In the news this week: Jumeirah’s new hotel brand – VENU, Air Operator’s Certificate for Indonesia’s AirAsia Extra, wider reach in India for SavvyMob
Jumeirah unveils VENU, a new contemporary lifestyle brand
Matt Balcik will lead the rollout of VENU internationally. / Image credit: Jumeirah
Jumeirah, the Dubai-based global luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, has launched a new hotel brand, VENU, designed to appeal to the modern travellers whose expectations revolve around their own lifestyle – clean, contemporary, cool and effortless.
In a media release Jumeirah said VENU “is inspired by the spirit of Dubai: bold, ambitious, energetic and cosmopolitan, infused with a can-do attitude and a powerful blend of style and substance. This is reflected in the design of the new brand’s logo. It is simple and unpretentious, modern and creative, offering a sense that everyone who visits, stays at or works within a VENU space has the freedom to write their own story, create their own narrative, build their own scene.”
The hotel group is in talks with a number of developers in the Middle East, Asia and Europe for the brand, one of which is Meraas to operate the first VENU on Bluewaters Island in Dubai
VENU will operate as an independent brand under the Jumeirah Group.
Leading the new venture is Matt Balcik, who has been appointed vice president operations, brand development, to head the preparations for the rollout of VENU internationally.
A Turkish/American national, Balcik has 18 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in Turkey, Washington DC, Sydney, Aruba, US Virgin Islands, New Orleans and Newport Beach, California. His most recent position was as general manager of the W Hotel in Istanbul.
Nicholas Clayton, CEO group operations at Jumeirah Group, said, “This is a genuinely exciting innovation for Jumeirah Group. The time is right for us to launch a new contemporary lifestyle brand. Its provenance and energy comes from Dubai – and the first few VENU hotels will open here – but it is ultimately a powerful way of taking the core essence of the Dubai out into the international market, reflecting the city’s energy, dynamism and cosmopolitan nature.”
AirAsia Extra gets set to commence operations
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation handing over the AOC to AirAsia Extra.
The vision of Malaysia-based long haul budget carrier, AirAsia X, to have an affiliate in Indonesia is closer to reality with the recent granting of the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to its joint venture startup, AirAsia Extra (IAAX).
IAAX, which recently received the AOC from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry Transportation of Indonesia, is AirAsia X’s JV with Indonesia’s PT Kirana Anugerah Perkasa.
AirAsia X said the approval would allow IAAX to proceed with its application for operating permit and airport slots for its intended international routes.
IAAX, the first long-haul low cost carrier in Indonesia, will have its hub at Bali Denpasar’s Ngurah Ria Airport. It will initially focus its operations in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney) and North Asia, as part of AirAsia’s strategy to supply feeder traffic to its regional airlines.
The airline will operate the Airbus A330-300s aircraft; featuring two-class configuration with 12 business class seats and 365 economy seats.
SavvyMob expands foothold in India
SavvyMob, the mobile app that offers last minute booking for hotel rooms in India, has spread its wings to over 25 cities across the country, and increasing its hotel portfolio to 250.
The Bangalore-based startup, founded in April this year, describes itself as a mobile only distribution product developed for the Indian Millennial travellers, both business and leisure, who are looking for the best deals specially at the last minute (read WIT Start-Up: SavvyMob).
SavvyMob said that hotel partners are using its platform to sell their unsold room inventory in a last minute (48-hour) booking window and increasing their occupancy rates and overall revenue. This initial success has helped SavvyMob rapidly increase their hotel partner network over the last few months.
According to PhoCusWright, mobile travel booking is still in early days in India, but along with China, they will be the fastest growing mobile markets with close to 1billion mobile commerce users through 2015-2016. Mobile travel bookings are expected to account for approximately 50% of all online bookings by the next 9-12 months.
