Banyan Tree makes prominent entry into Myanmar

Banyan Tree Holdings, through its subsidiary Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, has signed a joint venture agreement with Myanmar Treasure Hotel & Resort Group (Htoo Hospitality) to establish a hotel management business in Myanmar which will manage 17 hotels and resorts owned by the latter.

The initial management arrangement will involve 15 existing properties across Htoo Hospitality’s nine brands, such as Aureum Palace Hotels & Resorts, Myanmar Treasure Resorts and Malikha Lodge, as well as two that are in development – […]

Holiday Inn Balikpapan to open in 2021

InterContinental Hotels Group has entered a management agreement with Wijaya Karya Realty to open Holiday Inn Balikpapan in 2021.

The 300-room hotel will form part of a mixed-use development called Tamansari Skylounge Balikpapan, which also comprises a residential tower. Guests will have access to shared facilities such as the outdoor swimming pool and deck.

IHG signs deal with Wijaya Karya Realty to open Holiday Inn Balikpapan come 2021

Five function rooms form a total of 610m2 of meeting space. Three of these rooms merge […]

Pressures on for Jokowi to close cities

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has come under increased pressure to impose a partial lockdown on virus-plagued areas, with scientists saying the country is racing against time to curb the spread of COVID-19 before Idul Fitri and that a community quarantine could be the only solution to do exactly that.

The President has said that he will not impose a lockdown  even though two of Indonesia’s neighbors—Malaysia and the Philippines— and several European countries have decided to take the drastic measure to […]

Governments called upon to act to save aviation industry

Aviation consultancy CAPA Centre for Aviation called urgently for “coordinated government and industry action” for airlines around the world to avoid “catastrophe” in a report published on Monday (16 February).

“Cash reserves are running down quickly as fleets are grounded, and what flights there are operate much less than half full,” it added.

The world’s three largest aviation alliances, oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance, jointly urged governments to “evaluate all possible means” to assist the industry. Together, they represent more than 58 […]

AAPA urges lifting of travel bans

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) is beseeching governments to roll back or refrain from introducing travel restrictions, citing the disruption caused to people’s livelihoods and the negative repercussions to the wider economy, following reports from the WHO indicating that the Covid-19 outbreak has now spread to over 100 countries.

WHO has repeatedly advised against travel or trade restrictions as such measures are generally ineffective, AAPA said in a statement, noting that in the majority of the countries, the spread […]

The global hotel construction pipeline hits record high

Lodging Econometrics (LE) has released its year-end Global Construction Pipeline Trend Report, which compiles construction pipeline counts for every country, and city around the world. At the close of 2019, LE analysts state that the total global construction pipeline hit record highs with 15,000 projects/2,454,954 rooms, a 11% increase in projects and an 8% increase in rooms year-over-year (YOY).

The global pipeline has been ascending for nine consecutive years after reaching its cyclical low, by rooms, in 2010. Four of the seven […]