In December 2018 the name of the inaugural yacht leading the luxury fleet of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has been finally revealed at the International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes, France.
While most big hospitality companies offer loyalty programmes to their best guests, a new boutique lodging company Life House is trying out a brand new pricing system based on multifaceted guests’ profiles.
The Women's Tennis Association published the list of participants for St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2019. The Tournament Director has described this list as very solid and tough. As many as three players from the world’s top 10 are coming to St. Petersburg. Will also welcome former no. 1 in the world Maria Sharapova.
Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, announced that LVMH and Belmond, owners, part-owners or managers of 46 luxury hotel, restaurant, train and river cruise properties, have entered into an agreement for LVMH to acquire Belmond.
Emerald Palace Kempinski Dubai, five-star hotel inspired by European palaces of 18th century, has opened its doors to Dubai’s guests. The Palace by Kempinski Hotels is situated on the west part of man-made island Palm Jumeirah.
IHG has announced the opening of InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, the hotel built into the side wall of a formerly abandoned quarry in Southwestern Shanghai. This new hotel is mostly subterranean, with two floors above ground and 16 below ground, including 2 floors underwater.
The Leading Hotels of the World, a consortium of more than 400 luxury hotels in over 80 countries, unveiled its renovated Leaders Club loyalty programme. The redesign was inspired by current members’ interests and resulted to a more flexible Leaders Club programme that recognizes and rewards members for their loyalty and provides upgraded benefits and exclusive access to the portfolio’s hotels worldwide.
The City of Turku, Finland is planning to develop the port area with construction of new terminal by the end of 2024. Both Viking Line and Tallink Silja Line operators will use a new joint terminal on the Turku–Stockholm regular route in accordance with their current schedules.
Volvo Cars have glimpsed at how autonomous drive technology will change the world as we know it. Car brand introduced the 360c concept which presents four potential uses of autonomous driving vehicles – a sleeping environment, mobile office, living room and entertainment space.
The World Tourism Organization recently updated its visa openness rankings, confirming Qatar’s new visa facilitation improvements including allowing nationals of 88 countries to enter Qatar visa-free and free-of-charge. Qatar has become the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facilitation.
Representatives of the mixed-use complex Lakhta Centre in St. Petersburg, the construction of which is in progress, announced the launch of online broadcast from the height of 360 metres. Online camera is located at the level of Lakhta Centre tower’s future observation deck.
The founder of the Virgin Group corporation Sir Richard Branson is introducing his Virgin Hotels chain to the European market. A new hotel comprising 225 rooms will open in Edinburgh in 2020.
Hitlist, an app for finding cheap flights, expands its functionality and introduces a premium subscription. Users will get exclusive fares and custom travel tips.
One of iconic buildings in Helsinki, which was once home to the Finnish literature society and the first Finnish newspaper Suometar, will house a 5-star Hotel St. George in the beginning of 2018.
InterContinental Hotels Group has launched a new design concept called H4. In order to anticipate as much as possible the future guests’ needs, H4 design has been developed together with the owners and frequent guests of Holiday Inn hotels.
A landmark event in the hospitality industry happened in April as Kempinski Hotels, one of the oldest hotel operators, turned 120 years old.
Kempinski announced that in the second quarter of this year the first five-star hotel in Cuba will be opened. Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana features 246 rooms of various types.
Karl Lagerfeld’s signature style will soon manifest itself in a new project: the fashion designer is launching his own hotel brand.
The history of this truly mysterious place dates back to the foundation of Saint Petersburg. Once the first renovation stage was finally over, the New Holland’s park zone welcomed first guests in August 2016, while from then onwards the island will remain accessible the whole year round.
Corinthia Hotels has announced the acquisition of the Hotel Astoria in the capital of Belgium. The unit has been on the open market for 10 years and now it is going to be completely renovated and transformed into a leading hotel in Brussels under a new name: Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria.