Comexposium Group, an event organiser, has signed an agreement with Jakarta-based PCO Amara Group, to organise and grow automobile shows in Indonesia.

The goal of the joint venture is to combine Amara’s know-how of the automotive industry and Comexposium’s global network to increase international participation and attendance to Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS), and accelerate the creation of new industry events – starting with the Gaikindo Bus & Truck Show that will be launched in 2018.

GIIAS gathers more than 360 exhibitors including leading international car manufacturers, and welcomes more than 450,000 B2C and B2B visitors.

The market offers great potential for show expansion: Indonesia is currently the second largest manufacturer in Asia-Pacific with 34 per cent market share, and consumption will be driven by the addition of 21 million new consumers projected in 2020.

The partnership will be finalised in August.

The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel, will boast over 1,900m² of meeting and event spaces when the 336-key property opens later this year.

The building’s architectural and design studio Foster + Partners has kept the former driveway and its arches, and converted it into a semi-alfresco venue, The Arches. Able to hold over 500 guests, the space also boasts views of Hong Kong Park and St John’s Cathedral, and is suitable for creative events from fashion shows to luxury automotive showcases.

Adjacent to The Arches is the 130m² Cotton Tree Terrace, a space that can hold up to 100 guests. The property’s Garden Level, meanwhile, offers 150m² of landscaped event space for a maximum of 125 guests, ideal for private gatherings.

Meanwhile, 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.

There is also a larger 420m² conference room, the Niccolo Room, equipped with the latest audiovisual equipment, on the 25^th level ideal for conferences or galas. The venue can be partitioned to create a pre-function room or up to eight individual spaces – each outfitted with wall panels that can slide back to reveal 65-inch flatscreen TVs. This is the property’s largest indoor venue, and can welcome up to 360 guests for a cocktail-style reception.

Lastly, on the top floor of The Murray will sit The Aviary private dining room, set within a restaurant and bar. It can accommodate up to 12 guests.

The rise of bleisure travellers – those combining business trips with leisure experiences – in Asia is sounding the call for more inventive expenditure tracking, in order to improve transparency and reduce out-of-policy spending.

Business expenses related to travel and entertainment encompass eight to 12 per cent of the average organisation’s total budget, with 20 per cent being out-of-policy spending, reported Concur Technologies.

And with the rise of bleisure habits, “the whole dynamic of the traveller is changing”, noted Nick Evered, senior vice president and general manager of Concur Technologies in Asia-Pacific.

Evered said: “The new young traveller spends a couple of hours a day using mobile applications. This is changing the way the business traveller thinks.

The key, Evered expressed, is providing applications that the bleisure traveller can use to combine both business and leisure travel bookings, using a system that “also gives the company transparency” of expenditure.

This can help tackle the 50 to 60 per cent of accommodation reservations that are in breach of company policy, he said.

Concur runs the mobile application TripLink, which supports direct supplier bookings while allowing organisations to capture expenditure that falls outside its corporate travel system.

Playing into popular services, the company established a partnership with ride-hire company Grab to launch Grab for Work, a transport expense management tool for businesses to organise and oversee ground travel expenditure using Grab services.

However, Evered added that there may be a misnomer in creating “the killer app for booking travel” as it might not be what travellers want. He observed that in Asia, “social phenomena are now blurring into business”.

He elaborated: “People want to be able to book Grab, Uber, a flight, a restaurant and so on within WhatsApp, WeChat, Kakao Talk or Line. (Businesses are) tapping into the social network through social applications. We’re figuring out how to participate in that.”

Concur recently opened in South Korea, where conglomerates are starting to welcome cloud-based travel expenditure tracking and more US bleisure travellers are coming into Asia via the country.

Construction for Sabah’s first dedicated convention centre is expected to be completed by end-2018, and be fully operational by January 2019.

Developed by Yayasan Sabah Group, the Sabah International Convention Centre will be a five-storey building with a built-up area of 92,000m². The centre will be equipped with a 5,200m² column-free convention hall, alongside meeting facilities and VIP suites, as well as a performing arts hall with a permanent two-tier seating for 1,200 people.

Other facilities include a 7,000m² open plaza, 4,000m2 indoor F&B area and more than 1,000 parking bays.

The new centre will sit within the Kota Kinabalu Central Business District, five minutes from the city centre, 20 minutes from Kota Kinabalu International Airport and 10 minutes from the State Administrative Centre.

In the lead up to the centre’s opening, Sabah’s leaders in the business events industry have been investing in programmes to uplift professionalism and prepare the local industry for future conferences.

As well, Place Borneo, a PCO based in Kuching, Sarawak, has set up an office in Sabah in June. Mona Manap, managing director and founder at Place Borneo, told TTGmice her decision was encouraged by new business opportunities in Sabah.

She added: “Sabah is the blue ocean for business events, it being new and on the verge of rapid growth.”

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has inked an agreement to acquire Banks Sadler, an international event management agency headquartered in London, and bring it under the American Express Meetings & Events division.

The transaction is expected to be completed in 3Q2017.

Issa Jouaneh, senior vice president and general manager of American Express Meetings & Events, said the acquisition is strategic for his organisation and a positive development for Banks Sadler and its customers.

Jouaneh said: “Banks Sadler is one of the most respected M&E brands. It brings an extensive range of services and solutions with an independent agency mindset that we will maintain and grow. Combined with American Express Meetings & Events leading capabilities and global footprint, our clients will benefit from an expanded value proposition.”

Banks Sadler was founded in 1982 in London and has offices in York, Windsor, Paris, Dusseldorf and New York. It has approximately 250 employees. Under the leadership of Leigh Jagger, the company has expanded its service and portfolio to multiple marketplaces.

Jagger said: “Though customers will not notice any change, the business is now supported by one of the largest travel and meetings management companies in the world. We will, therefore, continue to offer best-in-class, event planning and management while benefitting from American Express Meetings & Events’ supplier relationships, global scale and expertise of strategic meetings management programmes.”

Steven Curts, American Express GBT’s chief strategy officer, said: “In transient business travel and meetings and events, our focus is always on improving customer experience, product offering and global footprint through strategic acquisitions, partnerships and organic growth. The purchase of Banks Sadler is another important step on our strategic journey.”

TravelSky has launched Hong Kong’s first business travel management mobile app aimed at providing business-ready travel service based on corporate travel policies for cross-border corporate travel demand.

The app offers three languages – English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese – and boasts features such as customised flight bookings for each corporate client, trip approvals, flight data, and flight statuses.

It allows the traveller the automony to manage his/her own bookings and approval processes with just a few clicks, without the need to spend extra time on internal communications for approval. The app also stores frequent flyer information to provide convenience for repeated bookings.

Peng Bo, general manager of TravelSky’s global distribution system unit, said: “ CozyGo is our flagship product for travel management companies in China, which achieved 120,000 downloads in 2016. We aim to capitalise on Hong Kong’s high-potential market to capture market share in the corporate travel sector here.”

Hong Kong’s large SME sector in particular is known for frequent cross-border business travel. According to TravelSky, bookings with Chinese commercial airlines increased by almost 12 per cent from around 449 million in 2015 to around 502 million in 2016. In the first two months in 2017, domestic flight bookings with Chinese commercial airlines recorded a YOY increase of nearly 14 per cent, to around 75 million.

Sala Khaoyai, Sala Hospitality’s boutique resort, is offering a summer buyout promotion.

The property, located three hours from Bangkok, has a total of seven rooms and pool villas. Guests will have full access to the grounds, and obtain full support from the on-site staff team.

Amenities on the property include a rooftop terrace, an infinity fool, and the Hilltop Restaurant and Bar. Meanwhile, the surrounding region can be explored via winery tours, golfing or hiking through the national park.

Prices start from THB70,000++ ($2,060) for the entire property.

For bookings or more information, email info@salahospitality.com or visit www.salahospitality.com.