Emirates to launch third daily Brisbane service

Source: Emirates. Plane in Emirates livery.

Emirates will introduce a daily service to Brisbane, Australia from 1 December 2017, complementing Emirates’ two existing  daily services.

The direct service, to be operated on a B777-200LR aircraft with eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 216 in Economy Class, will increase capacity on the route by 3,724 seats a week, inbound and outbound, between Brisbane and Emirates’ hub Dubai.

The inbound service EK430 will depart Dubai at 10pm, arriving in Brisbane at 6.15pm the following day. The outbound flight EK431 will depart Brisbane at 10:25pm, arriving in Dubai at 7am the following day.

The service will operate alongside flights EK434 and EK435, which operate nonstop between Dubai and Brisbane and onwards to Auckland, New Zealand, while flights EK432 and EK433 operate between Dubai and Brisbane via Singapore. Additionally, with codeshare partner Qantas, Emirates offers services to Singapore twice daily from Brisbane.

The news comes as Emirates announced it would be upgrading its third daily service to Melbourne from a B777-300ER to an A380 operation from 25 March 2018, allowing passengers to travel aboard Emirates’ A380 on all three daily flights between Melbourne and Dubai.

Australia is a popular destination for international travellers with its diverse cities and coastal lifestyle. Brisbane is renowned for its thriving culture and is the major international gateway to the Gold Coast, a tourist hot spot and host of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

From a cargo perspective, the 777-200LR offers 14 tonnes of cargo capacity in the bellyhold. Popular goods expected to be transported on these services include fresh meat and vegetables, as well as pharmaceuticals.

Passengers can enjoy more than 2,500 channels of Emirates' inflight entertainment system ice. Onboard connectivity is available with an inflight Wi-Fi system.

Emirates offers baggage allowances of up to 35kg in Economy Class, 40kg in Business Class and 50kg in First Class. Emirates currently operates 77 flights a week to Australia from Dubai, with flights to Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney. The addition of this service will bring this number, including Qantas operated flights, to 98 flights per week to Australia from Dubai.

posted from Bloggeroid

NEXT Hotel Brisbane officially opened ahead of G20 Summit

SilverNeedle Hospitality has officially declared its flagship NEXT Hotel open in Brisbane, together with the Lennons Restaurant & Bar, a modern restaurant and bar featuring Queensland’s best artisanal produce.

Lennons was the name of the hotel in the NEXT Hotel building prior to SilverNeedle Hospitality carrying out its rebranding and redevelopment as the NEXT Hotel Brisbane.

Source: SilverNeedle Hospitality.
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Brisbane
Graham Quirk, and Iqbal Jumabhoy, Managing Director
& Group CEO of SilverNeedle Hospitality on the
roof terrace for the opening ceremony.

Following a multi-million dollar redevelopment, Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality adds hotel rooms to the city of Brisbane, which will host the G20 Summit next month. Located in Queen Street Mall, one of Australia’s busiest pedestrian malls and close to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Convention Centre and the Brisbane River, NEXT Hotel Brisbane and Lennons Restaurant & Bar are perfectly located to suit the professional and leisure needs of the business traveller. 

"We are excited to launch the first of our flagship brand, NEXT Hotels, in Brisbane. This is also the first hotel in Australia where guests, by downloading the NEXT App, can use their smartphones as mobile keys for their rooms. In another first in Australia, NEXT Hotel Brisbane provides a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone in every room that guests can access as a wireless hotspot when they are outside the hotel,” said Jumabhoy. "Our dedication to providing innovative service points to our commitment in making time count for our busy guests.”
In addition to the innovations mentioned by Jumabhoy, NEXT Hotel Brisbane can also connect calls for guests in Australia through their room numbers, even if the guest is not in the room. 

Another first for Australia was announced during the official opening - US-based fashion giant Forever 21 is locating its first store in Australia in the retail space of the the NEXT Hotel building.

For further details or to make a booking, please visit: nexthotels.com/brisbane

NEXT Hotel Brisbane offers smartphone-based room access

SilverNeedle Hospitality’s flagship NEXT Hotels brand is redesigning the guest experience with DOCOMO interTouch, offering guests more freedom and control with mobile guest services through the NEXT App mobile app. 

Part of that new freedom includes enabling the first NEXT Hotels property in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall to allow guests to open their room doors using their smartphones as room keys. NEXT Hotel Brisbane, which accepted guests from 24 September, is the first hotel in Australia to offer such a service.

Source: Next Hotel Brisbane website.

"Our NEXT Hotels brand is dedicated to providing the ultimate guest experience, and that requires us to effectively combine the use of space, technology and service to ensure that every moment is memorable and stress-free," said Iqbal Jumabhoy, Managing Director and Group CEO of Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality. "It's all about giving travellers the freedom to choose how they want to experience our hotels.”

SilverNeedle Hospitality is also launching the NEXT App, which contains the "room key". The NEXT App, available in both Android and iOS versions, works with free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel to allow guests to request hotel services through their smartphones – from making a room reservation, entering the room, controlling in-room gadgets and ordering room service, to checking out of the hotel. 

Prior to arriving at NEXT Hotel Brisbane, guests can check in using the NEXT App; select their preferred rooms or accept the pre-assigned rooms; and receive their own room key codes on their smartphones, bypassing the conventional check-in process to get to their rooms.

"The NEXT Hotels are truly innovative in their delivery of guest technology and they have been a real pleasure to work with," said Charles Reed, CEO of DOCOMO interTouch.

The NEXT App interconnects all the systems and services with the hotel so guests do not have to be physically in their hotel rooms to manage their stay. The integrated NEXT Technology allows them to change the TV channel, set the mood lighting, adjust the room temperature or order their next meal. If they don’t want the housekeeping staff to freshen up their rooms, they can activate the ‘Do Not Disturb’ indicator even when they are away from the hotel. Guests can also watch their favourite movies and stream their desired content securely on the Samsung Smart TV available in every room.

Guests who prefer not to use their own smartphones during their stay can use the NEXT App on Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones as part of the NEXT Connect service that is provided in every NEXT Room at no extra charge. This NEXT Connect App also has features that can be used outside the hotel. The HotSpot feature provides free WiFi for guests’ smartphones and laptops outside the hotel, for example. 

The phone system also provides access to free local calls and cheaper international calling rates with no additional roaming charges. Plus, the NEXT Service offers online concierge assistance to book a taxi around the city, order room service on their way back to the hotel or make an in-room massage appointment.

The NEXT App can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. For further details or to make a booking, please activate the NEXT App or visit nexthotels.com/brisbane.

SilverNeedle Hospitality launches upscale Sage Hotel brand for business travellers

Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality has launched a modern upscale hotel brand that caters to the business traveller, Sage Hotel, with its first Sage Hotel to be situated in Brisbane, Australia. 

“At SilverNeedle Hospitality, we recognise there is an important group of business travellers who desire a stable and uncomplicated life as they conduct their business in unfamiliar cities,” said Iqbal Jumabhoy, Managing Director & Group Chief Executive Officer at SilverNeedle Hospitality. “Not only is the Sage Hotel designed to fulfill the needs of this group, it also complements our suite of offerings that includes six other brands. Our intention is to develop the Sage Hotel brand throughout Asia Pacific in the upscale segment.” 

The brand promise of Sage Hotels, The Complex Made Simple, the Simple Made Special, focuses on the guests’ desire for simplicity. Its typical guests comprise the small business owner or entrepreneur, or a senior manager or family breadwinner.  

“Every stay at our Sage Hotel will bear the hallmarks of simplicity, familiarity for these guests who want to feel at home, while at the same time offering our guests uncompromised quality,” said Jumabhoy.  
Guests at Sage Hotel will enjoy the Fair Value Promise of competitive room rates, free Wi-Fi and free local calls. Mini bar items will be priced at 30% above local convenience stores, and laundry services priced at just 20% above street pricing. Another brand standard that all guests will enjoy is the SilverNeedle DreamWeave Sleep System, which consists of the highest quality pillow-top mattress with gel-infused memory foam, Egyptian Cotton 300 thread count per inch linens, and a selection of premium pillows.
 
The first Sage Hotel is in Fortitude Valley, northeast of Brisbane’s Central Business District (CBD), true to the Sage Hotel positioning of being located in primary and secondary urban cities in Asia Pacific in CBD and CBD fringe areas, near primary transportation hubs. It will comprise 111 rooms when it is refurbished from two storeys of the heritage landmark known as TCB. 
 

Source: Silverneedle Hospitality. Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley.

The TCB building dates back to 1902, when it was a department store operated by Irish draper Thomas Charles Beirne, and was acquired by Forwin International Investments in 2003. The three-storey building houses about 22 tenants including eateries and boutiques on the first floor, with the remaining storeys leased as offices. Forwin International will convert the office space to Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley, which is scheduled to open 18 months after the refurbishment is complete.
“We are excited that our heritage building will house the new Sage Hotel brand,” said Gavin Tseng at Forwin International. “As owners of TCB, an iconic building with a rich history, we align ourselves with brands that have strong prospects for long-term business growth.” 

Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley is SilverNeedle Hospitality’s second commitment to Brisbane, following NEXT Hotel in the CBD which will open later this year. SilverNeedle Hospitality also operates the SilverNeedle Collection of boutique hotels, Chifley, Country Comfort, Australis and Sundowner brands.