December 2008
Jumeirah group signs management agreement for ultra-luxurious hotel in Macau
Jumeirah, the Dubai-based luxury hotel management company and member of Dubai Holding, has signed a management agreement with Shun Tak to operate a five-star deluxe hotel in Macau. This announcement was made in Hong Kong by Ms Pansy Ho, Managing Director of Shun Tak and Mr Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman of the Jumeirah Group.
The Jumeirah Macau Hotel, scheduled for completion in 2013, will set a new standard for luxury hotel and hospitality services in the Chinese enclave. Strategically located amidst the tourism epicentre of Cotai, the new hotel will offer a spectacular view of the Macau Dome, which hosts the city's major sports and cultural entertainment events. The design and structure of this city resort have yet to be finalised, but the aim is to create a retreat for the most discerning guests who appreciate quality and exclusivity within city boundaries.
"Macau has a rich and unique heritage of Asian and European influences, and the Jumeirah Macau Hotel will be a perfect addition to our international portfolio of hotels and resorts, in line with our promise to STAY DIFFERENT," explained Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman of Jumeirah. "Jumeirah is recognised as one of the leading luxury international hotel brands, with three management agreements signed in China, the first Jumeirah HanTang Xintiandi scheduled to open in Shanghai in 2009 and Jumeirah Guangzhou Hotel in 2011. We look forward to working with Shun Tak and to the opening of the Jumeirah Macau Hotel," concluded Gerald Lawless.
Government must take 'decisive action' to save tourism, industry body war
A considerable number of tourism-related jobs are at risk unless the Government takes “decisive action” to support the industry, a leading trade body has warned.
The call by the Tourism Alliance came after official figures revealed that far fewer British people holidayed in the UK in August 2008 than in the same month in 2007.
For August, the number of overnight trips dropped by 11%- equivalent to 1.7m fewer trips - with spend down by 9%. For the year to the end of August, overnight trips dropped by 3%.
Bob Cotton, chairman of the Tourism Alliance, said: “Domestic tourism is on the slide. Unless decisive action is taken to support it a considerable number of tourism-related jobs will be at risk.”
The Tourism Alliance is calling on the Government to introduce two key measures of support:
1) “Review existing and proposed legislation to see where costs to tourism businesses can be reduced. Proposed regulations on employment, food labelling, service charges/tipping, and licensing will lead to additional costs that businesses can ill afford. The increase in Air Passenger Duty, announced in the Pre-Budget Report, will deter people from visiting the UK just at the time we need to boost tourism.”
2) “Instead of cutting back Government funding for tourism promotion, which has happened, new public/private sector campaigns are needed to stimulate demand and take advantage of the fall of the value of the pound.”
Cotton pointed to the Spanish government’s recent announcement of a financial package of assistance to its tourism industry worth €400m.
“Spain recognises the value of its tourism industry which is hardly the case with the UK Government,” he said. “Implementing these two measures would go a long way towards protecting the UK tourism industry. Without them, tourism revenue will fall and job losses will multiply.”
London restaurants hit by conmen using fake credit cards
A number of London restaurants have been targeted by conmen using bogus credit card details, internet fraud experts have revealed.
The fraudsters are using credit card details harvested from a fake and now defunct gadget website called www.instant-av.co.uk to fund huge restaurant orders.
One London restaurant alone lost £10,000 supplying food and drink against stolen card details traceable to the website, according to anti-fraud alert site Early Warning.
Other takeaways and restaurants in the London area have also been hit by the scam, it said.
London restaurants should be wary of any orders they may receive over the telephone where the customer wants to pay with more than one credit card, especially when punters say the order will be collected by taxi, experts at Early Warning said.
London’s luxury hotels cut rates for celebrities
London’s luxury hotels are cutting rates for celebrity guests in return for their endorsements, a report has claimed.
Hotels including the May Fair and the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park are slashing celebrities’ bills by at least 50%, according to the Sunday Times.
The properties expect their famous guests to host press conferences in their suites in return for the favour and mention where they are staying during interviews.
They also hope to attract paparazzi photographers to get mentioned in connection with the stars.
The May Fair has struck deals with celebrities including Hilton heiress Paris Hilton, X Factor judge Louie Walsh, singer Ronan Keating and members of the pop group Girls Aloud and is offering them rooms for as little as £100 a night.
The Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge has an “ambassadorial” rate for celebrities and last year appointed Mary McCartney, daughter of Sir Paul McCartney, as its official photographer.
“Celebrities who regularly stay at the hotels enjoy a bartering agreement,” the hotel said.
This agreement works on a basis that international celebrities who regularly stay at the hotels and consider themselves to be “fans” of the group appear in the group's advertising campaign over a three year period. In return, the celebrity receives a number of complimentary room nights and chooses a charity to which Mandarin Oriental makes a donation of USD 10,000 (£6000).
However, critics of the deals say ordinary guests have to subsidise the celebrities through higher bills.
A whistleblower at the May Fair told the Sunday Times that staff at the hotel had to pay fines for errors.
Hotel documents show six staff on reception were “fined” £150 when a guest was mistakenly given back a £900 deposit he had paid in July.
The hotel said: “Staff who are docked pay sign an agreement that they have broken procedures either knowingly or accidentally. It is part of their contract.
“A member of staff who let a guest who said he had run out of money and would reimburse us later leave without taking any credit card details or contact details from him was asked to reimburse the money because she had broken all protocols. This is standard practice in the hotel industry."
Joël Robuchon wins four more Michelin stars in Hong Kong and Macau
French chef Joël Robuchon has added another four Michelin stars to his collection of restaurants, after the release of Michelin’s inaugural guide to Hong Kong and Macau.
Robuchon, who now holds 24 Michelin stars, more than any other chef in the world, gained Michelin’s top accolade of three stars for his restaurant Robuchon a Galera at the Hotel Lisboa in Macau, as well as one star for his L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Hong Kong.
The inaugural Michelin guide to Hong Kong and Macau, which marks the second guide to Asia after Tokyo, lists 251 establishments including 202 restaurants.
It awarded a total of 40 stars and includes two three-starred; eight two-starred; and 18 starred restaurants.
It also lists 26 Bob Gourmand restaurants, which offer a three-course meal for HDK300 (£26) or less.
Chinese restaurant Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong also gained the highest award of three-stars.
The restaurant, which means “view of the dragon”, serves a traditional Cantonese menu overseen by executive chef Chan Yan Tak.
The Michelin guide to Hong Kong and Macau will be published in English and Chinese and is released on Friday (5 December) in China and will be on sale from 12 January in Europe.
Michelin now publishes 26 guides covering 23 countries in Europe, the USA and Asia.
Last month, Tokyo retained its crown as the world’s most Michelin-starred city, with more starred establishments than Paris, London and New York combined.
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Cornell (and Harvard) graduate Christian Hempell has stepped into the newly created position of Vice President, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, for the InterContinental Hotels Group. For the past five years, he served as Vice President, Strategy, the Americas, after joining IHG in 2003 as Vice President, Global Strategy, based in the U.K. Hempell will be succeeded by Heather Balsley, who was most recently serving as Director, Strategy, the Americas.
Olivier Poirot has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer for Motel 6/Studio 6 and Chief Operating Officer for Accor North America. He joined Accor in 1992 and, since 2007, had been in charge of Motel 6/Studio 6 in the USA, Canada, Mexico.
Matthew Avril, currently Co-President of Starwood Vacation Ownership, has been promoted to President of Starwood's Hotel Group. He succeeds Matt Ouimet, who is leaving the company.
Hilton Hotels has promoted Daniel Hughes to Senior Vice President, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America. He has been with Hilton for over twenty years, most recently as Area Vice President, Caribbean, Central America, and Cancun.
Christophe Thomas has become the General Manager of the W Union Square. For the past year, he had been the General Manager at the Shoreham. He previously served as Hotel Manager at the Gramercy Park Hotel, Director of Rooms at the Windsor Court New Orleans, and Rooms Division Manager for the Drake Hotel, Chicago.
Ronan Hénaff has joined the Setai in New York as General Manager. He was most recently in the same position at the Cipriani Club Residences Wall Street for the past two years. Hénaff previously held the title of Director of Food and Beverage at the Carlyle in New York and General Manager for Atelier at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park South.
Robert Logan has been named General Manager of Sandy Lane on Barbados. For the past four years, he had been with Raffles Singapore, most recently as General Manager. He previously served as Resident Manager of the Regent Bangkok and Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Dallas and the Loews Santa Monica.
Nigel Badminton is the new Hotel Manager of the New York Palace. He was most recently the Deputy General Manager of sister property the Dorchester in London, a position he has held since 1996.
Hilton Hotels has appointed Thomas Kennedy Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Kennedy joins Hilton from Vanguard Car Rental, the holding company of the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car, where he also held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He has previously held a variety of management and executive positions at Northwest Airlines, Chiquita Brands International, Bank of Yokohama, and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets.
Dominique Bertolone has been promoted at the Bellagio Resort to Director of Service. He was most recently the General Manager for both Le Cirque and Circo for the resort.
Nathalie Debonnet has returned to Leading Hotels of the World as Regional Director of Sales, Western Region, replacing Simine Shevin who has left the company. Debonnet was previously a Sales Manager in the Santa Monica office before taking the title of Director of Sales North America for the Hôtel de Crillon and the Hotel Martinez. Her most recent position was as Key Accounts Director Special Markets for InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, based in Los Angeles.
Martial Noguier has been appointed Executive Chef at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower. For the past seven years, he had been the Executive Chef for 160 Blue and Corporate Chef for Michael Jordan Restaurants. He previously served as Executive Chef for the Omni Ambassador East, Jumby Bay and Michel Richard's Citronelle.
Cap Juluca on Anguilla has tapped René Bajeux as Executive Chef. He was most recently at the helm of La Provence in Lacombe, Louisiana. Bajeux previously oversaw the kitchens of the Four Seasons Maui, the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, the Windsor Court Hotel, and the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel.
Christophe Chatron-Michaud has joined the Jean Georges Restaurant Group in New York as Director of Operations. He comes from his most recent stint as Owner/Partner of Solex in New York. He has previously served as Director of Operations at Japonais in New York and Las Vegas, as General Manager for the Charlie Palmer Group and the Mansion at MGM Grand.
Jean-Luc Chrétien has been named Executive Vice President, Hotel Distribution for Accor. He has previously worked with EuroDisney, Pierre et Vacances and SNCF Voyages.
Luca Virgilio will be joining the Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo as General Manager, taking over from Jean-Claude Messant, who will be managing the Hôtel de Crillon. For the past four years, Virgilio had been at the Hotel Baglioni London as General Manager. He previously served as General Manager of the Hotel Carlton Baglioni in Milan and Resident Manager at the Hotel Eden in Rome.
Stefan Soennichsen comes in to take over from Hirst as General Manager for One Aldwych. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Savoy. He previously served as Resident Manager for the InterContinental Dubai.
Brice Kemper at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc in Cap d'Antibes has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for both the Hotel du Cap and the Château Saint Martin & Spa, in addition to handling Rooms Operations at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc.
Laurent van Hoegaerden has been promoted to Operations Manager for the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc. He was most recently serving as the Food and Beverage Manager for the hotel, following six years at the Hôtel de Crillon.
Valérie Muller has been promoted from Director of Sales and Marketing to Director of Communications for both the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc and the Château Saint Martin & Spa.
Bernhard Mayer has been named Executive Chef at the Savoy London. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the now shuttered Four Seasons London.
The Métropole ESPA Monte-Carlo has appointed Marianna Heurtel Spa Director. Since 2006, she has been the Spa Director at the Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest.
At the hot new Starck-designed, Trigano-owned Mama Shelter in Paris, Bruno Vergeynst is consulting on the food and beverage product, working closely with celebrity chef Alain Senderens. Vergeynst was until recently the General Manager of the Custom Hotel in Los Angeles, and previously worked with Hotels AB and China Grill Management.
Peter Henley has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer at Bangkok-based Amari Hotels & Resorts, taking over from Kurt Rufli who is retiring. Henley was most recently with Raffles International in Singapore as Senior Vice President Business Development.
The InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong has appointed Edmund Pak Director of Revenue. He was most recently the Director of Revenue Management at the Shanghai JC Mandarin. Previously, he had worked for various hotels in Singapore such as the Pan Pacific, the Orchard Parade, the Shangri-La and Sheraton Towers before joining the pre-opening team of the Regent Shanghai
Davide Bertilaccio has joined Armani Hotels & Resorts as Director of Operations to oversee the opening of the Burj Dubai. He was most recently the General Manager at Rocco Forte's Le Richemond in Geneva and previously the General Manager of the Hotel Savoy.
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