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The Travel Career Connexxions Opportunities Newsletter
08/10/04 The only weekly newsletter detailing essential trends, news and top executive moves in travel. Opportunities is a free newsletter that provides you with the vision to "see" travel industry opportunities in the making. Whether you are in sales, business development, guiding your company's growth or managing your career, reading opportunities will give you the advantage to succeed. Opportunities is another innovative tool brought to you by Travel Career Connexxions. For more information, visit http://www.TravelExecutive.com This week in Opportunities:
Online Agency Growth Outlook To ensure that you always receive this newsletter and other communications from Travel Career Connexxions, please add our address to your Address Book (newsletter@travelexecutive.com). This will keep most email filters from misinterpreting and discarding these emails. Did you know? As of 8/10/04 there are 108 executive-level travel jobs published in the Travel Career Connexxions employment report. Positions include VP of Operations (8/09), Director of Facilities Management (8/06), Vice President Field Sales (8/06), Director - Content Development & Editorial Services (8/05), VP Marketing (8/02), Sr. Director - Customer Contact Center (8/30), CEO, Chief Marketing Officer and more. It only takes one person to fill the job of a lifetime - and that someone could be you! http://www.TravelExecutive.com
*ATME Annual Conference & Trade Show Sept 21-22, 2004
OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS Online Agencies' Success Could Be Leveling Off The online travel market has been the hottest thing around in the industry, with jobs aplenty. But it may be leveling off a bit, at least if you look IAC/InterActiveCorp.'s second quarter results One of Wall Street's online travel darlings, IAC--which owns Expedia, Hotels.com and Hotwire--reported second quarter revenue was $1.5 billion, operating income decreased 1 percent to $110 million, and net income decreased 25 percent to $70 million due to increased amortization of non-cash expenses and increased shares outstanding related to the buy-ins of IAC's formerly public subsidiaries. Revenue also dropped 1.7 percent as Hotels.com changed the way it reports revenue. Nevertheless, if IAC had been reporting revenue the same way as last year, the company said comparable net revenue would have increased 34 percent to $555.5 million over the prior year, primarily driven by the worldwide merchant hotel business, increased consumer demand for packages, and the inclusion of recent acquisitions, most notably Hotwire. Packages revenue was $111 million during Q2, up 45 percent over the prior year. At the same time, IAC said its U.S. merchant hotel business continues to experience competition from other third party distributors, promotion by hotel chains of their own direct sites, and a more challenging supply environment resulting from recent increases in hotel occupancy rates. It said those factors would most likely continue to result in slower growth rates in domestic merchant hotel bookings. Separately, Priceline.com Incorporated reported second quarter 2004 gross travel bookings of $470.4 million, a 58 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Revenues were $259.4 million, an increase of 8 percent compared to $239.6 million during the same period a year ago. Pro forma gross profit for the second quarter 2004 was $54.6 million, a 35 percent increase over the same period a year ago. On the other hand, Priceline's third-quarter earnings forecast was below Wall Street expectations, leading to a drop in the stock. So the online travel category's still hot, but there are a few warning signs that business isn't growing as fast. American Express Revamps Corporate Travel Group American Express has finally integrated its acquisition of Rosenbluth Travel. The company also relaunched its corporate travel organization, now called American Express Business Travel, introduced new branding and advertising, and has reshaped its product and solution set. "We have created a new, redefined American Express that is ready to serve the business travel needs of any customer, of any size, anywhere in the world, with a focus on savings, service and control for the business travel buyer," said Charles Petruccelli, president of American Express Business Travel. "The name American Express Business Travel better reflects our ability to serve all aspects of the market, from a small business just starting out to a Fortune 50 organization with global travel and complex reporting and consulting needs. The completed integration enables American Express Business Travel to offer more customer service, information management, savings opportunities, consulting expertise, and global supplier relationships." Low-Cost Carriers Expand International Operations Three low-cost airlines have announced plans to introduce service to the Bahamas. Song, Delta Air Lines' low-fare air service, announced its first international route, from New York's JFK Airport to Nassau, Bahamas. Daily non-stop roundtrip service begins on Dec. 1. Meanwhile, JetBlue requested authority from the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide international nonstop service to The Bahamas. The proposed service from New York's JFK would operate daily to Nassau beginning Nov. 1. The Bahamas service would continue the carrier's expansion in the Caribbean following the start of service to San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2002. The airline added a new flight to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, in May this year, and launched Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic as JetBlue's first international destinations in June. Finally, AirTran Airways said it would add new daily nonstop flights this fall between several of the cities it serves and popular vacation destinations such as Miami, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Grand Bahama Island. Daily nonstop service from Atlanta to Grand Bahama Island starts Nov. 4, 2004. So low-cost carriers continue to expand, now well beyond U.S. borders. Virgin Atlantic Sets Plans to Double Size of Airline Virgin Atlantic Airways is one of the few international carriers on a firm growth. The airline last week reached an agreement to take delivery of 13 new A340-600 aircraft with options for a further 13. In total the deal is worth in excess of $5.5 billion. The move will effectively double the size of the airline over the next five years. Virgin currently has a fleet of 29 aircraft. Together with existing orders for A340-600s and A380s, it now has 24 firm orders with options for 19 more aircraft. These aircraft will allow it to add two or three more routes per year as well as expand capacity to existing destinations. Virgin's current fleet includes 13 Boeing 747-400s, nine Airbus A340-300s and seven A340-600s. Beyond that, the new A340-600 entered service with launch customer Virgin Atlantic in July 2002. Virgin also is scheduled to take delivery of three A380-800 jumbo aircraft in 2008, two A380s in 2009, and one in 2010. JetBlue Set to Build New Terminal at New York JFK JetBlue is expanding in more ways than just routes and airplanes. The low-cost airline and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reached agreement on a new terminal at New York's JFK International Airport, to be designed by Gensler, an architecture, design and planning firm. The 625,000-square-foot terminal will have 26 contact gates with a projected 20 million passengers passing through a year. Construction is slated to begin in the fall of 2004 for a projected opening in 2008. The new structure's low profile design will be combined with the former landmark TWA terminal just opposite. Amadeus GDS Reports Higher Net Income, More Bookings Major travel technology and reservations companies continue to see gains. Last week Amadeus reported net income increased 47.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to 57.3 million euros. The GDS also saw a 54 percent increase in e-commerce revenue compared with the same period in 2003, with e-commerce representing almost 10 percent of the company's total revenue in this quarter. Total bookings invoiced by Amadeus for the period rose 9.8 percent year-on-year to 114.7 million. Air bookings showed strong year-on-year growth of 11.9 percent, with 96.3 million air bookings processed between April and June. Overall, non-air bookings grew 6 percent year-on-year, with hotel bookings growing by 16 percent compared with the second quarter last year. Regionally, Amadeus bookings increased by 6.6 percent in Europe, 4.5 percent in North America, and 29.6 percent across all the other world regions. Le Meridien Set to Open 31 New Hotels in 2004-05 A year ago Le Meriden Hotels & Resorts was facing financial challenges. Now, under a new owner, it's a company poised to extend its reach even further around the globe. Le Meridien last week said 31 new properties located throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, are currently in the pipeline to open during 2004, 2005 and beyond. Openings in 2004 and 2005 include Le Meridien Stuttgart, Germany; Le Meridien Dead Sea Resort & Spa, Dead Sea, Israel; Le Meridien Sunny Isles Beach, Miami; Plaza AthÈnÈe, Bangkok; Le Meridien Cyberport, Hong Kong; Le Meridien Changi Village, Singapore; Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort, Thailand; Le Meridien Angkor, Cambodia; Le Meridien Karachi, Pakistan; Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Le Meridien Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Le Meridien Tower, Kuwait; Le Meridien Abuja, Nigeria; Le Meridien Ibom Resort, Nigeria; Le Meridien Kathmandu, Nepal; Le Meridien St Julians, Malta; Le Meridien Hurghada, Egypt; Grosvenor House Hotel and Apartments by Le Meridien, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Le Meridien Dahab, Egypt; Le Meridien Marhaba-Casablanca, Morocco; Le Meridien She Shan, China; Le Royal Meridien Shanghai, China; Le Meridien Salmiya, Kuwait; Le Meridien, Split, Croatia; Le Meridien Mubarakiya, Kuwait; Le Meridien Towers Makkah; Le Meridien Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Le Meridien Hyderabad, India; Le Meridien Bangkok, Thailand; Le Meridien Chiang Mai, Thailand; and Le Meridien Frankfurt Airport, Germany. InterContinental Opens 35 Hotels in May, June Want more evidence of the boom in hotel development? InterContinental Hotels Group said it opened 35 hotels in May and June 2004, an addition of more than 3,342 rooms across the Americas. The 35 hotels opened include: The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis; nine Holiday Inn hotel openings worldwide; 22 Holiday Inn Express openings; and two new Staybridge Suites, an upscale extended-stay brand. Kempinski Debuts Two New Luxury Hotels in London Kempinski Hotels & Resorts is another lodging company to watch. It's on the verge of opening two London properties: The Courthouse Kempinski in Soho and the Bentley Kempinski in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The Courthouse Kempinski, in the final stages of renovation, will open at the end of the summer. The Bentley Kempinski, which opened in October 2003, was re-flagged Aug. 1. Kempinski expects to grow from its current 36 hotels to over 60 under operation within the next three years. HSMAI/NYU Conference Showcases Top Travel Marketers Want to find out more about the outlook for business and leisure travel into 2005? The fourth annual HSMAI/NYU Industry Strategy Conference, to be held on Thursday, Sept 23, in New York City at the Marriott Marquis from 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. "The Morphing of the Business and Leisure Traveler: An Insight into Changing Attitudes and Behavior" will provide top industry and sales and marketing professionals with insights into current trends and market segments, as well as ideas and solutions that can contribute to their success. The focus of this conference will be on exploring shifts in travel patterns, product design, and consumer segments relative to leisure and business travel. The half-day forum will bring together experts and thought leaders in business and leisure travel to serve as panelists and speakers. The program is divided into four components: a keynote lunch address; panels and discussion on both business and leisure travel; and a closing session formatted as one-on-one interviews with non-hospitality entities in the travel arena. A panel on business travel will feature corporate travel managers discussing the changes in the marketplace and trends. A leisure travel panel will delve into family travel and focus on family resorts. The final session will be one-on-one interviews with individuals from companies that represent non-traditional competition to the hotel industry as they discuss which market segments they are targeting and by what means. Registration fees are $195 for HSMAI members, and $345 for non-members, which includes a year of membership to HSMAI. Fees increase $50 after Sept. 16, 2004. For more information, contact the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International at 703-610-9024, fax 703-610-9005 or visit www.hsmai.org. OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS! AIRLINES: Regional Aviation Partners has hired Todd Jorns as its new associate director of legislative affairs. Jorns previously served as the legislative liaison for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), where he was responsible for corporate and community outreach in the Phoenix metropolitan area. He specialized in aviation, homeland security, and surface transportation issues. Before relocating to Phoenix, Jorns worked on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee in Washington, D.C., where he held several positions of increasing responsibility. Phoenix-based not-for-profit Regional Aviation Partners focuses on a full slate of lobbying activities involving regional airports, Department of Transportation funding and FAA-related legislation. CAR RENTALS: Thrifty Car Sales, Inc., a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, named Jeff Cerefice as vice president and general manager, in addition to his current role as vice president of U.S. Licensee Operations and Franchise Sales. In his expanded capacity, Cerefice, who has been with the company for more than 20 years, will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Thrifty Car Sales. Cerefice succeeds Jim Holder, who most recently led Thrifty Car Sales. CRUISE LINES: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. named Horace Hord Jr. and Michael Ronan as regional vice presidents of government and community relations for the Caribbean. Hord will oversee government and community relations activities within Eastern Caribbean nations, while Ronan will oversee those functions within the Western Caribbean region. John Fox, Royal Caribbean's vice president of government and community relations, will continue to head the department, which also focuses on the United States, European, and Central and South American markets. Prior to joining Royal Caribbean, Hord served as president and chief executive officer of the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, where he oversaw government and industry relations, advertising and marketing initiatives, joint government and private-sector promotions, travel agent education and member services. Hord also served as American Airlines' director of marketing for the Atlantic/Caribbean region. A past president of the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives, Hord also has served on the boards of he Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Caribbean Hotel Association. Ronan, who most recently served as Royal Caribbean's associate vice president of destination development, joined the company in 1989 as director of Port Planning, a newly created department within Hotel Operations. Prior to joining Royal Caribbean, he worked for Norwegian Cruise Line as director of cruise programs. He also spent more than 12 years as an owner and manager of two tour and excursion companies that serviced major cruise lines visiting the Dominican Republic...Holland America Line promoted Jay Parker to director of inside sales, responsible for overseeing 30 inside sales representatives and supervisors. Reporting to Tracey Kelly, vice president-sales, Parker is also responsible for the 'At Home with HAL' program for home-based travel agents. Since 1996, he has served as Holland America's district sales manager in Calgary, Alberta. Prior to Holland America, Parker was a district sales manager for Premier Cruise Lines, a sales representative and reservations supervisor for US Airways, cruise and travel consultant for AAA Travel, and assistant cruise director/shore excursion manager for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. HOTELS & RESORTS: Halekulani Corporation, which owns and manages both the Halekulani and the Waikiki Parc hotels on Oahu in Hawaii, has expanded the role of Vice President Patricia Tam, appointing her to the new position of vice president-standards and corporate relations. Tam is now responsible for overseeing all aspects of standards and practices of the hotels as supported by the corporation's quality division, as well as serving as an active Halekulani Corporation representative within both the community and the industry. She is responsible for formalizing and maintaining standards practices and overseeing all aspects of service training for both the Halekulani and Waikiki Parc Hotels. In addition, she will also represent both properties on a variety of executive boards as well as community and industry organizations. Tam began her hotel career at Halekulani when it first opened in 1983 and served in various capacities, including assistant hotel manager. In 1987, she turned her attention to Halekulani's sister property, Waikiki Parc Hotel, where she helped to establish new standards in services as general manager. She returned to Halekulani where, in 1993, she became the first female to hold the position of general manager of a Hawaii hotel with a Five-Diamond rating from AAA... InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has hired Gabriele Webster as general manager and Scott Petrine as director of sales for the first Hotel Indigo scheduled to open this fall in Atlanta's midtown area. Webster most recently served as regional vice president of operations at Prime Hospitality based in Atlanta, where she directed operations for 21 properties with 2,600 rooms throughout the Southeast region, including Atlanta, Nashville and Memphis. Prior to that, she served as general manager at the AmeriSuites Atlanta Buckhead property before taking on additional responsibilities as district operations manager for AmeriSuites. Petrine joins IHG from the Embassy Suites in Buckhead, having worked as outside corporate sales manager since December 2001. Prior to that, he held positions as director of sales at the Comfort Suites Hotel Atlanta-Perimeter; sales manager at the Radisson Atlanta-Executive Park and the Marriott Grande Ocean Resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C....Hyatt Hotels Corp. has named Daniel Amato as general manager of the Grand Hyatt Washington. Amato is responsible for overseeing all operations including marketing, sales, finances and employee relations for the 18-year-old, 900-room downtown hotel and convention center. Amato has worked for Hyatt in various positions for 28 years... Expanding its operations to America's Midwest region, Luxe Worldwide Hotels, a representation company for independently owned and operated hotels, has hired Stacey Messina as vice president of business development, Midwestern U.S.A. Messina most recently served as director of travel industry sales for the Fairmont New Orleans. Prior to that, she was director of membership services-the Americas and global director of electronic distribution for SRS-WorldHotels, based in New York City...Mandarin Oriental has appointed Anja Luthje as the luxury hotel group's new corporate director of rooms. Luthje brings almost 18 years of operational and corporate expertise to the group. She joins Mandarin Oriental from her previous corporate role as rooms, revenue and channel distribution manager for The Peninsula Group. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, she held senior management positions in the United Kingdom, Middle East, Europe and North America with Inter-Continental Hotels Group...The Plasencia Group named Brian Rodgers as senior associate-Western Region. Based in San Diego, Rodgers will be responsible for supporting the management of the Western Regional office's hotel transactions, and will serve existing Plasencia clients, foster relationships with leading hotel companies and owners in the West. Rodgers previously served as assistant vice president of the San Francisco Office of HVS International. The Plasencia Group is a leading hospitality transaction and consulting services firm, representing public and private owners of hotels, resorts, and golf courses...Jane Renton has been appointed as the general manager of The Lowndes Hotel, a 78-bedroom boutique property located in London's Knightsbridge area. Renton joins The Lowndes Hotel after serving for the past seven years as the general manager of The Draycott House Apartment Hotel in Chelsea. She also spent 1o years in multiple operational positions at The Dorchester in London...Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns & Resorts appointed Klimis Messios as vice president of franchise operations. In this position, Messios will oversee central disciplines, such as procurement, distribution and IT, marketing development and design, training and partner franchising. Messios joined Golden Tulip in August 2000 and was responsible for marketing, franchise services & sales support, distribution and IT. Golden Tulip veteran Haike Blaauw will become vice president of franchising. In this role, Blaauw will oversee the field operations in the Benelux Denmark, Central Europe, France/Monaco and the Mediterranean. Evelyne Orban has been appointed as regional director of franchising for the French-speaking countries in Europe in addition to her existing role as the group's director of marketing. Eric H¸bbers, currently Golden Tulip's development manager for Central Europe, has been appointed as regional director of franchising for Central & Eastern Europe. Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns & Resorts is a privately owned hotel franchise company with its head office based in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, franchising some 270 hotels across 41 countries, with the majority of hotels being located in urban destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa... The Ascott Group said Cameron Ong, its deputy chief executive officer, has taken over from Eugene Lai as chief executive officer. Lai has resigned to pursue other interests. Ong has more than 25 years' international experience in hospitality, including 10 years with Ascott. Over the years, he has directed most of Ascott's critical functions, including overseeing the operational performance of its properties and global brand development across 39 cities in Europe and Asia Pacific. He began his career with several international hotel chains and was the youngest general manager appointed in Asia for the Crowne Plaza hotel group. He was previously Somerset Holdings' chief operating officer, and president and director of the hospitality arm of Liang Court Holdings (renamed Somerset Holdings). Somerset Holdings merged with The Ascott Limited to form The Ascott Group in 2000. The Ascott Group is a leading international serviced residence company with 13,800 serviced residence units in the key cities of Europe and Asia Pacific. TRAVEL AGENCIES: TraveLeaders has appointed Nina Meyer to the newly created position of director of leisure sales and development. Meyer, a 30-plus year travel and tourism industry veteran, most recently owned NRM in Motion/FLA Journeys, a destination management company. She was also the founder of her own travel agency, Vision Travel, located in Coral Gables, Fla. In her new role, Meyer will be responsible for driving leisure sales and will focus on combining the new technologies of travel with the highest levels of personalized quality service for individuals as well as leisure groups. She will be based out of TraveLeaders' corporate headquarters in Coral Gables. TraveLeaders is a fully integrated travel services distribution company providing clients with comprehensive business and leisure travel servicesÖTravelocity Business, a full-service corporate travel agency, appointed Scott Hyden as general manager. Hyden, whose most recent experience includes managing major online businesses such as Travelweb.com and American Airlines' AA.com, brings experience in airline and hotel supplier relations, as well as in automating travel and transportation processes. He most recently served as general manager of Dallas-based Travelweb.com, an online hotel distribution company owned by many of the world's largest hotel chains. He also served as managing director of AAA.com, and guided e-commerce strategy, product development, site design and technology direction. TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: Travelport Corporate Solutions, a global leader in corporate travel management and a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation, named Dean Sivley as chief product officer and Jack Staehler as chief technology officer. As chief product officer, Sivley is responsible for developing and implementing Travelport's long-term product strategy, as well as managing all aspects of Travelport's flexible product lineup, which includes Travelport Online Booking and GDS services for business travel. Prior to joining Travelport, he served as the executive vice president and general manager at Creditek, a leading invoice-to-cash business processing outsourcing company serving more than half of the Fortune 500. He also has considerable travel experience, having been the CEO of Atlas Travel Technologies, as well as vice president of marketing and CIO of Rosenbluth International. Staehler's appointment as chief technology officer will allow Travelport to capitalize on his past experience and expertise gained through his previous positions within the Cendant family. Most recently, he served as chief information officer for Cendant's Retail Travel Services group, where he focused on CheapTickets.com, managing all online and offline development and operations systems and oversight of all external IT relationships. Staehler also served as vice president of technology and operations for Netmarket Group Inc./One2One Dynamics, Inc., an affiliate of Cendant Corporation. In addition, he served as director of the creative development group for Cendant Corporation's interactive division.
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