Hotel Booking

It was just over three years ago that the Hotel at Musician Isle became a Marriott, after having been a participant of the Starwood High-class Selection. Immediately relabeled the Hand Seaside Marriott Musician Isle Seaside Hotel, the property has very perfectly resolved into its new product and has since become more popular with family members.

Under Marriott, this elegant resort has progressively accepted its "condo-style resorts by attempting for a home-away-from-home feel," said Veronica Zampolino, marketing administrator of Urgo Resorts, the resort's proprietor and control company. Located on six miles of seaside and presenting a lagoon-style share with a two-story fountain, the home's 212 one- and two-bedroom models each function a full kitchen and large bed rooms. The expert bed rooms all have personal expert bathrooms. Packages differ with regards to where their terrace is situated and what perspective they offer.

Owing to this apartment design, family members are the resort's most powerful market, followed by small-group conferences and location marriages. Long-term visitors are not unusual here, with some remaining for the whole winter.

Assert your faith at KL’s merriest temples this Chinese New Year, and chase away evil sprits with some lion dance action. If you're unfamiliar to CNY rituals, enter a temple to witness cultural performances, pretty red lanterns and incense lighting. Here, we give you the best temples to visit on the second day of CNY.

Sin Sze Si Ya Temple 

Built in 1864 by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy to honour the deities of Sin Sze Ya and Si Sze Ya, the historical Taoist temple is set at an odd angle between Jalan Tun HS Lee and Lebuh Pudu according to feng shui reasons. The Chinese New Year celebration here might not be as elaborate as the other temples in KL, its also having fine hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but many Chinese born in certain zodiac years deemed to be in conflict with Tai Sui (Grand Duke of Jupiter) come to make offerings to avoid misfortune. Devotees sometimes begin their prayers during midnight on the first day of Chinese New Year and the ceremony of lighting the incense is a spectacle to behold. 

The sea of red lanterns adorning the temple is a sure sign that Chinese New Year is nigh. This six-tiered temple hums with activities throughout the 15 days of Chinese New Year such as firework displays, performances by cultural troupes from China, lantern-making and Chinese calligraphy. Look out for sculptures that represent this year’s zodiac, the snake, or drop by the Wishing Pond to cleanse yourself with holy water from the Guan Yin shrine. Since the temple also offers marriage registration services, expect more crowd at the temple this year as Chinese New Year coincides with Valentine’s Day.

Hotels and social media presence: by the numbers.

Like in most industries, the vast majority of Hotel brands have recognized the power and necessity of a strong social media presence. 

With 60 percent of travelers ages 34 and younger and 40 percent ages 35-54 regularly using Facebook, Twitter or any of several other platforms to aid in hotel selection, not even the most exclusive properties can afford to be off the social media grid. 

Not surprisingly, all 57 brands in our Digital IQ Index: Hotels study currently maintain an active Facebook page. All but four, or 93 percent, maintain both global and various property-level pages–an increase of 20 percent since 2011. In the Twitterverse, Hotel brand participation is almost as universal. With little growth between 2011 and 2012 — an uptick of just 2 percent, from 88 percent to 90 percent of Hotel brands Tweeting– this year, we recorded a near Facebook-level presence of 98 percent.

On emerging platforms, Pinterest and Instagram have also become very popular, with astonishingly fast adoption rates of 96 percent and 82 percent, respectively. 

Compared with last year, when just 17 percent and 19 percent of Hotel brands had both global and local accounts on these two, this year, those numbers virtually doubled to 46 and 33 percent. Even Google+, the least popular platform among hotel brands, has captured two-thirds of the industry. 

A sign of its waning influence, however, is that between last year’s study and this one, Hotels that had both global/property Google+ accounts nosedived from 63 percent to just 21 percent.

www.l2thinktank.com

Aston International has signed deals for three new four-star hotels in Indonesia.

Continuing its rapid recent expansion in the country, Aston has now agreed to manage the 202-room Aston Jimbaran Hotel in Bali, the 324-room Aston Simatupang Hotel & Conference Center in Jakarta and the 154-room Aston Karawang Hotel in West Java.

“With sustained economic growth, a raising middle class of soon to be 120 million people and significant investment in infrastructure leading to increased volumes for business travel and continued international and domestic leisure travel demand, opportunities continue for quality upscale hotel developments in Indonesia,” explained Norbert Vas, Aston’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “We are thrilled to announce these three new hotels in Bali - Have a Look, Jakarta and in West Java’s manufacturing hub of Karawang and remain excited about the prospects for our upscale Aston brand in Indonesia.”

Aston now is committed to a total pipeline of 21 new Aston hotels in Indonesia, including a major roll-out of its three-star Aston City brand secondary cities such as Jember, Luwuk, Kupang, Madiun and Bekasi.

In addition the company is currently developing two new flagship hotels for its five-star Grand Aston brand, while dozens of new select service fave hotel and Hotel NEO labels are being planned in locations across the country.

Read More: Aston Adds Three Hotels in Indonesia

Linde wins contract to build LNG plant in Malaysia

The Linde Group, a Germany-based gases and engineering company, has secured a contract from Malaysia LNG Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of Malaysia's national oil and gas company, Petronas, to build a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Malaysia.

Pursuant to the contract Linde will develop a new boil-off gas re-liquefaction facility, which will be located in the Bintulu LNG complex in Sarawak, East Malaysia.

The new facility will have a maximum design capacity of 1,840 tons of LNG per day. The detailed engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the plant will be undertaken by Linde's Engineering Division. The plant is scheduled to come online by the end of 2014.

The company will utilize its proprietary LNG process and core cryogenic heat exchanger for the plant, which will be used to re-liquefy boil-off gases from LNG storage and ship-loading and to accommodate large variations in nitrogen content, flow rate and temperature. The customized process of Linde will also enable Malaysia LNG to minimize flaring.

Read More: Linde Wins Contract to Build LNG Plant in Malaysia

BSB to build world’s tallest skyscraper in 90 days in China

Broad Sustainable Building Company Limited (BSB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Broad Group, plans to build world's tallest skyscraper, called Sky City, in Hunan Province of China within 90 days.


Poised to be 838m tall, the Sky City will be 220-storey skyscraper that will accommodate residential units, alongside a hotel, a hospital, several schools, and offices. The project will be developed in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province.

The building will have a construction area of about a million square meters. The construction of the building will require 200,000 tons of steel and will be constructed at the rate of five-stories per day. The entire building will have more than 100 elevators.


The company will collaborate with the architects and engineers of the Burj Khalifa for the Sky City project and will use BSB's modular technology, a construction method that features 95% factory prefabrication units.

The building will be designed to withstand an earthquake of magnitude of 9.0 on rector scale. The project is due to start at the end of 2012 and is set to be completed by the end of March 2013

Read More:  BSB to Build World’s Tallest Skyscraper in 90 Days in China

New Hyatt Hotels in Manila, Philippines

Hyatt Hotels has entered into an agreement with Bonifacio Landmark Realty and Development to build a Grand Hyatt hotel and Grand Hyatt branded residences in Manila, Philippines.

Expected to open in 2015, Grand Hyatt Manila and Residences will be part of a two-tower upscale mixed use project in the residential, entertainment and business district of Fort Bonifacio Global City in Metro Manila.Grand Hyatt Manila will be located on the top 14 floors of the 66-story office and hotel tower, and will offer 438 guestrooms.

Additional hotel amenities will include a dramatic and energetic lobby, multiple food and beverage offerings, a spa, fitness center and pool, and comprehensive business and meeting facilities with state of the art technology.The residences will be located in the second tower, and will offer 220 luxury units with private access to the hotel’s amenities, including the spa, fitness centre and pool and restaurants.

“As the political, economic, social, and cultural centre of the Philippines, Manila is attracting entrepreneurs and business owners that have an appetite for luxury brands and residences,” said Ratnesh Verma, senior vice president of real estate and development, Asia Pacific, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts - Check it out - Manila, Philippines.

Bonifacio Landmark Realty is a joint-venture company between property developer Federal Land Inc. and Japanese financial services group ORIX Corporation.

Read More: New Hyatt Hotels in Manila, Philippines

Sheraton Hotels invests $230m to renovate four iconic Hawaiian Properties

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that its largest brand, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, and its owners invested more than $230 million to refurbish its four iconic Hawaiian properties. The large-scale, multi-year project was completed with the recent unveiling of the Sheraton Kona Resort and meets the increased demand for high-quality accommodations as business and leisure travel to the Hawaiian Islands continues to grow. The revitalization projects include the $188 million renewal of the Sheraton Waikiki, the $6.5 million renovation of the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, a $16 million upgrade to the Sheraton Kauai Resort, and a $20 million refresh of the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay.

Starwood has spent the last few years renovating and rebuilding one of the hotel industry’s most iconic brands and the Sheraton brand now stands taller than ever with the strongest portfolio in its history. The brand is gaining market share, RevPAR continues to rise, guest satisfaction scores are the highest in the brand’s history and likelihood to return, likelihood to recommend and meeting planner and associate engagement scores are also at all-time highs – signaling that guests are taking notice and rediscovering the new Sheraton. 

The Sheraton has reaffirmed its place as the leader in its class among Hawaii hotels with the completion of its nearly $188 million renovation of 1,636 rooms with a theme of “contemporary Hawaiian sophistication.” The renewal starts at beach level and reaches to the top of the 31-floor structure, offering new guest rooms and suites, redesigned public areas with new landscaping and pools, renewed convention facilities, new and exhilarating restaurants and bars, and new back-of-house equipment to increase service efficiency.

Multi-Million Dollars Renews Maui Resort

Sheraton Upgrades Resort Located on Hawaii’s Famous Poipu Beach

The Big Island’s Landmark Hotel Completes Extensive Floor-to-Ceiling Renovation

View It Now - Singapore Hotel Booking..

Read More: Sheraton Hotels invests $230m to renovate four iconic Hawaiian Properties

Visual storytelling the future of online hotel marketing

For hotel marketers, leveraging web marketing best practices - namely, engaging travelers with feature-rich content, high-quality images and videos, and detailed, up-to-date property and local information - will be the key to staying in front of the competitive curve, according to a new VFM Leonardo report.

2012 was a year of rapid evolution in online hotel marketing. Thanks to a quickly growing online travel agency presence, an expanding mobile space, social media and corporate channels, travelers have more options for researching and booking travel than ever before. They’re consuming high-quality images and videos while doing their travel shopping on different devices, through different platforms, and from multiple locations.

These evolving trends mean it’s more important than ever for hotel marketers to be prepared, adaptable and to engage travelers in new ways. The good news is, as the internet generation becomes more mature and the web more ingrained in our lives, there are statistics and research available to help us predict travelers’ behavior.

A new VFM Leonardo report takes a closer look at five key areas that the company believes hotel marketers need to focus on in 2013:

1. Making the most of visual merchandising on third party travel websites
2. The high-growth of mobile
3. Surging social media
4. Capturing corporate travel opportunities
5. Content-rich web marketing

Read more: Visual storytelling the future of online hotel marketing

Top 10 hidden gems in St Petersburg

Most visitors to St Petersburg will include a trip to the Hermitage Museum or Mariinsky Theatre, but the city is full of less-celebrated gems. From contemporary art to jazz bars and an art hotel, we asked a local writer to recommend his top 10

Art Hotel Rachmaninov

The spirit of pre-Revolutionary Petersburg is kept alive at the Rachmaninov, a boutique hotel and childhood home of native son Sergei Rachmaninov, located in an old townhouse a few steps from Kazan Cathedral and the city's main thoroughfare Nevsky Prospekt. The walls of the hotel rooms and public spaces have been decorated by local artists, inspired by the great man's music, providing a unique and quirky contrast to the late-19th-century furnishings. A couple of gallery spaces present regular exhibitions of local artists, including photographers.

Pushka Inn

The Pushka Inn (a play on words – pushka means cannon, and the poet Pushkin used to live in the house next door) is a small and friendly boutique hotel on the Moika river, in one of the most picturesque areas of the city, just a few hundred metres from many of the most important museums and sites. The historic mansion exterior belies the contemporary feel of the rooms, that are luxurious but not fussy. The hotel booking also has a welcoming restaurant and offers additional services such as visa support and airport transfer. 

Letny Sad

A "summer garden" might seem a strange place to visit in the winter months, but not when it's the newly reopened Letny Sad, occupying a small 12-hectare island on the south bank of the Neva river. Plans for the city's oldest park date back to 1704, just a year after the founding of the city itself, as Peter the Great was keen to find a suitable location for his modest summer residence. Featured by Pushkin in Eugene Onegin, and the subject of an eponymous poem by Anna Akhmatova, the garden has long been a favorite retreat for city residents. Locals continue to discuss the merits of the recent restoration, but judge for yourself – walk among the 18th-century marble statues and tree-lined alleys before the fountains are turned off for the winter.

SupVino Restaurant

Blink and you miss it, but this tiny restaurant on Kazanskaya ulitsa is that rare thing – warm and welcoming on a cold winter's day, cool and dark on a hot summer's day. With just 20 stools across five high tables and a bar, the large mirrors on either wall and window on to the street make it feel bigger than it is. Mercifully it's non-smoking, given the dimensions. As the name suggests, soup and wine are the specialities here, but you can also get other light dishes. Some interesting original recipes: mango and ice-cream soup, anyone?

Read More: Top 10 hidden gems in St Petersburg

A 2014 Opening is Planned for the 253-room Hotel Owned by Proprietas s.r.o

BERLIN--Nov. 7, 2012-- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announced plans to introduce its rapidly expanding Four Points by Sheraton brand to Berlin in 2014. Owned by Proprietas s.r.o., Four Points by Sheraton Berlin Airport will be the first Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Berlin and the third for the brand in Germany. Starwood’s Four Points by Sheraton brand’s ‘best for business’ approach provides travellers with everything that matters most with stylish design and an uncomplicated friendly approach to hospitality and service – all at a great value. This new-build hotel will be located adjacent to a new business park and just a few kilometres from Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, which is currently under construction in Germany’s capital city.

The signing of Four Points by Sheraton Berlin Airport is part of Starwood’s expansion strategy to open more than 25 hotels across Europe over the next four years.

About Four Points by Sheraton:

Great Hotels. Great Rates: With more than 170 Four Points by Sheraton hotels in nearly 30 countries, travellers can find the timeless style and comfort they’re looking for with genuine service and everything that matters most, all around the world. From Santiago to Shanghai and Milan to Milwaukee, Four Points by Sheraton hotels can be found in big urban centres, by the airport, near the beach, and in the suburbs. A recent $1 billion invested in renovations, conversions, and new-build hotels has made the brand stronger than ever.

Four Points by Sheraton, like all brands within Star wood portfolio, is proud to offer the Star wood Preferred Guest program, which offers a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To learn more, visit www.spg.com

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,128 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis, 

 The Luxury Collection, W, Westing, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft, and ElementSM. The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com

Read More:
Four Points by Sheraton Berlin Airport to Open at the New Berlin Brandenburg International Airport

Sky-high hotels and resorts reservation are invariably impressive – shooting up as if to kiss the clouds. But what if a resort was created inside a deep gorge - would it look equally spectacular? Here are some artist impressions of the Songjiang Shimao Hotel project by engineering and design consultancy, Atkins.

Songjiang Shimao Hotel is a resort that includes extreme sports facilities, visitor centre and a five-star luxury hotel with some levels of the hotel situated under water.

 

The unique resort is being built into an abandoned, water-filled quarry.A naturally-lit internal atrium incorporates the existing rock face, with its waterfalls and green vegetation.

 

The design solution for the resort includes the use of green roofing and exploiting the site’s geothermal heat to generate electricity and heating.Atkins is providing the architecture, structural and civil engineering services for this leisure resort in China.

 

The resort includes extreme sports facilities, visitor center and a five-star luxury hotel with some levels of the hotel situated under water.

The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur will be officially launched in December 2012

The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur will be officially launched in December 2012 and everyone; locals and tourist alike can look forward to another of YTL’s spectacular properties and stellar services.

Adding another feather to its cap, YTL Hotels latest asset is the only hotel in Kuala Lumpur to be included in LHW’s luxury hotel collection. The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. (LHW), the largest luxury hotel collection in Malaysia has more than 430 of the world’s greatest properties in over 80 countries.

From grand palaces to intimate city hideaways, from ancient castles to sumptuous safari tent villages, from tropical aeries to mystical paradises, all LHW’s properties are utterly unique and boldly independent; doing away with the rules of a single corporate identity in terms of design and outlook.

Nestled in lush greenery and located on prime land, The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur will be officially launched in December 2012.

Now, the rooms are not all.

We are in the capital of a food obsessed country and no hotels would be complete without an eating establishments or 2. For Majestic I had expected some fine restaurants. For now what I’m in the know are Opus One, a luxuriously designed contemporary restaurant featuring an open kitchen interactive concept with a seating capacity for 250 people.  Available here also is the Opus One vertical collection of wine created through a collaboration between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi.

The Colonial Cafe on the other hand recreates the atmosphere of the halcyon days of the planters of Malaya and offers traditional colonial fare. The adjacent Tea Lounge is also designed in colonial style and serves light refreshments and afternoon tea.

Come nightfall, The Bar plays music from the descendants of the legendary Maestro Alfonso Soliano, a family whose musical traditions date well back into the nation’s history, entertain with their classic renditions.

Fairmont Hotels expands China presence with Chengdu opening

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has announced a new addition to its growing residential collection, Fairmont Residences, Chengdu, which is slated for completion in 2013. Fairmont Residences, Chengdu will feature 382 luxury residences adjacent to the new 375-room Fairmont hotel expected to open in 2015. 

 Owners can choose from three elegant residence designs including two-bedrooms suites with over 90 square meters to luxurious four-bedroom suites with over 130 square meters of living space.The exclusive lobby, lounge, and residential areas are all exquisitely designed with elegance, attention to detail and comfort in mind.

The Fairmont Residences are situated within the Palm Springs International Centre in Tianfu New Town, a master planned new city centre which is home to the financial services district and emerging high technology and software business parks which include a number of top Fortune 500 companies.

The Palm Springs office tower and 42,100 square meter retail mall featuring international luxury brands is connected to the Fairmont Hotel & Residences with easy access to the 140,000 square meter International Convention and Exhibition Centre via an underground passage way.

Help Line: Easy hotels booking around Malaysia

More Details: Fairmont Hotels Expands China Presence with Chengdu Opening

Save up to 40% on accommodation on Hotels.com in October. Stand to win 7 free hotel nights stay in Hotels.com’s Be Rewarded contest.

To celebrate the first anniversary of its industry-leading loyalty programme Welcome Rewards? in Singapore, Hotels.com is offering Singapore Hotel Booking travelers up to 40% off* selected hotel bookings made through the website, as well as the opportunity to win seven free hotel nights stay in its Be Rewarded Facebook contest.
Rewarding Singaporean leisure and business travelers with one free night’s accommodation for every ten nights stayed, the Welcome Rewards programmer gives Hotels.com customers the chance to redeem their free* night’s accommodation across more than 65,000 hotels globally, with no blackout periods imposed. 

The Hotels.com Be Rewarded contest will run from 18 October 2012 on the Hotels.com Singapore Facebook page, where participants stand to win the grand prize of 70 Welcome Rewards credits (the equivalent of seven free hotel nights) simply by answering two questions about Welcome Rewards. One question will be posted online every two weeks. All contest entrants will also receive a 10% discount code that can be used for any booking made on Hotels.com. Keep an eye on the Hotels.com Singapore Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hotelscomsg for more details on the contest.

Nigel Pocklington, Chief Marketing Officer of Hotels.com, said, “Singaporeans love loyalty programmers and we are proud of Welcome Rewards as it is simple and easy-to-use as well as more generous than many existing hotelloyalty programmes.”

To mark the one-year milestone, Hotels.com also invited prominent bloggers in Singapore to experience the benefits of the programmefirst-hand.

According to blogger Dawn Yang, "Welcome Rewards is a big dream come true for travel nomads like myself – what a fuss-free, uncomplicated programme! I can very quickly redeem a free night at not just one or ten, but 65,000 hotels!"

“Life is already busy enough so simplicity is a plus! Not only are there no complicated points and mechanics to qualify for Welcome Rewards, Hotels.com also monitors the room nights accumulated so I don’t have to keep track of it myself. Best of all, it’s one of the few rewards programmes that doesn’t have blackout dates, which means that I can be flexible with my travel dates,” said Adrian Seet of SuperAdrianMe.

Each and Every Philippines hotels are best with having a several common characteristics like location quality facilities and proper maintenance services. Once visitors have Stay at Philippines hotel rooms, we will must have different taste and come to stay again and again with make their vacation niche.. All our visitors are having a good taste to choose their vacation destinations and accommodation.

There are listed some of the top 10 best hotels in Philippines country with niche images.

1. Mandarin Oriental Manila 

   Located City: Makati City 

2. Heritage Hotel Manila  

   Located City: Pasay City 

3. Waterfront Cebu City Hotel  

   Located City: Cebu City 

4. Sofitel Philippine Plaza  

   Located City: Roxas Boulevard City

5. Shangri-La Mactan  

   Located City: Mactan Island City 

6. Boracay Beach Club  

   Located City: Boat Station City 

7. St Giles Hotel Makati  

   Located City: Makati City 

8. 7 Stones Boracay Suites  

   Located City: Balabag City 

9. Marco Polo Davao  

   Located City: Davao City 

10. Hotel La Corona de Lipa 

    Located City: Batangas City