pacific) of Carlson Hotels Worldwide Asia Pacific and General Manager of Sydney’s Radisson Plaza Hotel.

AHA (NSW) CEO Sally Fielke said the new Chair-man would work closely with the Director of the AHA (NSW) Accommodation Division, Carol Guiseppi, on representing the hotel industry.

“We welcome the election of Tudehope as head of the board,” Fielke said. “The new chair is a respected member of the business community with vast experi-ence in the accommodation sector.

“Our Members are in good hands as we move for-ward into a new political era for NSW.

“I would also like to pay tribute to outgoing chair Michael Johnson for his hard work on behalf of our members over his four years on the board as both board member, then chair.”

Tudehope said he was looking forward to the chal-lenges facing all members.

“I am proud to be taking the helm at a vital time for the industry,” he said. “AHA (NSW) is the only organi-sation that gives us the unity we need to successfully engage with Government at all levels.

“I look forward to seeing our membership go from strength to strength in coming months as we focus on the issues that matter to members including active policy development and lobbying, particularly in the areas of skills shortages, taxes and levies and tourism structure and activation.

“Other areas of focus will be education and train-ing and business building initiatives through strong partnerships.

“Changes in these areas can only be achieved through a strong, representative and influential board and the credentials of the new members are testament to this,” Tudehope said.

Five board members were re-elected at the AGM:• Peter Tudehope, Regional manager (Asia/Pacific) Carlson Hotels

Worldwide Asia-Pacific and General Manager Radisson Plaza Ho-tel Sydney;

• Nigel Greenaway, Fund Manager, Eureka Funds Management and director for the hotel companies that own the hotel real estate and operating hotel businesses;

• George Bedwani, COO of Transmetro Hotel Group, which owns and manages 14 hotels, Inns, Apartments and Resorts across Australia;

• Jennifer Brown, General Manager, Sydney Harbour Marriott;

• David Donald, General Manager, Parkroyal Parramatta.New appointments to the Board include:• Nigel Roberts, General Manager Parkroyal Darling Harbour and

Vice President, Area Operations – Oceania;• Paul Hutton, General Manager, Hilton Sydney, (now deputy Chair);

and• Philip Pratley, General Manager, The Grace Hotel.Jenny Farrell, Schwartz Family Co, has also remained as a board partic-ipant due to her representation and management of properties across both the Accommodation and General Divisions of AHA (NSW)

New Deputy Chair: Paul Hutton

Board member: Jennifer Brown

AHA (NSW) ELECTS NEW ACCOMMODATION BOARDThe Australian Hotels Association (AHA) NSW has elected a new chair and two new representatives for the Accommodation Division Board, following its Annual General Meeting.


peopleonthemoveFour Seasons Hotel Sydney has welcomed its third ever General Manager, vInCEnT HOOGEwIJS. Hoogewijs joins the hotel following his previous role as General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai, which he successfully opened in early 2009 and managed for the past two years. His appointment follows the retirement of former General Manager and

Sydney hotel icon, Stephen Lewis, who served 16 years in the top job and 41 years in the hospitality industry. Belgian born, Hoogewijs’ hospitality career has taken on a very international flavour, having worked in 13 countries to date. His Four Seasons tenure began in 2004 as Hotel Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok before being promoted to General Manager at Four Seasons Mexico and most recently Four Seasons Mumbai. Hoogewijs said: “As the largest property in the Four Seasons group, Sydney will present a wonderful new challenge. I’m very much looking forward to working with the competent team here to continue to provide our guests with the highest standard of service and excellence.” Prior to Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, he spent several years working at Hyatt hotels in Dubai, Tokyo, Osaka, Surabaya, Rabat, Macau, Coolum, Canberra, London and Brussels as well as The Palace at the Lost City, South Africa and The Banyan Tree, Phuket, Thailand.

Mercure Cairns Harbourside has appointed dAvId PEnnEy to the position of Sales and Marketing Manager. Penney returns to Cairns after six months as Assistant General Manager at the Mercure Port Douglas Treetops Resort. Prior to this he was General Manager of the All Seasons Gateway Resort in Cairns, where during his tenure he oversaw an extensive

external renovation project which saw the property win the ‘Best Commercial Streetscape’ at the 2010 Cairns Regional Council’s Streetscape Gardening Awards. Before working for the Accor Hotel group, Penney worked for Rydges Hotels in various roles and locations including Port Douglas, Caloundra and Melbourne. The appointment of Penney follows a three million dollar refurbishment of Mercure Cairns Harbourside which has given the hotel a dramatic 4-star transformation.

Pan Pacific Hotels Group has announced the appointment of dAvId J TRAvERS as General Manager of Parkroyal Melbourne Airport. With over 20 years experience at leading hotels around the world, David J Travers brings a wealth of hotel management knowledge to the Parkroyal brand. His career spans three decades and six countries, where he has worked for some of the world’s most prominent hotel

groups across a variety of management positions. In his new role, Travers will oversee operations at the newly launched Parkroyal Melbourne Airport. The 276 room hotel (rebranded from Hilton Melbourne Airport) is located at the doorstep of the domestic and international airport and links directly to the terminal by sky-bridge, offering convenience to both business and leisure travellers alike. Parkroyal Melbourne Airport marks the return of the Parkroyal brand to its birth city of Melbourne where it was founded in 1962. Travers is no stranger to the Parkroyal brand, having held his very first managerial position at the Parkroyal Melbourne between 1992 and 1994. Travers’ most recent appointment was General Manager of Projects for Langham Hotels International Group. His role included the management of the pre-opening and operation of the 5-star Langham Place Samui in Koh Samui, Thailand and the project management of the first airport transit hotel in India at the new IGI International Airport in New Delhi. Prior to joining Langham Hotels International, Travers held General Manager roles with IHG in Fiji, Christchurch and Sydney. “We are very pleased to have David on board and at the helm of Parkroyal Melbourne Airport,” said Pan Pacific Hotels Group CEO, A. PATRICk IMBARdELLI. “We are confident David’s vision and extensive leadership experience will translate seamlessly into his new role, driving and guiding the hotel through its exciting introduction to Melbourne. David will be an ambassador of our revitalised Parkroyal brand and he will play an active role in developing the important connection between the hotel and local community.”

Accor, the largest international hotel group in Fiji, has appointed its first Fiji-born Hotel Manager. JACk wORk will become Hotel Manager of Accor’s initial hotel in Fiji, Mercure Nadi. Work, who hails from the Kulukulu Village of Nadroga, Sigatoka, has enjoyed a successful career with Accor since 2005, when he first joined the group as a Duty Manager in the

opening team for the Sofitel Resort and Spa on Denarau Island. He was later promoted to the position of Assistant Front Office Manager and then Front Office Manager at the Sofitel. Following his extensive training and experience with Accor’s flagship Sofitel resort, Work was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager at Accor’s Novotel Nadi in 2010. Accor’s Regional General Manager for Fiji, LEE PEARCE, said: “Jack is a great example of our policy of ‘growing our own’, developing our local staff to management positions. Jack is renowned for his professionalism and ability to relate to guests, staff and our local partners. He has been a real asset to the company and will be an excellent role model for other Fijians to excel in the tourism and hospitality industries."

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APPoiNTMeNTs


sToPPRess

The Comfort Group has confirmed that the ACCC has ratified its acquisition of Sleep-maker and Dunlop Foams from Pacific Brands Australia.

The Sleepmaker bedding business, in-cluding the Simmons and Dunlopillo brands and flexible foam manufacturer, Dun-lop Foams, will be added to The Comfort Group’s existing businesses which include the Sleepyhead, Wonderest, Latex Gold, De-sign Mobel and Serta brands. As part of the transaction, Sleepyhead has sold its Won-derlay carpet underlay business to Pacific Brands.

The Comfort Group’s bedding business will now trade as Sleepmaker and will in-clude the brands Sleepyhead, Wonderest, Serta, Design Mobel, Simmons and Dunlop-illo. The foam business will not change and

will continue to trade as Dunlop Foams.Craig Turner, Joint Managing Director of

Sleepyhead said: “The continued growth of The Comfort Group through expansion forms an integral part of our local manufac-turing philosophy.

“The Comfort Group is committed to both the Australian and New Zealand mar-kets and the acquisition will be of tremen-dous benefit to key stakeholders in both regions including employees, customers and suppliers,” Turner said.

The acquisition of Sleepmaker and Dun-lop Foams will see The Comfort Group op-erate 18 manufacturing facilities across Aus-tralia and New Zealand.

The Comfort Group is a privately owned family business established by the Turner family 75 years ago.

The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong has finally opened and dominates the skyline as the world’s highest hotel.

Located at the very top of the Interna-tional Commerce Centre (ICC) in Hong Kong, occupying floors 102 to 118, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong is the newest addition to the brand’s growing global portfolio of 75 luxury properties and its 16th hotel in Asia.

“The opening of this landmark hotel in Hong Kong is the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication to delivering the very best product, facilities and service in this international gateway city,” said Herve Hum-ler, president and chief operations officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.

“Partnering with Hong Kong’s premier developer, Sung Hung Kai Properties, we have been able to create something truly

spectacular to welcome our guests not just to the highest hotel in the world, but also to one of the very best hotels in the world. We are taking luxury to new heights in every sense.”

The hotel’s 312 guest rooms all offer spectacular city and harbour views. Starting at 50sqm for a Deluxe Room, and reaching 365sqm for the magnificent Ritz-Carlton Suite, rooms provide state-of-the-art tech-nology including WiFi, iPod docking sta-tions, Blu-ray players and flat screen TVs. In addition, Club room guests can enjoy the panoramic view from the Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge with complimentary food and bev-erage presentations 24 hours a day. The Club also gives guests access to a dedicated Club Concierge, work stations, meeting rooms and WiFi throughout.

SUPPLIERS MELBOURNE

Sleepmaker acquisition ratified

Summer in Australia has brought fire to the West and floods to the East, and LCD President Elvis Soiza was amongst those watching the Brisbane floodwaters creeping inexorably toward their homes. While ultimately Elvis was able to report to members that in his case at least the waters stopped just short of his house, thousands were not so fortunate. To add insult to injury just as the people of Queensland began to recover from the initial flooding, Cyclone Yasi dropped by to wreak further havoc on the already ravaged state.

Les Clefs d'Or quickly arranged a donation to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal and as Queensland begins the long task of rebuilding, it is equally important that we continue to reassure our international guests that for the most part their holidays in the Sunshine State should proceed as planned. Many guests unfamiliar with Australian geography were initially often a little confused about the areas affected. Every dollar produced by the tourism industry will now be doubly welcome over the years ahead and can only assist the period of reconstruction. Accordingly where possible we need to encourage our guests to continue on with their itineraries and enjoy the Queensland attractions and hospitality as planned.

On a happier note our Melbourne members will once again be hosting the annual Les Clefs d'Or Golf day on April 11 and this year we will be holding the event at the highly respected The Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley course. As always members of the Concierge community will be joined by our associates and friends in the hospitality and tourism industry for what is inevitably a competitive but highly enjoyable event.

Also in April the Les Clefs d'Or Executive and a number of members will be travelling to Canada for the 58th Annual UICH Congress, and this represents an excellent opportunity to network with and learn from their associates overseas in conjunction with invited speakers, attend workshops and generally hone the craft of the professional Concierge. Often when a local member reaches for the telephone or sends an e-mail to facilitate a guest request, it will be in order to contact an international member met at one of these Annual Congresses.

Peter is also Chief Concierge at The Langham, Melbourne.

PETER McBREARTYPR & Media LiasonLes Clefs d'Or

OPENINGS HONG KONG

Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong opens as world’s highest hotel

Now open: The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong


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HM (Hotel Management) Magazine Apr 2011 V.15.2

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