Chaophya Park Bangkok Enhances MICE Facilities with New Venue
Posted July 14, 2009 , add a commentThe Chaophya Park Hotel, Bangkok, is enhancing
its MICE facilities with the soft opening of a brand new ‘mansion
house’ styled venue, Tarathep House, on the 18th July, 2009.
The new MICE facility is a stand-alone
house with an impressive fa?ade of columns and a white dome. With
its own driveway and grand entrance, guests will first glimpse a
stunning new water feature at its entrance.
Located close
to the main hotel entrance within the hotel’s gardens, Tarathep House can accommodate
upwards of 600 people for cocktails and up to 450 people for a sit
down dinner.
Designed with a duplex mezzanine floor, the
Tarathep House is ideal for private parties,
exhibitions or product launches.
The venue comes complete with its own kitchens; top
of the range audio visual equipment; cocktail bars, changing rooms
and washroom facilities.
Commenting on the opening of
Tarathep House, Mr. Andrew Wood, General Manager of the Chaophya
Park Hotel & Resorts said, “This brings the total meeting space to
almost 3,000 sq metres, comprising of 4 separate ballrooms and 13
breakout rooms. The hotel is positioning itself as the premier
meeting facility on Rachadipisek Road, with a wide range of
options for all meeting planners, event organisers and wedding
specialists.”
“We designed Tarathep House
specifically with exclusive exhibitions and product launches in
mind. For weddings we don’t believe there is another venue quiet
like Tarathep House. Wedding couples using Tarathep House will be
able to have wedding themes unlike anything a hotel ballroom has
been able to do in the past. With the private nature of a stand
alone ‘mansion’ we give you complete freedom, privacy and
exclusivity. Our policy to only offer the Tarathep House to one
client at a time to ensure the event planner will ‘own’
the venue throughout the period of the event or wedding.
It will certainly stand out from using just a regular
hotel ballroom but at a very similar price,” added Mr
Wood.
Beat Klarer appointed General Manager of Sofitel Jinan Silver Plaza
Posted , add a commentMr. Beat Klarer has been appointed as the new General Manager of
the Sofitel Jinan Silver Plaza. The appointment is effective 21 July 2009.
Beat
is a graduate from Swiss School of Hotel and Tourism Management
and Swiss Hotel and Restaurant Association in Switzerland. He
started his career with various positions in Rooms Division and
Food and Beverage in Switzerland.
In 1995, he continued his
career with Swiss-Bel Hotel International as Director of Food and
Beverage at the Jianguo Hotel Beijing in China, followed by
positions as Director of Food and Beverage at the Sedona Hotel
Yangon, Myanmar and Westin Yuda Palace Hotel Zhengzhou, China.
Beat first joined Accor in 1999, where he was Director of Food
and Beverage of Sofitel Jinan Silver Plaza and part of the
pre-opening team. Later he was promoted to Executive Assistant
Manager at the Novotel Apollo Singapore and served as well as
Acting General Manager during his 2 year assignment.
His
first General Manager position was at the Movenpick Al Nawras
Resort Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in 2003, followed by the Movenpick
Hotel Cairo-Media City.
In 2006, he relocated back to Asia and
served as General Manager of Windsor Plaza Hotel Saigon and was
promoted to Managing Director of EMC Hospitality & Property
Management Saigon, who operated various properties in Vietnam
besides the Windsor Plaza.
Beat’s last posting was General
Manager at InterContinental and Holiday Inn City Centre in
Shenyang, China.
Hilton Promotes Andrew Flack to VP of Global Brand Marketing
Posted , add a commentHilton Hotels has promoted Andrew Flack to the
position of Vice President - Global Brand Marketing for the Hilton
brand.
In this newly created position, Andrew
will have
oversight for Hilton brand marketing strategies and functions
worldwide. Those functional areas include advertising, public
relations, strategic partnerships and brand promotions for the
leisure and business segments, as well as Hilton Hotels
Corporation graphics and, identity and hotel online tools and
resources.
Additionally, he will
support Hilton Worldwide Resorts
marketing and business development efforts for the Customer
Marketing group, Hilton HHonors programs, and hotel opening
marketing initiatives.
A 20-year hotel industry veteran, Andrew was
previously Vice President Sales and Marketing – Hilton Asia
Pacific, where he created a new marketing organization in support
of Hilton’s emerging growth markets and extended its global sales
network into new countries such as India and Korea.
Previous
assignments have taken Andrew to Europe, Australia, and the
Caribbean. Between 2003 and 2006 Andrew led Sales & Marketing for
Australasia, where he was part of the team that re-built and
re-launched Hilton Sydney.
Andrew’s earlier career included seven
years as a Hotel General Manager, managing Hilton properties in
the UK and Australia.
Born in Malta, Andrew is a dual
citizen of Britain and Australia and holds an MBA from the
Australian Graduate School of Management.
Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort & Spa in Cebu joins Summit
Posted , add a commentThe Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort & Spa on
Mactan Island (Cebu) in the Philippines has joined Preferred’s
Summit Hotels & Resorts brand.
Opened earlier this month, and built on eight
hectares by the beach, the Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort & Spa
is located along the white sandy shores and pristine blue waters
of Mactan Island. It is just 15 minutes to the Mactan
International Airport, and 30 minutes from the city of Cebu.
Unique to Cebu, the water park includes
themed pools such as a Wave Pool, Amazon River Pool, Tide Pool,
and three varieties of slides providing fun-filled water
activities for all ages.
All 557 guestrooms, including
suites and villas, feature either breathtaking ocean or mountain
views. All villas, including four that accommodate up to eight
guests, come with either a private pool or Jacuzzi.
In addition to
the water park, outdoor pool, and fitness centre, recreational
options include water sports such as diving and snorkeling.
For
well-being, the 570-sqm Caracalla Spa with nine spa suite rooms
and 11 treatment rooms offers international and native treatments.
Alternatively, an in-room massage service is also available.
The resort features eight restaurants offering a wide variety of
cuisine ranging from Korean and Chinese to the freshest seafood,
all available in a picturesque seaside location.
MICE facilities
include four collapsible meeting rooms and a grand ballroom with
high speed Internet broadband access that can seat up to 600
persons.
“Having worked
with Summit Hotels & Resorts at our sister hotel in Seoul, we
trust that this partnership will greatly benefit our newly-opened
Cebu property with global exposure and business from the leisure,
corporate, and MICE sectors,” said Amando Huh, General Manager,
Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort & Spa.
Kingfisher Airlines to Launch New Routes; Suspend Flights
Posted , add a comment Beginning September 2009, India’s
Kingfisher Airlines is to launch two new flights out of Mumbai.
The two new routes will be Mumbai – Singapore and Mumbai – Hong
Kong. Both will be daily direct return services and will be
operated using brand new Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
The airline has also applied to the Indian
Ministry of Civil Aviation to commence operations on the New Delhi
– London – New Delhi sector. The flights on this route will also
be operated using Airbus A330-200. Launch dates are expected to be
confirmed once the requisite regulatory approvals are in place.
The launch of this new route will mark the first time that
Kingfisher Airlines will operate international flights out of New
Delhi.
Besides this route, there are plans to start
flights from New Delhi to Bangkok and from New Delhi to Dubai. The
flights on these two routes will be operated using the Airbus A320
/ A321 aircraft.
There are also plans for Kingfisher to commence
flights between Mumbai and Bangkok, between Mumbai and Dubai and
between Mumbai and Colombo. The flights on these routes will also
be operated using the Airbus A320 / A321 aircraft.
Commenting on the plans for these new
international routes, Mr. Prakash Mirpuri, Vice President,
Corporate Communications, said, “The plan to launch these new
services is consistent with our goal of redeploying capacity on
routes with better yields as compared to domestic sectors. Our
assessment of travel behavior in these markets, flyer preferences
and projected demand indicates promising potential on these eight
new international routes.”
Kingfisher Airlines will suspend its flights on
the Bangalore – London – Bangalore route and its feeder service on
the Colombo – Bangalore – Colombo route with effect from September
15,2009.
The airline said that all guests who are booked
during this period will be accommodated on the London – Mumbai –
London flights with appropriate connections.