Travelocity has acquired India's leading online hotel distribution network. Travelguru, which will operate as a stand-alone business, has more than 4,000 mostly independent Indian hotels on its books, while Travelocity's India portfolio centres on branded, chain and luxury properties.
Garber/FCm Travel Solutions, the ninth largest travel management company in the US, is to re-brand simply as FCm Travel Solutions. FCm parent Flight Centre bought 26 per cent of the Boston-based company in 2007.
Ryanair has become the world's second-largest operator, after Southwest Airlines, of Boeing 737s. Ryanair's 737 fleet now numbers 200, while Southwest has 544.
Texas-based expense management systems and automated RFP specialist Lanyon has bought Californian rival DirectConnections!, whose 'solutions' help corporates source and manage preferred hotel rates
After a £12m refurbishment, the 19th century Dunblane Hydro Hotel, near Stirling and within an hour's drive of both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, has re-opened as the Doubletree by Hilton, Dunblane-Hydro.
Plans for a 495-bedroom 'pod' hotel at the Trocadero, overlooking London's Piccadilly Circus, have been deferred by Westminster City Council.
A new 244-room hotel is to be built in Leeds city centre at a cost of £30m. The property, which is being developed by Oxford Hotels, is slated to open in 2012.
New airport hotel
AN ON-AIRPORT hotel, with up to 250 rooms, is planned for Bristol International, with the opening scheduled for 2012. The £20m project would be developed by Pedersen Airport Hotels, which already owns three hotels in Bristol, operated under Accor's Novotel, Mercure and Ibis brands.
MORE MANX ...
Manx2.com has increased frequency on its Isle of Man- Newcastle route to twice-daily. The Manx2 link, formerly operated by Eastern Airways, started in August with just four flights a week.
... LESS ANGST
Birmingham Airport has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reducing carbon-based emissions by four per cent over three years, despite increasing passenger numbers and airport expansion.
Two new Holiday Inn Express hotels have opened near Los Angeles International airport. A conversion of an old Howard Johnson hotel, the 160-room Holiday Inn Express Los Angeles- LAX Airport has more than 400ft2 of meeting space, while the 120- room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Los Angeles Airport Hawthorne features more than 1,000ft2 of function space. Both hotels provide a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport.
The former Sheraton Gateway San Francisco Airport has re-opened as the Hilton San Francisco Airport. The 400-room property, renovated in 2008, is three miles south of the airport, and features11 function rooms and a 24-hour business centre.
Marriott Executive Apartments (MEA) has opened The Sandalwood, in Beijing's central business district, with 168 oneto three-bedroom serviced apartments. Marriott's fourth extended-stay property in China, with a fifth - in Guangzhou - due to open next year, The Sandalwood has an indoor infinity pool and fully equipped gym.
Moscow's former Hotel Ukraina re-opens next month as the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel. The Rezidor-operated hotel will boast 507 guestrooms and 38 serviced apartments, nine meeting and function rooms, and a spa.
Rezidor has also announced plans for three new properties in Nigeria - the Radisson Blu Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos (250 rooms), the Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja (200 rooms) and the Park Inn Abuja (125 rooms) - all opening in 2012.
The former Hilton hotel at Montréal airport has reopened as the 486-room Wyndham. The property is currently undergoing a major renovation programme. Business facilities include 23 meeting rooms and a business centre.
Digital graffiti wall YrWall is an interactive way of distracting delegates, who use infra-red 'spray paint' to draw or write on a screen. The graffiti can then be printed on to T-shirts, stickers and posters, or emailed.
London's Natural History Museum unveiled its £78 million Darwin Centre in September, a new facility which is also available for private dinners and functions for up to 150 people.
Castel Monastero, a newly opened mediaeval-style property in Tuscany, has 76 rooms and meeting space for up to 150. Activities include riding and wine tasting.
London's Landmark hotel has created a colour-coded Meeting Planner's Calendar, showing the levels of demand for space throughout the year.