Thomas Cook lives on: The Thomas Cook brand is back in the news on Monday with word that Chinese conglomerate Fosun, owner of the Club Med brand and previously Thomas Cook’s largest shareholder and a key part of the failed rescue deal, is buying the brand name for £11 million. The deal, which also includes hotel brands Casa Cook and Cook’s Club, gives Fosun access to Thomas Cook trademarks, websites, social media accounts and software across most of the world. At the same time, TUI has announced it will be taking over 135 hotels previously owned by Thomas Cook in countries including Turkey, Spain and Greece. TUI will now offer 30 new hotels in Turkey, 22 in the Canary Islands as well as six new hotels in the Balearic Islands. TUI will also offer 16 new hotels in Greece and 13 new hotels in Mexico.
Read The Guardian report on Fosun
Read The Express report on TUI
Airbnb responds to house shootings: Airbnb says it will now ban “party houses” from its platform in response to a deadly shooting at a San Francisco-bay area Halloween party held at one of its rentals that left five people dead. CEO Brian Chesky announced Saturday on Twitter that Airbnb is “redoubling our efforts to combat unauthorized parties,” including expanded manual screening for reservations deemed “high-risk” and the creation of a rapid response team to address issues related to such gatherings. The company has initiated a 10-day review to develop the new policies.
New Conrad brand head: Hilton announced on Monday that Dino Michael will extend his current Waldorf Astoria brand head role to include the global brand head position for the Conrad brand effective January 1, 2020. In his role, Michael will lead brand innovation, strategic development and leadership initiatives for both the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad brands. Michael was appointed as the global brand head for Waldorf Astoria in June 2018 and has since overseen the addition of 13 luxury properties to the portfolio.
Lemon Tree grows upscale: Lemon Tree Hotels, New Delhi, is looking to open three more properties under its upscale Aurika Hotels and Resorts brand across India by the end of 2021, said Chairman and Managing Director Patanjali Keswani. The company plans to re-brand its existing Lemon Tree Premier in Corbett to Aurika, Corbett. It has also signed a hotel in Coorg, and by the end of 2021 will launch an owned Aurika hotel in Mumbai.
Dur to grow in Madinah: The General Authority for Awqaf in Saudi Arabia has signed a strategic memorandum of understand with Dur Hospitality, Riyadh, that aims to establish a private company tasked with developing a 5-star hotel tower under the Makarem Hotels brand in the central area of Madinah.
New life for Dublin hotel: A Dublin hotel closed for a decade has been bought by an Austrian investor. TMR Hotel Collection has acquired the 186-room Tallaght Cross Hotel with plans to initiate a multi-million dollar refurbishment and re-open as a 4-star hotel in early 2020.
C Resorts launching on Mauritius: Constance Hospitality Management, Centre De Flacq, Mauritius, will open the first hotel under its new brand, C Resorts, in December 2019 just a few kilometres from the Constance Belle Mare Plage on the island’s east coast. It will be positioned as an upper-upscale lifestyle hotel along side its sister brand, Constance Hotels & Resorts.
Hotel Equities adds in Fort Walton Beach: Hotel Equities has been selected to operate The Island Beachside Resort by Hotel RL in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The Gulf-front resort boasts 331 guest rooms and 14,000 square feet meeting and event space. The Island is now owned by Tripp Tolbert, CEO of the Tolbert Group and developer, Jay Odom, CEO of The Jay Odom Group. They have made extensive property renovations will be ready for an unveiling in the Spring of 2020.
Kayak adds category: Kayak for Business has launched with features and perks designed for business travelers. Users can access planning tools that include streamlined approval processes, ways to see what is in/out of corporate travel policies, and reporting and tracking. It will also add ways for travelers to opt-in for concierge-level or partner-specific customer service. It will compete against the likes of Concur and Lola.com. As of November 1, the company accepted an early access waitlist for businesses in North America. Companies can request integration ahead of the official product launch later this month.