Business travel

Just as in London, where hotel rates are rising in the run-up to the Olympic Games, a major sporting event is set to push up travellers' bills in Ukraine and Poland. According to a report published on March 13 by price comparison website Trivago, Euro 2012 has already led to a significant increase in rates.

The Ascott Limited group has announced improved results for 2011, with sales up sharply (+8.8%) on 2010. The past year also enabled the specialist in hotel residences to put in place a refurbishment programme, which is due to continue in 2012.

Yesterday, Iberia management reached an agreement with the pilots' unions to cancel the 24 days initially scheduled over the coming weeks.

The project for a business terminal, which would add to Liège airport's range of services for business travellers, is dividing the airport's management.

A few days after having its access to the IATA clearing house suspended, Kingfisher is affected by a strike launched by its pilots.

Dubai's hotel industry is definitely not in the doldrums. Quite the contrary: the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) announced at the ITB trade fair in Berlin that it was the world's leading destination at the start of 2012.

According to the Financial Times, seven European heavyweights in the aviation sector are calling on Europe to reconsider its plans for a carbon tax, stressing the economic consequences of the issue.

Hyatt will be taking advantage of the development opportunities offered by Zurich airport as part of The Circle project: the hotel group will be opening two new hotels within the new complex, which will concentrate different types of infrastructure tailored to business customers.

The Heathrow Express, used by business travellers to reach London city centre from Heathrow airport, is going to have a new look. Rolling stock, staff uniforms and tickets will all feature a new visual identity ahead of the next Olympic Games.

Eurostar's 2011 results were marked by a slight increase in passenger numbers (+2%), thanks in particular to non-European travellers. Conversely, the proportion of business travellers fell compared with 2010.

On 8 March, the Air France-KLM group presented its results for 2011: "a difficult year" according to the carrier, which posted a net loss of 809 million euros. The group's management links these results to the economic context, but also to the Arab Spring and the rise in fuel prices.

The average price of a night in a hotel is rising in most of Europe's major cities, particularly in Rome, Amsterdam and Vienna. The trend highlighted by the trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI) affects Parisian hotels less directly.

The Clarion Hotel & Congress Trondheim is about to open its doors, adding to the Norwegian offer in terms of infrastructures dedicated to meetings and seminars (MICE).

The Hilton group is launching a new DoubleTree property in London, in a strategic location for business travellers in the British capital: Victoria Station.

Geneva airport this week unveiled its latest mobile service for travellers: the GVApp application.

On Wednesday, the Air France-KLM group announced higher results for February 2012, with both traffic and load factors up on the same period in 2011, despite the strikes which dominated the group's news.

The Lyon area has recently welcomed a new Holiday Inn equipped for business meetings, just a quarter of an hour from Place Bellecourt.