Road Warrior: The business of travel

Congratulations to the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs in Cork as it celebrates the opening of its newly reconstructed ballroom, meeting and event facility. It has invested €3.2 million from the Dalata Hotel Group in the new space, which is expected to be a great addition to Cork.

It is expected that 30 additional jobs will be created, while the space will be able to cater for 800 delegates. Upgrades and refurbishments have also been made to the hotel with a new facade and 24 bedrooms redecorated in a contemporary style.

New visa scheme for Qatar

If you do business in Qatar, a new initiative from

Qatar Airways

and the Qatar Tourism Authority may be of interest. A new transit visa scheme from this month will allow up to 96 hours in between flights with no extra cost.

Passengers can apply for a free transit visa through transitvisa.qatarairways.com. Qatar Airways was also named Airline of the Year last week at the Capa Centre for Aviation Global Summit.

Hotel design hits new heights

Four Seasons Hotels

has taken dedication to design to a new level with the opening of the Four Seasons Research and Discovery Studio in its global headquarters in

Toronto

.

In the R&D Studio there will be various testing spaces to try out new beds, equipment, lighting, staff uniforms, room layouts, table settings and use of bedrooms. Designers will be able to complete rooms in cardboard and trial cardboard furniture to better understand ideas for room use.

Airbnb offers business alternative

Airbnb is partnering with three travel management companies – American Express, BCD Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel – to offer business clients alternative accommodation. The new service is expected to go live in the next few weeks.

When making a booking customers will be referred by the travel company to Airbnb. They can then use their corporate email to make a booking. In time the bookings will be integrated into the corporate reporting packages and expense management systems.