Author: Lee Fletcher

The Waldorf Hilton, London, a luxury hotel in London, has completed a renovation of its guestrooms, ahead of the 2012 Olympics Games, which begin on July 27, 2012. The hotel has invested around GBP3.4 million in renovating 100 guest rooms as part of its hotel-wide redevelopment project. The remodelling involves all guest rooms and en-suites, with the intention of providing contemporary facilities for guests. Peter Beckwith, the general manager at The Waldorf Hilton, London, said, ‘The newly refurbished rooms use the charm and character of the 104 year old hotel to their advantage, providing guests with a unique and elegant…

To promote two Hobbit-themed films, Air New Zealand has announced a plan to offer Hobbit-themed flights for passengers to New Zealand from the UK and the US. The air carrier said that it would convert two of its Boeing 777 aircraft into special Hobbit-themed planes. The idea has been put into action as part of a promotional deal for Peter Jackson’s upcoming film adaptations, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. The two-year deal, which has been agreed between the airline, New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, is intended to offer light-hearted fun for the airline’s…

US-based marketing companies, Think Placement and First Quest SEO, have announced that they have launched three websites to help frequent travellers with their travelling needs. The three sites – http://www.frequentflyersprograms.com, http://www.frequentparkerprograms.com and http://www.hotelstayprograms.com- are in their beta stage. They will provide frequent travellers with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with new offers, customer loyalty rewards and other pertinent details from a single source. The firms said that initially, the sites would provide unbiased reviews of programmes that are being offered by companies to travellers so that they may decide for themselves which offer to take. Angela Luongo, president of First…

Hotels.com, a company that offers advice on destination travel for customers, has announced that it has introduced a travel application on Facebook. The firm said that the new ‘Deals’ application would provide customers with regular alerts depending on their travel and notification choices. The firm, which offers advice on hotel deals, amenities and hotel availability, expects to keep its customers better informed with the new application that will offer alerts periodically. It is also expected that the application will augment the company’s services, which include an accommodation booking service for more than 150,000 properties around the world. The app from…

Transport for London (TfL), a UK-based government agency responsible for the transport system in Greater London, UK, has announced a travel advisory for residents of London during the Olympic torch Relay and the initial days of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, commencing from July 27, 2012. The agency has warned the city’s residents against complacency, and has advised them to plan their journeys in and around the city carefully, using tools provided by the agency, in order of avoid the most congested areas and travel hotspots. The agency has asked residents and business travellers to use the travel planning…

ScotRail, Scotland’s railway network authority, has announced that it is offering around 11,000 extra seats for fans travelling to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a concert by Madonna, to be held on July 21, 2012. The company has announced that around 50 trains will be offering additional carriages while serving Murrayfield, linking Dunblane, Dundee, Fife, and Glasgow, with Edinburgh. The concert is the singing superstar’s first in Scotland, and the rail authorities have asked passengers to return immediately to Haymarket Terrace, after the concert, where ScotRail employees will direct them to the queue systems for available trains. The train…

London Heathrow airport has announced that it has received its first arrivals of international passengers for the 2012 London Olympics Games. London’s largest airport is expected to handle a total of 236,955 passengers for the Olympics Games to be held later this month, breaking its earlier record of 233,562, set on July 31, last year. Earlier, the UK government implemented plans to include around 500 extra Border Force staff at airports during the Olympics, to reduce the long queues that have previously formed at immigration desks, and which were a potential cause of annoyance to visitors from overseas. The airport…

Holidays are no longer just made up of sun, sea, and sights, now mobile computer coverage has joined the must have amenities for a good holiday, according to a recent survey. Travellers are most impressed with the availability of Internet connectivity at their hotels, with 86 percent of the respondents to a survey stating a preference for hotels with wireless connectivity. Brocade, a company involved in fabric networking, said that European holiday makers are increasingly influenced by the availability of Internet connectivity at their destinations, and they often use it to check mails, make internet calls, or simply browse the…

The British government will be partnering with the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (TVB LEP) to finance improved rail access to London Heathrow Airport. The partnership will be investing around GBP500 million in the Western Rail Access to Heathrow (WRAtH) project, to connect locations as far away as South Wales and the South West, in addition improving access to the Thames Valley. Steve Lamb, the chairman of the TVB LEP, said, ‘This is great news for a number of regions across the UK. A common piece of feedback we hear from local enterprises and organisations looking to move to…

British travellers are worried about bacterial contamination on aircraft, according to a recent survey. The study reported that 53 percent of the travellers surveyed by Microban Europe, a company producing antibacterial products, are apprehensive about bacterial infection from seat covers, cushions, and head rests, while travelling with airlines. Alison Southcombe, the marketing director at Microban Europe, said, ‘Air travel puts you in a confined space close to many other people where you breathe recycled air for a long period of time and where your body’s natural defences are often compromised. While airlines and aircraft manufacturers clearly take subjects such as…