News briefs, week of July 17, 2017

Royal moves to curb drink package sharing
Citing increased abuse of its prohibition on sharing beverage packages, Royal Caribbean International is testing a policy on the Harmony of the Seas that all passengers over 21 in a cabin must purchase the Deluxe Beverage or Sip Stream package if one does. Previously, the line permitted just one guest in a cabin to buy the package. Most cruise lines with beverage packages, including Carnival and Norwegian, require each adult in a cabin buy a package to prevent sharing.

Four Seasons Costa Rica gets refurb
The Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica will close in August for a $35 million renovation. It is slated to reopen Dec. 4 with all 181 rooms, suites and villas redone; new plunge pools for its hillside Canopy Suites; a redesigned lobby; a pool area with new cabanas; and three new restaurant concepts.

Norwegian Sun to do short Cuba cruises
The Norwegian Sun will be Norwegian Cruise Line’s second ship to offer short Cuba cruises. The ship will reposition to Port Canaveral, Fla., next summer and sail four-day trips to Havana and Key West with an overnight in Havana. The Sun will also do three-day cruises to the Bahamas. The Norwegian Sky currently sails short Cuba cruises from Miami. Following the Sky’s lead, the Sun will also have an open bar.

Hotel del Coronado to be a Hilton Curio
The 757-room Hotel del Coronado will join Hilton’s Curio collection this month. The Victorian property on Coronado Island, Calif., named a National Historic Landmark in 1977, opened in 1888 and is known for hosting clambakes on the beach and Sunday brunches in its Crown Room. The hotel’s chandeliers were designed by “Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum, and it was featured in the 1959 film “Some Like It Hot.”

Sabre’s chatbot helps agents handle clients
Sabre Corp. created an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot to help an agency’s customers with common service and support requests, like changing flight bookings. Two corporate agencies, Travel Solutions International USA in Dallas and Casto Travel in San Francisco, are testing a white-label version of the chatbot that their travelers can access via Facebook Messenger. Requests the chatbot can’t handle are handed to a travel agent.

Concur to include Airbnb options
Concur will add Airbnb accommodations alongside hotel listings on its TripLink feature. The deal marks the first time one of Airbnb’s corporate-travel partners will add Airbnb’s homes to its accommodations browsing inventory. Airbnb and Concur began working together in 2014 to make it easier for corporate travelers to expense Airbnb stays.

In New York, company Pride
The NYC Pride March, held annually to commemorate the city’s 1969 Stonewall riots, which are seen as the start of the gay rights movement, took place on June 25. Pre-event estimates for this year’s parade, the 48th, put participation at a record 40,000 marchers, with overall attendance at NYC Pride events estimated at over 2.1 million. Travel companies participating this year included, clockwise from top: Delta and Virgin Atlantic; Booking.com; and Hilton.

Friends Colleagues
MSC Cruises USA, the North American arm of Switzerland-based MSC Cruises, bolstered its sales force with the hiring of Holly Sievers as manager of host and home-based accounts and Brett Draper as manager of corporate and incentive sales for North America. Prior to joining MSC Cruises, Sievers served as the Southwest and Central region business development manager at the Exclusive Travel Group. She has also held positions with Carnival Cruise Line, Funjet Vacations and the travel section of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Draper joins MSC Cruises from the sales specialist team of Lindblad-National Geographic Expeditions. He has also served as a charter service manager for Norwegian Cruise Line and an event manager for Holland America Line, where he spent five years at sea. • • • Hard Rock International tapped former Trump Casinos executive Matt Harkness to serve as president of the Hard Rock Hotel Casino Atlantic City, which is being redeveloped out of the Trump Taj Mahal site and is slated to reopen next summer. Harkness worked for Trump Casino Resorts in Atlantic City for 15 years, including a stint as senior vice president of marketing at Trump Taj Mahal. He also served as COO of Trump Plaza. Harkness most recently was general manager of the Lucky Dragon Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. • • • Southwest Airlines will promote Kathleen Wayton to senior vice president and chief information officer. She’ll replace Randy Sloan, who recently oversaw the carrier’s successful transition to a new reservation system. Wayton currently serves as Southwest’s vice president of corporate delivery — operations and reservations.