Maine cruise port rescinds tax hike
The city council of Rockland, Maine, reversed a decision to increase its per-passenger fee for large cruise ships from $1 to $6. Royal Caribbean, which brought the 2,504-passenger Jewel of the Seas to Rockland last fall and is scheduled to visit again in October, had opposed the 600% fee hike, saying that cruise lines plan and sell cruises much further out than six months. Local businesses supported the reversal, saying that spending by cruise passengers benefited the Rockland economy.
Pleasant Holidays adds U.S. packages
Pleasant Holidays, best known for vacations to Hawaii and other tropical resort areas, is adding points in the U.S. Sunbelt to its lineup, with packages for 116 hotels in Arizona, California, Nevada and Florida. Other U.S. destinations will be added throughout 2011, said CEO Jack Richards.
West Coast gets Turkish Air flight
Turkish Airlines set March 3 as the launch for a nonstop route from Los Angeles to Istanbul. The service, complementing existing flights from New York, Chicago, Washington and Toronto, will operate four times weekly with 777 aircraft.
Bankruptcy ending for Extended Stay
A federal bankruptcy judge approved plans for an investment group to buy Extended Stay America and bring it out of bankruptcy. The $3.9 billion offer, which bested a rival bid by Starwood Capital, was put together by Centerbridge Partners, Paulson & Co. and the Blackstone Group.
Waldorf Astoria coming to London
Hilton plans to open a new Waldorf Astoria hotel in west London's Syon Park in November. The 137-room London Syon Park, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel, will sit near the Syon House, home of the Duke of Northumberland. Guests will have access to park activities, including trout fishing. The Waldorf Astoria brand has namesake hotels in New York, Orlando and Park City, Utah, as well as the Waldorf Astoria Collection.
Wyndham reflags New Orleans hotel
Wyndham reflagged the former Baronne Plaza Hotel in New Orleans, an art-deco landmark that dates from 1931. The 170-room Wyndham Garden Hotel Baronne Plaza New Orleans, the company's fourth in the Big Easy, is one block from the French Quarter.
Disney's Aulani to open the books
Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawaii, will begin accepting reservations for rooms and packages on Aug. 2. The resort is scheduled to open on Aug. 29, 2011. Introductory room rates will start at $399 per night.
Florida Biltmore seeks new lease
Florida's Biltmore Hotel, which is $3.5 million behind on rent and fee payments to the city of Coral Gables, reached an agreement to resume its payments in the first quarter of next year but is seeking to renegotiate its lease, saying the terms are not sustainable for the 275-room luxury hotel. The hotel's operator, Seaway Corp., stopped payments to the city, which owns the national landmark, in April 2009.
Friends & Colleagues
The Caribbean Tourism Organization named Sylma Brown Bramble as director of CTO USA. Brown Bramble, the CTO's former deputy director for projects and administration, had been acting director since August 2008, filling the post vacated by Hugh Riley, now the CTO's secretary general. • • • Suzanne Cook will retire as senior vice president of research for the U.S. Travel Association, effective Aug. 1. Cook plans to continue as a senior adviser to the organization. • • • Jim Holden has been named CEO of African Travel, replacing outgoing managing director Dave Herbert, who founded African Travel in 1976 and resigned in May. Holden previously held positions with Abercrombie & Kent, Grand Expeditions and Travcoa. • • • Rupert Griffith has been named minister of tourism for Trinidad and Tobago. Griffith was first elected to Parliament in 1991 and formerly was speaker of the House. • • • The Dorchester Collection has named Marie-Laure Akdag manager of 45 Park Lane in London. The hotel is set to open in January. Prior to joining 45 Park Lane, Akdag spent three years as director of business development and marketing for the Jumeirah flagship, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.
This column appeared in the July 26 issue of Travel Weekly.