Business travel

The Accor group is to sell the Pullman Rive Gauche hotel to Bouygues Immobilier for €77 million. The hotel is due to close during 2012 due to a lack of profitability. The Novotel New York in Times Square is set to suffer the same fate.

Orbitz for Business, the business section of the booking site, is extending its range of services for business travellers with the signing of a new partnership with Limos.com. The aim is to integrate top-of-the-range vehicle hire more effectively into the company's travel policy, and in particular to facilitate reporting.

London Luton airport has big ambitions, announcing a development project that will see the hub increase its capacity by up to 50%.

Accor's sales rose significantly in 2011 (+5.21TP3Q), enabling the hotel group to confirm its operating target.

Two strikes are disrupting air traffic in France today. In Lille, air traffic controllers are continuing the action begun the day before, while in Corsica Air France staff are disrupting operations.

Hotel group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is planning to launch a new brand dedicated to China over the next six months.

As expected, the strike action launched this Tuesday morning by the air traffic controllers at Lille-Lesquin has led to the cancellation of the vast majority of flights.

The Hilton Group has announced the opening of a new hotel in Riyadh. This will be the company's fourth hotel in the Saudi capital.

Aéroports de Paris had a particularly busy year in 2011, with record passenger traffic: 88.1 million passengers. The European and domestic networks made a particularly strong contribution to this good performance.

Since Monday 16 January, Qatar Airways has swapped terminal 1 at Madrid's Barajas airport for terminal 4: a change designed to improve the quality of service offered to business travellers.

Aloft has recently been trialling a new service in some of its establishments: virtual concierge services, accessible via iPad tablets.

Avis UK has just launched its new mobile site, designed to make it easier for travellers to consult car hire offers in the UK and make bookings directly via their smartphone.

2012 has begun with a slight fall (-4%) in European hotel rates compared to December, according to the latest edition of the Trivago barometer (thpi).

After inaugurating several new routes on the French market in 2011, Vueling is continuing its momentum in 2012: the Spanish airline is preparing to increase its services from Paris, and will be launching new flights to Lourdes.

Air traffic controllers in northern France are due to strike on 17 and 18 January, threatening business travel to and from the region.

Regus is continuing to expand to meet the needs of business travellers in all circumstances. The business centre specialist has just signed a partnership agreement with Shell to offer its business services at service stations on European motorways. An initial project has already been launched in the Paris region.

Frankfurt airport ended 2011 on a high note, with a record December in terms of passenger numbers.

The Park Hyatt Ningbo Resort and Spa has just opened its doors in eastern China, marking the brand's debut in the Middle Kingdom.

In 2014, the Ascott group will open its first Citadines Apart'hotel in Surabaya, Indonesia. The opening is part of the brand's expansion in Indonesia.

On Thursday, Four Seasons launched its new website, which not only has an updated look, but also offers practical tools for travellers.