Tag: paris

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NH Hotel Group adds eight properties from Boscolo hotels to their collection

NH Hotel Group has reached an agreement with Covivio, one of the key European real estate players, to operate a portfolio of eight high-end hotels, with prime locations in Rome, Florence, Venice, Nice, Prague and Budapest.

The portfolio includes iconic hotels such as the Palazzo Naiadi in Rome, the Carlo IV in Prague, the Plaza in Nice and the NY Palace in Budapest.

These Boscolo hotels had previously been bought by Covivio. The agreement has an initial duration of 15 years and the transaction is expected to be fully complete by the end of the first half of 2020. However, the hotels in Florence and Nice which are currently being fully refurbished are expected by June 2020 and January 2021 respectively.

This agreement will add 1,115 rooms to NH Hotel Group’s luxury properties. The hotels are centrally located in Rome, Florence, Venice, Nice, Prague and Budapest, six are in the 5-star and two are 4-star categories. The hotels are flagship establishments and they will gradually be rebranded under the Anantara Hotels & Resorts and NH Collection brands.

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Most competitive convention destination revealed by ICCA

Competitive Index 2019 for global cities hosting meetings and events ranks them by features such as infrastructure and costs.

Paris has retained the top spot in ICCA’s rankings of the most competitive destinations for international conventions. 

Barcelona has moved up one place from its 2018 ranking to second place, while Singapore has jumped three places from sixth to third. Washington has gone the other direction, dropping from second to seventh place.  

ICCA has worked with convention industry consulting firm GainingEdge on the second annual ‘Competitive Index’ of international convention destinations. This year’s edition extends the listing to the world’s top 103 cities – those which have hosted 82 or more international conventions over the past three years as reported by ICCA. 

This year’s report also includes a ‘fair share’ analysis of a destination’s business levels. 

“We think this analysis will help destinations to gain insights into where they are and whether they should be in market share building mode, or market share protection mode,” said GainingEdge CEO, Jon Sivertson. 

“If you are below fair share there are probably reasons for that. For instance, if your competitors have better financed bureaus, it provides you with a business case for increased resources. If you are above fair share, the message should be that you need to avoid a downside risk. You are only there because you are taking some of your competitors’ share, and if they get it back, you lose.”

Most competitive global destinations for conventions

CityScore
1Paris741.4
2Barcelona708.8
3Singapore706.8
4Tokyo694.1
5New York691.2
6Beijing672.2
7Washington DC668.2
8San Francisco664.6
9Boston661.3
10Chicago660.9
11Hong Kong653.4
12Kuala Lumpur647.7
13Berlin646.6
14Toronto642.8
15Amsterdam641.4
16London635.4
17Istanbul635
18Bangkok627.3
19Milan615.2
20Seoul604.3
21Madrid601.5
22Frankfurt600.4
23Shanghai600.2
24Vienna599.6
25 Chinese Taipei 596.1

(The full index covers 103 international cities)

The index compares the strength destinations by assessing features such as infrastructure (meeting venues, hotel stock and facility package, international accessibility and logistics), competitive factors (scientific community strengths, destination appeal and costs), as well as macro indicators (market size, economic strength, business environment, and social conditions).

You can download the full ICCA report here.

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Hôtel du Louvre, Paris opened in June 2019

The newly renovated Hôtel du Louvre has recently opened and joined Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, alongside Great Scotland Yard in London, the Hotel Martinez, Cannes and the Hotel Sofia in Barcelona.

The hotel, which originally dates from 1855 has been redesigned in a traditional Parisian style, with inspiration from some famous previous guests such as Victor Hugo and Sigmund Freud.

It is located in the Palais-Royal district, close to the Palais Royal, Comédie-Française and Musée du Louvre. The distance from Gare du Nord (Eurostar terminal) is 3km and Charles de Gaulle Airport 28km.

Some of the 106 bedrooms and 58 suites have balconies with views over these buildings.

The hotel has eight meeting rooms, designed like studios, ranging in capacity from 110 in theatre-style and smaller. They are themed according to people who stayed at the hotel such as Toulouse Lautrec, Monet, Matisse, Degas and Cezanne.

The Brasserie du Louvre is a traditional French restaurant with a terrace overlooking the Place du Palais-Royal and the Louvre. L’Officine du Louvre Bar is situated under the hotel’s glass roof and serves herbal-based cocktails celebrating Napoleon III’s love of botany.

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Paris has regained its position at the top of the ICCA city rankings

Paris has reclaimed the top spot in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) city rankings for 2018, as the number of global meetings recorded hit a record high.

However, the UK has fallen from third to fifth in the country rankings, overtaken by both Spain and France, with London falling one place to seventh in the city rankings.

The US continues to top the country rankings, as ICCA captured a total of 12,937 rotating association meetings taking place in 2018. This was an increase of 379 meetings year-on-year and represents the highest annual figure ICCA has ever recorded in its yearly statistics, signalling that industry growth is continuing on a strong trajectory.

Paris climbed to the top of the city rankings by number of international association meetings with a margin of 40 meetings above second place holder Vienna. In 2017, Paris and Vienna held joint second place, with 190 meetings each. Last year’s number one Barcelona fell to fourth place, with Madrid entering the top five for the first time since 2015 in third place. Among the top five cities for another year, Berlin falls to fifth place from fourth in 2017. London fell from sixth to seventh slot, with 150 meetings.

The top 10 is as follows:

  1. Paris – 212
  2. Vienna – 172
  3. Madrid – 165
  4. Barcelona – 163
  5. Berlin – 162
  6. Lisbon – 152
  7. London – 150
  8. Singapore – 145
  9. Prague – 136
  10. Bangkok – 135

The US remains in the top country spot, unchallenged for more than two decades. Germany remains in second place while the UK dropped from third to fifth place, overtaken by Spain, which rises to third. After exiting the top five last year, France re-entered in 2018 in fourth place. Italy replaces France in sixth place, and Japan and China remain in seventh and eighth place for another year. The Netherlands and Canada swap positions, coming in at ninth and 10th respectively.

The top 10 is as follows:

  1. US – 947
  2. Germany – 642
  3. Spain – 595
  4. France – 579
  5. United Kingdom – 574
  6. Italy – 522
  7. Japan – 492
  8. China – 449
  9. Netherlands – 355
  10. Canada – 315

ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath said: “We have recorded our largest ever annual snapshot of the immediate past year’s meetings data in 2018. These results closely follow the release of our 55-year history of the international association meetings market in October 2018.

“ICCA’s latest figures uphold the mature, robust growth pattern we identified in this report and provide more evidence of our firm belief that the association sector continues to be an unrivalled stimulator of global societal development and force for progress across the globe.”

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New partnership between London and Paris for joint incentive experience

The official convention bureau for London and Paris have announced a new partnership which they claim will see the two cities working together for the first time to deliver a “unique two-in-one incentive trip”.

The agreement is aimed at inspiring North American incentive buyers to book a 2-in-1 trip for their clients. 

The itineraries have been curated to showcase how easy it is to enjoy both cities in one incentive trip and includes an official partnership with Eurostar.

Joshua Novick, VP Business Tourism at London Convention Bureau said: “London and Paris are two of the world’s top business and leisure travel destinations, making this a really powerful offer for incentive planners. With so many great hotels, cultural attractions, parks, restaurants and experiences, we are excited to be able to bring such a unique incentive offering to the market. London is open to collaboration with other likeminded, global cities and by working together as we are doing in this way, we can offer a once-in-a-lifetime incentive travel experience that allows delegates to experience two amazing cities in one epic trip.”

Corinne Menegaux, general manager of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau added: “Paris & London are an ideal 2-in-1 destination to hold a conference or an incentive. These cities are internationally renowned for numerous reasons such as the quality of their infrastructures, their trendy hotels and innovative activities. Both cities combine leisure & business attractions that are the keys to successful events and they have a constantly evolving offer to make the ‘Old World’ very attractive! If you’re looking for an unusual place to organize a meeting or a dinner, the two capitals are available for private hire, with a wide range of venues ranging from iconic museums to cutting-edge galleries and revolutionary conference centres.”

Inge Bauwens, lead sales manager, Eurostar concluded: “It’s easy to fit the best of London and Paris in to a single trip, with a seamless Eurostar journey between the two cities in just over two hours. For those looking to make the journey even more enjoyable, groups that have booked an entire coach can add an exclusive experience on board, with themes ranging from food and drink to arts and culture available to entertain guests whilst they travel.”