In the news: A Sofitel So in Kuala Lumpur, Cathay Pacific’s partnership with Travelport, Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s 2015 financial results
Accor to plant Sofitel So flag in Kuala Lumpur
Sofitel Sol to open in Kuala Lumpur in 2020.
Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, will be the site of AccorHotels’ chic So Sofitel brand with a hotel and residences, the latter billed as the hotel group’s first lifestyle branded residence in Asia.
The 207-room So Sofitel Hotel and 590-key So Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Residences, set to be operational in 2020, will be located in the upmarket KLCC area near the Petronas Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. They will be part of a large-scale mixed-use development that will include an office tower, retail mall and two luxury hotels with residences.
Both the hotel and residences are the projects of Singapore-listed lifestyle property developer, Oxley Holdings Limited (“Oxley”), which has appointed AccorHotels to manage the hotel and brand the residences.
The hotel facilities will include four food and beverage outlets, an extensive pool with deck and terrace, So Fit gym, So Spa, signature Club Lounge, business centre, and several function/event spaces.
The residences will feature a lounge, extensive gym with studio and yoga room, an adults’ pool, separate kids’ pool, games room, kids playground, a function room and sky gardens.
Oxley said the residential development is targeting a younger, affluent audience looking for a more modern and vibrant investment, in the centre of one of Asia’s main hubs.
So Sofitel fits into Oxley’s vision as, according to a statement from AccorHotels, it is a “bold, playful lifestyle brand that breaks traditional luxury codes with a designer focus. The brand attracts the young, affluent traveller seeking a more avant-garde, fashion-led and more social hotel experience.”
Ching Chiat Kwong, chairman and chief executive officer of Oxley, said: “We are pleased to work with AccorHotels and its renowned So Sofitel brand to design a hotel and a residence that will stand apart from more traditional luxury properties,” said
Oxley is also the owner of the combined Novotel and Ibis development currently being built along Stevens Road, which will add a total of 782 rooms to Singapore’s tourism infrastructure.
So Sofitel hotels are currently operating in Singapore, Bangkok, Hua Hin, and Mauritius.
Cathay Pacific extends partnership with Travelport
Cathay Pacific extends its agreement with Travelport. (Image credit: cathaypacific.com)
Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary, Dragonair, have signed up for Travelport’s merchandising solution – Rich Content and Branding – as part of the extension of their multi-year content agreement.
Rich Content and Branding enables airlines to market and retail their products more effectively by determining how their content is visually presented and described to travel agents.
The solution is also designed to allow airlines to use more sophisticated retailing techniques in order to drive sales of core fares as well as ancillary products and optional services such as seats with extra legroom.
“Cathay Pacific operates an extensive international network, while Dragonair concentrates on regional routes with unrivalled coverage of destinations in China. Both airlines see the benefit of communicating our value propositions in a clearer and more visual manner, helping to differentiate ourselves from our competitors within our market segments,” said Toby Smith, Cathay Pacific’s general manager sales and distribution said.
As part of this agreement, Cathay Pacific is also implementing Travelport Rapid Reprice, a solution that helps agents automate the time-consuming ticket re-pricing and re-issue process.
Strong financial results for CWT despite challenging economic climate
CWT To Go app saw a 62% growth in user registrations last year.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has reported solid financial results for 2015, increasing its new business sales to US$1.7 billion despite the continuing economic uncertainities .
The company said in a statement its transactions were stable at 61.4 million.
“Overall sales volume reached US$24.2 billion, reflecting the significant curtailment in travel expenses by energy customers. Excluding the impact of the energy portfolio, transactions increased by 1.3%.”
By region, transactions in North America increased by 1.1% while in Europe, Middle East and Africa they declined by 1.2%. Latin America volume was off 7.8% due to the weight of the energy sector and the economic recession in Brazil. However, Asia Pacific volumes were stable.
CWT said it maintained its strong client satisfaction scores with travel manager satisfaction of 90%, combined with an 88% traveller satisfaction rating and a 94% retention rate.
2015 was another strong year for CWT To Go app with a 62% growth in user registrations to 560,000. Earlier the same year CWT launched its fully integrated mobile hotel booking in 17 markets, achieving about 35 thousand hotel bookings and US$10 million in sales.
Douglas Anderson, president & CEO of CWT, said that 2016 was challenging for the industry due to the continued sharp fall in energy prices and oil in particular.
“We continued to focus on enhancing our technology offering, with the deployment of mobile hotel booking on CWT To Go and the global launch of CWT AnalytIQs, a powerful tool to report and manage travel data. Finally, we strengthened our growth platform in France with the acquisition of Ormès, a leader in Meetings and Events, and the sale of our leisure business Havas Voyages.”
Watch CWT 2015 financial results in the video below.
• Featured image credit (Kuala Lumpur skyline): leungchopan/iStock