If you've ever listened to the music playing in the background of our office, you'll know we listen to Triple J (Renee would be proud). In between the hundreds of phone calls this week, Adam brought to my attention the song below and after hearing it for myself, I'm now naming it our theme song!
Why "Jump in to the fog" by The Wombats? The opening line is:
"What a great achievement it was to get a hotel room this late"
Which is pretty much what we do all day every day!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
How to watch the big game
With the Super Bowl just a couple of days away now, I came across this article about the ultimate hotel package if you can't make it to the game itself.
$42,650 Super Bowl Hotel Suite - AOL Travel News
Super Bowl fever can take many forms, but for those with a taste for luxury, watching the big game in a suite priced at $42,650 at the Mandarin Oriental New York might just be the ticket.
The over-the-top package includes a night in the Presidential suite, a three-course catered meal for 15 during the game and a very rare bottle of 50-year-old Scotch.
The hotel's Director of Communications Tammy Peters confirmed to AOL Travel News that as of Wednesday the Presidential suite was still available.
'We've done it [a special Super Bowl package] a few years in a row,' says Peters. 'Sometimes it sells and sometimes it doesn't.'
Whether you are rooting for the Pittsburg Steelers or the Green Bay Packers, you'll be watching on a 65-inch plasma screen television with eight surround speakers and noshing on mini Kobe beef burgers and Ahi tuna tacos.
The bulk of the cost of the room comes from the Glenfiddich 50 Year Old. The hotel has one of only five bottles available in North America.
Just how much is it worth? One recently sold at auction for $38,000.
For more details on the hotel, click here.
$42,650 Super Bowl Hotel Suite - AOL Travel News
Super Bowl fever can take many forms, but for those with a taste for luxury, watching the big game in a suite priced at $42,650 at the Mandarin Oriental New York might just be the ticket.
The over-the-top package includes a night in the Presidential suite, a three-course catered meal for 15 during the game and a very rare bottle of 50-year-old Scotch.
The hotel's Director of Communications Tammy Peters confirmed to AOL Travel News that as of Wednesday the Presidential suite was still available.
'We've done it [a special Super Bowl package] a few years in a row,' says Peters. 'Sometimes it sells and sometimes it doesn't.'
Whether you are rooting for the Pittsburg Steelers or the Green Bay Packers, you'll be watching on a 65-inch plasma screen television with eight surround speakers and noshing on mini Kobe beef burgers and Ahi tuna tacos.
The bulk of the cost of the room comes from the Glenfiddich 50 Year Old. The hotel has one of only five bottles available in North America.
Just how much is it worth? One recently sold at auction for $38,000.
For more details on the hotel, click here.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Welcome back Adam!
When the GFC hit, Adam (our office manager) went to work for a friend of mine's company that wasn't affected by the economic slowdown. Is it was a secondment type arrangement in that the idea was always for him to return to Capital Reservations as things got back to normal for us. I'm pleased to say that after a good 2010, especially the end of it, Adam is back in the office (after a little over 18 months away) and ready for a big 2011.
A number of the agents who have been using us for a while will remember working with him, for those that haven't, please be patient as he might just take a little time to find his feet again.
A number of the agents who have been using us for a while will remember working with him, for those that haven't, please be patient as he might just take a little time to find his feet again.
Monday, January 24, 2011
2010 by the numbers
At the start of each year, I sit down and work out our sales productions for hotels for the calendar year just gone. I didn't do it in 2009 because, well the numbers took such a dive from 2008 and 2007 due to the GFC/economic slowdown that it just didn't seem worthwhile. So back in 2008 I compared production to 2007 for each city but since I've skipped a year, I won't worry about doing that this time. This year (2011) it will certainly be interesting to compare against the 2010 numbers.
Anyway, here is a list of the capital cities and which were the most productive for us (from best to worst):
1. Darwin
2. Brisbane
3. Perth
4. Sydney
5. Adelaide
6. Canberra
7. Melbourne
Apologies to our friends in Tasmania, but we did hardly any room nights in Hobart so I don't have them on the list. 2010 was the first year that our home town of Brisbane wasn't our biggest city. Thanks to a very large client that we look after, Darwin was the big mover on the list and sales were substantially ahead of Brisbane in second. Melbourne has really dropped off for us over the last few years and has now fallen to the bottom.
Thanks to the aformentioned large client, our top 2 hotels in the country are in Darwin. Here is the list of the 10 hotels around Australia that we make the most bookings with:
1. Mantra Pandanas (Darwin)
2. Mantra on the Esplanade (Darwin)
3. Mantra on Hay (Perth)
4. Oaks Charlotte Towers (Brisbane)
5. Mantra on Northbourne (Canberra)
6. Chifley at Lennons (Brisbane)
7. M on Mary (Brisbane)
8. Aarons All-Suites (Perth)
9. Citigate & Sebel King George Square (Brisbane)
10. The Portal Hotel (Brisbane)
Mantra Pandanas exterior
Anyway, here is a list of the capital cities and which were the most productive for us (from best to worst):
1. Darwin
2. Brisbane
3. Perth
4. Sydney
5. Adelaide
6. Canberra
7. Melbourne
Apologies to our friends in Tasmania, but we did hardly any room nights in Hobart so I don't have them on the list. 2010 was the first year that our home town of Brisbane wasn't our biggest city. Thanks to a very large client that we look after, Darwin was the big mover on the list and sales were substantially ahead of Brisbane in second. Melbourne has really dropped off for us over the last few years and has now fallen to the bottom.
Thanks to the aformentioned large client, our top 2 hotels in the country are in Darwin. Here is the list of the 10 hotels around Australia that we make the most bookings with:
1. Mantra Pandanas (Darwin)
2. Mantra on the Esplanade (Darwin)
3. Mantra on Hay (Perth)
4. Oaks Charlotte Towers (Brisbane)
5. Mantra on Northbourne (Canberra)
6. Chifley at Lennons (Brisbane)
7. M on Mary (Brisbane)
8. Aarons All-Suites (Perth)
9. Citigate & Sebel King George Square (Brisbane)
10. The Portal Hotel (Brisbane)
Mantra Pandanas exterior
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Brisbane hotel flood update
More on the Queensland flood situation next time, but quickly here are the main Brisbane hotels that have been affected:
Stamford Plaza - closed until further notice, they're hoping February some time (I heard yesterday they were out for at least 6 weeks)
Rydges South Bank - no power, running off a generator. Hoping to have power back on in the next few days
Quay West Suites - no power, operating on limited services. No new arrivals until January 20.
The Sebel Suites - closed until February 7
Oaks 212 Margaret - no power, not accommodating guests until January 22
Oaks Festival Towers - limited lifts in service
Central West End Apartments - no power, unlikely to be operating for at least 4 weeks.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Night at the Novotel
Last Saturday I stayed at the Novotel Brisbane to check out their newly refurbished rooms. (note to self: I really should do this more often)
I had a meeting with one of their sales managers a few months back and saw images of their new lobby (pictured below) which was done first but they're gradually refurbishing all their hotel rooms. I was a little surprised to hear this considering their rooms aren't tired or dated. They've instead chosen to be proactive and have gone for a stylish makeover.
I actually paid for the room myself (rather than talking to sales contacts), mainly due to the fact that we hadn't done that much business with the hotel over the last year or two. I did however ring the reservations manager the day before to see if he could organise a refurbished room for me. When I checked in I was pleasantly surprised to see I had been upgraded all the way from a standard room to a deluxe balcony room. That's not just an upgrade of one level, but three!!
The new refurbishments look great, they've gone with dark brown and red tones in the room, very modern and stylish for a Novotel which are usually bright or resort-y in their feel. My iphone pictures wouldn't do the rooms justice so I'll post pics when the hotel release theirs in the New Year.
I also had breakfast in the restaurant the next morning which was very good. I love my buffet breakfasts and have been spoiled lately by the best - which is Sofitel Brisbane. Novotel was good, but they were missing eggs benedict and no ice-cream with their pancakes. In their favour however, they were also missing the Sofitel price-tag which is almost double!
I had a meeting with one of their sales managers a few months back and saw images of their new lobby (pictured below) which was done first but they're gradually refurbishing all their hotel rooms. I was a little surprised to hear this considering their rooms aren't tired or dated. They've instead chosen to be proactive and have gone for a stylish makeover.
I actually paid for the room myself (rather than talking to sales contacts), mainly due to the fact that we hadn't done that much business with the hotel over the last year or two. I did however ring the reservations manager the day before to see if he could organise a refurbished room for me. When I checked in I was pleasantly surprised to see I had been upgraded all the way from a standard room to a deluxe balcony room. That's not just an upgrade of one level, but three!!
The new refurbishments look great, they've gone with dark brown and red tones in the room, very modern and stylish for a Novotel which are usually bright or resort-y in their feel. My iphone pictures wouldn't do the rooms justice so I'll post pics when the hotel release theirs in the New Year.
I also had breakfast in the restaurant the next morning which was very good. I love my buffet breakfasts and have been spoiled lately by the best - which is Sofitel Brisbane. Novotel was good, but they were missing eggs benedict and no ice-cream with their pancakes. In their favour however, they were also missing the Sofitel price-tag which is almost double!
Where's my Christmas card??
If you're wondering why you haven't received a Christmas card from us, we've chosen instead (like the last few years) to make a donation to the Starlight Foundation.
Thank you for all the cards and well wishes we've received.
After a very challenging 2009, this year has been a very good one here at Capital Reservations. The normal peak/event dates side of the business is steadily returning to normal but we've been lucky enough to pick up a very, very large client that has taken us to a new level.
Due to the ongoing needs of the client mentioned above, our office hasn't really shut down over the festive season. Its just me looking after things during the holidays and I have had some running around to do over the last week, so you might get the voice-mail occasionally but you can leave me a message or just send me an e-mail.
I wish you and your families a very enjoyable and relaxing festive season and we look forward to looking after you again in 2011.
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