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Russian billionaire buys world’s first private icebreaker

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One of the top 50 richest Russians, banker Oleg Tinkov, wants to present what he calls a first private icebreaker to the public next year, before the €100 million vessel sets sail to the Antarctic among other destinations.


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Founder and owner of Tinkoff Bank, worth $2.2 billion, is going to show off the SeaExplorer 77, the newest addition to his pet-project, La Dacha, at the major global yacht show in Monaco as early as 2020.

After the presentation, the superyacht will head to the gems of the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles and Madagascar, Russia’s scenic Kamchatka peninsula and Alaska, before challenging its reinforced icebreaker hull in Antarctica in late 2021 and the beginning of 2022.

“It is yachting, but a completely different one,” Tinkov explained. “It’s about exploring, but not about drinking martini and showing off in Saint-Tropez.”

The ‘icebreaker’ cost the billionaire more than €100 million (US$112 million). The banker wants to enjoy it himself for around 20 weeks per year and plans to lease it for the rest for €690,000 per week.

The entrepreneur says he was the first to order such a vessel. In fact, it is an expedition yacht, which can break ice up to 40 centimeters thick and maintain autonomy at sea for up to 40 days. The 77-meter vessel, offering luxury accommodation for up to 12 guests in addition to the crew, also features two helicopter hangars, a dive center and decompression chamber, and carries a submersible, two snow scooters and waverunners.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has already showed interest in the luxury sea adventure, and wants to have a three-week long charter, while a Russian businessmen from the Forbes list, whose name Tinkov did not reveal, wants to rent the boat for six months.

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Hard Rock International announces Hard Rock Hotel Bangalore

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With a portfolio spanning across 75 countries, including 27 unique hotel properties with 37 projects in different phases of development, Hard Rock International continues intensifying its international presence with the announcement of Hard Rock Hotel Bangalore, slated to open in Fall 2020. Joining Hard Rock Hotel Goa, the second Hard Rock Hotel in India will be located in the bustling city of Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India.

“The city of Bangalore is full of culture and beauty and is the perfect location for our second property in India,” said Todd Hricko, senior vice president and head of global hotel development for Hard Rock International. “We are pleased to work with Convention Hotels India Private Limited who share in our vision, integrity and dedication to quality.”

Hard Rock Hotel Bangalore will feature Hard Rock’s signature musical design, highlighting the roots of the local culture with one-of-a-kind memorabilia placed throughout the 210-room hotel. The property, which will be licensed by Hard Rock International and managed by Convention Hotels India Private Limited, will also feature an array of signature brand offerings.

“We are so excited to be a part of bringing the Hard Rock brand to Bangalore,” said Prataap Wadhwa, managing director of Convention Hotels India Private Limited. “This project will provide an economically invigorating addition to the area, creating new jobs and catering to the IT professionals in the city.”

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New team member at The Pod Hotels

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The Pod Hotels is striving to address the rapidly-increasing demand for affordable lifestyle hotels targeted at progressive-minded and budget-conscious travelers who are creative and ambitious and who maintain high expectations when it comes to authentic experiences, smart design and intuitive technology.

As part of this progress, BD Hotels today announced the appointment of Rani Gharbie as the Head of Acquisitions & Development for The Pod Hotels, BD Hotel’s highly profitable micro-hotel concept to replicate this successful business model in even more key markets including Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, Boston, Nashville, Seattle, Montreal, Toronto, and Mexico City, amongst others.

Gharbie formerly oversaw development and acquisitions for North America at Virgin Hotels where he actively contributed to grow the brand’s footprint in key markets.

As Head of Acquisitions & Development working closely with BD Hotels owners Richard Born and Ira Drukier, Gharbie will be responsible for identifying potential investment opportunities and bringing together strategic partners and investors to fund future projects in numerous markets. He will leverage BD Hotels’ expertise in hotel development, investment and operations to expand The Pod Hotels brand across the country and eventually globally.

“Rani joins us at a pivotal time as we scale The Pod Hotels portfolio exponentially in North America” said Richard Born, Owner of BD Hotels. “He will undoubtedly be a tremendous asset as he brings over 20 years of experience in hotel acquisitions, development and operation.”

“I’m looking forward to expanding the profitable model Richard and Ira created to key markets nationwide,” said Gharbie. “I see great growth potential for the brand as there is an increased desire from today’s travelers to stay at smart, innovative brands like The Pod Hotels.”

Prior to joining Virgin Hotels, Gharbie was the Managing Director and Founder at Cedar Funds, a New York City based development and investment firm with a focus on progressive hotel and real estate assets, as well as regional Director of Development with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). In addition, Gharbie is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia’s Masters in Real Estate Development program, where he teaches the spring course Private Equity Development, Hotel Focus. He holds a Masters Degree from the program, an MBA from the HEC Business School in Montreal, a Bachelor degree in Hotel Management from the Glion Hotel School in Switzerland, and a Certificate in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management from Cornell University in New York.

The Pod Hotels currently has five properties in the portfolio, three of which opened over the past two years (the brand’s flagship Pod Times Square opened in January 2018; Pod DC and Pod Brooklyn opened in 2017), with the brand recently announcing two more hotels in the direct pipeline (Pod Philly opening in fall 2019 and Pod LA slated for 2020). With its functional guestrooms, vibrant communal space and flexible design, The Pod Hotels presents superior investment returns when compared to legacy hotel brands of similar positioning.

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How is Germany doing on its goal of 2 million Indian tourists?

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At an annual media meeting today, April 16, in Delhi, India, Romit Theophilus, Director of Marketing & Sales Office India for the German National Tourist Office (GNTO), said it was hoping for growth of 6 to 8 percent.

The ultimate goal of the GNTO is to increase its tally of Indian tourists to 2 million a year by 2030, up from the present figure of 921,123 visitors overnight in 2018, making for growth of 8.1 percent.

The famous Bauhaus art school, which opened in Weimar in 1919, is celebrating 100 years this year, and steps are being taken to promote this art, design, and architecture as part of this tourism drive. 2020 will see the 250th anniversary of birth of Beethoven.

The German National Tourist Office is promoting the concept of affordable hospitality, stressing that tourists can enjoy leisure and other activities at costs cheaper than other European nations. The focus on a summer cities campaign is on the urban city, romance, holidays on the water, sightseeing, as well as art and culture.

Jasper Wieck, Deputy Head of Mission for the German Embassy, added a new dimension, pointing out that the two countries, India and Germany, have emotional links and mutual affection dating back centuries. He recalled that Tagore had also played a part in Indo-German links and that the number of students from India in Germany had doubled in the last 5 years, standing at 17,500. In addition, yoga is being practiced by a significant number of Germans and studies on India are being offered in over 16 universities and institutes.

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Air Mauritius confirms it will resume flights to Seychelles after 15 years

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The Mauritian press has confirmed that Air Mauritius will return to Mahé the main island of Seychelles. It was several weeks since the rumor has been circulating, and finally the news site of the MBC (Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation) confirmed the news.

“Prem Sewpaul, head of communication at Air Mauritius has, confirmed the news.”

The Seychelles News Agency (SNA) has contacted Air Mauritius to find out when the Air Mauritius planes will begin to fly but was been told that for the moment sales are not yet available.

SNA contacted Seychelles’ civil aviation, which also confirmed the arrival of Air Mauritius, which would be the two days that Air Seychelles did not link the two islands.

“Air Mauritius has informed us of their intention to resume liaison with Seychelles in July, but we did not have confirmation,” said Florence Marengo, head of the transport department at the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA).

However, on the Seychellois side the Minister of Civil Aviation, Didier Dogley said last week that he had nothing official, but recognized that a Mauritian delegation was in the country.

He said at a press conference that if it were to be confirmed that this would not be good news for Air Seychelles.

The arrival of Air Mauritius will please travelers, who hope for a drop in the price of air tickets.

The Seychellois company Air Seychelles was the only airline doing this link and may now have to review its prices which are currently 400 € for two thirty hours of flight.

Air Seychelles, recovering from losses, which the Seychelles government had to reinvest, relied heavily on this link in its economic recovery plans.

Air Mauritius, which was already linking with Seychelles, decided more than 15 years ago to stop, for economic reasons.

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