Grand City Hotels & Resorts (GCHR) took over the „Mark Hotel Am Ratsholz“ in Leipzig on December 1, 2008. The 3-star hotel and apartment property will be transferred to the standard range of the Berlin-based hotel management’s private brand as soon as possible, where it will trade under the name of „Grand City Standard Hotel Leipzig Süd“. All current personnel will be carried over to Grand City.

by Daniel Becht/ Marcel Schmelzer

A world class sport where comradeship is more important than winning. Extreme sports at international level and two days of pure action could be marveled at in the nation’s capital last weekend.

The Street Session 2008 draws the balance: 6,500 visitors – twice as many as in the previous year – and a total of 15,000 fans at this year’s three sessions of the most successful series of extreme sports events in Europe. The fans were captivated by riders from more than 16 different countries and from all continents.

HOTELCORP, one of Thailand’s largest privately held hospitality management companies announces the opening of Katiliya Mountain Resort and Spa in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand. The resort is an all-suite destination nestled amidst lush green valleys, mountain lakes and forest-covered hills, just half an hour away from the fabled Golden Triangle.

More than 20 Melbourne restaurants are offering exclusive discounts to people attending AIME 09, 17th AsiaPacific Incentives & Meetings Expo, in Melbourne next February. The Dine Around Melbourne program is an initiative of Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) and its members. The discounts are available on the evening of Tuesday 17 February 2009 only. Bookings are recommended and an AIME badge must be shown on arrival at the restaurant to receive the special offer.

For Horst Schulze, president and CEO of West Paces Hotel Group, the parent company of Capella Hotels and Resorts, travel is more than a luxury— it is a necessity. “Luxury is anything that you don’t need,” says the renowned hotelier. “We need travel in order to sustain ourselves as human beings,” he says. “Besides work and our day-to-day routines, we need something else in our lives.”

(mas) – The island paradise of the Bahamas near the south coast of Florida is becoming increasingly popular with German-speaking visitors, as current figures show: From January to October 2008, 8,783 visitors from Germany came to the Bahamas. That corresponds to an increase of 50.83 percent compared to the previous year. The figures from Germany include a large incentive group with about 1,400 participants in August 2008. Adjusting the numbers to exclude this group of people, the number of visitors from Germany from January to October 2008 totals 7,383, corresponding to an increase in visitors of almost 27 percent.