Best Western Hotels & Resorts will migrate all of its business-critical applications to AWS, including its hotel reservation system, customer reward platform, and global contact centres, with plans to complete the migration of these applications from its existing data centres by the end of 2020. Best Western is leveraging the breadth and depth of AWS services, including analytics, machine learning, database, computing, and storage, as well as the expertise of AWS Professional Services, to accelerate the pace of innovation and improve operational efficiency for its member-owners that independently own and operate its hotel properties. As part of its move to the cloud, Best Western Hotels & Resorts is migrating its hotel reservation systems off legacy databases to Amazon Aurora (for its primary database needs) and Amazon Redshift (for data warehousing) to increase capacity and enable the faster processing of hotel reservations around the world, enabling the company to scale … [Read more...] about Best Western Hotels & Resorts goes all-in on AWS
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Taiwan holds first gay marriages in historic day for Asia
Gay couples took the historic step of registering as married, the culmination of a three-decade fight for equality. Shane Lin and Marc Yuan, a couple who fell in love at college, were the first to arrive at a government office in downtown Taipei. Dressed in matching suits, they embraced and kissed in front of a huge media scrum before signing their marriage certificates. They were followed by playwright LiYing Chien and her girlfriend, a cartoonist who goes by the pen name Cynical Chick. Taiwan made history last week when it became the first place in Asia to legalise gay marriage, sparking jubilation among huge crowds of gay rights supporters on the streets of Taipei. But the issue has also caused deep divisions on an island that remains staunchly conservative, especially outside of the cities and among older generations. Some 300 same-sex couples are expected to register on Friday, according to local authorities, around 150 in the capital Taipei which boasts a thriving and vocal gay … [Read more...] about Taiwan holds first gay marriages in historic day for Asia
SEA Games: Philippines tours hotcakes as Vietnam in football final
The number of people buying tours to Manila has experienced a rapid surge since Saturday night, soon after Vietnam advanced to its first SEA Games final in 10 years. The final match of the SEA Games men’s football will be played Tuesday. Tours priced from VND9.5 million ($409) to VND15 million ($646) are almost sold out, local operators said. A representative of local tour operator Vietravel said over 500 slots departing from Da Nang City, Hanoi and HCMC to Manila were sold out. "We are working with airlines to open additional flights to cater to the growing travel demand, the representative said. Leading travel company Saigontourist has sold 60 percent of its tours and continued to receive bookings until Tuesday morning. Travel agency Hanoi Redtours has chartered an aircraft to take football fans from Hanoi to Manila, and 90 percent of the seats were booked as of Saturday night. Besides charter tours, local travel companies are still offering customers … [Read more...] about SEA Games: Philippines tours hotcakes as Vietnam in football final
Hoi An to build $46 mln anti-erosion embankment
Most of the capital for the project will be borrowed from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), with Quang Nam Province, where the town is located, forking out VND127.5 billion ($5.43 million), the provincial People’s Committee said Monday. The dyke would help to prevent erosion on 3.2 square kilometers of land that is home to over 1,300 families in Cua Dai Ward and neighboring areas. Last month, the Vietnamese government had approved a VND340 billion ($14.68 million) budget to construct dykes to prevent erosion by strong waves and high tides in Hoi An’s Cua Dai and Cam An wards. Hoi An, an ancient town and popular tourism destination in Vietnam, has routinely suffered from erosion. Much of Hoi An is at or less than two meters above sea level, making it vulnerable to rising sea levels and storm surges, according to a joint report by the United Nations Environment Program, UNESCO and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The town’s Cua Dai Beach, a major … [Read more...] about Hoi An to build $46 mln anti-erosion embankment
Best Western signs MOU for Quang Nam resort opportunity
Best Western Hotels & Resorts signs an MOU over a condotel project at Ha My Beach in Quang Nam Condotel Ha My Beach will comprise of a four- and a five-star hotel with the combined area of 4,000 square meters and 500 apartments, within Ha My Beach at Dien Duong ward, Dien Ban town. This project will be a landmark of the town. Upon completion, it will provide a modern and appealing resort for both local and international hotel guests. At the signing ceremony, Cyrill Czerwonka, regional director of development Asia for Best Western Hotels & Resorts, said that the company has researched the Vietnamese market, more specifically Danang and Hoi An. Foreign visitors to Vietnam are mainly middle-income and the project is expected to be a success with its two components: a midscale hotel with all the expected facilities, and, on top of it, an upscale hotel commanding higher rates with stunning views and higher service level. Cyrill Czerwonka, regional director of development, … [Read more...] about Best Western signs MOU for Quang Nam resort opportunity