Hotel News - Special report on the first day of the International Exhibition of Tourism and Affiliated Industries of Tehran

The twelfth international exhibition of tourism and affiliated industries of Tehran began this morning (Tuesday, February 12rd) with the presence of vice president and head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, his deputies, executives, provincial executives and a group of activists and tourists of the country's tourism industry. In the opening ceremony of the 12th International Exhibition of Tourism and Related Industries of Tehran, which was held at the Persian Gulf Hall in International Exhibition, a number of ambassadors, delegates and delegations from foreign countries, including the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Iraq, also attended. . While pointing to the presence of 660 domestic companies and 57 foreign companies during the exhibition, Deputy of Tourism Minister, Vali Teimori said: The 12th International Exhibition of Tourism and Affiliated Industries of Tehran with Domestic Tourism Trends and focus on provincial offices , will be held. In a short statement, Vice President and Head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Ali Asghar Monsein said: "In today's world, the tourism industry has grown exponentially compared to other industries that are developing." The head of the country's tourism service said: "I am very hopeful for the future of the tourism industry in the country, and I received good signs about it, because in the first nine months of this year, the number of tourists entering the country crossed the border with 6 million people.

Opening ceremony of the 5-star luxury hotel "Pershing Plaza" in Tehran

HILTON SIGNS FIRST HOTEL IN EUROPE TO LUXURY COLLECTION

Hotel News - Hilton recently signed a deal with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels to include The Biltmore, Mayfair as part of Hilton’s LXR Hotels and Resorts collection. The signing will mark the first European property to come under the brand’s umbrella, and will open in spring of 2019 after an extensive renovation over the past six months. The London hotel will now operate under the name The Biltmore, Mayfair – LXR Hotels and Resorts, and boasts 257 guest rooms and 51 curated suites, the design reflecting the property’s iconic heritage status on Grosvenor Square. The hotel is ideal for intimate functions, such as weddings in the 500-person ballroom or the 100-person Waterloo or Manhattan Suite.

Myanmar to London to Dubai: Hilton making great strides across the globe

HILTON EXPANDS IN MYANMAR Hilton is to add another property to its portfolio in Myanmar with a new signing of 308-room hotel in downtown Yangon. The Hilton Times City Yangon will form part of Hilton’s flagship Hotels and Resorts brand, and is easily accessible from both the airport and the city’s business district, and is part of a mixed-use complex. The new hotel will cater to Myanmar’s increasing tourism industry, with numbers of tourists visiting the country expected to reach 7.5 million by 2020. The hotel will cater to both business and leisure travelers, and offers 1250 sqm of meeting and conference space, as well as a business centre, fitness centre and spa, and five dining areas. This property will be Hilton’s fourth in Myanmar, and it is set to open in 2022.

Hotel CasAnus in Belgium: The giant intestine hotel

Myrtle Garden Hotel by Graft Lab & Penda

Hotel News - The hotel is located in the outskirts of Xiangyang / Hubei and sits on a small hill within the largest Myrtle Flower Garden throughout Asia. The design of the hotel was primarily focused on providing a soothing harmony between architecture and its natural environment. Designed to blend into its surrounding typography, the hotel is partially inserted into the slope of the hill and offers a varying appearance depending on ones point of view. Where else the hotel is read from the north as low to the ground and has a continuity to its surrounding  landscape, the complex opens up towards the South introducing the business area to a nearby already existing restaurant by the lake. A drop­off lane wind itself through and underneath the circular volumnes and offers a certain level of urbanity to the hotel’s natural surrounding. Being situated within Myrtle Tree Park, the layer of balkonies serves as a connecting element between the  Interior of the Hotel and the vegetation of the park. Smaller Trees growing on and within the facade layer  underline the relation between the articial balcony structure and its natural environment. Every room throughout the hotel is surrounded by the Myrtle Garden on one side and a courtyard on the other, which provides natural air ventilation when needed.  Rainwater gets collected on the hotels roof and passed on to the 3 courtyards, where it is stored in tanks and  can be used for flushing and irrigating plants.

Four Seasons Hotels Announces Nine Planned New Property Openings in 2019

Hotel News - The coming year will mark several significant new openings for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts with the debut of nine new hotels and resorts around the world, plus the continued expansion of its residential portfolio. “Four Seasons is well positioned for continued success in 2019 with the steady and strategic growth of our global portfolio,” says Christian Clerc, President, Worldwide Hotel Operations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “Our portfolio continues to grow at a healthy pace, as we focus on projects of the highest quality, in the destinations where our guests want to be. We remain committed to offering the very highest standards of hospitality as we expand with a diverse collection of properties, including our entry in Greece and Spain, our first resort set within a world class vineyard in Napa Valley, and the opening of our first standalone residences in London.” Clerc continues, “With a continued focus on our residential portfolio, we are solidifying our market position as the world leader in luxury branded residential offerings. Eight of the nine new anticipated openings this year include a residential component, affirming the growing importance of branded residences to Four Seasons growth strategy as well as luxury consumers who want to live with our brand and make Four Seasons their home.” Now numbering 111 hotels and resorts in 47 countries – including recent openings in Desroches Island, Seychelles; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and São Paulo, Brazil – Four Seasons is planning to open the following new hotels, resorts and private residences in 2019:

AURORA: THE LUXURY SPACE HOTEL WILL ORBIT EARTH BY 2021

Hotel News - The Orion Span start-up has unveiled images of Aurora Station, its future space station designed to accommodate tourists from 2022 onwards, with the launch of the station programmed for 2021. It promises and incredible experience to its future customers. On the menu: 12 days of an unusual vacation at an altitude of about 320 kilometers. The program of activities includes the observation of 16 sunrises and sunsets in one day, flying over the hometown of travelers, games of ping-pong in the state of weightlessness. Guests will also be able to take part in experiments like growing food while in orbit. They will be able to take samples home as a “souvenir”. In order to be eligible for this stay, however, guests will have to undergo a specific training. But its duration, which is usually two years for a trip in space, has been shortened to three months for the Aurora Station. Orion Space has, therefore, opted for luxurious services, in order to differentiate itself from the competition. Because the start-up faces rivals who also seek to offer space tourism, such as the Texas company Axiom Space or Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire Richard Branson. To support itself, Orion Space launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised about $230 thousand as of now. The goal of Orion Space is to “make space accessible to all”. However, by “accessible to all”, one should understand “all very wealthy clients”. Indeed, as the price of a 12-day stay in the Aurora Station space hotel is expected to be 9.5 million dollars. 

Worldwide Hotels Group Wins Club Street Hotel Site Bid with SGD562 Million in Singapore

Hotel News - Singapore-based hotel owner and operator, Worldwide Hotels Group (“Worldwide Hotels”), has acquired a 99-year leasehold hotel site along Club Street in Singapore’s Central Business District. The bid of SGD562.2 million (SGD2,148.50 per square foot per plot ratio) was made through Worldwide Hotels’ subsidiary, Midtown Development, and is a record price for a 99-year leasehold land at a state tender. The bid was also 22% higher than the hotel site sale at the Singtel site on Hill Street in February 2018. With an expected investment of more than SGD700 million, Worldwide Hotels envisages a four-star property that will become the group’s landmark hotel. Worldwide Hotels currently owns and manages six hotel brands in Singapore.

Central, Eastern Europe to get 242 new hotels in coming years

Hotel News - The coming years will be eventful in Central and Eastern Europe, with a host of new hotel projects in the pipeline, according to the TOPHOTELCONSTRUCTION database. The region, which includes countries such as Lithuania, Romania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Albania and Macedonia, will see substantial investment over the course of the next few years, which will result in a total of 242 new hotel projects across the region, Schmidt said. This will bring an additional key count of 49,583 guest rooms to the region, with the projects being split between luxury (98) and first-class (144) categories. The lion’s share of the projects (88) are set to open this year, while 58 will welcome guests in 2020, 32 in 2021, five in 2022, and 59 from 2023 onwards. Currently, a hefty percentage of the projects (44%) are in the planning stage, with 38% under construction and 10% in the pre-opening stages. Hilton, Radisson and Holiday Inn are the biggest brands to feature in CEE, with Radisson Blu and Red, as well as Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express set to be some of the biggest hitters in the region. Austria, Poland and Croatia will see some of the highest volumes of hotel openings. There are 68 projects planned for Austria, with 22 openings in 2019 mostly situated in the capital Vienna. Poland will welcome 53 projects to give a total key count of 9,719, with 21 opening this year. Croatia will benefit from 25 hotel projects, bringing 9,842 additional rooms to the country, with six projects welcoming guests in 2019. Germany and Russia will also see significant investment in the coming years, with 373 new projects in the German pipeline and 77 in the works in Russia.

Hilton Opens Flagship Property in Da Nang

Hotel News - US-based hotel franchiser and hotel management company, Hilton Hotels & Resorts (“Hilton”) has debuted in Da Nang with the opening of 223-key Hilton Da Nang, Vietnam. The property is conveniently located near the Han Bridge and Bach Dang street with access to Da Nang’s main entertainment, shopping and business facilities. The hotel is accessible via a 10-minute drive from Da Nang International Airport and 5-minute drive from Da Nang Beach. The hotel offers rooms and suites ranging from 36 square meters to 202 square meters and a lounge on the 27th floor serving breakfast and drinks. In addition, the property features an all-day dining restaurant, a cafe, a rooftop grill bar, 725 square meters of meeting space, a 24-hour gym and a heated outdoor swimming pool. The new opening represents Hilton third property in Vietnam after Hilton Hanoi Opera and Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi.

Charlotta Olsson Appointed as General Manager At Radisson Collection Hotel, Strand Stockholm, Sweden

Hotel News - Twelve years ago she kicked off her career at Radisson SAS Strand Hotel at Blasieholmen - now she is back at the same hotel, today's Radisson Collection Strand Hotel Stockholm, as the hotel's new General Manager, according to a press release. Charlotta Olsson already decided there and then 12 years ago that "One day I will come back here and run this hotel". After studying in France, Boston and Italy, she landed at Linköping University. Something that turned out to be completely wrong for Charlotta. She interrupted her studies, once again packed her bag and moved to Caux (Montreux) in Switzerland and studied at the Swiss Hotel Management School. In the hotel industry, she was able to combine her passion for travel, language and the meeting with new people with her drive and talent for development work. She started as Meeting & Events Executive at the Radisson SAS Strand Hotel. Since then, she has successfully climbed within organization with steady steps, a process possibly accelerated by a certain restlessness transformed into a superpower. Most recently, Charlotta has been running the Park Inn by Radisson Stockholm Solna for two years as General Manager. Before that, she opened the Park Inn by Radisson Lund in the same role. A hotel that has now been refined into a Radisson Blu. When Charlotta talks about the new role at Radisson Collection Strand Hotel, it is an admirable enthusiasm that emerges. As a leader, Charlotta is described as purposeful, straight and clear - a person that people know where they are. But also as a caring person who cares on a personal level. Outside the hotel walls, Charlotta is a person with a food and wine interest who likes to travel and then preferably to Italy. She is the oldest in the sibling with two brothers and has strong family ties. She is found frequently in the jogging track or in the hot yoga room if she did not pick up her tennis racket or a golf club.