AIRPORT HOTEL
Low-cost carrier Air Arabia is not only offering very reasonably priced flights and holiday packages to 44 destinations in 22 countries — visit www.airarabia.com — but is also building a 300-room budget hotel at its hub at Sharjah Airport, which is due for completion in January 2010.
Air Arabia and Rotana Hotels signed an agreement in 2007 to manage the property under the Centro by Rotana brand.
The hotel will include standard rooms and suites.
Air Arabia Centro Hotel will further complement the unmatched services that our passengers continuously expect from Air Arabia,” says Air Arabia chief executive Adel Ali. “We are confident that this hotel, once completed, will provide passengers with a complete travel experience offering the best value for their money.”
The hotel will include a full casual dining area, in-room wireless internet and a range of entertainment and personal amenities.
On-site facilities will include business centres, meeting rooms, gymnasiums and swimming pools.
JUMBO HOSTEL
The Jumbo Hostel is one of the latest projects capitalising on consumer demand for quirky budget accommodation. The ‘property’, which opened last month, is the world’s first hostel built onboard a Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet. The jet was grounded at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in 2002 and has begun a new life as a budget hostel.
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In total it has 25 rooms and 85 beds. All rooms have separate shared shower and toilet facilities. Jumbo Hostel also features a luxury suite in the cockpit with a panoramic view of the airport. The quirky hostel is expected to become a tourist attraction in itself, fuelling increased visitor numbers.
“Stockholm Arlanda Airport will now boast a new alternative option for overnight accommodation, but also a fierce attraction,” says Jumbo Hostel chief executive Oscar Diös.
Agents sending their clients to Stockholm can book them on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) or Lufthansa via Copenhagen and Frankfurt respectively.
EXPEDIA
Expedia director of marketing management for Middle East Walter Lo Faro says the company’s online bookings to the Middle East have actually increased by 70% compared to 2008.
“This goes against the current economy trends and I believe it shows that more and more travellers are now checking and booking online to get a ‘real time’ snapshot of the latest products and prices available in each destination,” he says.
Lo Faro explains that there is a willingness to wait and “a clear appetite for deals”, triggering a trend towards shorter booking windows.
“During the first week of December almost 30% of the room nights we sold on one of our sites to a Middle East destination were linked to a hotel promotional rate, compared to 15% last year,” he says.
Expedia has launched a range of campaigns to promote Middle East destinations and take advantage of the desire for last minute deals.
The company is currently working on a GCC version of Hotels.com, expected to be launched in late 2009.
OFFER TRAVEL INSURANCE
Agents should always advise clients to buy travel insurance, emphasising how expensive a trip can become if something goes wrong. Lost luggage, missed or cancelled flights and medical expenses are all expensive misfortunes, but if the client has a travel insurance package, they will be covered for such eventualities. In addition, agents can earn good commission rates — up to 20% — when they sell travel insurance.
Visit www.axa-gulf.com or www.lifecareinternational.com
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