Flavour of the Week
Didn’t get much done this week? Feel free to live vicariously through these high achievers.
Six Senses New York appoints Rebecca Soloff as director sales and marketing
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas is pleased to announce the appointment of Rebecca Soloff as director of sales and marketing at Six Senses New York, the group’s first North American property which is currently under development. Soloff joins Six Senses following a posting as director of sales and marketing at The Mark Hotel, New York.
With over 17 years of experience in sales and marketing, Soloff strengthened her skills and relationships at The New York Palace Hotel and The Lowell Hotel, New York which grew her experience into the role of director of sales and marketing.
Soloff graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Communications from the State University of New York at Albany. She finds time in her professional life to pursue a range of activities, many of which run parallel to the Six Senses attitude to health and well-being. Having practiced yoga for 15 years, Soloff included an intensive one-month course of ayurveda and yoga in India; she loves to cook and has a bent towards vegetarian dishes; and she is a member of HER, a global network empowering and supporting women.
RoomIt by CWT appoints James Colquhoun VP of finance and CFO
RoomIt by CWTÒ, the hotel distribution division of CWT, the B2B4E travel management platform, has appointed James Colquhoun VP of Finance and CFO.
Colquhoun will be based at RoomIt by CWTÒ’s Chicago headquarters. He is a proven leader in the hospitality and travel industry, with senior roles in partnerships, business development, distribution, finance, operations and marketing, including more than ten years with Hyatt Hotels.
His expertise lies in improving revenue and profitability for both large corporations and start-ups, developing and executing disruptive strategies in the digital and distribution space, negotiating partnerships, and managing change.
Born in the UK and now a US citizen, Colquhoun holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Bristol.
New appointments for Voyages board
Chairman Rick Allert today announced the appointment of three new members to the Voyages board of directors.
Dana Ronan
Senior tourism professional Dana Ronan has held positions with a range of tourism companies including Discovery Holiday Parks, Voyages Hotels and Resorts, travel.com.au, the APT Group and AAT Kings, as well as her own business the Twelve Apostles Lodge Walk. Dana is currently on the board of Visit Ballarat, Victoria Walks and advises the boards of several private family tourism businesses.
Daniel Tucker
Aboriginal leader and founding managing director of Carey Mining, the largest 100 percent Indigenous owned and managed contracting company in Australia, Daniel Tucker is a Wongatha/Mirning man and an inaugural member of the Prime Ministers Indigenous Advisory Council and has previously served on the Council of Curtin University as well as on the boards of a number of private, not for profit and publicly listed companies.
Andrew McEvoy
Andrew McEvoy is a former managing director and CEO of Tourism Australia and former managing director of Fairfax Life Media and Events. Andrew is currently also chairman of Sealink Travel Group, a director of Ingenia communities, chairman of AATS (Skybus), chairman of the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) and a director of the Lux Group.
American Express Global Business Travel appoints new general manager for meetings and events division
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has appointed Gerardo Tejado as general manager of American Express Meetings & Events, a division of GBT. In his new role, Tejado will report to GBT’s executive vice president of Global Supplier Relations Michael Qualantone and be based in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Tejado replaces Issa Jouaneh, who after leading the globalisation and expansion of the American Express Meetings & Events business over the last decade, is leaving to pursue other interests.
CWT appoints David Holmes as VP of payments
CWT, the B2B4E travel management platform, has appointed David Holmes as VP of Payments.
Holmes will be based in Miami. A US national, Holmes most recently led global commercial strategy at UATP, the airline-owned payment network. Holmes is a senior commercial and payments leader with almost 18 years of travel payments and travel FinTech experience.
He holds an MBA in International Finance from the University of Miami – School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from George Mason University.
Experienced hotel exec appointed as new GM of Darwin Convention Centre
An executive with extensive experience in international hotels, the professional services industry and law has been appointed the new general manager of the Darwin Convention Centre.
Peter Savoff will fill the role following the recent promotion of previous GM Janet Hamilton to manage the Cairns Convention Centre.
Savoff joins the AEG Ogden Family from the Anthony John Property Group where he managed the Emporium Hotel since opening in 2007. Under his leadership, the Emporium has become one of Australia’s leading independent hotel brands, winning numerous major industry awards.
Before that, Savoff served as Chief Executive for McInnes Wilson Lawyers, was marketing director for the InterContinental Hotels Group for Queensland, Northern Territory, and Papua New Guinea after many years in senior management, and then general manager of IHG Hotels in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Cairns.
Ensemble announces new general manager for Australia and New Zealand
Ensemble Travel Group has today confirmed Katy Muyt as General Manager Australia and New Zealand.
North America-based Ensemble Travel® Group is a leading global provider of luxury and experiential travel products and services which has seen significant growth in Asia Pacific in recent years particularly in Australia.
Katy has been with Ensemble Travel Group as Senior Director Sales and Supplier Relations Australia / New Zealand for over three years and will be stepping into her new role immediately.
With 34 years in the industry, Katy brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role having held Senior Management roles within the Travel Franchise Management sector, Aviation and Travel Management Services. These roles include Head of Corporate Development, American Express Franchise Network; General Manager Australia/New Zealand and New Caledonia for Finnair; and General Manager Australia/New Zealand for Qantas Business Travel.
The St. Regis Bangkok announces key executive appointments
The St. Regis Bangkok welcomes two senior members to its team, filling the key positions of executive pastry chef and director of sales.
Prachaya Basset brings with her more than 15 years of experience in refined hospitality, most recently with Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.
No stranger to the hotel, she was previously with The St. Regis Bangkok as account director from 2012-2013. She has also worked with a number of other luxury brands in Bangkok, including Conrad and InterContinental.
In her new role as director of sales at The St. Regis Bangkok, she will be working closely with both revenue and marketing teams to develop strategic customer segments and maintain overall positioning of the hotel.
Anupong Nualchawee, known as Chef Aey, joins The St. Regis Bangkok from The Athenee Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok, where in his role as executive pastry chef as part of the hotel’s rebranding team, he oversaw the pastry and dessert menus for all restaurant outlets and banquets.
Prior to that, he was part of the pre-opening team at Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa. He has also held stints at other hotels in Bangkok, Koh Samui, and as executive personal chef for Royal Family at Chakri Bongkot Thai Royal Palace in Nonthaburi, Thailand. In his new role as executive pastry chef at The St. Regis Bangkok, Anupong will be leading the pastry culinary team to develop the pastry and desserts menu in the hotel’s restaurants and bars.
Latest News
Collette goes off the beaten track with Canyon Country tour
To be clear TW is not advocating actually walking off the beaten track. Avoid the coyotes. Stay on the beaten track.
Intrepid & Korean Tourism Organisation team up to give agents a cooking masterclass
These guys learnt that Korean cooking is more than just putting kimchi on 2-minute noodles (as we once thought).
Winner, winner! Intrepid reveals the 9 lucky agents that won $2k
Who won the incentive? Which Intrepid trip will they spend it on? What day of the week is it again? Where am I? Huh?
Corporate Traveller reports 42% increase in Easter traffic this year
Business travellers just love Easter! Expect plenty of chocolate stained documents returning to the office on Tuesday.
Turbulent year wiped $384m off Qantas brand value: Report
Meanwhile, eating tuna at your desk can damage your own personal office brand value by several thousand dollars.
FAMIL: Room-Res & Singapore Tourism Board shows agents the Lion City’s roar
Click this article to see a man very impressed by a 20-layer chocolate cake. We're not kidding, he loved it!
Oceania Cruises offers sailors free pre-cruise hotel stay
Looking for ways to make your holidays as long as possible? Look no further.
Bonza launches new website to compliment app, agent portal
Does news about an airline's website fill you with ecstasy, glee and joy? Get your hit of the good stuff here.
MTA agents attends ‘Lunch ‘n’ Learn’ with AMA Waterways
When organising the event, Lunch 'n' Learn beat out Dinner 'n' Divulge and Breakfast 'n' Banter. Understandably so.
Travelmarvel reveals 2025 South America tours
If you spot any typos in the newsletter today it is because TW became distracted Googling images of Machu Picchu.
Tourists from 5 countries could be BANNED from visiting Australia
Anthony Albanese's immigration laws could impact tourism from certain countries.
Just how many passengers will Qantas & Jetstar hop around this Easter?
Airline workers are ready for gleeful Easter travellers! Also prepared for sticky children with chocolate on their face.
Air New Zealand gets ready for bumper Easter weekend
Air NZ gears up for travelling passengers this Easter, while TW looks to beat our egg eating record. 117 here we come!
Four Seasons Yachts reveals first itineraries to the Caribbean & Mediterranean
These trips look so good we wish there were five seasons! Alright, we'll see ourselves out...
FAMIL: Travellers Choice treats top agents to the wonders of Rotorua
This one's got plenty of famil pics and no one looks shockingly hungover in them! Clearly no TW staffers were there.
European Waterways celebrates 50th anniversary with week-long founders cruise
Plan on celebrating your 50th anniversary with a bottle of Moët and fairy bread? European Waterways has better ideas.
100th route! Jetstar celebrates the launch of Brisbane-Avalon with 12 hour sale
Jetstar knocks a ton and celebrates with a sale while TW once scored a ton and celebrated with about 17 beers.
Record-breaking year for NSW as visitor expenditure soars past $50 billion
Enjoy running round the Opera House? Be prepared to elbow even more tourists out the way.
Norwegian Cruise Line makes play for solo travellers
NCL ensuring you don't have to go trawling Tinder to find a cruise partner. Thank goodness, we were sick of catfishing.
Entire Travel Group’s Canada and Europe 2024/25 brochures are out now
Entire's new brochure is bittersweet; it both informs your clients and makes you envious of the holiday they'll take.
Malaysia Airlines adds 3 new destinations & A330neo seats
More seats means cheaper airfares and more money to spend on overpriced airport sandwiches. Woohoo!
Two divine days onboard Crystal Serenity
It's only pure serenity onboard this ship. Anxiety, agitation and anguish have been rejected by the bouncer.
How the Globus Family of Brands elevates coach touring: Travel Weekly TV with Chris Fundell
Chris' here so you don't think coaches mean peeling your thighs off a sticky leather seat every time you stand up!
The Flight Centre Foundation gears up for massive 2024 with 3 new board members
The foundation looks to invest $200k this year, spurring the TW journos to figure out how to qualify as a charity.
Barking Owl Communications to head up Anantara & Avani in ANZ
Fellow PR competitors had been barking up the wrong tree even thinking of bidding for this job!
Amex GBT to purchase CWT for $871m
It's big deals like this that get a firm handshake - hence the sore hands over at the CWT and Amex GBT offices.
1000MTG’s second global conference reminds agents to ‘strive and thrive’
Alongside messages to 'strive' and 'thrive' were those to 'survive', 'drive', 'arrive' and 'jive' (when appropriate).
Qantas A330 makes “loud bang”, pilots forced to shut down one engine
Qantas refusing to let Boeing have all the headlines in aviation world today!
GX Community Tourism Summit 2024 location revealed!
The new location has arrived and it'll blow your socks off! Time for another trip to Target for more socks then.
Visiting the destination my Mum didn’t want me to
Yet again, this journo has been a stress to his mother. Discover how this trip spurred his mother's anxiety here.
Agents come out of their shells at P&O’s turtle hatchery event
For some, it's a few glasses of bubbles to lure them out of their shell. For these agents, it was a bit more literal.
Boeing cleanout: CEO, chair to go as safety crisis plagues the manufacturer
CEOs are falling thick and fast these days. We should have started up a bingo game with their headshots in the office.
Virgin looks to swap MAX 10 order for MAX 8s amid Boeing delays: Reports
Virgin has changed its order for something smaller. Much like we have to at Maccas following a worrying doctor's visit.
Club Med unveils newest luxury yacht for 2024/25 early bird sale
This yacht is preserved for the early birds! Night Owls may also get onboard depending how late they stay up.
Abercrombie & Kent 2024 Asia Portfolio is here
Round up the family and get planning an Asia jaunt. Or, if they're hard to handle, brush them all and go it alone!
Elevate your earnings: Final days to secure double commission with Inspiring Vacations’ March offer
What could inspire you to sell more Inspiring Vacations? Double commission of course! That's all the inspiration needed.