Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Australian travel market

I found a couple of articles about the state of the Australian travel market this morning. Hopefully the first one is on the money and relief is indeed on the way for Australian hotels.

Click on the titles below to read the full stories.

It's been hard for hotels, but relief is on the way

Carolyn Cummins
July 18, 2009

IT'S been a tough 18 months for the hotel sector with sharp declines in tourism, but the latest figures for the March quarter show businesses have weathered the decline.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the accommodation sector continued to perform steadily, even though hotel occupancy levels eased.

Michael Thomson, the national director for hotels and leisure at Colliers International, said the best performing markets were Perth and Canberra, which showed strong room rate and growth in revenue per available rooms. He said most Australian cities experienced moderate room rate growth in the 12 months to March this year. While the Sydney hotel market was comparatively weak with lower room rates and declining occupancy, the Melbourne market remained resilient with slight improvements in average room rates in a period of weakening demand.

'In the first quarter of 2009, the deterioration in the global economy translated into cutbacks and fewer bookings in the corporate and leisure markets, and this was felt across most accommodation markets,' Mr Thomson said.


Business travellers benefit from bargains

Airfare wars and room-rate promotions are usually aimed at recreational travellers, but airlines and hotels are using similar tactics to entice their traditional cash cow - the business traveller.

Corporate travellers, who pay more to sit in the front cabins of planes or book close to the date of travel, are flying coach more often, or not travelling at all during the recession.

Employers are booking fewer banquet halls and blocks of rooms, leaving many hotels pining for the sizeable and reliable revenue that business meetings used to generate.


Thursday, July 9, 2009

Having a Travel Problem? Share It on Twitter

"Social networking" has been the buzz phrase in marketing circles over the last few years. First there was MySpace, then FaceBook and more recently Twitter. I stood my ground for a while refusing to join the crowd but eventually relented and signed up to Facebook. I do spend a bit of time on there, but I have drawn the line and am not getting involved with Twitter.

Saying that tho, I came across an interesting article (excerpt below) about Twitter in an industry newsletter. Its interesting to see how these social networks are being used in the travel industry and it seems that there is some benefit for travellers. Click on the title below to read the full story.

Practical Traveler - Having a Travel Problem? Share It on Twitter - NYTimes.com

As hotels, airlines and other travel companies line up on Twitter to promote their brands, customers who voice their grievances in the form of tweets are getting surprisingly fast responses for everything from bad airplane seats to poor room service.

Take Tony Wagner, 34, a new-media director for an academic group in Washington. When he found out he wasn’t seated next to his wife and 2-year-old daughter on a JetBlue flight to San Francisco over the Memorial Day weekend, he first called up customer service. But the agent told him to take it up at the gate. So Mr. Wagner indirectly sent JetBlue a message, by posting a plea for help on his Twitter account: “@jetblue Advice to get both parents and 2 yr old seated next to each other on flight later today? Right now only one parent. Full flight.”

Exactly 19 minutes later, JetBlue tweeted back, suggesting they correspond privately, using Twitter’s “direct message” feature: “@tonywagner Please follow us so we may DM!” After a brief exchange, JetBlue flagged his tickets as a priority concern.


Thursday, July 2, 2009

8th birthday

Yesterday, Capital Reservations officially turned 8 years old!

During these tough economic times, there was no champagne, no cake, no celebrating until the corporate accommodation market starts to pick up again.

We celebrated 5 years in style and enjoyed a slightly less formal 7th birthday last year, so going on that record we should celebrate again next year.

In the meantime, my sincere thanks to all of the staff I've had over the years, thank you to all our customers, supporters and suppliers. Your support is truly appreciated.


Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Emporium Hotel - Executive Stays Package

In these tough economic times, there's nothing more frustrating to me than hotels that don't adjust their rates or packages accordingly (State of Origin anyone?). That's why I was SO pleased to see this latest package from the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane.

24 hour free broadband internet AND a light breakfast for just $15 ... fantastic value!

Here are the details of the package:

Brisbane: Emporium Hotel announces Executive Stays Package for the Corporate Traveller

Brisbane’s stylish and multi-award winning Emporium Hotel has announced a custom-designed package created specifically for the corporate traveller – introducing Executive Stays.

The Executive Stays Package has been specifically designed for the corporate traveller, and includes luxury accommodation in a King Suite, free 24hr broadband access, an Executive Continental Breakfast enjoyed either in the comfort of the suite or packaged up to takeaway on the run, and a complimentary morning newspaper.

General Manager of the Emporium Hotel, Mr Peter Savoff said the needs of corporate travellers were always changing. “Today with tighter budgets, the corporate traveller has to fit even more into what is an already packed meetings schedule. Because of this we have tailored a package which includes exactly what they need – 24 hour internet access, breakfast packaged up on the go if required, newspapers and of course the King Suite so they can rest easily,” he said.

“In addition to the Executive Stays package, guests also receive the very best the Emporium Hotel has to offer – exceptional concierge services, gym and pool facilities, meeting facilities and much more. As a corporate traveller myself, I understand what guests expect, and this is why we have created this package.”

The Executive Stay package is only an additional $15 on a King Suite rate and is available from Sunday to Thursday nights inclusive, valid through until September 30, 2009. It is subject to availability and conditions apply.