Meeting News - January 7, 2008 - (Page 22)

International Morocco Gets Major Influx of Investment Government initiative yields first Wyndham in the north, while Raffles sets up in the south New York—Morocco, the African country on the continent’s northwestern coast and immediately south of Spain, will get its first Wyndham hotel in June 2010, while high-end Raffles Hotels & Resorts plans to open a 150-room property in the city of Marrakech, located in the southern half of the nation, in 2009. In 2001, the Moroccan government created its Vision 2010 plan to boost in-bound tourism. As part of that plan, six coastal resorts were announced, including Port Lixus, about 40 minutes south of Tangier’s international airport. Port Lixus is the site of the new 418-room Wyndham, construction of which begins in April, and which will be managed by Corinthia Hotels International (CHI). On 17 acres, the hotel will have meeting space (no square footage has been determined yet), a major spa, and three restaurants. The Wyndham resort is part of phase one of Port Lixus, a 1,000-plus-acre area that is being developed into a tourism destination. Port Lixus will have two 18-hole golf courses; a 700-berth marina; retail, sports, and leisure attractions; several luxury hotels; and residential properties.“Both CHI and Wyndham are delighted. . .We recognize Morocco to be a priority for expanding our African presence,” said Tony Potter, CEO of CHI.“We are honored to be contributing to Morocco’s Vision 2010 program.” Among the objectives of the program, which is keying on development of Atlantic Coast areas with tourism potential by creating hospitality as well as ground, rail, and air infrastructure, are 10 million annual visitors by 2010, 160,000 additional hotel rooms, and a fourfold increase in the country’s tourism revenues. With an open-skies agreement with the European Union, the government also wants to increase airlift. Meanwhile, the 150-room Raffles resort in Marrakech—three hours from Paris, London, and Madrid— will have 36 luxury villas, three restaurants, and meeting space for corporate meetings and executive retreats, though Raffles has not released details. It will also have a RafflesAmrita Spa, and it is nearby a golf course and Marrakech’s business and entertainment district. The property belongs to Somed, an alliance between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates that is intended to grow investment in Morocco. Somed has seven other African properties, in Casablanca, Tangier, and Agadir. Edited by William Ng william.ng@nielsen.com As Hilton Hotels Begins Hampton Inns in England Beverly Hills, CA—Hilton Hotels later this fall will premiere its Hampton Inn chain in the United Kingdom with an 86-room property in Corby, England, about two hours from Birmingham International Airport. The hotel is the first of 20 properties signed as part of a fiveyear franchise deal with a U.K. firm. To be known as “Hampton by Hilton” in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the brand will cover the lower segments of Hilton’s U.K. market, which now has 75 Conrad and Hilton-brand hotels. The Hampton Inns will have meeting rooms, the size and layout of which will vary depending on market needs. This outdoor market in Marrakech may be seeing more foreign tourists after the Raffles resort opens. In Spain, IHG Adds Holiday Inn Expresses London—InterContinental Hotels Group has signed its own five-year, 20-property deal for its Holiday Inn Express budget chain. The agreement calls for the new “Express by Holiday Inn” hotels to start appearing in Spain in late 2009. IHG currently has 15 such properties in the country, including one that opened near Madrid’s international airport in September. The new hotels will be located in other key Spanish cities. Starwood Takes To Raising Abu Dhabi’s Style with aloft White Plains, NY—Meeting VIPs in Abu Dhabi, a growing business travel destination, will be accommodated by a 308-room aloft hotel adjacent to the city’s National Exhibition Centre starting in late 2009. Starwood’s aloft is its lifestyle chain focused on urban chic and attracting cutting-edge business travelers. The Abu Dhabi property is the first aloft in the Middle East. The hotel and convention center 22 MeetingNews January 7, 2008 are located 20 minutes from downtown and 15 minutes from the city’s airport. They are both part of the Capital Centre mixed-use complex with 23 high rises. The hotel, with loft-style guest rooms, will have three F&B outlets and a workout center. “Abu Dhabi is an exciting, fastgrowing city,” said Roeland Vos, Starwood’s president for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, in praising the destination as ideal for aloft’s Mideast debut. Gordon Ramsay to Ply His Craft in Versailles Versailles, France—Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, best known for his reality show, Hell’s Kitchen, is playing a starring role in the 199-room Trianon Palace & Spa’s refurbishment with an eponymous restaurant and a brasserie, both debuting next month. The chef also will be in charge of the hotel’s 24-hour in-room dining menu and catering services, meaning planners will get customizable Ramsay options for events. Ramsay’s restaurant and La Veranda brasserie are his first eateries in France. A Starwood Hotels property about 30 minutes from Paris, Trianon has been undergoing renovations. Its first phase, involving 100 guest rooms and 23 suites, debuted in September. Its remaining rooms, entrance, and reception area will be redone by next month, and its 30,000-sf spa will reopen in early March. Across from Louis XIV’s Chateau de Versailles, Trianon has 19 meeting rooms and serves groups up to 300. www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - January 7, 2008

Meeting News - January 7, 2008 Contents What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com Inside the Meetings Industry Successful Meetings University MN Webcast Report Reed Cancels China Show Advertisers Index Live from the Forum

Meeting News - January 7, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.