Author: Shawon Hannan

The Four Points by Sheraton brand, a part of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide portfolio, has opened its newest hotel in San Diego, US. The new Four Points by Sheraton San Diego Downtown has been converted from an existing hotel, under ownership of hotel operating company, Pinnacle Hotels USA. The hotel features 220 guestrooms; around 1,400 square feet of meeting facilities; a 24-hour fitness centre; an outdoor heated pool; and the First Avenue Bar & Grill dining venue. The hotel is located in downtown San Diego, close to San Diego International Airport and the San Diego Convention Center. The…

British Airways is offering a new business classes return fare to London from its US and Canadian destinations for travellers visiting London in the summer of 2012. The airline is offering a $2,012 business class roundtrip fare to London on all bookings made from certain US and Canadian gateways, by July 3, 2012, for travels to be completed between July 16 and September 2, 2012. The flights on offer are to the London Heathrow and Manchester airports, and include the airline flights, as well as code shared flights operated by American Airlines. The airline is also offering discounted fares to…

Holiday makers are paying through their nose when they use their credit cards while paying for transactions abroad, says a recent finding. A survey done by MoneySupermarket, a UK-based financial product comparison website, reported that around 54% of the population polled are unaware of immediate interest applied on a credit card used to withdraw cash from an ATM abroad; while 57% of the respondents, or around 15 million people, didn’t know about additional charges and transaction fees and interest applied on their cards on spending abroad. Around £10.2bn is spent by Brits using plastic cards abroad. 52% of the respondents…

Visitors to Dubai, UAE, this weekend can see an annual summer turtle release programme conducted by Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project. The event is being held on June 29, 2012, at Madinat Jumeirah beach in Dubai. Jumeirah, a UAE-based luxury hospitality company, is sponsoring the event, which is open to the public. The event will see around 100 Hawksbill Turtles being released back into their natural habitat by children participating in the event; these turtles were brought to Dubai’s Wildlife Protection Office or to the Aquarium team at Burj Al Arab at very sick or injured states, where they have been…

So you thought that finding an accommodation in London during 2012 Olympics Games on a budget is impossible? Think about ‘House-Sitting’. Typically, a house sitter takes care of the house when the owners leave for a vacation, in exchange for staying at the property. The house sitters take care of plants, the pets, the regular chores, and they are often professionals active or retired from services, looking for a place to stay for free or even retreat to for a break. With an astounding number of British population planning a vacation around the times of 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics…

Westin Hotels & Resorts, a hotel brand from Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, is offering to open new Heavenly Spas at its properties. The company has announced its plans to globally expand its spa brand, Heavenly Spas, to 13 properties by 2014. There are currently 28 spas active at its various properties worldwide. Jeremy McCarthy, the director of global spa development and operations for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, said, ‘There is a growing demand for spa and wellness services in key global emerging markets such as Asia. Westin’s Heavenly Spa concept fulfils that demand and provides signature sensory experiences aimed…

The Edwardian Group, a UK-based hotel management company, has recently rebranded its properties as Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotels. Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotels is a collection of luxury hotels in central London, Heathrow, Guildford and Manchester, in UK, with the Radisson Blu Edwardian, London becoming the first hotel to commence operations after the rebrand. The Edwardian Group has recently entered into an agreement with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, owner of the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Radisson, and Radisson Blu brands worldwide. Commenting on the joint venture and the re-branding, Paul Mansi, the chief operating officer of Edwardian Group, said, ‘Edwardian London captures…

Aer Lingus Regionals, a service offered by Irish regional airline, Aer Arann, under a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus, an Ireland-based airline, is currently offering a new service from Ireland West Airport Knock, in Ireland, to Birmingham, England. Aer Lingus Regional is offering a daily flight from Ireland West Airport Knock to Birmingham, with connectivity for business and leisure travellers to the second largest city in Great Britain. Flight bookings are available on the airline’s website. The interim chief executive officer for Aer Arann, Sean Brogan, said, ‘We are delighted to commence our Aer Lingus Regional Ireland West Airport Knock…

London Gatwick Airport has registered increased passenger footfall and increased revenues, for the year ended March 31, 2012. The airport has registered a turnover increase of 8.6 percent, to £517.4 million for the financial year ending in March 2012, with passenger traffic increasing by 6.9 percent, to 33.8 million over the year, compared to the same period a year earlier. Stewart Wingate, the chief executive officer of Gatwick Airport, said, ‘This has been a successful year for Gatwick. Despite the difficult economic conditions, we have delivered a strong financial performance on the back of growing our passenger traffic by an…

Hotel prices for rooms in London for the period of the 2012 Olympic games are registering a slow fall, following a recent high peak. Recent research by Hotels.com, an online travel company, suggested that average room rates have fallen by 5 percent in London, while on-line hotel searches have increased by around 50 percent for the 2012 Olympic period, as an expected rise in bookings is still yet to happen. Alison Couper, the company global expert in online travel, said, ‘On top of that, searches for London on our Hotels.com UK site for the Olympic period for the last three…