Merger of hotel groups in a spin after Chinese bid The world's largest hotel deal was nearly derailed over the last week. The offer by Marriott Hotels for Starwood Hotel to create the world's biggest hotel group had an unsolicited bid from Chinese insurer Anbang. The result was a higher bid for Starwood by Marriott which valued the hotel company at $13.6 billion. Starwood also pulled off a coup by being the first US hotel group to enter Cuba in nearly 60 years. Three Havana properties, the Inglaterra, the Quinta Avenida and the Santa Isabel will all become members of the Starwood stable, following major renovations this year. Lufthansa selling upgrades at Munich airport Lufthansa is using new iBeacon technology at Munich airport to sell additional upgrades and services to passengers in the terminal.
Using the app and location base activation, passengers can be invited to buy access to the lounge for €25 if there is capacity.
Or they could be invited to buy an upgrade to business class, currently being tested on Delhi, Shanghai, LA, Seoul and Toronto.
British Airways revamps T5 Club Lounge British Airways has given its T5 Club Lounge a major revamp.
Open since 2008, the lounge has had a complete makeover with new furniture, carpets and lots of extra power sockets.
The Club World Galleries South lounge is the biggest lounge for business class passengers. It offers dining, relaxation, a cinema and a refreshment area.
The first class lounge upgrade was unveiled last month.
New passport card wins award in Bucharest It may only have been introduced six months ago but already the new Irish passport card is winning awards. At a conference for high security printing held in Bucharest, Romania, this month, the passport card won the award for best regional ID document. Ireland also won this award in 2014 for the new Irish passport. Some 17,500 passport cards have been issued since it was introduced in October.