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W Melbourne to recruit 100-plus hospitality staff

The highly anticipated W Melbourne is bringing some joy with its announcement that the hotel is now accepting expressions of interest for its talent casting. Opening its doors in February 2021, the luxury lifestyle hotel is now looking to recruit over 100 hospitality ‘rock stars’ to join the team.

In a W Hotels first, the casting call will take place virtually on 12 October, with this first round of screening looking out for talent who demonstrate the brands traits of ‘bold, ‘witty’ and ‘insider’.

The hotel will be looking for its first W Insider – tasked with offering guests unexpected experiences they would never find in a guidebook – a music curator to ignite day-in-day-out music programming, as well as all positions across the hotel from F&B to front office, engineering and finance.

Expressions of interest close 5 October. For more information on how to apply for all roles click here.

Club Med to host virtual tourism summit ahead of World Tourism Day

Club Med is preparing to host a virtual panel with Australia’s top travel industry experts on Thursday, 24 September, with panellists set to debate the hard-issues affecting the tourism.

Joining Club Med on the panel are representatives from Tourism Australia, Cathay Pacific, and the Collective Hub with travel presenter Teigan Nash moderating the event.

Registration for the event is free and available here.

Preferred Hotels welcomes 13 new member hotels

Park Centraal Amsterdam

Preferred Hotels & Resorts has welcomed 13 new member hotels from 1 May 2020 through 31 August, with recent additions marking 39 new member hotels to join the brand’s global portfolio in the first eight months of the year.

Preferred said the achievement was a strong indication that more owners and operators are going independent in this evolving new era for travel through the support of partners like itself.

Highlights of the new additions include:  Pendry West Hollywood (West Hollywood, California, United States), Sangha Retreat by Octave Institute (Suzhou, China), Park Centraal Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands), and Azul Talavera Hotel (Puebla, Mexico).

Marriott hotel’s five-star furnishings go to auction unreserved

The Gold Coast’s iconic Marriott Hotel will have its five-star furnishings go under the hammer this Monday, after being sent into a fast-tracked $35 million major refurbishment.

In a series of auctions over the next few weeks, the furnishings and display items of the Marriott Hotel will go under the hammer all starting from just $1 and all completely unreserved.

“There are even items from the Presidential and Deluxe Suites featuring furniture by Ralph Lauren and other individual designer pieces,” Lloyds Auctions chief operations officer Lee Hames said.

The auction features everything from grand pianos, display units, high-end lounge suites and chairs, artworks, lighting, storage units, and tables.

Swedish innovation aims to revolutionise hospitality with ‘one-bed-fits-all’ concept

Swedish company YouBed has invented a way to adjust the firmness in a high-level pocket spring mattress without compromising on the highest levels of sleeping comfort, simply by using a remote.

This one-bed-fits-all solution will be available globally through a unique sleep concept that is believed to be game-changing for the hotel industry, enabling hotels to finally offer what every guest deserves: the guarantee of a comfortable hotel bed and the best conditions for a good night’s sleep.

The YouBed Sleep Concept is now being launched globally in a unique collaboration with Business Sweden and other government departments.

KHOS shares latest brand snapshot

KHOS, the newest concept from Rosewood Hotel Group, has announced the latest details of the brand’s evolution since it was first unveiled in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Currently operating a hotel and a resort at two strategic locations in China, with additional properties opening in the near future, the brand’s philosophy is underpinned by a distinct lifestyle orientation inspired by the energy, art, creativity, style and dynamism of the modern day.

As the world continues to change in unprecedented ways, and with the ever-increasing demands of the digital generation, KHOS believes it is well-positioned at the vanguard of a new era in business travel and hospitality.

“We created KHOS to cater to the needs of this new generation of travellers: people who are constantly on the move and crave places to stay that understand, mirror and support their dynamic lifestyle,” Rosewood Hotel Group chief executive Sonia Cheng, Chief Executive Officer said.

“Our concept reflects the new priorities and preferences of this community and keeps pace with the continuing rapid evolution of digitalisation, while simultaneously pioneering new and safe ways of working.”

Quest Perth Ascot opens

Quest Apartment Hotels has cut the ribbon and opened the doors to Quest Perth Ascot, marking the company’s fifteenth property in Western Australia on Wednesday.

Located three kilometres from the Qantas Domestic Terminal on Great Eastern Highway, the 112-room apartment hotel is comprised of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments and has been developed by local company M/Group – the team behind the Quest Joondalup.

The Chatwal Lodge, The Catskills, NY scheduled to open April

On 1 April 2021, the Chatwal Lodge will debut as a private realm in harmony with nature, located in a wide expanse of preserved wilderness 144 kilometres north of New York City, in the town of Bethel, New York.

Located at The Chapin Estate, a 2,500-acre gated residential community, The Chatwal Lodge is nestled within 30-acres of environmentally-protected land.

Guests will enjoy panoramic views of the stunning 1,000-acre Toronto Reservoir Lake, have access to lush hiking trails dotted with chestnut trees and hidden water streams, and admire nature including white-tailed deer and nesting bald eagles. The unspoiled landscape with clean mountain air is a quiet sanctuary for city dwellers who are looking to relax and rejuvenate.

NSW outback resort marks second birthday by doubling deluxe desert spa cabins

To meet growing demand for holidays closer to home, Broken Hill Outback Resort has marked it second birthday by double its number of cabins, with 12 extra resort cabins now open so travellers can enjoy the sunshine, fresh air, big skies, vast spaces and endless horizons of outback NSW.

Broken Hill Outback Resort now boasts 24 resort cabins offering either spa baths or showers overlooking the desert, with 21 also offering large relaxation decks with outback views.

The remaining three cabins – all brand new – are designed for families or up to five people with two bedrooms and a sofa bed.

Each cabin offers king-size bedding, a living area, flatscreen TV and kitchenette.

Vibe Hotel Subiaco to open in Perth 1 October

TFE Hotels, in partnership with developer Dradgin, has announced the introduction of the Vibe Hotel lifestyle brand into Western Australia with the opening of Vibe Hotel Subiaco in Perth’s boho borough this October.

This will see a next-generation Vibe Hotel operational in every Australian capital city by the end of 2022.

Opening on 1 October, the 168-room hotel, developed by Dradgin and managed by TFE Hotels, sits in the heart of Perth’s inner west as part of a mixed-use precinct in Subiaco.

Furthermore, the brand will also make its way to Hobart as of November when the Vibe Hotel Hobart opens its doors.

Amanwana reopens with new buy-out experience

Amanwana, the only resort located on the island of Moyo – a nature reserve east of Bali – will reopen in January 2021.

Set on a beach overlooking the Flores Sea, the wilderness hideaway framed by 32,000 hectares of protected jungle is now also offering guests the opportunity to book the camp on an exclusive basis.

Guests are now able to enjoy a four- or six-night package, with three or five nights spent at Amanwana and one night in a private villa at Aman Villas Nusa Dua. Offering unrestricted access to the entire island, Amanwana is an ideal escape for groups of friends or family looking to reconnect in a safe, welcoming environment.

Packages start at US$46,000 for a four-night stay and US$70,000 for a six-night stay and include full board, local wine, beer and spirits, transfers and more.

Packages are based on eight tents and 16 adults; supplementary charges apply for additional tents, children and third-adults.

Great Plains Conservation welcomes Xigera Safari Lodge

Great Plains Conservation has welcomed Xigera Safari Lodge to join its collection of award-winning safari camps in Botswana, in a unique partnership allowing for tailor-made, curated safari experiences to leading destinations in Botswana and broader Africa.

This dedicated sales, marketing, and reservations collaboration is one of several strategic partnerships formed by both companies and has been developed through a long-standing friendship between Great Plains’ founders, Dereck and Beverley Joubert, and the Tollman family.

Planned border openings prompt Kakadu’s Cooinda Lodge to reopen glamping tents

With the Northern Territory government planning to re-open borders to visitors from Greater Sydney without the need for quarantine from 9 October, Kakadu’s most-established tourist centre, Cooinda, is opening its Outback Retreat glamping tents for the first time since March.

The 20 Outback Retreat tents will reopen from Saturday, 19 September in time for the school holidays and popular Kakadu Bird Week, which runs from 26 September–3 October.

Cooinda Lodge has been operating a scaled-back range of accommodation as a result of reduced interstate travel as a result of the impact of COVID-19. But with a massive increase in interest in the destination as well as the prospect of greater accessibility from interstate markets, it decided to reopen the glamping accommodation.

Huge turnout for minister’s zoom conference as NSW releases night-time plan: TAA

Almost 100 general managers and senior staff from NSW’s top hotels have tuned in for a special zoom conference with NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres and Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox.

Tourism Accommodation Australia NSW CEO Michael Johnson hosted the hour-long zoom meeting on Monday afternoon. It covered many topics from this year’s NYE fireworks to increasing the size of conferences allowed in NSW under COVID restrictions.

Oaks Cairns Hotel officially opens its doors

Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites has announced the opening of the highly-anticipated 76-room, five-storey Oaks Cairns Hotel, located in the heart of Cairns Esplanade.

Centrally situated in Cairns, the $12 million property joins 27 other hotels currently open and operating in Queensland under the Oaks flag.

The brand-new property offers modern rooms and facilities, including the rooftop Oak & Vine restaurant and bar with panoramic views overlooking Cairns Esplanade Lagoon and the Coral Sea.

East Hotel transforms its lobby

East Hotel in Canberra has unveiled a rejuvenated lobby space designed by Kelly Ross that, alongside Joe’s Bar and Agostinis restaurant, completes her design triptych of elegant and cool spaces to gather, eat, drink and relax.

With new furnishings, lighting, textures and colours, the lobby space has evolved into a sumptuous venue in its own right. The space welcomes visitors with lush escapism, drawing them into a sensory oasis that has something for everyone.

Featured image source: W Melbourne