Tag Archives: resort

The Millennium Hilton Bangkok looks directly over the Chao Phraya River, which snakes through the heart of the Thai capital. From all its 533 rooms, especially those on the upper floors of the 32 storeys, guests have spectacular views of the teeming life of the waterway.

There are plenty of hotels in Bangkok, and some are located near the Chao Phraya. So what’s special about this one? The resort-like attributes of the property are a big drawcard, explains General Manager Heidi Kleine-Möller, pictured below left.

Flow-Terrace“Staying in this kind of atmosphere, with a view of the river and its life is something visitors don’t usually find in other hotels in the city,” says Heidi. “European MICE clients coming to Bangkok tell me they prefer this kind of experience to the shopping-mall set-up they see elsewhere. That may be on reason our occupancies are so good.”

Though it’s not set precisely in the centre of Bangkok, the hotel is well connected to all parts of the city via the waterway and skytrain, and close to many local points of interest, shopping places and a bustling night market. It operates its own shuttle boats.

Another drawcard is splendid meetings facilities – high-ceilinged ballrooms (the Grand and Junior) which can seat over 700 guests and spacious pre function spaces. The hotel has 13 breakout rooms, ten of which are on the thirtieth floor with natural light and river views, says Assistant Director Marketing Communications Suteera (“Pui”) Chalermkarnchana, pictured below right.

Meetings clients have several choices of dinner venues. The ThreeSixty Lounge is an indoor- outdoor place that works well for welcome receptions. Delegates can dine here while taking in spectacular views of the Bangkok skyline. The Flow restaurant, an airy eatery looking directly out onto the river, serves a vast buffet and is flanked by an adjacent cheese room.

IMG_0610THB 1,500 meetings package

Yet another drawcard is price. The rack rate for rooms online (depending on dates) starts at around USD 125. A recent full-day meetings package offer for THB 1,500 (about USD 40) included two coffee breaks and lunch, all AV gear, water, mints and Internet access.

Of particular benefit to events guests, says Pui, is HiltonLink, a free service that makes it easy for individual clients to control their arrangements, enabling them to book online using the group rate they’ve secured.

“They have the option of building a custom web page or we can provide them with a booking link in up to 23 languages,” says Pui. “Then they simply share their link with their guests – send it in an email or post on other sites to spread the word.”

Many of the hotel’s MICE business these days comes from government and embassy clients, the IT industry medical and pharmaceutical companies and bridal parties, says Heidi. The hard-working staff spend much of their time “making the impossible possible,” as when they worked overnight recently to set up an Oktoberfest function, or when 400 people arrived for a dinner when fewer than that had been catered for.

Executive Suite“It’s about flexibility and how willing you are to make the impossible happen,” Heidi says. “Our attitude is of course we can do it. How we’ll do it is our problem.”

As a result the hotel is on the “TripAdvisor Hall of Fame” for consistently achieving good traveller reviews. “The five-day event was professionally slick and ran seamlessly and, most importantly, we received very positive feedback from our internal and external guests,” wrote one client. “We are pleased to share that our guests had had only good comments and positive feedback regarding the Hilton Millennium Bangkok.”

 

Siteseer says:

This is an elegant, comfortable good-value hotel in a spectacular location with excellent food, facilities and staff. But Hilton should review its irksome policy of charging guests for Internet access in rooms.

For more information, click here, or email bangkok.reservations@hilton.com.

The Siteseer was a paying guest of the Millennium Hilton Bangkok.

Millenium Hilton Bangkok

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotel operators and events organisers who don’t actively encourage tourists from mainland China could miss out on the opportunity of the century, especially in the luxury and “super-luxury” end of the market.

That’s evident from this year’s Chinese International Travel Monitor, recently released by online booking giant Hotels.com.

One of the revelations in the 2015 edition, the fourth, of the annual report into China outbound tourism is the growing financial muscle of the top 10% of spenders.

On average they shell out RMB 13,800 (AUD 2,817) a day, more than four times the spend of the average Chinese outbound traveller. But the top 5% spend even more: an astonishing RMB 20,896 (AUD 4,265) a day – indicating the emergence of a “super-luxury” class of traveller.

Chinese couple reading map on trainHotels.com’s latest report is a reminder for countries like Australia to pull out all stops to accommodate Chinese travellers and tailor their services for this market, as the potential is huge,” says Katherine Cole, Regional Director, Australia, New Zealand & Singapore for Hotels.com.

Katherine does not exaggerate. According to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast, outbound Chinese travellers could number 174 million in four years’ time, spending about US$264 billion annually. That compares with around 107 million travellers in 2014. The forecast revenue is roughly equivalent to the GDP of a developed country like Singapore. “Clearly, the Chinese dragon is still building steam,” says Abhiram Chowdhry, Vice President and Managing Director APAC for the Hotels.com brand.

Australia came out on top, for the second year in a row, as the most desired destination for Chinese travellers to visit in the next 12 months. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were named among the world’s top 10 cities they intend to visit.

Millennials’ growing influence

The report reveals the growing influence of Gen Y travellers, tech-savvy “millennials” aged 18 to 35. Fifty-nine per cent of hoteliers surveyed say they’ve experienced an increase in Chinese guestsaged 35 or under in the past year and they expect this trend to continue.

Meantime the use of mobile phones for planning and booking travel has skyrocketed. In the past 12 months, 80% of Chinese travellers used an online device including mobiles, desktops and laptops to plan and book, compared with only 53% last year.

The top three countries they actually visited last year were the US, Thailand and Hong Kong. The top 10% of spenders paid an average of 2,723 RMB (AUD556) per night on hotels alone.

Top 10 countries Chinese travellers say they would like to visit in the next 12 months 

Rank Country
1 Australia
2 Japan
3 France
4 Hong Kong
5 South Korea
6 US
7 Maldives
8 Germany
9 Thailand
10 Taiwan

 

To read the full report, visit www.CITM2015.com.

150716_Hotels.com_CITM Images (3)

In a world in which clients expect more and more, events industry professionals must stay connected to gain the insights they need to feed a winning strategy, says the General Manager of Business Events Australia. In this interview with the Siteseer, Penny Lion discusses the challenges and opportunities involved in selling Australia, the rise of China and the need, now more than ever, for meaningful communication.

Siteseer: How do you differentiate your marketing strategies from the rest of the world’s?

Penny Lion: It’s what brings us to work every day! We’re always trying to do something different. In this day and age the tourism business is so competitive, and within the business events sector it’s even more so because it’s high-yield and everybody wants their share. It’s also quite a fast-paced industry.

KI shot smallerSo if you bring out a brand-ad campaign or embark on a particular trade or marketing strategy, it’s not long before it gets noticed and followed. How do you manage that? For Tourism Australia the focus is always on what will make a difference for the customer, about thinking and knowing what it’s like to be an events planner, or a corporate or association congress decision maker. You’ve got to keep your ear to the ground and stay connected, and always deliver to their needs.

SS: Do you do that better than the opposition?

PL: I believe so, though we can always do better. Tourism Australia is widely seen as punching above its weight, and that applies to Australia in general. Our competitors at big trade shows come up to us and say they watch what we’re doing and think we do it extremely well, which is a great compliment.

Our work isn’t rocket science; we apply good old-fashioned business sense to what we do and in positioning Australia. Also, Australia is unique, though that word is often over-used. It has an incredible array of attractions.

Much of our job is to convert latent demand, because we pitch in at number one or two on everyone’s bucket list. From a corporate incentive point of view, coming to a long-haul destination is perceived to be problematic, and [there are factors like] lack of annual leave or other perceptions that make people wonder whether coming to Australia is the right thing.

SS: So how do you overcome the perception Australia is a long-haul destination, and an expensive one?

small bennelongPL: When you think about barriers to entry, time difference and cost are the things people obviously look at when they’ve got budgets and time frames to manage. But the key is always proving the business case, and we know Australia delivers and adds tremendous value. When events visitors get on the aircraft they may realise it’s not as onerous a journey as they’d first imagined. And once they’re here the experience is great. No one ever leaves Australia saying it was so far away. They go home saying it was the most memorable experience they’ve had.

That’s what we’re trying to deliver on, the emotional connect we’re looking for. We can’t change where we are.

SS: Do you think Australia unfailingly delivers a great experience?

PL: I do, across the board. It’s stating the obvious perhaps, but it’s a multi-destination country. People might come as first-time visitors to an event in Sydney, and connect with the Whitsundays. The next time they might go to Perth and Darwin. There are so many experiences, and they can have variety, time and again.

People are incredibly important in this equation, and Australians generally are down to earth, and we don’t over-promise and under-deliver. When business tourists get here they find we’re also people who don’t say no very often. We make it happen. Decision makers and competitors in the business events industry around the world see that, and it’s a big tick.

SS: You don’t believe there’s a perception that its infrastructure and hotels sometimes don’t match what Asia has to offer, for example?

09 Great Hall half modePL: I think what’s happening across China, in particular, is incredible. The size of their infrastructure – how can anybody really compete with that? But in Australia there’s been strong investment over the past few years. Hotels have been popping up, and they’re differentiated. They’re not all five-star. Some are quite unusual in the boutique experiences they offer. In Brisbane, for example, some of the new hotels are quirky, with beautiful artworks from local artists. It’s a different experience.

Beyond that every capital city has been building new infrastructure as part of our Tourism 2020 strategy, ensuring that, with the industry, we’re introducing additional dollar investment, more hotels and more air capacity. That’s been happening across the board. The convention centres, too, have been undergoing big improvements.

SS: Well nearly every major Asian city has or is building a congress centre. How challenging is it for Australia to lure business to our own?

PL: It’s not just every Asian city, it’s every city in the world. It’s seen as a high-yield sector. In Nigeria recently an incredible convention centre opened. Just about everybody now has one, and new infrastructure is constantly being created. Where I believe Australia does incredibly well is in the fact that we have outstanding convention facilities that are mostly within walking distance of city centres. Think about Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne; the facilities are in the heart of the city.

Darwin Convention CentreOne of my colleagues in America recently had to commute between a hotel in a city and its closest convention centre, and it took two hours each way. We don’t have that problem. Also, the food and beverage offering we have in our convention centres is outstanding, as are the AV and other services. You don’t get the same holistic services in many others around the world.

SS: Are you happy with the new Sydney convention centre that’s taking shape?

PL: Absolutely. It has attractions like open-air-events spaces, and again from a proximity-to-the-city aspect, it provides so many options.

SS: How can industry assist Tourism Australia in creating more awareness of the key selling points of our destination?

PL: Our job as a national tourism organisation is to promote Australia overseas, to increase consideration of the destination. But in the business-events space, decision makers need a lot more detail than those, for example, who might just be planning a holiday. The latter tend to do much of their own research. Decision makers and events planners are time-poor, so they need to be inspired and informed on a regular basis about what they can do in Australia.

Our job is to try to make it as easy as possible for them to do that. We assist by providing a lot of information on our website, digital comms and more.

What we need industry to do is feed us information. We’re always asking for what we call new news. If there’s a hotel that has a new rooftop space or brilliant new F&B menu, an event agency that’s come up with a new theme, or a production agency that has new AV technology that can be on-sold, or there’s a new city walking tour, we need to know.

Sydney ICC Hero shotWe’re encouraging industry to send such news to us regularly. It can be just news bites, a few sentences; it doesn’t always need to be well-crafted PR releases. Then we can pick up the phone and talk to people, and if it’s appropriate, push out to the international market. It’s a free PR service really!

SS: Is it hard to get that kind of communication happening?

PL: Yes, industry is busy. The tourism game is infamous for working hard. It’s not front of mind for them to consider new ideas for Tourism Australia. However some are very good about contacting us, and we have a member of our team who’s out and about and meets with industry and reminds them about what we’re looking for. And our newsletters remind people to stay in touch. It’s our job to make sure Australian industry know what we’re doing and how we can help them and their businesses if they are ready to market themselves internationally.

So that’s a takeout: contact us with information! Email me direct at plion@tourism.australia.com and my colleagues and I can follow up.

SS: Have you witnessed any significant change in business since the Australian dollar was closer in value to the US$?

PL: Our lead time for events is quite long, but if people want to come here, and they did this even when our dollar was stronger, they make it happen. If they had ten thousand dollars to spend, they’d come to Australia with that amount. They mightn’t have done all they wanted, but they still came. Now their ten thousand dollars goes further.

It’s not within our control though. There’s nothing we can do about [fluctuating currency]. We’ve just got to sell the emotional side of the experience.

Cape Tribulation 2SS: Is Tourism Australia focusing more on China as a prime source of business for the short and long term?

PL: It’s not the only focus but it is a key one. We’re working towards our target of delivering more than $115 billion in international tourism expenditure by the year 2020, and China will contribute $13 billion of that. When you think about all the countries whose people travel here, it’s a major chunk. You have the rise of the middle class in China, we’re the closest Western destination, and there’s hardly a time difference. Yet it’s our landscape, fresh air and blue skies they love most.

Bear in mind though that it’s not just Australia that’s looking to China. Every other destination now has offices there. We have a great team of experts who work in that market, and good research on the customer to inform our activity.

SS: That clean and green aspect, how important is it?

PL: If you travel to Shanghai or Beijing, what can look to be a foggy day is often smog. We had a group from China in Sydney recently and hosted them for lunch at a venue with a city aspect. They couldn’t believe it was winter; it was a balmy nineteen degrees, the sun was shining and they couldn’t get over how clear the air was. They loved it.

I should add that the maturity of Chinese business events travellers today is remarkable. I remember sitting down some years ago with a group when they first came to Australia. They didn’t have much English and didn’t really understand our country. Fast forward and they’re all speaking English, and they “get” us. The connection seems to have happened fast, and it represents a fabulous opportunity.

IHCSun 111SS: Do Chinese business events visitors increasingly have expectations about services tailored to their needs, like menus in their own language?

PL: This is something Australian businesses should be thinking about. It’s going to be a key market, and therefore a key consideration is providing information in language. Visitors want to turn on the TV in their hotel room and get Mandarin or Cantonese programs, or simply have a Chinese option on the breakfast buffet. Having said that, I don’t think the Chinese expect quite as much as they used to. They seem to be more accepting of Western ideas, accepting that in Australia you’re not going to get much of a true Chinese experience. That’s why they travel.

Language is key to culture, however, and while Tourism Australia works in so many markets, we knew we needed a dedicated website written in Mandarin and hosted within China to ensure an excellent user experience. This is key to communicating effectively with the Chinese market; we’ve even factored in how they digest and navigate web pages.

SS: What other significant changes are happening in the industry in your view?

PL: I speak to a lot of people on a regular basis, and they’re telling me how different the landscape is. It used to be that a convention bureau might put together a simple proposal about what hotel product might be available and what the centre space might be. Now, clients expect more, much more. We have to factor in, for example, what priority sectors are important, or how associations overseas can align with experts in science or health.

Four Mile Beach Pt DouglasThere’s more emphasis today on connecting people. We have strong pillars for Australia in our people, products and places. That’s so important for industry, to make sure it isn’t just about offering logistics. Increasingly, research shows that, from an events perspective, business people want to connect and understand more about Australia.

That means when they come here they don’t want to be stuck in conference rooms all the time, they want to go out and experience the country and its people. Our industry has to get better at putting together programs that do that. The point is, how do they go a step above and differentiate themselves from New Zealand, Singapore, Fiji and elsewhere?

Moreover part our job [in relation to] industry is to be able to say, if you’re unsure, particularly if you’re delving into the international marketplace, get in contact, because we have insights into what works and what doesn’t, and how you can nuance messaging for international markets.

Even if they’re doing a test-and-learn into a market they’re thinking about working in, we can provide platforms for industry to attend as participants, such as our showcases, or events like the IMEX trade shows. That’s really important too.

PENNY INSIGHTS

As General Manager of Business Events Australia, a division of Tourism Australia, Penny Lion is responsible for raising awareness of her country as a business events destination and helping persuade decision makers to visit it. In her previous role she was General Manager for UK/Europe at corporate events management agency CI Events. She has been in her current position at Tourism Australia – a government authority tasked with the promotion of the country as an international tourism destination – since 2010.

Penny vertical

 

By Derryn Heilbuth

We’re heading up the driveway of the 187-year-old Quamby Estate in the lush Tamar Valley. Built by convict Richard Dry who was transported to Tasmania as a political prisoner for his part in the 1804 Irish rebellion, it’s now owned by the Tasmanian Walking Company’s Brett Godfrey and Rob Sherrard (who conceptualised Virgin Australia on the back of a dozen beer coasters in a London pub) and is the starting point for the Bay of Fires walk. It is, as I’ve experienced once before, one of the most rewarding incentive experiences in the Apple Isle.

At the stables of the beautifully manicured estate we meet our two young guides, Louis Balcombe and Harley Tuleja (pictured making tea below). Over the next four days they’ll carry our food, tend to blisters, boil the billy, prepare our meals and share their passion for the coastal heathlands, marsupial lawns and sclerophyll forests of their island home. And all with such larrikin charm that it must surely be one of the requirements of the job.

2“Keep it under eight kilos,” they say as they hand out packs, water bottles and raincoats. As a traveller who likes to pack for every eventuality, it’s a challenge. Having done this walk before, I know I’ll regret that extra jumper thrown in at the last minute. Still, you never know . . .

Back on the minibus, our six-strong group are introduced to two other couples (the groups are never larger than 10) and we settle down for the two-and-a-half hour journey to Stumpy’s Bay in the Mount William National Park.

Tasmanian tales

The route takes us across rolling green paddocks and through the old tin towns of Derby and Branxholm, where on the roadside above a few neglected looking weatherboard cottages, we notice a bright red sign.

It marks The Trail of the Tin Dragon, a recently introduced tourist route that’s hoping to reinvigorate this economically depressed and remote northeastern corner of Tasmania by retelling the stories of the 1,500 Chinese miners who battled floods, drought and racial hatred here in the 1870s.

We descend through rainforests of blackwood, sassafras and myrtle until we reach the entrance of the national park. Driving along the sandy track, Louis spots a group of forester kangaroos, the only large ‘roo found in Tasmania. “The first we’ve seen all season”, he says.

At Stumpy’s Bay we disembark, grab our packs, gather for a group picture and then set out on the nine-kilometre hike to the tented cabins where we’ll spend our first night.

3Quixotic weather

In an essay that I will read two days later lying on a sofa in the sun at the Bay of Fires Lodge, academic and author Natasha Cica writes: “As quixotic as its weather, Tasmania is both a place of deliciously warm embrace and cold hard slaps to the face, often in the same day or hour.”

The last time I did this walk we meandered along white sands, swam in turquoise waters, waded chest-high across a creek and sunned ourselves dry on orange lichen-covered rocks. A warm embrace indeed.

Today Tasmania has opted for the cold hard slap. Sand whips our legs as we trudge heads-down into a southerly gale that hurls an angry sea against the granite boulders. It’s tough walking. But raw and elemental too. And since the wind makes it difficult to hear, a perfect time for the meditative state that comes from concentrating on putting one step in front of another.

Refuge for the night

In the late afternoon we reach our refuge for the night: six tented cabins (see top of main picture!) set unobtrusively behind the dunes, a central dining tent and two composting toilets. Water is carried in and waste carried out, so our footprint is light. A big tick for some. A challenge for others more comfortable with five stars. We arrange the blessedly warm sleeping bags and blankets we find neatly folded on the sleeping platforms in the wooden-floored tent, then make our way to the dining tent.

4While Louis and Harley busy themselves preparing the camp’s signature dish of Atlantic salmon on a bed of soba noodle salad and Vietnamese nuoc cham sauce, we sit around the table, tired but contentedly sipping Tasmanian wines and sharing stories with old and new friends.

Nature lessons

The second day’s walk is a solid 14 kilometres. The wind is still our constant companion, but like yesterday, it’s not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of our walking party or take away from our guides’ imaginatively delivered nature lessons.

Alongside an Aboriginal midden they draw time lines in the sand to place the ancient culture in the context of the relatively young Pyramids.

On the coastal heathland they strip a banksia cone to expose the velvety core that served as firelighters for the island’s first people as they moved around this coastline, and crush melaleuca leaves under our noses so we can smell the ti-tree oil they used as an antiseptic.

Back on the beach they pass around a shark egg casing they’ve spotted, lug a massive piece of string kelp across the sand (“they can grow to 30 metres”) and point out the shore birds: gulls, terns and migratory species like the bar-tailed godwits that fly 11,000 kilometres non-stop from the Arctic to their wintering grounds in Australia.

My favourites are the red-beaked hooded plovers that dart in Chaplinesque fashion around the sand foraging for food before returning to their nests on the soft sands above the tideline.

Around lunchtime we reach Tasmania’s most easterly point, Eddystone Point, or Larapuna in the local Aboriginal language. It’s home to a 1889 lighthouse and a collection of keeper’s cottages that are being restored now that the land has been returned to its traditional owners.

From there it’s on to the Bay of Fires proper, stretches of magnificent beaches, so named by Captain Tobias Furneaux, commander of HMS Adventure, the second of Captain Cook’s vessels, after he sighted Aboriginal fires burning on the shore.

6Eco-luxury

Last year Lonely Planet named Tasmania one of the top ten regions in the world to visit in 2015. Arriving at the Bay of Fires lodge it’s not hard to see why. A timber and glass eyrie sitting 40 metres above the sea, this is ecotourism at its finest. The multi-award-winning lodge has solar power, rainwater tanks (and timed showers), composting toilets, louvered windows to capture the sea breezes in the simple but comfortable bedrooms, and home-cooked meals designed to show off Tasmanian produce.

As we sit soaking our tired feet in hot foot spas, a glass of wine in hand and the sun setting on a woodland setting of black peppermint and casuarina, all seems well with the world.

The sense of wellbeing stays with us over the next two days. We lounge by the fire and on deckchairs overlooking pristine Abbotsbury beach. We fall asleep in the library; and under the magical hands of Cook Islands born therapist Cecelia Ngavavia at the spa.

On the third day some of our party are too comfortably ensconced to join the kayak adventure. But for those of us who do, the rewards are great. We float serenely down the Anson River. The sunlight plays on the water, a sea eagle flies overhead and my kayaking partner throws a line into the water. On the two-hour walk back to the lodge along the beach the sun comes out and we explore the dunes of the Abbotsbury Peninsula before returning to another evening of good food and wine.

Sparkling finale

The walk ends on the fourth day with a 4.5-kilometre walk through eucalyptus forests, where again Louis and Harley stop to point out the bright green native cherries above us and the delicate coral lichen underfoot. They urge us to spread out so we can experience our surroundings alone and in silence. We eat our picnic lunch and board the bus for the two-hour drive to Andrew Pirie’s Apogee vineyard, 30 kilometres north of Launceston, where we hand in our packs and are treated to a glass of sparkling wine, delicious canapés and a demonstration of how the wine is bottled.

6.5The first Australian to be awarded a PhD in viticulture, Pirie is a towering figure in the Tasmanian wine industry. Having successfully built the Point Piper and Ninth Island vineyards, he’s now concentrating on producing what he hopes will be the finest sparkling in Australia.

All strength to him. It is people like him, the Museum of Old and New Art’s (MONA’s) David Walsh and Tasmanian Walking Company’s Brett Godfrey and Rob Sherrard who are providing the boost the island’s tourist industry needs. It’s an industry worth $2.4 billion a year to the local economy and directly and indirectly employs 28,000 Tasmanians. That’s an important statistic for a state that has a joblessness rate that’s a third greater than the national average and where over a third of its people derive their sole or primary income from a Commonwealth payment.

And if Lonely Planet’s endorsement, or the pristine beaches, or the hospitality of the young lodge hosts and guides, or the exhilarating walk, or the chance to experience one of the most remote and unspoilt places in Tasmania are not enough to persuade, it’s a very good reason to add Tasmania’s Bay of Fires walk to a list of must-do incentive experiences.

From $2,250

The Bay of Fires four-day walk runs from 1 October to 1 May. Prices are quoted on a seasonal basis:

1 October – 24 December $2,250

25 December – 31 March $2,400

1 April – 1 May $2,250

Pricing includes pick up and return from the designated collection and return point, transport to the start of the walk, twin-share accommodation, food and wine, national park passes, use of back pack and Gore-Tex jacket and two qualified guides.

The Siteseer was a paying guest of the Bay of Fires Walk.

Email: bookings@taswalkingco.com.au

Web: http://www.bayoffires.com.au

9

Tighter budgets and rising costs mean the business events sector is working harder to win work. Marissa Fernandez, managing director of widely respected company Destination Marketing Services (DMS), offers this salutary advice to incentive and events planners.

1. Is it good value – and different? When selecting a destination, consider: does it offer good value for money and quality service, and is there a strong point of difference when you compare it to where the previous conference or incentive event was held?

Downtown Dubai2. Have they ever done anything like this before? Seek to create an experience that’s superior to what people in the group would have experienced in their own travels. It should obviously serve to encourage and motivate participants to continue working hard so they can enjoy similar rewards again.

3. Don’t sacrifice quality for cost. In the current, increasingly competitive market, many incentive agents are having to tender for business against their competition. With this type of bidding process, a key criterion is the cost of the program. Incentive agents are often judged on bottom-line figures, so we’re seeing more and more programs designed to be as cost-effective as possible, and competition on all levels is becoming more fierce. This is a positive change in many ways, because it keeps businesses sharper and makes them work harder to turn out the best possible program to win business.But it does create challenges when designing the best incentive experience – putting pressure on the MICE agent to cut budgets to the bone while retaining the incentive elements that make a program distinctive.

4. Plan ahead. Pre-planning is key to ensuring you always get the best deal. Timing plays a huge part in pricing. This is one area in which a destination management company (DMC) can play an essential role, thanks to their buying power. Well-established DMCs supply business to venues and hotels around the globe so they’re able to negotiate very competitive pricing via bulk buying.

Istanbul Old Town5. Consider Asia, South Africa and Europe. Look to countries that offer the best value for money for meetings and events. Asia, with its proximity and great service levels, will always be well suited to MICE clients from Australia. And with the Australian dollar strong against the rand, South Africa is now more affordable than ever. Though the Aussie dollar has declined against the US greenback, it remains quite stable against the euro and this is still helping to push business towards Europe.

6. Embrace the ‘unknown’. Organisers and their delegates should remember that while past experiences certainly count, the world is forever evolving so it pays to keep an open mind and explore the unknown. Destinations such as South Korea, Croatia and the Philippines have developed into dynamic destinations for conference and incentive travel. These are often not considered, because of unfamiliarity or experiences from 20 years ago. Good companies will maintain quality while offering value, and have the vision to source and propose new destinations and ideas. They’ll not only adapt to changes in the global marketplace, they’ll respond with innovative offerings.

7. Follow the new airline routes. Airline access and routing are affecting trends in the marketplace and opening up new opportunities. For example the collaboration between Emirates and Qantas has strengthened travel to Europe with stopovers in the Middle East. New direct air services to Sri Lanka start in November and major hotel chains are investing heavily in this destination. This has already sparked a rise in interest in this new incentive location.

MARISSA INSIGHTS

Marissa Fernandez joined Destination Marketing Services in 2005 and became owner of the company on 1 October 2013, taking over from founder and industry veteran Leila Bishara (formerly Fiedler). As managing director, Marissa prioritises high standards of customer service and ethical practice in her team. Her background spans more than 20 years in tourism and hospitality, and she has worked for multinational organisations in Australia and overseas.

Email: marissa@destinationmarketing.com.au

Web: www.destinationmarketing.com.au

Marissa Corp pics-29

As I step into the lobby of the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel in Bali (pictured above), the sound of traffic becomes muted and I find myself in a tranquil oasis, offering sudden respite from the island’s humidity. Smiling staff bustle about the airy space, which abuts a green-lawned courtyard.

wedding-1A turtle dove is cooing somewhere and a female crooner is singing moodily over the PA system as Stuart Bolwell steps up to greet me, hand extended in welcome. The 47-year-old expatriate New Zealander has been with this hotel for 11 years, and GM for the past three years, and the focus and continuity he’s brought to  the role helps explain why ratings for this property continue to head north.

Two-and-a-half years ago, the user-generated website TripAdvisor ranked the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel thirty-fifth in Bali’s busy coastal strip of Sanur on the southeast of the island. Now it’s sixteenth, says Stuart, and the good results are reflected in guests’ comments. Its sister property nearby, the Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites, is now ranked the second-best family accommodation in the country.

The largest four-star hotel in Bali focusing on meetings and events, the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel is half an hour’s drive from Denpasar airport and the busy tourist precinct of Kuta, and a few minutes away from good shopping and its own beach enclave.

One of nine properties strategically located throughout Indonesia and managed by Prime Plaza Hotels and Resorts, the hotel is set next to a verdant nine-hole golf course. It is quintessentially Balinese: everywhere, from the gardens surrounding the 110-metre-long pool to the private courtyards adjoining many of the 329 rooms, foliage sprouts in lush profusion.

Hotel PoolStuart Bolwell, pictured below, is a high-energy manager, as I can attest as I try to keep up with him on a brisk walking tour of the hotel and its 18 meetings and functions spaces, which include a ballroom, the ‘Griya Agung’. When all venues are full, the resort can accommodate 2,000 MICE guests, he says.

People expect more

“People’s expectations are much higher now,” says Stuart. “Those heading off for events or leisure are educated in travelling, and in what they want and expect. That’s why you’ve got to make sure you invest more in resources and energy to maintain standards and service these days. I keep reminding my teams of this.”

The strategy is working, as the hotel has a growing reputation for providing value for money and robust occupancies, he says. This dovetails with Stuart’s philosophy ‘to under-promise and over-deliver’.

“We don’t gouge in our pricing structure, so you’re never charged more than what you’d expect,” he says.

From USD85 per night

The rate for guest rooms, most of which have just been renovated, is USD85 per night for two people, including breakfast and wifi. Conference day rates are equally good value: USD35 per delegate, including lunch and two coffee breaks as well as the latest in AV and other necessary gear. A point-of-contact person is assigned to each event to take care of every request.

IMG_9120Roughly half of the resort’s events business is domestic, and the rest is mostly from Australia and Europe, says Stuart. “Our distinct advantage over competitors is that we’ve been here a long time and do what we do very well. Our staff are incredibly dedicated and we have long-established relationships with local companies and third-party contractors who supply us with their services.”

Recent events hosted here include those of international teachers’ and doctors’ groups and an Indian telco. For a recent Lions club conference, the hotel welcomed delegates from 33 countries. It lasted a week and many guests either arrived beforehand or extended their stay apres-meetings to explore the island, going on day tours to the central upland town of Ubud and to the ancient Tanah Lot temple, located on the coast, which has been part of Balinese mythology for centuries.

The ballroom, which can cater for 1,100 theatre style or 750 in banquet arrangements, is a spacious pillarless 950 square metres in area, together with its pre-function area. It has dedicated vehicle access and a 122 square-metre permanent stage.

The Siteseer was not a guest of the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel.

For more information, email stuart@sanur.pphotels.com or visit www.sanurparadise.com.

Pool Access Room

Asia’s a better deal than ever. It’s the only region in the world where the prices of hotel rooms dropped for Australian travellers in 2014. Admittedly, some of the falls can likely be attributed to the weakening of the Aussie dollar, which has hit a six-year low, but the results will doubtless be of interest to most organisers seeking to run an event offshore – and not just Australians.

The latest hotels.com index, which compares Asian prices, shows that they were in fact only slightly higher than they were 10 years ago, and fell for a second consecutive year.

In Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka prices paid for hotel accommodation in cities like Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok all fell – some quite substantially – in 2014. These ranked among the best-value cities in the world for hotel stays. The only exceptions to the slump were China, Hong Kong and Japan, where prices rose modestly last year.

20150220_Hotels.com_ACCESS Resort & Villas_Phuket  (2)Conversely, says Regional Director for hotels.com, Katherine Cole, hotel rooms in Rio, Honolulu, San Francisco, London, Dublin, Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Paris were all subject to double-digit price rises. Prices rose by 15% in New Zealand, 12% in Fiji and 11% in New Caledonia. The city where Australian travellers paid the most for a hotel room in 2014 was New York, where the average price was $317.

In Australia prices increased on average by only 1% in the past year. They rose slightly in Sydney (1%), Brisbane (2%) and Melbourne (1%). They fell in Darwin (-4%) and Perth (-3%).

Best-value hotel destinations for Australian travellers in 2014:

 

Destination Average price paid in  2014 (AUD)
Cambodia $73
Vietnam $91
Thailand $113
Poland $116
Egypt $117

 

Countries where hotel prices fell the most for Australians:

Destination Average price paid in  2014 (AUD)
Oman -18%
Russia -7%
Sri Lanka -5%
Croatia -5%
Taiwan -4%

 

Top five international destinations where Australian travellers paid the most for hotels in 2014:

Destination Average price paid in  2014 (AUD) % change on 2013
New York $317 7%
Rio de Janeiro $299 14%
Cancun/Riviera Maya $282 19%
Honolulu $281 10%
Boston $272 10%

 

Top five international destinations with the highest growth in hotel prices for Australian travellers in 2014:

Destination Average price paid in 2014 (AUD) % change on 2013
Morocco  $169 41%
Mauritius  $277 25%
Greece  $196 18%
Qatar  $197 17%
New Zealand  $162 15%

 

Change in Australian hotel prices for domestic travellers in 2014: 

Destination Average price paid in 2014(AUD) % change on 2013 
Hobart $176 6%
Adelaide $153 6%
Canberra $185 4%
Brisbane $172 2%
Sydney $200 1%
Melbourne $177 1%
Perth $184 -3%
Darwin $200 -4%

 

20150220_Hotels.com_ACCESS Resort & Villas_Phuket  (3)

Crystal Liu, communications manager at the Mandarin Oriental in Macau, is a bit like the hotel, and the former Portuguese colony, itself: energetic, welcoming and engaging.

“Macau is a beautiful experience,” says Crystal, whose enthusiasm for the city and hotel is matched by that of her colleagues. “It’s older than Hong Kong, and really easy to get around. It’s also foreigner-friendly; I know because I was born and raised in Taiwan and love it here.”

Spider crab wrapped in lobster jelly, avocado and mango sauce with Sturia caviarThe smallness of Macau, one of two “special administrative areas” of the People’s Republic of China, is an asset, she says. The exotic city is just 29.5 kilometres in area, so you can easily see the main attractions in two or three days – and that helps events organisers focus on the activities they’d like business visitors to embrace while they’re there, and absorb everything the place has to offer.

With 213 rooms and suites, the four-year-old, five-star Mandarin Oriental is also tiny by the standards of the city, some of whose massive casino hotels have 3,000 to 4,000 rooms. (Five of the world’s 10 largest casino resorts are here). Classy, luxurious and understated, it’s more like a hostelry you’d expect to find in Europe. “If you have thousands of rooms it’s difficult to provide personal service,” says Crystal. “We differentiate ourselves by being small, and handling smaller MICE groups of up to 200, so we can provide personal service which makes guests’ experience more pleasant.”

This includes the best attentions of a team of smiling, obliging staff, in-room check-ins, treatments at a spa that’s won a “Grand Jury” award in one of China’s top spa recognition programs, and meals at a splendid French restaurant (Vida Rica). The latter is a place of shimmering glass and elegant furnishings and design that’s rated as the number-one eatery in Macau on TripAdvisor, and recently won a top service award from the Macau Government Tourist Office.

IMG_8923At lunch at the Vida Rica one day, I tantalised my tongue with one of French chef Dominique Bugnand’s signature dishes – onion soup (below) – and fresh rolls baked on site, along with lobster-, caviar- and truffle-filled dim sims. It was sensationally good. His signature dishes include “spider crab wrapped in lobster jelly, avocado and mango sauce with Sturia caviar” (above) and “carrot mashed with orange dust and grilled shallot banana”.

An epicurean sensation

The breakfast buffets, also served here, are an epicurean sensation, an eclectic fusion of East and West, with fabulous fresh fruit – all imported – and omelettes to order jostling with noodles prepared at a buffet, sticky rice, fresh sole fillets, dim sim, salads, delicate sausage tarts, quiches, and much else.

Guests can choose to sit in the main dining area or in one of the four semi-private rooms, useful for gatherings of up to 16. For those requiring yet more intimacy, the chef’s table provides a fully private option.

Onion soup with Gruyere cheese espuma and onion jam on toastAs you’d expect from a marque like the Mandarin Oriental’s, the food is just one highlight of a stay at the property, set in a narrow, black glass structure at the end of a point of reclaimed land, and linked to a swish shopping mall and MGM casino. My sprawling room is serene, spacious and comfortable with cream wallpaper and blonde wood panelling. I have my own coffee machine, the bedding is of goosedown and there’s a twice-daily housekeeping service. The window gives a panoramic view of a slice of the continental coastline and South China Sea, where ships of all sizes chug to and fro.

From the hotel it’s a ten-minute walk to the centre of town, with a swag of World Heritage Sites like the A-Ma Temple, a Taoist shrine built in 1488, the Dom Pedro V, one of the first Western-style theatres in China, and St Augustine’s Church, built in 1591. Macau became a Portuguese colony in 1557 and was eventually handed back to China in 1999. But the Portuguese influence remains widely evident – in the multilingual signage and street names (like “Avenida da Ponte da Amizade”), and smatterings of the language you hear being spoken by passers-by.

Macau International Airport and the China border are 10 minutes away by car, and the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal is a five-minute drive. You can directly access Hong Kong airport by ferry in 45 minutes and central Hong Kong in an hour. Cost: about AUD25.

Photo-Mandarin Oriental, Macau-Vida Rica Bar3Gambling hiatus

“Macau is the only place in the world where you get a mix of Portuguese and Chinese style,” says Crystal Liu, pictured above. “Around 70% of our visitors are from mainland China. We also get visitors from Australia, a key target market, the US, Europe and Taiwan, which is one hour and twenty minutes’ flying time away.”

Many visitors obviously come to Macau to gamble. Interestingly, the gambling sector’s winning run came to an abrupt halt recently when growth in its annual, USD44 billion earnings fell as a result of the Chinese government’s drive to cut corruption and over-the-top spending by public-sector employees. But this hiatus is widely expected to last a year at most.

In many ways Macau is a “weekend city”, says Crystal, with a huge influx of visitors coming across the border from the mainland and from Hong Kong on Fridays. A road link to Hong Kong in a year or two will make access easier still.

Photo-Mandarin Oriental, Macau-Ocean RoomThat’s why, she adds, if your schedule allows it’s better to organise conferences and events at the Mandarin Oriental during the week: you get a better rate. There’s also less traffic and the attractions like the temples and churches have fewer visitors.

“The number of hotels here is growing all the time, and with more new properties coming on stream and more competition, it can only be good for visitors.”

When to go

In addition to considering weekdays to get the best deals, some events planners may want to avoid September, when people crowd into the city for fireworks displays, and November when the Formula 1 grand prix is happening and rates are higher. But at any time there’s plenty to do, from bungy jumping to museum visits. “The cultural scene is very enjoyable, but it’s more than that,” says Crystal. “It’s a unique place; there’s nothing else quite like it.”

As the only non-gaming five-star hotel on the Macau Peninsula, the Mandarin Oriental Macau promotes itself as a useful venue for quiet, focused meetings and conferences. It has four dedicated event spaces including a 320-square-metre ballroom which can be separated into two smaller function rooms. These have large sea-view windows and a spacious pre-function area.

From HKD 2,288 (AUD 370) year-round, based on availability

The hotel’s website advertises “the best and most flexible rates” along with complimentary transfers for guests booking a suite, and a variety of other special deals. The “Ultimate Spa Escape Package,” for example, starts from around USD570 and includes a night’s accommodation in a guestroom or suite, buffet breakfast for two, a two-hour signature treatment for two at the spa and more. Another “Macau Cultural Discovery Package” deal offers tours of the city.

To find out more email momac-reservations@mohg.com.

The Siteseer was a guest of Mandarin Oriental Macau.

Photo-Mandarin Oriental, Macau-Swimming Pool1

 

By Luke Heilbuth

The air is warm and humid, and the sky over Ha My Beach, Hoi An, is turning purple. I’m sipping chilled South Australian pinot noir as the sun falls from view, and our exuberant Vietnamese waiter says, “Happy merry Christmas!”

We’re at the bar of the Nam Hai, the most luxurious oceanfront resort in Vietnam. It’s among the top ten resorts in Asia, according to the latest edition of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards survey. The seven-year-old beach retreat, ranked twelfth in the 2013 version, climbed two spots this year, marking its highest ranking to date.

For my wife and me, it’s easy to see why. Sixty one-bedroom villas and 40 pool villas occupy 35 hectares of landscaped gardens. The staff are as friendly as any in the world, and our room is like a piece of heaven with its en-suite bath, enormous bed and deep mahogany finish. Best of all, there’s unobstructed views across the East Sea.

NAM-Dining-The Restaurant-Terrace02The pinot noir continues to go down easily as we enjoy an Indian-inspired meal at the resort’s excellent main restaurant. Walking back to our villa, the sky is black and filled with stars. A large gentleman ambles alongside, his face red with good cheer. He turns to enter his villa and in a rich Scottish baritone booms, to no-one in particular, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” Happy Christmas indeed.

It’s not for organisers who prioritise rock-bottom rates above everything else. But in my, and many others’, opinion,  the five-star Nam Hai, Hoi An, is an exceptional destination. And if breathtaking luxury and marvellous food are prime reasons for seeking a really special venue for a meeting, wedding or other event, to celebrate a major corporate success or special occasion, for example, it’s worth considering.

Located on a 35-hectare section of Ha My Beach 30 kilometres south of Da Nang, with its own beautiful stretch of pristine white sand, it features 60 villas and 40 pool villas, each occupying its own section of landscaped gardens and with views of the sea and the nearby Cham Islands.There’s a 75-square-metre meetings facility, The Boardroom, which can be set up for meetings of 14 to 40 people. The 90-square-metre “Open Lounge” can accommodate groups of 30 to 66, or up to 100 at a reception. With brides in mind, it also offers wedding packages.

NAM-Rooms-Beachfront Pool Villa-Pool.Like one of the spectacular dishes served at the main eatery (“The Restaurant”), Hoi An – a town of 88,000 in Central Vietnam – was shaped by the fusion of Asian and European influences. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Faifo, as it was then known, played host to Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and French settlements vying for a piece of Vietnam’s lucrative silk and spice trade. All left their cultural mark. In 1999, UNESCO listed Hoi An’s “Ancient Town”as World Heritage due to its “outstanding material manifestation of the fusion of cultures over time”.

On one of our days spent here, among many other distractions – which include golf, tennis, badminton, basketball, swimming, gym, shopping, massage and so on – I have a full day’s class at the Red Bridge Cooking School to distract me, a Christmas gift from a friend.

The class, which costs USD45++ (shared) or USD55 (private) for a half-day guided tourand cooking session, begins with a walk through an organic herb garden. Soonwe reach the outdoor kitchen to prepare our food. Vietnamese cuisine is practically fat-free, relying on fresh herbs and vegetables, as well as dousings of nuoc mam, a sauce distilled from the carcasses of fermented fish. It sounds hellish but tastes heavenly.

NAM-Poolside-Wedding Events Setup02Over the course of several hours, the guide teaches us how to make clay pot fish with fresh dill, grilled chicken and banana flower salad, and the national dish – a delicious beef and noodle soup,pho bo.

And Hoi An is a fashion-lover’s delight: hundreds of shops sell fitted wool and cashmere suits, skirts, shirts and dresses, as well as shoes, at scarcely-to-be-believed prices. It’s couture carnage as we scuttle from tailor to tailor. Two suits, three jackets, six shirts, two pants and six pairs of underpants later we’re exhausted and looking forward to returning to the haven of the resort.

“In the hotel business, it’s difficult to maintain an edge, let alone get better with age,” says Anthony Gill, the Nam Hai’s General Manager, referring to its latest award. “But it’s possible with passion. This accolade is testament to that. It speaks volumes about our team, owners and management company who collectively always seek ways to improve the guest experience.”

From USD600++ per night (low season) and USD670++ per night (high season)

Organisers reserving a minimum of three consecutive nights can save up to 25% on the best available rate, says a resort spokesperson. “You’ll enjoy two set meals, an indulgent Vietnamese massage that’ll leave you relaxed and other benefits to create the perfect extended stay.” Other special offers can be viewed on the website.

Email: reservations@thenamhai.com.

Resort microsite: www.thenamhaihoian.com.

Luke Heilbuth was a paying guest of the Nam Hai.

NAM-Rooms-Bedroom Villa-Interior03

 

“Just press the icon on this little screen if you need me, sir,” says Maico, the young butler. “We’re on call 24 hours and can sort everything out for you.” He ushers me into an ornate, sprawling suite that looks like a gambler’s den on a Mississippi steamboat.

The pile carpets are rich burgundy and the sofas, chairs and covers on the bed are deep ruby red. The lamplit walls are yellow and ochre, offset by brown drapes and side tables in dark wood.

IMG_8136The gambling-themed décor is appropriate for the 172-suite Maxims Hotel at Resorts World, Manila. A short drive from Manila’s main airport, Maxims is part of a complex that includes a 30,000-square-metre casino as well as two other giant hotels – a 342-room Marriott and a 712-room budget property, the Remington.

Throw in a four-level shopping mall, theatre, ballroom, conference and meeting rooms, restaurants and cinemas and you have a facility that’s so enormous it seems like it’d take all day to explore. (I walked round a great deal, and never got to see it all).

Yet my “deluxe” suite at Maxims, at 72 square metres – bigger than most one-bedroomed apartments – is the smallest accommodation on offer here. The biggest is a 652-square-metre villa, The Mansion.

“Maxims is the first all-suite luxury hotel and Resorts World is the first integrated resort in the country,” explains John Hagamann (pictured, right, with colleagues), International Travel and Trade Sales Officer for the complex.

Each room is assigned a butler to attend to guests’ wants and whims, from their travel itineraries to spa bookings or finding them a dentist in an emergency. And it has the latest in high-tech hotel technology. For instance the big flat-screen TV can convert into a PC monitor that you can operate remotely while lounging in bed.

IMG_8159“Casino visitors are a vital part of our business but we cater for everyone, from MICE visitors to leisure travellers and others en-route to somewhere else looking to spend a night at a really attractive, reasonably priced hotel near the airport,” says John.

The Resorts World complex, jointly owned by Alliance Global Group and Genting Hong Kong, is set to expand further to maximise the use of its 14-hectare property that flanks Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The expansion will take in a three-storey convention centre that can accommodate up to 2,500 people at any time, and two more hotels, a Hilton and a Sheraton, while both Maxims and Marriott here will add more luxury suites.

Suites from $335 a night

The rack rate for deluxe suites starts at PhP14,800++ (USD335) a night, and they can accommodate up to four people. But travel agents and casino guests can expect to pay less than that, says John Hagamann. Rooms at the Remington Hotel next door, part of the same complex, start from as low as PhP1,000 ($25) a night.

Contact Maxims at reservation@rwmanila.com.

The Siteseer was a guest of Maxims Resorts World, Manila.

IMG_8119