In January 2010, the Crowne Plaza hotel is set to open in Portugal. It will be the first in the country and will be located on the Vilamoura beach close by to the globally famous Vilamoura Casino. It is also situated just 30 metres from the main marina in the Algarve and for business travel is ideally situated just 20 kilometres from Faro airport.

It is conveniently located just a stone’s throw from Vilamoura’s five golf courses and just a drive of twenty minutes from other courses in the Algarve.

The impressive hotel will be built with 327 suites and rooms and for business travelers will be equipped with outstanding conference facilities and meeting room space of 1200 square feet including a 760 square metre room which can be divided into three, an impressive boardroom for up to 12 people and 22 guest rooms that can be quickly converted into meeting rooms if needed. To relax there will be an exquisite garden with shady palm trees which can also be used for entertaining clients outdoors.

The Crown Plaza will also house a wide choice of entertainment outlets and restaurants. This will include an outdoor swimming pool, an al fresco restaurant open nearly all year round, and a driving range.

Popularity: 4% [?]

According to a report from Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a company that specialises in managing business travel, 40% of business travel budgets are spent on hotel costs as opposed to flights or train fares. The reason for this is that businessmen and women are prioritising things such as the location of the hotel in relation to the venue of their meetings.

Other things such as high speed Internet access, security, the quality of the service and of course the food are also important.

With such a large portion of business travel budgets being spent on the accommodation, how can businesses keep these costs down and ensure that they don’t spiral?

One way is to understand what their employees need from a hotel before any bookings are made, that way they can look around and compare prices. Booking early is also recommended so that deals can be negotiated with the hotels.

Popularity: 44% [?]