First Thomas Cook "Casa Cook" hotel debuts in Rhodes

Thomas Cook is launching another new ‘sun & beach’ hotel brand for summer 2016 aiming to win back German market share with a new customer satisfaction promise and lower prices for many major destinations, fvw reports.

The first Casa Cook hotel will be the re-branded and renovated 90-room Sunprime Resort White Pearl in Kolymbia - which will open on Rhodes next summer and a further two or three properties will follow by summer 2017.

The new ‘Casa Cook’ concept hotel brand, the group’s sixth such brand, is a niche lifestyle brand targeted at “the growing group of young modern travellers from urban centres who have an affinity for fashion and design and are searching for a healthy work-life balance”.

Individual design

The properties will be flexibly and individually designed like homes in a “bohemian-chic” style with artwork, vintage furniture and local features, while the restaurants will be open throughout the day for meals at any time.

Peter Fankhauser, CEO Thomas Cook Group, explained: “Launching a leisure product within our own hotels is an important pillar in our Group’s strategy for profitable growth, helping us attract new customer segments to encourage future growth. With our exciting hotel brand Casa Cook, we’re bringing a new concept into the popular and trendy Sun & Beach market.” 

Greek prices up by 2%

On the price front, Cook is cutting long-haul package prices, mostly due to flight over-capacity. The Dominican Republic and Mexico, for example, will be 3% cheaper, Mauritius will fall by 8% while Thailand and Kenya will have stable prices. Among short- and medium-haul destinations, there are price reductions for Egypt and Turkey (both -3%) and Bulgaria (-2%), Spain will be stable while Greece go up by 2%.

Long-haul holidays, which grew at a double-digit rate this summer, will again be in focus next year. Capacity has been expanded for Thailand, Cuba and Mauritius thanks to flights with Eurowings, while Condor will add services from Munich to Cancun, Havana, Windhoek, Mombasa and Zanzibar. Cook has added more hotels in the two latter destinations in response. 

Capacity expansion

Among short-haul destinations, Neckermann Reisen will offer more family holidays in Bulgaria following improvements in the destination’s product offering. Capacity has been expanded on Majorca, the Canary Islands and the Spanish mainland as well as in Greece, and kept stable in Turkey.

The portfolio of own brand hotels will be extended to 192 hotels, mostly marketed under the Sentido and Smartline labels and including the new Casa Cook brand.

Read more: http://www.fvw.com/thomas-cook-price-cuts-better-service-and-another-hotel-brand/393/149272/11245