Author: Helen de Beer

Hilton Prague’s central location makes it an ideal destination for business

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Before the advent of communism, Prague was one of the key locations for business on the continent of Europe. Its position slipped when the Communist Party came to power, as the new administration cracked down on private enterprise. However, since 1989 Prague has been regaining its position as a key city for business in Europe.

Opened in 1991, the Hilton Prague, formerly known as the Atrium Hotel Prague, embodied the new city that emerged that year. Since being taken over by the Hilton Group in 1995, the hotel has emerged as a key location for foreign business conferences, offering both ease of transport, first-rate amenities and unrivalled leisure facilities, both inside the hotel and in the location surrounding it. As a result, the Hilton Prague has been named Best Business Hotel, Czech Republic in the 2015 and 2016 Business Destinations Travel Awards.

The hotel proudly provides guests with ample space and plenty of natural light, offering many rooms, facilities and conference locations

Surrounded by history
Located only a 25-minute drive from the Vaclav Havel Airport, the Hilton Prague is ideally located for business events and conferences, allowing attendees to easily access the city at minimal cost. Whichever mode of public transport visitors decide to take to the hotel, guests are guaranteed to enjoy great views. Of course, the opportunity to appreciate this central location is by no means limited to the commute from the airport to the hotel: the Hilton Prague itself is situated in the popular downtown area of the city, and so is close to a number of key historical and tourist areas of interest.

Located on the banks of the Vltava River, the Hilton Prague is situated only a short walk away from the Kostel Svateho Petra, a church built in the 12th century, as well as countless other historical landmarks, ranging from the City of Prague Museum, which covers the fascinating history of Prague itself, to the National Monument at Vitkov. Guests will also appreciate easy access from the Hilton Prague to the other areas of the city: located within easy reach of Prague Castle, the Lesser Town and the historic Jewish Quarter, the hotel enjoys a truly ideal location that allows guests to explore all corners of the city with ease.

Being situated in such a popular and history-packed area does not come at the expense of the hotel’s own size, however: the hotel proudly provides guests with ample space and plenty of natural light, offering many rooms, facilities and conference locations all under one expansive roof. The Hilton Prague is arguably the best European downtown hotel for large-scale events: within this fantastic central location, it is still able to provide ample room for business conferences, with a huge array of facilities spread across its 4,500sq m area.

Business and pleasure
With its 791 guestrooms, no event planner will find their attendees short of beds, no matter how large the business or party in attendance. At the same time, the hotel has a number of business functional rooms for conferences, either for individual workshops or for a company-sized gathering. All this and more makes the Hilton Prague an ideal choice for business conferences, where the hotel’s size allows it to accommodate an impressive number of guests.

The Hilton Prague’s vast selection of guestrooms includes several different tiers of room category, allowing the most esteemed guests and business executives to wind down in the maximum comfort available after a long day at a business conference. Of the nearly 800 rooms on offer, 141 are executive rooms, which each include a spacious working area and a comfortable living area. Guests in these rooms are also offered a private check-in and checkout option. Furthermore, all guests staying in the hotel’s executive rooms are granted access to the Executive Lounge, which is one of the biggest in Europe. Beyond executive rooms, the hotel also features 30 suites, including a Royal Suite and a luxurious Presidential Suite.

The Hilton Prague’s luxurious sleeping quarters are perfectly complemented by the ample space dedicated to meetings and events. The pinnacle of the Hilton Prague’s business function rooms is its spectacular Congress Hall: this room can hold up to 1,500 people, providing a brilliant space for business functions or gatherings of any size or agenda. This impressive hall is complemented by the elegant Grand Ballroom; an ideal venue for any occasion with up to 650 guests.

Should any such conference wish to branch off into smaller workshops or group meetings, the hotel will provide the necessary space, with three floors dedicated to smaller, more intimate meeting rooms. The Hilton Prague has a total of 38 multipurpose function rooms, alongside a business centre and a 24-hour designated internet room. First-class audio-visual services are also available across the hotel’s meetings and events spaces, allowing for dynamic presentations and full audience participation.

Located 40m above the stunning Vltava River, the Hilton Prague's Cloud 9 Sky Bar and Lounge is Prague’s first true sky bar
Located 40m above the stunning Vltava River, the Hilton Prague’s Cloud 9 Sky Bar & Lounge is Prague’s first true sky bar

The additional business services at the hotel include a team dedicated to assisting corporate functions and conferences, with members ranging from organisers to executive chefs for catering. Offering extensive food and beverage services, including a professional team of international chefs, Hilton Prague is able to host large events with world-class catering. The hotel can also provide off-premises catering at locations as esteemed as Prague Castle or Troja Castle.

After hours
Once the day’s meetings come to a close, there are also plenty of areas where business conference attendees and guests can continue to talk shop: the Prague Hilton’s numerous restaurants and bars, including the Atrium Restauarnt, CzecHouse Grill and Rotisserie, Café & Bistro, and Zest Bar offer a relaxing and sophisticated atmosphere to meet with friends or colleagues. However, the pride of the Hilton Prague is its famous Cloud 9 Sky Bar & Lounge.

Located on the top floor of the hotel, soaring 40m above the stunning Vltava River, Cloud 9 is Prague’s first true sky bar. Indoor and outdoor seating provides stunning panoramic views of the city, while a custom-made lighting system and renovated interior further adds to the enjoyment of the environment. Whether there to eat, drink or relax, Cloud 9 is able to provide an innovative dining experience, with its wide array of inventive food concepts and a list of signature cocktails.

The hotel also provides further opportunities for conference attendees to wind down with LivingWell, its impressive health club and spa, which is spread over an impressive area of more than 2,000sq m. Whether there to burn some calories on the various strength and cardio machines, in the cycling rooms or on the squash court, or relax in the facility’s steam and sauna room, summer terrace or swimming pool, the Hilton Prague will not disappoint.

The hotel’s main draw is undoubtedly its combination of great location and ample size. Its proximity to the airport and the various historic sites in the centre of town does not come at the expense of space, as is the case with so many other hotels in European cities. The Hilton Prague is able to combine the dimensions of an out-of-town hotel with a city centre location, with all the historic sites and tourist attractions you could possibly wish to visit located only minutes away.

The secret to successful hotel rebranding

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Under the leadership of Rupert Simoner, the Vienna House group has embarked on a fresh strategy to reposition itself with a clear new brand; a transition that started from the inside out in order to lay a foundation for continued commercial success and future growth.

The company’s numerous hotels have been categorised into four brands: Vienna House is the umbrella brand for the group’s stylish and tranquil city and resort hotels; andel’s represents unique design; and angelo characterises a colourful and vibrant concept. Finally, there is the Vienna House Easy line, which represents local hospitality and simplicity. Business Destinations spoke to Simoner about the recent changes within the Vienna House hotel group.

What are the main features of Vienna House’s recent rebranding?
One of the most significant changes has been introducing the ‘host’ principle, meaning that our staff have a lot of freedom to be great hosts. The use of new technology, such as charging points on all tables, web-based concierge services and free high-speed internet access are part of our ‘simple and intelligent’ rebranding. Features including mobile check-in and a personal touch in reception are also a strong part of our image. Finally, our new bar and restaurant concept resembles the region where a hotel is located, while our open lobbies and lounge atmosphere provide a space where guests can meet.

What was the reasoning behind this transition?
Today’s guests have excellent access to the most up-to-date information. At the same time, people’s understanding of value is undergoing a transformation: traditional values, such as luxury and star categorisations, are being replaced by personal and bespoke experiences. This is why we have reached a new formula of keeping it simple, which required a change to our company culture, corporate restructuring and communicating a clear brand message.

Vienna House is the umbrella brand for the group’s stylish city and resort hotels; andel’s represents unique design;
and angelo characterises a colourful and vibrant concept

How does the Vienna Easy brand live up to the group’s cosmopolitan European ambiance?
Renovations are ongoing at the Vienna House Easy hotels, although Landsberg and Günzburg have now been finished. This brand focuses on innovative design, a bakery-style breakfast with first-rate local products and a fresh bar concept. The lobby is a place for both work and entertainment, and guests can order the best pizza or coolest sushi in town from a select list of partners.

Why is a personalised reception culture important and how have you achieved it?
We are defined by our core values: enjoyment, refinement, modesty and exploration. The ‘Golden Circle’ principle was also applied when we repositioned the company – it is not what we do, but how we do something, that is crucial for our success. As to why one does something, the answer should never be ‘for profit’, because profit is only one desirable result of an action. Our answer to why is our belief in the beauty of simplicity. Referring to the personalised reception culture, it is about being a great host – we always question our conduct towards guests and all of our stakeholders. Finally, employees can be themselves; we give them the opportunity to shine through training programmes, promotions and a great working environment.

Vienna House is currently expanding across Europe – which areas are you targeting?
Over the last 26 years, we developed hotels in 34 dynamic locations in nine countries: from France to Poland and Austria, which include top tourist destinations, such as Berlin, Bucharest, Krakow, Munich, Disneyland Paris and Prague. We continue to search for new projects with development potential, that have good visibility, are well-connected, and have great appeal for both leisure and business travellers.

The benefits of hosting events in San Francisco’s biggest biotech hub

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Situated north of San Francisco International Airport and only 15 minutes away from Silicon Valley, the South San Francisco Conference Centre is an ideal location for doing business. Equipped with some of the world’s most advanced business technology and a team possessing impressive local knowledge, it is unsurprising that the centre – an industry favourite when it comes to hosting world-class meetings and conferences – has been named Best Meetings and Conference Centre, North America in the 2016 Business Destinations Travel Awards.

Drawing in crowds
The centre’s location is perfectly matched by its exceptional transport links. South San Francisco is a global leader in transportation options, offering ample highways, railways, ocean cargo links and three international airports. Complimentary parking is available at the centre, as well as a free weekday shuttle to and from the South San Francisco BART station, CalTrain station and South San Francisco ferry terminal. In the area surrounding the centre, visitors have access to over 3,000 hotel rooms and motel lodgings, making it the perfect destination for those arriving from out of state.

Additionally, the centre’s attentive team is more than happy to assist with group bookings, ranging from organising group accommodation to overseeing the set-up and running of crucial functions. Offering highly competitive rates for these top-quality services, including technical assistance and customised requests, the South San Francisco Conference Centre strives to ensure that all its events run smoothly and successfully.

South San Francisco, where the South San Francisco Conference Centre is located, is a biotech hub with 15 research and development campuses

One of the key drivers behind the centre’s ability to organise and host extraordinary events is its range of facilities and technologies. The centre boasts 20,500sq ft of flexible meeting space, including a dramatic and well-lit glass atrium, which serves as the perfect pre-function meeting location. The centre also offers a further 3,600sq ft of pre-function space that surrounds its magnificent ballroom. Moreover, the Grand Ballroom can be divided into as many as 10 meeting rooms, while the Baden Room can be halved or expanded with the addition of the Oyster Point Room. All meeting rooms are soundproofed and, uniquely, vehicles can enter the ballroom, creating the potential for motor shows and other innovative corporate displays.

Projection Presentation Technology has been the preferred in-house audio-visual provider for the centre since it opened in 1993. Audio systems for speakers, panels, musicians, video broadcasts and teleconferencing are all available, as well as atmospheric staging and professional theatrical lighting. The facility also features wireless internet access throughout, with fibre-optic connectivity that can support even the most demanding client requirements.

Previously a warehouse, then a photo-processing lab, the current South San Francisco Conference Centre building eventually became an empty eyesore at one of the major entryways to the city. In 1993 it was repurposed as a gleaming conference facility, demonstrating an exceptional commitment to environmental sustainability. In November 2011, the South San Francisco Conference Centre became the first business in the region to earn the Bay Area Green Business Certification, and in 2015 was awarded gold LEED certification from the US Green Building Council.

Room for growth
In recent years, the South San Francisco area has grown to become a hub for biotechnology. The city’s central location provides several advantages for companies and individuals looking to improve their green credentials – for example, access to Stanford University, UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, as well as being in close proximity to a sophisticated selection of Bay Area venture capitalists.

Three decades ago, industry leader Genentech began operating in South San Francisco with four employees and 2,000sq ft of office space, signalling the start of the city’s reputation as a centre for biotechnology innovation. Today, South San Francisco boasts nearly 15 research and development campuses and over 8.5 million sq ft of laboratory, office and manufacturing space – numbers that even to this day continue to grow.

The city has approved an additional three million sq ft of life science-related development, which will be built and completed in the next 10 years, with yet more room to grow in the following years. With a stellar track record in helping companies to move from their initial trial-and-error phase to a more focused long-term approach, the city prides itself on welcoming and nourishing start-ups.

Furthermore, the city has invested more than $250m in public works projects that will improve the business climate and quality of life for all residents in South San Francisco. Most recent projects include a new water quality control plant, a newly constructed overpass and flyover at Oyster Point, improvements to the city’s sewerage system, and an extension to the BART transit system to San Francisco International Airport that will help to link visitors and commuters with the larger area’s highly skilled workforce.

With more than 62,000 people employed across various companies, industries and academia, South San Francisco is one of North America’s unparalleled intellectual capitals. At present, over 14,000 people work for more than 100 companies within the bioscience industry alone: according to the California Healthcare Institute, the Bay Area contains the highest concentration of biotech employees in the state.

Diverse culture
San Francisco is known for its cultural offerings. With the South San Francisco Conference Centre located only 15 minutes away from the city’s thriving centre, there are plenty of things to see and do in between meetings: world-class shopping facilities, sports, arts, botanical gardens and multicultural neighbourhoods are just a few of the attractions on offer from the city that is known internationally for its inclusivity, diversity and culture.

Additionally, the city’s outstanding culinary offerings are not to be missed. Wide-ranging and catering for all tastes and cultures, the city’s reputation for providing excellent food precedes it. The South San Francisco Conference Centre’s awareness of this citywide status has resulted in a keen interest in providing only the finest catering facilities for visitors: all food is prepared onsite and is made with the freshest ingredients across a selection of high-quality, organic dishes. Conference planners prepare individual menus for each event, including refreshments during breaks and hors d’oeuvres for more casual occasions.

The historical city of Boston is the first choice for modern meetings

Posted on by Helen de Beer

From the downtown core to the outlying neighbourhoods, Boston is a city of intriguing diversity. With a mix of colonial charm and urban sophistication, the city offers great dining and nightlife, extraordinary shopping, championship professional and college sports teams, and a vibrant arts and cultural community. The city’s dynamism has seen it named as the Best Destination for MICE, North America in the 2016 Business Destinations Travel Awards.

A world centre for education, technology and life sciences, known also as the ‘Athens of America’, Boston and Cambridge’s medical and educational institutions have helped to make Boston an international location of learning . The metropolitan area’s 35 hospitals and more than 60 colleges and universities are a vast resource for meetings, while groups that meet in Boston and Cambridge also have access to world-renowned financial and biotech institutions located in the Greater Boston area.

Development and attractions
Boston and Cambridge boast a variety of hotel products to suit the needs of any traveller – from five-star boutique and independently owned properties to all of the major domestic and international brands. There’s something for everyone.

There are more than 40 new hotel projects planned in Greater Boston, with potential for more than 5,000 new hotel rooms to be added to the city’s inventory over the next four years. These hotels are a mixture of full service hotels, boutique properties and extended-stay facilities.

There are so many different things to do in Boston, it can be hard to know where to start. To begin, you could walk the Freedom Trail, which is made up of 16 historically significant sites linked together along a unique 2.5 mile urban walking trail, marked with a brick or painted red line. Many travellers also visit Fenway Park, the home of the Red Sox, which is known as ‘America’s most beloved ballpark’ and is nestled in the city of Boston. During your visit to the ballpark, you could sit atop the world famous Green Monster, which stands 37ft high overlooking leftfield, grab a ticket to a game, take a public tour, or just walk around the outside while exploring the city.

Known as ‘America’s walking city’, Boston’s two convention centres feature the fastest airport-to-convention transfers in the country

The Boston Public Library is definitely worth exploring. Established in 1848, it was the first large free municipal library in the US. The library holds several first edition folios by Shakespeare, original music scores ranging from Mozart to Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and the personal library of President John Adams.

The Boston Common and Public Garden together represent the starting point of the Freedom Trail. Boston Common is the oldest park in the country and is almost 50 acres in size, and the Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in America. There are many rich and unusual plants to admire, as well as the lagoon, monuments, fountains and the swan boats floating peacefully by on the middle pond.

A wealth of history
Built in 1742, Faneuil Hall was home to merchants, fishermen and meat produce sellers. Today, customers enjoy unique, locally loved and nationally recognised shops, while indulging in the worldwide cuisine at numerous restaurants.

Nearby, the Rose Kennedy Greenway is a mile and a half of contemporary parks in the heart of Boston, connecting people and the city with beauty and fun. The Greenway has a number of offerings for visitors, including seven water features to cool off in, many renowned food trucks and carts with a variety of distinctive, affordable food options, as well as one of the largest free public Wi-Fi networks in the Commonwealth.

Continuing your adventure, the Boston Harbour Islands is a National Park comprised of 34 stunning islands, eight of which are accessible to the public via ferryboat. However, if the sea isn’t your thing then Assembly Row – Boston’s newest premiere-brand outlet – is a dining and entertainment village located just seven minutes by subway from downtown Boston.

The Boston area is home to two of the most prestigious universities in the country – Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – while neighbouring Cambridge is worth a trip across the Charles River. With its stunning architecture and incredible diversity of restaurants and shopping attractions, Cambridge attracts a mix of students, locals and sightseers. The area is also home to many museums, including the Harvard Art Museums, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and the MIT Museum, to name but a few.

Getting out and about
Boston and neighbouring Cambridge provide upscale, international and eclectic options for the taste buds, and each unique neighbourhood is home to a whole different dining scene. New restaurants join the mix on a regular basis, keeping things fresh and cutting-edge. In addition to Boston’s great dining scene, the city has a mobile option in the form of food trucks. The food truck phenomenon has grown substantially over the past few years, providing many styles of food.

For more food and drink, the Boston Public Market opened in 2015. The attraction features pushcart vendors and a new indoor, year-round 28,000sq ft public market, with 45 permanent vendors and an additional exterior market, which can accommodate up to 20 further vendors on the plaza outside. The Kitchen at Boston Public Market is a 3,200sq ft space offering chef demonstrations, cooking classes and year-round programming that showcases regionally sourced food.

The city’s Logan International Airport offers non-stop international services to 53 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, with more being added every day. In the past 10 years, the airport has been successful in expanding services to 10 European and Middle Eastern destinations, and has added new services from 17 European, Asian and Middle Eastern destinations.

To help facilitate the increase in passenger traffic – estimated to reach six million international passengers by 2022 – the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) will be expanding the international terminal at Logan Airport. Construction has already begun, to create and reconfigure 130,000sq ft in the international terminal to accommodate the Airbus 380, which will be flown by Emirates, Lufthansa and British Airways. Starting in 2018, Massport will begin work on an expansion of the terminal, including new gates, an expanded customs area and a covered pedestrian walkway to the Airport MBTA subway station.

Logan International Airport is just three miles from the city, and visitors can easily access Boston by subway, taxi, bus or water taxi. Once in Boston, travellers find the city has excellent access to air, rail, and bus connections. Known as ‘America’s walking city’, Boston’s two convention centres feature the fastest airport-to-convention transfers in the country. However, when you can’t get around by foot, the city is easily accessible by the T, Boston’s public transportation system. What’s more, planners and delegates find that Boston is a very safe city to move around in.

Boston and Cambridge are remarkable cities with much for visitors to enjoy. From seafood and shopping to museums and festivals, or from coffee shops to taking a stroll through the historic Harvard Yard, Boston and Cambridge offer a unique experience for any traveller.

The Kursaal Bern offers inspiring meetings in the Swiss capital

Posted on by Helen de Beer

The Kursaal Bern is an all-in-one complex that is unique not only in the city of Bern, but across the entirety of Switzerland. Under a single roof it offers the finest facilities for first-class conferences and events, award-winning MICE amenities, a superior lifestyle hotel, great gastronomy and the city’s only casino, all from a spectacular vantage point high above the city.

The Kursaal Bern features 27 conference, meeting and event rooms that can accommodate anywhere from two participants up to 1,500. With three additional rooms scheduled to open at the end of 2016, the centre’s state-of-the-art facilities and superior standard of service have made it a top destination for congress and business tourism. Recent years have seen extensive upgrading of infrastructure and technology, transforming the Kursaal complex into a top venue for events of national and international importance. In 2014, it was recognised by the Swiss MICE Awards as the country’s best congress centre.

Views of the Alps
The in-house Hotel Allegro offers comfort, quiet relaxation and breathtaking views of Bern and the snow-capped Alps beyond. Comprising 171 rooms and suites, including a penthouse floor with eight luxury lodgings, the hotel provides spacious and stylish accommodation teamed with distinctive design and décor.

Guests of the Hotel Allegro have included royalty, world statesmen and sports celebrities. Two individually designed suites within the hotel have been named after eminent figures who enjoyed close connections with the city. The Albert Einstein Suite offers a fascinating insight into the life and work of the famous physicist, notably during his years in Bern (1902 to 1909), while the Paul Klee Suite is dedicated to the Bernese-born expressionist artist.

Recent years have seen extensive upgrading of infrastructure and technology, transforming the Kursaal complex into a top venue

Alongside this luxurious hotel, the Kursaal Bern also features four speciality restaurants. The centre’s culinary focal point is the Restaurant Meridiano, which boasts one Michelin Star and 17 Gault-Millau points, and is renowned far beyond the borders of Bern for its elegant but easygoing atmosphere. The Giardino, meanwhile, serves the tempting tastes of the Mediterranean: in summer, sitting by the picturesque pond on the terrace is an experience not to be missed. The trendy Yù is Bern’s evening gourmet getaway for exotic Asian dishes, including the Asian Dream Buffet twice a week, while the Atrium is where hotel guests enjoy breakfast and a sumptuous lunch buffet.

The attractive Allegro Bar serves a selection of simple snacks, aperitifs and cocktails. Additionally, for lovers of cigars and exclusive malt whiskies, the Zino Platinum Cigar Lounge is a must. Another popular attraction is the in-house Grand Casino, which offers 14 gambling tables as well as 350 slot machines with 60 different games. Admission is free of charge for Hotel Allegro guests, and some 94 percent of receipts are paid out in winnings.

A century of tradition
The Kursaal Bern combines a century of Swiss tradition with the most modern of comforts. It is well served by Switzerland’s public transport system, a network that is internationally acclaimed as one of the world’s most extensive and efficient. Bern can be reached by direct train services from Zurich and Geneva airports, and by road transfer and train from Basel’s EuroAirport.

Bern’s own passenger-friendly airport is currently served by direct flights from Amsterdam, Berlin-Tegel, Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn, Munich, London City, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Vienna. Furthermore, Hotel Allegro guests are entitled to free travel on the city’s own public transport system with the complimentary Bern Ticket.

Another plus point for Bern is its reputation for personal safety. The Mercer Quality of Living Survey for 2016 lists Bern (tying with Zurich) as the city in Switzerland with the highest personal safety record – and the second highest in Europe.

For further information email PetraAnna.Siebert@kursaal-bern.ch

Madrid successfully combines business with pleasure

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Madrid is a lively, cosmopolitan and friendly city with a penchant for making visitors feel at home. The capital of Spain and the country’s largest city, Madrid is a place for doing business and embracing new trends, offering a safe and comfortable setting where taking time out and doing business are equally enjoyable. The city’s rich culture, astounding natural heritage, cutting-edge transportation network, superb accommodation and fine cuisine are perfectly complemented by the passion of its locals and its exemplary range of day and night time activities. Such a unique combination of assets has helped to create a city that is truly one of the most attractive in the world.

During a visit to Madrid, visitors will find that its hotels are so much more than a mere place to sleep: they are a point of reference across Europe for their services, comfort, safety, accessibility and gastronomy. The nearly 900 hotels across the city offer visitors innumerable ways to enjoy their leisure time, as well as their business hours. Throughout this selection there are hotels of all types, and to suit all budgets, but they all share one key feature: quality.

Madrid’s growing collection
Madrid has a modern and innovative hotel capacity that is engaged in a constant process of renewal and expansion, allowing it to provide a wide range of rates and categories to satisfy all tastes and requirements. From hotels that have been standing for over a century to ones that have opened only in the last year and boast state of the art design, and from five-star hotels to the municipal youth hostel in the heart of the city, Madrid is able to offer something for everyone.

In only the last few months, the city has seen an array of classical hotels reopening their doors, including the NH Collection Eurobuilding, NH Collection Colón, Iberostar Las Letras Gran Vía and the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel. Additionally, several small and boutique hotels, such as the Principal, Urso Hotel and Spa, Hotel Único and NH Suecia, have recently opened their doors.

With regards to the near future, Palladium Hotels is currently adding the final touches to its new Only You Hotel, which is located in the centre of the city close to the Atotcha high-speed railway station, while international brands like Four Seasons and W continue to focus on upcoming projects within the Spanish capital.

870

Hotels in Madrid

42,640

Rooms

81,672

Beds

26

Five-star hotels

Source: Madrid Convention Bureau
2016 figures

A hub of gastronomy
Few things are more enticing to travellers than a faultless combination of rest, relaxation and fine dining. To this end, Madrid’s hotels place particular emphasis on their culinary offering, to the point where many of the most emblematic restaurants in the capital are located within its hotels. This is certainly the case with NH Collection Eurobuilding, which is home to DiverXO restaurant and its three-Michelin-starred chef Daviz Muñoz. Additionally, Hotel Unico and the Principal Hotel are home to the cuisine of two-Michelin-starred chef Ramón Freixá, while Hotel Wellington’s Japanese restaurant Kabuki hosts Michelin-starred chef Ricardo Sanz.

Excellent service, fine dining and world-class chefs are just some of the features that are frequently found across Madrid’s supply of accommodations, while pillow menus, in-room hot tubs and courtesy cars for touring the city are a few of the complimentary services that the city’s top hotels are known to provide for their most discerning customers.

Few cities can boast the conditions and assets that make Madrid the ultimate location for hosting professional meetings, conferences, conventions and incentive trips. Madrid’s exceptional range of accommodation and value for money is complemented by excellent infrastructure, modern congress facilities, highly specialised services and economic vitality.

However, the city’s competitive advantage is not limited to these few differences: the Spanish capital offers the unique possibility of combining work with leisure, making work meetings an enjoyable experience. In Madrid, where meetings can be held and business deals can be closed amid the city’s unbeatable entertainment, food and cultural agenda, the line separating business and pleasure is a blurred one.

The Austrian Alps are one of this summer’s must-visit destinations

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Kitzbühel, located in the Tirol region of Austria, is an area where modern lifestyle blends seamlessly with authentic alpine tradition. Surrounded by magnificent mountains, Kitzbühel offers its visitors days that are filled with originality, natural brilliance and technical innovation, making it the ideal location for meetings that require fresh perspectives and creative thinking at any time of the year.

Those who choose Kitzbühel as their conference destination can look forward to top quality facilities, unique perspectives, a distinctive ambience and a wide range of services and hotels. With its outstanding location inside the triangle of airports of Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck, the ‘most legendary city of sports in the Alps’ is far easier to access than one might think.

Summer sports
Offering a wide variety of conference centres, hotels and restaurants at a high standard and excellent value for money, Kitzbühel is the ultimate destination for MICE planners and participants looking for something slightly different. Visitors have the opportunity to draw on the dynamic spirit of one of the Alps’ most celebrated sporting locations, guaranteeing an enriched meeting experience, as well as an exciting leisure itinerary once the deals have been closed.

Boasting world-class skiing facilities in the winter, the region is just as invigorating during the summer months, hosting high-profile events such as the global super yacht event Boat International 2016 earlier this year and the Global Wellness Summit, which will bring executives, delegates and visionaries from the international wellness industry to the area in October. Activities such as golf, paragliding and canyoning are also on offer throughout the summer months.

The Kitzbühel region boasts over 9,000 hotel beds in an assortment of star ratings, ranging from rustic farmyard lodges to exquisite five-star resorts and conference centres. The area guarantees an ideal location to suit every event: for example, the modern K3 KitzKongress centre, which opened in 2010, offers state-of-the-art facilities in a beautiful, contemporary building. With a range of multipurpose rooms, from the 365sq m Palladium conference hall to the 11 additional seminar rooms, K3’s success is based on its ideals of transparency and hospitality.

The great outdoors
Kitzbühel’s convenient location means it is perfectly situated for a variety of excursions, including sights such as the mesmerising Swarovski Crystal Worlds. The town’s combination of beautiful landscapes, exciting attractions, traditional architecture and top sporting facilities makes for a truly inspiring setting, where visitors are able to find serenity and rest as easily as they might find exhilarating new experiences. Kitzbühel’s picturesque town centre is ideal for a leisurely stroll through historic streets, while the expansive range of hiking, running and bike trails weaving through the stunning Alps provide the perfect outlet for those looking to try something more challenging.

The alpine region has been recognised for its excellence as a business destination on numerous occasions. In 2015, two Kitzbühel MICE partners received the Austrian Ecolabel; the highest national award for recognising high standards of sustainable tourism. K3 KitzKongress was one of the winners, being recognised as one of the Austrian leaders in green meetings and events. K3 has adopted a particularly sustainable and responsible approach in areas including regional value creation and social compatibility, as well as providing environmentally friendly travel connections for its guests. The second winner, the four-star sports and spa hotel Bichlhof was awarded the Austrian Ecolabel as a result of its dedication to providing sustainable accommodation.

Kitzbühel recognises that it is people who truly bring out the best in a destination: as such, the area’s impressive and dedicated workforce collaborate across dozens of hotels and venues to ensure each and every guest’s experience of the area is smooth, effective and enjoyable. This collective pool of resources has helped Kitzbühel to earn its impressive reputation as one of Austria’s most exciting, unique and enjoyable destinations for business events.

Airlines are more reliant on information technology than ever

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Major advances in information technology are giving key global industries reason to reconsider legacy-operating models and review their strategic priorities, in keeping with changing consumer demands. Global travel and aviation is no exception: the industry has been forced to confront radical and wide-reaching changes over the last decade, with companies fighting to survive in what remains a hyper competitive marketplace.

Information Systems Associates FZE (ISA) has been in the business of providing high-performance technology to the global travel and airlines business since 2005. ACCELaero, the company’s core Passenger Service System (PSS), has processed more than 138 million bookings with a high availability of hosting service that boasts a record-breaking performance of 99.999 percent up time, exceeding the industry average of 99.95 percent.

Having picked up the Business Destinations Travel Award for the Best PSS for LCC and Hybrid Airlines Global 2016, along with the award for Best Emerging PSS Provider for the Airline Industry Global 2016, ISA is fast gaining a reputation as a pioneer in the global travel and aviation industry. The company’s CEO, Nader A Shukralla, told Business Destinations: “It is a prestigious honour that serves to recognise the best of the best within our ranks, as the nominations were given to companies globally whose products and services represent a superlative offering to the travel industry.”

ISA has assembled a crack team of 100 innovators in a bid to regularly deliver advanced new technologies

Unique among travel accolades, as the nominees were selected not only by an elite panel of judges, but by a vast and diverse cross-section of primary users and purchasers of corporate travel, the recipients of the Business Destinations Travel Awards offer an insight into the best that the industry has to offer. “Winning the Best PSS provider for LCC and Hybrid and Best Emerging PSS provider will reaffirm our position as global leader in the set domain and will put ISA and its flagship ACCELaero on the world map for many years to come”, said Shukralla.

An extensive portfolio
ISA uses the latest, cutting-edge open source and licensed technologies in the correct mix, in order to provide maximum value for money, as well as robust and uninterrupted services to its clients. A mobile-first design approach and the micro-service application architecture have paved the way for the company’s innovative cloud platform, which provides vertical and horizontal scalability. Headed by an experienced design team of highly skilled UI/UX professionals, with a proven track record on a local and international scale, ISA utilises modern day practices and the latest technology to craft the perfect user experience and optimise usability and cross-browser/platform capabilities.

Being an IT solutions provider for the aviation sector, ISA is quick to understand and adapt to an ever-changing landscape. ISA’s research and development team are always on the lookout for market changes, and regularly develop action plans that will enable the firm to adopt and react to otherwise unforeseen circumstances.

At the company’s research and development centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, ISA has assembled a crack team of 100 innovators in a bid to regularly deliver advanced new technologies like ACCELaero. The solution in question is a portfolio of three product suites, each distinct and geared towards specific business objectives: retail, operational fulfilment and business productivity. Consisting of core PSS solutions and distribution connectivity options, aeroMART provides consistent operational and service delivery fulfilment, while aeroLINE is a set of business-focused solutions meant to hone productivity and revenue. This ACCELaero portfolio allows airlines to deliver unique customer experiences, increase revenue, lower cost and manage risk effectively.

ACCELaero represents a deep portfolio of powerful technologies and integrated solutions. And while the technology evolves on a daily basis to address the many and multifaceted business problems of today, it is agile enough to respond to the problems of tomorrow. Built using the latest technologies and open architecture, ACCELaero is a future-proof solution set that brings together data from all quarters and a portfolio of innovations to help transform business in the long term.

Another of ISA’s solutions, aeroPORT, is a suite of products with a similarly rich graphical user interface and optimised performance, which helps to manage passengers and aircraft before departure. With aeroPORT FLY (ISA’s departure control solution) and aeroPORT TRIM (the next generation weight and balance solution), the company is no stranger to the latest advances in airline technology.

Perhaps ISA’s most valuable system, aeroPORT FLY is a check-in and departure control solution for airlines and airports that enables airport staff to serve and process passengers and baggage quickly, securely and efficiently through an easy to use interface and logical business flows. Check-in and boarding processes are also made to feel simple and user-friendly, which again reduces the time taken to assist passengers.

Getting better with age
With a wide range of products on offer that are specifically catered to the airline, airport, travel and tourism sectors, ISA takes great pride in the remarkable progress it has made since its inception, having reached many milestones along the way.

Shukralla told Business Destinations: “Our quality assurance (QA) team ensures that software released to market meets end-user needs, is scalable, stable, secure, and high performing. The team of QA specialists at ISA undertake thorough analysis to identify and locate issues or bugs across the whole software life cycle (design, implementation and deployment) using both an automated and manual testing approach to assure the quality.”

Over the course of its 11 years in the aviation industry, the company has maintained standards above and beyond the industry benchmark. Furthermore, ISA’s research and development team not only watch, but thoroughly analyse key changes within the market and create responsive action plans to suit any situation that might arise.

Asked about the company’s plans for the future, ISA’S CEO replied that winning the World’s Leading PSS Provider award at the World Travel Awards 2015 helped to accelerate its global expansion: “Never before have we been this focused on our international foray. We see Europe, Australia and the Americas as new, interesting and untapped markets, so much so that we are now ready for a rapid business expansion as part of our global expansion programme.”

As far as business growth is concerned, the Middle East – and particularly the UAE, where ISA is based – is very much the aviation centre of today. As such, the company has recently seen exponential organic growth, as well as rapid inorganic growth.

ISA has focused primarily on the market in the MENA region for some time; a strategy that has most certainly served the company well over the last 11 years. However, the past two years have seen ISA expand more widely, especially within Southeast Asia, and from this year on, the company’s focus will fall on further global expansion. Already ISA is in advanced negotiations with several airlines in different regions.

According to the CEO, this is an incredibly exciting phase in the company’s history and it is well positioned to bring increased choice to the marketplace. “Through ACCELaero, we are offering a deep portfolio of solutions that are sufficiently broad, in order to reach almost every aspect of the airlines business.”

Provided companies like ISA continue to innovate and keep tabs on the latest advances in IT solutions, the aviation and airlines business looks set to continue developing far into the future

Hilton Worldwide returns to Morocco

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Hilton Worldwide has returned to Morocco, introducing a charming new location that is set to entice tourists from both near and afar. The city of Tangier, a bustling port town that is located at the northern tip of Morocco on the Strait of Gibraltar, was carefully chosen for Hilton’s new site precisely for its overwhelming potential and rapid development trajectory.

Given the rate with which Morocco’s second economic centre is growing, the Hilton Garden Inn Tanger City Centre is wholly dedicated to being a world-class, service-driven hotel that simultaneously offers excellent value for money. With this focus at the core of its model, the hotel’s offerings for both the business and leisure traveller are second to none in the region.

A bridge between continents
Although the destination overlooks the lapping blue waves of the Mediterranean and is close to both ancient and modern sightseeing attractions, Tangier is surprisingly unknown to the typical tourist.

The hotel itself is located just metres away from the Mediterranean Sea, making it a huge draw for visitors who wish to experience Morocco’s rich culture while also enjoying the delights of a coastal destination. In addition to such spectacular views, hotel visitors can take advantage of the fact that the distance from Morocco’s coast to that of southern Europe is the shortest distance between two continents on the planet: as such, visitors are able to reach Spain in just 35 minutes via ferry.

Tangier City was carefully chosen for Hilton’s new site precisely for its overwhelming potential and rapid development trajectory

The Hilton Garden Inn is also a short drive away from the city’s most popular historic attractions, such as the Moulay Hafid Historical Palace, the Theatro Cervantes, the Grand Socco and Petit Socco, along with a tantalising variety of authentic local restaurants. Other major attractions in the city include open space stadiums, shops, cinemas, entertainment activities and a buzzing casino.

Similarly close are many of the country’s greatest ancient charms, such as the riveting Caves of Hercules, where it is believed the son of Zeus stayed before his 11th labour. Then there is the famous blue-washed village, Chefchaouen, a stunning town located in the Rif Mountains that possesses an enthralling history and a strong feel of the otherworldly.

The heart of business
The Hilton Garden Inn is also in close proximity to the various international corporations that are located in Tangier; an impressive list that includes Coca-Cola, Danone, Delphi, Ford Motors, Maersk, Renault and Yazaki. The hotel has thus positioned itself as an excellent venue for business, while also offering a location that is ideal for leisure and relaxation during those free moments. For example, Tangier City’s first mall is located on the same site as the hotel, providing the utmost convenience for all of its guests. Moreover, the Hilton Garden Inn is only a short walk from the city’s central high-speed railway station, as well as its biggest convention centre.

The hotel attracts the most discerning of business travellers through an array of world-class services, including meeting rooms, a 24-hour business centre and fitness facilities, an on-site restaurant and bar, self-service laundry facilities, and its own Pavilion Pantry convenience store. Rooms offer both comfort and practicality, providing king or queen-sized beds and hot beverage making facilities, as well as a sizeable work desk with an ergonomic chair and adjustable lighting for those working around the clock. Other amenities include an iron and ironing board, mini-bar, safe, hair dryer and 40-inch flat screen TV.

Naturally, with the Hilton name come other benefits as well, such as the chance for visitors to participate in the Hilton HHonors reward programme: this scheme allows travellers to earn points from both air miles and hotels at over 3,800 locations around the world. Furthermore, event planners can benefit from the Hilton HHonors Event Planner programme, which earns them event credits that can be redeemed at hotels around the globe, making their experience at the Hilton Garden Inn rewarding in every sense of the word.


Raouf Benchedli is Cluster General Manager of Hilton Garden Inn Tanger City Centre and Hilton Tanger City Centre Hotels & Residences

Golf drives property buyers to Spain and Portugal in 2016

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Europe is now home to more than 7,000 standard golf courses and 4.14 million registered golfers. Top of the country leader board both in its number of courses and players is England, according to the Golf Participation Report for Europe 2016 by KPMG, and despite its comparatively small population, Scotland comes in fourth and seventh respectively.

It is little wonder then that a large percentage of British people that buy a property abroad choose one that is located on a golf resort, or within a short drive of a fairway. Playing a round under the Mediterranean sun with dazzling sea views makes a nice change to the conditions we put up with back in the UK, especially in the winter. Plus, quality golf properties typically let easily, helping owners to pay for them. So, if you’re looking to hole yourself a holiday golf pad in 2016, here’s an overview of two of Europe’s most popular golfing destinations.

Costa del Sol, Spain
Boasting nearly 60 courses, Spain’s famously sunny Costa del Sol has golf properties to suit all tastes and budgets, from your everyday family or couple to international celebrities. But with so much choice, where should potential buyers start?

A firm favourite with British owners is the Nueva Andalucia area, which is essentially an inland, more residential extension of glitzy Puerto Banus. It is also known as Golf Valley, thanks to the fact that much of the area is built around three quality courses; Las Brisas, Aloha and Naranjos. Townhouse prices start at around €250,000, while villas in gated communities are available for around €550,000.

Next door to Golf Valley, close to Benahavís, are some of the Costa del Sol’s most upmarket golf resorts, including La Zagaleta, Los Arqueros, La Quinta, Monte Mayor and Marbella Club. Multi-million price tags ensure that only celebrities, royalty and the super wealthy own properties here.

For championship-standard golf, head further west to the chic marina resort Sotogrande, home to Ryder Cup host and arguably Spain’s most famous golf club, Valderrama. Next door are the equally impressive courses at Almenara and San Roque, both with smart homes situated around them.

Back in the eastern half of the Costa del Sol, properties become more affordable as you move towards Málaga. Rio Real, Los Monteros, El Rosario, Las Chapas and Cabopino are all popular communities, but Elviria is a particular favourite with British buyers. Elviria includes two golf courses – Santa Maria and Elviria Hills – and a lively beachfront that includes the Nikki Beach and Beach House beach clubs. Depending on location, apartments are available for around €150,000 – more if they’re close to the golf course or beach.

The Algarve, Portugal
It’s an exciting time to be sampling golfing properties in Portugal: 2016 marks 50 years since the first golfer teed off in the Algarve, namely at Penina in Portimão. Since then, the Algarve has grown into a top notch international golf destination, which boasts 25 courses and has hosted the Portuguese Open no fewer than 23 times, as well as 35 additional tournaments on the European Tour and Senior Tour. To mark the 50th anniversary, guest golfers at top Algarve courses are being offered the chance to win 50 green fees.

“A record 1.2 million rounds were played in the Algarve in 2015”, said Laura Richards, Portugal Buying Specialist at Property Guides. “Good news for homeowners is that 2016 is looking to at least match that. In terms of property, prices in Portugal grew by 3.4 percent in the year to Q3 2015, and now stand 9.1 percent above their lowest level of 2013. Positive annual growth has now been recorded every quarter since Q4 2013.”

The focal point of golf there is the world-class ‘golden triangle’ resorts of Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago, each offering championship courses and a large choice of property – much of it luxury. Celebrity homeowners in these parts include sports stars such as Rubens Barrichello, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Teddy Sheringham, José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo.

For more affordable property that is still located near the beach and golf courses, take a look around Albufeira in the central Algarve, or Lagos in the west. Numerous flights into Faro or Lisbon from the UK make for excellent air access.

 

Visit the Property Guides website for more information

A closer look at Spain and Portugal’s property markets

Posted on by Helen de Beer

Although the days are getting longer and it is finally possible to leave the house without five layers of clothing, many of us Brits are still counting down the days to our summer holidays. However, even luckier are those who are about to head off on an overseas viewing trip, hoping to find the dream property that will eradicate the need for jumpers once and for all.

If you are planning on getting away in the next few months, you won’t be alone: this year, Property Guides has seen traditional Mediterranean destinations experience a resurgence in popularity. Research agency GfK has revealed that over half a million more Britons have already booked to go on holiday in Spain or Portugal this year than in 2015, and by the end of January 2016 the travel industry had booked more all-inclusive packages to Portugal than it did in the whole of 2015’s summer season.

As of April, over 40 percent of all British holidays booked are for Spain. Meanwhile, bookings to Egypt are down by 60 percent, while Turkey has seen a 35 percent decrease.

Significant market growth
Currently, 68 million foreign visitors flock to Spain every year. As this number continues to rise, the sentiment with regards to Spain’s property market is undeniably positive from all sides: property consultancy firm CBRE recently released its Global Investor Intentions 2016 report, which revealed that Spain sits in third place on the wish list of professional international property investors looking to transfer in Europe. The study showed that 10.2 percent of the investors surveyed said that they favoured Spain.

Germany clinched the top spot with 17 percent of the vote, followed by the UK, with 15.1 percent. Of all the locations in Spain, Madrid was cited as the most attractive choice for investors, with 12.2 percent of respondents stating that it is their primary target for 2016.

As this overseas interest continues to aid market recovery, CBRE has predicted there will be a 20 percent leap in the number of property transactions taking place in Spain in 2016, when compared with 2015. It also predicts that prices will creep up by 5.9 percent.

Good fortune
The good news isn’t just reserved for the Spanish market, however. Portugal has also been experiencing marked growth, due in part to the success of the country’s Golden Visa scheme: since this fast track programme for non-EU investors came into play four years ago, €1.82bn has been invested into Portugal. Of this, €1.65bn has been used to purchase real estate.

Much like in neighbouring Spain, Portugal’s market recovery has been fuelled by this overseas interest. In February 2016 alone, 97 Golden Visas were granted to Chinese investors, 13 to Brazilian buyers, five to Russians, two to South African purchasers, and two to buyers from Lebanon.

Things are looking positive across the board in Portugal: interest in the country remains solid, new buyer enquiries are on the up, demand from both domestic and international buyers is increasing month by month across every region, and things are expected to continue on this upwards trajectory for the foreseeable future.

In terms of prices, agents in Portugal are forecasting that house prices will increase by two percent nationally over the course of the next 12 months. Of all the regions, Lisbon and the Algarve are expected to experience above average growth of 2.6 percent and 2.2 percent respectively.

It’s been an undeniably tricky few years for these Mediterranean destinations, but finally it looks like the markets have nowhere to go but up.

 

AccorHotels buys onefinestay for $170m

Posted on by Helen de Beer

In a bid to participate in the increasingly encompassing ‘sharing economy’, Europe’s biggest hotel group, AccorHotels, has acquired the high-end home rental site onefinestay for around $170m.

While AccorHotels will own onefinestay when the deal is complete, the latter will maintain its own branding and operate as an independent unit. It will also continue to be run by Co-Founder Greg Marsh and his team.

AccorHotels, whose subsidiaries include Mercure Hotels, Sofitel and Hotel Ibis, now plans to invest some $73m in order to assist in onefinestay’s upcoming global expansion. According to Reuters, onefinestay hopes to enter around 40 new cities over the next five years, a move that will see its revenue grow tenfold from the $21.4m it earned last year.

The acquisition marks one facet of the new strategy that is being led by AccorHotels’ Chief Executive Sebastien Bazin, which also involves a major reshuffle and the sale of 85 economy and midscale hotels in Europe for around €504m.

“This acquisition is very much strategic for AccorHotels and fits in perfectly with what we’ve been doing over the past three years”, Bazin told Business Destinations. “It strengthens our presence in the luxury market with a complementary offer and helps us capture the growing trend in private rentals.”

Similarly to Airbnb – onefinestay’s biggest rival – onefinestay provides a platform for short-term home rentals, thereby benefitting both the homeowner, by providing an extra income, and the traveller, by means of homely accommodation that is often far cheaper than a hotel.

At present, onefinestay manages around 2,600 luxury properties in London, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, with a Rome launch expected this summer. According to Bazin: “The global private home rental market is estimated to be [worth] about €80bn, and we estimate that there are potentially 100,000 homes suitable for onefinestay in the key gateways we identify. AccorHotels’ midterm target is to expand onefinestay’s network to 40 new cities around the world over the next five years.”

A major selling point for customers is that the company curates each property individually, so as to ensure an upscale and consistent experience every time. However, although onefinestay offers a more involved service and a higher standard of accommodation than Airbnb, its geographic coverage is quite limited in comparison.

For this reason, an allegiance with the likes of AccorHotels is a game changer for the London-based start-up: this injection of capital will enable onefinestay to expand its location offerings, while the added prestige of backing from such a renowned hotel group can only be beneficial in the long term.