2011 begins with strong ARC sales
Agents began 2011 with strong air sales, according to ARC's report for January. Total sales rose 10.5%, to $6.6 billion. The value of domestic sales, less taxes, rose 8.2% to $2.8 billion, while the international component rose 12.2%, to nearly $2.7 billion. The total transaction count increased 2%. In dollar volume, it's the best January since the especially vigorous $7.1 billion recorded in 2008. The report covers sales by 14,717 retail locations for 193 carriers.
Hyatt's Andaz to open in China
Hyatt plans to introduce its Andaz brand to Asia this summer with the opening of the Andaz Shanghai, a newly constructed 24-story hotel in the downtown Xintiandi area. The hotel will offer 262 rooms and 45 suites, plus a restaurant, bar and lounge, spa and pool and 14,000 square feet of function space. Andaz has four properties open in the U.S. plus one in London, with several others in development around the world.
Morgans lines up three more hotels
Morgans Hotel Group signed agreements to manage three new hotels, including two resorts opening in 2013 that will carry its Delano brand, one in Cabo San Lucas and the other on Turkey's Aegean coast. The Mexican resort will have 114 rooms plus 23 residences, a restaurant and spa. The resort in Turkey will have 200 rooms and 50 residences as well as several restaurants, a Turkish spa and meetings facilities. The third property is a 175-room hotel in New York, near the High Line park. The hotel is expected to open in 2014 and will carry one of Morgans' existing brands, the company said.
Agenta revived, Opodo to be sold
Amadeus reintroduced its Agenta hosting solution for independent travel agencies in North America. It incorporates the Amadeus Selling Platform, an online booking solution for air and nonair suppliers, plus administrative support and, for U.S. agents, individual Vacation.com membership. Hosting and fulfillment will be handled by Uniglobe in the U.S. and by Merit Travel Group in Canada, Amadeus said. Separately, Amadeus agreed to sell its European travel site Opodo to a pair of private equity funds, AXA Private Equity and Permira Funds, and to continue to provide GDS services to Opodo and two other online sites controlled by the equity partners -- eDreams and GoVoyages -- for 10 years. Subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, Amadeus estimated the deal would yield net proceeds of about $680 million.
Blackstone gets stake in the Del
Owners of San Diego's iconic Hotel del Coronado recapitalized their joint venture and brought in Blackstone Real Estate Advisors as a 60% equity owner in a transaction that values the property at $590 million. Strategic Hotels retains a 34.3% share, with hotel manager KSL Resorts holding a 5.7% interest.
Carlson's Park Inn spreads to Mexico
Carlson began a strategic expansion of its Park Inn lodging brand in Latin America, opening a 111-room hotel in Saltillo, Mexico, capital of the state of Coahuila. Carlson said the midprice brand has 110 hotels, mostly in the U.S. and Europe, with 50 more in development.
Friends & Colleagues
Amadeus Americas' president and CEO, Kay Urban, is retiring after more than three decades in the business. The retirement is effective March 31. Urban was on the ground floor of travel distribution when in 1982 she joined Industry Automation, which subsequently became System One. She advanced through several key executive management positions at System One, which was acquired by Amadeus in 1997. Prior to her current position, Urban served as executive vice president and COO for Amadeus North America. She was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Travel Weekly Readers' Choice Awards in December. With Urban's retirement, Amadeus will promote its current North America COO, Scott Gutz, to president and CEO of distribution for North America and operations for the Americas region. • • • Collette Vacations has appointed Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg to its board of advisors. Wilson-Buttigieg is co-president and co-owner of Valerie Wilson Travel, a company she joined in February 1991. • • • The U.S. Travel Association hired David Huether as a senior vice president in charge of its research department. Huether previously served as chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers and last April became a member of the Board of Economists for the Associated Press.