Jetsettersblog

America Israel Travel unveiled two upgraded Christian tours to Israel, The Roots of Your Faith Tour and Into the Promised Land Tour, two of its most popular tours for Christian pilgrimages.

The Roots of Your Faith Tour is a 10-day tour of some of the most important sites in Israel to Christian travelers, including Mount Carmel, Caesarea, Megiddo, Nazareth, Capernaum, Mount of Beatitude, Sea of Galilee and the biblical sites in and around Jerusalem.

One of the most popular Christian tours to Israel, Egypt and Jordan, the Into the Promised Land tour is modeled after the route of the Biblical Exodus from Egypt to Israel. The tour includes Egypt sites such as the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, as well as spiritual Israel and Jordan destinations such as the Garden of Gethsemane, Mount Zion and the stone-carved city of Petra.

For more information, email info@americaisrael.com  or visit www.americaisrael.us

Argentine entrepreneur Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster, president and CEO of Basic Energy Ltd., and Haiti-based WIN Group, announced an agreement to build a 240-room hotel adjacent to Port-Au-Prince’s Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport.

The $33 million project, to be Haiti’s fist airport hotel, will break ground in late 2010 with an 18-month construction timetable, according to the groups.

The as-yet-unnamed, seven-story hotel will be independently operated and feature full conference facilities with capacity to accommodate up to 400.

Plans also call for food and beverage outlets, a work-out center, swimming pool, and spa facilities and lounges, plus lush, tropical landscaping.

The hotel will be built to meet or exceed all international earthquake standards.

“We recognize the importance of having facilities that can house individuals during the rebuilding process,” said Gonzalez-Bunster, whose holdings include investments in the neighboring Dominican Republic.

“It is currently extremely challenging to secure accommodations since so much of the infrastructure was decimated by the earthquake.”

Youri Mevs, managing partner at the WIN Group, said the hotel project “not only will provide badly needed hotel and conference facilities, but will employ hundreds of local workers in desperate need of generating revenue to support themselves and their families.”

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the United Nations’ special envoy to Haiti and co-chair of the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission (IHRC), said, “Our goal is to encourage long-term sustainable investment in Haiti.

An adequate network of hotels is crucial to the country, and this venture is one example that the numerous facets needed to rebuild Port Au Prince are slowly getting under way.”

For more information, call Edmund Miller at 305-987-0995 or visit www.wingrouponline.com

Best Western’s Fall Promotion offers triple points in the Best Western Rewards loyalty program to guests who stay two separate times on a qualifying rate between Sept. 12 and Nov. 21, 2010, and book both stays on the ad at right.

 Guests who book elsewhere earn double points when they stay two separate times on a qualifying rate during the promotion.
The promotion also includes a 1,000-point bonus for those who pay for each of their qualified stays with the Best Western Rewards MasterCard.

For more information, visit www.bestwestern.com/fall

Beginning Jan. 7, 2011, the Marriott Rewards loyalty program is expanding to offer free, high-speed Internet access worldwide as a benefit for gold and platinum elite members who stay at all JW Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Renaissance Hotels and The Autograph Collection.

Last May, Marriott Rewards began offering Gold and Platinum Elite members free high-speed Internet access at hotels throughout North and South America. Marriott Rewards members reach Gold Elite status by staying 50 nights a year, and Platinum Elite status by staying 75 nights a year.

Elite members receive a various benefits depending on their level, including bonus points, elite-only offers, room upgrades, club lounge access, 48-hour availability and an exclusive guest services and reservation line.

For more information, visit www.MarriottRewards.com

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas has partnered with SkyWire Media on a multilevel SMS text marketing initiative that will incorporate into SkyWire’s mobile member database.

SkyWire Media’s Rooms and Coupon Connect mobile platform will allow Hard Rock guests to receive targeted SMS text messages for exclusive offers and incentives from the property.

This technology will also provide information like customer trends and sales to the property.

The campaigns have already created thousands of opt-in followers, who have segmented themselves by the types of offers they prefer.

This user-generated information is designed to help hotel officials learn more about their clientele’s interests and to allow them to make immediate decisions on marketing campaigns designed to help persuade customers to stay on property for entertainment and amenities.

For more information, call 800-473-7625 or visit www.hardrockhotel.com

Delta Air Lines said it welcomed China Airlines’ decision to join the SkyTeam global airline alliance by mid-2011. “China Airlines’ extensive network and growing hub in Taipei will complement Delta’s existing service to Taiwan and improve our customers’ access to destinations across one of the world’s fastest-growing regions,” said Delta CEO Richard Anderson.

“We are honored that China Airlines, an outstanding global carrier with a proud history of customer service, has chosen to link its future growth and success with Delta and our SkyTeam partners.”

Headquartered in Taipei, China Airlines is the largest airline of Taiwan, home to one of the world’s most dynamic technology-driven economies.

The China Airlines network will complement those of Guangzhou-based China Southern and Shanghai-based China Eastern, current and future SkyTeam members. Cooperation between these three airlines will further enhance SkyTeam’s position in Greater China.

China Airlines’ route network covers Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and will help customers connect to flights of SkyTeam partners worldwide.

More information on China Airlines’ application to join SkyTeam is available at

www.skyteam.com

Saigon’s Caravelle Hotel recently completed a wireless upgrade that puts one of Vietnam’s most renowned heritage hotels at the forefront of wireless innovation.

In a July 27 hospitality report from J.D. Powers and Associates, one of the world’s leading market research firms, consumer demand for free Wi-Fi is the No. 1 demand from more than 53,000 hotel guests participating in the survey.

“To be progressive with Wi-Fi in a hotel environment, you need to implement three pieces,” said Richard Warren, a representative from Meraki, a company partly owned by Google.

“It’s got to be free, it’s got to be available throughout the hotel, and you’ve got to be able to handle big meetings.”

“If you’re going to do meetings, we realized that we needed to be in a situation where 300 people could open the lids on their laptops and presto, they’re online,” said John Gardner, general manager of the Caravelle.

Gardner doesn’t expect the Caravelle will stand alone for long at the progressive front-lines of the wireless world. Warren figures the Caravelle will enjoy exclusivity in this regard for the next three to six months.

Today, the hotel’s technology supplier reports that 300 to 350 unique visitors are accessing the hotel’s wireless space daily.

About 250 of them are hotel guests; the other 100 are visitors to the hotel’s bars and restaurants. At present, Meraki says conferences at the Caravelle can connect as many as 500 to 1,000 wireless users, using technology innovations by Google and Meraki.

In June, the Caravelle installed Wi-Fi systems in its fleet of hotel cars.

The four interchangeable Wi-Fi routers create hotspots using 3G and HSPDA technology that enables download speeds of up to 7.2MB per unit.

Two years ago, the Caravelle became the first five-star hotel to offer free access to the Internet in Ho Chi Minh City.

Opened in 1959, the Caravelle won fame during the Vietnam War as the city’s most upscale hotel and a perch from which to watch the war erupt on the city’s fringe.

In 1998, the original 10-story building on Lam Son Square was completely refurbished and complemented by a 24-story tower.

Today, the hotel has 335 rooms.

For more information, visit www.caravellehotel.com

Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces launched the second phase of their brand architecture exercise with the roll-over of 19 hotels to their new brand, Vivanta by Taj Hotels & Resorts, slotted in the Five-Star Upper Upscale segment.

Sixteen erstwhile Taj Hotels joined the three existing Vivanta by Taj hotels to create a brand which has an inventory of nearly 2,500 rooms. An aggressive expansion program is in place which will see the brand grow organically to more than 30 hotels with over 5,000 rooms over the next two years.

Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces created Vivanta after a series of extensive customer understanding studies.

Vivanta by Taj Hotels & Resorts are slated to appeal to the cosmopolitan global traveler who appreciates new experiences and pleasant surprises.

The Vivanta brand is positioned to be stylish and sophisticated, contemporary, vivid and creative and to afford a cool avatar of luxury.

Currently comprised of 19 hotels in India and the Indian Ocean region, Vivanta by Taj incorporates hotels in key metropolitan areas as well as popular holiday destinations like Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Established in 1903, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces comprises 66 hotels in 42 locations across India with an additional 16 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, the U.K., the U.S., Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is part of the Tata Group, India’s premier business house.

After its record-breaking successful launch last year, the Time Out Malaysia for Visitors is back with a new edition for 2010/11!

Bigger and better with a fresh selection of features and more than 1,500 brand new, updated listings of where to stay, where to eat, attractions, spas, shopping and clubs & bars.

The fresh new features includes a special pictorial view of unusual sights from around the country called “Malaysian Scenes You Seldom See”, while other articles include focus on everything from halal dining to the best spas and the ever-popular “25 Must Dos in Malaysia”.

The 2010/11 edition of Time Out Malaysia for Visitors is a powerhouse of information for everything Malaysian.

Drawing on the uniquely strong global reputation of Time Out guides, the publication stands alone in terms of its offerings to visitors to Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur: After its successful launch in 2009, Al Musafir: The Essential Arabic Guide to Malaysia, is back with a new edition for 2010/11! Packed with a new selection of features on the top holiday destinations, outstanding restaurants, where to shop, spas and wellness, education advice and even investment opportunities,

Al Musafir is the most only luxury Arabic language guide for the hundreds of thousands of discerning Middle Eastern travellers that come to Malaysia each year.

Literally translating as ‘The Traveller’, Al Musafir is essential reading for visitors coming to Malaysia or for those already here. With interesting features, comprehensive listings and a smart, attractive layout, the magazine is among the best travel publications in the country.

This year’s fresh features include a look at luxury shopping, medical tourism, education, property investment, and dining.

Plus, there is even a feature on travel to Singapore for visitors that want to see more of the region.

With 100+ pages packed with information and a widespread distribution into key targeted areas across the Middle East, Al Musafir gives visitors to Malaysia the information they need, even before they’ve left home.

Published by Malaysia’s fastest growing media house, Mongoose, Al Musafir has an initial print run of 20,000 copies and will be available on all key flight routes from and to Malaysia from the Middle Eastern countries, major book stores, travel agencies and airline lounges across the Middle East.

Al Musafir will also be available at all Malaysian Embassies and High Commissions in the region.

In Malaysia, the magazine will be available at all major bookstores and newsstands, Malaysian tourism centres and all five star hotels. Grab your copy now and get ready to experience Malaysia like never before.

About Mongoose

Mongoose is Malaysia’s fastest growing media house founded in 1997.

They specialise in providing consumer publications (publisher of Time Out KL, Time Out Malaysia Guides, Expatriate Lifestyle, Golf Vacations, The Circular and Al Musafir), web solutions, contract sales, contract publishing, creative marketing solutions, event management and PR.

With a guiding principle of ‘Communicating with Integrity’, Mongoose utilises its international experience spanning three decades and succeeds in bringing editorial, design, marketing, PR, communications and web-based best practice to Malaysia.