Google Launches Hotel Search Tool With Room Price Data

Google has launched Hotel Finder, an experimental search tool, which enables users to define key lodging preferences in hopes of finding the perfect hotel for their travel needs.

Users input their preferred location, dates, price and rating details, and Hotel Finder delivers its top recommendations, in a list or on a Google Map. For the moment, it’s only available in the U.S.

Here’s how Google aims to improve hotel hunting with this tool:

• Finding the perfect location. If you’re not a local, it can be difficult to figure out what area of a city you should stay in. Hotel Finder highlights popular areas on the map results. Google calls this the “tourist spotlight,” and it is used to determine an optimal zone for you to stay in. The shape of this area can be adjusted to focus on a smaller area. This is useful if you’ve got a rough destination in mind, such as along the Hudson River or near Times Square.
• Getting a good deal: Users can choose a price range to search within, as well as compare that hotel’s historical pricing data to its current listing price. Clicking on a hotel will bring up the cost of a room per night and how that compares to previous prices. Google calculates what percentage the cost is above or below the normal. Bargain hunters, start your engines.
• Comparing hotels: Hotel Finder simplifies comparative shopping. When users click on on a hotel, its full details pop up, including photos, Google Places reviews, pricing and other information. You quickly flip through results by using keyboard shortcuts (“J” and “K”) within the list view — a feature also found in Google Reader and Google News.
• Making a shortlist: Users can build a shortlist of hotels they’d like to compare further. These results are marked with a red dot in the Google Maps view, and appear at the top of the page in the list view.

Click on the “Book” button in either view and a list of external options are shown. Clicking on a booking option pulls up that site — such as Priceline or Expedia — in a new tab. (Google isn’t getting into the business of booking hotels itself.)

Take a look at Hotel Finder’s features in the gallery below, test it out and let us what you think about the new tool in the comments below. How does it compare to other hotel-shopping methods?

Source : Mashable
 [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Helicopter Tour Package New Tourist Attraction In Malaysia

Tourists can now enjoy scenic bird's eye views of the country from a helicopter tour.

Six travel agencies will be offering the high-end tour service initially under the 1Malaysia Helicopter Tour Packages which were launched by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen at the Skypark Business Aviation Centre, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, here.

"The helicopter tour packages are expected to attract more high-yield tourists, which in turn will increase the tourism industry's contribution to our economy," she told reporters after the launch.

She said tourists would get to view the magnificent architectural wonders, historical landmarks, cities, buildings, villages and plantations in Malaysia from above via the helicopter tours.

"The tours range from 15, 30 to 60 minutes and priced from RM1,250 to RM4,950, with the helicopters able to seat three to six people," she added.

The six travel agencies involved in the tour packages include Shajasa Travels & Tour Sdn Bhd, Elite Luxury Vacations (M) Sdn Bhd, Langkawi Helicopter Xtours and Kota Kinabalu Aerial Tour.

Dr Ng said the helicopter pilot should be a good story-teller to explain and promote the country to tourists.

She said the 1Malaysia Helicopter Tour Packages were part of the ministry's initiative to come up with innovative and creative tourism products to cater to diverse tourists' interests and budgets.


Source : bernama
 [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Malaysia To Attract More High Yield International Business Travellers

Malaysia wants to attract more high yield international business travellers to the country as they spent three times more than leisure tourists, says Zulkefli Hj Sharif, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).

In a media briefing here today, Zulkefli said international business tourism visitors spent an average of RM7,418 per trip in Malaysia compared with RM2,257 for leisure visitors.

International business travellers also spent an average of RM1,268 per day compared with RM337 for other travellers.

MyCEB was established by the Ministry of Tourism in 2009 to further strengthen Malaysia's business tourism brand and position for the international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market.

Zulkefli said 1,278,014 international business travellers visited Malaysia in 2010, an increase of two per cent from 2009.

They were estimated to have spent RM10.6 billion in 2010 and the economic impact value of their spending was estimated at RM17.6 billion, he said.

Given that the average length of international conventions is 3.9 days, the length of stay for international business tourism visitors including pre- and post-touring is 5.85 days.

An estimated 46 per cent of international delegates extend their stay for pre and post travel providing benefits to regional communities and that an estimated 25 per cent of all international participants have an accompanying partner or spouse with them.

Last year, Malaysia leapt three notches to 28th position in the latest International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) country rankings and the government is pushing for the country to be one of the top five destinations in the world by 2020.

In 2010, MyCEB supported 28 convention bids representing 38,500 delegates and an economic value of RM438 million. It also assisted 124 meetings and conventions, 16 exhibitions and 49 corporate incentive groups, which contributed an estimated economic impact of RM775 million to the country.

Zulkefli said the latest ICCA rankings reflected growth by Malaysia's association meetings business amidst competition from other countries.

Key developments include the expansion of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre by an additional 10,000 sq metres by end-2013, the Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre by 2014 and the proposed development of the MATRADE Centre (93,000 sq metres) by 2014.

Other new infrastructure to support the growing industry include the upcoming Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the integrated urban mass rapid transit system and the construction of a series of pedestrian walkways throughout the capital city as part of the Greater Kuala Lumpur plan.




Source : Bernama
 [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Street Demos Hamper Tour Programmes

The two street demonstrations held here yesterday forced tour agencies to cancel or shelve city programmes for visiting foreign tourists for fear of their safety.

Sri Sutra Travel Sdn Bhd said it took precautionary measures to avert any inconvenience for tourists under its charge.

Managing director Datuk Syed Mohd Razif Al-Yahya Syed Yassin said the tourists were confined to activities in the vicinity of their hotels yesterday.

He said the street demonstrations would have given the tourists a bad impression of Malaysia and it would take some time for them to pick Malaysia as their travel destination again.

He also said that wide coverage of the street demonstrations by the international media was also bad publicity for the country.

The Association of Bumiputera Travel and Tour Agents (Bumitra), which has more than 300 members, said the closure of several major roads in the city to thwart the demonstrators had jeopardised several tour activities and affected the income of agents.

Its president, Mohd Ayub Hassan, said the association, in keeping with a directive from the Tourism Ministry, had given preference to the safety of tourists and kept them away from the "sensitive" spots during the demonstration.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen had said a week ago that it would take the ministry six months to restore confidence in foreign tourists regarding their safety when in Malaysia.

She had also said that the uncertainty caused by the bad publicity on the street demonstration would slash tourist arrivals and cost national revenue by as much as RM1 billion.




Source :Bernama
  [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Malaysia Expects More Tourist Arrivals From Middle East

Malaysia expects more tourist arrivals from middle eastern countries despite some of then having problems currently countries, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Though the ministry couldn't set any target on the number of arrivals from those countries, she hoped that it would be more than 320,000 arrivals this year.

She said Malaysia recorded 322,000 arrivals from the middle east last year and they each tourist spent around RM7,400 during their visit.

"The middle east tourists tend to spend more, stay longer and do more shopping compared to other tourists," she told a press conference at the Al-Amar Lebanese Restaurant in the Pavilion here Monday.

Dr Ng said overall, the ministry recorded that RM2.36 billion were spent by Arab tourists last year.

"We hope the market will go up. In fact, the ministry is doing lots of promotional programmes for the middle eastern market through advertisements in CNN, websites and the local Arab televisions.

"Apart from advertisements, the ministry is using its tourism directors in Dubai, Jeddah and Iran to promote Malaysia's tourism products," she said.

Earlier, she launched The Arab Ramadan Festival themed "The Blessings Of Ramadan, 1Malaysia" to be held during Ramadan at i-City in Shah Alam.

Source : Bernama
 [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Marriott plans 2 more hotels in Malaysia

Hotel management company Marriott International Inc, which operates the Marriott, Renaissance and Ritz Carlton, is scheduled to open two new hotels in Malaysia by the middle of next year, bringing the total number of hotels here to nine.

These two new openings, one in Johor and another in Sarawak, will see the group increase its room inventory in Malaysia by 400 from about 3,000 now.

Area vice-president for India, Malaysia, Maldives and Australia Rajeev Menon said that it will open a 300-room Renaissance in Bandar Baru Permas Jaya in the second quarter of next year.

The group also targets to open a 101-room Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa by mid-2012. This property, previously the Royal Mulu Resort, is located next to the Mulu National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is now undergoing a complete makeover.
The seven operational hotels in Malaysia now are Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur, JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Renaissance Kota Baru in Kelantan, Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Renaissance Melaka Hotel, Miri Marriott Resort & Spa and its franchised property, Putrajaya Marriott Hotel.

Meanwhile, chief operating officer for Asia Pacific Craig S Smith said Malaysia is an important market for the group, especially since intra-Asian travel is big.

As more of its hotels open in India, China and the Middle East, more guests are familiar with the brand. Thus, loyalty helps to fill up hotel rooms in other countries too.

He added that its hotels in Malaysia will benefit from the growth in India, China and the Middle East.

The group, which experienced a tough 2009 for its Malaysian hotels, saw revenue per available room grow by a tenth in 2010 compared to the previous year.

"This year has started strong, (our) Kuala Lumpur hotels are doing well but it is too early to say how the situation in the Middle East will reflect in Malaysia this year," Rajeev said.

"We expect similar growth or partially more growth in 2011 compared to 2010," he added.


Source : BTimes
  [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Grand Hyatt to Open in KL in 2012

An Hyatt affiliate has entered into an agreement with Bahagia Investment Corporation (Malaysia) to manage the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. The hotel is already under construction and is expected to open in 2012.

Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur will be part of a mixed use complex. The hotel, occupying floors 17 through 39 of the property, will feature 412 guest rooms, including 42 suites and will offer over 33,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a 228-seat café, a 298-seat specialty restaurant with multiple cuisines, a 74-seat Sky Lobby Lounge, a 102-seat poolside restaurant and bar, a spa with 11 treatment rooms, and a swimming pool.

Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur will be located in the Golden Triangle area of Kuala Lumpur, in a prime location on Jalan Pinang road close to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (“KLCC”) and the iconic Petronas Towers. It is in close proximity to fashion hubs and business centers, museums, memorials and galleries, and within driving distance of natural preserves.

Kuala Lumpur is an internationally recognized tourist and business destination. With a metropolitan population of approximately 7.2 million, it is the largest city in Malaysia and a key leisure location. Many of Malaysia’s major commercial banks and financial institutions are headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, as are many Malaysian companies, making it an international gateway city.

“In 2010, Malaysia attracted over 24.5 million tourists – rivaling that of countries such as Mexico, Germany and Turkey,” said Willi Martin, area vice president, Southeast Asia, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. “We see Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur as a remarkable opportunity to expand the presence of the Hyatt brand into a principal city in the rapidly emerging Southeast Asia market.”

There are currently 51 Hyatt-branded hotels in Asia Pacific and the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur will join the two existing Hyatt-branded hotels in Malaysia: Hyatt Regency Kinabalu and Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort.

There are 16 other Grand Hyatt hotels in the region’s key gateway cities and destination resorts, including Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Jakarta, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.






Source : AsiaTravelTips
  [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Tourism Ministry Utilises Social Website To Promote Domestic Tourism

The Tourism Ministry has utilised the social website Facebook to promote domestic tourism among IT-literate Malaysians, especially the youngsters, said its Deputy Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit.

He said the ministry had developed six Facebook applications for Tourism Malaysia which cost a total of RM1,758,432 with each page costing RM293,072.

"The pages include product promotions, tourism destinations and activities such as 'Cuti Cuti 1Malaysia', Citrawarna 1Malaysia, 1Malaysia Mega Sales Carnival, Year End Sales Carnival and Fabulous Food 1Malaysia," he said in reply to a question from Loke Siew Fook (DAP-Rasah) who had asked on the justification for the expenditure at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Dawos added that an advertising company, Impact Creations Sdn Bhd, was responsible for all advertisements and events of the ministry and Tourism Malaysia or the domestic market for 2011 until 2013.

However, the RM1.8 million expenditure was questioned by several members of Parliament who claimed that it was a waste.

Loke said it was irrelevant as the social website could be accessed free of charge while Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) asked whether the ministry had set any key performance indicators to monitor the advertising agency's performance.

• http://www.facebook.com/CutiCuti1Malaysia
• Citrawarna

Source : Bernama
  [tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]