In the USA, Luxury is becoming increasingly differentiated from what the rest of the world thinks of luxury. It was the great US of A, for instance, that piloted, and grew, the idea of 'resort fees', automatic extra charges for things you might not need, say beach towels and valet parking (and of course those [...]
Category: Making the business work
News: Coronavirus, learn more
The Pacific Asia Travel Association PATA is hosting a free webinar tomorrow, Thursday 6th February 2020, to look at current data and insights from ForwardKeys. The webinar is timed for 1600 Bangkok time. To register, contact zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x2EQ6-F-TLC1pavWKMb9KA ForwardKeys analyses global aviation capacity, flight searches and over 17 million flight booking transactions a day, to provide a look into the current [...]
Be PROUD in New York
In just three editions PROUD Experiences, the event created by Reed Travel Exhibitions to focus on the LGBTQ+ travel sector, has established itself as the voice for international travel brands, destinations and experiences with a growth for 2020 of 100% since year one. Now double the size, with 80% of exhibitors confirmed more than six months [...]
News: Travelling to or from China?
Some still need to get to China at this time - and others, as we are know, are being evacuated, airlifted out, at least from Wuhan. Thanks to latest information on Jetex' blog, here is up-to-date information. As of yesterday, Sunday 2 February 2020, airlines which have temporarily suspended or reduced services to Mainland China [...]
News: Is St-Jean Cap-Ferrat going to have another luxury hotel?
Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, has apparently paid €200 million for Villa des Cèdres, Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat, France. He bought it via his System Capital Management, SCM. The villa, built in the 1800s, is set in 35 acres of world-class botanical gardens. The seller, via Savills (who were marketing it all for $350 million) is the [...]
Read more: New wellness trends
On Tuesday, 28 January 2020, The Global Wellness Institute released its latest trends: Focus Shifts from Sleep to True Circadian Health We’ve never been so sleep-obsessed. We pony up for sleep-tracking Oura rings, the latest, smartest mattresses, and meditative sleep headbands; crawl into nap pods; and travel far to bed down at sleep retreats. We [...]
Marrakech gets private jet luxury
This Saturday, 1st February 2020, Marrakech, Morocco, sees the opening of the popular destination's first private jet terminal. Already, Morocco sees over 11,000 private jet movements a year, of which about 50% go in or out of Marrakech. The Jetex operation, opening in a few days, will show that aviation and luxury hospitality are natural [...]
China will get a fun-luxury hotel brand
The marvellously-named Big Bed is a hotel brand launching in China, for the world. Think a next-generation version of CitizenM, which combines fun with technology. Big Bed hotels, designed by Paul Bishop, will have compact bedrooms (with fabulous big beds) and attractive social spaces. The first Big Bed by JA, with 240 rooms, will open [...]
News: Burj Al Arab wins the Ultras – again
We have a general scepticism about awards in general, but the small best-of-the-best list definitely includes The Ultras. Last night saw the 13th annual Ultras. For the seventh year running, Burj Al Arab, Dubai, was voted by top-tier DISCOVERY members, plus readers of Ultratravel, best hotel in the world (DISCOVERY is the 16-million loyalty programme of [...]
News: DISCOVERY adds Evolution
Today - Monday 27 January 2020 - Global Hotel Alliance GHA, operator of multi-brand loyalty program, DISCOVERY, announced that Aimbridge Hospitality, the world’s leading third-party hotel management company, will become a strategic partner through its independent, lifestyle division, Evolution. Aimbridge, which is based in Plano TX, merged with Interstate Hotels & Resorts in 2019, and [...]