Singapore's Ascendas Hospitality acquires three Japan hotels for $93m

Singapore-listed Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust) is acquiring a portfolio of three hotels in Osaka, Japan for ¥10.29 billion ($93 million), deepening its presence in the Japanese city with a strong hospitality market.

In a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange on Monday, A-HTrust said, it will acquire Hotel WBF Kitasemba West, Hotel WBF Kitasemba East, and Hotel WB Honmachi via Ascendas Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust.

Hospitality and Urban Development veteran launches Cultivate Hospitality Group

Real estate development and hospitality veteran Peter Peterson announces the launch of Cultivate Hospitality Group, a Los Angeles-based full-service food and beverage ideation, consulting and management company created to pair real estate developers and property owners with innovative restaurant and entertainment concepts. Providing a one-stop shop for unique food and beverage and real estate development opportunities, Cultivate offers a full menu of capabilities that can be tailored through a la carte options including custom concept creation and master planning, development oversight, public relations/marketing strategies, asset management, market analysis and more. With food and beverage taking center stage as a key driver in the world of real estate, the Cultivate team's deep relationships and more than 60-years combined experience in both signature culinary ideation and real estate development brings a unique, never-before-seen expertise to the marketplace.

"Curated culinary programming has proven to be the secret sauce in driving successful development," said Peter Peterson, President and Managing Partner of Cultivate

Frasers Hospitality launched second Tianjin property

Frasers Hospitality launched second Tianjin property It has 224 Gold-Standard studio residences and two bedroom apartments.

Frasers Hospitality launched Fraser Place Binhai Tianjin as its second property in the city after its opening of Frasers Place Tianjin in 2016. The property is located in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), an announcement said.

Located in the residential development of Beacon Hill, the property is footsteps away from TEDA MSD shopping centre and the BMT station. It also offers direct access to Tianjin’s financial district.

The serviced-residence has a 224 Gold-Standard serviced residences ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments. It also houses facilities including complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, 24/7 room service, an all-day dining restaurant, a lobby bar, a swimming pool and a gym.

Association of Emerging Leaders’ Dialogues (AELD) appoints L. Aruna Dhir as its Board Member

The Australia registered Commonwealth Body, the Association of Emerging Leaders& Dialogues (AELD) has appointed L. Aruna Dhir to its Board. Aruna is the second Indian representative and the only woman leader to be appointed as a Board Member from India.

The Association of Emerging Leaders Dialogues (AELD) is the peak co-ordinating body for Commonwealth Study Conferences (CSC) and Emerging Leaders’ Dialogues (ELD) internationally. It is a legal entity under Australian legislation and is accredited by the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, is the Founder and Patron of CSC, which he and a small group of other UK dignitaries founded in 1956.

Today, AELD has HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne as its international President. The Association of Emerging Leaders Dialogues, via CSCs and ELDs, exposes leaders and influencers of tomorrow to economic, social, political, environmental, educational and leadership initiatives through conferences and learning experiences with global stalwarts and an “in field” intellectually challenging study tour of a range of countries and communities.

The AELD is a forum for sharing ideas and achievements. It is aimed at future leaders, drawn from the sectors of business, government, trade unions, education, military and community service bodies including NGO’s, who are assessed as being most likely to assume positions of senior level leadership and influence within their countries.

L. Aruna Dhir is a national-poll winning Corporate Communications Specialist & PR Strategist and an internationally-recognized Writer. Currently Aruna is a Feature Writer and Columnist for some of the world’s top ranked Hospitality publications, viz. ehotelier.com, HospitalityNet.org, 4Hoteliers.com and Bizcatalyst360.com.

Her industry writings are used as references in case studies and hotel schools. Aruna runs an exclusive channel on Bizcatalyst 360 called “Hospitality Matters” based on her hospitality industry watch, insights and commentary.

As a career PR Practioner and Hotelier, Aruna has been at the forefront of Australia-India New Horizons, Australia's largest country promotion and has been associated with legendary hotels such as The Oberoi, The Imperial and Hyatt Regency. Aruna, as part of the core Change Agent Team, helped relaunch The Imperial as one of the finest hotels in Asia and the World. Her brand management portfolio has also included launching Djinns - India's first ever multi-concept Night Club at Hyatt Regency, reviving old and launching new restaurants, unveiling the Oberoi Vilases and leading media strategy for Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Australian Foreign Minister, Australian Education Minister and a clutch of Australian celebrities from different walks of life introducing their work to India and cementing Australia-India business and cultural ties.

As an industry expert and All-India level PR Topper, Aruna has launched brands, developed training modules, created standardization dockets on business communication and written manuals. L. Aruna Dhir is a Life Member of the Public Relations Society of India. Aruna has worked on Radio and Indian Television and has been India's first and only Creative Writer with the Indian Greetings Cards giant, ARCHIES.

L. Aruna Dhir has represented India to a select group of opinion-makers in the United States, as a Cultural Ambassador under the aegis of Rotary International and has also participated in the IXth Commonwealth Study Conference held in Australia and chaired by HRH Princess Anne.
In her official and personal capacity L. Aruna Dhir has and continues to work on several social awareness projects – People for Animals, Earthquake Relief, National Blind Association, PETA, WSPA, Change.org, Friendicoes to name a few.

L. Aruna Dhir looks forward to bringing together her unique and eclectic professional background to actualize AELD's mandate in the Subcontinent with the vision to pave the path for a productive, inclusive and meaningful leadership of tomorrow.

*****

For more information –
Please write to – arunadhir@hotmail.com
And Visit - http://csc-alumni.org/

Brexit fear for U.K. hospitality industry: No staff, hotels forced to close

Three percent of hospitality managers in the United Kingdom predicts they will be forced to close their businesses as a result of Brexit, which nationally could equate to around a £1.1 billion loss for the economy. Almost 1 in 5 (18%) of hospitality managers find recruitment harder now than in April 2017. 16% of hospitality managers do not think they will be able to fulfill staffing requirements over the next 5 years with domestic workers.

The UK hospitality industry could face significant staff shortages if results from a new survey launched by a workforce collaboration software company. The survey, conducted by YouGov, reveals that just over one in ten workers (11%, which is equivalent to around 330,000* staff nationally) working in UK restaurants, catering, bars, and hotels are thinking about leaving the UK as a result of Brexit. This is in stark contrast to hospitality managers’ expectations that only around 4% of their workers are considering leaving the UK due to Brexit.

IHG launches voco upscale brand and signs first property

The Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast AustraliaIHGVocoSurfers Paradise UK/Australia: InterContinental Hotels Group has launched Voco, its new upscale hotel brand, alongside announcing a first signing for the brand in Australia.

Voco will focus primarily on conversion opportunities and will strengthen IHG's offer in the $40 billion upscale segment, which is expected to grow by a further $20 billion by 2025. Working with high-quality individual and locally-branded hotels, the brand will offer owners "the ability to drive higher returns through delivering a compelling guest experience and leveraging IHG's powerful systems.

This includes best-in-class revenue management and technology capabilities and IHG Rewards Club, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes".   IHG says: "Voco, inspired by the meaning 'to invite' or to 'come together' in Latin, will combine the informality and charm of an individual hotel, with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand."   The roll-out of Voco will begin in IHG's Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa (EMEAA) region, with plans to take it to the Americas and Greater China over time. IHG expects to open more than 200 voco hotels in attractive urban and leisure locations over the next 10 years.  

IHG has confirmed the first signing for the Voco brand outside of Europe will be the Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise, Australia. The 388-room hotel is shortly to be acquired by IHG's long-standing partner, SB&G, which currently owns five other IHG hotels in Australia. The hotel is due to open under the Voco flag in late 2018.  

IHG CEO Keith Barr said: "We've talked about the significant growth opportunity we see for IHG in upscale and Voco will help us deliver against this. We'll work with owners of attractive properties, who appreciate the power and expertise that a global business can bring to the table. Guests will be able to enjoy the appeal of a more individual hotel, alongside the reassurance of a name above the door that they trust. The versatility of the brand, means a Voco hotel can retain and celebrate all of the elements that make that existing hotel successful. With Voco, the recent addition of Regent Hotels & Resorts in the luxury space, the launch of Avid Hotels in the Americas, and the work we're doing to enhance our existing brand portfolio, we're making great progress with our ambitious plans to accelerate growth."

Accor Hotels starts facial recognition trials in Brazil

Accor Hotels starts facial recognition trials in Brazil The French hotel chain is investing further in the technology in a bid to enhance guest experience.

Selected guests of the hotel's loyalty program will be the first users the new technology at a Pullman hotel in São Paulo.

Under the trial, guests are able to register at the desk or an information pillar at the reception then use facial recognition to access the room, therefore removing the need for keycards.

According to the company's vice-president for information technology for South America at Accor, Erwan Le Goff, the aim of the project is to offer more personalization and therefore a market differentiator for the brand.

"We realize this technology is a big market differentiator and will be utilized by the sector in the years to come. For that reason we decided to roll it out to improve our guest experience," the executive says.

"The purpose of the project is to improve the way we serve [guests]. Whether it is by giving more control or speeding up the check-in process at our hotels, we always strive to make everyone feel welcome, " he points out.