Travel Leaders sets TV, radio campaign
Travel Leaders plans a series of national TV and radio ads as part of a new branding campaign on the theme "We Get You, We Get You There" and the tagline "Travel Better." The TV spots will be seen nationally but particularly in markets with a high concentration of Travel Leaders locations, such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Milwaukee. Individual franchisees will have the option to customize TV and radio spots for local markets.
Delta transcons to get flat beds
Continuing its push to grab a larger share of New York's premium traffic, Delta will reconfigure all 767 and 757 aircraft used in its New York Kennedy service to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles to feature flat beds in Business Elite, beginning in March. The 767s will have 26 beds, 29 Economy Comfort seats and 171 Economy seats, while the 757s will offer 16, 44 and 108, respectively.
Four Seasons opens Beijing property
Four Season Hotels and Resorts opened its first hotel in Beijing, a 313-room property in the city's Liangmahe district. It's the company's third opening in China this year, following the launch of the Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou and the Four Seasons Hotel Pudong, Shanghai.
Hyatt inks deal for Regency in Istanbul
Hyatt agreed to brand a 310-room hotel in Istanbul, to open in January. Located in the western part of the city, the Hyatt Regency Atakoy will have about 18,000 square feet of meetings space.
Bahamas approves weddings at sea
Royal Caribbean plans to offer legal weddings at sea for the first time, under a new law in the Bahamas that will recognize marriage ceremonies performed on Bahamian-flagged ships in international waters. Previously, Bahamian-flagged ships could only offer ceremonial events that had to be repeated on land.
Sandals acquires Grenada resort
Sandals acquired the 100-room LaSource Resort in Grenada for an undisclosed sum, representing the brand's first property in Grenada and the 14th resort in the Sandals portfolio. The property on Pink Gin Beach, on the southern tip of the island, will be renamed Sandals LaSource Grenada Resort & Spa and will reopen when Sandals completes several upgrades, including the addition of 100 guestrooms, private cottages and bungalows with concierge and butler-level suites. The property closed on Oct. 15 due to financial difficulties. It had been owned by Liberty Club Ltd., a company headed by developer Leon Taylor.
Orient-Express rejects Taj offer
Orient-Express rejected a takeover offer from the Tata Group's Indian Hotels Co., which owns the Taj Hotels brand, saying the offer, valued at more than $1.2 billion, was "deeply unattractive from a financial perspective." Indian Hotels offered $12.63 per share in cash in mid-October, when the stock was trading below $9. Orient-Express recently reported adjusted net income for the third quarter of $14.5 million, down 29% from a year ago, as total revenue fell 8.4%, to $162.5 million.
Friends & Colleagues
Alec Sanguinetti, director general and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), will step down Jan. 31, following the annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace. A search committee is being formed to find a replacement for Sanguinetti, who was named to his post in 2003, replacing John Bell, the association's first CEO. Sanguinetti joined the CHTA in 1993 following 33 years in the industry, including executive positions with the airlines BOAC, BWIA, Air Jamaica and Cayman Airways. • • • Travel insurance provider Allianz Global Assistance USA named Alan Josephs chief marketing officer. Josephs has nearly 20 years of experience and will be reuniting with Allianz CEO Mike Nelson; the two worked together previously at Orbitz Worldwide. Josephs most recently was president of Travesse, a San Francisco-based online travel company focused on the luxury hotel market. • • • Orbitz Worldwide tapped former Sara Lee executive Mitch Marcus at the online travel agency's new CFO. Marcus replaces David Belmont, who will return to his position as Orbitz's group vice president of financial planning and analysis. Belmont had been interim CFO since ex-CFO Russell Hammer stepped down in June. • • • Petra Hedorfer relinquished her post as president of the European Travel Commission (ETC). Hedorfer, who is also the CEO of the German National Tourist Board, a post she will retain, has been at the helm of the ETC, an umbrella organization of 33 national tourist boards, since June 2010 and is also a former vice president of the commission.