André Brulhart has been appointed the new general manager of Mövenpick Resort & Spa Boracay.
A Swiss national with three decades of hospitality management experience, the industry veteran first completed his management training with Mandarin Oriental, and entered the hospitality industry with Hilton, working at hotels in Hong Kong, Hawaii and Indonesia.
Brulhart then held senior management roles at leading Thai hotels including The Regent Bangkok, The Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Plaza Athénée Bangkok and Le Royal Méridien Phuket Yacht Club, prior to joining Centara in 2005 at the then Sofitel Centara Grand Central Plaza Bangkok. He also spent time in Vietnam with the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi.
The premises was converted from a government office block under a revitalisation project.
Rooms
My N2 Grand room affords ample space at 50m2. I also appreciated the extra touches of luxury like in-room check-in rather than just a cold towel upon arrival.
I was also surprised by the turn-down amenities – a hydrating face mask made by the hotel. This will be changed regularly to items such as a chocolate bar and face mist.
Moreover, 75 per cent of rooms are 50m2 or bigger. All oversized accommodation features uniquely recessed windows allowing abundant daylight without direct heat from the morning sun.
MICE facilities
There are ample choices of indoor and outdoor venues for events with more than 1,900m2 of available space.
For instance, a dedicated MICE floor – Murray Room on 25th floor – provides 425m2 space for small to mid-scale events. Though there are no windows on this floor, the space benefits from great lighting equipment and event-friendly set-ups.
Event planners may also consider the Cotten Tree open-air terrace which can accommodate up to 150 people. The Arches is a semi al-fresco venue that can hold up to 500 guests. The property’s Garden Level, meanwhile, offers 150m2 of landscaped event space for a maximum of 125 guests.
Also on the second floor of the hotel are the multipurpose function rooms comprising a pre-function area and six rooms that range from 35-40m2, three of which can be combined for a larger space of 105m2.
Lastly, Popinjays on the hotel’s topmost 26th floor offers panoramic and spectacular views. The 355m2, 120-seat entertainment space includes an indoor dining area, a private dining room and a bar. For an exclusive experience, The Aviary, a private dining room with a glass facade, will be available for intimate events for up to 14 guests.
Other facilities
There are four other F&B options (The Tai Pan, Garden Lounge, Murray Lane and Guo Fu Lou), a spa, and an indoor lap pool.
Service
I tested a concierge’s knowledge on private clubs and temples. He demonstrated his expertise and patience, giving a rare insider’s view rather than just mentioning off-the-mill touristy spots.
Banyan Tree Phuket has appointed Shannon Creado as the new area director of sales and marketing.
Born and educated in India, Creado began his hospitality career in 1999, rising through the ranks until he became director of sales and marketing for Goa Marriott Resort in 2006.
He later took on sales & marketing director positions at other Marriott resorts, as well as Anantara and Minor Hotels, in South Korea, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
A major constitutional crisis that resulted in the sacking of Sri Lanka’s prime minister has put in jeopardy the November launch of a new logo and slogan for the country’s new destination marketing campaign.
The campaign, So Sri Lanka, is scheduled to be launched on November 5 at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London.
The long-delayed campaign was scheduled to be unveiled next month, before a global rollout in 2019
But president Maithripala Sirisena’s sudden dismissal of prime minster Ranil Wickremesinghe and the appointment of former president and current parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place last Friday has caused confusion in the administration. Furthermore, Wickremesinghe is also refusing to quit, saying that he was removed unconstitutionally.
Sirisena will be appointing a new cabinet of ministers today, comprising mainly members of parliament from his party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka People’s Front. The cabinet, which includes the tourism portfolio, earlier comprised mainly members of Wickremesinghe’s United National Party.
Both Wickremesinghe and Sirisena have been clashing over several issues in the past few months, with political analysts saying a parting of the ways was inevitable.
“I am not sure whether I would be going to office,” said a worried Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) managing director Sutheash Balasubramanian, adding that regardless of changes he hoped the campaign would go ahead as scheduled.
Balasubramaniam, like many other heads of government departments, are political appointees.
Industry officials have expressed concern over the developments and fears that the campaign would be further delayed.
“This is a great slogan – So Sri Lanka – and similar to Incredible India or Amazing Thailand. I hope despite the new developments that the government will go ahead with the launch in London,” said The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka’s president Sanath Ukwatte.
He said the industry has been anticipating the launch of this destination marketing campaign, which has been in the works for the past three years. Should the tagline and logo be successfully unveiled next month, the campaign was scheduled to officially start in early 2019.
Sri Lanka’s earlier campaigns were entitled Wonder of Asia, followed by Small Miracle. In recent months, the SLTPB has been involved in two smaller campaigns – an advertising blitz on CNN, and a digital marketing campaign directed at the country’s main markets of India and China, and Western Europe. These two campaigns will then feed into the So Sri Lanka campaign which will be undertaken on a global scale for all markets.
Sri Lanka, currently in the grip of a constitutional crises which led to the sacking of the prime minister, woke up on Monday to a business-as-usual scenario amid a sea of uncertainty.
“So far we have had no cancellations,” said a hotel manager at a five-star hotel in Colombo. While this view was similar to other hotels in the city, another manager pointed out that the “situation would only become clearer in the next 48 hours”.
A previous edition of the Cinnamon TBC Asia
Meanwhile for Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators’ president Harith Perera, it was business as usual and no major cancellations have been reported.
He was also confident that the November launch of a new logo and slogan for the country’s new destination marketing campaign, So Sri Lanka, would go ahead as scheduled on November 5 at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s sudden dismissal of prime minster Ranil Wickremesinghe and the appointment of former president and current parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place last Friday has caused confusion in the administration. Furthermore, Wickremesinghe is also refusing to quit, saying that he was removed unconstitutionally. Currently, Wickremesinghe has been suspended till November 16.
These developments have not impacted a five-day event, Cinnamon TBC Asia 2018, which brought 61 influential bloggers from 40 countries to Sri Lanka. They have been visiting parts of the country since last Thursday, and the event ends with a conference at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo today.
“We have some influential bloggers visiting us and they have been travelling around the country. They have not been affected by the events and it’s also a good opportunity to show the world that it is business as usual here,” said Dileep Mudadeniya, a key organiser of the conference from the Cinnamon Hotels group. Keynote speakers from CNN, Google and Expedia are due to grace the day-long conference.
Meanwhile, Lanka Exhibition & Conference Services’ CEO Aasim Mukthar said this is generally a low season for business events, with the advent of the peak season (November-February) for Western European travellers.
“There are not many business events, excluding incentives, happening these months,” he said, adding that the situation could change with travel advisories.
For instance, the UK Government updated its travel advisory on Sri Lanka over the weekend, urging British travellers to “exercise vigilance and avoid all demonstrations or large political gatherings”.
Several countries have also urged Sri Lanka to allow the due constitution process to continue, and to ensure law and order.
Sirisena is due to appoint a new cabinet of ministers today, comprising mainly members of parliament from his party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka People’s Front. The cabinet, which includes the tourism portfolio, earlier comprised mainly members of Wickremesinghe’s United National Party.
Strong corporate demand from domestic enterprises in China’s second- and third-tier cities like Chongqing, Xiamen and Zhuhai is fuelling double-digit growth for Ctrip’s business events sector.
China’s largest online travel agency set up its business travel department in 2006 to cater to growing demand for incentive programmes, senior-level conferences and team travel trips, said Oscar Huang, head, West and South China, Ctrip MICE, adding that the business unit is eyeing leadership position not only in market share, but also in the introduction of new technology and the setting of industry standards.
Chongqing (pictured) is one of the cities in China that is fuelling the corporate sector
“The market is not yet mature. There is an unbalanced supply-demand relationship and the coexistence of various service modes,” Huang noted. Ctrip MICE, he continued, will be looking at offering a one-stop approach and will be driving innovation with the use of technology to cater to this highly customised market segment.
Huang, who is also senior account director, pointed out that the Ctrip MICE website can be used on mobile, PC and Mac platforms, making it convenient, efficient and easy to use.
Meanwhile, Ctrip sister company Qunar – which provides real-time searches and instant comparisons for more than 4,190 online travel agencies, 600 airlines, 1.1 million hotels, and chauffeured car service in 246 cities – is taking baby steps to tap the business events segment.
Its business development director, Yan Zhao, said corporate business transactions so far have been typically conducted “offline”, and based on personal relationships, where Qunar will connect a booker looking for between 30 and 100 air tickets to an airline or wholesaler.
According to Huang, the GBTA reports that China’s business events market is worth a trillion dollars, and Zhao agreed there is potential for the meta-search/hybrid-OTA to pursue the business if the “ROI is high enough”.
“For now, we are focusing on delivering ‘quality and quantity’ low-cost products and services to our current customers who are primarily millennials,” she commented.
An artist impression of Qantas’ First Lounge at Changi Airport
Qantas has announced a multimillion investment for a new First Lounge at Singapore Changi Airport, which will become its fourth port worldwide with this dedicated offering after Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles.
Development of the Singapore First Lounge will begin in April 2019, with the opening scheduled for end-2019.
An artist impression of Qantas’ First Lounge at Changi Airport
Qantas will work with chef Neil Perry and industrial designer David Caon in collaboration with Akin Atelier, to create the lounge. The lounge will offer seating for 240 customers, as well as shower facilities, a cocktail bar, open kitchen, and a la carte dining with Asian-inspired menus.
Meanwhile, the existing Business Lounge, which opened in 2013, will also be expanded. Combined, the First and Business Lounges will offer seating for more than 800 customers.
CEO Alan Joyce announced the investment as part of the Qantas Group’s first quarter trading update, and indicated that the airline’s overall lounge capacity in Singapore would increase by 60 per cent.
“With the return of our A380 service to Singapore we’ve got more passengers transiting through our existing lounge and strong demand for travel in premium cabins,” he revealed.
In addition to Qantas’ investment in Singapore, the airline recently announced the upgrade of its lounges in Tokyo, Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart and Tamworth. A new Melbourne domestic lounge precinct is due to open at the end of October.
Singapore is Qantas’ largest hub outside of Australia, carrying more than 20 per cent of the airline’s widebody fleet. Qantas operates over 50 return services in to and out of Changi Airport each week, while Jetstar Group operates 298 weekly return flights to 26 destinations from Singapore.
Lebuh Armenia, one of the main streets in historical Georgetown, Penang
Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) has joined forces with TTGmice to launch a digital contest in conjunction with the BE @ Penang 2018 business events industry conference.
The “Are You A Penang Business Events Guru” contest invites delegates to answer eight questions about Penang as a MICE city, and perfect scorers will stand a chance to redeem economy flights into Penang from any Asia-Pacific city, plus three nights’ accommodation, and a free pass to attend BE @ Penang.
Lebuh Armenia, one of the main streets in historical Georgetown, Penang
Taking place on December 6 and 7, 2018, at the Setia Spice Convention Centre, BE @ Penang expects to welcome 400 delegates from around the world.
The conference will feature 20 experts, including Nina Freysen-Pretorius, president of the International Congress and Convention Association, as the keynote speaker, PCEB’s CEO Ashwin Gunasekeran said.
The contest is now open for participation here: http://bit.ly/2PKH6vF. Contest closes this Friday!
The Upper House – part of Swire Hotels – in partnership with The Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association (HKDSA), has completed a programme that sought to provide vocational experiences for its members and equip them with skills to integrate into society.
Ten members from HKDSA joined the programme which included 18 hours of training, followed by a two-month attachment with the guest experience, restaurant & bar, housekeeping and kitchen departments. In total, 14 representatives from The Upper House formed a dedicated committee to provide guidance for the members, mentoring them through back-of-house operation and guest engagement.
Participants were awarded certifications at the graduation ceremony
Upon completion, a graduation ceremony was held where certificates were awarded to the participants. Two members also gained long-term employment.
This is part of the company’s SD 2030 vision, an initiative to reinforce the company’s commitment to sustainable development. The partnership with HKDSA will continue to be one of the property’s CSR commitments, with new programmes to be announced in 2019.
The 268-key Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore in Singapore’s CBD offers an Executive Boardroom and an outdoor pool terrace for functions, events and meetings.
The Executive Boardroom can cater up to 12 people comfortably. Boasting floor-to-ceiling windows that open out to the city skyline, the space is decked out with the latest technology, and is supported by a dedicated on-site team.
1 of 3
Outdoor Infinity Pool
Executive Lounge
Boardroom
Full-day meeting packages start from S$65 (US$47) per person, which includes two coffee breaks. At S$85 per person, the package will include one lunch and two coffee breaks. Lastly, at S$105 per person, the package includes one lunch, two coffee breaks, and one-hour-long free-flow alcohol.
Meanwhile, half-day meeting packages start from S$25 per person just for boardroom rental. If one coffee break is included, it’ll cost S$40 per person. A lunch and coffee break would come up to S$70 per person.
All boardroom packages require a minimum booking of four persons.
For larger groups, book an outdoor barbecue package at the pool terrace with two-hour-long unlimited house beers and wines, plus on-site chef service from S$80 per person. With a minimum spend of S$2,500, exclusive usage of The Oakwood Executive Club will also be thrown in.
This package is applicable for a minimum of 20 persons and maximum of 60 persons for a rental period of three hours from 18.00 daily.
All prices are subject to seven per cent GST and 10 per cent service charge.
The newly-opened Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok anchors the One Bangkok development with cosmopolitan elegance. Featuring the city's largest ballroom and a spectacular new penthouse suite, it delivers exceptional hardware and deeply authentic, soulful service for business and leisure travellers alike
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