Hotel Wrap: Accor’s new partnership, Ovolo offers guests a ‘Freesome’, Westin opens in Ubud + MORE!
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Wondering what a ‘Freesome’ is and if it’s considered rude for a hotel chain to offer one to guests? Find out here. Oh, and you’ll also get all the latest updates from the hotel industry as a bonus.
Tourism Accommodation Australia welcomes QLD Govt funding but warns of Cairns job losses
Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) CEO Michael Johnson has welcomed the Queensland State Government’s commitment of $27.25 million to combat the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, including significant assistance for the state’s accommodation and tourism businesses.
Following his recent meetings with accommodation providers in Queensland, Johnson said it is apparent financial assistance is required to support Australia’s accommodation and tourism industry as it deals with the impact of the recent bushfires as well as the coronavirus outbreak.
Accor and Visa form global partnership
Accor and Visa announced a global partnership to bring new payment experiences to ALL-Accor Live Limitless loyalty members.
The partnership will bring together Accor’s loyalty program and Visa’s global payment capabilities to create the new ALL Visa card. Members who apply for the new Visa card will be able to use it for everyday purchases everywhere Visa is accepted. Accor will be collaborating with Visa partner financial institutions and banks in key markets across Europe, North and South America, Middle East and Asia Pacific to issue the new ALL Visa card. It will offer members tailored rewards based on customer preferences and the ability to earn more loyalty points when staying at an Accor property or when making purchases.
The co-branded payment cards will generate additional customer engagement in hotels and new member recruitment opportunities for ALL as well as spend uplift.
Accommodation Association slams Cairns bed tax
The Accommodation Association has questioned the logic behind the Cairns Regional Council’s bed tax proposal. Far from generating income to grow tourism, a sector that represents 13.5 per cent of Cairns total industry value add and represents 14.4 per cent of Cairns employment, the tax is a further impost on accommodation providers, one of the most highly taxed in Australia.
Have a ‘freesome’ on Ovolo
When you stay two nights at any Ovolo Hotel, you can stay a third night free at any hotel at a time that’s convenient to you.
Seeing success with the offer in Hong Kong, Ovolo has launched ‘Freesome’ in Australia across their properties in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.
As part of Ovolo’s mission to deliver the ultimate effortless customer experience, guests have the freedom to use their free night now or receive a voucher to use at any Ovolo Hotel in Australia or Hong Kong, anytime they choose.
Enjoy a Freesome for stays between 1 April and 29 December 2020.
Westin Resort & Spa Ubud, Bali opens
Westin Hotels & Resorts has opened The Westin Resort & Spa Ubud, Bali. Located amidst rice paddies, ancient temples and lush greenery, the new hotel is set to embrace the brand’s ethos of Eat Well, Move Well and Sleep Well, and is inviting guests to explore a restorative destination that is devoted to personal wellness and recovery.
The Westin Resort & Spa Ubud, Bali features 120 contemporary guestrooms, suites and villas, each equipped with the brand’s signature Heavenly® Bed and Heavenly® Bath to deliver total relaxation. Additionally, there are two private Pool Villas that offer an intimate experience for couples and families alike, with a prime vantage point overlooking the entire resort.
The Westin Resort & Spa Ubud, Bali also features 160-square-metres of flexible meeting spaces and the Westin Meetings program for productive gatherings. Other facilities include an onsite concierge, business centre, gift shop, valet and self-parking.
COMO UMA launches boxing retreat
COMO Uma Canggu has teamed up with professional world-class boxers, Darren Barker and Ryan Pickard and London’s 12×3 boxing studio to launch a six-day Boxing Fitness Retreat from 8– 13 May.
Taking place at COMO Uma Canggu, situated on Bali’s prominent south coast, the Boxing Fitness Retreat will teach the core technique of boxing whilst pushing participants’ mental and physical boundaries with a purpose-built itinerary during their stay.
As well as daily training, the retreat includes one 60-minute COMO Shambhala massage and three yoga classes, providing guests with a relaxing environment to hone both their physical and mental agility.
The Boxing Fitness Retreat with Darren Barker and Ryan Pickard starts from US$3,100 per person for double occupancy in a Canggu room or US$3,700 per person for single occupancy. Participants wishing to extend their stay at COMO Uma Canggu or any of COMO’s other Bali properties will receive a special price of 25 per cent off COMO Daily Rate. The offer includes full board meals and airport transfers.
Soneva announces Easter Programme across its Maldives and Thailand Resorts
Soneva has unveiled an Easter Programme across its resorts in the Maldives and Thailand. With Soneva celebrating its milestone 25th anniversary in 2020, this seasonal programme is set to be the biggest, most diverse and most exciting yet: alongside exceptional Easter activities for all ages and one-of-a-kind, thought-provoking experiences, Soneva will welcome a star-studded array of world-renowned experts and Michelin-starred chefs through the new Soneva Stars calendar.
Running between April 2 and 16, 2020, guests at Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani in the Maldives, and Soneva Kiri in Thailand, will have an unprecedented opportunity to meet their sporting heroes, learn from pre-eminent experts in wine and astronomy, and dine with pioneering gastronomes.
A much-loved seasonal treat at Soneva, each of the three resorts will once again be hosting the World’s Greatest Easter Egg Hunt – open to guests of all ages, wooden eggs are hidden across each resort, to be exchanged for delicious chocolates from the Chocolate Parlour. An egg-stra special prize awaits the guest who collects the most eggs!
Aboriginal artists-in-residence program at Longitude 131°
Baillie Lodges has announced a return series of the popular artists-in-residence program at Longitude 131° this year. The program offers guests at Longitude 131° a rare chance to meet the artists from Ernabella Arts in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands whose vibrant ceramics, paintings and weavings are seen around the luxury basecamp.
Part of an ongoing, mutually beneficial partnership between the luxury lodge and the arts community, the Ernabella artists-in-residence program sees some of the artists travel to Longitude 131° from their home in the Pukatja Homelands. The artists spend a few days on each visit setting up an open studio in the Dune House and painting – all with a view to Uluru as backdrop.
Planned dates for artists-in-residence visits in 2020 are:
- March 23-28
- May 11-16
- July 20-25
- September 21-26.
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast to eliminate over 170,000 plastic bottles through new initiative
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast is pleased to announce its latest initiative, which has seen the resort swap plastic bottles for glass or aluminium throughout its guestrooms, restaurants and meeting spaces in an effort to reduce its footprint on the environment. The initiative is set to eliminate 179,000 plastic bottles from landfill each year.
Delivered by water solution company, Vestal Water, the initiative is two-fold. Firstly, the resort has installed Zip HydroTaps – a tap system that delivers pure-tasting chilled water – throughout; some in public spaces as water refill stations for guests, others in its restaurants and venues. Then, plastic bottles have been replaced with either glass or aluminium bottles: in guestrooms, reusable branded aluminium bottles are on offer for guests to use and refill during their stay, and even purchase to take home afterwards. In the hotel’s restaurants, bars and event spaces, reusable glass bottles are refilled by hotel associates and served to guests.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
Accommodation Association accor COMO UMA hotel wrap longitude 131 ovolo sheraton Soneva tourism accommodation australia Westin Resort & SpaLatest News
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Low-cost Indian carrier SpiceJet continues to burn cash
It’s not just low-cost Australian carriers that are facing hardship. SpiceJet, India’s version of Bonza, recently announced a 72 per cent reduction in its net loss versus last year. But, despite this improvement, the airline has posted losses for six straight years. But it has secured board approval to raise up to INR 30 billion […]
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SAKA Museum recognised in TIME magazine’s World’s Greatest Places 2024
AYANA Resort Bali’s newly-opened cultural and events centre, SAKA Museum has been recognised in TIME magazine’s World’s Greatest Places list for 2024. Part of AYANA Bali’s resort destination, the museum integrates Bali’s rich history with state-of-the-art facilities, making it the centrepiece for the island’s spiritual and cultural heritage. TIME magazine’s inclusion of SAKA Museum in […]
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Journey Beyond launches first brand-led campaign during Paris Olympics
Journey Beyond is pushing the boundaries. On The Ghan, you can't even see them!
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Ascott Australia partners with Hotels for Trees
Hoteliers can take a 'Lyf' out of this book and improve their green credentials.
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Victoria’s TAC Top Tourism Town Award winners for 2024
Keep looking in our own backyard. There are plenty of places to go.
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Uniworld partners with Camilla Franks with Egyptian-inspired collection
We are in de-Nile about making puns combining Crocs and leopard prints, given this luxe partnership.
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Aussies at Paris Olympics anxious about travel risks, with incidents already recorded
Fortunately one of our biggest gold medal hopes still held onto his pedals.
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Banyan Tree Seaview Villas elevates Laguna Lang Co
If you've ever played golf in the tropics, start early. LIke way early. It's hot! Damn hot.
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Silversea taps Barbara Biffi as senior vice president for global sales
Ultra-luxury and expedition cruise travel brand, Silverseas, has announced Barbara Biffi as its new senior vice president of global sales. Biffi joined the company in 2007, holding numerous positions and gaining a deep understanding of the brand, the preferences of its guests and its strategic goals, the company said. An Italian national with a wealth […]
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Wendy Wu unveils new Japan travel brochure and itineraries
Get outta town! Off-beat Japan will be a lot less congested we figure than the usual tourist hotspots.
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UK and Europe event organisers look to venues with sustainability integrity, ICC Sydney survey finds
Here in Sydney, you can even eat the table centrepieces. Although we advise they be cooked first.
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Renos Rologas new general manager ANZ for FCM Travel
Two decades in the travel game! Let's hope Renos is in for the long haul at FCM.
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Untamed Escapes to offer Cultural Day Tour from Port Lincoln in partnership with Maba Idi
International visitors travel thousands of kilometres for this experience. Time to share.
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Luxe Finish Line Penthouses offer the best vantage point for the finish of the Sydney-Hobart
Long have we been following the yachts leavings Sydney Harbour and one day, we will see the finish, from this place!
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In a busy world, proximity to nature is the new luxury
Forget Raffles, treat your nearest and dearest to a stay at the local campsite. They'll be super close to nature.
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Circular Quay welcomes new Korean dining experience to Sydney Place
We once took Korean-American chef David Chang around Koreatown, Eastwood. Not happy about driving rain, loved the food.
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MSC Cruises unveils a new outdoor kid-friendly attraction on World America
Drop your kid down the jaws of a shark and they come out 11 decks below. Sounds good to me.
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Amadeus welcomes FCM Travel as new reseller partner of Cytric Easy
Cytric Easy, the travel management tool embedded in Microsoft Teams, is to be integrated into FCM Travel portfolio. Amadeus and FCM Travel have extended their Cytric distribution agreement to include Cytric Easy. With this new agreement, global travel management company FCM Travel, becomes a reseller of the innovative travel management collaboration solution embedded into Microsoft […]
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Australian travellers abandon peer-to-peer stays and gravitate back to big hotels, survey finds
Doom scrolling Airbnb for the best-possible stay options two days out from departure was wearing us down, apparently.
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Quark Expeditions launches the Ultimate Summer in the Arctic sweepstakes for travel advisors
Summer in the Arctic still means it's freezing. But hopefully a winning sweepstakes tickets will warm your cockles.
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‘I bet it smells weird’ – Internet divided over floating restaurant in China
I you are still feeling peckish at the end of your meal, their fish tank is full. But can you eat koi?
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‘Turn up in the Northern Territory this Spring’ campaign deals
Agents and airlines get all hot and sweaty over these enticing deals. Or did someone just turn the air-conditioning up?
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‘Like nothing on earth’: Saudi Arabia’s new Treyam resort set in a Star Wars-style landscape
As long as Jar Jar Binks is not there, we would like a seat at the Mos Eisley Cantina please.
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Raffles Hotels and Resorts is set to open in Tokyo in 2028
Time to get your vision boards at the ready! Raffles is landing in Tokyo!
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‘A true honour’ – Andrew Stark wins Flight Centre Director’s Award for the second time
Congratulations Andrew! If you're a fan of British reality TV you might notice a familiar face.
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Club Med debuts travel agent portal 2.0 with bonus prize for tops sales
See those people by the pool. That could be you. Start selling through the portal people!
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Envoyage announces 2024 Australian Icons and rewards event in the Maldives
We were going to edit our name into the list but we chickened out.
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HIF Global signs collaboration agreement with Airbus on eFuels
We know it's a good thing but can a jet fuel geek out there send in a diagram explaining this please.
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Crystal announces release dates for 2026 itineraries
If you have started collecting 2026 itineraries then here is another one for you.
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Cairns Airport unveils display of support for FNQ youth
If you were craving some winter sun now you have a cultural reason for booking a flight to Cairns.
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Viking announces six new cruise itineraries
Now's the time to start learning Putonghua, Nihongo and Lhasa. Or maybe even know where these are spoken.
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Join Qatar Airways, Celebrity Cruises & Klook – Showcase Your Brand at Click Frenzy Travel August 2024!
Clicking calmly will also be welcome when it comes to this particular deal. Click calmly here to find out more.
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InsideAsia Tours launches new incentive that doubles agent commission
Double commission! We like the sound of that. Hope their system doesn't crash as a result.
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Push to revive Parramatta’s iconic Roxy Theatre into entertainment destination
Long have we wished for this iconic heritage cinema to be revived as a tourist destination. Still waiting.
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Qatar Airways signs an expansion to Boeing 777-9 aircraft order
Known as a quiet rural town in England, the entire global aviation industry now has its eyes on Farnborough.
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Flight Centre shares down following revised profit guidance
The stock market moves fast. What will the rest of the week hold for Flight Centre?