Hotel Wrap: Pre-register for Club Med, Accor’s new QLD hotel, Hilton launches Tapestry in Australasia + MORE!

Hotel Wrap: Pre-register for Club Med, Accor’s new QLD hotel, Hilton launches Tapestry in Australasia + MORE!

Check-in to this week’s extra special Hotel Wrap! Okay, so it’s not EXTRA special – just a little special. And by special, we mean half-baked and caffeine-fuelled.

Pre-register now for 2021 Club Med holidays

Club Med is encouraging all travel agents to pre-register now to avoid missing out on making their client’s 2021 holiday dreams a reality. Pre-registering now for holidays departing November 2020 to April 2021 means agents put their clients first in line to secure their choice of resort, dates (including school holidays), room type, Kids Clubs, PLUS up to 30 per cent off as part of the early bird offer on all resorts when sales open on 29 January 2020.

How it works:

11th December, 2019 – pre-registration opens

Easily fill in the preference form through the website link found in the TA Portal.

29th January, 2020 – sales open and commencement of the early bird offer

You will receive an individualised quote with the pre-registered 2021 holiday choice.

31st January, 2020 – final day to confirm bookings

The quote price is only secured for three days (29 to 31 January 2020). After that, the price may increase so book early and relax knowing you’ve secured the best offer of the year.

As part of the early bird offer, clients can experience Club Med’s 70-plus sun and snow resorts worldwide at a staggering 30 per cent off, including brand new, and newly renovated resorts.

The offer includes Club Med’s infamous all-inclusive package of non-stop activities, entertainment, services for the little ones, gourmet restaurant dining and open bar, plus ski lift passes and ski lessons in snow resorts, all part of the one package price.

Accommodation Association outlines industry employment agenda

Labour and skills shortages remain an ongoing challenge for the tourism accommodation sector with the significant growth in supply not matched by local intake and further exacerbated by increasing restrictions on skilled migration.

This week, the Accommodation Association’s National Advisory Board for Employment (NABE) held a constructive meeting with Minister Cash, Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education to discuss these issues and advance the industry agenda. The Board outlined the industry’s significant employment initiatives, both in supporting government programs such as Youth Jobs PaTH, and in investing in the development of career paths and training programs for Australian job seekers.

Accor increases its footprint in regional Queensland with Mantra Mackay

Accor has further increased its footprint in the central Queensland market having acquired a franchise agreement with Mandala Asset Solutions for their recently purchased Mackay Marina Hotel.

The eight-storey, 79-room hotel will rebrand as Mantra Mackay on 15 December 2019, becoming Accor’s second property in the central Queensland hub of Mackay, joining the Group’s 152-room ibis Mackay hotel.

Mantra Mackay, which was constructed in 2005 and stands on a prime waterfront site offering views over the Coral Sea, also features a restaurant and bar, fitness centre, swimming pool, four conference and meetings rooms and a business centre.

Hilton Launches Tapestry Collection by Hilton Brand in Australasia

Hilton today announced the signing of The Modern Christchurch, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, marking the first signing and launch of the Tapestry Collection brand in Australasia. The Modern will join Hilton’s portfolio of 27 hotels in Australasia presently operating under four brands, including Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton.

Under a franchise agreement with Sarin Investments Limited and in partnership with Tailorspace Limited, part of the Ben Gough Family Office, the hotel is slated to open in the third quarter of 2021.

Located in the heart of Christchurch’s CBD at 79 Hereford Street, The Modern will offer guest rooms with room sizes starting from 34 square meters, including 45 square meter Deluxe Suites. The property will also incorporate a ground floor restaurant and bar, fitness centre, and on-site parking.

W Brisbane unearths real-world talent with QUT

W Brisbane has teamed up with the innovative Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to unearth the state’s emerging artists across the W brand passion points of design, music and fashion.

Kicking off a series of programming that will showcase the creativity, innovation and originality of the next generation of artists was a design competition that pushed students to think with a W and ‘Sunshine State of Mind’ mindset.

Students were tasked to create a forward-thinking design centred around W Brisbane’s stellar design narrative, ‘A River Dreaming’ for the Insta-famed W sign at Level Four’s rooftop bar, WET® Deck overlooking the iconic Brisbane River.

After narrowing it down to four finalists, a panel of leading industry judges including Ingham, Bruce Ryde – Vice President Luxury Brands APAC at Marriott International, Haldon Philp – General Manager of W Brisbane and Nic Graham – celebrated interior designer of W Brisbane, selected the winning design.

The chosen design by Lyle Duncan, who has just completed his first year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Visual Art, blew the judges away.  Inspired by the Brisbane River, his design nods to both the river’s physical form and the water of the river which continues to give life to the city.

Incheon City takes off as culture and tourism industry hub in Northeast Asia with IFEZ’s Yeongjong Resort complex cluster

The Incheon Metropolitan City government plans to take off as a hub of culture and tourism industry in Northeast Asia through the Yeongjong-do Integrated Resort Cluster Project.

Having opened in April 2017 as the first resort complex in Korea, the ‘Paradise City’ comprises a 5-star hotel with 711 rooms, the largest foreigners-only casino in Korea, and a convention hall that can accommodate 1,600 persons. From September 2018, it has been operating a boutique hotel with 58 suite rooms, spa blended with Korean dry sauna culture, the largest recreation club in Northeast Asia, and an art exhibition space. In March 2019, it opened the Wonder Box, an indoor theme park with the concept of ‘amusement park in the evening’, presenting enjoyment both to foreign and local visitors.

To open it in 2021, the Caesars Resort Complex is under construction in Yeongjong-do by Caesars Entertainment headquartered in Las Vegas. The Caesars Resort Complex will consist of a luxury hotel with over 700 rooms, casino for foreigners only, convention facilities, live entertainment performing hall, signature spa and a swimming pool.

Direct service from Manila opens more doors for WA tourism

The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) WA has welcomed the McGowan government’s announcement of a new direct flight service between Manila and Perth, which will commence in March next year.

AHA (WA) CEO Bradley Woods said the new partnership between Philippine Airlines, Perth Airport and the state government will deliver immediate and lasting benefits to accommodation hotels and hospitality venues across the state.

Lancemore takes guests on a hard hat tour of their soon-to-open Melbourne hotel, Lancemore Crossley St.

Australian boutique hotel collection, Lancemore, announced the addition of a new Melbourne hotel to their stable, Lancemore Crossley St., in September and with the hotel set to open in March 2020, last week Lancemore gave media and tastemakers a sneak peek inside their newest property during a hard hat tour to view the hotel as it begins to take shape.

Working with award-winning design firm Carr, Crossley St. is the seventh property in Lancemore’s portfolio, and a prominent ‘onstage’ and ‘offstage’ theme is featured throughout the hotel, which speaks to Crossley St’s location between the Paris end of Bourke Street, the Theatre District, restaurants and the tempting sights and sounds of Chinatown.

Lancemore Crossley St. will feature five room types across their offering of 113 private rooms, and during the hard hat tour guests were given a look inside these, which ranged from one of the first completed rooms to those still under construction, giving an insight into the hotel’s journey from construction through to completion. The hotel’s walls will be hung with bespoke commissions from emerging artists along with captivating public spaces, including an eye-catching foyer where a stunning repurposed chandelier will hang.

Situated in an iconic laneway location, guests who toured Lancemore Crossley St. were also taken up to the hotel’s quintessentially Melbourne rooftop terrace during the hard hat tour, where they took in sparkling skyline views as Lancemore CEO, Julian Clark, spoke about the newest property in their collection.

Bawah Reserve to launch wellbeing program for Jan 2020

Bawah Reserve is one of Indonesia’s most exclusive, off-grid resorts and only accessible via private seaplane from Singapore. In January 2020, Bawah will launch two restorative wellbeing programmes for guests – the Journey to Calm and Journey to Vitality.

Those in search of a transformative island getaway can book one of the new programmes for a minimum of three nights. During their personalised journey, each guest will learn and practise the six key pillars of wellbeing: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social and environmental. The two programmes incorporate the natural elements of Bawah’s six tropical islands, 13 beaches, lush forests, and three lagoons, paired with expert spa treatments, healthy organic meals, meditation and activities.

Hotel GMs pay visit to site of Australia’s first ‘smart airport’

Tourism Accommodation Australia’s NSW members were given a first-hand look at the tourism opportunities already being generated for Sydney and NSW through the new Western Sydney International (Nancy Bird Walton) Airport.

Dozens of hotel General Managers and Directors of Sales and Marketing, led by TAA NSW CEO Michael Johnson, visited the Western Sydney Airport’s Experience Centre to hear directly from Stevan Sipka, Executive Manager of Aero Partnerships, to learn about the many opportunities that will emerge from the new airport.

Silkari rebrands Port Douglas property

Silkari Hospitality is pleased to announce they will be taking over the management rights of Oaks Lagoons Port Douglas on 16 December 2019 and will rebrand the property to Silkari Lagoons Port Douglas. The move sees the property become the second hotel within the Silkari portfolio.

Silkari Lagoons Port Douglas is a 176-room property, boasting one, two and three-bedroom apartments including spa, swim-out and plunge pool rooms. It’s situated on Port Douglas Road and is a short stroll to the famous Four Mile Beach.

The property is located approximately one hour north of Cairns making it within easy access to the magical Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest.

Da Maria is toasting the end of 2019 with a Disneyland party

Pull out your Mickey Mouse ears; Da Maria has announced that this New Year’s Eve the theme will be Disneyland. The Seminyak venue as famous for its weekly 528HZ Sundays as its Italian fare will be delivering the same combination of tasty food and live DJs at the annual New Year’s Eve celebration.

Hosted in collaboration with the 528HZ crew, New Year’s Eve will treat guests to a free flow of the Italian eatery’s casual dining and cocktails. That’s not forgetting the impressive line-up of DJs led by the Love Frequency team.

There are a number of ticketed packages to indulge in. The platinum option at 1.5 million k includes a seated meal accompanied by four hours of free flow booze, then there’s the gold option for 500k, with two hours of free flow pizza and booze from the front bar.

Guests are encouraged to stay well after the countdown, with an after party promised that won’t slow down until 6.00am.

Da Maria ‘s 528HZ NYE will be held on Tuesday December 31 from 6.30pm. Tickets are already selling fast.

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