The Stikliai, Vilnius' five-star hotel, has announced that it has joined the Spanish hotel network Hotusa's registration network, which includes over 1,400 hotels worldwide. Alfreda Mikulskiene, CEO of Stikliai, said the two sides signed an agreement last week. "We have joined [the network] for a year. We do not expect to see an influx of visitors from the southern countries where this chain operates, but we do hope to enhance the awareness of our hotel brand," she said. Stikliai is a member of the international hotel chain Relais & Chateaux, which prohibits its members from joining other chains, but Mikulskiene explained that Stikliai was able to forge a partnership with Hotusa for the purposes of marketing. "The joining of Hotusa puts our hotel into the common reservation system," she said.
Russia's electricity trader Inter RAO UES has acquired Lithuania's independent electricity supplier Energijos Realizacijos Centras, according to an announcement made last week. No details of the deal were provided, but Ivan Abramov, an Inter RAO UES representative, said, "Lithuania's energy system is of particular significance for Russia, with regard to electricity supply to the exclave of Kaliningrad in particular. Thus, we are stressing to strengthen cooperation both in electricity trade and the implementation of joint investment projects in Lithuania."
The Latvian bus company Ecolines said it was launching operations in Estonia this week. "Having gotten to know the Estonian market, Ecolines is going to launch routes out of Tallinn, Parnu, Tartu and Valga," a company official said. The Latvian carrier established an office in Tallinn in 2000 but so far has been offering international bus services only out of Riga. Andris Podgorny, chairman of the board of Ecolines operator Norma-A, said the firm's aim was to become the largest international passenger carrier in the Baltics. "In order to achieve the desired results, Ecolines is not only expanding operations on the Baltic market, but also has worked out a new pricing policy and new system of fares," he said.
