WEB IN TRAVEL

Goodbye, Phil

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I didn’t quite make it as far north as Cape Reinga on this trip to New Zealand. But I wished I had. That’s because then I would have been able to bid farewell to an old friend, Phil Jackson, who left us on Sunday, May 13.

Cape Reinga sits at the top end of the North Island of New Zealand. It is where two oceans meet – the Tasman Sea and the Pacific – and the Maoris believe that spirits, at the end of life’s journey, descend into the ocean at this point.

I fancy Phil would have appreciated the idea. As it is, on May 13, I was in the Matakana region, visiting the Ascension winery, where I was, quite by coincidence, tasting a wine that went by the name of Benediction, and so I raised a glass to toast Phil's life.

I remember meeting Phil first in Kuching, Sarawak, where he was working at the then-Sheraton Damai. This was really a resort that was back of the beyond. To get there, one had to take a longboat ride from Kuching and the resort was barely opened when I visited. But there was Phil, larger than life and an ever-congenial host to a young, nosy reporter.

I ran into him again in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, where he was director of sales at the then-Beaufort Resort, now Shangri-La’s Tanjong Aru. He was instrumental in arranging a meeting with someone that would change the course of my life and for that, he remained special in my life.

Phil moved out to Asia from the UK in the early 80s and fell in love with the region as one does. He spent most of his career in Thailand where he worked at the Montien Riverside.

Phil had a hearty appetite for life. He had eyes so big it was almost he was devouring life through them and a smile so wide that you couldn’t help but smile in reciprocity.

He was always jovial and full of laughs. And he loved his tipple. He was a frequent visitor when I was living in Hong Kong and I will remember those days fondly – mostly that crazy colourful jacket he loved wearing at the Hong Kong Sevens. You couldn’t fault his flamboyance.

In the last few years though, his health failed and he returned to the UK to be cared for by his family.

Here’s the letter they’d like to share with friends.

Phil Jackson
February 24th 1949 - May 13th 2012

We are very sad to tell you that our dear brother, Phil, died on Sunday, May 13th, at his home in Chilton, Oxfordshire.

He was closely accompanied by his family, many friends and the wonderful
staff at Knightsward House. Phil frequently expressed his heartfelt
gratitude to everyone and we know he felt very supported right to the end.

The funeral and celebration of Phil’s life will be held on Monday 21st May
at 1 pm at Corpus Christi Church in Headington, followed by his burial at
Wolvercote Cemetery and afterwards at the Abingdon Arms in Beckley.

There is also the opportunity to visit Philip in the Chapel of Rest (details
below) on Friday 18th May between 12 and 4.30 pm. or on Monday 21st May
from 9 to 11 am.

Instead of flowers, Phil asked for donations to be made to either The Clive
Project or Restore (see details below), charities which have supported him
magnificently over the last 10 years.

Tony, Rose-marie, Anne-Marie, Jim and Christina

Corpus Christi Church
Margaret Road
Headington
Oxford OX3 8AJ

Wolvercote Cemetery
447 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 8EE

Abingdon Arms Pub
Beckley OX3 9UU

Chapel of Rest
Cooperative Funeralcare
2 Hendred Street
Cowley
Oxford OX4 2ED

Charities
Restore (Charity No 274222)
Fleet Meadow, Sandringham Road
Didcot OX11 8TP

Young Dementia UK (Charity No
1085595) [The Clive Project]
PO Box 315
Witney
Oxfordshire OX28 1ZN

Excuse me, do you use both sides of your brain? If so, AirAsia Expedia wants you

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

As the person responsible for shaping people and culture at AirAsia Expedia, Linda Lim has a big job on her hands.

While both companies are heavily focused on technology, the cultures of the joint venture partners are distinctly different and Lim, who joined the 50/50 joint venture last October, has to find individuals who can fit into both.

She told WIT, “Recruitment for any job is never an easy task. Here at AirAsia Expedia, we are on the lookout for individuals who possess the versatility to harness the strengths of both companies to our advantage.”

She explained, “We are where the East and West meets, you get to work and learn from the best of both worlds here so you can't be successful in this organisation if you’re just one, not the other.

“In other words, we have to try to find truly street smart people who are highly agile, adaptable and know how to navigate themselves in any situation to deliver results.”

Lim relates the example of the position of chief marketing officer, which she had been actively recruiting for.

“Both brands are fun, innovative and best value. Air Asia’s marketing is big on social media and connecting with all walks of life. They believe in telling interesting stories to sell the brand.

“On the other hand, Expedia is more focused on technology, how to get it right the first time for web users – where people click, how they use the site and how to convert. It’s great at performance marketing such as SEM and SEO.

“We needed someone who can do both – someone who can use both the left and right brain and who can take care of all the brands – AirAsiaGo, Expedia and Backick.com, a new brand we are launching.”

With the new chief marketing officer, Lim said they were looking for someone who could use both sides of the brain to help build the most loved travel brands in Asia.

“We need that someone to be charismatic, who understands Asian consumer behavior, is highly analytical, understands performance marketing functions and how to grab mindshare in cyberspace.”

During recruitment interviews, Lim says she tries to ask open questions. “If you give people the opportunity to structure their own answers, you can learn more about them as a whole person.”

Questions such as “Share with me your career history or what you like or don't like” and why they make each life decision.

She also looks out for people who have done research into the company and who do not regurgitate what they have read but have put thought into it. “It’s not just what you have done, but why.”

Lim said in her previous role with Wyndham, she used to recruit young adults for call centres. “As long as you treat people well and right, and lead them, I don't think turnover will be high.

“For Gen Y, it’s not just about money and work, some will say, I quit and then go backpacking. Of course, pay is important but the emotional aspect is just as important.”

Lim said that even customers have changed in this aspect – “they say, I want to associate with companies that care for the environment, for example. They are more involved in supporting certain causes.”

Added Lim, “We evaluate people based on what they have achieved and done, and how they achieved those goals – did they display the right values, whether they did it in a way that's compatible with our brand.

“We have husbands and wives working in our team and we ask our team to recruit their friends – people are happier when they work with people they like and socialise with.”

Note: AirAsia Expedia is one of the sponsors of the WITNext Summercamp, taking place on June 21-22 in Singapore.

Keen on business events? 10 things you ought to know

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A swathe of changes is sweeping through the business events industry. Competition is rising among destinations all going after the lucrative segment and technology and sectoral shifts are also transforming customer behaviour.

At the recent WITX-Women In Travel, Elizabeth Rich (pictured right), a leading global thinker in the industry and who runs her own business events consultancy, Agenda Pty Ltd, shared 10 top trends to watch out for.

* Alliances/cooperation: This is one of the key components for successful business events – be it cooperation among countries (especially in ASEAN where intra-travel is common) or among hotels and destination management companies. Find yourself some buddies, said Rich.

• Global consolidation, rise of corporate travel managers and third parties: Examples are companies such as the MCI Group, BCD Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Corporate travel companies are realising that they too can go after the corporate meetings market and have set up divisions to look after these needs. "They not only help to control travel expenditure, but also meetings expenditure for your companies," said Rich.

• Rise of supply-led demand: Example integrated resorts being built in emerging destinations, widening the choice for meeting planners. Korea has rocketed in terms of choice of second tier convention destinations. Other destinations include Busan, Jeju (both in Korea), Bali (Indonesia) and secondary cities in China. "Where next? Myanmar perhaps?" queried Rich.

• Regionalisation and cloning of business events: Rich predicted a huge growth in this area in Asia, backed by the numbers of delegates (for business events) growth in the continent. She identified Web in Travel (WIT) as an example of cloning growth - with WIT branching out to WITX, WITNext, WIT Australia and the coming WIT Japan (May 25). “It’s going everywhere else around the world.”

• Intelligent destinations/ smart cities: She urged marketers to reconsider their Business Events branding. In the past, it may have been enough to sell destination appeal and today, people were looking for efficiency, cutting edge thinking and smart ideas.

• Subvention – buying business: Some destinations were being very aggressive in buying business. “Target what you want and be prepared to deal. Be innovative,” she said.

• Unconferencing and conferencing 365: Unconference is a participant driven meeting. “Reshape your conference programme and get ready for 365 servicing.”

• Entrepreneurial and inaugural events: Increasingly, entrepreneurs are finding new niches and creating new events. The whole phenomenon of social media for instance has spawned a whole new generation of events around social media.

• Death by RFP (Request for proposals): The industry has never faced such a huge demand for RFPs as competition escalates. “Find a way to manage the flood.”

• Business Events advocacy – beyond tourism: She called for the acronym, MICE, to be eradicated and urged for the adoption of the term “Business Events” throughout the industry. “Broaden your perception of this sector, advocacy begins at home,” said Rich, who until last year ran the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) where she championed the industry's rights to government.

Rich’s presentation was very well received with many delegates saying "she is a great source of insights and inspiration."

Eric Koh from Singapore tweeted, "Incredible sharing by Elizabeth Rich on business events. She knows her business, markets and opportunities very well.”

STB's outgoing chief shares lessons in brand building

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Aw Kah Peng (pictured below right) is not your run-of-the-mill type travel professional with years of industry experience behind her. She studied chemical engineering, even though she loved music and played classical piano. It was the pragmatic choice, she said. “My father didn't think you could make a career out of music,” she said at WITX-Women In Travel.

She then worked in Singapore's Economic Development Board for 17 years, taking care of various sectors, from health care to oil and gas before taking over the helm of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as its CEO four years ago.

She described this transition in her career as “one from hard to soft”.

"But tourism is actually not a soft option as the industry is very hard and competitive. You have to deal with millions of visitors and you have to find the best way to deliver their experiences," she told Yeoh Siew Hoon, editor and founder of WIT, during their session in Bangkok.

Then there are the KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) to meet. “We worry about visitor numbers, expenditure, manpower going into the industry and value add.”

For her, it's an industry that's as measured by numbers as the other business sectors she's been exposed to.

You could say that Aw came in at the right time. She took on the job just as the Integrated Resorts were being completed, two developments that would transform tourism on the island state.

Under her watch though, there's no doubt she's managed to solidy Singapore's leadership position in the regional and global tourism landscape. The city received a healthy 13.1 million visitor arrivals last year and you could say Brand Singapore has never been stronger.

Aw is a big believer in knowing what customers want. In the past year, the STB has invested huge resources into consumer studies to understand what the new travellers from key source markets like China, India and ASEAN want. With Asia now forming 80% of visitors to Singapore, it is vital Singapore tourism suppliers understand what these visitors need.

Most of the research was done inhouse. “It’s far better to build up our own competencies and it is now a full-blown team," said Aw.

For example, the research into Vietnam revealed a huge desire among young Vietnamese to pursue education in Singapore.

"There are many private schools in Singapore, so we developed a simple programme to allow the would-be students to sample a school a day, then move on to another. This allows them to do their own research and choose the school they want" explained Aw.

STB’s research into China showed that the new travellers are newly-affluent, eager to see the world, are discerning, seek indepth experiences and desire to escape big cities. Respondents expressed a desire for local experiences which are “off the beaten track, unique, one of a kind”.

While there is a perception that travellers from China like to cover do many things on one trip, the market is evolving with some now wishing to cover one destination indepth.

China is an important source of tourism receipts to Singapore as 56% of total spend of Chinese visitors – numbering 1.6 million in 2011 - went into shopping, far higher than other visitors.

These insights have enabled STB to refine its products to meet specific market needs, said Aw.

The NTO is also a big advocate of leveraging social media and digital channels to push the brand. Its creation of "Your Singapore" was a huge success as it was different from the usual brand campaigns of other tourism organisations, said Aw.

“We created an online story about Singapore, which doesn’t say anything about the country; it’s entirely up to you to customise and create what you want to do when you plan a visit, to create your own version of Singapore."

Gaming has helped in creating more awareness for the brand. “The Sngapore skyline has changed with the opening of the two casinos – Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. We could capitalise on them, but they don’t completely contribute to tourism receipts.”

Every brand has its personality and she describes Singapore’s as “open-minded, intense (positive), dynamic, energetic, always on the move."

Aw sees Asia as the future for Singapore. "Longhaul markets have grown but Asia is growing faster," she added.

As for the gender mix, it is about 50%:50%. “We don’t look at markets based on gender, more on needs and motivation, for example passion for food or music.”

And what difference does she want to make to Singapore?

"Help the industry understand the needs of the visitors, innovate and create meaning for the industry, connect with people and what they can create in travel."

Next journey? (see Editor’s note below)

"I am open to anything, to new adventures. I didn’t imagine I would be doing this (tourism chief) but I an enjoying every step of the four years helming the board. There has has been no real moment as it’s about enjoying the journey.”

Editor’s note: Aw Kah Peng will step down from the Singapore Tourism Board on May 31 to pursue personal interests, after more than 20 years in the public sector. Lionel Yeo takes over as the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) chief executive from June 1.

Yeo is currently deputy secretary (Development) in the Public Service Division of the Prime Minister's Office, and CEO and dean of the Civil Service College. Before this he was a director in the Trade Division of the Ministry of Trade & Industry, and a director for taxation policy at the Ministry of Finance, and had worked at the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Arts and the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports, respectively.

Top travel websites for April

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Wotif.com emerges as a new player in the OTA category, while top the list in Australia, while jipiao.trip.taobao.com and Zuji occupy the top spot in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively.

How the agencies fared from data compiled by Experian Hitwise. (Detailed data in the slideshow below)

Australia

• Wotif.com may have dropped to number two in the top Destination and Accommodation websites category but it is seen as a new player in the Online Travel Agency category with 12.21% visit share for the month of April.

• TripAdvisor Australia garnered 6.22% of visit share and is the number one destination and accommodation website for April.

• Qantas shows consistency as the leading commercial airlines website receiving the highest share of visits (23.79%).

Hong Kong

• Hong Kong’s travel agency websites underwent some changes when jipiao.trip.taobao.com moved to number one from number six, receiving almost 10% of visit share in April.

• Hong Kong Internet users’ go-to destination and accommodation website is still Yahoo! Travel Hong Kong.

• Similarly, holding fort is Cathay Pacific with 33.35% share of visits in the Commercial Airline category.

Singapore

The Singapore online travel scene remained consistent for the month of April.

• ZUJI Singapore kept the top spot with the highest visit share for April, followed by Yahoo! Singapore Travel and Expedia Singapore.

• Agoda.com remains in the lead as top Destination and Accommodation website with 17.20% share of visits.

• The top five airline websites receiving highest visit shares are Tiger Airways (20.81%), Jetstar (15.89%), Singapore Airlines (13.36%), AirAsia (10%) and Cathay Pacific (3.05%).

Experian Hitwise Travel Data - April 2012

APAC travel agents' top three technology wishes

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Amadeus revealed the top technology demands of its agency customers in 2012 following its recent annual Asia Pacific Customer ThinkTank held in Hong Kong.

David Brett, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific (pictured right), said that customers are saying they want "technology with personality".

The top three technology demands include enabling delivery of more niche content for today’s better informed traveller, offering innovative solutions, which will sit at the forefront of consumers increasingly advanced day-to-day technology use, and having a technology partner with personality.

"As the APAC region’s travel sector continues to surge, travel professionals are still recognising the importance of investing in technology to boost business performance and drive this growth forward, but they want more than just the technology alone; they want a technology partner who can offer them bespoke solutions and personalised service tailored to ensure the success of their business,” Brett added.

The top three technology wishes:

• Niche content: From cruise products to motels and boutique five star hotels off-the-beaten track, travel agents want technology that will allow them to offer more niche content to build unique customised packages for their customers. Today’s traveller is more informed thanks to the internet and social media, so travel agents need to generate a complete travel experience.

• Investment in innovation: With technology becoming more ingrained in consumer’s day-to-day life, travel agents are recognising that they need to move with this trend to stay one step ahead. Cutting edge technology through innovation is a key differentiator with mobile in particular identified as a key growth area which travel agents need to take advantage of, utilise, especially in Asia Pacific.

• Technology with personality: Travel agents are increasingly looking for a technology partner who can offer intelligent solutions tailored to their specific customer needs. Ultimately, a technology partner who is more of an adviser capable of thinking outside the box. For example, integrating more advanced online tools and social media capabilities to solutions.

Are you tired of Social Media?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The term ‘social media fatigue’ is not uncommon – something that’s been bandied about for a while. In fact, I remember our own Siew Hoon using it when talking to the panel in her moderation session following Singapore’s Social Media week keynote last year.

I mention it because I’m increasingly seeing evidence (in my own sphere of interaction) that there is something creeping into a world that I, like so many, have been championing so strongly for several years now.

My ‘evidence’ is largely comprised of friends and professional contacts that tell me that they have stopped using Facebook or ‘can’t be bothered anymore’ with Foursquare. (Those of you who have had this misfortune to be subject to my incessant Foursquare check-ins in the past will know that I too have become bored with Foursquare).

Talking of Foursquare, I remember writing something maybe 18 months ago where I posed the question, “what’s next for Foursquare?” I was referring to the fact that the product hadn’t evolved – that it hadn’t grown from something technically literate and making the biggest nods towards the trends of the day into something that was a compelling user experience.

For me this feels part of the problem at least. I, like so many others, have talked about creating dialogue, the prosumer, humility from brands etc etc for years now – indeed, some people are still waking up to that ‘brave new world’. But for those of us who have now been on Facebook for 6 years and Twitter for the same, our increasing cynicism and boredom at these, in may ways, ‘static’ products is showing.

Whilst Facebook has changed in so many ways over the years it has also not really changed at all. Whilst the pages have changed in their design and we now have brand fan pages, games, and bigger photos I defy anyone to convince me that the experience has changed much over the years. I’m not talking about the technical experience – the interfaces or the devices that offer us – I mean the experience as it could be verbally articulated. ‘What’s really changed for you?’

So, I broaden my original Foursquare question and ask you and us all:

Apart from huge uptake in some platforms, the integration of apps with every sharing site possible, the hashtags shown at the beginning of UK TV programs and the fancy new ways to share the same boring pictures, what’s next? – What is going to catch the imagination of myself and the increasing number of early adopters and tired old cynics who need something new- something really new?

AirAsia to sport a cool, new look

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

AirAsia is embarking on a rebranding exercise, which involves the airline's new corporate identity and weekend uniforms for its flight attendants.

The rebranding, estimated to cost US$5 million, also includes a new television commercial featuring AirAsia Allstars, a new look to its offices, all check-in counters, advertisements and its new aircraft - all to sport an eclectic mix of graphic design elements in black and white.

"We are currently focusing the rebranding exercise on the main hubs at Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta. We will then continue with the enhancement of our secondary hubs while the final phase is to have the new corporate identity presence on all our routes," said Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s Group Head of Commercial.

Pictured: Kathleen Tan (centre in black) with AirAsia's flight attendants in their new weekend uniforms

Tan said the new weekend outfits "are envisioned to reflect AirAsia’s image of daring to be different, sporty yet smart and sexy, apart from being vibrant and stylish." They also embody AirAsia’s active involvement in sports.

The airline aims to fully roll out the new branding by year-end.

The rebranding exercise is in line the AirAsia's "10 Awesome Years" campaign. It started in December last year to celebrate the airline’s 19th birthday with a series of new initiatives, but staying true to its core identity of being the people’s champion in democratising air travel.

Since the campaign’s launch AirAsia has announced various "awesome" news such as the abolishment of counter check-in fees for international flights, baggage fee reduction with guests saving up to 50% when they purchase their check-in baggage online; as well as revised meal prices with more discounts and a wider variety of food to choose from.

Tan said over the past 10 years AirAsia has marked hundreds of milestones, painting the sky red across 152 routes in 24 countries. The new look signifies a fresh new journey with more exciting things to come.

"In AirAsia, we take branding very seriously. Low fares does not mean we have to be cheap. It’s about engaging our guests, delivering a service experience to make them feel good about the AirAsia brand," she said.

After 10 years journey of revolutionising air travel its low fares, wide network and a unique "Allstars" culture Tan said it was timely to give the brand a fresh and rejuvenated look and to stay relevant with the times.

The rebranding is also part of AirAsia's move to shift its focus towards increasing the level of comfort and excitement for its passengers.

Travel still an elusive dream for many Americans

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Improved confidence among US consumers has started to breathe some life back into the travel industry. But while hotel and air suppliers continue to benefit from the uplift in morale, a new Global Edition survey from PhocusWright reveals that many still are not spending.

Nearly four in 10 (38%) did not purchase a single leisure vacation within the past year. In fact, the entire traveler pool remained stagnant at 62% of all U.S. adults – well under pre-recession levels, when over 70% traveled for leisure. U.S. economic recovery is certainly happening – just not for everyone.

These findings suggest that travel industry growth is being curbed by disparity within the consumer population; some worked back up to taking extravagant vacations while others still struggle to fit travel back in their budgets.

According to PhoCusWright's U.S. Consumer Travel Report Fourth Edition, early boomers (ages 45-54) are having an especially hard time. Their travel consumption took a turn for the worse over the past year as vacation dreams succumbed to the reality of college tuition, supporting elderly family members, retirement planning and a looming debt crisis. Incidence of travel within this group fell by 3% to 60%, and average trip expenditure among those who traveled dropped by over 10%.

"While it's encouraging to hear travel companies talk about breaking records rather than recuperating from recessionary setbacks, our research demonstrates how the recovery has left a significant portion of people behind," said Carroll Rheem, senior director, research at PhoCusWright (pictured right below).

"The dream of taking a well-deserved vacation has remained a fantasy for many would-be travellers. We expect to see improved results across the spectrum in 2012, but there is no doubt that value-consciousness will trump indulgence in many travel purchase decisions this year."

PhoCusWright's U.S. Consumer Travel Report Fourth Edition explores the present condition of the U.S. consumer travel market. Based on a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. travellers, it exposes and explains key trends in leisure travel, including overall travel incidence, travel expenditure, trip frequency and duration, types of trips, consumption of travel products and more.

The study draws upon three years of longitudinal data, along with an analysis of travelers' intentions for the upcoming year, to provide a comprehensive picture of the current health and future direction of leisure travel.

Key topics include:

General traveller behaviour, including incidence of travel, trip frequency and duration, travel party composition and travel spend
Travel component purchase incidence, with detailed analysis of air and lodging spend, and types of accommodations used
Websites used in various stages of online travel planning – destination selection, shopping, purchasing and sharing
Trip motivation and information sources used in destination research
Traveller shopping behavior, including types of websites used, online and offline sources of information, and influence of various types of online content
Most popular travel purchasing channels, online versus offline purchasing, and typical purchase methods by age and travel segment

Japan rebound to be fuelled by low cost flights

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Business has bounced back surprisingly well in Japan, according to the boss of Venture Republic, which runs two of the country’s leading travel meta search sites, travel.jp and hotel.jp.

Said Kei Shibata, “With the help of current exchange rates, stronger yen, and a more stable macro economic situation, Japanese are travelling again.”

The recently-passed Golden Week is anticipated to be a healthy one for both domestic and outbound travel.

Inbound is slowly picking up. Chinese travellers are returning as are visitors from Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong.

“However, there’s no doubt the industry has been damaged and it will take a while to fully recover,” said Kei.

There’s great anticipation in Japan as to what low cost airlines will do to revive outbound travel.

Australia’s Tropical North Queensland and Sunshine Coast (pictured above) are certainly expecting a revival in Japanese tourism with the launch of Jetstar flights from Japan.

Rob Giason, CEO of Tropical North Queensland, said the new air routes had given Cairns the ability to chase business again. “There is a revival, driven by aviation. The low cost model will help us.”

Australia’s Northern Territory is also expecting a pick-up in Japanese traffic to Darwin following the investment of an oil and gas project by Japanese interests in the area.

“It’s the hottest topic now,” said Shibata. “Peach has started flying, Jetstar will start in July and AirAsia in October.”

He said that Travel.jp was still trying to figure out how to bring low cost inventory into their model. “We haven’t done a lot of business with Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways – they like having control.

“But we are seeing positive responses from Jetstar – they know the Japanese market is different from Australia where travel agents have more power and consumer behaviour is different. They want to leverage different marketing channels such as ours.”

As for expansion beyond Japan, Shibata said his priority was first to dig deep into the Japanese market. “The same is true for Qunar and Yatra. Unless you can be successful in a single market, you don’t want to go to different markets.

“Of course we will continue to look at opportunities such as Indonesia. We don’t want to get into a situation where we do lots of local language sites and see what happens – that’s not efficient.”

He sees tremendous opportunity for meta search in Asia. “Meta search only works if there are a few great OTAs around and this market is just evolving in the region.”

Low cost airlines will be a key topic of discussion at WIT Japan on May 25 in Tokyo. Scheduled to speak at the Executive Forum is Peter Harbison, executive chairman of the Centre for Aviation, Sydney.

Technology and distribution come together at Airline Cloud9

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Airline Cloud9, the new airline technology event being organised by CAPA and WIT, will be held in Bangkok on August 23-24, is pleased to welcome Sabre Airline Solutions as Foundation Partner.

The event brings together the airline and distribution expertise of CAPA and WIT respectively to address a market need for cutting edge content and thought leadership in these two areas of the aviation business.

The bottom line: responding to customer needs to improve airline ancillary revenues. That is the magic place, the real soft spot. If passengers’ needs can be better met at the same time as generating higher levels of revenue the equation becomes the perfect win-win.

Airline Cloud9 picks up the theme from CAPA’s recent highly successful “Airlines in Transition” CEO Summit in Istanbul, which explored how different types of airline can work better together better to coordinate and complement their various products. A core part of that involves improving IT interfaces, both to make cooperation possible and to enhance revenues.

"The airline industry is dynamic and complex and will definitely benefit from such a gathering of minds. Sabre is more than delighted to be a foundation partner of Cloud9. We have always believed in supporting and participating in thought leadership events such as this. Being part of industry education is an essential part of Sabre's growth, and we look forward to sharing and exchanging information and ideas with our partners in the industry," said Theo Panagiotoulias, vice president and general manager of Asia/Pacific, Sabre Airline Solutions.

CAPA and WIT share a similar mission – to run events that inspire new thinking. Their conferences are known for their relentless focus on sharp, meaningful and relevant content.

“Whatever the changes and however fast it’s changing, the customer wants only one thing – great experiences. So the question is, how can the airline industry leverage technology to enhance profitability and create great customer experiences?

“This is the event that will bring the two worlds of airline IT and distribution and marketing to arrive at one common purpose – how to delight air travellers at critical customer touchpoints,” said Peter Harbison, executive chairman of CAPA, and Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder and editor of WIT.

Airline Cloud9 is designed as a platform for thought leadership to share ideas and best practices in airline IT, operations, distribution and marketing with a focus on Asia Pacific.

The conference programme has been jointly developed by CAPA and WIT and the event will be co-chaired by Harbison and Yeoh. The Thailand Convention & Exhibitions Bureau has also come in as an industry partner.
Airline Cloud9, the two-day conference, scheduled for August 23-24, will be held at the Dusit Thani Hotel Bangkok.

Why it's not always about fixing the problem

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The more I learn about what women want, the more I am convinced that OTAs and a lot of travel websites are missing a vital point in their business model.

Let me explain. A while back, I was talking to a friend who was celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary. “What’s your secret?” I asked.

He gave me the smile of someone who’d found the Holy Grail. “It took me 30 years to realise that when my wife tells me a problem, she doesn’t necessarily want a solution. She wants a discussion and often, it’s not about the problem at all.”

Due to our different brains – women apparently have 30% more connections between the left and right brain – men are hard-wired to fix problems.

Women raise problems to discuss them, often in a roundabout way that leads to another matter altogether.

This is why I don’t go to computer stores to buy anything. The men in there are all too eager to fix my problem, without actually asking me questions and engaging in any discussion. This is when the male tendency to fix a problem too quickly can lead to no sale.

Women, research shows, take longer to make purchase decisions but once we buy, we buy a lot and we buy more because we are loyal and we buy and tell because we like to share.

Take Malcolm, my IT butler. When I call him, it may be to fix a problem but it’s never really all about the problem and, the minute he sees my eyes glaze over a technical point, he starts another conversation thread and often, I end up buying more gadgets from him than I need.

I am loyal to him – we have more than a 10-year affiliation – and I refer all my friends to him. If someone doesn’t like him, I almost take it personally and will defend him like Mother Goose.

Affiliation matters to women, differentiation matters more to men.

OTAs pride themselves in fixing problems and most are mainly about the transaction – price and inventory rule. Meta search sites like Skyscanner tell me that they want people to come to their site and leave as quickly as possible.

Women like to hang around. We like to talk, share, recommend. Perhaps this explains why women gravitate towards inspiration-led content-rich sites.

Look at the affiliation that goes around Pinterest which allows for a lot more creative self-expression than Facebook.

I accept that this may not be the business model for some sites – but if we acknowledge that women are going to have an ever-growing influence as online consumers, then perhaps we need to take her behaviour into consideration when designing user interfaces.

Investors (often men) always ask entrepreneurs, what’s the problem you’re trying to solve?

I have such a hard time answering them when they ask me that question about WIT and where the hell I am going with it. When I tell them, it’s the journey, not the destination, I can feel their eyes roll.

Unlike husbands who have to listen, investors don’t and you can bet the only journey they want to take with you is the direct path to riches.

Thankfully for my friend whose marriage is still going strong, he no longer rolls his eyes when his wife tells him a problem. He sits back, listens, and hums and haws at the appropriate moment.

Now find me a user interface that does that.

Pegasus partners TravelSky to open door to Chinese hotel bookings

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Pegasus Solutions and TravelSky Technology Ltd, China’s state-owned global distribution system (GDS), have completed a connection that makes Pegasus’ global hotel inventory of nearly 100,000 hotels available for booking in China.

With more than 1,000 hotels under nine brands, Starwood Hotels & Resorts is the first Pegasus customer to go live on the connection.

As the number of domestic and international Chinese travellers surges, the agreement makes Starwood properties available to the 7,000 travel agents who work with TravelSky managing the country’s growing demand.

TravelSky also has full access to the Pegasus Hotel Content Database (HCD), the largest repository of hotel descriptive content in the world, which houses nearly 1.5 million images, videos and virtual tours, as well as property and room descriptions.

TravelSky has long-dominated the airline market in China, recognised as both the second largest travel market in the Asia Pacific region and the world’s second largest economy. According to PhoCusWright, China’s total travel market in 2012 is projected to approach US$74 billion.

As travellers from the country’s exploding middle class clamour for international bookings the new connection with Pegasus offers accessibility to the single largest collection of electronically bookable hotels, said QiangXue, Travelsky's vice president, tour and transport solutions.

"We maintain more than 100,000 terminals in over 300 Chinese cities. Additionally, 7,000 travel agencies and all the global distribution systems depend on access to our air central reservation systems," he added..

The partnership enables TravelSky to address the hospitality needs of its1.2 billion customers by allowing them to book a variety of hotels anywhere in the world.”

TravelSky completed the Pegasus Distribution certification process the week of April 30, 2012.

Asia leads world's growth in travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Asia leads the world’s growth in travel, according to analysis by the market intelligence solution, Amadeus Total Demand.The Asian continent holds seven out of the 10 busiest inter-city routes. In addition to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) markets, Indonesia, the Philippines and Chile also showed an impressive growth.

The most important inter-regional growth patterns of 2011 are led by Asia. Traffic between Asia and Europe, and between Asia and North America, grew by 9%. Traffic between Asia and the Middle East grew 6% reaching 38 million travellers in the year.

Compared with the previous year, 2% fewer passengers travelled between Africa and Europe in 2011; this was the only region pair with a significant traffic flow decrease over the period.

Traffic between North America and Europe remains the busiest inter-regional flow with over 60 million passengers in 2011, followed by Asia and Europe with over 53 million, and Latin America and North America with 47 million passengers.

In terms of connecting traffic, over 50% of all passengers in the triangle between Asia, Europe and North America change aircraft at least once. On the other hand, only 7% of all passengers travelling within Asia travel with a connecting flight, compared to 10% in Europe and 31% in North America.

The largest airports in Asia have a lower percentage of connecting traffic than the North American and European hubs. The average connecting rate of the 10 busiest airports in Asia is 19% compared with 32% for the top 10 hubs in Europe and 45% in North America.

The 2011 country statistics reveal that the strongest growth in absolute passengers is led by the BRIC countries. China registered an additional 19 million in 2011 than 2010, Brazil 12 million, India eight million and Russia six million. Indonesia was the fifth strongest growth market with an additional five million passengers in 2011.

Brazil (17%), India (13%) and Russia (15%) also featured in the top 10 fastest-growing countries by percentage growth. Chile (21%), the Philippines (15%) and Indonesia (11%) are also among the fastest growing travel markets. Egypt and Japan are among the fastest shrinking markets, probably due to the Arab Spring and the tsunami.

Chart: Countries with highest % growth in passengers between 2010 and 2011

The strongest traffic in between cities takes place within the same country. From the world’s top 10 inter-city routes, seven are within the domestic borders of Asian countries, out of which three are in Japan. In terms of volume the route between Jeju and Seoul is the most important (almost 10 million passengers) followed by Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (circa 8 million passengers).

Chart: Top world inter-city routes• Amadeus Total Demand looks at trends in worldwide passenger demand between regions, countries and specific airports, comparing the full 2011 passenger volumes with 2010 data. All figures relate to passengers travelling between a given origin and final destination airport, irrespective of the number of connecting stops.

Shangri-La unveils new website

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has launched a revamped websitewith enhanced features, which include sharing the best of the group’s photography.

To celebrate the inveilingShangri-La Hotels launches the "#LovingTheMoment" Instagram initiative to encourage travellers to share photos that tell a story about cities they are in. During the initiative’s two themed phases, travellers will have the opportunity to share their photos that capture the places and food they have experienced.

The website was 10 months in the making, said Michael Leong, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts’ director of corporate digital marketing. It marks the beginning of a line-up of digital and social initiatives, which the hotel group will be rolling out in the coming year to create richer user experiences for its guests.

"We hope the site will make it easier for our guests to explore destinations, make and manage bookings, connect and share through their social media communities, and allow travellers who have not yet stayed with us to have a beautiful entry into the world of Shangri-La," Leong added.

What the website offers:

Images that tell a story: The images featured on the new website were carefully selected to illustrate the story of each hotel and reflect the romance of travel and Shangri-La’s heart-warming service. In addition, each individual property page now features a "Your Shangri-La Story" section, which transports travellers to the hotel and destination through a compelling narrative.

Booking made easier: The new website features a user-friendly booking engine, which was tested by Shangri‑La.com users for four months to help ensure a more convenient confirmation process. With fewer steps and pages to complete a booking, it has never been easier for travellers to book their Shangri-La stay.

Travellers on the go can access ShangriLa.com through the fully optimised mobile versions of the site for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

The hotel group is launching n mobile app at end June for frequent travellers so they to make bookings easier and more convenient. Available for the iPhone and iPad the app will allow travellers to find a Shangri-La hotel, book their stay, and access all the latest offers. It will also let members of Shangri-La’s guest recognition and reward programme, Golden Circle, to manage their accounts with a few easy touches.

More social: The new website integrates with popular social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Weibo, Kaixin and Youku. This not only enables greater connectivity for fans and followers to engage with the Shangri-La brands and share specific Shangri-La.com content with their own networks, but also expand the reach of the new website beyond its own pages.

Expanding benefits for reward members: The Golden Circle website has also been revamped with increased functionality to allow members to be more hands-on when it comes to their stays. Features include:

• Chance to fully manage points as well as redemption booking

• Access to a list of all future reservations at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts

• Ability to make online requests and check the status of each request online

• Submit queries regarding earning points, redeeming points and benefits

London, Siem Reap come up tops in TripAdvisor's travellers' choices

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

London was named the world’s, Europe’s and the UK’s best destination in TripAdvisor's 2012 Travellers' Choice Destination Awards. With the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games fast approaching, it’s a well-timed triumph.

Following London in the world stakes were New York City and Rome, in second and third places respectively.

Siem Reap shines in Asia

Siem Reap was rated travellers’ favourite destination in Asia. With its rich history and the majestic Angkor Wat temple complex, it’s no wonder tourists are flocking to Siem Reap. Coming in second and third places were China’s main cities of Beijing and Shanghai.

A complete list of 2012 Travellers’ Choice Destinations winners, can be seen here: http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/TravelersChoice-Destinations.

Top 25 Travellers’ Choice World Destinations:

1. London, England

2. New York City, New York

3. Rome, Italy

4. Paris, France

5. San Francisco, California

6. Marrakech, Morocco

7. Istanbul, Turkey

8. Barcelona, Spain

9. Siem Reap, Cambodia

10. Berlin, Germany

11. Chicago, Illinois

12. Florence, Italy

13. Buenos Aires, Argentina

14. Sydney, Australia

15. Beijing, China

16. Prague, Czech Republic

17. Las Vegas, Nevada

18. Bora Bora, French Polynesia

19. Shanghai, China

20. Honolulu, Hawaii

21. Los Angeles, California

22. New Orleans, Louisiana

23. Cape Town, South Africa

24. Chiang Mai, Thailand

25. Dublin, Ireland

Top 25 Travellers’ Choice Asia Destinations:

1. Siem Reap, Cambodia	14. Ubud, Indonesia
2. Beijing, China	15. Hoi An, Vietnam
3. Shanghai, China	16. Luang Prabang, Laos
4. Chiang Mai, Thailand	17. Xi’an, China
5. Male, Maldives	18. Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand
6. Goa, India	19. Taipei, Taiwan
7. Boracay, Philippines	20. Koh Tao, Thailand
8. Hong Kong, China	21. Seoul, South Korea
9. Hanoi, Vietnam	22. Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam
10. Kathmandu, Nepal	23. New Delhi, India
11. Kyoto, Japan	24. Varanasi, India
12. Tokyo, Japan	25. Halong Bay, Vietnam
13. Singapore

Unplugged: Come On A Journey With WIT

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It is rather fitting that I am about to board on a flight to Wellington, New Zealand, as I write this. Because when it comes to being unplugged, you couldn’t get any better than the land of the long white cloud.

Each time I am there, I just feel the cobwebs coming off me – it’s probably the strong winds in Wellington that does it. And there’s something about the land that allows me to unplug and then to plug into all that space, that light, that sky and re-connect with myself.

Last night, I was having dinner with Sean Simmons and his wife, Frankie, at their home in Brisbane. It was a lovely dinner. Sean, who is legal counsel at Wotif Group, was cooking as we talked. Well, when I say cooking, he was mainly slicing vegetables – but what a lovely thing to watch.

After two days facilitating an industry conference on the Sunshine Coast, and grabbing bites in between sessions for sustenance, it was a luxury to sit back, drink a chilled glass of sauvignon blanc and watch a man slice vegetables.

First, a fat, chunky piece of fennel. As his knife sliced through the vegetable, you could smell the essence of fennel in the air. Then he worked through two ripe juicy oranges. Followed by two of the lushest greenest avocadoes I’ve ever seen. All locally grown, of course. Sean had promised me local, fresh food.

Talking about my trip to New Zealand, he said, “One of the differences between Australians and Kiwis is, the Kiwis are much more connected to the land. They’d be able to tell you more about the exact origin of the food we are eating than I can.”

Sean and his wife are making a conscious effort to eat local as much as they can. For the main course, we had fish cakes which he had bought from a local man who only sells fresh Australian or New Zealand seafood, and nothing frozen.

Just last weekend, I was at Sampran Riverside (formerly Rose Garden and guess I’ll always know it as Rose Garden) which is as local as one gets in Thailand. There’s a market where farmers from the area come to sell their goods and everything has to be grown naturally.

The resort has its own organic farm across the river. In the old days, it would have been called just a farm but today, to plug into the new food fad, it is called organic.

Vegetables and fruits grown here are used for cooking at the resort and I reckon this is one of the reasons why the Thai food at this 40-year-old family-run retreat tastes so pure and fresh.

Living in urban cities, we do not know where our food comes from. Ask a kid in Singapore where chicken comes from and he’ll say either Cold Storage or Sheng Shiong.

We also forget how much metal we are surrounded by – metal which shields us from being connected to the land and nature, from which we are so far removed anyway.

It’s why the 70% of humanity that will live in urban spaces by 2020 will need to travel to plug into the rest of earth that’s inhabited by the 30% of us, at the very least to preserve our sanity and, at the very best, to be inspired.

The theme of “Unplugged” first took root after last year’s WIT Conference where we hopefully found our groove.
I was unplugging in Thailand’s Golden Triangle and amid the cool hills and flowing river, my mind went into auto-rewind and I reviewed and deconstructed every moment, and had a moment of clarity.

Caught up in the everyday grind of business, it is hard for us to see clearly sometimes where we’re going and where we need to go. This is particularly so today where the noise is overwhelming.

We are suffering from sensory overload. We are so plugged in with our devices that maybe we are not plugged in at all. We zip in and out of interactions, like the characters in video games. We are so busy with social networks that we are not sharing with the person in front of us.

At WITX-Women In Travel last week in Bangkok,, Blanca Menchaca from Wego, who was speaking for her generation, had me thinking when she said, “I don’t know how to read a book anymore.”

More and more, I meet people who want a break from being too plugged in.

Literally, “unplugged” means to pull the plug from the socket. Musically, it means to play without electric amplification so that the sound comes out pure, organic, so that you listen to it as it is.

It also means to deconstruct, to break down something in order to create something new. You need to do that to transform, inspire, innovate, disrupt, motivate, and grow.

It’s what we want you to do at the WIT Conference this year. We want you to unplug from your daily work and plug into the experience we will create.

And as we unplug that overwhelming universe of stuff out there – whether it be crowd sourcing, disruption, execution, transformation, socialization – we will take you on a journey through the core themes of what makes a successful travel business in today’s age of accelerated change.

Join us on the journey.

Wego launches first Arabic flights & hotels metasearch site

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Global travel metasearch company Wego used the Arabian Travel Market as the platform to make its move into the Middle East with www.wego.ae, the first flights and hotels metasearch website created for UAE residents.

It is available in both Arabic and English. For the first time UAE residents will be able to search and compare prices and availability for flights and hotels from both travel agents as well as airlines and hotels directly, together in one place.

Wego.ae offers a comprehensive view of over 500 full-service and low cost carriers, as well as 350,000 accommodation options of all varieties, with search results ranked in order of those most favoured by other GCC residents.

Wego sees metasearch as an essential tool in helping travellers in this region make sense of the increasingly complex travel market.

"Because of the Gulf's strategic position between Europe and Asia and the success of airport mega-hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, residents are blessed with a very wide array of airline choices when travel planning", explained Ross Veitch, Wego CEO & Co-Founder. "We believe Wego is the perfect tool to check prices, availability and schedules across this multitude of options to save time and pay less for their trip."

The announcement focused on the launch of the UAE site, but residents of other Arabic speaking nations will not have to wait long for travel metasearch services customised for their own travel needs as the company is putting the final touches to localised sites serving users in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt.

Even prior to the launch of the Arabic sites, the company has seen strong growth from users across the region on its global English site wego.com. Visits from the UAE are up 49% quarter on quarter, Qatar is up 69% and growth from Saudi Arabia is even higher off what is an already fairly significant base for the company.

Travellers from this region are most frequently comparing flights within the GCC and into India, Europe, Southeast Asia, the United States and China, though the long-tail of destination searches is exceptionally diverse reflecting business and leisure travel interests in every corner of the globe.

To accelerate growth in the region Wego has appointed as their commercial representative Dubai-based BizGate Marketing & Consultancies Services LLC, a marketing and consultancy agency specialising in travel and led by travel industry veteran Mohamad Ibrahim Masri.

"We are very excited to be working with Wego to deliver products designed specifically for travellers in this region," commented Masri. "I am confident that Arabic as well and English speaking consumers here will quickly embrace Wego as the smarter way to shop for travel with so many options to choose from. For this innovative technology, the time has come."

The company is now in the process of integrating additional regional airlines and hotel groups directly into Wego, so that they can enjoy direct access to the millions of travellers using the metasearch tool every month, not just on wego.ae, but also across the global network of Wego travel sites.

Australia, caught in twilight zone, looks to new sunshine from Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

So here I am on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. I've been told that I brought the sun from Singapore although I didn't want to tell them that we too have had lots of rain in the tropics.

But for today, the sun shone at the opening of the ATEC 2012 Symposium. The venue is the Coolum Resort & Spa which until a few weeks ago was managed by Hyatt but a disagreement (to put it politely) between the new owner, Clive Palmer, and the hotel group led to a cessation of ties.

The man who drove me to my room late last night told me nothing much has changed. Most of the staff are still here, they still wear Hyatt ID tags and the group's name is still on most things. I kinda feel like I am in twilight zone – you know, when you are caught between two worlds.

Which is where Australia is right now, I suspect.

A kind of in-between time in their tourism industry when the past on which it was built – traditional feeder markets of New Zealand, UK & Europe and the US – has to make way for a future which has to, like it or not, embrace the new world of Asia.

How do you hold on to one world while kick-starting another?

That's the challenge facing members of ATEC, which stands for the Australian Tourism Export Council. They were formerly called the Inbound Tour Operators Association, and they are 40 years old.

And as managing director John King observed, what a change the past four decades have wrought. 426,000 arrivals 40 years ago and no Asian market to speak of. Fast forward to now and it has six million visitors, half of whom come from Asia and China, then an impoverished nation, now tipped to become the largest market to the country.

And the next 40 years? Who knows – but what’s for sure is the message that’s coming across loud and clear at this two-day event in Queensland.

Australia’s tourism industry has to think differently and do things differently if it is to achieve its target of A$140 billion tourism receipts by 2020. Anthony Hayes, CEO of Tourism Queensland, speaking on a panel said it bluntly, “We're not going to get there by doing things the same. We have to innovate.”

It also means being more aggressive on growing the markets in Asia. Andrew McEvoy, managing director, Tourism Australia said that didn’t mean just China but also other markets such as India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The shift in emphasis is seen in the allocation of marketing budgets. In 2011/12, Tourism Australia will spend 53% of its marketing budget in Asia. This compares with 45% roughly 10 years ago. Next year, the percentage will rise to 57%.

At the symposium, Minister for Resources, Energy & Tourism, Martin Ferguson, announced additional funding of A$1 million to develop a customized Chinese website “to deliver our message in a tailored way”.

It is clear though that there is discomfort among some suppliers with the new emphasis on Asia. They have built long relationships in traditional feeder markets and are comfortable looking after those visitors who do tend to stay longer and disperse beyond cities.

But McEvoy said it was time to let go of old stereotypes that Chinese visitors only tended to stick to cities. He said the market had evolved and there were emerging segments of young travellers who are seeking new experiences.

And China is so huge that even if you take a niche segment, it can be bigger than entire countries, he said. “We are interested in the 15 million Chinese that are travelling beyond Asia to further destinations,” he said.

“We have what they want – environment and friendly people,” he added.

Tourism Australia will pursue an active digital strategy in markets in Asia. In China, it would use social media actively. He shared a video made by a young Chinese couple on their holiday in Australia which they shared.

“We must empower them to share. Social media is marketing on steroids,” he said.

Tourism Australia’s Facebook page now has three million members, the biggest of any tourism organization, and is growing by 20,000 to 30,000 a day. Of these, 1.2 million are Australians.

Minister Ferguson however warned that growth from Asia was not a given. Australia has to keep delivering quality tourism experiences and he said that he has had to suspend a few operators due to a breach of the code of ethics. “We must ensure no damage to Brand Australia.”

This week too Tourism Australia, together with Austrade, launched an Australian Tourism Investment Guide. “We've never been active chasing international investments in tourism and now we have to,” he said.

Like the resort where I'm staying, it is clear that Australia is also in the twilight zone where its tourism infrastructure is concerned. Coolum Resort & Spa was built in the 1980s by Japanese interests. Palmer, a mining billionaire, reportedly paid A$80 million for it. There's not been much new plant built since.

At the time of purchase, Palmer told the media he saw an opportunity to get into a future growth market at a bargain price. "Back in the 1980s when you had a government that actually promoted tourism, there were Japanese flocking to Australia," he said.

"When we get a (state) government in power next year that actually promotes tourism we can do the same thing again, only this time with the Chinese. They're travelling a lot more and we can target them to come to Australia. And why not the Sunshine Coast -- it's an excellent property, in good condition."

Tourism Queensland's Hayes said what Australia needed was for rich Australians like Palmer, who had made money from a booming mining sector, to invest in tourism. That's the third twilight zone by the way that Australia is in – mining is booming while tourism is floundering and the dilemma is how to get the two sectors to work together for mutual benefit.

Said Hayes, “Mining offers a fantastic opportunity for the tourism industry in Queensland. It is driving population growth and wealth in central Queensland. We are starting to see a new travel pattern. Instead of only thinking about visitors travelling from south to north, we now need to think about visitors travelling from east to west.

“Mining communities offer a great opportunity for interstate tourism. This will generate more cash flow for tourism operators who can then spend some money on upgrading their businesses. This, in turn, will make our tourism product more attractive to the international visitors who demand quality experiences in Australia.”

Treat women like the angels they are

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Emilie Couton, director of hotel solutions for Accor Asia Pacific, started her presentation by asking the audience if they felt women were more like angels or devils as customers.

When the majority said “devils”, she smiled and said that perhaps by the end of her speech, they’d change their minds.

Firstly though she laid the landscape, showing that women were, if not angels or devils, definitely power consumers.

She cited statistics such as “85% of all brand purchases are made by women”, “58% of social media users are women” and “92% pass along information to others”.
On Twitter, women tend to have more followers and tweets more than men.

But the most important reason why brands should target women is because “women give higher satisfaction scores”, based on research conducted by Accor on their customers.

“The Net Promoter Score given by women is more than three points higher than men,” said Couton.

In her earlier presentation, Accor Advantage Plus CEO Louise Daley also shared data (below) that showed that women tended to give higher ratings to hotel services than men.

For women, what was more important beyond the specific service or amenity, was the “overall emotional effect”, said Couton.

In her presentation, Jennifer Rein (right) of Experian Hitwise also confirmed that the fairer sex tended to give better reviews on social networks and urged suppliers to “connect and empower them”.

Females make up 53.3% of visitors to TripAdvisor and they seek input from their networks. That’s why it’s important to run “Like” and “Share” campaigns via email and to make web and apps sharable.

Women are also social in their planning. “Social media and customer reviews are an essential part of especially female travellers’ information gathering process,” she quoted a study from The Centre for Hospitality Research.

She also shared data from Compete report (Nov 2011) that showed more women (53%) own smartphones than men and women tend to use the devices for, in this order, text messages, social networks, sharing photos and videos, financial and shopping, email access and mobile games.

Men tend to stream content (movies/TV), make dinner reservations and check corporate email.

By the end of both their presentation, it was clear the “angels” outnumbered the “devils” in the audience.

View Rein's presentation here

Share swap off - what's next for MAS, AirAsia?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The controversial cross holding of shares between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia is officially unwound after eight months of angst and strong opposition from MAS unions, whose members feared loss of jobs and privileges, and Malaysians who decried monopoly in the country’s aviation scene.

In a statement issued on May 2, a day after the official cancellation of the share swap deal between MAS and AirAsia, Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia Airlines' parent company and the government’s investment arm, said the deal had to be unravelled as the cross holding of shares had become a distraction to management's efforts to the airline’s turnaround.

"The cross holding of shares was well intended to simply better align the economic interests on the part of the major shareholders of MAS (Khazanah) and AirAsia (Tune Air)," it added.

Having failed to get stakeholders' support for collaboration, Khazanah said the parties have agreed to unwind the cross holding of shares and revert to the original structure of major shareholdings of both companies.

However, many would choose to believe that it is MAS’ eight unions and associations, representing more than 21,000 members that had influenced Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, whom they met in February, to call off the deal.

This flip flop in the deal could also be linked to the country’s general election, widely rumoured to be taking place in June. MAS' main base of operations is in Selangor, Malaysia's richest state that is now in the hands of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat. The unions and their families roughly totalled 100,000 votes, a number that could be crucial in deciding the state’s fate in the coming elections. It is no secret that Najib badly wants to recapture Selangor at any cost.

So what’s cancelling a deal between two airlines in return for the country's richest state?.

Whatever the reason, this unwinding of the share swap will see Khazanah transfer its 10% or 277,650,600 ordinary shares in AirAsia back to Tune Air which will transfer, in turn, its 20.5% or 685,142,000 ordinary shares in MAS back to Khazanah.

AirAsia’s Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Tune Air’s Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun have resigned from the MAS Board, while Khazanah’s Datuk Mohamed Azman Yahya has also resigned from the AirAsia Board.

The respective focus areas of MAS, AirAsia and AirAsia X as stated in the earlier Comprehensive Collaboration Framework (CCF) agreement will also cease.

The CCF was set up August last year to allow the three airlines to explore opportunities to cooperate, save cost and reduce competition between them. Part of the deal involved Khazanah and Tune Air entering into the share swap agreement.

The deal would have seen MAS focus on being a full-service premium carrier; AirAsia to focus on being a regional low-cost carrier (LCC); and AAX to focus on being a medium-to-long haul LCC.

In place of the CCF the three airlines have now entered into a Supplemental Collaboration Agreement (SA) to explore areas of mutual-need to realise savings and boost efficiencies.

The signing of this SA was also part of preparations by Malaysia's three biggest airlines to meet the challenges posed by the ASEAN Open Skies, which comes into force in 2015.

MAS and AirAsia will jointly explore the setting up of a joint venture company by MAS, AirAsia and AirAsia X to provide aircraft component maintenance support and repair services.

They will also establish the broad set of business principles for the three parties to set up a Special Purposed Vehicle (SPV) to improve value for money and to increase competitiveness and benefits to customers through procurement synergies

MAS will hold a 50% stake in the SPV, AirAsia 35% and AAX 15%. It will provide services to MAS, AirAsia and AAX primarily comprising strategic sourcing services involving the design, strategy and conduct of procurement processes directed at achieving overall efficiencies and improved value for money for identified goods and services.

Fernandes (pictured left) viewed the latest development philosophically. As he told StarBiz, "... the sad part for me is that I have left something unfinished and I know both me, and Kamarudin could have done a lot to turn around MAS. But on the positive side, after 10 years of pain and after eight months, we now are very close to MAS and Khazanah and that is very positive as all our energies can be now focused to tap the amazing growth potential of Asean and Asia."

Now that the dust has settled, what does the future hold for MAS and AirAsia?

Most analysts said AirAsia would not be affected by the unravelling of the deal and it would be business as usual for the low cost carrier. It just needs to stay competitive, keep its fares low, maintain its high level of service, fend off competition from the other LCCs, and it could continue to dominate the sky.

For MAS, it is a different story and challenging times are ahead for the airline.

One analyst said the share swap’s termination could dampen sentiment in MAS shares. “MAS will need to move on from here, and its immediate problem is to solve its cashflow.”

They were also sceptical of MAS’ turnaround plan, which was put in place to pull the airline back to the black after its massive total net loss of RM2.53 billion for FY2011.

Reducing the large staff force of 20,000 is also not an option for MAS, given the strong unions.

With the deal off, Malaysian aviation looks set to be a free market again. The new SA between MAS and AirAsia could lead to a de-segmentation of the local aviation scene and a return to more competitive fares. The agreement also removes the market focus for both airlines specified under the now defunct CCF.

In their filing to Bursa Malaysia (Malaysia Stock Exchange) on May 2 both airlines specified that the new agreement would no longer define market focus for each airline. it will also no longer work together on the provisioning of routes. These had raised fears that there would a monopolising of the country’s aviation industry, leading to reduced competition and, consequently higher fare.

For now the unbundling of the swap deal looks like a win-win situation for all concerned. But time will tell if the various parties could live happily together after all.

Abacus expands LCC portfolio with AirAsia Philippines

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The agreement between the two companies see Abacus' travel agents get access to the airline’s published inventory of flights and fares.

AirAsia Philippines is a joint venture between AirAsia International Ltd and Filipino Investors. It launched its first flights out of Angeles City, Pampanga in March 2012, starting with two domestic operations to Davao and Kalibo. Its main hub of operation is at the Clark International Airport in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Abacus currently boasts the largest LCC hybrid and regional portfolio in Asia and foresees further strong growth ahead, especially in the area of LCCs, which saw a growth of 27% in 2011 against 2010 in terms of bookings.

Abacus is also a partner of various LCCs, hybrid and regional airlines including AirAsia Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, AirPhil Express, Sapsan and Cambodia’s Angkor Air which are all which exclusive to Abacus, as well as the recent partner Mihin Lanka.

Indonesians embrace the online travel world

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s indisputable; Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest growing emerging markets and nowhere is this more apparent than in the country’s enormous embrace of the online world.

A reported 50 million Indonesians are now proactively online, incorporating the internet into their daily lives, and this includes research and bookings for all their travel requirements. Indonesia’s increasing growth of their middle class and improving economy also means more people are travelling both domestically and internationally.

Here's some data we've gathered at Wego Indonesia that give some insights into the behaviour of Indonesian travellers.

Domestic and regional destinations see biggest growth

Our figures show that traffic to Wego in Indonesia grew almost 180% in 2011, and 2012 has begun even stronger. When we examine destinations by flight search, regional destinations top the outbound list with Singapore (up 148%), Thailand (up 254%) and Hong Kong (up 228%), leading the way.

Most recently, the top 5 international destinations for Indonesians were:

Singapore
Malaysia
Thailand
Hong Kong
China

Domestic flights searches showed even stronger and quite incredible growth with Jakarta (up 850%), Bali (up 366%) and Surabaya (up 740%) as the destinations of choice. Jakarta, Bali and Surabaya have huge increases in visits.

There are a number of factors contributing to the growth in domestic flights searches. New airlines are entering the market and adding new routes. Low cost carries are introducing fares that make it more affordable for people to travel and encouraging users to go online to make their travel bookings.

Last minute decisions on domestic air travel

Approximately one third of Wego users search for flights within seven days of departure, 48 per cent within 14 days, and 64 per cent within 21 days, yet only 30 per cent of Indonesians search flights more than four weeks ahead of departure dates.

International flights are more likely to be searched further in advance with only 13 per cent of users selecting flights within 7 days, and 57 per cent of international flight searches for a date more than four weeks ahead of time.

Middle of the road hotels most popular

Both 3 and 4-star properties are the preferred option of Wego users travelling domestically with 26 and 27 per cent share of users respectively. These choices are reflected similarly internationally with 3-star accommodation capturing 23 per cent and 4-star stays at 25 per cent.

Indonesians are tending not to book accommodation too far in advance either with 94 per cent of domestic referrals within a week of travel dates, and 80 per cent internationally.

The real difference between domestic and international hotel bookings relates to cost. Domestically 30 per cent of users look for rooms between USD$25 and $50 per night with 78 per cent selecting rooms for under $100 per night.

The picture is a little different for overseas accommodation bookings where Indonesians are definitely spending more. Around 16 per cent of users search for rooms at more than $200 per night and 32 per cent look for rooms within a $100 to $200 price range.

This highlights that the middle class is starting to spend more on international travel.

With figures like these it’s clear that Indonesia is the market to watch. The number of travellers is increasing with people travelling more both locally and abroad.

Indonesians are becoming more comfortable researching their travel online and with more companies starting to offer locally accepted payment methods like bank transfer, more local people will be able to book online too. Indonesia is definitely moving!

Women, want to get to the top? Here are some tips

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

One message came out loud and clear at WITX-Women In Travel which was held in Bangkok last Friday – women have to put up their hands and be seen and heard if they want to rise to leadership positions in travel companies.

In the opening session, Jennie Chua (left), chief corporate officer of CapitaLand, said that the issue of gender had never been a factor in her career. The implication was clear – the minute you start to think of it, it becomes a handicap.

Chua, who rose to fame when she became general manager of the Raffles Hotel, also said it was the hotel “that made me” and as such, it was important to pick the right opportunity “that will make you”.

The “moment of truth” in her career came when, at 39, she decided to leave “government service” – she was with the then-Singapore Tourism Board – for the private sector, joining Westin at the time.

That decision opened up a new path for her which would eventually see her rise to CEO of Raffles Hotels & Resorts and onto CapitaLand. Pretty inspiring, really, for a woman who made quite a late career switch.

Her best advice? “Don’t overstay.”

Louise Daley (below), CEO of Accor Advantage Plus, believes it’s not from a lack of oppportunity that there are few women in the top ranks of hotel companies, rather it’s “lack of visibility”.

She urged women to “put your hand up”. She said that often when a woman was offered an opportunity, she’d say no even if she had nine of 10 qualities needed to fulfill that role. Men, on the other hand, were more gung-ho and would say yes even if they only had five out of the 10 attributes.

She called on women to have a bigger risk appetite. She shared two learning points from a book she’s reading. “Boys compete, girls cooperate” and “Men are decisive, women are bossy.”

The first led to women being more collaborative and thus not wanting to display too much ambition and aggression. “It is ok, make ambition your friend,” she said, “it’s okay to be aggressive despite our natural tendency to nurture.”

She said women needed to have self-belief – that they can be mentors instead of always being the ones mentored – and focus. “We always pride ourselves in multi-tasking but this will limit you.”

“Use whatever you’ve got and develop what you haven’t – perception is everything,” said Daley who is the only woman on the executive committee of Accor Asia Pacific.

Melissa Yang, co-founder and CTO of Tujia, the vacation rental website in China, also said she’d never felt disadvantaged as a woman in her chosen field. Alone, maybe, but not disadvantaged.

When she was working in the technology team at Expedia in the US, she recalled she was the only woman in the team of 20. “It can be a bit lonely.”

After seven years in the US, she returned to China, after the company she worked for, Escapia, was bought by Homeaway, first to join Microsoft and then, to co-launch Tujia.

In a country where many women are entrepreneurs, Yang said women in China were also the decision-makers when it came to making travel decisions.

She said however there were few women in travel technology. “Few women want to study engineering.” Yang wanted to study literature herself but chose engineering “because it is more practical”.

Aliza Knox (below), managing director, commerce for Google Asia Pacific and who runs the Women Leadership programme for Google, acknowledged the lack of women in technology which is why the company runs several programmes to encourage women involvement.

For example, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology where women get to engage in computing and tech and find role models and leaders or the Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day.

She said it was important more women were involved in travel technology “because we are missing a huge part of the workforce”.

She quoted Susan Wojcicki, senior vice president at Google: “With stiff competition and fast product cycles, there’s not enough room to be gender-biased.”

The belief is with technology playing such a dominant role in the world today, there needs to be more gender equality in how problems are solved.

“We now have men using technology to solve problems of the world but women are better positioned to solve women problems,” said Yang, who said she’d like to see more women take up math and engineering in schools in China.

Wego opens up two new APIs

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Leading travel metasearch site, Wego.com is sharing their comprehensive travel technology, developing two new APIs (application programming interfaces) and making them available to the commercial market for the first time.

The APIs provide developers, publishers, entrepreneurs, in fact any businesses, with the ability to access Wego’s innovative travel metasearch facility, content and even airfares from Wego providers, as well as the scope to adapt the application to suit their own model.

“The APIs open endless opportunities for businesses,” explained Affiliate Manager, Allister Barretto. “They give companies the opportunity to develop their own travel web and mobile applications, desktop software and branded versions suited to their own specific interests and that of their users, who they can also profile using Wego’s sophisticated analytic tools.”

API content can be retrieved in 20 languages and from any geo-location using Wego’s feeds from hundreds of global travel partners. An analytic dashboard provides real-time metrics for analysing and reporting of traffic and revenue.

“Mobile OS makers release software development kits to help developers build applications around their ecosystems,” said Barretto. “These apps get valued at millions of dollars. We've released something similar within our vertical and we've exposed an API which allows developers to plug into our platform and create something valuable along with a program that enables them to monetise what they build.”

Currently available in beta the APIs cover all of Wego’s hotel and flight products with plans for packages, most recent airfare searches and deals to roll out in the near future. The applications are extremely user friendly, with requests made over HTTP and responses in JSON format (XML in some cases).

The Wego Hotels API and Flights Hotels API are aimed at providing developers with Wego’s metasearch capabilities without having to deal with the complexities inherent with maintaining the facility.

“Wego’s APIs will continue to evolve as we make further developments, however we will ensure backwards capability so that users of original versions will not be affected by the updates,” said Barretto. “We’re excited that these APIs can be used in conjunction with our popular Affiliate Program which helps developers to monetise booking referrals with ease generated from their own sites and applications.”

Developers will need to apply for an API key, which is currently only available on request via affiliates.support@wego.com. Full documentation on the Wego Affiliate Program is available at: http://www.wego.com/affiliates

For more information on joining the Wego Affiliate Program and getting access to the Wego APIs, contact allister@wego.com. For API-specific enquiries and support, contact api@wego.com.

Full documentation on the Hotels API is available at http://www.wego.com/api/hotels/docs.
Full documentation on the Flights API is available at http://www.wego.com/api/flights/docs.

WITX Cover It Live

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

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What does it take to make the world a better place? Passion, determination and tough love

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

People tell me I have the attention span of a gnat. These days, I think it’s down to that of a mini-gnat. Our minds flit from thing to thing as fast as our hands flick from devices to devices.

Yet, I surprised myself last Saturday when I managed to sit through at least 20 Powerpoint presentations, one after the other, over five hours and paid attention to well, not all of them, but most of them.

The speakers that lost me were the ones who rambled or became self-indulgent. But I put that down to passion – when people get carried away with something they’re obsessed about and forget everything.

And there was certainly no lack of passion among the speakers Humaneity had assembled for its first “Humaneity Inspires” event. That, and determination.

As I listened to their stories of how each of them was trying to make the world a better place, I realized that with passion and determination, you can achieve almost anything.

Take Louis Ng of ACRES, a Singapore-based charity which fights for animal rights, whose life was changed after he saw sun bears being milked for their bile. He dumped his career and now is the highest-paid employee at ACRES earning S$2,100 a month. “We come to work not to make money but to make a difference.”

Bridget Tan founded HOME (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics) to fight for the rights of migrant workers. Her stories of maid abuse in Singapore – a Burmese maid who lived in a cage just like the sun bear – left many squirming in the room.

Masami Soto, founder of Singapore-based social enterprise Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1), decided to leave her country in her 20s when she realized “we spend all the time getting, and when we have, we re not happy”.

So she travelled in search of meaning and learnt one thing. “We are all the same.” She returned to Japan and asked herself, what if I stopped buying, what if I became self-sufficient? She moved to the countryside and lived in a village.

“There was a big sense of trust for the future and I knew if I got into trouble, people would help. I could live there forever, have my own rice field, then I thought what about my friends and family?”

That’s when she realized humans cannot be self-sufficient, “we need each other”.

Learning from bees which pollinate flowers – they give back not because they are guilty but because it’s part of their life, she wondered how she could create something that would allow people to give back everyday.

“Imagine if you bought a coffee and it made a difference,” she said. B1G1, set up in 2007, is based on a simple idea – “why not, we thought, make business giving a habit by making it possible for every business transaction to give back in some well-defined and impactful way. So, powered by that simple thought, we developed systems and processes for SMEs to give back effectively and easily.”

Today, there are 600 businesses on its platform.

When Gregory Burns (left) was five, he contracted polio and lost motor skills in both legs. He was told by doctors, you’ll never walk again and don’t get fat. “Polio gave me limitations but also possibilities,” he said.

And he’s certainly done all that’s possible and more. He’s a Paralympic athlete. As a member of the USA Swim Team, during the 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Paralympics, Gregory set World Records in the 100m breastroke, 100m backstroke, 200m medley relay and 200m freestyle relay.

He’s a painter. He moved to Taiwan to study Chinese painting, calligraphy and Mandarin and spent 18 months traveling through China, Tibet, Nepal, India and Pakistan painting diverse landscapes and peoples of the region.

He backpacks, scuba dives and surfs. “I use my arms to do what you do with your legs. Because I had a disability, I always had a passion for movement, getting from A to B without fuel.”

When I caught up with Gregory during a break, he said, “The travel industry is missing a huge opportunity in catering to disabled travellers. All those beautiful villas, they don’t have handicapped facilities.”

Yes, there doesn’t seem to have been much headway made in the area of accessible tourism since that last Accessible Tourism conference held in Singapore a few years ago.

The afternoon flew by with more inspiring stories. I liked the message from Tong Yee, director of The Thought Collective. Speaking on “The Emotion of Innovation“, Tong Yee said that in Singapore, it’s mainly fear that’s driving innovation – because one has to – and not love.

“When you say you have to, you lose the ability to create. Love gives you energy. My wife loves me when I am in love.”

The last speaker – to my pleasant surprise – was Jassriet Mahal of Issu.e.rasers, the organisation we've been working with for the last three years to raise funds at our annual conference. Jassriet ended the day by telling a story about a young girl’s journey through life.

I was pleased to see a slide she shared – the painting created at WIT 2009 when the theme was “‘Tough Love” (left).

Rather fitting, I thought. Other than passion and determination, it also takes tough love to make the world a better place.

Lots of people, bad traffic, no road rules and this investor is in

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Following his exit from Qunar, Fritz Demopoulos has set up his own investment fund, Queen’s Road Capital and he has one simple rule when it comes to making bets.

“I like countries with big population, bad traffic and people don’t follow the rules of the road. That smells like an opportunity to me,” he said.

Which probably explains the investments he’s made so far, all of them in emerging markets and in broad categories.

He said, “I continue to be excited about online travel distribution opportunities. However I am also looking at advertising technologies, artificial intelligence opportunities, online games and entertainment.”

Thus far, he’s invested in a Beijing-based ride-sharing company, Wodache.com (Mandarin for ‘I hail a car’). Described itself as “the most trusted carpooling social network in China”, Wodache was co-founded by CTO Jeff Hsu (formerly at Microsoft Research and Apple) and CEO Eric Wang, who worked at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

On their Vimeo channel, they said, “Traffic congestion costs the Chinese government US$150 million a day. Therefore, we are dedicated to relieve China's commute problem by building a mobile platform called Wodache.”

Said Demopoulos, “This is collaborative consumption and is an exciting category. General Motors and Volkswagen have invested in this space.”

He’s also made a bet on IPINYOU, a digital ad technology platform in China, which in March launched the first DSP product (demand-side platform) in the country.

DSP has been described as “an indisputable mainstream trend of Internet advertising development for the future”.
This report in Yahoo Finance says, “DSP plays a significantly important role in the Internet display advertising space, which enables the industry to become more transparent, efficient and controllable.”

Co-founder and CTO Xuehua Shen, explaining the key components of a DSP, said in this interview, “I believe a DSP should have two key components: real-time bidding (RTB) and data-driven audience targeting. Without RTB, we miss impression opportunities. Without data-driven audience targeting, we could not take full advantage of optimization opportunities brought by RTB. Besides real-time bidding and data-driven audience targeting, a nice user interface and multi-dimensional reporting for advertisers are also important.”

Outside China, Demopoulos has invested in the Russian hotel OTA, Ostrovok. In Indonesia, he’s exploring online games and in Brazil, a commerce platform. “I am interested in emerging markets and broad categories.”

He said, “Large emerging markets are exciting. There’s an emerging middle class. Consmers are excited to spend money, travel is an aspirational product. We are seeing that develop in Russia and there are lots of good people and entrepreneurs there.”

Asked if his experience in China would translate well to his investment in Russia, he said, “Broadly speaking, developing markets might have similar challenges, online penetration rates, less developed payment systems, protection stuff– yet at the same time, every market is different in very unique ways.

“Russia is more outbound, more leisure and more packaged. China is largely domestic, more independent-focused, and business travel is bigger than leisure. Any good entrepreneur would like to learn from past experiences and connect the dots, yet he is smart enough to realise that some connections can’t be made.”

While he acknowledges that emerging markets are high risk, “the key is to focus on the areas you know and have synergies with the experience you have”.

He thinks domain expertise is how venture investors have to compete “in terms of adding value to the companies and making a return on investment”.

“There are new model of investing emerging, individuals with informal networks who come together to make deals – I believe more and more things will move in this direction.”

He describes himself as an “active” investor. “I provide value across three vectors – domain expertise, corporate business development and CEO mentoring and proximity to the experiences of China. Every company in the world needs a China strategy.”

In China, one category that’s struggling is deal sites, with 5,000-6,000 sites started last year. “There’s an over-investment of resources in this category. The broad trend is the market continues to ebb and flow very quickly. Deals were hot one time, now they are getting beaten up.

“Social commerce and social media taking of like a rocket and investors chasing that. There are probably 50 clones of Pinterest now. Ganji (a Chinese version of Craig’s List) has come up with a AirBnB clone – there are still questions as to whether it will work – and it’s debatable if anyone over 31 will use it.

“Ecommerce was hot last year, this year there is some consolidation.”

What he’s keeping a watch on are collaborative consumption, big data and analytics and the next gen predictive technology.

AirAsia's Kathleen Tan rules on Weibo, here's why and how

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Looks like AirAsia’s Group Head of Commercial, Kathleen Tan is doing something right at Sina Weibo – as of April 24, she has amassed 109,772 fans on the Chinese microblogging site.

Thanks to personal and engaging content, her Weibo account now ranks 2510th most influential account out of 300 million users on the social media page.

A savvy marketer, Kathleen recognizes the power of social media in elevating brands and its exceptional reach to consumers globally. She believes that social media will change the way companies promote and sell their products and services.

Due to this belief, Kathleen personally championed the utilization of social media in AirAsia, and was instrumental in the establishment of a dedicated social media unit. Her vision was spot on – AirAsia is today ranked the second airline in the world to achieve highest number of fans on Facebook and one of the top five most-active-airlines on Twitter.

Encouraged by the success, she decided to start a Sina Weibo account on Dec 14 in 2010, for her to easily reach out to the public and get feedback on the airline’s services and products.

Kathleen said, "When I first started, I didn't know what to expect. It was a humbling experience but one that is stimulating, exciting and very challenging. The initial idea was to provide a platform where our guests, and the general public in China to provide feedback and recommendations regarding our services and products. It was a good initiative as now I’m able to identify the needs of our guests and their expectations. Best of all, many of them became my friends and shared various thoughts and ideas to make AirAsia even better.”

During her birthday recently, Kathleen made a pledge to organize an exclusive AirAsia sale for her Sina Weibo fans should her wish for 100k fans becomes a reality. And now, with the aspired fan numbers reached, Kathleen will live up to the promise.

Slated for April 25, it will be the first of its kind on social media where a sale is driven by an individual. 500K AirAsia seats to destinations across AirAsia network such as Bali, Phuket. Singapore, Sabah, Bangkok, Australia and many more will be on offer.

Fans will also be treated to hotel room offers from as much as 50% off on 5 star hotels in popular resorts. Details of the sale are available on http://www.weibo.com/kathleentan

“Travelers nowadays are extremely technology-savvy, and the massive wave of Weibo communication has inevitably changed the way online content are being consumed. My main objective was to engage with the crowd, as the followers represent the voice of our guests,” said Kathleen.

“There is no secret formula in how to win eyeballs and fans’ hearts. If your content is boring, no one will follow you. As a women leader and senior management staff of AirAsia, I take his opportunity to share about my lifestyle, my personal views as a woman on fashion, style, food and my travels as well as corporate thoughts of leadership,” added Kathleen.

One of her fan, “Dreamy Piggie” wrote “Kat you are my mentor to learn how to become a successful women entrepreneur with a balance healthy lifestyle. I want to learn from you.”

Another fan, “Little Grass” noted “Reading your weibo has become part of my daily routine. Your contents are inspiring and encouraging to me to discover the world.”

“Kat I actually pin your weibo under my “old friend” category because reading your weibo is like talking to old friends. I’ve flown with AirAsia for 3 years and it inspire me even more by getting to follow you personally through weibo.” Commented another fan via the nickname “SunnyBamboo”

AirBnB to expand footprint in South-east Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

AirBnB, which calls itself “a community marketplace for unique spaces”, is planning to open an office in Singapore and is reportedly recruiting a managing director for South-east Asia.

The move is part of an expansion plan into the region announced by co-founder Brian Chesky late last year when it opened an office in Hong Kong.

The company has been a runaway success since its launch in September 2008 by Chesky and his classmate Joe Gebbia.

Listed in “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2012” by Fast Company, the post read, “Airbnb has enabled more than 4.5 million bookings on 100,000 active listings in 192 countries, facilitating a reported $500 million in transactions in 2011, on which it charged up to a 15% fee.

“Along the way, Airbnb has become a disruptive force in the stagnant hotel industry, a major driver behind what’s now called the sharing economy, and, perhaps most significantly, proof of the value of design in the engineering-centric tech world.”

At the time of the announced expansion into Asia, Chesky said to CNNGo, “In Asia, and Hong Kong in particular, there is a huge, untapped market for AirBnB. Westerners are innately curious and intrigued by the culture and people of Asia, and what better way to unlock those mysteries than to experience travel through local experiences among local hosts?”

AirBnB, which is tipped to exceed Hilton Hotels in number of rooms this year (600,000), allows strangers to stay in each other’s homes. It achieved five million room nights in February 2012.

According to AirBnB data, it now gets 75% of its business from outside the US (that is, guest, host or both are from outside US).

Speaking at the Google ThinkTravel event in Singapore recently, Juney Ham, chief marketing office of AirBnB, on his first visit to the city in 20 years, said the site now has 120,000 properties and the choice of accommodation has expanded to treehouses, boats and igloos.

“It allows people to travel like a local,” he said.

What has also worked is the AirBnB professional photography programme where the company sends in professionals to take photos of accommodation. “We’ve found listings with professional photography get two-three times more bookings than the market average,” Ham said.

Some users have however argued that they should be allowed to post their photographs on the site after a few stayed in places which did not live up to the promise of the images.

Ham said AirBnB was tapping into what he calls “the changing nature of traveller intent”.

Ham, who came from working in search in Expedia, said, “Dreaming, planning and booking can blend and search intent does not necessarily delineate behaviours.

“Traveller search behaviour is changing and people are not sticking to standard search paradigms. Images are a good way of paving the way to bookings.”

Questions remain of course as to whether the model can work in Asia and whether home owners would open their private spaces to strangers and if Asian customers would want to stay in other people’s homes – but the growing number of copycat models in the region would seem to indicate a belief that there is a huge market to be tapped. Issues of safety and security have also been raised of course.

When he announced the expansion into Asia, Chesky said, “The great thing about Airbnb is that we are still a nimble company that believes in working with our local communities and users as we iterate and innovate the product.

“Our approach to Asia will be integrated with a deep respect for local traditions and cultural hesitations as we learn from our users through educational meet-ups and showcases.”

And obviously now through its own operations in South-east Asia.

Growing pains at Skyscanner as it scales and adds rail

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Guess it’s a good problem to have – when we met Ewan Gray, the Singapore-based director for Asia Pacific for Skyscanner, he was looking for new office premises.

“So either we were bad in forecasting or we grew faster than we expected but we have outgrown our current office,” he laughed.

When it opened its office in Singapore last September, the Edinburgh-based travel search site had budgeted to recruit 10 team members by year end but now is looking at 14-16 people.

“We accelerated our growth into a couple more markets than we had planned,” he said.

Across Asia Pacific, he said, Skyscanner had seen 92% growth in visits to its sites – covering Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Traffic from mobile is growing and globally, accounts for 30% of traffic. In markets in Asia though, the share is higher, for example, reaching 50% in places like Singapore, Korea and Japan.

“Mobile is no longer a trend but part and parcel of business. It’s not about getting returns – it doesn’t convert as highly as on the website but still converts.”

On lessons learnt since opening in the region, Gray said, “We did a lot of groundwork prior to coming here but I wished we had done more. For the first six to eight weeks, we did a lot of localization work to our websites, but perhaps we could have done more before we arrived.

“We clearly didn’t get a big enough office. Rentals are expensive in Singapore but it would have been cheaper if we had gotten the right size office from the beginning.”

On recruitment of staff, Gray said that Skyscanner, being based in Edinburgh, had always found it more challenging to recruit than companies based in say, London. “We haven’t found it more difficult here than in Edinburgh. The skill sets are high here and equal and even better than what we have recruited at home.”

There are seven nationalities represented across the 10 people and the company is recruiting for Japan, Malaysia and Thailand later in the year.

Gray said that the prospect of Google ITA going global – “it has to” – “has given us the necessary incentive to concentrate on what we are doing and innovate.

“We have introduced new stuff to the site – for example, integrated rail fully into search results in the UK. We will be adding high speed rail in Europe, Russia and India will follow.”

The next development is ‘open-ended’ inspiration.

He said it was possible for smaller players to compete with giants like Google. “Look, Google’s Hotel Finder hasn't killed the OTAs. We focus on doing what we do best.”

Asked if he’s seen differences in customer behaviour in Asia vs Europe, Gray said, “There is still a big tendency for customers in Asian markets to get someone to book their travel for them. But we find the booking flow and use, profile, page views and general user behavior similar to Europe.

“We want people to come to our site and leave quickly - like Google – in less than five pages. Our measurement is the number of people who find what they want and click on the book now button.“

On the development of sites such as Social Flights, which allows people to search and plan their flights together, Gray said, “Individuals on social media don't want corporate messages thrust on them all the time, there is a fine line here to be walked.

“You and me sitting here, we wouldn't appreciate people selling us all the time. We haven't found social media a profitable medium in terms of ROI.

“But I believe there is a lot more to come from social.”

Worldhotels lands first branded hotel in the Philippines

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Worldhotel and Residences Makati is scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2013 in Makati Avenue, Metro Manila.

The deluxe 4 star property features 252 guestrooms, including 72 suites, while the residences will feature 149 serviced apartments. Facilities include four restaurants and two bars, in addition to a ballroom, gym, spa lounge, massage, meeting rooms and business centre.

Worldhotel and Residences Makati is the first of five branded hotels currently earmarked by Worldhotels for development over the next decade.

The unique new‘Worldhotel’ branded hotel solution was launched last year. The first property in Asia was Worldhotel Saltanat in Almaty Kazakhstan, followed by Worldhotel Grand Juna Wuxi in China. It expanded to India recently with the opening of Worldhotel Turquoise Chandigarh.

Under the solution Worldhotels provides consultancy, technical support and management services to independent hotels during construction or renovation. It also brings a recognised and respected identity under the Worldhotels brand – along with sales and marketing through its established global distribution network.

"The branded hotel solution offers one of the most flexible models in the world for upscale independent properties and hotel groups, enabling them to position themselves internationally in the face of competition from global hospitality brands," said Roland Jegge, Worldhotels Vice President Asia-Pacific.

My Destination Launches in Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

My Destination has launched in Singapore as part of a global expansion covering 100 other destinations and spanning 60 countries.

My Destination, which claims to attract 10 million visitors, is a global travel resource powered by a diverse community of local experts on the ground, providing unrivalled local knowledge and unique local deals. “They make travel experiences more enriched, more enjoyable and quite simply, better,” says the company.

“Singapore has become a favourite destination for tourists, fun seekers, shoppers and business people alike. Whether someone is planning a trip to Singapore for pleasure or for business, the aim of My Destination Singapore is to be their prime source of information. With our online features, videos and mobile applications, we are a convenient one-stop solution for travel planning,” said Myriam Ohlig, director at My Destination Singapore.

“We promote Singapore and its local businesses through profiling, videos and 360 virtual tours to showcase restaurants, bars, shops, spas and all kind of service providers and tourist attractions. This way, we introduce local businesses to new customers locally and internationally in just one click, giving them better exposure and higher customer engagement,” added Monika Khaled, director at My Destination Singapore.

Travora Media acquires Nile Project

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Travora Media, which is creating a next-generation media brand in travel with local, social and mobile content services, has acquired The Nile Project, Inc (Nile Media).

Terms of the acquisition of the San Francisco-based company with a portfolio of three websites: NileGuide, 10Best, and Localyte and mobile apps focused on providing local expertise to travelers were not released.

The Nile Media sites specialize in producing content that travel information seekers need to plan their next trip, including top 10 must-see lists, fresh weekly articles from local writers, answers to travel questions from more than 100,000 global community members and tour guides, suggested trip itineraries, and original travel reporting and image galleries showcasing unique themes or events.

Nile Media adds over a million new travelers to the Travora Audience Platform of more than 26 million proven travel consumers.

“In a world of ad inventory commoditization and 'manufactured context,' Travora is moving in the opposite direction by delivering more authentic travel content experiences to our users and sponsors," said Nan Forte, CEO of Travora Media.

She added that the acquisition, the first in a series of initiatives focused on transforming the digital travel consumer experience, brings the company “a complementary audience, a set of resources and a leadership team to our mission of bringing to new levels, trust and joy in travel.”

Josh Steinitz, CEO of Nile Media, will become a principal member of the executive team at Travora Media.
“With the new resources Travora brings, we can accelerate offering consumers access to quality content across all platforms enhanced by the most popular social and community conversations around travel. All this while delivering customized audiences and ad formats to meet the needs of today’s lifestyle marketers."

It's a man's world. Not online it isn't

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The internet entered our life in a suit; complete with a tie, top hat and waistcoat, and appearing as though it would be very comfortable on Wall Street.

Some might say that the travel industry had a very similar appearance for many years, but now the two worlds have collided online and the picture is very different.

Women are not only moving in online, they’re taking a front row seat. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the realms of online travel. The fairer sex is now the primary decision maker when it comes to selecting, planning and booking travel online.

Jasmine Lim, content director for travel metasearch site Wego.com, said “women are definitely in the driving seat as the travel decision maker.”

No stranger herself to the online travel market with more than 10 years of product marketing experience in the area, Lim was a pioneer member of the ZUJI team and has led development efforts across the Asia Pacific before joining Wego early in 2010.

"We’ve seen an enormous uptake of female users of Wego’s travel search facilities. Around 47% of users between the ages of 18 – 54 are women, which just shows that it’s definitely the ladies who are the key decision makers when it comes to travel," she said.

Wego’s female users totalled 51% against a market average in South East Asia of 40%. The company’s database shows that almost all of their female audience rated higher than the market average for the region.

"We know that these are not only single women, either with 41% who have at least one child and 13% with three children, again all higher than the regional market average," Lim observed.

"Our studies revealed that women today are early adopters; more likely to take risks and to try new things, They are a little more health and fashion conscious, and appear to engage freely in impulse shopping."

As early adopters, women who booked through Wego.com more than doubled the SEA's market average, at 23%, compared to the regional score of 9%.

"You will probably see increasing content targeted to the female segment, which is already happening now. Travel suppliers will continue to be creative on this front and probably more social in engaging this customer segment."

Lim said today women are on the move more than ever before for either business or pleasure, which sees them accessing travel sites via mobile devices and making travel decisions faster than usual.

Some of this movement can be attributed to the “Eat, Pray, Love” phenomenon. which has inadvertently encouraged women of all ages to undertake personal journeys, quite often alone or with other women.

"Instead of the obvious shopping, dining and spa holidays travelling has become more of a personal discovery for women and they’re more likely to seek off-the- beaten track destinations while picking up a painting class, cooking classes, wine appreciation and other more immersive experiences," explained Lim.

"I do see an increasing trend of women attending Yoga retreats alone, especially in exotic destinations like India."

Lim is certain the travel industry will see more trips per household in the future due to women taking control of the travel purse strings, and also a likelihood of a divergence of travel products from the mainstream.

"In Asia there are more types of accommodation such as villas and apartments which are relatively cheap in comparison to hotel rooms that women see the value in sharing either in a group of other women, or for the family."

She noted, "To me, women are value-hunters by nature. You will see more females travelling but this will not necessary burn a hole in the household budget."

It appears that the somewhat masculine nature of the online world, particularly when it comes to travel, is adding some lip gloss and taking control of more than who packs the luggage.

“Women will continue to be travel decision makers for a long time,” Lim concluded.

* All the more reason to sign up for WITX-Women In Travel, April 27, Bangkok.

WITX-The Challenge from WebInTravel on Vimeo.

Who says innovation has to happen in a garage?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Even though he himself developed his idea in one, Dr Ravi Mehrotra, president and co-founder of revenue solutions company IDeaS, believes it’s a myth that innovation can only happen in a garage.

A passionate mathematician, his logic is – “one in 1,000 people are innovative. If you have an organization of 10,000 people, you’re bound to have more innovators than if you have 3 people working in a garage.”

In fact, Dr Ravi, who holds more than one dozen patents, believes the best innovation is yet to come for IDeaS to truly solve the problem of “how do you understand demand as a function of price in a stochastic environment”.

The India-born professor, who was instrumental in leading the company to its acquisition by SAS, says he’s now like a kid in a candy store with full access to resources, “tools that have been tested and perfected over time”, to “build the house that I want”.

And the house he wants to build is an enterprise solution that will crack the pricing problem for hospitality – how what you charge at a restaurant impacts on rooms, and what effect does selling function space have on room revenues, and so on.

“They are all inter-related – spa, ballroom, rooms, restaurants, car park. We want to find the right relationship between all these things that will make a hotel stand out against its competitors in whatever measure it wants – whether it’s profitability or market share.”

To Dr Ravi, revenue management is about increasing profitability while managing risks associated with the uncertain nature of demand. He co-founded IDeaS in 1989 as part of his ambition to develop practical solutions to difficult decision problems.

“Research shows that 40% of executives make decisions based on gut rather than analytics or science.”

And as Google changed search and Facebook social media, he says IDeaS changed the way hotels looked at Bid Rates and opportunity cost. “It didn’t exist before in distribution systems. Our customers, groups like Shangri-La and Hilton, had to force PMS vendors and GDS to build these factors into their system, and now it’s an industry standard.”

Dr Ravi’s first trip to Singapore was in 1995 when the company had just sold its solution to the Shangri-La group and “I had to explain to their general managers how the system would make life better for them”.

Asked if it was hard explaining this, he said, “I am a scientist and my reality is not what we feel but what you can measure. I explained the mathematics of it but at the same time, I also didn’t want them to feel there’s a magician behind the curtain.

“The system by itself cannot work things out, neither can people. Man and machine must work together. What technology can do is draw attention to where the system needs help.”

His return to Singapore almost 20 years later is prompted by IDeaS’ ambition to not only expand in Asia but “embrace Asia”.

“There has to be a way of combining Western technology with the service Asia has to offer. I think we’re no longer in a situation where the East has to learn from the West but what we can teach the West.

“For instance, one-on-one revenue management that’s customized to the needs of the individuals, using a combination of people and technology.”

It will also configure its packages to make them more affordable to hotels at all levels, and it will step up training for customers.

“There was a time when a five star hotel would not think twice of spending $10 million to renovate a ballroom but if you asked them to spend $200,000 on a revenue management system, they’d baulk at the idea ¬– but that is changing in a dramatic way.”

While Dr Ravi agrees that the trend towards last minute bookings and changing customer behaviour may make forecasting more challenging, “we now have tools that we didn’t have before to solve new problems”.

The other big impact on revenue management is social media. “What are people saying about me, who are the influencers – how do you fold that into revenue management?”

Asked if he thinks Facebook would still be around in five years, he said, “Yes, it will grow. It will have more functionality. It may not look like the Facebook of today.”

Given that IDeaS’ first client was Northwest Airlines, Dr Ravi said both airlines and hospitality had much to teach each other. “Hotels have room types while airlines are just starting to understand how to sell different seats. Airlines are good with loyalty programmes and developing customer-specific offers – hotels could learn from that.”

The next thing that needs to be tackled as far as revenue management is concerned is education. “We will invest time and energy on education, perhaps create a system that can self-teach revenue managers. Education of revenue management also has to start in schools.”

And the scientist he admires the most? Isaac Newton. Here’s why. “He’d been working on something for a decade and he had all his papers on the table. Then his dog knocked over a candle, a fire started and everything was burnt. Instead of beating the dog, he merely said to the dog, ‘You do not know the damage you’ve done.’

“He was a true scientist. He didn’t get emotional. The damage had been done, there was nothing he could do about it. He had to solve the problem.”

MAS slips in new logo, is it enough to turn airline around?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Can you spot the difference? Well, one's the old logo of Malaysia Airlines and the other, the newly-unveiled one done by Landor Associates (Sngapore), its appointed brand agency for its new A380 fleet.

Malaysia's flag carrier unveiled the new logo rather quietly at a media conference on March 8 when it showcased the livery for its new A380-800 aircraft, which will come into service on July 1 on the Kuala Lumpur-London route.

We suspect the airline didn't want too much attention because the obvious question will be asked, why spend millions of ringgit on a new logo at a time when the airline is bleeding losses and really, what difference will a new logo make to its fortunes at such a challenging time?

Anyway, if you haven't noticed the difference, here they are. Gone's the familiar striking, red and blue that has represented the country and airline since 1987 - replacing it is an all-blue in three tones.

The symbolic wau bukan (traditional Malaysian kite) now flies east as opposed to west. You may wonder at the change in direction, but some suggest this could be good “feng shui”. And the airline will need lots of that to guide it back to profitability.

The old logo, created by Johan Design Associates, was launched on October 15, 1987. It was also then the company changed its name to "Malaysia Airlines" to strengthen the image of its home country, having previously been marketed as Malaysian Airline System.

The media conference was about the only publicity for the “rebranding”, and most reports of the event were on the livery change and not on the logo. However, Malaysia's active bloggers got wind of the change and many expressed surprise as they were unaware their national carrier has turned blue.

Most of the netizens discussing this change have expressed bewilderment over what they felt was the "cloak and dagger" nature of the move, and questioned the necessity for MAS to change its logo.

Many, like this writer, also lamented on the change of the colourful old logo to a dull blue design. It feels gloomy somehow.

"If only there were touches of red to give it life and vibrancy,” added a friend when I showed her the new logo and asked for her view.

The reality though is the airline has to do something - it suffered a loss of RM2.5 billion (US$ 780 million) for its financial year 2011, its biggest ever loss in history.

The logo change came just a few days after the report of the massive financial loss and that's probably why it is played down.

It (change) is part of MAS' turnaround plan to work its way back to profitability with a new look and feel for its A380 flagship product. This super big bird, with a passenger capacity of almost 500 passengers, will fly the lucrative Kuala Lumpur-London route.

But wait, the red and white logo has not completely disappeared as yet. According to the MAS official at the A380 launch last month, the colour scheme and livery (red and blue) of its existing aircraft would remain unchanged for now although its website is sporting the new look.

So for now, it means MAS is sporting two logos? Which do you prefer? The old or new one?

• Video: MAS’ new A380 in Hamburg going through the first phase of painting to prepare for the new livery.

Dreaming is not hazardous, especially when strangers come to your aid

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s Monday morning and I am delaying doing any serious work till at least this evening. And so I picked up a book that I helped bring into the world. I feel like a proud parent in some ways.

The book is called “When I was a kid: Childhood stories by Boey”. The stork brought it by post couple of weeks ago.

Boey, a Malaysian artist living in Newport, California, and known for his art on coffee cups (what a dream job that is eh), started writing about his day to day life in a blog about four years ago.

Then he realized he really didn’t like reading long blogs – which means he won’t be reading this – and so he drew stick figures and wrote couple of lines to tell the stories.

This grew into a book idea and since I guess you can’t make too much money from coffee cup art, he put the project on Kickstarter and that’s where I found him. His is one of the successful projects that raised what it wanted – 112 backers gave him a total of US$8,239. His goal was $7,800.

What I was impressed by was how diligent Boey was in meeting his commitments. If you bought a certain package, he’d promise you a list of things – postcards, items, etc, informing you of his progress.

I received my updates as promised and before I knew it, the book had been completed, published and sent with a personal message. In his activity updates on Kickstarter, he said, “i went to the office supply stores and envelopes were 100 bucks. so i ordered them online instead and it was 21 dollars. mark ups are crazy i tell you.” (No wonder people are going online to buy stuff.)

It’s a sweet book. Simple. Brings back memories of my own childhood in Penang. I guess I connected to that.

But I connected most to his dream of writing and publishing a book. Just as sales people are the easiest to sell to (I think), writers (not publishers) are probably the easiest to talk into helping get books published.

In his blog, Boey says, “The funding I receive from you guys will go into putting the book together. Additional money will be used for creating promotional items for the blog.

“I am thinking T-shirts, figurines, and if the book does well, there will be a second, and I'll use whatever money is left for that. Part of the sales of the book will also go to charity, probably the ones that helps build schools or end world hunger.”

When told “those are big dreams, Boey”, he said, “Well, that's the one thing I do a lot of that doesn't require funding.”

So here I am, Monday morning dreaming, and thinking, it’s great to have dreams and even better when you can reach out to the virtual universe and strangers help you out.

It also happens in the real world. Like last Saturday evening when I was walking home in the rain and a stranger with an umbrella said, “Can I share this with you?” and walked me home.

Now I’d better get off my butt because I just read an article that says “too much sitting may shorten your life”. Luckily, it didn’t say anything about too much dreaming.

GlobalTHEN marries media and tech to scale frontline learning

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

After a decade of analyzing data and trends in travel, tourism and hospitality industry, Ram Badrinathan, formerly PhoCusWright’s man for Asia, saw a problem that needed to be solved – building high quality service at the frontline on a mass scale.

With the support of his former company, he developed a Master Class with CEO Philip Wolf and that further validated his idea of developing a new form of e-learning platform and convinced other investors to buy into the idea.

“I was leveraging the 20-year journey of my education partner Sourabh Sarkar who I believe is going to revolutionize education. So it was really using what Sourabh had designed in scaling education coupled with my understanding of the industry that helped me set up a travel, tourism and hospitality domain learning company.”

GlobalTHEN (Global Travel & Hospitality Education Network) “leverage two of the most powerful forces of the 21st century: media & technology to solve the problem that emerges from scaling expertise and experts”, said Ram.

Ram, who is founder and CEO, says that capital in emerging markets is solving the infrastructure problem with the building of airports, hotels and roads. Technology is solving the distribution and information arbitrage problem.

“No one is solving the human problem, so I am trying to bring the high quality service industry knowledge from the West to the emerging tourism industry in APAC, particularly to frontline staff, drivers, guides, housekeeping etc.”

The change he wants to effect is to “build scaleable high quality low cost highly engaging learning experiences”.

“The traditional model of expensive real estate driven model with lack of high quality faculty focused on information needs to be transformed.

“Our objective is not to give information but to motivate behavior. That is secret of Sourabh Sarkar's OmniDEL learningware. It engages the whole person. We use interactive multimedia, technology, entertainment, music and all the paradigms of engagement from the world of cinema, sports, performing arts and bring that together in the class room, online and now mobile experience.

“We want to scale this to the bottom of the pyramid and frontline who are the customer touch points.”

The first product, "Pawan Ko Kahin Dekha Kya?”, is a multi-media based programme for chauffeurs that aims to transform the way they think and work. “It aims to push the learner to evolve from a mere driver to Pawan, the Super Driver.”

This is Ram’s first entrepreneurial venture and he admits it’s not been easy. “Every stage is difficult but the first sale is definitely among them. That is when as an entrepreneur, you have to hold on and have motivate your team to be relentless.

“There has to be a missionary zeal to get that sale and many more. Once your first sale happens which is small, then immediately you need to think of the bigger number sale.

“The key to being a start-up in education and creating exciting learning ware is that you make a difference to the front line - the bulk of the industry. As an analyst I used to engage with only the senior management; now my products go to the customer facing frontline of the industry.

“The joy of seeing drivers in India who have never really been trained to be engaged by a whole day learning experience which awakens them to the journey of learning is fantastic.”

With proof of concept established, Ram said companies are asking the company for repeat workshops. It trained 200 drivers in February and customers include companies like Tata Motors, EasyCabs, Wings Travel, Olacabs.

“Our objective is to train a million drivers – that is the advantage of an IP model - it is scaleable and this product can be facilitated by drivers and does not require trained facilitators.”

Japanese start-up Trippiece allows like-minded people to plan together

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Meet Trippiece, a Japanese start-up that allows people to share their travel plans and plan trips with like-minded people. It received investment from Tokyo's Samurai Incubate in 2011.

While the website is in Alpha stage in Japanese, Ryutaro Yokoyama (Manager) says they are aiming to make the website available in English and will expand their reach in Asia in the next few months.

Trippiece began with an idea from Founder & CEO, Ian Ishida. Ishida is a student from Tokyo's Chuo University who also manages a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), Unoneicchi. Once, he organised a tour to Bangladesh and realised he was able to gather a number of students whom he had not met within a short time. The tour was made up of several elements which were not offered by any existing travel agents. Even though there wasn't much notice before the trip, Ishida managed to, satisfyingly, organize a trip that consolidated the interests of almost everyone in the group. This was when he realized the opportunity of letting individuals organise their own tours online.

The start-up began with four people including Ishida (pictured right). Kenta Suzuki, the CTO, graduated from Keio University in Semantic Web and Ontology Engineering and is very interested in web application development. He runs the implementation and architecture for Trippiece.

The in-house Designer of Trippiece is Mizuhiro Kio, an Intermedia Art and Science student from Waseda University. He has designed websites and smartphone applications for several companies prior to Trippiece and is currently in charge of site visuals and user interface for this startup.

The final member of the team is Ryutaro Yokoyama, a Business Management student from Waseda University. Ryutaro, who's lived in England, Nepal and the US, is responsible for the overall strategic planning and direction of the company.

Their experiences overseas have contributed to the way they have developed the concept of Trippiece.

According to the team, the problem with the tourism industry is while there are people who are eager to visit new places or find new activities with other people, the services and products that accommodate these varied demands barely exist. The difficulty comes from the fact that the industry cannot yet seem to figure out exactly what the consumer wants. By allowing consumers to propose what they want to do themselves, the industry becomes more aware of the demands of the consumer.

Trippiece comes in by creating a platform for consumers to express where they want to go and why they want to do so. People who then have ideas can choose to share them and create a plan. If they are lucky and there are others who have the same passion, the trip plan could be accomplished together.

Their initial target market is 18~24 year-olds in Japan, the group that has the most available time to travel and might be highly likely to use the service provided. They too have the most probability of making the service a 'trend'. In Japan, there is a tendency whereby people who attend university belong to various communities, called Circles. These circles are hugely defined by their interests ie, people who likes traveling will belong to travel communities. Trippiece hopes that by targeting the right circles, the members will use the service to build their own travel plans. This might then lead to plans that are based on the various interests, adding "colour" to their service.

Following that, Trippiece aims to target women aged 24 - 35. They believe that women create unique travel plans that deserve an interest category of its own. These will consequentially help attract other women travellers to use their service. While the travel plans coming from this sector may not have volume, Trippiece believes this group of travelers tend to plan expensive trips, adding more variety to their offering.

Having worked on Trippiece for over a year, Yokoyama (left) has seen a variety of tours planned by their users. This includes planned tours to visit the tsunami-hit areas in Japan and helping in the survivors' relief efforts on a voluntary basis.

According to Yokoyama, Trippiece has renewed the website several times and through the experience, they have determined that demand for such a service exists. They were able to get regular feedback from users which have greatly helped their development. They were also fortunate in getting the investment from Samurai Incubate before the launch of their website. As of January 2012, Trippiece has also secured another ¥5 million in seed funding.

Trippiece makes money through transactions of travel activities and tours purchased through their website. Advertisement slots are also sold for revenue.

Trippiece is currently focused on engaging users. They plan to launch an information resource hub specializing in self-planned travel experiences. This is expected to receive the attention of more potential users and to bring them to the main portal. The current service is provided free on their website. Trippiece is looking to explore possible business partnerships with travel agents and travel enthusiast groups such as Tabippo.com.

On international expansion, Yokoyama says, "Japanese people may feel better in using products and services with an Asian flavor. Similarly, I think Asian people may feel better using Asian-made web services compared to those from Western countries. Through our experience-sharing platform, we hope to have Asian travel enthusiasts on the planning side, and more European travelers on the participant side of the flow."

Note: The WIT Japan Executive Forum on May 25 in Tokyo will also be a platform to learn about start-ups in the Japanese online travel space.

Top travel sites for March

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Webjet Australia is the top travel website in Australia, while Ctrip.com and Zuji Singapore leads in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively in March 2012 from data compiled by Experian Hitwise

Australia

• Webjet Australia retained its number one spot as top travel agency while Expedia Australia is number two.

• ninemsn Travel climbed up from number 25 in February to number six in March with 3.21% share of visits.

• Wotif.com is still number one in the accommodation category with almost 6% share of visits.

• Qantas tops the list in the airline category, receiving the highest share of visits (23.79%).

Hong Kong

• Ctrip.com continues to lead as the top travel agency in Hong Kong with an increased share of visits from 7% in February to 8.26%.

• Qunar.com rose from the number nine position to number two with 6.61% share of visits.

• Yahoo! Travel Hong Kong is still the top go-to website in the c destination and accommodation at 9.39% visits share.

• Cathay Pacific still holds the highest share of visits (32.71%) under the commercial airline category. Hong Kongers, however, keep budget airlines on their list to check when travelling. Tiger Airways rose from fourth to second with 6.28% visit share, followed by Dragon Air and AirAsia.

Singapore

• ZUJI Singapore keeps the top spot with 10.46% share of visits in the travel agency category.

• Agoda.com continues to hold the number one position in the destination and accommodation category with almost 15% visits share.

• Tiger Airways and Jetstar still occupy first and second spot respectively in the commercial airline category, receiving the highest share of visits. This category saw a new entry in the top 10 with Scoot, the soon-to launch low cost carrier under the Singapore Airlines group.

Experian Hitwise Travel Data - March 2012

TripAdvisor gets friendlier with new Facebook feature

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The “Friend of a Friend” feature on TripAdvisor's site highlights trusted reviews and opinions from friends of Facebook user’s friends.

Travellers are now 10 times more likely to see personalised travel advice on its site, according to TripAdvisor.

"Travel advice from friends is incredibly useful, but your inner circle may not have all the answers on a particular hotel or destination you are researching,” says Adam Medros, vice president of global product for TripAdvisor.

“The Friend of a Friend feature increases the probability of an even greater personalized TripAdvisor experience by highlighting opinions from a larger network of travellers that know the people you trust.”

TripAdvisor estimates that a quarter of its reviewers have a Facebook account, each with an average of 190 people in their friend network. With access to friends of friends the average network can soar to tens of thousands, making social travel planning exponentially more useful, it said.

Users, when researching a hotel, restaurant or attraction, will see their friends' reviews first, followed by reviews of their friends' friends. They can also use the TripAdvisor private message service to ask anyone in the network for further advice.

They can adjust their privacy settings on Facebook to limit what their Facebook friends can see on TripAdvisor. Those who do not want access to their friends’ travel advice, or don’t want their friends to see their own reviews, can opt out.

The feature is now available on TripAdvisor sites worldwide with the exception of China and Egypt.

Service moments that ought to be shared

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I suppose we are so unused to good service these days – and I mean especially in big cities where 70% of us will live by 2020 or something like that – that when we encounter them, we are truly surprised.

And so I must share these two unexpected service moments I had last week.

The first was at check-in at the Grand Hyatt Jakarta. I had made a last-minute decision to visit and booked my room online direct two hours before I was due to fly. Chose the best available rate, booked and confirmation came via email almost immediately after, with instructions on how to get to hotel.

Got to hotel in over an hour – no easy feat given Jakarta’s traffic which makes me wonder why all the transportation companies are called something Bird (Silver Bird, Blue Bird, Big Bird, Golden Bird) when the last thing you do is fly in this city.

At check-in, I asked if wifi was included. The staff said no but I could buy the US$75 package which would include breakfast, cocktails and internet. Good upselling tactic. I said I only wanted the Internet and why wasn’t it included when this is what customers expect these days? I mentioned Shangri-La, their competitor down the road, which has free wifi no matter what package you buy.

You can tell she’s used to such comments. She nodded and said, “Yes, I understand and we have plans to do that in future.”

“Well, it doesn’t help me now,” I said.

Whereupon she said to me, “Since this is your first stay with us, I will include wifi for you,” and gave me a user name and password.

Took me by surprise. Usually you'd get a sorry and a mumble ...

The second encounter was at the Starbucks at Millenia Walk, Singapore. I was running late, time was tight and I didn’t want to waste more time ordering and waiting for my coffee when I needed the time to discuss a project.

The staff came to our table, offering us sample cookies to try.

I asked him if I could order coffee from him and if he could bring it to me. I explained why. He said, “No problem.” Took my order and money and a minute later, my latte arrived.

“This is so not the norm in Singapore,” my friend remarked.

So drum roll please for service staff who use their initiative to please customers.

Don't mess with HK Airlines girls, they kick butt

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Next time you fly with Hong Kong Airlines, don’t mess with their cabin attendants – they can literally kick butt.

In the age of differentiate or die, the airline is pulling a new public relations stunt - literally. It has revealed that all operational flight attendants are now fully Wing Chun martial arts trained, since the initiative was launched in March 2011.

(Its new commercial on YouTube - see video below - is also based on this differentiation, pretty cool video actually).

Wing Chun is the only form of martial arts created by a woman. It enhances general well being and reinforces physical health and mental wellness. The Wing Chun training is compulsory for all of the airline’s cabin crew members. It aims to promote inner balance and core strength, needed for the rigors of the job, and enables them to deal with any potential challenges.

Primarily taught as self defense, the moves are designed to be accomplished in a restrictive space – like on board an aircraft. Apparently, the airline gets about 12 “disruptive” passengers a month so these moves can come in handy.

Yang Jian Hong, President for Hong Kong Airlines, stated: “We are very proud to celebrate the completion of Wing Chun martial arts training across all of our operational flight attendants.

“Aside from the obvious physical, mental and safety benefits, this demonstrates our commitment to delivering exceptional passenger service. The initiative has proved so popular with our flight attendants that we are now offering the training to our internal staff.”

Each cabin crew member must complete a three hour training course before they operate on their first flight. Flight attendants train in their uniforms to prepare them for real life situations.

The first ever all Club Class Hong Kong Airlines service between London and Hong Kong launched on March 8.

In January, the airline placed an order for 10 Airbus A380 aircraft worth about US$3.8 billion at list prices, signaling ambitious expansion plans between Hong Kong and Europe. That order though could be in jeopardy over growing tensions between China and the European Union over the carbon emissions trading scheme with the airline threatening to cancel it should the row escalate.

It was also due to list early this year but said it was holding off until the third quarter due to market volatility, something even these newly-trained martial arts cabin attendants cannot fix.

The commercial's pretty cool too

Indonesia's online promise is huge but the earth remains shaky

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

On the plane returning from Jakarta yesterday, I was reading an article by Banyan Tree executive chairman Ho Kwon Ping. He was warning Asia’s business leaders about “hubris in Asian triumphalism”.

He said, “My biggest fear is that in the rush towards the exuberant expectation that Asia’s time has finally come, we will fall victim to the biggest reason for failure in the history of the world: simple hubris.”

His premise is that while Asia was getting some things right, there were others that needed correction – “ethical wealth creation”, for one, to bridge the divide between rich and poor. “Asia requires profoundly different and diverse, innovative thought leadership if its economic rise is to result in a sustainable, new paradigm for cilvilisational progress,” he wrote.

“In particular, Asia needs to inculcate a virtuous cycle whereby business, political and social leaders all interact to create new norms of economic, social and political behaviour as well as values. Simply following what used to work in the West is no roadmap for future success.”

His words resonated because I had just spent 24 hours in Jakarta, caught up in the euphoria of business leaders who are dreaming and scheming of a brand new tomorrow for their businesses.

After China and India, Indonesia’s the most-watched market right now, particularly in the online and ecommerce sector. Smartphone penetration is high among urban folk. They have skipped PC and gone straight to mobile - scenes depicted in this photo (left) are typical where the mobile holds more attraction than the person you are with.

The country is at tipping point for an affluent middle class to emerge, people tell me. Given Indonesia’s population, they say that makes up nearly 20 million addressable consumers with travel increasingly an aspiration and necessity.

Credit card penetration is low but consumers are used to making payments via ATM and bank transfers through their mobile. Solutions providers are working on payment gateways that will eventually solve the payment problem.

The online travel market remains wide open for someone to triumph and dominate.

Foreign brands such as booking.com and Agoda are strong on predominantly Bali hotel bookings but this country, as we know, is more than just Bali.

RajaKamar, the hotel portal, set up by three competitors-turned-collaborators is making a serious play for the domestic hotel market. The Panorama, Smailing and Dwidaya combo cannot be underestimated in their control and influence over the Indonesian travel market, with their interests across multi-sectors of the industry.

The opportunity and big problem to solve is flights with more airlines coming into play. Lion Air’s record US$22.4 billion order with Boeing this February made everyone sit up. That’s 230 airplanes, including 201 737 MAXs and 29 next-generation 737-900 ERs – obviously they are expecting massive growth.

Singapore-based Tiger Airways bought a 33% stake in the beleaguered Mandala Airlines and the restructured carrier will adopt the Tiger Airways business model, and plans to offer low fare travel to international and domestic Indonesian destinations located within a 5-hour flying radius.

Wego, the Singapore-based meta-search, is taking a stab at solving the pain of flight search and has launched a local language site and beefed up resources in Jakarta and plans to use this as a hub to recruit developers and pilot projects.

Flocations, the search site that pitched during the WIT Start-Up Gallery last year, is also making a play for Indonesia with funding from JFDI Asia.

The one to watch is a new local flight start-up is www.ezytravel.co.id, set up by Dwidaya, one of the big three travel families in the RajaKamar venture.

Valadoo.com is making a play for the hotel+activities space, focused on the domestic market for now.

Investors are flocking in to assess opportunities. There is certainly no lack of interest or funding.

Those that have observed the Indonesian online travel market say it is most similar to India in terms of its characteristics and you can therefore bet that India's MakeMyTrip, which is expanding in South-east Asia, will not be left out of the race to tap this next big market which everyone says is at inflexion point to take off.

You can feel it in the shopping malls. Big brands everywhere. Crowded restaurants and cafes. Hot dining spots are packed. I felt like I had just walked out from one shopping mall in Singapore to another.

I left for the airport therefore in appropriately high spirits. And then came the messages – earthquake in Aceh, tsunami warning, panic across the region. Friends from Phuket, Penang and Sri Lanka messaged me, asking if I was safe in Jakarta.

As big as the earthquake was on the Richter scale, it didn’t do too much damage, thank goodness. But it served as a warning and reality check – that just when you think everything’s hunky dory, you get a reminder that we live in a world where anything can still happen, and does and we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves.

Hubris has no place in today’s world of constant shocks.

WIT Japan brings together Japanese and global brands

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The WIT Japan Executive Forum, set for May 25 in Tokyo, is shaping up into what could be the first and highest level exchange of ideas and knowledge about the online travel space between Japan and the region.

More than 60 travel industry leaders from across the region and within Japan, representing top brands on both sides, will gather at Hotel Nikko to discuss key trends and issues under the theme of “Bridging Japan and The Online Travel World”.

The programme has been built from the ground up based on input from the participants. “This is a collaborative agenda,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, editor and founder of Web In Travel. “We want to ensure there is real exchange and two-way learning.”

She added, “This event would also not be possible without our champions on the ground – Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic and Aya Aso, CEO of AGORA Hospitalities – who have volunteered their time and energy to put it together. For that, I am grateful.”

Said Shibata, “Japanese travel players know the world is big, that Expedia and Priceline are big and that Asia is there, but they don’t really know in what kind of magnitude and what they are really doing. I hope this event will enable players to understand what is going on in the world and to think globally.

“For the international delegates, it’s a great opportunity to meet so many people in the online industry – even for us – at the same time and to learn about the Japanese market. There are real differences – for example, there is still a strong culture in packaged tours in Japan unlike elsewhere.

“It’d also be healthy for us to start seeing innovation and disruption in the Japanese online space.”

The Forum has received resounding support from the industry. Sponsors include A-Care Systems (Experian), AGORA Hospitalities, All Nippon Airways, Expedia Affiliate Network Japan, Expedia Japan, Japan Airlines, Ikyu, iJTB, Las Vegas Sands, Hotel Nikko Tokyo, Nihon Kotsu, Rakuten, Recruit, TripAdvisor Japan, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Solare Hotels & Resorts and Venture Republic (travel.jp/hotel.jp).

Guests flying into Tokyo include Adrian Currie, Chairman of Agoda, Dan Lynn, Managing Director of AirAsia Expedia, Azran Osman Rani, CEO of AirAsiaX, Simon Nowroz, President and Managing Director, Travelport Asia Pacific, Fritz Demopoulos, Queen’s Road Capital and John Mims, Global Director of Sales and Marketing, Las Vegas Sands Corp, among others. Hotel brands represented include Starwood, Shangri-La, Accor, Worldhotels and Kosmpolito.

Japanese brands that will be represented include the top three OTAs, Rakuten, Recruit and Ikyu, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, hotel groups such as Solare Hotels & Resorts, Ishin Hotels Group and Hoshino Resorts, the top inbound players (iJTB, Hankyu, KNT, HIS and NTA). Google, Twitter, Toocoo and Groupon will also be speaking at the forum.

The WIT Japan Executive Forum is a follow-up on the Sugoi! Japan campaign launched last year with Trust International to promote Japan inbound. At the WIT Conference, the Sugoi! Japan night raised S$12,000 for Living Dreams, a foundation which looks after orphans of the tsunami.

Tickets at US$250 are available for those who wish to “observe” the event. If you are interested, email Gerry Pang.

The best ideas are collaborative; we learnt this in a classroom

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s been a while since I sat in a classroom for more than an hour but last Saturday, I found myself sitting for four hours at an SMU (Singapore Management University) World Travel & Tourism Class – and guess what, the time just flew.

I was there with Sue Heilbronner, CEO of TravelShark, who I had roped in at the last minute to help me judge the pitches for our WITNext Summercamp event on June 21-22 at Artspace@Helutrans. Also with us was Syazanah Haniff, who is running WITNext.

Prof Aaron Hung had asked if we would submit our event for this term’s competition – the scores go towards their overall grades – so it’s a pretty serious undertaking.

Our brief to the students was: Come up with a marketing plan to drive participants to our Summercamp, an activity programme for the live event that would be fun, enriching and engaging and a list of exhibitors/sponsors they’d like to see at the event.

We also asked each team to produce a video on “My Dream Job” as part of the competition we will be launching for the Summercamp. (We will share these videos at a later stage, one of them brought tears to Sue's eyes.)

There were two other projects – one involving a marketing campaign for a destination and another for a retail travel agency. I won’t share those because that’s not my place to do so but have to say, the three teams that took on our Summercamp delivered impressive presentations.

I suppose it’s because the “WITNext Summercamp: Travel. Not Just A Job” is a project that speaks to their hearts and plight. Most of them are about to leave school to face that moment of truth when they have to step into that big world out there and get a job and, as we know, the best ideas are personal, when they matter to you yourself.

One team (Destination) shared a survey they did, showing that among the most aspired industries, banking/finance (43%) and marketing/advertising (35%) still led travel and tourism (33%).

What I liked about this was that the students saw this as an opportunity, not a problem.

Especially since there was “high intention” expressed by the respondents to join travel and tourism. Positive perceptions include fun, hospitality, exciting while negative perceptions were, exhausting, unprofitable, boring, low pay.

Among sources of information, job portals were the highest, at 84%, followed by recommendation from friends (65%) – showing the power of social yet again. Employment agencies came next at 40%.

Another team (Airplane) shared research that showed that while tourism was rather high in the “interest in joining” quadrant, the reality was tourism had the lowest employment among youths (20-29), according to Singapore employment figures. The top sector was public service/education, followed by financial & insurance and manufacturing.

When asked why they wanted to join travel and tourism, the responses were “fun, travel, people interaction”.

All the teams (the third team being Compass) showed creativity with marketing ideas. Some were probably harder to execute than others but simple ideas such as “Guess The Job”, Facebook competitions and games and Twitter campaigns were definitely do-able. It shows the high social engagement desired by youths in Singapore.

Research done by the teams showed that we should use Facebook as our primary communication vehicle, followed by our own website and the web in general.

In terms of activities, they wanted, in this order, informational talks, sharing of experiences, and practical activities. Also desired were soft skills training and knowledge/quizzes. The Compass team came up with the “Last Board Standing” game which looked quite fun – we might try it.

One cool idea was for us to structure the programme into three stages – Know Yourself, Know The Industry, and Finding A Match. Thanks, Team Compass.

As for the exhibitors they wanted to see at the Summercamp, they wanted diversity – from cruises to resorts to online travel agencies to adventure companies to hotels and airlines.

“We know there are great jobs out there, just that we don’t know about them,” said one of the team members.

This is the pain we hope to address with the WITNext Summercamp with the collaboration of the very same people we want to address. Thanks, Prof Aaron and his students.

Check out our programme here. It is free to students and job seekers. Space is limited so sign up first with syaz@witnext.com

Travel companies interested in joining us on this journey as sponsors, contact syaz@witnext.com as well.

Companies and organisations that have committed to taking part as sponsors include: Abacus, Accor, Brand Karma, e27, AirAsia Expedia, Girls In Tech, Kosmopolito Hotels & Resorts, MakeMyTrip, TMS Asia Pacific, TravelStart and Worldhotels. Our industry partners include HSMAI and Singapore Hotels Association.

Here's how we do it at Scoot, says 'Chief Cash Cow'

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Proving that customers are motived by low fares, Scoot, Singapore’s new low cost airline, sold 30,000 seats in less than a week after it announced S$88 fares for its launch flights to Sydney.

“We are an online retailer that just happens to sell flights,” said Scoot’s head of commercial, Steven Greenway (left), who spoke at the Google Thinktravel event in Singapore. “We want to sell a range of ancillaries on the most cost-effective channels.”

This thinking explains why the website will be the cornerstone of Scoot’s commercial strategy and why digital will be the cornerstone of its marketing. “We want to own the customer experience,” said Greenway, who described himself as “chief cash cow” at the Singapore Airlines-owned subsidiary.

He said digital has clear ROI (return on investment). It supports trial and price lead advertising, it uses the same platform cross-markets and “Google dominates so it’s reasonably simple”.

The question is, “will guest research through us or simply book through? Do I have to be everything to everyone or do I just have to have a super good booking engine?”

The booking engine which he described as “simple and fast” was built in four months. A good 90% of visitations go straight to the booking engine. “Do we need more? Do we need reviews? TripAdvisor already does that. We will become more functionally rich and possibly add maps and guides.”

Although it is a crowded bidders’ market in search, Greenway says search still delivered clear ROI. On meta-search flight sites such as Kayak, he said, “I think they’re only scratching the surface. They are interesting but expensive, more expensive than OTAs.

“Meta-search cannot survive without air content so there has to be a middle ground.”

Scoot has taken the leap into social media and is putting considerable resources into this channel. “We use it to drive sign-ups for our EDMs,” said Greenway. “I am not sure about it being a revenue platform.”

It will be used for notification to customers such as IT issues or flight delays, and for engaging the community through competitions.

The thing with social media is, you have to be prepared to show everything and you cannot delete negative comments. Scoot’s Facebook page currently has about 53,000 members. It’s also found videos as an effective way of communicating and has its own YouTube channel.

The most effective medium though remains EDMs, he said. “All our emails will be dynamic based on profile and offer rich content delivery opportunity. It sounds very basic but no one does it really well.”

Scoot gets 30-40% click-through straight to its booking engine.

Greenway also shared these tips with digital marketers in the audience:
• Measure the effectiveness of your media from multiple sources
• Be tailored and as interactive as possible
• What works for one industry might not for another
• Get a grip on what is going on yourself - don't outsource content
• Don't dump people on your front doorstep
• Use niche specialists who know what is going on

“It is easy to be distracted these days. The key is to get the basics right, executive well and continue to experiment.”

Expedia acts to make hotel reviews 'accessible and relevant-

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

With the battle being fought over hotel reviews and which sites are to be trusted more, Expedia has announced “a thorough overhaul” of its hotel reviews feature to make its “verified hotel reviews more accessible and relevant to prospective travelers”.

As a start, it will incorporate all the verified reviews from its sister company, Hotels.com®, into its collection which will bring the total number of verified reviews available to Expedia customers to more than 7.5 million.

The move comes months after the hive-off of TripAdvisor from the parent company, and amid continuing controversy over the issue of fake reviews on TripAdvisor. In February this year, it came under fire from the Advertising Standards Authority of the UK over its claim that it contains "more than 50 million honest travel reviews and opinions from real travellers around the world".

Expedia says its reviews are vetted and verified through a series of multiple steps that ensure the validity of customer reviews, including that of making sure the reviews are posted by travelers who have paid for a room in the hotel they are reviewing.

It highlights that one of the most important changes to the reviews programme is in its relevancy. Travelers can now write reviews for a particular audience of their choosing, such as dog lovers, adrenaline junkies or foodies. When a mother is looking for a kid-friendly hotel in a large city, she will be able to sort through a collection of reviews written by other mothers who have stayed with their children in that city.

Reviewers have an option to choose their review target audience as families, business travelers, couples, students or “other,” with the final category an open field. About two million existing million existing reviews have been categorized as written for families, business travelers and couples.

Also, in addition to the photos provided by the hotels, Expedia now allows reviewers to include their own photos in their review, to make those reviews even more descriptive.

“Travelers will be able to see user photos, and reviews written for travelers that share their interests,” said John Kim, Senior Vice President, Expedia. “When they come to Expedia, we provide them with the best travel decision making experience on the web.”

The idea was to create a rich, interactive way for customers to filter and sort reviews. Travelers can now find relevant content quickly and can share that content with their traveling companions, friends and relatives. They can also sort reviews by rating, date submitted, language, traveler type and photos and share reviews (both their own and others’) via Facebook and Twitter.

Expedia has also implemented a “thank the reviewer” feature so readers can express their appreciation to the reviewer if that review has been helpful. The process of submitting reviews has also been streamlined and simplified.

AirAsia X's giving away a plane!

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Malaysia Airlines started the “reward your fans with free flights” with its recent social media campaign, "The Big Flight" competition on its official YouTube brand channel to offer a free joyride for the winner and three friends on the airline's Airbus A380 aircraft in June (read story).

Now AirAsia X has gone a step further. It is holding a competition, which will reward a lucky fan of its Australia Facebook page and 302 of his/her Facebook friends with the temporary gift of an Airbus A330-300 aircraft (pictured left) on a free Sydney-Kuala Lumpur return flight. They also have three nights’ free accommodation to enjoy the sights and sounds of Kuala Lumpur before returning home on their "private plane*.

All the fans have to do is to enter the competition via a specially designed Friendsy app available on AirAsia Australia Facebook page. The app features the Pick A Seat diagram from the AirAsia’s website, which allows entrants to fill the plane’s seats with their Facebook friends either manually or via an auto fill button

The competition, believed to be the world’s first to be organised in an A330 aircraft, is to celebrate AirAsia X’s new daily Sydney-Kuala Lumpur service launched on April 2.

The winner will be chosen on June 12 and his/her name published in The Australian June 19.

The AirAsia Friendsy plane will depart November 2 from Sydney Airport to Kuala Lumpur and return to Sydney on November 5.

"Our bold move is part of our social media promotion drive offering our awesome guests a little X-citement, while testing our social media strength and influence. We believe that the idea will also lift our brand further in Australia and surrounding region," said AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani (pictured below).

He added that apart from the airline’s sense of fun and adventure, “it’s our category leading efficiency and service that makes it possible for us to offer this amazing trip of a lifetime.”

Azran added that taking part in this contest would also lead entrants to make a number of thought-provoking decisions.

"For example, what if you have more than 302 friends? And which 11 friends will you choose to join you in the Premium Flat Beds? Our advice, it’s time to think hard about who your real friends are!" he added.

Currently AirAsia has over 65,000 followers/fans at its Australia Facebook page. As a group the airline has over 2.3 million Facebook fans from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore.

Pinterest - or should it be called Finterest?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

There was a certain irony to the fact that while the panelists on the webinar were discussing the rise of Pinterest and the descent of Twitter, we, the audience, were busy posting our comments on Twitter.

But such are the contradictions of social media and, perhaps, the logic of women?

The webinar I was listening to was called “Women and Social Media”, run by Social Media Today, and while it was primarily based on research done by the Blogher Publishing Network, and was American-centric, I nevertheless found it interesting because, well, social is social however you dice it and women are women, however you slice it.

What I took away from it was that women are the drivers of social media but not all social media’s created equal between the sexes.

Pinterest, for example, could well be called Finterest with more than 80% of active users being women.

I have to confess, I am addicted to it – and one night, was up till 3am pinning away to what purpose, I know not. The next morning, I met a girlfriend for coffee and I instantly recognized a fellow pinner. It’s those dark circles. “Hey, you need to pin up those eyebags,” I said.

I haven’t yet figured out how Pinterest could help my business but what the heck, all work and no play makes for dull girls. There’s something very seductive about the idea of having blank canvases on which to paint, er, pin.

According to Blogher research shared during the webinar, 19% of women online use Pinterest – and that’s just after a year – while Twitter’s adoption is at 21% after six years. Could Twitter be facing an identity crisis, asked the panelists?

To me, Twitter is very linear – and it always feels like you’re shouting at people, rather than conversing with them. But it’s great for media to break news and headlines – and so it serves its purpose.

Foursquare’s not very popular with girls – the panelists called it the creep factor. Data suggests that men are hanging out on Foursquare at a 2:1 ratio compared to women. Men apparently like the “badges” thing that makes them “mayors” of locations. I couldn’t care less about that but to some guys I know, it’s a big deal.

On Facebook, women outnumber men by about the same ratio. Women also behave differently on Facebook from men. For example, more men say they are single, women describe themselves more and women are responded to more often. “The language of Facebook is all about “liking,” “sharing” and “friending,” terms most often associated with female communication styles,” I quote one marketing blog.

During the webinar, Elisa Camahort of Blogher said her survey also showed that for the first time, adoption of Facebook was leveling off and she predicted that young kids would be exiting Facebook this year “because their parents are on it”.

Also leveling off are coupon deals – “we can only eat so many salads and have so many manicures”.

What’s hot for 2012 – social shopping sites, social photo apps and, of course, Pinterest.

Now excuse me, it’s 3am – I have to go pin something on my “Famous Women Travellers” board. Follow me.

Note: Want to find out more about how women behave online so you can better reach and engage with them? Sign up for WITX-Women In Travel, April 27, Bangkok

TravelShark unveils 30 unique travel discoveries

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The first 30 winners in TravelShark's first quarterly TravelShark Awards are a collection of rare discoveries and unique finds divided into three categories - People, Places and Things.

The awards programme is designed to recognize the freshest, most inspiring travel experiences across the globe.

Pictured left: Imperial Boathouse, Koh Samui

Topping the list is the water slide at Golden Nugget Las Vegas for top honors as the sharkiest discovery for the first quarter of 2012. The slide at The Tank shoots guests through a 200,000-gallon saltwater aquarium filled with 300 kinds of fish, including sharks (see video below).

"We’re thrilled to let the world know about this first especially sharky group of Sharky Award Winners,” said Sue Heilbronner, CEO of TravelShark. "It’s a mere coincidence that this quarter’s top Sharky honoree actually features sharks; anything that creates surprise and delight in travellers – including hotel rooms in igloos, retinal scanners for security and general managers who exceed the wildest guest expectations – is a qualifying feature for a Sharky Award."

Also on the winning list are:

• The Imperial Boathouse in Koh Samui - a luxury hotel that features boat-shaped guest bungalows and an enormous boat-shaped pool.

• Flamingo Air in Cincinnati, Ohio - a charter flight service that actually encourages, shall we say, “mile-high” activities.

• Randy Rivera of The Andaman in Langkawi - a “Coral Curator” who spearheads the Andaman’s coral conservation project, and offers children the unique opportunity to learn about and nurture their own coral polyps.

Other winners include the Crowne Plaza Semarang, Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma, the Wanderlust in Singapore, Hotel Marlowe, Hotel Monaco, Hotel Tomo, Hyatt Regency Maui and Ace Hotel Seattle.

This quarter’s Sharky Award winners can be found in14 different countries and comprise hotels, monuments, hotel employees, restaurants, and everything in between.

TravelShark announces a new Sharky Award winner each week, with a larger group of winners announced once every quarter.The awards are open to the public and members of the travel industry.

Each Sharky Award winner is featured on TravelShark.com and receives extra prominence on location-based TravelShark sites in the form of an eye-catching badge.

Click here to see all the winners or nominate your own Sharky Award candidate.

TripAdvisor's top hotels for families

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

TripAdvisor’s 2012 Travellers’ Choice award-winning Hotels for Families features 504 properties in 25 markets around the world including Asia, Australia, South Pacific, Africa, Caribbean, Europe and United States.

In Asia, Club Med Sahoro – Karikachi Kogen in Shintoku-cho, Japan (pictured below) came in first while Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley in Madikeri, India took the second place.

In Thailand, Phuket laid claim to six of the 10 top hotels in the country while Hua Hin, Bangkok, Koh Samui and Mae Ai had one winner each. The Chava Resort in Phuket (pictured below) took the first place in Thailand and sixth in Asia.

In Indonesia, Club Med Ria Bintan (pictured below) was crowned the top hotel. Bali secured six out of the 10 top winning hotels, Bintan gained two while Bandung and Pulau Sugi had a winner each.

In Malaysia, Casa del Rio Melaka (pictured below) clinched the top spot followed by Somerset Ampang Kuala Lumpur and Jonker Boutique Hotel in Melaka.

Award winners were chosen based on the hotels most highly rated by those who travelled with family and on millions of reviews and opinions from travellers around the world.

Top 10 Hotels in Asia

1. Club Med Sahoro - Karikachi Kogen, Shintoku-cho, Japan

2. Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley, Madikeri, India

3. Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, Hong Kong, China

4. Radhika Beach Resort, Diu, India

5. Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Vaishno Devi, Katra, Katra, India

6. The Chava Resort, Phuket, Thailand

7. The White Hotels, Katra, India

8. Lee Garden Service Apartment Beijing, Beijing, China

9. Club Med Ria Bintan, Bintan, Indonesia

10. Shervani Hilltop, Nainital, India

Top 10 Hotels in Thailand

1.The Chava Resort, Phuket

2. Marriott's Phuket Beach Club, Phuket

3. Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort & Villas, Phuket

4. Blue Lagoon Resort Hua Hin, Hua Hin

5. Marriott Mai Khao Beach, Phuket

6. Courtyard Phuket at Surin Beach, Phuket

7. Mayfair, Bangkok - Marriott Executive Apartments, Bangkok

8. Andara Resort and Villas, Phuket

9. ShaSa Resort & Residences, Koh Samui, Koh Samui

10. Maekok River Village Resort, Mae Ai

Top 10 Hotels in Indonesia

1. Club Med Ria Bintan, Bintan

2. The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali, Bali

3. Villa Awang Awang, Bali

4. Club Med Bali, Bali

5. Telunas Beach Resort, Pulau Sugi

6. Nikoi Island, Bintan

7. The Villas Bali Hotel & Spa, Bali

8. Padma Resort Bali at Legian, Bali

9. Golden Flower, Bandung

10. Alam Indah, Bali

Top 10 Hotels in Malaysia

1. Casa del Rio Melaka, Melaka

2. Somerset Ampang Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur

3. Jonker Boutique Hotel, Melaka

4. Tanjong Jara Resort, Dungun

5. Courtyard @ Heeren Boutique Hotel, Melaka

6. The Andaman Langkawi, Langkawi

7. The Danna Langkawi, Malaysia, Langkawi

8. Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, Kota Kinabalu

9. Prince Hotel & Residence, Kuala Lumpur

10. Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa, Pulau Penang

View full list of winning hotels

Buyers' registration for ITB Asia 2012 opens

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Messe Berlin (Singapore), organiser of ITB Asia, has opened registration for this year’s buyer programme, which is enhanced with the addition of the "Group" and “Individual” categories.

New buyers can register for partial hosting status under the “Individual” category, and enjoy 50% off early bird savings from now till June 1.

Partial hosted buyers enjoy more flexibility and can choose to attend ITB Asia 2012 on any two days of the three-day show. They are required to attend a total of 15 appointments, and will enjoy similar benefits to fully hosted buyers excluding air passage.

Fully hosted buyer application under the “Individual” category starts from July 2. They are required to attend 30 appointments.

"Knowing that time is of the essence for buyers at the show we introduced the partial hosted buyer category last year to give buyers with tight travelling schedules more flexibility to participate in the show and manage their appointment schedules." said Nino Gruettke, ITB Asia executive director (pictured below).

All potential buyers will undergo a stringent assessment process. They will be evaluated based on their calibre and experience to ensure that only the best buyers will enter the pre-scheduled appointment system.

ITB Asia encourages exhibitors to nominate buyers they would like to meet at the show. Once approved the exhibitors will be given a code to invite recommended buyers to register under the "Group" category.

In an independent post-ITB Asia 2011 survey over 97% of hosted buyers said they would recommend the programme to business partners, while over 95 percent showed intent to participate again this year.

ITB Asia 2012, which is in its fifth year. will be held from October 17 to 19 October at The Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Last year the show attracted 7,511 attendees, an increase of around 14% from 2010, representing 91 countries, 50% more compared to 2010.

Roomorama's lofty goal to become 'Expedia' of short-term accommodation

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Roomorama.com, which merged with Lofty.com yesterday in a deal which also brought seed funding of US$2.1 million, aims to be the biggest online marketplace for professionally-managed properties by year end.

The merger, which sees Lofty.com being rebranded Roomorama (the website declares the name change), brings it closer to the goal of becoming the Expedia of short-term accommodation, said co-founder of Roomorama, Frederico Folcia who spoke to WIT a few days before the announcement.

This means customers being able to book professionally-managed properties instantly as they do hotels. “We want to be the one-stop shop for people booking apartments or houses,” he said.

Lofty.com is a Europe-focused short-term rental site founded by Fabrice Grinda and managed by his team of experienced vacation rental professionals. Roomorama.com, which launched in New York in May 2008, is now headquartered in Singapore with a primary goal being to grow inventory and demand in Asia Pacific. Investors in the venture include Jose Marin, PROfounders Capital L.P., Lerer Media Ventures L.P., and Thrive Capital Partners.

“This is an exciting time for all of us,” said Fabrice Grinda (right), founder of Lofty, who is also the Co-CEO of OLX Inc. and has investments in several other ventures. “By combining the strengths of both companies, Roomorama will now be the leading marketplace for mid-range to high-end rentals.”

Roomorama saw exponential growth last year, reporting an average gross booking value of US$1,330 with over 80% of bookings for 8-14 nights. In Asia Pacific, growth has tripled, in just over a year after it expanded into the region.

According to Folcia, the company earns a transaction fee of 8-12% from guests.

The website, available in 11 languages, currently lists 50,000 properties in more than 3,600 locations, and is aiming to more than double inventory by end of 2012, with over 20% of the listings in the region. About 80% of inventory is comprised of professionally managed private properties, and four percent is shared.

“The strength of the combined team gives me great confidence that we will deliver what the short-term rental industry and its customers have been seeking – higher quality, improved reliability, and a swifter booking process”, says Roomorama co-founder and co-COO Jia En Teo.

According to Folcia (left), the original goal of Roomorama was to make the experience of renting an apartment of strangers seamless and safe. It wasn’t that different from Airbnb, he said, but the following year, the founders saw a bigger opportunity in professionally-managed properties.

“We wanted to solve a simple problem – build comprehensive inventory and make it seamless and safe to make a booking, like buying a hotel room.”

Being a pioneer in this space, Folcia admits there are grey issues to be tackled for example, the definition of “professionally-managed” which varies by markets as well as the issue of insurance although this is less of a concern as professionally-managed properties tend to have insurance coverage.

The key challenge, he said, is raising awareness of the concept “that staying in a house and apartment is safe”.

“In Asia, this is new. People perceive it’s shared.”

Roomorama has 45 staff in New York and a total of 24 staff spread across Singapore, Cebu and Beijing. It is launching its new website next week.

Bootstrapped from launch, the first two years were extremely difficult, said Folcia. “The market has since become more competitive, especially in Europe, with a lot of new players popping up. This is good in a way, it raises awareness of the concept but it makes it hard to grow organically. You need scale fast.”

Currently, most of the demand comes from Europe, followed by the US and Asia. “In future, Asia will be much more prominent,” he said.

Focus, execution, people - ingredients for success, says Parkitny

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Today, April 4, marks the last day for Jens Uwe Parkitny at Expedia, the organization that changed travel all those years ago. Parkitny, managing director of Expedia Affiliate Network, Asia Pacific, for the last 3.5 years speaks to WIT about his journey with the global brand which brought him to Hong Kong from Germany.

Q: 15 years with Expedia and moving on – how does it feel to leave a company that changed travel?

I recall my first day at Microsoft Expedia on February 1 in 1997. I thought, 'wow, what a window of opportunity'. Eventually Expedia transformed an entire industry and empowered consumers to compare information and prices online so they can make smarter choices when booking hotels, flights and destination services.

Being able to influence this transformation process for so long with the company which became the category leader was a once in a life time opportunity and I am very grateful for it. Based on the feedback I received from colleagues and industry partners when informing them about my decision, I seem to leave a solid legacy behind and that makes me feel very good and a bit proud, too.

Q: You were VP & MD for Germany and then moved to Hong Kong to run Expedia Affiliate Network – what were the key learning points you made with the move to Asia?

No matter whether you build a B2C or a B2B in the region, it is so much harder to scale than compared to a single market. It requires investments into local teams, payment options, customization and translations into local Asian languages. The more complex the technology and the product or service you offer, the harder it is to reach scale in a non-homogeneous market environment. It also requires laser-focus and execution discipline. That might sound very general but from what I have seen in the markets, that's the simple truth many smaller and larger companies struggle with.

Q: What were the challenges building up the B2B EAN business?

There were both internal and external challenges. EAN was competing in the same markets and sometimes for the same partners as the Expedia consumer brands which caused internal friction. On the other hand, it is good to have internal competition as it forces the teams to focus and make tough decisions and trade offs.

From a market awareness and penetration perspective, I had to start from scratch and hire the right people, recommend investments as well as the market segments and countries to focus on. Looking back I can say it was hard but rewarding work as EAN APAC is now one of the fastest growing businesses within Expedia and the partner portfolio consisting of renowned travel brands such as Webjet, Lonely Planet, House of Travel and Jalan speaks for itself.

Q; Almost 3.5 years after you started in Asia, what have some of the biggest changes been in the online travel landscape in the region?

The region is now teeming with start-ups and incubators and it is hard to keep track of the many online businesses emerging across Asia-Pacific. More mature US start ups are eyeing the region for expansion and US and European venture capitalists seem to have become very active.

Q: Obviously when you start out early, it’s easier to grow but now that the online travel market has become so much more competitive and crowded these days, what do you think will be the ingredients that separate the men from the boys?

A great user experience remains key. That hasn't changed from the early days except that nowadays customers are much more web savvy, online experienced and social. A bad experience is instantly shared and makes it around the world in nanoseconds. To continue to thrive, strong customer focus and the ability to make investments into content, technology and good people are key. I learned that it really matters greatly which people you hire. You can move a mountain with the right team. After all, it is a people business - online or not.

Q; What’s next for you?

Going offline for a while. I plan to spend a few months in Myanmar.

Travelport fights for room in changing world of hotel distribution

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

With its Rooms and More product launched late last year, Travelport is not just competing for a slice of hotel bookings but also a change in industry.

Niklas Andreen, Travelport group vice president, hospitality & partner marketing, said, “GDSs have to evolve with the times, 70% of Expedia’s revenues come from hotels. Our revenue model will evolve as well. One day, we will get to the stage when we will say “non-hotel” as opposed to “non-air”.”

He said that in five years time, he wants Rooms and More to “be the most relevant hotel channel for travel agents, corporate, leisure or mixed, and when booking hotels, we are top of mind”.

He said it was critical GDSs evolve with so much change happening in the market that was changing customer behaviour and the way they book hotels. “There could be names coming up that neither you nor I have ever heard of and with so much change happening, everyone – wholesalers, tour operators, travel agents – have to evolve.”

Andreen was speaking to WIT on the sidelines of ITB Berlin where he had taken part in a panel discussion which, yes, once again raised the spectre of the demise of the GDS due to the changes in the market.

One, more customers are now booking hotels first, and then look for flights around accommodation. The GDS model was built around air and remains first and mostly about air.

Two, Google Hotel Finder allows customers to do comparative shopping for prices on one page, and go straight to the hotel website to book. Richard Wiegmann, CEO of Trust International, the first hotel reservation system selected by Google to work alongside online travel agencies and chains on this new service, said, “Google Hotel Finder has the ability to change the way consumers look and book for hotels just like the "normal" Google search did it for all of us on the web.”

What this means is increased opportunity for hotels to grow their direct channel. Said Wiegmann, “I do believe the hoteliers do like the fact that the business through HF can come direct to their websites and IBEs. A clever hotelier will grab that customer and try to turn it into a repeating direct relationship through his website.”

Three, mobile is giving travellers the means to book as last minute as possible. According to Wiegmann, four percent of bookings on Trust are on mobile and 11% are mobile-enabled and the distance between booking and hotel location is now 20 miles.

Remko West of Xotels was pretty steadfast in his view that GDSs would disappear from the hotel distribution game eventually “because they are based on technology that’s more and more outdated”. “In general, they cannot cope with the technological changes,” he said.

Wiegmann said, “If GDSs do not change their business model, and they continue to depend on airlines, they will be dead but many are now investing in hotels.”

Travelport’s Rooms and More is largely based on hotel metasearch engine Sprice technology which it acquired in May 2010. Andreen calls it a “meta-book”. It allows travel agents to search across 13 different aggregators, most of whom include the big names in hotel content such as Expedia and booking.com. Travel agents then see the offers from these providers and the different commissions attached.

Andreen says the system will give agents the confidence that they have access to good rates and thus, can assure their customers they are being looked after. Travelport invoices the aggregators and collects the commissions for travel agencies. Travel agents also get access to consumer-written hotel reviews about each property.

Said Andreen, “We help agents keep all the information together in one place. We give them the tool to be comfortable that their customers are being looked after in the right way.”

He estimates that Rooms and More has 200,000 to 300,000 of an estimated half a million hotels around the world in the system. Currently, three out of the top five markets for Rooms and More are in Asia.

“it’s easier to evolve your business when there is growth. In Europe, it’s a fight for survival. Agents in Asia have a unique opportunity to leapfrog a lot of of agents in Western Europe and the US in how travel is transacted.”

Wego launches in Malaysia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Singapore-based global travel metasearch engine has launched a dedicated website to provide Malaysian travellers with faster and cheaper travel options and packages.

Wego Malaysia employs new and  innovative technology to help travellers compare the price and availability of flights, accommodation, tours and travel deals across hundreds of different travel sites simultaneously.   

Users can select from among 350,000 accommodation options, from online providers that include Agoda, Expedia, Hotels.com and Booking.com, as well as local and international hotel groups and independents.   

The listings appear ranked according to what is popular with Malaysians, reflecting what is considered well priced and placed locally.

Wego chief executive officer, Ross Veitch (pictured below), said Malaysia's skies were hyper-competitive with multiple fares in the market for every route.

"We have found a way to present them in a simple graph so Wego users can save time and pay less for their ticket, just by choosing an alternative date or different airline. Once a hotel or a flight selection is made, Wego connects the user directly to the partner site to make their booking."

The site’s DateWise Fare Finder tool allows users to find the cheapest fare through the site’s daily price graph. When a destination is chosen the tool shows flexibility in dates of travel, and then produces a graphic calendar displaying the lowest fares over a month for all carriers, including budget airlines such as AirAsia, Firefly, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia.

The Popular Search feature ranks hotels in both domestic and international destinations according to their popularity based on the properties’ pricing and convenience by other users.

Wego's site has Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English language options.

Welcome to the Land of Social Smiles

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

With WITX-Women In Travel taking place in Bangkok on April 27, these findings make interesting reading into Thailand's online travel market - welcome to the Land of Social Smiles.

The inaugural report on Thailand’s Internet usage by comScore Media Metrix service found social networking the most engaging online activity in the country, accounting for 29.8% of total time spent online in February.

The report also showed portals and entertainment sites have the most expansive audience reach, with 98% of the country’s web population visiting these categories in the same month.

Google and Microsoft sites, Facebook.com top online destinations

Google Sites, which include Google Search and other Google-owned entities such as YouTube.com, led as the top Internet property in Thailand with 9.3 million visitors in February, representing 95.7% of the total online population.

Microsoft sites followed with 9 million visitors (92.6% reach), followed by Facebook.com with 8.6 million visitors (88.4%).

Investment group MIH Limited, which acquired local site Sanook.com in 2010, was the fourth most-visited property in the country with 4.9 million visitors. Internet Marketing Co. Ltd., which includes Bloggang.com and Pantip.com among other sites, secured the #5 position with 4.4 million visitors. Kapook.com accounted for all of the traffic for #6 ranked Bundit Center Co. Ltd., which reached nearly 4.2 million visitors in February.

Social networking accounts for 30% of time spent online

Analysis of the top content categories in Thailand found that portals and entertainment sites led the market in penetration, with each reaching 98 percent of internet users in February.

Social networking reached 96% of internet users, while nine out of every 10 consumers visited a search navigation site during the month. It also led in all the top online categories by user engagement with 29.8% of all time spent online, followed by entertainment sites that accounted for 13.9%.

Portals ranked third, accounting for 11.1% online minutes, while instant messengers (5.2%) and email (3.9%) rounded up the top five.

Thailand’s young online market

The country is home to one of the youngest online markets globally with three in four web users under the age of 35, accounting for 74.7% of the web population in February.

Users aged between 15-24 made up of 45.2 % of online visitors, accounted for more than half of all online minutes (50.9%) and averaged 31.7 hours online during the month.

The 25-34 age group represented 29.5% of the web population. spending an average of 26 hours online.

Those in the 35-44 age segment averaged 25.4 hours online.

WIT Start-Up: TripFlick launches in Singapore, think Lonely Planet-meet-Tripit

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

TripFlick, a new travel app (for Android users) wants to be your personal travel guide – think Lonely Planet-meet-Tripit, says its founder Nishant Johri (left). It launches in Singapore today and the Singapore-based start-up nFlick wants to launch it in 100 cities within a year.

Q: Describe the business, core products and services in one paragraph
The TripFlick app generates personalized itinerary and delivers semantically rich information about sights, based on user interests, profile and location.To provide meaningful recommendations, the context of site is also taken into consideration, such as travel route, mode of transport, opening & closing hours, time and weather conditions. The back-end recommendation engine combines advanced recommendations and hybrid multi objective genetic algorithms to build highly personalized itineraries.

Q: Who are your key customers?
Anyone who travels is our prospective customer.

Q: What business are you most likely to be compared to?
Several travel apps are marketed in different forms, however no system provides semantic recommendations specific to a tourist’s interest. If we analyse the competitive landscape, there is a lot of buzz about systems like Gogobot and Wanderfly – that essentially provides travel recommendations based on user’s social network.

Another space that is crowded by many paid and free mobile applications is occupied by Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, Triposo, Guidepal etc. These apps are content focused and provide categorization of various places of interests. Yet another space is dominated by two key players – Tripit & Worldmate – these apps are focused on generating user friendly flight and travel itineraries.

There is an empty space in this landscape. No player exists in the area of personalization of travel information and generating context-aware smart itineraries. TripFlick does that. It is like a cocktail of Lonely Planet and Tripit with added intelligence.

Q: What problem are you trying to solve for your customers?

Travelers face a problem with overwhelming information, when they plan their trip or explore a city. Loads of irrelevant information is pushed to them which is purely based on other users ratings that leads to sparse data and recommendations. There is no system to address the problem of how to give recommendations to mobile users that go beyond simple predeﬁned lists of interesting sites near-by.

TripFlick personalizes all the information and makes it relevant to a specific user.

Q: What financial support did you have to launch the business?
Self-funded and MDA (Media Development Authority) grant

Q: Who validated the idea first – investors or customers?

Customers validated this idea. We did a global survey and 125 people responded in favour of TripFlick

Q: What is the revenue model and strategy for profitability?TripFlick will be a paid app. TripFlick travel guide can be downloaded from Google Play at U$3.99 per city. (For the launch, the TripFlick app for Singapore is free for a limited duration.)

Q: What is the market opportunity? How scalable is this business?
We are targeting 400 million travelers visiting 100 top visited cities in the world

Q: Competitive analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Q: Who are the team members and advisors?
Core team includes:
Nishant Johri – Founder & CEO - Nishant comes from a business development and management background with 14 years’ experience. Nishant has spearheaded market entry for various companies and introduced new technology products in Asia, Australia, China & India. His last position was with NTT Data subsidiary in Australia as Country Manager.

Shreeniwas Iyer – CTO - Shreeni is an IIT Post Graduate and comes with over 8 years’ experience in building Internet & Social Media products. He was involved in conceiving products in start-ups to leading technical teams in large organizations like Yahoo.

Q: Why do you think you are the best people to make this vision happen?
We are a team of talented, young professionals extremely passionate about changing the way people travel.

Q: What’s the motivation behind doing this?
Nishant traveled extensively and has covered over half-a-million kilometers in the last two years. Nishant hated spending hours on internet to plan his leisure trips and sought recommendation from friends, which sometimes were not of his interest. When on business travel, Nishant was not left with enough energy to google “what to do” in the evenings, after his meetings. He wished that someone could plan his evenings and just tell him what to do as per his interests, what is nearby and opened at this hour. No mobile or web application was able to help. Nishant’s woes during his extensive travel motivated him to introduce TripFlick.

AirAsia, world's most tweeted airline

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Statistics released by Eezeer.com, a web and mobile social network that provides real-time on-the-spot verified tweets and reviews, showed AirAsia has gained almost double the number of tweets in February 2012 as compared to January.

The number of mentions for the airline jumped from 13,500 to 23,000 mentions, ahead of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.

The statistical information on Twitter usage in the airline industry shows AirAsia at the top of the list in two main categories:

• Best in class: Top performing airline brand with the greatest number of all the tweets exchanged between an airline and its consumers. This accounts for all the tweets collected outbound (from airline to consumer) and inbound (from consumer to airline).

• Airline Listening Champions: The top airlines having received the most tweets from consumers.

The report also named AirAsia as top three among 192 airlines with Twitter accounts in "Airline Talking Champions" category, having sent the most tweets to consumers.

Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s regional head of commercial (pictured left) said AirAsia is a "very social brand", which establishes a two-way platform to communicate with its guests, fans and potential guests with interest in travel.

"Through social media AirAsia enables fans to communicate directly with us, where we listen to their feedback, attend to their queries and of course, give them a convenient platform to voice their thoughts and share ideas," she added.

AirAsia’s management, from its group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes to executives, use social media for communicating within the team as well as with the airline’s fans.

To date, AirAsia’s official twitter accounts in various countries have a total of 514,852 followers.

PATAmPOWER for travel professionals on the go

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The real-time travel data platform from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) provides the latest travel information on tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktop computers.

Created in HTML5, PATAmPOWER contains a wide selection of data that includes aviation passenger flows, flight capacity and frequency, hotel occupancy, social data and consumer trends, .

Also available are visitor expenditure in a given destination, average daily expenditure and expenditure by item (such as meals and shopping) and forecasts of future tourist expenditure in key markets and segments.

Users can share the data with their employees and colleagues through social media and email. They can also export mPOWER graphics into reports and presentations, as well as download or print them to create their own analysis and reports.

Technology data in the service provides users with destination insights such as the percentage of internet and mobile device users, time spent on travel websites and the top travel web sites visited.

PATA said a key benefit of mPower is that it is dynamic and can provide customised information to suit user needs. It is available 24/7, as long as the user has an internet connection.

Its CEO, Martin Craigs (pictured right), said speed was a competitive advantage for mPower. "No one else in the travel industry in Asia Pacific offers such a mobile yet fully integrated platform of updated travel information. mPOWER exemplifies our commitment to PATA Next Gen services.”

On the platform’s name Stu Lloyd, PATA senior director of marketing & membership services, explained, “We’ve called it ‘mPower’ as the service empowers travel industry professionals 24 hours a day, wherever they are. Imagine sitting in the back of a taxi on the way to a meeting and being able to compare latest market performances or find new emerging markets.”

PATA developed mPOWER with Flare Sdn Bhd in Malaysia. For the content the association has aggregated and integrated travel industry data and trends from partners such as STR Global (hotels), IATA (aviation), national tourism organizations (traveller numbers), ComScore and Sinotech (technology and social data).

Full content in mPOWER is available to all PATA members until April 20. A limited set of information is available to everyone publicly.

PATAmPower will officially launch on April 20 at the 2012 PATA Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur (April 21 – 22).

A happy wife is a happy life: Google's view of travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

“A happy wife is a happy life.” Who would have thought one would hear those words uttered at the Google ThinkTravel event held in Singapore on Wednesday.

Loren Schuster (left), managing director of Google Singapore started the day by recounting a one-month trip he and his wife made while he was in between jobs, on his way to joining the company whose recruitment process, we were told, is as rigorous as climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (I made the mountain bit up).

Firstly, he did the planning. His wife said he had the time. “My goal was not to talk to anyone and do everything online.”

Secondly, while they both agreed they wanted activities – hiking and yoga, his wife stipulated she wanted an art retreat and so he had to build a holiday around that, hence the allusion to “keeping the wife happy” and “a happy wife is a happy life”.

After much dreaming and searching, he found an art retreat in Portugal around which he then planned hiking, walking and biking activities, and he discovered a yoga cruise.

For flights, he looked at various OTAs, then booked directly on TAP and found the fares cheaper. For hotels in Istanbul, he again looked at various OTAs, went to hotel sites to compare prices, read reviews on TripAdvisor for “non-official validation”. He booked one hotel on Agoda and the other direct, based on price. For the art retreat, he paid through Paypal.

During the holiday, he used TripAdvisor to find restaurants and found one with famous egg tarts. He became a fan of the yoga cruise Facebook page, got updates and connected with like-minded travellers before the cruise.

In Istanbul, it being a big city, he relied on the iPad and smartphone to get around and walked everywhere, using Google Maps.

Post-trip, he shared his photos with friends. He received a feedback form from a hotel. There was no incentive, no sharing, it was only for the hotel’s use and so he didn’t bother to respond. Agoda, in contrast, offered incentives and would make it available to other travellers and he responded to that.

Schuster was demonstrating how the booking of travel had changed. Before, it was linear. Nothing’s really changed from a human perspective, he said. We dream, plan, book, experience and share – however the tools have changed and made it less linear and “given consumers so much more control to plan the perfect journey using official and non-official validation”.

What Google wanted to do was to give consumers the right tools to make the right choices.

Rob Torres, industry director overseeing travel, who was on his first trip to Singapore said Google was interested in travel because it has big challenges, it’s a big market, it’s complicated, it’s data centric and it’s global.

The average person clicks 18 times when searching for travel. “‘How do we make it easier for people to travel?”

Search has become more relevant and intense. Sharing data, he said, 80% of search queries include travel, 20% are for “queries never seen before”, 1 in 4 search from the bathroom and there’s a 20% growth in travel queries in Asia. Over 15% of queries come through mobile with some markets in Asia, up to 30%.

Google Hotel Finder allows users to do comparative shopping on one page. Its flight search product Google ITA launched into international markets last week, but only for flights ex-US at the moment. “We will expand,” said Torres.

Social was happening at all five stages of the travel cycle – dreaming, planning, booking, experiencing, sharing. Citing a Google survey, he said 92% of Chinese use social media to plan travel compared with 77% of British.

The Google Plus 1 recommendation, layered under search, was seeing 2-3 times higher conversions for some clients. He cited the example of Lufthansa which was asking its customers to select circles, rather than the other way round.

Ali Yilmaz, head of travel for South-east Asia, said that because Asia got seriously into the web cycle at a time when social was taking off, “people are thinking social first but search is where transactions happen”. He spoke of a client in Bangladesh who hadn’t heard of Google Adwords but was doing Facebook advertising.

Emphasising the value of search, he said the global gross value of search was US$780 billion in 2009 which would make it the 16th largest economy in the world. It’s 1.2% of GDP to the USA and “bigger than travel”.

But because search has become a commodity, he said we had forgotten its importance. Remember, he said, 86% of travel starts with a search.

And a wife’s desires?

9flats banks on security and customer service to make it big in Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

9flats, the Berlin-based apartment rental platform, is banking that its attention to security issues and customer service will help it gain traction in Asia, a market that is still new to the idea of short-term lets.

The company, which managed to raise up to US$10 million of funding by last August, set up a Singapore-based office late last year to expand local content and acquire new users in the region. 9flats launched in February 2011 and currently lists over 30,000 private accommodation in 50 countries, ranging from a place on a couch for €15 a night to a luxury apartment for €500.

Ng Wei Leen, vice president for Asia, said, “Asia is the second most important continent for us so far, just after Europe. I'm proud to say that we established an office in Asia before any of our competitors did.

“I think that it is a strong statement of intent from us. We are extremely keen to experiment more with the audience in Asia to discover where are the cities that are most amenable to try a new travel experience.”

Fronted by former-Qype and Lastminute.com executive Stephan Uhrenhacker, it also became the first provider to offer its hosts worldwide protection for their properties last August.

Said Uhrenbacher, at the time of signing the Worldwide Host Protection Plan, "We go to great lengths to ensure that both our hosts and guests have the best experience possible when travelling with 9flats.com. Anyone who rents out their own home with our service now has further peace of mind that their property is protected.”

The company expects that claims will be rare - in the six months since 9flats.com was founded, there have been no claims over €100 - claims which, until now, 9flats.com has paid out as a gesture of goodwill, said the company.

Said Ng, “We have the best protection of any company in this business, in any part of the world. Period. Our competitors are at least an order of magnitude behind us. Our policy with Zurich insurance has worldwide coverage, and we were helping stranded guests find solutions before anybody ever started thinking about the security aspects of this mode of traveling.”

According to Ng, a key priority for 9flats has been to ensure the same high level of customer service in Asia as it has in Europe. “This puts us at a cost disadvantage from day one, compared to many of our competitors where customer service is just a web form. You cannot go AWOL when your users are stuck in a foreign city and, by protecting our users, we hope to protect our unique advantage in the market.”

The key challenge remains getting inventory. “There are lots of people who have never entertained the idea of short-term lets. Those who are familiar with short-term lets are the first ones to jump on the bandwagon, but they are few and far between.”

Ng said that in general, “transactions are increasing across the board both in terms of quantity and value”.

“Customers satisfaction is also on the up. Our obsessive focus on customer care is starting to yield rewards, and the pressure on us to formally roll out to other parts of Europe and Asia is tremendous from our users. It is a great problem to have.”

In an interview with WIT, Robert Rosenstein, CEO of Agoda had observed that the challenge with the short-let apartment rental market was one of structure. “It’s not about supply and customers, it’s about structure and rules and how you bring the authorities into it? That’s where the battle will be won – creating structure,” he had said.

Agreeing, Ng said, “The structure of a reputation system, community behaviour guidelines and a method to exclude anti-social, fraudulent accounts are all important building blocks for any company with transactions between users.

“We see a lot of questions about liability and support. Hosts run great risks by inviting strangers into their home. For that reason, we as the platform have to provide security and assurance to hosts whenever possible. We have our industry leading insurance programme, and world class customer service.

“We respect local regulations and share information on such regulations with our hosts. The rules can be very convoluted, as in New York, where you can have someone stay in your apartment if you are living there with 3 other family members, but not rent out a spare apartment somewhere short term. We are working on protecting our hosts and arming them with the best information available all the time.”

He however disagreed with Rosenstein’s claim that the battle will be won on whose structure is better. “A safe and friendly platform is no substitute for great value. We find that people come to us expecting to receive a better deal than what can be had at a traditional hotel.

“Our most popular places are those that look amazing, have a great location, and are relatively inexpensive. If you can get a kitchen, balcony, barbecue pit, fireplace and pool for less than it costs to stay in a suite, there is no question that you would go for it.”

Plans to localize 9flats for markets in Asia are in the pipeline “and we are on schedule to deliver,” said Ng.

ReviewPro to expand to Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

ReviewPro, the Barcelona-based hotel reputation management and social media monitoring company, is expanding to Asia and will open an office in the region by the third quarter.

Europe has been its focus since its establishment in early 2008. CEO RJ Friedlander said, “The region is growing and the opportunities are huge in Asia. We started with a clear aspiration to be the world leader in this field.”

Asia now accounts for 10% of its business and he expected that in five years time, it would grow to a third.

He said the diversity of Europe with its multiple languages and cultures would help ReviewPro ease into a region known for its nuances. “We will of course adapt and evolve our product in line with customer needs.”

He said, “We are not going to come in and think we know everything. What we are good at is product and technology, who we need to listen to and implementing what customers want. That mindset will do well in Asia, I believe.”

Of the 60 people on its team, 35 are in product and technology. “That’s a high percentage and that’s our difference - innovation.”

It won the Best Emerging Technology Innovation Award at the 2011 PhoCusWright Conference.

ReviewPro indexes over 100 million guest hotel reviews in 14 languages across nearly 80 of the most relevant Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and customer review websites.

Friedlander said the review space had become more crowded and fragmented. “Ten years ago, there was only one site, TripAdvisor, and then OTAs got into it and that was the tipping point – when they realized they needed that SEO gold and new content.”

Asked where he saw reviews going with the development of social graphs and if the recommendations of friends would have stronger weightage than those of strangers, he said that personally, “I prefer hotels that have 2,000 recommendations than those recommended by my friends. I don’t have an inherent distrust in people I don’t know.”

How Daphne survived on social media alone in London

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

In the end, it was the cold that turned out to be the biggest challenge for Daphne Chui, the Singaporean girl, who took on the CanMan social media experiment of surviving in London for five days on social media alone.

The experiment, which took place during Social Media Week, saw Martin Pasquier take on Singapore while Daphne, who confesses she is addicted to both social media and travel, trundled off to London.

Said Daphne, “The thing that I was most afraid of before the trip was the cold and it was the most challenging part of this entire experiment, in my opinion.”

She said she did not even have the opportunity to worry if social media would let her down because within six hours of her sharing the Facebook page with her friends, she got an offer from a stranger who offered her a night’s stay and food “in exchange for a non-social media night of board games”.

“As such, the inability of not being able to find food nor accommodation never really did surface as a challenge.”
She was fortunate to also receive three hotel stays – Mayfair Hotel London, Town Hall Hotel and Apartments and Sanderson.

“What surprised me was seeing how strangers were willing to help this girl who was alone in London. There was this girl, Kate, from Texas, who offered a lot of things – from accommodation, food, to even buying me clothes from Oxford Street. She thought I had insufficient clothes and wanted to help.

“I suspect it is because she too, had moved to London from Texas on her own, and understood what it is like to be alone in a big city. I was extremely heartened by her gesture. And no, she didn’t have to buy me clothes in the end, but she did treat me to a coffee.”

She used mainly Facebook and Twitter to communicate. “Facebook was useful for me to share a lot of information or photos and it was a good way for people who were following me to get a quick glimpse of what I was doing.

“However, Twitter was a much easier platform to communicate, make arrangements for meals etc, and get immediate responses for questions I had about London and the challenge.

“I won’t say that one was more useful than the other. Rather, they were quite complementary. Which was why I chose to sometimes put different content up on both Twitter and Facebook instead of replicating the same content as I reckon some people would have been following my journey on both platforms.”

As to whether she was concerned about her safety, Daphne said, “London is a fairly safe place that’s easy to get around. The main precaution I took was to try not to stay out too late. I did not think there was any danger in meeting up with people for meals.”

She said the experiment proved that kindness does exist and people are willing to help others “in need”.

“But if I had to pick a single memorable moment, it is when I met up with this Australian named Ben. He was a friend of a friend living and working in London. He wrote on my page offering accommodation and food. When I got to London, I asked if he was keen to meet for dinner.

“When I met him at the Tube station near his place, I realised he did not even know my name; he must have thought that his friend’s friend must be trustworthy. Moreover, there must have been some miscommunication as he thought I was going to stay with him. Turns out he had cleaned out his entire room, bought me 5 cans of beer, milk, a sandwich, and even prepared a fruit bowl. He was even going to pass me his keys and stay at his friend’s that night. I felt terrible as he had put in so much effort to help me yet I had to reject him as I had already checked into a hotel.

“But Ben definitely showed me the kindness in people to help a stranger whose name he didn’t even know. He eventually even bought me dinner and drinks that night and introduced me to his friends and colleagues. This kindness is something that’s worth talking about.”

Kuoni India gets Sabre Red App

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Abacus, Kuoni India, Excellent Management Limited (XML) Hong Kong and Sabre have jointly developed Sabre Red App, a new customer profile app that runs on all Abacus WorkSpace terminals at Kuoni India locations.

Similar to what is being done by Apple and Android to develop mobile apps, authorised third party developers have access to a Sabre Red Apps Developer Toolkit to help them build travel agency apps to run seamlessly on Abacus WorkSpace.

Abacus, together with Kuoni India, XML and Sabre, views the collaboration as a great success and milestone in technology advancement for the travel industry in Asia.

Brett Henry, Abacus International’s VP marketing and VP India (pictured right), said the app was the first of its kind for the travel agency point-of-sale and would redefine the way travel players manage their customers.

"In today’s aggressive travel market, agents need to ensure they stay ahead of the competition. Customised Sabre Red Apps can help current users of Abacus WorkSpace increase productivity and service clients more efficiently."

With the Sabre Red Apps, travel agents are able to utilise different applications to meet their customer needs. Apps can range from quality control tools to travel management tools such as customer profile and policy management, agency wholesaler content integration or a customised travel desktop.

Additionally, agents can develop private apps for their agency network. Highly integrated applications including corporate travel capability linking to mid- and back-office operations are new opportunities through Sabre Red Apps.

A Sabre Red Apps Centre, similar to Apple’s App Store and Google Apps Marketplace, is now available for developers wishing to share or sell their apps to other travel agencies.

New CEO sets direction on branding, expansion and distribution for Jin Jiang

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

As China’s leading hotel group with a sprawling network of 120,000 rooms, Jin Jiang Hotels has yet to develop a brand reputation that matches its size.

The Jin Jiang name, which has been around for over 80 years, should have been widely recognised as China’s national brand but it is not. German hotelier Bernold Schroeder plans to change that since taking over as Jin Jiang International Hotel Management Company’s Chief Executive Officer last August.

Rationalising Jin Jiang’s four categories of properties into four distinct sub-brands, Mr Schroeder aims to turn Jin Jiang into a brand that will make the ever growing cohort of sophisticated Chinese travellers feel most at home with and feel proud of.

Ahead of the China Hotel Marketing Summit scheduled for May 15 in Shanghai, Mr Schroeder, a speaker of the event, shared his vision with Travel Daily and how he meets the challenges of building a national hotel brand for China.

Why hasn’t Jin Jiang become a global brand sooner?

Jin Jiang has been the largest hotel group in China. When you're the largest, you slow down. You come to a certain comfort zone. Naturally Jin Jiang has slightly slipped into this comfort zone. But because the group’s properties are in great locations they do relatively well nonetheless.

What is your vision for Jin Jiang?

When I travelled to China before, I found that China is the only world power that doesn’t have a globally recognised national hotel or airline brand. Yet Chinese firms are among the Global Fortune 500 – three of the 10 largest companies in the world are in China and 15 of the 100 largest are Chinese. Amongst the 100 best-known global brands ranked by Interbrand or Millward Brown, there isn’t a single Chinese brand.

In Jin Jiang’s portfolio, all the beautiful hotels are handed to well-known international hotel brand to manage. My pitch to Jin Jiang is that the group should develop its own global brand that is as well known as China Mobile, Baidu or Lenovo.

As the number of China’s outbound travellers will grow to 100 million in the next seven to eight years, I envision a 10-year plan to develop this for China and to give China its own home-grown hotel brand. This is fully supported by the great leadership of Jin Jiang.

How will you structure the Jin Jiang brands?

Within the Jin Jiang portfolio are two major categories of hotels – the budget Jin Jiang Inn with 75,000 rooms and star-rated hotels with 35,000 rooms. (The hotels under the Interstate banner are in yet another category. Taking into account those hotels, Jin Jiang has an inventory of 180,000 rooms.)

The star-rated hotels are my focus. Within this category, there are four major types of properties – Jin Jiang owned but managed by other hotel brands; Jin Jiang owned and managed (there are 19 of these and they are important to us); new five-star properties (not necessarily owned by Jin Jiang) opening this year in secondary cities (there are 12 of these); and non-Jin Jiang-owned properties managed by the group or by franchise.

My focus is the 19 properties we own and manage because they are representative of Jin Jiang, the new openings and of course close owner relations. These will be rebranded under a brand architecture with four brands –The J brand at the super high-end, the five-star Jin Jiang brand, the four-star Jin Jiang brand distinguished with its own identity, and the three-star Marvel brand.

Within the five-star category will be a “heritage collection” featuring our heritage hotels such as Peace, Metropole and Pacific Hotel (pictured left). Some will have an overhaul within nine months. The first to complete will be the Jin Jiang Hotel by early 2013. This hotel is our flagship in terms of location and real estate – it boasts 500 hectare of estate and was the location for the signing of the Sino-US trade agreement by (form US President Richard) Nixon. This will be the Raffles of Shanghai.

We want to make Jin Jiang a brand that China’s outbound travellers will feel at home with and international travellers will perceive as quality.

How do you go about the branding exercise?

We will do our homework this year and raise first the “bread and butter” standard of the hotels. We will spend 5 per cent of our payroll on training. We are sending 25 staff to Interstate for four-month training and then to Cornell University. As we have a 50% stake in Les Roches Jin Jiang International Hotel Management College, this too will be integrated with our training.

We will launch our new brand within this year. By the end of the year we will sign our first international management contract. This will help fast track our work as we will be in a position to move faster when we get new international properties.

Are you getting high-level support and buy in?

The Chinese government’s 2030 think tank plan states that stat-owned enterprises have to be financially driven. Our group has a strong balance sheet with strong return on investment because we own the buildings for a long time. We anticipate the investment in renovation and rebranding will have relatively short pay back time.

I’m getting fantastic support from the leaders and board. The company wants to make the changes. It’s important everyone understands what has to be done.

Now we are hiring carefully. I need people who will stay with me for the next five to 10 years to make this work. I need people with different skills set and passion.

What's Jin Jiang’s expansion plan following the branding exercise?

Our focus is to start in Asia. The China outbound market presents huge opportunities in this part of the world. China’s neighbouring cities such as Japan, Korea, are seeing strong Chinese retail business. I would like to stay in the region, as well as cover the resort destinations such as Maldives and Thailand, where we look to manage properties owned by others. We can fill their hotels because we have our own travel agents.

China is four times larger than the US in terms of total population but we have less than 50% of the US room inventory. At the same time, all the cities in China need more hotels. There are also big opportunities in branding hotels in China as only 20 per cent of the rooms are branded, whereas in the U.S. the ratio is 70%, and even one-star hotels are branded. We need to convince people they need a brand because it brings higher rates.

Domestically, we’ll look at opportunities in Western China, in cities like Kashi where luxury travel is growing. There is also much room for developing resorts domestically.

How would you leverage online travel distribution and social media?

In China most hotels are totally dependent on online travel agents (OTA). It’s a relatively easy way to fill hotel, but at high cost. OTAs bring in a lot of business and we all need them, but at the moment we intend to drive our own distribution.

We will segment corporate and leisure groups and make more efforts marketing to MICE groups. We will revamp our website to bring in more traffic and boost our own sales offices. We will also speak to travel agents and wholesalers. At the same time we have a good in-house reservation system that we control and we plan to fine-tune it.

Mr. Bernold Schroeder will speak on the upcoming TravelDaily China Hotel Marketing Summit which will take place in Shanghai on May 15, 2012.

Cash for carriage in new deal between MAS and AirAsia X

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Malaysia Airlines has received a prepayment of RM20 million (US$6.5 million) in cash from AirAsia longhaul affiliate to uplift passengers on the latter’s four axed routes - London, Paris, Delhi and Mumbai.

The national carrier inked a Re-accommodation Agreement (RA) with AirAsia X on March 27, under which it utilise execess capacity on its flights to ferry the passengers and, at the same time, "generate additional revenues”.

Both economy and premium class passengers with confirmed AirAsia X tickets issued before January 13 to the four routes will be transferred to MAS. The flight transfers will be between March 28 and October 27 this year.   

The RA was also in response to AirAsia X’s request for MAS’ assistance to re-accommodate their passengers through such an agreement.

MAS has, in the past, upon request and on an ad-hoc basis, provided uplift and re-accommodation of passengers of other airlines including AirAsia X in line with normal industry practice.

The national carrier denied that the deal would be unfavourable, reiterating it would benefit in higher passenger numbers on its flights, which would be incremental to its normal load patterns.

"The related revenue from this arrangement is pure incremental revenue for the airline and would significantly contribute to its profitability."

MAS will receive upfront cash payments or pre-payments on tickets for the re-accommodated passengers before departure.

The RA comes amid allegations that MAS' huge financial losses could be "a result of carrying AirAsia X passengers for 'almost’ free."

MAS has refuted such reports as "unfounded and untrue."

AirAsia X’s chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani, In a recent interview with WIT, has also dismissed the allegations as such (read story).

The longhaul budget airline had, in January, announced the suspension of flights to London, Paris, Delhi and Mumbai due to mounting losses and continual rising fuel prices. The airline is also stopping flights to and from Christchurch by end May.

In a related development, AirAsia X’s non-executive chairman Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz defended the share swap deal between Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia in the face of strong opposition from unions and associations representing MAS employees and dissatisfaction among the public.

She said the two airlines would not have agreed to it "if there was no mutual benefit."

Tan Sri Rafidah also said that MAS' annual net loss was not because of the share swap deal, which was sealed in August last year.

"MAS has been making losses from some time back and it is not because of the share swap."

The national flag carrier, which reported its highest-ever annual net loss of RM2.52 billion, cited increases in fuel price as the main reason for its running into the red.

Khazanah, the investment arm of the Malaysian government, and Tune Air, AirAsia Group’s holding company, agreed to the share swap last August for an alliance between MAS and AirAsia, which will see both airlines cooperating instead of competing through an alignment of routes.

Confession: The best seafood I've ever had and it's not in Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s been nearly two weeks and I’ve been waiting for the sensation to pass but still it hasn’t and so I feel compelled to share it.

Disclosure: This post is about food. So if you are not a foodie, you can stop reading.

If you are still with me, then I want to tell you about the best seafood meal I’ve ever had in all my travels and at home. And the fact that the people I shared it with – friends from Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore all of whom should know our seafood – agreed with me speaks volumes.

It’s a restaurant called El Pescadore, in Madrid. . I had been told it was a little casual place and, for some reason, I had expected one of those joints you find on Sydney harbour – you know, huge platters of crustaceans, prawns, squid, fish piled up like those gymnasts who can do clever things with each other’s shoulders and legs.

But it was pretty swishy, yet cosy, staffed by men who obviously know the treasures of the ocean well, specifically the one surrounding Galicia sea in northerwestern Spain. The counter display, set up like a sushi bar, is a wow.

“Wow, look at those huge crabs.” I had never seen such red crustaceans. Centollos – didn’t get to taste them, but a different league from Alaska king crab I am told.

“Wow, what’s that?” I had never seen such an alien-looking mollusc before. I was told it’s something called percebes (left) – a barnacle-like creature – that grows on rocks. The meat grows on what looks like an alien claw. Eating it is a craft but for us Asians used to using our hands as implements, it’s pretty easy to master.

You pinch the skin till it breaks and then you suck out the flesh. It’s like drinking the concentrate of the ocean. A heady, marine sensation hits the back of your throat.

Pair this with Albariñnho, a white wine from northwest Galicia, and you’ve got the perfect complement.

Although I am not big on prawns – I am more of a fishy – my favourite in Spain has always been the gambas and I’ve loved them from Barcelona to Barcelonetta.

Gambas a la plancha makes me want to do the samba everytime. But these Gambas rojas de Denia (below) – from Alicante, it was the only item that didn’t come from Galicia - made me want to do the tango – which dance afficioanados tell me has more passion than the samba. Bigger than the gambas in Barcelona, they were just lightly boiled with sea salt and had a tinge of garlic. Put them in your mouth and, again, kaboom, it's like ocean mouthwash.

As if these were not enough, our Spanish friend – you always need a local who knows his country and loves his food – Carlos had also ordered king prawns called Carabineros, so-called after the XVIIIth century Spanish because they look like Italian policemen. I am not sure whether it’s the size or shape, but such detail is forgotten in the face of full-bodied flavours such as these.

“The best part is the head,” said Carlos enthusiastically as he takes the knife to decapitate the creature. “Look at all that juice.”

The Spanish are Chinese at heart, they just talk different. (Watch video below)

And as if we hadn't had enough prawns, Carlos said we simply had to have the Cigalas de Marin, crayfish a la plancha with sea salt … a very fine and sweet meat but have to say, still prefer the gambas.

Next came the Gallician velvet swimcrabs called Necoras (below). Again Like the percebes, simply boiled with sea salt and bay leaves. These little creatures nearly had me doing the wave I had seen the night before at the Real Madrid stadium when the home team trounced CSKA Moscow 4-1.

Trounced was how I felt by the time the main course I ordered came – besugo a la bilbaina (grilled fish (sea bream) with olive oil, garlic and a dash of guindillachillies (the Spanish milder version of chilli). It was good but I simply couldn’t do it justice.

Despite that of course I still had room for dessert and I ordered filloasaos, Galician crepes, with cinnamon and brown sugar (left). I also recommend the cuajada – Spanish curd with honey.

To finish off, the waiter brought us orujo de hierbasxx, which has 60% alcohol content. That can finish off anyone, especially someone who’s got half the Gallician ocean in her.

I’ll have to return to eat the other half.

Watch video

Join the fight for the "Big Flight" on MAS' new A380

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has launched "The Big Flight" competition on its official YouTube brand channel, which will see the winners earning a joyride on the airline's Airbus A380 aircraft in June.

"This is the first time any airline has given YouTube users an opportunity to be part of a milestone moment in Malaysia’s aviation history," said MAS’ marketing and promotions senior vice-president Al-Ishsal Ishak said.

He added that the joyride would be like no other. “There is much excitement around the arrival of our new aircraft and Malaysia Airlines is giving eight lucky and creative winners to bring along three friends each on exclusive experience in the air. Tell us through YouTube just why you are so special and unique that you deserve to fly on the gigantic A380 Joyride."

Twenty short-listed videos will be chosen based on creativity, originality and overall impression. These will put up on YouTube for voting by the public. The top eight most voted videos will win the joyride tickets.

Submission of videos ends on April 22. To enter and for more information go to www.youtube.com/MalaysiaAirlines.   

Malaysia Airlines will receive the first of six A380 aircraft in mid-June. It features 494 seats in a three-class configuration comprising eight first-class seats, 66 business-class seats and 420 economy seats. All seats are equipped with USB port and satellite telephone facility.

The aircraft’s exterior will showcase its fresh new blue livery, which retains the national airline’s rich wau heritage.(Wau is a traditonal Malaysian kite).

MAS starts commercial operations with its first A380 on July 1, 2012 with three times weekly service on the Kuala Lumpur-London route. The second A380 will also be introduced on this route from end-August to offer daily operations, while the third will be used for Kuala Lumpur-Sydney flights.

Abacus claims leadership in LCC, hybrid airline content in region

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Abacus International saw a healthy year-on-year growth of 27% in 2011 against 2010 in the airline portfolio. It expects the growth to continue.

Fuelling this growth was the signing of several exclusive contracts with airlines that include AirPhil Express from the Philippines; Sapsan, an LCC from Kazakhstan that serves five domestic routes; Cambodia Angkor Air, a regional airline in Cambodia; and Juneyao Airlines that sees Abacus as the airline’s exclusive distributor outside of China.

These contracts, in addition to those with Mihin Lanka, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Valuair, AirAsia and MASwings, have cemented the company as the leading partner for the LCC, hybrid and regional airline market.

Ho Hoong Mau, Abacus’ division head, airline distribution, said LCCs and hybrids are currently enjoying a steady rise due to the influx of new airlines, as well as the expansion of current LCC players.

"The LCC and hybrid market is growing rapidly and becoming increasingly influential in the travel industry. With our extensive network reach throughout the region, we are committed to our airline partners to offer value and service in their needs and objectives of growth and expansion in Asia Pacific."

'When women come, men come' - Google, MakeMyTrip confirmed for WITX

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I was at the Singapore Tourism Industry Conference, organised by Singapore Tourism Board, this morning and one of the topics that came up for discussion was the women’s market – okay, asked by yours truly.

The most candid answer came from Edward Chia (left), co-founder of the Timbre Group, a live music and entertainment group, who said, “In our business, when women come, men come. This is from years of evolution.”

So how does his group attract women to its bars? “We think having ladies night is not the way to go, what’s more important is creating a safe environment so that they don’t feel they will get picked up all the time and they can have fun with their girlfriends.”

He’s also found that girls consume a fair bit of alcohol – much laughter from audience at this point – and so his group focuses promotions on women. “Most beer festivals are focused on men but we run a beer festival too and I tell our exhibitors to not only hire girls to serve beers but good looking men.”

Marvin Tan, CEO of SilkAir, said one of his airline’s competitive edge over low cost airlines was that his cabin crew looked after children well – “and we know women make decisions on behalf of families”.

While he said that the airline did not have any specific offerings to women, “maybe this is an idea worth exploring”.

Zubin Karkaria, CEO and MD of VFS Global, said that men had learnt the hard way that the final buying decision is made by women. “Men don’t have the time or patience to spend planning holidays so we leave it to women. We just pay.”

At ITB Berlin, I got another perspective from Hansruedi Frutiger, general manager of Movenpick Resort & Spa in Phuket. He told me that women customers are more inclined to be the first to either complain or compliment.

“If they are unhappy, they let us know it,” he said. “And if they are happy,” he added, waving his hands in the air, “then everyone’s happy.”

Which means that women are as important to influence at all stages of the travel cycle – from pre- to on-site to post- when they are more inclined to share and recommend on their social networks.

With just about a month to go before our WITX-Women In Travel event in Bangkok,. I am finding all this research into women behaviour personally enlightening.

This morning, we confirmed Aliza Knox (left), managing director, commerce, Google Asia Pacific, who is also responsible for Google’s Women In Leadership programmes for the region. The role of women in technology will also be championed by Adriana Gaiscogne, founder of Girls In Tech.

Also confirmed is Purva Misra, who recently joined MakeMyTrip to take charge of its human resources. With India’s leading OTA consistently regarded as one of the country’s preferred employers, she will share the secrets of how this online travel juggernaut creates a great workplace for its talent and how we should nurture the next generation of talent.

We will also shed light on women behaviour online with Experian Hitwise set to highlight exclusive data and Emilie Couton, director of hotel solutions, Accor Pacific, sharing insights on women and their behaviour on social media and what lessons can hotels and suppliers take away from such data.

We are also delighted to welcome onboard partners such as the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Dusit Thani Hotel, HSMAI, Travelshark, Expat Ladies, Travel Daily China and Travel Trade Report.

Our event is open to all sexes - remember what Edward said, “When women come, men come.” See you in Bangkok.

Check out the programme here and register before March 31 to enjoy our early bird rate.

Ostrovok looks to Ctrip for lessons on building uniquely Russian model

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

On his plate were piled pancakes, eggs, bacon, cereal and bread. I had never seen such an awesome breakfast. But Serge Faguet is clearly going to need all the energy he can summon for the mission he has set for himself.

Over breakfast on the sidelines of ITB Berlin, the young Russian tells me that in five years time – that’s when he will turn 30 – he wants to have built Ostrovok, one of Russia’s new hotel booking sites, into a category-defining company in travel.

“Just as Kaspersky has done with anti-virus software, we want to do with travel,” said Faguet, CEO and co-founder of Ostrovok.

Ostrovok.ru has the right pedigree to take it places. Its investors include Erik Blachfold, CEO of Expedia, Gregg Brockway (Hotwire, Tripit), Brad Gerstner of Altimeter Capital and Fritz Demopoulos (Qunar). Previously, it raised $13.6 million from Accel Partners, General Catalyst Partners and a long but impressive list of other investors in July 2011.

It was founded in late 2010 by Faguet and Kirill Makharinsky, both Russian entrepreneurs who studied at Stanford and Oxford Universities, worked at Google and Slide, and founded Silicon Valley companies Tokbox, YouNoodle and Quid, which have raised more than $30 million to date from top-tier funds including Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund.

Faguet had an early start in ecommerce. At 15, he started his own company by trading goods on eBay. That’s when he got hooked. As an undergraduate at Cornell, he worked at Google but didn’t like it. “It’s a big company, lots of politics. That was my only experiment with a corporate job, I didn’t like it.”

He entered Stanford Business School and started Tokbox, a video communications company. After he raised US$4.5 million from Sequoia Capital, he dropped out of Stanford and after he sold the company, he looked around for something else to do. “It was either staying on in Silicon Valley or returning to Russia.”

He chose the latter for four reasons. He wanted a category where he could build something significant rather than “the evolution of a product or something so revolutionary that you don’t know if it will work, for example, Twitter”.

Russia had a large talent pool of technical people who were not as competed over. “Money is easy to raise but good people are hard to hire and if you can’t get the engineers, then it’s tough to start anything significant.”

Third, he wanted some adventure and lastly, “I am Russian”.

Travel was wide open “and it’s huge. Forty percent of economic activity is on travel”, said Faguet, “and the online travel market had no dominant player”.

Backed by a global board of advisors and investors and led by a strong local team who knows how to solve local problems, Faguet believes Ostrovok will be able to beat the competition. He clearly has his eye on booking.com – most of his team worked for Europe’s largest hotel booking site.

Asked if he wants to be the booking.com of Russia, Faguet said, “They are a great company, I respect them a lot but we want to be better.”

He also sees Ostrovok as more akin to the Chinese Ctrip model which is why he values having Fritz Demopoulos, who co-founded Chinese travel search site, Qunar, as an investor.

“Russia is probably on the same curve as Brazil and behind markets such as India and China. I think we can learn from all these markets but I have great respect for the Ctrip model and how they’ve gone about solving local problems.

“They built a solution that’s uniquely Chinese like having messengers, huge call centres and distributing cards at airports – these are innovations for the Chinese market.”

Ostrovok is a pure hotel booking site, focused on generating Russian and former Soviet Union bloc demand for domestic and international travel. Faguet claims to have the largest team of hotel contractors in Russia for domestic supply. For non-domestic content, it has hotel contractors going into markets in Europe and South-east Asia similar to Ctrip and India’s MakeMyTrip.

The company is highly technology-driven. Out of 200 staff, 25-30% are engineers. “Engineers are the best thing in any company, they enable marketing and the supplier team to work much better and they are critical in customer support.”

And Faguet believes he will beat the competition through better investments in technology by allowing the business to scale and by building fundamentally better products – just like Ctrip. “They are the leader to learn from in this field.”

“The travel industry is not very innovative, things are not done properly. Why do hotels have to go to extranet to manage or upload rates? This is so 20th century. We will put in the necessary talent and funds to develop the right solutions.”

Another lesson from Ctrip – a strong focus on behind-the-scenes work such as data analytics, marketing automation and call centres. “We want to have local relevant supply, do local relevant marketing and locally relevant fulfilment and operations.

“For example, Russians are used to making payments through ATMs where you select where you want the money to go. So we will use that payment interface.

“For customer support, we will have 24x7 call centres and we don’t hide our contact number, like everyone else does, in case people complain.”

And the one key obstacle to Russians booking online – visas – will be overcome by offering a local solution, for example, giving customers access to solution providers who can help with paperwork. “This is one area where traditional tour operators have always had the advantage – they say, give us your passports and we will do everything for you. We need to hold our customers through this process and get them comfortable with it. There are creative ways to do this.”

Mobile and social are two areas of focus. “Mobile is very significant and the products that are out there are not very good. They are still replicas of websites, they don’t fundamentally rework the process,” he said.

Social meanwhile is the one that sells online travel. “Russians are the most socially engaged audiences in the world.”

Acknowledging that brand building is an expensive exercise, given the amount companies such as booking.com and Expedia spend on search marketing, Faguet said, “We are ready to invest around US$100 million to develop and market our brand but it’s not just about capital, it’s more about building the right product and given that we’ve been around such a short time, we are not yet ready to spend the money yet.

“We want to get things right first.”

So you think you can make a short film? Langham Place dares you

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Know how we are always discussing that last movie we saw with friends? Well, that sort of conversation led to the new social media campaign launched by Langham Place Hotels last night.

As Sean Seah, vice president, e-commerce, loyalty and partner marketing, recalls, it was on a Friday, October 16, 2011. The team had finished lunch and went into a room “to dream big about a WOW campaign for our Langham Place Brand”.

Then, yes, the iPhone rang and “someone talked about the movie they saw last week and that is how it all began.”

What began was the making of three short films, shot with the iPhone 4s, which it is asking fans to find names for, and then to make their own short film and win a spot at the highly coveted indie filmmaker breakfast as part of the Sundance Festival in London.

The two-minute films – titled The Club, The Spa and The Room – capture the brand’s signature pillars – innovation, art and technology.

Said Seah, “The brand DNA of Langham Place Hotels is art, technology and innovation and all three elements are the inspiration behind the campaign.”

Art: “We chose the short film genre because we are passionate about short film as an art form. We engaged a team of talented actors, directors and producers to make this dream a reality.” (See the making of here)

Technology: “Our hotel is built on technology and ensuring that our guest are always stimulated and connected. This is why we chose to challenge ourselves and use an iPhone to film all of the short films.” (See the making of here)

Innovation: “Central to everything we do is innovation. We all want to stay in a hotel that is creatively and passionately making the guest experience better. So choosing the short film genre, filming it on an iPhone and marketing it primarily through social media is a big risk for us. But a risk we are willing to take if it mean we can innovate and make the guest experience better.” (See the making of here)

Directed by Yamanyamo, an emerging new media studio, the short films take viewers on an exploration of the hotel, seeking to engage guests in the wonders of imagination and innovation.

In addition to the short films series, the hotel group has launched the "Making of", providing a behind-the-scenes look into how the short films were created.

“This social media campaign, conceptualised by Brand Karma, a social media agency, is unique because we are the first brand to create short films produced on a mobile device that leverages social media to inspire our guests to connect and stay with our hotels,” said Seah.

Viewable on social media platforms - YouTube, youku, facebook, weibo and the brand's dedicated short films website, mywaymyplace.com, social media aficionados are being asked to name the series of films by April 30, 2012 through the website or facebook.com/langhamplacehotels, for the chance to win one of three iPad 3s.

Creatives are also being offered the chance to direct and film their own Langham Place short film, and win a seat at a breakfast during the Sundance Festival in London, alongside emerging directors, producers and leaders of the Sundance Institute.

The prize also includes two nights at The Langham, London and a return ticket to London, for the winning filmmaker. Films must be submitted on mywaymyplace.com and be uploaded to YouTube or youku by April 9, 2012 to qualify.

Asked what kind of customers he was hoping to target with the competition, Seah said, “Langham Place guests are creative, artistic and tech savvy. We are targeting this mass audience to connect and engage with the brand through viewing, sharing and naming the film.

“We are also targeting the creative artistic film makers to inspire them to make the next Langham Place Short film. We want them to be inspired by the art and want to support their career development by sending them to the Sundance Film Institute event help in The Langham London.”

He declined to disclose the funds invested in the campaign “but can say that all of our passion, talent and intellect has been invested into the campaign”.

For competitions to stand out from the clutter, Seah believes they have to be created in simple and engaging ways. “We do believe that competitions carefully crafted can build a connection between a brand and its customers.”

Route cuts part of bigger picture to build optimal network, says Azran

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Recently AirAsia X has been shedding more routes than adding, leading to speculation that its low cost longhaul model isn't quite working out. Starting in January, the Malaysia-based affiliate of AirAsia slashed four routes - London, Paris, Mumbai and New Delhi.

And then even before the dust had settled on those cancellations came news that it was also stopping its Christchurch service which it launched amid much fanfare last April.

In press statements following announcements of the cancellations, the airline explained the scrappingof the four loss-making international routes was part of its strategy to improve operating cost efficiencies and to focus on its core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. (read story)

The move, which left about 30,000 passengers in limbo, generated so much negative publicity that AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes had to come out to defend AirAsia X, saying the move as "purely business" and not, as being bandied around, to accommodate and establish a business strategy with national carrier, Malaysia Airlines. (read story)

A politician also jumped into the fray. He was quoted in an online news portal as saying Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) huge financial losses could be “a result of carrying AirAsia X passengers (those affected by the axed flights) for ‘almost’ free.” He even lodged a police report against MAS’ top management “alleging that there may have been “criminal elements” involved.” (read story).

In an interview with WIT, AirAsia X’s CEO Azran Osman-Rani (pictured left) brushed aside this allegation, clarifying MAS did not carry the affected AirAsia X’s passengers for free. "We paid MAS in full for flying them to the destinations that we have suspended."

Brushing aside the reports and comments as “hearsay” made by individuals with an agenda, he acknowledged the route cutting exercise was not popular but had to be done as part of the airline’s network realignment strategy.

He reiterated AirAsia X was not shrinking its business but was instead committed to more routes and revenue growth.

"Our development plans were hampered as the government didn’t approve the routes we wanted. We had the planes but could not fly to the routes we requested for, so when a destination was available we flew there instead of leaving the planes idle. For example, if we had been given Sydney earlier we wouldn’t have flown to Christchurch.”

The airline has just increased flight frequency from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei (Taiwan) and Perth (Australia), and launching new services to Sydney (April 1) and Tokyo.

Azran, however, declined to disclose which new destinations AirAsia X was planning to add to its network. He was just as coy on the airline’s much speculated IPO, replying that it would be revealed when the time is right.

The airline’s strategy is to establish an optimal network. "In business we need scale, and we could achieve this in Australia, China, Taiwan and Japan. Late last year we got all the routes we wanted to fly to, and this realignment exercise is to have the best network and a sustainable one for AirAsia X. We are doing this to survive in a tough environment and to put us in a position of strength."

Most of the airline’s current routes are doing well, even new ones. Azran cited Sydney as an example. “Sydney is one of our best new routes, and the response to its service incredibly high.” (Sydney is a much-prized route for the airline, having fought years for it.)

Azran said the airline’s market share in both Europe and India was small. Europe was not sustainable as most of the economies are down, currency weak and outbound travel slow. Added to these woes are the implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme and the escalating Air Passenger Duty taxes in UK.

On the outlook for Europe, Azran noted that the economy is not going to improve in the short term. He does not foresee AirAsia X returning to Europe anytime soon.

As for India, the airline is hopeful in reinstating services once the structural issues - visa restrictions between India and Malaysia, and increased airport/handling charges – can be resolved. These issues are not conductive to the low cost model, he maintained.

Azran also dismissed suggestions that AirAsia X is moving away from longer flights or that the low cost long haul model does not work, saying it is not about distance but about economics.

"We are doing well as we are managing costs and adhering to our values. When you are successful people want to chop you down."

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. And the pudding for AirAsia X is the encouraging average passenger load factor at 80.1% for 2011 (+3.6% from 2010) – the highest for the almost five-year-old airline. Passengers carried last year totalled 2.5 million (1.9 million in 2010). Total revenue was RM1.9 billion. a 45% over 2010’s.

  Azran is confident the numbers will be higher this year. He attributes AirAsia X’s strong performance and its continued growth to a number of factors:

• A strong brand, which is recognised and received globally.

• An efficient feeder network that is unrivalled, spanning major destinations in the ASEAN region and Asia from its hub in Kuala Lumpur.

• High aircraft utilisation, with the regions fastest turnaround time at only 25 minutes.

• On time performance - 88% in 2011

• Reliability with its fleet of wide body aircraft

• Affordable fares

• Good customer delivery, which has won it Skytrax’s World’s Best Low Cost Airline for three consecutive years.

• Dedicated team

"The brand and our network are our greatest advantage," said Azran.

Technology is also a driving force, which puts AirAsia X ahead of its contemporaries. It is the first airline in the region to go online with a wide range of distribution channels to make booking and travelling easier.

The airline is adopting a direct-to-consumer channel that accounts for over 90% of its sales.

It has moved most of its services, which previously were handled by its staff, online. Examples, self check in via the web/mobile and AskAirAsia, which is an online one-stop help and information centre.

The airline is working with travel agents as they still form an important part of the equation, said Azran. About 5%-6% of the sales come from the travel trade, reaching 20% in some markets.

"There is a segment of travellers out there who still want agents to create a good package for them that incorporates multi-destinations with AirAsia X’s network."

Despite its heavy focus on technology, the airline has no plans to reduce its current staff strength of 1,200. "Our staff is trained to be multi-tasker, one day a member may be checking in customers, tomorrow he could be helping to plot the flights’ path."

Benefits from the AirAsia-Expedia joint venture?

"It’s still too early to gauge the actual benefits, but we do see them coming. As Expedia is the world’s largest OTA, it has wide reach. People who have not tried flying with AirAsia X may see us on its Expedia website and have access to our products and services. It can also create bigger itinerary with our products."

On challenges ahead in a tough environment of continually rising fuel prices, uncertain global economies and competition, he said that top on his list is to have “the strongest brand awareness and acceptance."

The others are to:

• Maintain the ability to be the lowest cost operator

• Continue to push online reliability and new innovations in both products and services

• Cook up new ideas to be ahead of the game

• Push the envelope

“Ultimately it is the AirAsia culture, our people and our creativity that will propel us ahead despite trying times,” added Azran.

Travelling with low expectations is good for the soul

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The more I travel, the more I realise it’s good to lower your expectations.

For example, I had a lousy flight on Singapore Airlines to Bangkok this evening. I was sandwiched in the middle seat, seated next to a Thai boy-girl who never stopped twitching while playing games on his-her iPad – a gadget addict if I ever saw one, and I should know.

The IFE didn’t work. They ran out of newspapers. I couldn’t read my Kindle – so I understand that in the US, the FAA is reconsidering lifting restrictions on use of devices such as Kindles and iPads on takeoff and landing and I hope this will take globally because I really don’t understand how an ebook reader can interfere with aircraft navigation systems.

But because I had steeled myself for a lower-than-average experience – the online booking on SIA’s website still sucks and it messed up my seat selection – I wasn’t too disappointed.

I then took my time walking to immigration because, given how the media’s been writing about it, I was expecting long queues. Lo and behold, for the first time in several visits to Bangkok, an orderly scene awaited.

There were ushers making sure people had filled out their forms and were in the right queue. It took me all of 10 minutes to get through immigration. I am glad Bangkok is doing something about the first welcome visitors have of the country.

In the car taking me to the hotel, the driver turned to me and said, “Sorry, miss, it will take an hour tonight.”

“So long?” I asked, and daring to take a guess. “Traffic?”

“Yes, very bad.”

Well, we got to the Lebua at State Tower in 20 minutes, more or less. I didn’t even notice that we had arrived because, as I was expecting a long ride, I was chatting on the phone. Yes, I still have friends who prefer to talk rather than IM.

At check-in, I went through the motions – passport and credit card. A girl shows me up to my room. She is on auto-pilot. She doesn’t use my name or make eye contact, just rattles off instructions – take this lift, insert key card, how she'd taken 10,000 baht off my credit card, two choices for breakfast, dress code for club, free minibar (whoopee) - when did hotels get into this sort of information overload at check-in - and then she pushes a form in front of me.

“Please sign,” she said.

“What’s this?”

“A balcony waiver form.”

“A what?”

“If you sign, we will open the door.”

“What if I don’t?”

“Then we keep the door locked.”

“Has anyone fallen or jumped?”

“No. This is why we want to prevent this,” she said, straight-faced.

I signed because by now I am absolutely dying to look at the view. Now that I have high expectations of. I am after all on the 56th floor overlooking one of the world’s great madding cities.

Okay, I wasn’t disappointed with the view and have to say, it’s been a good day, thanks to low expectations.

(Pictured: The view I signed away my life for, pretty stunning)

Eight tips on how to set up your hotel's Facebook Timeline

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

On February 2 Facebook released Timelines for Brand Pages, altering Brand Pages to look more like personal profiles with a scrapbook-type layout. The new Timeline layout does not go live until March 30, but until then you can preview the new format to familiarise yourself with it and curate your Timeline.

Before publishing, be sure to consider the following tips on the new features that Timeline brings:

1. Cover photo: Pick an eye-catching photo that captures your brand

The Cover photo is an 851 x 315 pixel banner at the top of your Facebook Page. With Timelines you are no longer able to set tabs as default landing pages, so the Cover photo will be the primary tool to brand your Page and the first thing seen by every person who visits your Timeline. This should be an eye-catching photo that captures your brand and entices users to want to see more of your Page. You may think the cover photo is a great way to promote a special offer or encourage users to like your page, but it’s important to note that Facebook has placed restrictions on this image so it cannot be used as an advertisement. Use of the cover photo to promote discounts and Like Us on the cover photo is prohibited by Facebook at this time. Beyond just standard brand imagery, consider making your cover image dynamic throughout the year to highlight the current season or events occurring on property.

2. Apps: Prioritise your apps, which you most want users to interact with

In the new Timeline layout Page apps have been moved from a list in the left hand column to a menu below the Cover photo. Each app is represented by a 110x74 pixels photo or icon, much larger than the small icons used in the old layout. While these larger icons give you more space to brand your apps, they also only leave enough space to feature four apps before users have to click to see more. Since the Photos app is static and can’t be moved, that gives brands three more spaces to display their apps prominently above the fold. Due to this change it will be important to arrange your current apps to prioritize those which you most want users to interact within the top four apps and to consider running Facebook Advertising to drive users into your page and encourage engagement.

3. Messages: Use Messages as a customer service tool and respond to them as quickly as public customer service posts

Timelines allow users to send private messages directly to your Page, an option that wasn’t available previously. You cannot send a message to a user unless that user has already messaged you, so this isn’t a new marketing platform, but it is a useful customer service tool. Page managers should pay attention to their messages and be sure to respond to them as quickly as they would respond to public customer service posts, within a couple of hours. You also have the option to turn messages off if you do not want users to be able to send you private messages.

4. Timeline: Customise your Timeline settings if you’re able to review items quickly

Previously, in the Edit Page menu, you only had the option to either allow everyone to post on your wall, or not allow anyone to post. Now, you are able to select “Only show posts by [Brand Page] and friend activity on your Page until reviewed by an admin.” This can be useful if you are experiencing users posting spam and irrelevant posts on your Timeline. However use caution before selecting this option, this is not the preferred or recommended way to encourage user engagement or to manage your social media strategy. Brands should only choose this option if they are able to review items quickly since users expect immediate gratification with social media.

5. Milestones: Add important milestones as they are highly visible, also in fans’ Newsfeed

You can now publish important Milestones, such as the founding of your hotel or the opening of your restaurant. It’s important to include Milestones since they are highly visible in your Timeline due to the full width appearance compared to regular posts. They provide the ability to reach more of your fans in their Newsfeed since prominent events are given a higher EdgeRank score (EdgeRank is Facebook’s Algorithm for post visibility). Be sure to include photos with your Milestones when possible to increase engagement and EdgeRank.

6. Highlight and pin important posts to give them increased visibility to users

On the Timeline itself you can now choose to promote certain posts. Pin a post to keep it prominently displayed in the top left spot of the Timeline for up to a week. In addition to pinning one top post for a week, you can highlight posts to give them increased prominence. Highlighted posts will appear doublewide, occupying the entire width of your Timeline.

7. About: Use keywords in the About section to increase visibility in search

Be sure to familiarise yourself on how to find everything in the new Timeline structure. The information once located on the Info Tab has been moved into an About section below the profile photo. Make sure this information is complete and current so it is easy for users to find. Don’t forget keywords! Optimizing your profile About section can help increase visibility in search.

8. Friend Activity: Carefully monitor your Friend Activity as it appears at the top of your Page Timeline

Friend Activity is now prioritised at the top of the Page Timeline, including any friends who Like the page as well as stories where your friends have mentioned the Page. Make sure to hide or delete negative posts after the matter has been dealt with so that those posts do not receive increased prominence here.

Facebook a room at Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Fans of the Facebook page of Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur can now make room reservations through the "Book within Facebook" system, developed in conjunctions with Sabre Hospitality Solutions.

The hotel says it is the first in Malaysia to introduce this integrated Facebook booking engine, which links the fan page directly to the hotel’s real-time reservations system. Fans can check for room availability and make the bookings without having to leave the Facebook environment. Reservations are direct, secured and instantly confirmed.

There is a Fans Special, which is the hotel’s recognition and reward for new and old fans to its hotel page.

The move forms part of Millennium & Copthorne International’s evolving travel technology to engage travellers directly on Facebook and represents the first installation for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels with many to follow.

Melvin Lim, Grand Millennium’s general manager, said that such technology tools allowed the hotel to be in the forefront of engaging its customers and, at the same time, reward them to their loyalty to the brand

Earlier this year Grand Millennium reached a milestone when the number of followers on its four Facebook pages reached 30,000, a new social media benchmark for Kuala Lumpur’s hospitality industry (read story).

Making Social Media An Asset To Your Hotel, Part 4: Revenue Management

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

[This is the fourth and final posting in our article series, Making Social Media an Asset for Your Hotel. The previous article is available here.]

This article will discuss Revenue Management in the context of social media. There are numerous revenue management tools in the marketplace today. Some of these tools are proprietary solutions developed in-house by the major hospitality companies. Others are provided by leading third-party vendors with established expertise in optimizing a hotel’s rates and revenue.

Some solutions rely highly on human intuition believing that revenue management is an art, while others are highly technical automated solutions viewing revenue management as a science. In either case, the predominant methodology used by a revenue management tool considers the variables of availability, historical transactions, and pricing data. This approach assumes that price and availability are the primary drivers of purchase – an approach that fits well with commoditized offerings such as airplane seats. However, hotels that are truly differentiated do not sell a commoditized offering. Rather, the guest experience is unique in the marketplace, which means that Revenue Managers can charge a higher rate for their hotel.

How consumers perceive value can be difficult to ascertain because each consumer’s value perception is subject to many personal and market-driven variables. Given these complexities, this posting and the next one proposes a simple starting framework for revenue managers to incorporate social media data into their existing processes. Given its dynamic nature, social media may not revolutionize the revenue management process — at least not immediately, as price and availability will continue to be the primary drivers of purchase. But we have seen very effective, early best practices where hotels use social media data as a supplemental layer on top of their existing revenue management data. This section introduces these best practices with specific focuses on pricing and distribution.

A Great Hotel is Not a Commodity: Organic Food

Let’s begin by considering the example of organic food, and specifically organic vegetables. Organic vegetables command a higher premium than mass produced vegetables because of how they are grown. Local farming practices that eliminate pesticides and focus on natural processes make organic vegetables unique.

Although many people can’t taste the difference between organic vegetables versus mass-produced vegetables, or notice significant health benefits from eating them, organic vegetables are priced higher and attract consumers who are willing to pay a higher price. Hotel Revenue Managers should take note here. What are your hotel’s differentiators and how is your team pricing them to people who seek that particular differentiation?

Taking it Further: Correlation

Once you’ve identified your hotel’s differentiators, it’s possible to take this one step further by actually putting your rates to the test. Chart the favorability perception of your property’s differentiators in social media, and correlate their scores to your online bookings, overall reservations, and RevPAR over the same time period. In this process, a Revenue Manager should be looking for the following: of the differentiators that a hotel has, which ones actually impact the property’s bookings? For example, “efficient check-in” may be a differentiator but it may not show any impact on bookings, whereas “best spa” and “free wi-fi” may have positive correlations with bookings.

The differentiators that show positive correlations can then be considered as possible Purchase Drivers. In other words, there appear to be parallel movements between perception shifts in these drivers and your hotel’s bookings. In this scenario, when there are positive reviews about your hotel’s purchase drivers, the number of reservations increases. Conversely, when there are negative reviews about your hotel’s purchase drivers, the number of reservations decreases. This analysis becomes very useful in informing pricing changes. It is also useful in helping a hotel decide whether or not it should respond to a negative review on a social media site.

Negative reviews about a hotel’s purchase drivers warrant a management response; those complaining about other drivers (not shown to historically impact purchase) often do not.

Summary

In summary, Revenue Managers can now use social media as an additional data source in setting their rates and distribution. For example, if a hotel is performing well versus its competitors in most drivers, including the purchase drivers, then it can afford to increase its rate. This is true because it has a differentiated offering within public perception, and the hotel can therefore command a premium for its product. There are other practices for Revenue Managers to consider that are beyond the scope of this whitepaper. Many require an understanding of the specific pratices and star-class of the hotel.

Numbers are huge in mobile and it will fuel change in travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Mobile smartphones and devices are paving the way of the future, and companies will look to strategically leverage these growing areas of technology, says Robert Bailey, president and CEO of Abacus International (left).

Saying that new mobile tools such as apps are driving the future in every aspect of life, including travel, he added, “Mobile advancements through HTML5 and mobile apps will continue to play a critical role to maximise operations and ultimately, the bottom line for travel companies.”

Mobile users are utilising their devices an average of 94 minutes per day in apps and 72 minutes browsing the Web compared to 43 and 64 minutes per day respectively, just a year and half ago .

By 2015, 183 billion cumulative downloads are expected, up from 11 billion in 2010, with social and location features contributing to a shift away from paid download revenues to in-app purchases and advertising. Much of the development and innovation to support demand is expected to be derived from Asia, said Abacus.

Rapid advances in HTML5 coupled with the advantages of lower cost and faster development time make it the most-effective platform to reach a wider audience regardless of device. HTML5 can be deployed on a wide range of mobile devices, from iOS and Android to Windows Phone and Blackberry. Sales of mobile devices with full HTML5 support within its web browser are expected to reach one billion next year, compared to 336 million in 2011 .

“This is an exciting time to be building new travel solutions. The widespread adoption of smartphones and tablet devices along with the headway made by HTML5 has added new dimensions to the way we can connect with our customers and travellers, and enhance the overall user experience,” said Brett Henry, VP Marketing, VP India, Abacus International.

Companies like Salesforce, Slideshare and Pandora have already signed up to push for the adoption of the HTML5 standard. Even Facebook recently launched its HTML5 resource centre in an attempt to help designers build, test and deploy Web applications.

“The Abacus strategy is to provide the best user experience for the task at hand; it’s not just about rolling out the latest technology fad,” Henry said, citing solultions such as Abacus VirtuallyThere and Abacus WebStart.

“A key priority for most organisations now is the deployment of mobile solutions in order to boost customer engagement. Abacus is leveraging this growing phenomenon to both support third party developers as well as offer an enhanced user experience for our customers, the travel companies. They simply utilise this new technology in a seamless manner through existing productivity solutions,” added Henry.

The demand for access to business information and applications through mobile devices has surged into the travel workforce. Half the equipment on corporate networks will be mobile devices by 2015, 34 per cent of employees will use smartphones to communicate with their companies in 2012 and the importance of data plans are fast outweighing voice plans .

Mobile technology ultimately allows for companies to have an unprecedented level of connectivity among employees, vendors and/or customers. Workers can utilise mobile technology to enable direct communications with these audiences in a variety of ways.

“Travel companies need to embrace these new communication channels in an integrated way,” said Bailey. “Powerful networks, a wide variety of devices, robust mobile platforms and applications and widespread adoption of mobile have all paved the way to bring wireless into the mainstream of doing business today.”

“With the potential of turmoil in the economy, travel companies need to be cognisant of the best technologies available and take advantage of the opportunities. Data is king in a mobile community, and companies nowadays need help to leverage these data assets, increase employee productivity and improve overall growth – all key areas of focus in 2012 and beyond.”

At five, Firefly's all set to fly

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

On the eve of its fifth birthday in April, Firefly is quick to refute rumours that it is ceasing operations to make way for low-cost carrier AirAsia as part of the share-swap deal between the former and national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) inked in August 2011.

"The only thing we rationalised was the jet services flying out of KLIA. Our turboprop flights are intact. We are here to stay, and here to grow," said Ignatius Ong, COO of Short-Haul Malaysia Airlines/Firefly.

He reiterated that the turboprop aircraft operating out its two hubs – Subang (Kuala Lumpur) and Penang - remain unaffected,

Plans for growth are in motion, and that means expanding Firefly's existing network and acquiring more turboprops to support the growth within the medium to longer term period.

"Firefly will continue to serve the community by connecting small towns and cities that otherwise would not enjoy the benefit of fast, efficient and safe air travel," Ong added.

He clarified that Firefly is not a low cost carrier, but "a community airline, and our key selling point is the convenience of the airport we are based in."

That was how the airline, a wholly subsidiary of MAS, began operations in April 2007, as a “community airline” to serve domestic points within Malaysia. It then had two Fokker 50 aircraft, operating out of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport /Subang Skypark (formerly Subang International Airport).

Its simple efficient service, affordable fares plus operating out of Subang, which is close to Kuala Lumpur, made it very popular. It expanded quickly, adding Penang as is second hub. It replaced the F50 with turboprops and added Boeing 737-800 and 737-400 aircraft to its fleet.

The airline started flying to regional destinations, which include Singapore and within Thailand. It also launched services to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Kuching in Sarawak out of the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, using its Boeing aircraft. It added more routes within Peninsular Malaysia it

The airline’s rise led to a head-on competition with low cost carrier AirAsia, especially on routes from KLIA to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

However, when it seemed the sky could be the limit for Firefly, its wings were clipped with the network rationalistion programme under the MAS-AirAsia share-swap deal. While it continues as an independent brand under MAS’ ownership, it ceased its jet operations and operated flights with its fleet of ATR 72-500 turboprops.

MAS will set up a new full-service regional airline, scheduled for launch mid-2012, to take over Firely's existing Boeing jet operations.

Currently Firelfy has a fleet of 12 ATR 72-500 turboprops, flying out of its Subang and Penang hubs to secondary destinations within the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle, as well as providing air linkages between Malaysia and Singapore.

Ong said the airline is assessing the use of next generation turboprop aircraft, which can provide more capacity, better fuel efficiencies and lesser carbon emission.

The airline carried 1.5 million passengers last year compared with 1.35 million in 2010. It expects to fly 30% more passengers in 2012 as it takes delivery of two new ATR 72-500 turboprops.

In a related development, Firefly will reintroduce fuel surcharge for flight bookings made from March 21 to offset persisting high jet fuel prices. The surcharge is RM10 (US$3.20) for domestic travel for each leg, and RM20 for regional routes.

  Ong said the airline had to reimpose the fuel surcharge, which was abolished in the last quarter of 2008, “due to unsustainable higher operating costs.”

Prince Hotels trades private label for Utell

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Prince Hotels and Resorts of Japan has traded its private label chain code (PJ) for full-service representation with Utell® Hotels & Resorts under the UI chain code.

The change for 11 Prince properties also includes a migration to Pegasus Solutions’ next-generation central reservations system (CRS) RezView® NG.

Prince switched to full service support to leverage on Utell’s global preferred relationships with major travel management companies (TMCs), including American Express, BCD Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

Utell seamlessly matches hotel supply with existing demand, allowing hotels like Prince to obtain more RFPs than are available through private label representation on the global distribution systems (GDSs).

RezView NG allows the Prince properties to centrally manage content and rates for all channels, operating and adapting business to strategy, not based upon the constraints of the system.

This flexibility includes support for a wide variety of revenue management strategies, the ability to sell and manage non-room inventory, high-level customization, real-time reporting, close integration with property management systems and revenue management systems, as well as automated distribution content management.

Yoshinori Nishihara, regional director, revenue generation management for Pegasus Solutions said hotels like the Prince group can utilise Utell’s experience and position to give them access to the contacts, structure and tools to drive corporate RFP sales.

A girl who rocks in tech and travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Girls in Tech, the non-profit organization focused on women’s innovative and entrepreneurial achievements in technology, is a good example of a small idea that’s somehow grown big because there was simply a need for it.

It started in San Francisco in 2007 as a casual meeting of industry friends interested in talking about all things tech, such as the start-up culture, product marketing and development and business dealings.

Said founder Adriana Gascoigne, who recently moved to Singapore and has since started the Singapore chapter, “This meeting was meant as a sounding board for the minority in tech – women – to help answer questions, address any concerns in the workplace, bounce product feature ideas off of each other. It was also meant to inspire women in tech to become “intrapreneurs” as well as entrepreneurs since our gender was and still is, relatively scarce in the tech industry.

“We were on a mission to give female developers, designers and marketers a voice and encourage the younger generations to embrace technology and the start-up world as a viable career path.”

Five years on, Girls in Tech has grown to over 38 active chapters across the globe from the Middle East (Kuwait and United Arab Emirates) to Asia (China, Singapore and Japan); Europe such as (UK, France, Germany and Ireland) and Latin America with active chapters in Chile, Brazil, and recently Guatemala.

Beyond a social networking platform, GIT is also focused on education. It has rolled out three programmes – Girls in Tech “Professional,” “Girls in Tech University or “GIT U”and “Girls in Tech Mentorship Program”.

This year, it will produce the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference (a one-day traditional conference showcasing women in the tech industry), The AMPLIFY Business Pitch Competition (a business pitch competition promoting women’s start-ups) and Girls in Tech 360 or “GIT360,” which is a entrepreneur labs programme enabling 20 female entrepreneurs to learn the skills of the start-up trade, helping them in the company launch process.

Technology + Travel: Match made in heaven

For Gascoigne, who recently joined the travel start-up, Impulse Flyer, to head business development, travel and technology are an excellent fit in the following ways – ease of booking and convenience; social discovery; customer service; and content development, distribution and discovery.

And she sees exciting developments taking place in these areas of travel - content curation, targeted niche travel sites; comprehensive aggregation search engines; personalized and customized crowd-sourced recommendations and ratings platforms; mobile apps and the rise of budget airlines.

Gascoigne’s first start-up experience was at a company called GUBA. Similar to YouTube, GUBA was a user-generated content site, which made it easy for people to post, share and search interesting video content. “I was absolutely immersed in this trend-setting company. It had such an active, nimble and creative culture that going to work everyday was more of a positive addiction than an activity I was forced to do to pay the bills.

“To this day, I remember every moment of my experience and how it has influenced the rest of my career to present-day.”

The scalability and convenience of technology

The thing that fascinates her most about technology is how scalable it is. “From one minute to the next, a product can be built that will connect or entertain someone in the US and simultaneously, someone in Singapore. This product can span across multiple geographies in a very short time period.

“Additionally, it is amazing to me when technology is crowdsourced or when people are able to collaborate on products, virtually. The accessibility to the cloud and connectivity of the world or “globalization” is changing the way we do business, and the speed by which we can implement and develop new products.

“Another thing that I love about technology is convenience. Hardware and software products are built to make sure that our lives are easier – devices are smaller, information can be spread faster, communication is more seamless and entertainment is at our fingertips.

“Whether you’re referring to Moore’s law or Stanford’s Engineering program or Singularity University, the world is constantly innovating at an even more rapid pace partially in an effort to “optimize life” - make things more convenient for people like you and me.”

Singapore's need for a risk culture

On her move to Singapore, which has aspirations to become the Silicon Valley of Asia, Gascoigne said, “I thought that it would be a great place for me to learn about the tech industry in a new market, launch Girls in Tech Singapore and network within the active and curious, yet small start-up community in Singapore. There is a lot of potential in Singapore and I would love to play a role in planting the Silicon Valley seed here.”

From her few months in the city, she feels that the Singaporean tech community needs a leadership-injection.

“I believe that some of the smartest people in the world live in Singapore and are fully capable of launching their own start-ups and developing interesting and innovative products. However, the culture here underscores and aligns credibility and honour with graduating from a prestigious college and jumping head-first into a MNC.

“It is almost frowned upon to take such a risk in starting a company without any built-up work skills and experience.

“One of the mottos that I live by day-to-day is “embrace risk.” If there is anything that I’d like to share with the Singaporean tech community it is just that – embracing risk will enable people to become more entrepreneurial, innovative and leadership-oriented.”

She also feels not enough credit is given to developers without whom the tech industry would be nowhere.

“We should be fully indebted to this group of talented individuals whom enable us to use cool products on the internet, on our mobile phones, etc.

“I look up to these people because, by trade, I am a product marketer – a very “right-brained” profession. Coding seems so incredibly foreign and difficult to me, and I feel that a lot of schooling, innate talent and dedication is required to really make it in the field.

“I also feel that engineers aren’t really given a voice as much as other more forward-facing positions in start-ups such as BD, marketing and sales. Usually coders are in front of their computers from morning till late night and rarely have the opportunity to interact and engage with others in the company [or get accolades for their achievements].

“I salute those with a true talent and dedication to coding and building cool, new products that inevitably will make an impact on society and help change the world.”

* Adriana Gascoigne will be speaking at WITX – Women In Travel on April 27, in Bangkok. View programme here. And book your early bird seats before March 31.

February's top travel websites - Australia, HK, Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Here are the top travel websites in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore in February 2012, from data compiled by Experian Hitwise.

A summary of how they performed. (See slideshow below for full details.)

Australia

• Webjet Australia website received the highest share of visits for the month of February. It retained its number one spot as top travel agency.

• Wego climbed from number 27 in January to number 5 for this month in the top travel agency category.

• Wotif.com retained the lead as the top website for destination and accommodation with 6.26% visit share.

• Qantas website received the highest share of visits in the commercial airlines category.

Hong Kong

• Ctrip.com has surpassed Jipiao.trip.taobao.com as the top travel agency in Hong Kong receiving the highest share of visits with almost 7%.

• Yahoo! Travel Hong Kong retained top spot with 12.08% visit shares.

• Cathay Pacific recorded 32.77% share of visits in February followed by budget airlines including AirAsia (6.36%), Dragon Air (5.21%) and Tiger Airways (4.90%).

Singapore

• ZUJI Singapore rose from the third spot to the number one spot with 10.59% share of visits in February (Travel agency category).

• Agoda.com website held the top spot in the destination and accommodation category with 11.83%.

• Budget carrier, Tiger Airways, led the commercial airlines category with 23.48% share of visits.

Experian Hitwise Travel Data - February 2012

ninemsn Travel launches new site, powered by Wego

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

ninemsn Travel in Australia has launched a re-conceptualised site in partnership with Wego travel search.

The new home page (pictured left) features a dedicated travel search module and daily deals. Across the site, contextualised search widgets provide access to the hottest deals from industry leaders, alongside travel advice.

ninemsn is repositioning the site as a travel planning and booking destination, with access to the best value deals, no matter the budget.

Users can view the spectrum of travel options from low cost carriers to cruises, boutique hotels to hand-picked deals that are relevant to the ninemsn Travel editorial, which provides ‘insider’ tips and ideas from Australians who have experienced destinations abroad.

“Wego’s user-first approach to search and ninemsn Travel’s comprehensive content, mean this progressive collaboration will give Australians a complete destination guide, along with the means to book their travel simply and efficiently,” said Dean Wicks, Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager, Australia & New Zealand for Wego.

“Australian consumers are the winners here as we continue on our mission to help them save time, pay less and travel more.”

Group buying travel deals are aggregated on the one page including current providers Getaway Lounge, Scoopon and Living Social. Destination features are now contextualised to suit the story you are reading, so if you’re getting the low down from a fellow Aussie traveller on the best jazz bars in New Orleans, you’ll also be shown the latest deals for flights to the jazz capital from your nearest airport.

Wego recently launched 35 country sites in 20 languages as part of its global expansion including www.wego.com.au and www.wegotravel.co.nz. Wego’s metasearch technology collates, presents and tracks travel products and deals from around the world, so ninemsn Travel users will have the broadest possible choice of over 350,000 accommodation options and more than 500 airlines, including the region’s low cost carriers.

Room Key the true path to the customer's heart?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

In 2001, Accor, Forte and Hilton International got together to launch andbook.com. It was supposed to be the hotel’s answer to reducing dependence on intermediaries, specifically OTAs which were then threatening to become juggernauts of distribution.

The venture tanked. Some said it was because one of the partners got cold feet.

Eleven years on, six US hotel groups – Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, and Wyndham Hotel Group – are attempting to do it again with Room Key. This time though, on a larger scale – it is understood that each group is putting in US$5 million each into the new venture – and perhaps with more urgency.

In that last decade, while hotels dithered, the huge OTAs have indeed become juggernauts. Look at how Priceline is peforming. Fourth quarter gross travel bookings for the Priceline Group reached $4.96 billion, an increase of 51.8% over a year ago. Revenues rose 35.5% to $991 million. International performance was even more stellar – its international operations contributed revenues in the fourth quarter of $610 million, a 62.7% increase versus a year ago. The Group's gross profit for the fourth quarter was $725 million, a 51.5% increase from the prior year.

In 2010, Booking.com, part of Priceline, overtook Expedia as Europe’s largest online travel agency. Both companies continue to see growth as consumers in Europe increasingly move online and their commission levels – sometimes up to 25% – continue to cause grief for hoteliers.

In Germany, a row has erupted between hoteliers and HRS, when the latter attempted to increase commission levels from 13% to 15% and it added a clause “that denied hotels the right to offer better prices through any other booking channel”. Read this report.

“HRS felt they could do it because they control a huge chunk of the market,” said one CEO of a hotel group based in Europe. “Intermediaries are becoming too powerful.”

Hence, when Room Key's chief executive officer, John F Davis III , the former CEO of Pegasus, flew into Berlin to attend a dinner with about 25 hoteliers, hosted by Trust International, he was warmly received.

Following on from that meeting, Preferred Hotel Group became the first commercial partner supplier of independent luxury hotel inventory to Room Key.

Trust CEO Richard Wiegmann also said his hotel CRS would become the first to establish direct connectivity with the new site. “We are giving it a go. It should be done in two weeks.”

As for whether Trust would invest in the venture, he said it was too early to say.” Worldhotels, part of the same IHS family as Trust, is also understood to be signing on.

Ted Teng, CEO of Leading Hotels of The World, said he was still going to wait and see. “When I first heard the news of Room Key, I wrote down three things – join them, form our own or wait and see. I want to understand better what it is and whether it’ll be a net positive for our independent hotels.”

Hoteliers support the sentiment behind Room Key of course. They need to reduce the power of the OTAs and lower the costs of distribution. “This is positive. There is more to gain from brands working together than competing,” said Teng.

There’s also a feeling that Room Key has a better chance of taking off than andbook.com. The technology is different, the urgency is there and the six major brands have enough clout to make it work.

According to press statements issued by the company, Roomkey.com will provide “travelers with a search and book experience tailored for ease of hotel shopping through an uncluttered and trustworthy site”.

“It gives consumers confidence that they have made the right choice by providing accurate hotel information straight from the source. From searching through to booking directly with the hotel, Roomkey.com enables consumers to search, book and relax.”

The theory is, if only a small percentage of the hundreds of millions of visitors who visit the six branded websites can be persuaded to book within roomkey.com, then the venture would have achieved its purpose. And its user interface is clearly designed to make it simple for consumers to search and book.

Room Key will be launching its first three international sites early this spring in the UK (www.roomkey.co.uk), Canada (www.roomkey.ca) and Australia (www.roomkey.com.au) and Davis said more commercial partnerships will be sought.

At a panel at etravelworld at ITB Berlin, Remko West of Xotels said there is reason why online distribution is expensive. “Online marketing is expensive, there is no way to do it cheap and that’s not going to change.”

It is said that between Expedia and Priceline, the two companies spend up to $1 billion on search marketing and will Room Key be prepared to invest that amount?

“The people who use this argument though are wrong,” said another hotel chief executive. “Room Key is not meant to compete with the OTAs, it is meant to provide another channel for consumers to book direct with hotels.”

The critical question of course remains - would the customer rather book with an OTA where he feels he gets access to a wider, unbiased choice of inventory or a hotel website where his choice is limited to participating brands, no matter how many partners come into Room Key?

The promise of Asia wrapped up in silk and low cost

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

As the Greek economic tragedy plays out (wait, will this have a happy ending?), and the US struggles with economic and foreign policies, all eyes are on Asia to deliver the promise of a better tomorrow for travel and tourism. Can Asia deliver? Yeoh Siew Hoon reports an ITB Berlin of blue skies.

In Hall 26, the Asian section of ITB Berlin, traditional tour operators in Europe looking for a competitive edge in a very tough environment where online players are chipping away at their heels flocked to Myanmar, the flavour of the month.

The bad news – tourism infrastructure is rather limited and hoteliers, after languishing for years, finally see a chance to charge rates they feel they deserved.

The talk was of a 30-40% rise in rates for this winter season, and that’s gotten tour operators hot and bothered. “They will price themselves out of the market,” said a French tour operator I ran into.

The question is which market of course. Since Myanmar lifted its silken veils, businessmen have been flocking to Yangon and hotels are packed with corporate guests.

Leisure travellers will have to take second place for now and ground tour operators have already blocked and paid for room allotments for winter – just to be sure.

It’s good to see such interest in Myanmar and the potential is immense. The country, about the same size as Thailand, only receives 300,000 arrivals compared with Thailand’s 13 million.

But as PATA’s new CEO Martin Craigs observed on a panel at ITB Berlin, it is hoped that development will be done sensitively and at a pace that doesn’t impact adversely on the country’s tourism assets.

Craigs also got pretty hot and bothered about the carbon emissions tax European governments want to place on airlines. He call airlines the most unappreciated player in travel and tourism. They are the lifeblood of economies, yet they end up as whipping boys.

And he likened the carbon emissions tax governments were planning to impose on travellers to “detention” taxes.

As the Greek economic tragedy plays out, and the US continues to struggle with economic and foreign policies, all eyes are on Asia to deliver the promise of a better tomorrow for travel and tourism. Can Asia deliver? That was the question asked of a panel at ITB Berlin and the answer was a yes but …

Visa applications for Chinese and Indian travellers need to be simplified. It is alright if visas are required but why not make it simpler and use technology – Australia and Cambodia were cited as examples of nations that had made visa applications painless.

If Europe wants to get its share of the Asian promise, then this is clearly an issue to be resolved.

Luxury travel was identified as a segment by Declan Hurley, vice president, sales and marketing, The Ritz-Carlton. In Europe, luxury had become a dirty word but thank goodness in Asia, it was still a sexy word and a booming segment in markets such as China and India.

Helen Marano, government and industry affairs director for the World Travel and Tourism Council, said that of the 150 million new travellers emerging in China, 20 million were classified as luxury customers. India had 10 million in that segment. So think of them as entire countries when you market to them, she said.

Interestingly, what was helping to fuel luxury travel in Asia is also the emergence of low cost airlines across the region.
Consumer behaviour has changed, observed the panellists which also included Pieter Idenburg, CEO of Suntec and Melissa Ow of Singapore Tourism Board. Now people book the hotel first and then find the flights to fit around the accommodation.

And they fly low cost but stay luxury, said Hurley. “They’d rather spend the money on a nice hotel than on a flight,” he added.

Idenburg and Ow attributed Singapore’s sterling growth in tourist arrivals in 2011 – 32.2 milion arrivals and S$22.2 billion in tourist spending – to both the low cost and of course, the two Integrated Resorts which have transformed the tourism landscape.

But wait, don’t write off Europe yet, said Zoltan Somogyi, executive director for member relations and services for the UNWTO. Don’t make the mistake of linking tourism to the economy, he said.

Tourism was still growing in Europe, people were still travelling. They’re just travelling differently.

The key is understanding the changes and targeting your marketing efforts to go after the customers you want. And increasingly customers are going online as Europe too feels the power of the web, social and mobile.

WITNext Summercamp to coach and match talent with right travel job

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

One of the most common laments I hear in my conversations with industry folks – whether from hotels, airlines, convention centres, travel agents, tour operators – is how hard it is to find good quality staff these days.

By good quality, they mean, young, enthusiastic, energetic, clever, creative and willing to work long hours for not so much money. “You shouldn’t work for money, you should follow your passion,” they say.

This is easy to say of course when you already have the money, and you’ve done enough in your life to know what your passion is, but when you’ve just finished your studies, and are about to be ejected into the cruel world of work, you can get a bit confused and lost.

And so who can blame you when you want to focus on money, because that’s the only thing you know that you can focus on. You’ve spent your parents’ money, you’ve got student loans and you want to continue to enjoy a lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to.

The other lament is about how different and spoilt young people are today. They are lazy, fickle, can’t take hard knocks, say boo to them and they leave, and they leave for $50. “There’s no loyalty these days,” is a common refrain.

I wonder though if it is as much the organisation’s fault as the employee’s. Every generation wants different things. Every generation is supposed to be better off than the previous. I certainly wanted different things from my mother because I had a choice, and kids today want different things from me because they have more choices.

If we expect to attract a new generation of talent, and retain them, then we have to do things differently, think differently. As much as we want them to fit in with our way of doing things, we need to fit around them too – it’s an old truth, if you want to hold onto good people, you accommodate them.

So perhaps in this new economy, employers need to rethink how they accommodate good quality talent who have different attitudes towards work-life balance from a previous generation.

I’ve heard of some companies that are trying to do things differently. For Asian Oasis in Thailand, the recent floods in Bangkok were a blessing in disguise. Staff had to work remotely because they couldn’t get to work and “we found that worked so well that now all our staff work remotely,” chairman Chananya Phataraprasit told me when I was in Bangkok recently.

“And it’s working so well, they are more productive and happier and it works for us too because it saves on office overheads.”

New ways needed to tackle talent crunch

Last week, I also met up with Michael Sengol, CEO of Meritus Hotels and Resorts, recently who was conferred The Leading CEO Award at the Singapore HR Awards 2011 in August 2011.

He was selected for the distinction after a four-month-long judging process that included workplace assessments. “Among the key criteria for Leading CEO Award is the clear illustration of the CEO’s ability to support, champion, and endorse effective and innovative HR and people management practices as an important business outcome. The CEO should also exemplify personal leadership and integrity in driving diversity and flexibility in the organization.”

He told me the first thing he did when the Singapore government decided to clamp down on foreign labour was put a freeze on hiring. “I don’t think it’s a question of getting and needing more staff, it’s a question of thinking and doing things differently.

“People get used to a certain way of doing things – because it’s always been done that way.”

On his table were strewn charts upon charts. This is a man who tracks everything – down to profit per employee. He wants people to know that their actions are responsible right down to the bottomline.

He talks of the need to restructure work so that we can ensure high productivity among all employees regardless of function and age and also that we can accommodate older folks in our societies.

They don’t want to work 9-5, they want flexible hours. Married women whose kids have grown up – they want to work but not necessarily full-time. Folks who’ve worked most of their lives but now need a better work-life balance.

Recently, I was speaking to a group of Singapore Management University students, attending the World Travel & Tourism class, and one of them told me of how he attended a recruitment workshop by a certain company and he was told outright, “There is no work-life balance in our company.”

That can be a turn-off when you are looking for that first job.

In the last couple of years, I have watched people I love struggle with this phase in life – that abyss between school and work life. It can be frightening and confusing. And I have found myself helpless to offer any sound advice. What worked for me may not work for someone else.

But surely there’s got to be a way of creating an environment where school leavers and job seekers can pick up relevant learning points so they can make some informed decisions, meet industry leaders face-to-face, be coached on certain life skills and, ultimately, find the right job match for themselves.

That’s the idea behind a new project we are launching with WITNext this year. The WITNext Summercamp, set for June 21-22 in Singapore, will have four objectives: Inspire a new generation about travel and tourism; expose the diversity and scope of jobs available in travel and tourism; create an environment for real learning and engagement; and connect travel companies and future talent and vice versa.

Win Your Dream Travel Job

WITNext Summercamp – Travel. Not Just A Job – will comprise a “Win Your Dream Travel Job” competition where finalists will have a personal coach each on presentation skills to deliver The Dream Job Pitch to a panel of judges; a conference featuring respected travel industry leaders; and a Job Bazaar which will match travel companies with job seekers and school leavers.

Attendance at this event is free to those who pre-register with syaz@witnext.com on a first-come-first-serve basis - we welcome school leavers, job seekers and anyone working in other industries who are keen to explore opportunities in travel and tourism.

We hope to work with our WITNext patrons to roll out this event and we are pleased to welcome onboard our first partners, the Singapore Hotel Association and SHATEC, SHA’s Training and Educational Centre, and HSMAI Singapore Chapter.

We welcome anyone who wants to work with us on this event, and stay tuned for more details, as we unroll our first WITNext Summercamp.

Survivor Wego prepares for next phase of growth under new CEO

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

In the world of travel start-ups, you could call Wego, the travel search website once named Bezurk, a survivor.

Even the co-founders, Craig Hewett (left) and Ross Veitch, would admit they were too early. The market wasn’t ready, customers weren’t ready and perhaps even they who started it seven years ago weren’t quite prepared for what it meant to launch a business where no one had gone before.

They soon found out they were right. Veitch, who this year became CEO after Martin Symes became non-executive chairman, recalled, “When Craig and I first started, Craig was CEO. But we quickly realized we were getting out of our depth and needed to bring in a professional CEO who had built several organizations.”

And so Symes, who had previously worked with ZUJI and before that, American Airlines, came into the picture. “We call Martin our Eric Schmidt, our adult supervision.”

Still the going remained tough. Said Veitch, who had worked with Yahoo prior, “The first couple of years were hard and Wego was an expensive hobby for Martin, Craig and I. Between us, we put in S$2 million which we were fortunate to have but it was not easy by any stretch.

“But by that time you are so deep in that it motivates you,” he laughed. “It also helped us during investor roadshows because people could see we had serious skin in the game. This is what I tell entrepreneurs – bootstrap it first, get it started and then raise funds.”

Added Veitch, “Martin got us through some critical patches during those early years when most start-ups fizzle.”

The company went through two fund-raising rounds – he declined to say how much equity’s been surrendered but said “the founders still have serious skin in the game” – and Symes put together a top team. “He’s laid a great foundation,” said Veitch.

And now it’s time for Veitch and Hewett to go the next stage without “adult supervision” and Wego is in serious expansion mode. The day of this interview, it had just launched its 35th local language site, in United Arab Emirates.

This global expansion into local markets is true to the original purpose of Wego. “When we started Wego, it was to build the biggest travel search in Asia Pacific. No one was doing it. The market was fragmented. All trends were in our favour. Since day one, a third of our visitors were coming from outside the region and it became clear that what we built was of interest to people outside the region. Thus we decided to localize the product and serve emerging markets worldwide.”

“A significant more” sites are in the pipeline, said Veitch.

Two markets are top priority – Indonesia and India – and Veitch sees Indonesia becoming a “global competence” centre for the company. “It’s a good place to be hiring product managers for mobile and for building social apps. We will also use Indonesia as a laboratory, it’s our number one market in terms of visits, it’s huge in mobile and social networking.”

The Bahasa Indonesian site was launched last Christmas although a lot of Indonesians also use Wego in English, said Veitch. “We tweaked the model a bit in India and Indonesia. We built our platforms with scale and internationalization in mind.”

The company has also decided to focus on its roots of search and has scrapped the Wego Fast Deals business it launched last year, at the height of the deals craze. “We will aggregate deals rather than create our own. We don’t wish to compete with suppliers and it’s a super competitive space. It’s better to focus on what you are good at.”

While the company started as pure flight search, hotels now form almost half of content. “Years ago, the air ticket was the big ticket item but since low cost, that’s changed. Increasingly people are booking hotels and then booking flights around that. They fly low cost, stay high end.”

While some might think that Wego’s done a couple of pivots in its business model the last seven years, Veitch said the fundamental model hasn’t changed. “We are still aggregating price and availability real time, we just had to adapt to different markets. If you look at flights in Indonesia, now it’s mostly airline direct and OTAs are just moving in.”

In three years time, he wants Wego to be the first place people think about when it comes time to search for travel. “It’s about making the whole marketplace more efficient, save time, save money so people travel more.”

To build a leading consumer brand though takes money and without the deep pockets of brands like Expedia and Priceline, the going might be tough. “We will do it through PR and social media. Once people try it, they like it, they tell their friends. Half of our traffic in Singapore is repeat.”

He sees ways to build user loyalty through social and community and it’s being tested in Indonesia. “I think people are only scraping the surface of gamification,” he said.

The bigger concern is what Google is going with flight and hotel search. “With flights, they are very US domestic at the moment and it will be a challenge making it work in Asia. Their Hotel Finder product has cool elements, keyboard shortcuts, deal finders – how cheap it is today versus the usual.

“What has made a difference is pushing Google Local onto their sites and changing links to aggregators and sites like ourselves and taking people direct to local hotels versus OTAs. Whether this is serving the hotels or the best relevant choice for consumers, I don’t know.”

As for an exit, Veitch said it’s not what they are focused on right now. “We are nicely profitable and growing, there are lots of possible exits.” He did add though that the company is beginning to think of a third round of funding.

Truly Malaysian spirit fuels Holiday Villa's growth

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Holiday Villa Hotels and Resorts celebrated its 25th anniversary recently and, in the understated style of this company, the event was marked with a private “yee sang” (raw fish tossing) lunch for the media and a separate one for staff.

"We just wanted to celebrate the milestone with our media friends, supporters and our loyal staff,” said Datin Mavis Masri Azman, Holiday Villa's Managing Director/CEO (pictured below left), when asked why it didn't want to make a bigger splash.

Indeed, for the past quarter of a decade, with Mavis and her husband, Dato” Azman Shah Dato’ Seri Haron (now Holiday Villa chairman), at the helm this Malaysian-grown brand has been quietly but steadily expanding its wings across the globe. From one resort in Cherating, Pahang, it has grown to 32 hotels and resorts, with more in the pipeline.

Holiday Villa was founded in 1987 by Alangka-Suka Hotels and Resorts Bhd, a subsidiary of public listed business conglomerate, Advance Synergy. Its first hotel with 50 rooms and apartments – Holiday Villa Cherating (pictured above) in the east coast state of Pahang - was built on 2.3 acres of land fronting the South China Sea. The resort has since expanded to 134 rooms including 12 pool villas.

Its next property was in Langkawi in 1992 with a 258-room resort spread over 13 acres in the tourist belt of Pantai Cenang. Then came its first overseas foray into London five years after when it bought the former Pavilion Hotel in Leinster Gardens, near Bayswater, and transformed it into the 100-room Holiday Villa London (pictured below).

From there, the company expanded to Sudan (Khartoum), Qatar (Doha), Saudi Arabia (Madinah), Cambodia (Phnom Penh), Vietnam, Indonesia (two in Bali), China and France (Paris)

Of the 32 hotels and resorts under the Holiday Villa umbrella, 21 are in operations and 11 are due to open within the next three years. Coming online are six more properties in Malaysia, one each in Bahrain and Sihanoukville (Cambodia) and three in China. Its total estimated inventory is 6,900 rooms and suites.

The hotels are managed through various business arrangements – owned and managed, direct management services contracts, joint ventures or license/strategic alliance, the latter similar to a franchise with marketing support.

Mavis said that one key reason Holiday Villa has been able to expand at a good pace and been able to compete with foreign brands was the strong team it's built. She believes in empowering staff and giving them "freedom to make good their creativity, but at the same time making high demand on accountability".

"Through the years Holiday Villa has also kept the core elements of its character, personality and style. These are the finer aspects that distinguish one company from another, and creates a competitive advantage," Mavis added.

The group is known for affordability, warm Malaysian hospitality and a wide choice of properties to suti all budgets.

"We offer value for money in our resorts, business hotels and service apartments. All are infused with Malaysian hospitality with Malaysians heading our overseas properties in Bali, London, Qatar, Shenzhen and Phnom Penh,” said Kenneth de Silva, Holiday Villa’s general manager for business development & special projects (pictured right).

All the hotels, except for China, have a halal Malaysian restaurant, serving some of the best-known dishes of the country.

Another plus factor is the hotels’ location such as on famous beaches in Malaysia and Bali, and near famous landmarks like London’s Hyde Park and Paris’ Galeries Lafayette.

Adopting a wide range of marketing strategies has helped too. Apart from the corporate sales and marketing office in its Kuala Lumpur headquarters, the group has a corporate sales/marketing office in Singapore, and international sales offices in Shenzhen, London, Paris Bali and the Middle East.

The group’s corporate website offers real time reservations and confirmations, apart from promotional offers. Launched in December 2008, it is in six languages – English, Indonesia, Mandarin, Arabic, French and German.

Riding on the social media rage, the group is also using Facebook and Twitter to engage with its customers (read story). it also has an app for the iPhone and iPod.

"The social media approach supports our traditional marketing, which is through sales calls and participation in selected trade shows such as ITB Berlin, ASEAN Tourism Forum and World Travel Mart in London," added de Silva.

He said the goal was to "develop more properties in current markets and look for new markets to grow our portfolio."

In China where its properties are mainly in secondary cities such as Shenzhen, Chenzhou (Hunan), Kaifeng (Henan) and Sanya (Hainan), plans are to expand to Beijing and Shanghai.

The Middle East is another area with good opportunities.

“Nearer home we are looking at Thailand and Singapore. Our long-time wish to have a hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur will be realised when the Holiday Villa Kuala Lumpur City Centre opens within the next year.”

The group is unfazed by talks of impending global economic downtrend or the Eurozone crisis. Its hotels have not been affected and are enjoying healthy occupancy, between 80-90 percent.

“Our expansion is ongoing and on track. In fact, we have exceeded our forecast of between 25-30 hotels in 25 years. We’ll keep going to where there are opportunities,” said de Silva.

Travelzoo Hong Kong launches iPhone app

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Hong Kong version of the app follows successful launches in North America and Europe. The app has been downloaded more than 400,000 times since its release a few months ago.

Katherine Lau, general manager for Travelzoo Hong Kong, said a significant percentage of Travelzoo Hong Kong’s existing 370,000 subscribers access the Travelzoo website from their iPhones, making Hong Kong one of the company’s largest mobile markets.

With the app Travelzoo’s subscribers can get instant access to the best deals, from a gourmet seafood tour on the coast of Sai Kung to a luxury vacation in the Maldives, on their iPhones.

For a limited time period Hong Kong consumers will receive a HK$30 for a Local Deal purchase when they download the free app from the Apple iTunes Store. (Go to the App Store and search for “Travelzoo”.)

The app puts Travelzoo’s Top 20 and Local Deals, among other tools, at its subscribers’ fingertips.

• Top 20™: This section highlights the famous Travelzoo Top 20, the definitive list of the week’s best deals. Every week, more than 250 Travelzoo Deal Experts worldwide research, evaluate and test thousands of deals, only publishing the best in the Top 20. More than 24 million subscribers worldwide rely on the Top 20 each week for the best travel, entertainment and Local Deals.

• Local Deals: This section highlights relevant dining, spa and entertainment deals in Hong Kong. Travellers can view, book and redeem their Local Deals directly from their iPhones, without having to print vouchers.

• Deals in Other Cities: Users can search and book hotel, dining, spa and entertainment deals in more than 75 markets worldwide. This tool is perfect for vacation planning or on-the-go searches based on the phone’s GPS system. For example, a Travelzoo subscriber from Hong Kong on vacation in London can instantly find and book a gourmet dining experience at the AA Rosette-awarded restaurant, Marco in Stamford Bridge, run by Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White.

• Travel Deals: This section highlights thousands of air, hotel, cruise and vacation deals hand-picked byTravelzoo Deal Experts each week. Users will be able to search deals by type of travel, view photos and link directly to those companies offering the deal.

• Deals on Map: This is designed to give users vacation inspiration through a visually oriented tool.. Users scan a map before zooming in on the best deals near their current location.

Making Social Media An Asset To Your Hotel, Part 3: Sales & Marketing

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

[This is the third posting in our article series, Making Social Media an Asset for Your Hotel. The previous article is available here.]

Marketing using social media requires a different discipline and expertise from traditional and online marketing. Just as radio ads don’t translate well to television, branded online ads typically don’t work well in social media. Marketers wanting to utilize social media will need to think differently, and this section explains how.

Given the speed and reach in which information travels, a brand or property’s messaging must be consistent with its social media feedback. For instance, if a hotel communicates its strength as being its exceptional service, but it has reviews on Expedia with complaints about its check-in, check-out, concierge, and housekeeping, then there is a gap between its marketing and how it is being perceived. In this situation, the hotel will have a harder time attracting guests who are willing to pay the advertised rate. Conversely, if a hotel communicates its strength as being its style and décor, and it has photos on Flickr that depict its beautiful furniture, mood lighting, unusual lobby, and exclusive see-and-be-seen bar, its social media reinforces its marketing messaging and makes it authentic.

Branding in an era where social media is constantly validating or negating your stated brand promise requires a hotel marketing team to stay on top of this buzz, and to ensure that the strengths emerging out of social media match the features that consistently achieve operational excellence (as described in the previous section). From a marketing perspective, a hotel’s strengths must also outshine those of its competitive set. This is where social media provides tremendous insights.

Discovering a hotel’s differentiators

In markets where there is more supply than demand, or in markets where there are numerous hotels in the same price range, a hotel needs to stand out to win a potential guest’s business. In the past 18 months, the economic situation has caused many suppliers to lower their price to maintain occupancy rates, further increasing the need for hotels to rise above the rest. Therefore, finding your hotel’s unique selling points and marketing those features is critical to winning the right customers who are likely appreciate your product and become loyal guests.

With social media, understanding your differentiators is easy since the public comments about your hotel can be analyzed alongside the comments about your competitors. By understanding how your hotel compares to its competitive set, marketers can be very targeted in promoting strengths that are backed up by positive customer comments. Hotel marketers can also set the right expectations to prospective guests; expectations that can be met because specific features have historically been differentiators versus the hotel’s competitors. As customers can and do talk about anything they want to within social media, we encourage hotel marketers to stay up to date on their strengths and weaknesses relative to their competitive set.

In the past, features like “free wi-fi,” “smoke-free,” “halal food,” “l’occitane toiletries,” “rain shower,” “shuttle service,” and “flat-screen tv” have been examples of differentiators that have helped to set hotels apart from their competitors. As consumers use social media about your hotel and your competitors’ hotels to compare and contrast, these attributes are key to attracting new guests from the competition.

Once the differentiators are identified, marketers should promote them aggressively. Anywhere you describe your hotel – on your web site, third-party distribution channels, and in marketing collateral – your differentiators should be emphasized and clearly communicated. In marketing campaigns involving paid search marketing and search engine optimization, these differentiators should be the primary focus to encourage consumer discovery of your brand via search engine queries. Finally, on social networking sites, a hotel brand should consistently underscore its differentiators via its postings, photos, and videos.

At first, this practice may seem counter-intuitive and uncomfortable. In our experience, many hotel marketers like to remain focused on what they have traditionally promoted: rooms and restaurants. But most travelers already know that you have those, and they are unlikely to set you apart from your competitors. What a prospective guest really wants to know is what’s special about your property. We encourage our clients to communicate these unique selling points immediately. Do not bury them behind more commonly marketed features that your competitors have as well.

Finally, assess whether your competitors can easily replicate your hotel’s differentiators. If they can, today’s differentiator may be tomorrow’s standard. Leading marketers in all industries think about building and maintaining barriers to entry; hotel marketers should think along these lines, working with operations to define differentiators that are protectable for an extended period of time.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel turns in record year

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) reported a record performance in 2011. Sales volume grew by 15.2% to US$28.billion, compared to US$24.3 billion in 2010. The number of transactions, managed by CWT, increased by 7.2% year over year to reach 61.9 million.

The company attributed its strong growth in 2011 to retaining over 96% of its existing client-base, winning US$2.2 billion in new business, and acquiring three companies - Kaleva Travel, Centenial Group and Net Tours.

CWT's growth was not limited to the traditional areas of business travel but also included CWT’s specialised areas of expertise like CWT Solutions Group, the company’s consulting arm, CWT Energy Services and CWT Meetings & Events.

Its President and CEO, Douglas Anderson (pictured left), said the strong growth was across the industry, despite the unpredictable economic environment. "Global corporations are more optimistic about their travel spend going forward and certain areas of the world, such as Asia and Latin America, continue to show strong growth."

The company’sresults also reflect regional economic trends around the world. It grew most in Asia Pacific where transactions increased by 18.5% year over year. In Latin America the increase was by 12.7%, North America 5.2%, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) 6.2%.

On top of a record-breaking year in terms of performance, CWT introduced a range of new products, and published regular business intelligence studies and best practices offering actionable insights into travel management. They are:

• CWT Market, a free mobile application that aggregates travel apps and mobile web sites.

• CWT To GoTM gives corporate travellers access to essential travel information (mobile check-in, flight status, gate changes, delays, etc.).

• CRS by CWT, a central hotel reservation system, consolidating non-GDS hotel content in one place.

• CWT Travel Management Institute, which produced a series of publications giving insights into the business travel and meetings market, including its 2012 Travel Price Forecast, Business Travel Market Trends in 2012 and Travel Management Priorities for 2012.

Hot. Hebat. Hangat. Indonesia. Women. Travel.

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I think I broke a personal record last Saturday. I went to Jakarta. I spent eight hours there. I spent it all in a shopping mall. And I didn’t buy a single thing.

I was there to speak at a Wired Women Weekend event and instead of imparting what little I know, I ended up learning a whole lot more about one of Asia’s hottest emerging markets, digital or otherwise.

Seriously, Indonesia’s the country that saved Singapore and Blackberry. It is Singapore’s largest market in terms of visitor numbers and expenditure. Of the 13.2 million arrivals to Singapore in 2011, Indonesia contributed 2,592,000 arrivals. Of tourism receipts of S$22.2 billion earned in 2011, 20% went on shopping – and you can bet that the bulk of spending came from Indonesians without whom Singapore’s shops (and theatres, restaurants and hospitals) would be poorer.

This is something I don’t understand of course. Why shop in Singapore when the malls in Jakarta are as good, if not larger and better? I mean this mall I was at, fx lifestyle X’nter (just the name says it), had all the brands I was familiar with and more. (The conference, at which I was speaking, was held in The Only One Club, a private venue popular for brand launches and private parties.)

I guess that’s what makes the women’s market (the majority of shoppers) so interesting – logic seldom applies – and so attractive to marketers because this is a market driven by impulse, aspirations and, increasingly, affluence as a whole swathe of womanhood in Asia joins the workforce and rises up the executive and entrepreneurial ranks.

Increasingly it is a market that’s heavily influenced by the digital world. Of the 100 million Internet users in Indonesia (by 2015), 30% are female and half of them access via mobile devices, according to a presentation given by Erika Oktora, online sales manager, Google Asia Pacific.

And Indonesians spend more time on the Internet than on other activities such as TV, magazines/newspapers and radio – 71% are on it daily, spending up to 35 hours a week. (Netpop Indonesia Consumer Insights June 2010)

What they do on the Internet – 13 million searches a month on Google, 26 million views on YouTube and watch 17.6 million baby videos. Up to 36% of smartphone users in the country are women.

Indonesia is also “social media nation”, said a friend working there. “They love their Blackberries and their forums.” And if you accept that women are the better social networkers, then you can surmise that this has become an increasingly important area of influence for women.

On my part, I spoke about women in travel because I honestly believe that the digital world has not only liberated women as entrepreneurs but also as travellers.

Take me as an example, I run a virtual business and I can work from anywhere in the world where there is connectivity. I have worked at the end of a pier in Marlborough, New Zealand, with stingrays and dolphins swimming under me or a café in Luang Prabang, Laos during Songkran where the only danger was getting my devices wet from the festivities.

Because I am able to run my business on my own terms and time, I am able to have the time and resources to travel as and when I wish to. And voila, here come low cost airlines which have liberated us to book and fly, often at the last minute, on impulse.

I believe I am not alone in this new-found independence. Throughout South-east Asia, and now increasingly North Asia, travellers are being liberated – by two forces, the democracy of the web and the mushrooming of low cost airlines.

And women are the biggest beneficiaries. True, we can no longer travel light what with all the sexy devices we have to carry but since the majority of travel decisions are made by women (I read that 75% of all travel decisions globally are made by women ages 40 & over), then the web has truly opened up a world of possibilities for women.

Wego's new CEO Ross Veitch told me this morning traffic to his site is heavily skewed towards women – 55%. And data gathered by his travel search site shows that women make the majority of decisions in travel, whether planning or booking.

Of course, we also know that women are the rocket fuel of e-commerce in most other sectors – sites like Groupon would be nowhere without the feminine impulse to snap up deals, the way we buy shoes and handbags.

Then take social networks – study after study shows the mastery of women in this space – like this one – and it didn’t take long for someone to figure out that women simple adore Pinterest, the newest kid in crowd sourcing town – women make up about 82% of active users on Pinterest, according to Google Ad Planner, according to this report.

And we use it not only to socialize but in business. An American Express Survey 2011 survey in Australia in 2011 said that female business owners are twice likely to use Facebook as communication tool to generate sales.

As for how women shop for travel online, well, it seems we shop online like we do offline.

Here’s what Dan Lynn, managing director of Expedia AirAsia, told me, “When booking a hotel, women leisure travellers are much more likely to seek recommendations from a friend or her family, as well as leverage UGC reviews.

“Similarly, women business travellers are also likely to leverage recommendations from their organisation as well as UGC reviews. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to use search engines and travel sites for hotel information.”

This seems to reflect the universal truth in the difference between how women and men shop (watch video).

To prepare for my Jakarta presentation, I also asked Experian Hitwise to dig up some data on travel websites visited by men and women and they produced these charts for Australia and China. (Thank you, Experian Hitwise)

Have to say, this Jakarta gig was good dress rehearsal for the first WITX-Women In Travel we are running in Bangkok on April 27. Expect more insights to be shared into this huge and important travel market at our one-day event. See programme here. Also pleased to report that our event is being supported by the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau and Girls In Tech, which has started a Singapore chapter.

Cheap and cheerful, channel agnostic, that's Scoot

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

For someone who’s about to get a new airline flying within the next few months, Campbell Wilson looked fairly relaxed when I caught up with him in Scoot’s office at Changi Terminal 1.

But the New Zealander confessed to having sleepless nights with each night thinking about different things. For example, at the time we met, evacuation tests were due. The Boeing 777-200 that Scoot is using has 402 seats versus the 323 on Singapore Airlines, thus different evacuation rules apply.

“These are all critical items that if not met will push back the schedule. There’s also retro fitting for the aircraft which is a big task for a well-established airline let alone a new one.”

Scoot can of course take comfort in the fact that it is not alone in the world – it does have the big, protective wings of its parent, Singapore Airlines.

While the airline will operate independently and this is something Wilson stresses, it will tap on common resources in such areas as fuel hedging, engineering, maintenance and some technical aspects of flight operations.

Of the total 300-plus staff it will have – 45 in corporate, 51 pilots, 220 cabin crew, only 11, including Wilson, are from SIA. The positions of flight operations, safety, engineering and finance were filled with executives from the parent airline.

“Technically, you could say we are not starting from zero but definitely from a low cost model, we are,” said Wilson, who joined the airline in Auckland fresh from university and worked up the ranks the last 15 years.

Can someone who’s worked for SIA for so long be completely independent of the parent? Asked how obedient he was as a child, Wilson said, “I was a good child, I listened to my parents but not to a ridiculous degree. And I suppose, after 15 years, I did gain a reputation of doing my own thing.”

He spent most of his career working offshore (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan) which he said allowed him to act and think like an entrepreneur.

He was offered the opportunity to head up Scoot a year ago. “It's such an exciting business model. The medium to longhaul low cost model is just beginning to develop, so lots of opportunities in virgin territory, plus I get to do it with the support of the world’s strongest airline.”

As Wilson explains it, Scoot’s purpose is to build incremental business for its parent Group. Its mission is flights of between five and nine hours from Singapore. Sometime mid-this year, it is due to launch its first flight to Sydney, a coveted destination. (AirAsiaX, the Malaysia-based low cost longhaul airline, has also announced flights to Sydney.)

“Yes, it’s a competitive route but where isn’t these days? Budget travel has gone from zero to 26% of Changi’s traffic in the last five years, it’s a market you can’t ignore and it’s enlarged the pie for everyone. Evidence has shown that low cost, medium haul works.”

Scoot has also announced its second destination as Australia's Gold Coast and it is eyeing up to five points including China.

Pointing to AirAsiaX’s withdrawal of London and Paris flights effective end March, Wilson said, “I don’t know what prompted them to fly to London and Paris with that aircraft (A340-200). I agree that longhaul at current fuel prices is tough – every airline has announced dips in profits due to fuel costs but fuel prices tend to be cyclical.”

Wilson also believes that the term “low cost” has become a misnomer. “At the end of the day, can you charge enough per seat to cover your costs? The competition is at three levels – tier one legacy carrier non-stop, (relatively few) second tier non-stop and one-stop via somewhere else. We believe we can offer an alternative non-stop at cheaper than or equivalent to the second tier level. And if we allow customers to customize their product, it will be an attractive proposition.”

Currently, he said, if you flew shorthaul, you only had one choice. You bought a seat and you add on the extras. With medium haul, there are more options. “What I could offer is three products but with a one-click choice, so you don’t have to force customers through the process of adding extras.”

He estimated that ancillaries, in time, could come up to between 15-20% of Scoot’s total revenues.

Unlike other low cost airlines that started with a clear direct booking strategy, Scoot will be channel-agnostic. “I don’t understand why you’d want to ignore one channel over another. We will provide the same fares to the travel agent that will be available on our website. If the travel agent chooses to book via a GDS because of the integration of their backend system, they will absorb the GDS fee.

“I think the antagonism between airlines and agents is historic but reality has started to enter the debate. Travel agents cannot ignore 26% of Changi’s business and low cost airlines cannot ignore them. We won’t offer upfront commissions but if a travel agent says, I will commit 10,000 tickets, I would reward him for that. I don’t expect anyone to work for free and it’s a business at the end of the day.”

Mobile is currently not a priority. “The evidence for people purchasing via mobile is very weak,” he said.

The priority now is to get Scoot off the ground, hire people with “Scootitude” and deliver a brand promise that’s about being “cheap and cheerful”.

Asked to define “Scootiude”, he said, “Big smile, big personality, engaging.”

Its recruitment ads have certainly caught attention. It received 3,000 applications and are looking to hire 220. Training is being conducted by a psychologist/trainer who’s teaching them how to read people and pick up on non-verbal cues. “They have to earn from selling and it is important to understand human behaviour,” said Wilson.

The airline’s also been active on Facebook, gathering nearly 45,000 fans, and running competitions to win premium class tickets on its first flight.

Asked what personality he wanted Scoot to have, Wilson said, “Cheap and cheerful. Just because people pay cheap fares doesn’t mean you don’t owe them respect. Personality has to be embedded in the service.”

He said that he has been pleasantly surprised by the quality of talent in Singapore. “People are so much more relaxed these days, it was hard to get people to loosen up before but now it’s changed.

“There’s been a transformation of Singapore the last eight years and we are at an inflexion point where there is still lingering respect for authority and work ethics and a more open environment to speak your mind and act on it. It’s a nice balance.”

Asked if he’s found to hard to let go of the SIA mindset to run a new business model, he said, “I think it’s easier to unlearn than to learn. It’d be harder for a low cost person to cross over to legacy than the other way round, at least I think so.

‘“In many ways, the purity of the model is liberating – does this make profit on its own? You don’t have to ask things like, does this have a halo effect on your brand or anything like that.”

Making Social Media An Asset To Your Hotel, Part 2: Operations

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

[This is the second posting in the series, Making Social Media an Asset for Your Hotel, by Brand Karma. The first article is available here.]

For a hotel’s operations staff, daily and trended reports of guest satisfaction surveys (or solicited guest feedback) provide critical insights into operational performance. However, for a comprehensive view of a hotel’s operations, unsolicited guest feedback in the form of social media completes the picture. A hotel’s social media further enhances the insights from solicited feedback in three key ways:

1) Going beyond what the survey asks
2) Uncovering the emotional drivers
3) Discovering new standards

We explain the details of each in the following sections.

** But first, an important caveat. Linking social media to operations must be done very carefully. We’ve seen hotels make knee-jerk operational changes based on the strong opinions of a few travelers that are posted in a very short amount of time. Because of its public nature, social media can send hotel teams into a frenzy, when the opinions and experiences of a few may not represent the majority of the hotel’s guests. While a few reviews about a negative checkin experience or an aging room product should inspire internal conversations, they don’t necessarily warrant significant changes be made overnight. When looking at social media from an operations perspective, a hotel must consider a sufficient quantity of reviews over an ample time period to represent a statistically significant population of guest feedback. For an individual hotel, the quantity of reviews within a given week or month is usually not enough. We recommend small to mid-sized hotels consider at least 12-months of social media data, and large hotels consider at least 6-months of social media data. Analytics tools make looking back 6 or 12 months an easy task, and something a hotel can do immediately.

Going beyond what the survey asks

Solicited feedback from guest satisfaction surveys or in-room comment cards highlights operational issues in predefined areas. Traditional guest surveys ask a set of questions chosen by the hotel, resulting in regular structured feedback in the selected operational areas. Major providers like Medallia, Synovate, LRA Worldwide, and Market Metrix are well-known providers of traditional guest satisfaction solutions.

Where social media complements solicited guest surveys is in its unstructured, organic nature. Because social media is an open canvas, guests’ comments have no boundaries. What’s even better is that you can be certain you’re reading guests’ honest opinions, as they are posting by their own free will, instead of responding to a surveyor’s questions. For hotels that are part of a chain where local properties have their own distinct characteristics, social media often surfaces these unique selling points. As consumers conduct more research on the web about where to stay, the unique selling points may very well be the added value that swings consumers towards your property and away from a competitor. Hence it’s in the property’s best interest to understand what these areas are, and to subsequently ensure operational excellence in each of them. At the same time, it’s important to compare guest satisfaction in solicited surveys with the guest satisfaction in social media to identify consistencies and inconsistencies. If gaps exist, then hotel management should investigate why.

One very consistent example we see across the social media of many hotels is Internet Access. Based on our analysis of over 13,000 hotels in Asia-Pacific, we found Internet Access to be the most complained about topic in the guest experience, with the complaints surrounding speed, reliability, and price. However, as most hotels in Asia-Pacific do not ask about this attribute in their solicited guest surveys, they are missing an important data point in understanding their operations. Even if a hotel does ask about its Internet Access, it doesn’t ask specifically about its guests’ satisfaction levels along the dimensions of speed, reliability, and price. This example illustrates a disconnect between what operations is optimizing for, versus what guests are actually discussing. Given that Internet Access is increasingly influencing prospective guests’ purchase decisions, it’s imperative that a hotel account for such examples.

Uncovering the emotional drivers

Most solicited guest surveys give hoteliers a sense of how satisfied customers were with what attributes of the stay experience. However, the why has been hard to derive from these surveys. Due to consumers’ desire to share information, creators of social media almost always explain to their audience why they were satisfied or dissatisfied with certain experiences. In doing so, they become a dynamic, living focus group that gives hoteliers the key to greater understanding.

Take for example, the following excerpts:

“Also, while we didn’t bring our pooches this time, we usually travel with our 2 dogs and LOVE the fact that they are dog friendly!” (source: TripAdvisor review on Hotel Monaco Chicago)

“I travel by myself and I felt safe. The area was easy to walk about and the hotel had a map and showed me how to go to find interesting things.” (source: Agoda review on Inter City Boutique Hotel Vientiane Laos)

“I advise all honeymooners to go for this hotel. You feel like you are in the heaven.” (source: Booking.com review on Hotel Malisa Villa Suites Phuket)

In each of the above cases, the reasons for the intense levels of guest satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) are strongly linked with how well the experience fulfilled the guest’s emotional needs. Notice how these comments move way beyond the product and service attributes of the hotel, and into the emotional realm. Uncovering the emotional drivers and sharing them with the hotel staff brings the staff even closer to the guests and further develops their empathy.

Discovering new standards

Guests who are frequent travelers are often highly influential in shaping the purchase decisions of their friends and family. However, despite membership in a particular loyalty program, a frequent traveler is still unlikely to stay exclusively in the properties of a single hotel company. As a result, her standards are constantly being redefined by the various chain and independent properties she stays in around the world. The hotel attributes that a frequent traveler values, and her expectations of hotels in a particular star class, are based on the “collective best” experiences she’s had at each individual property. For example, she might remember the 500-thread count linens from the boutique hotel in Shanghai, the breathtaking skyline views from the upscale business hotel in New York, and the empathetic staff from the affordable design hotel in Barcelona. Each of these individual memories is now the benchmark of what’s best in her mind for that particular attribute. Most hoteliers know that their frequent guests are often their most discerning. Indeed, by the time a guest like this visits your hotel after staying in several other properties, what used to be considered “excellent” service might now be downgraded to “very good.” Note that this is usually not due to any fault of a hotel’s staff, but simply because the frequent traveler’s expectations have been raised by her exposure to many different hotels.

Here’s where social media comes in. While most guests are unlikely to be the frequent traveler persona described above, they are still able to understand the “collective best” experiences because of the publicly posted reviews from millions of other travelers. Since other travelers are posting their personal favorite hotel experiences in social media, other travelers will expect the same special touches when they visit your property, whether they are well-traveled or not. Because of its public and easily searchable nature, social media is accelerating shifts in customer expectations.

Turning to the Internet Access example again, in our research we observed a backlash against paying for Internet access at a hotel within social media. The primary reasons for this were:

1) Why should I pay for Internet access at a luxury hotel when I get it for free at a lower-class hotel?

2) Why should I pay for Internet access when I didn’t have to pay for it in another hotel from the same company, but in a different location?

3) Why should I pay for Internet access when the speed is so slow or unreliable?

Each of the above reasons for dissatisfaction is rooted in a comparative experience that caused the customer to upgrade her expectations. You can begin to imagine many examples where this is occurring at your property. Social media, if tracked properly, can be used to discover such new trends in guest expectations, giving hoteliers lead time to upgrade their offerings to be more in line with what the guest wants.

In conclusion, there are numerous ways in which social media is applicable to a hotel’s operations staff. When used in conjunction with solicited guest satisfaction surveys, social media can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the guest, and enable operations teams to keep their hotel competitive in the marketplace. However, hoteliers must remember to look at a sufficient amount of social media data to represent the collective guest opinion before making any major shifts.

In the next article in this series, we explain how a social media analytics tool can be used to successfully drive these operational improvements.

Wego goes global - 34 new country sites launched

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

With its aim of becoming a global travel brand, Wego.com has announced global expansion plans with the launch of 34 new country sites in 20 different languages, targeting almost all developed or emerging travel markets worldwide.

The company soft launched these 34 country sites, including Singapore (see report), in December 2011. Since then, traffic has been up 22% till January 2012, despite the typically lull periods of Christmas and Chinese New Year.

Localisation of the new websites include elements such as language; default currency reflected; priority for local airlines, travel agents and hotel chains; and sorting of search results by local relevancy.

Wego has attributed the company’s success to the ‘radical’ redesign and the introduction of several new features on the website:

Hotels Popular Search

Based on a 12-month historical data mining exercise, the company found that users preferences can be geographically differentiated. Now, as its default, Wego sorts hotels in a given location based on how popular they are with local users. For example, in Singapore, users pay more attention to hotels that are popular with other Singaporeans.

DateWise™ Fare Finder (see report):

The most frequently requested feature from users is a tool to help those with flexible travel schedules to identify the cheapest dates to fly. Users get to see a graphical illustration of the various flight prices for any given month. This is done across all single or return flights – for all carriers, including budget airlines.

Flight Schedules:

Typically affecting business travellers, the timing of flights is the most critical factor in flight selection. Wego’s new tool shows the schedules for all direct flights worldwide, optionally including codesharing details and, even, listing the aircraft type for each flight.

Popular Destinations:

The data mining exercise has allowed Wego to calculate country-specific lists of the most popular destinations. Wego, then, promotes these destinations on the homepage of each country site.

“The new format and features are clearly resonating with users as we’ve seen much deeper engagement with the localized sites,” commented Ross Veitch, Wego’s new CEO since January. (Former CEO Martin Symes will continue to be involved with Wego as non-executive Chairman and will divide his time between Europe and Asia.)

In Australia, Wego has launched a “travel deals” aggregation site, where the response has been positive. It will bring the concept to Singapore next, where online travel has been seeing much growth.

With 40% of Internet users in Singapore visiting travel sites (about 1.2 million Singaporeans) and 60% of these people checking two or more websites to shop for travel comparatively, Wego sees further potential in growing its home market. Looking at the number of clicks that go through Wego, it was found that Singaporean consumers are still highly price sensitive.

With its site traffic growing at 65% year on year and remembering the roots from whence it began, Wego officially launched Wego Singapore (www.wego.com.sg), specifically customized for the needs of Singapore travel shoppers. The site is available in three languages, English, Bahasa Melayu & Simplified Chinese. A Tamil version is in the works.

The new website has partnerships with well known local players such as Chan Brothers, NewShan and ZUJI Singapore (upcoming). The partnerships aim to make the users’ search findings more familiar and relevant. Searching on Wego.com.sg will ensure that users are assured of finding the best price in the market and getting results that are proven to be popular with other Singaporeans in recent months.

Veitch concluded, “Wego’s mission is to help our users everywhere to save time, pay less and travel more.

Accor tailors Mercure for China

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Accor has re-engineered its Grand Mercure brand for the China market, which was unveiled at the inauguration of Grand Mercure Shanghai Zhongya by Accor (pictured left), the first hotel adapted to the new positioning.

Grand Mercure combines Accor’s extensive China and international hotel experience and significant distribution infrastructure with products and services customised to the needs of the upscale Chinese travellers.

Known in Chinese as 美爵(Mei Jue), each hotel within the Grand Mercure network in China will sport the new Chinese identity, reflecting the brand’s commitment to developing products and services tailored to its Chinese clientele.

Grégoire Champetier, Accor chief marketing officer (pictured below right) said with Grand Mercure the group has demonstrated its ability to have more flexible brands, which are locally relevant.

"Accor has tailored the Grand Mercure brand to better suit the Chinese clientele’s needs, in a strategic country for the group and in the context of a booming upscale domestic travel business," he added.

In each Grand Mercure hotel in China 12 brand signatures will be installed – conveyed through ceremonies that exemplify strong aspects of Chinese culture and blend in elements of European influence (reflecting the heritage of the Mercure brand).

Each guest is given a personalised and authentic welcome, which reflects the hotel’s location. In Shanghai, for example, employees will use the local Shanghainese language and guests will be welcomed by team members wearing Qipao, a traditional elegant evening dress. All team members will be identified with name badges bearing firstly Chinese characters, followed by a pinyin transliteration, enabling employees to use their given names rather than adopting foreign equivalents.

The other brand signatures are:

Guests can achieve mental and physical well-being through daily Tai-chi sessions, upscale lavender-scented bathroom amenities in guest bathrooms and complimentary head and shoulder massage services for guests staying on premium floors.
An emphasis has been placed on catering to the expectations of Chinese customers. For example, each Grand Mercure provides an extensive range of local and imported tea, delivered in an engaging manner to encourage guest participation. Additionally, a selection of Cognac is available in the hotel bars alongside a wine selection that provides both local and imported choices.
Each Grand Mercure offers a special 24-hour congee menu providing guests with home comforts no matter what time they may be hungry. Beyond this, a large congee selection with extensive condiments plays a big part of the breakfast at Grand Mercure. Knowing that Chinese cuisine is a priority for guests of Grand Mercure, local specialties and wide-ranging national dishes feature most extensively on the menus throughout the various outlets in the hotels.
To establish connections with the area surrounding each hotel, Grand Mercure invites guests to participate in discovery walks, to see the city from new perspectives and gain insights to local culture and customs. In addition, hotels will invite local artisans to link visitors with the arts and to provide a bridge between communities.
In every guestroom are an extensive tea selection and a welcome gift pack of macaroons to showcase both the hotel’s China focus and its European heritage.

Dusit Thani to focus on meetings and Asia markets

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The news coming out of Bangkok has not been exactly good these past months but hoteliers in the city remain resilient and optimistic that customers will not lose faith as Thailand struggles to pick itself up as one of Asia’s favourite destinations.

The Thai government has, after all, declared this “Miracle Year” and has set aside a US$200 million budget to make it so and hoteliers are hopeful that an aggressive and high-profile campaign to promote the country, combined with individual initiatives by the private sector, will do the trick.

General manager of the Dusit Thani Hotel, Bangkok, Alex Willats (left), is forecasting an uplift both in the high end corporate traveler and MICE segment supported from regional destinations.

“One would hope that those companies, groups and travelers who have not visited Thailand due to situations preventing this in recent years, will choose the destination sometime in the coming year.

“It is important to note that positive publicity and a very public and well drilled marketing and promotion campaign by tourism bodies needs to be in place to drive awareness regionally and globally to help support the domestic initiatives already in place.”

His confidence in the regional MICE segment is based on sound ground. Research recently conducted by American Express Meetings & Events shows that while meetings demand across the world is on the rise in 2012, activity is strongest in the Asia Pacific region.

Of the meeting planners surveyed, 57% of respondents from the Asia Pacific region expect the number of meetings to increase this year, compared to 42% of North American, 50% of Latin American and 51% of European respondents.

In addition, budgets within the region are also expected to increase, with 30% of respondents anticipating this trend, compared to just 20% globally.

Higher travel and meeting costs are anticipated, driving the need for companies to focus on striking the right balance of cost effectiveness and meeting success when selecting venues, according to the inaugural American Express Meetings & Events 2012 Meetings Forecast.

This is where things could swing in favour of Bangkok where prices remain competitive in contrast to other cities such as Singapore which have become increasingly expensive and space is hard to secure.

Said Willats, “Bangkok is an extremely competitive city in terms of supplier pricing and with new additional supply at all levels of the market this year, it will certainly make this more demanding.

“This year already we have seen an uplift in average rate with no price resistance and this can be attributed to the fact that other major capital cities in particular in South-east Asia have a far higher selling price than Bangkok which continues to offer excellent value for money in comparison to competitor cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. ”

There is no doubt though that confidence in Bangkok as a destination needs to be restored and meeting organisers remain nervous that their events could be disrupted by incidents, whether natural or political.

Willats said the recent bomb blasts in Bangkok did not result in “a significant softening of the booking pace nor have we received cancellations as a result of these recent events in isolated suburbs of Bangkok”.

“Of course, if these indiscriminate actions were to continue, I am sure this would have an impact on inbound business particularly as countries would initiate travel bans/ warnings which would automatically lead to travelers rerouting to other destinations for both business and leisure as we have seen happen in the past.”

The floodings of late last year had a major impact on business in the city. “As like many businesses we took steps to protect the building, our guests and staff as a precaution should any waters have reached us. Thankfully the waters did not breach the city centre and in fact it remained a very good time to visit the city,” said Willats.

He said that there has been “some recovery in visitor numbers typically led by the corporate segments although a resurgence within the leisure market is now starting to develop”.

“We are currently seeing daily revenues generated similar to those of 2008 which demonstrates a confidence in the consumer and a preparedness to pay the price. We continue to remain buoyant about the outlook ahead for 2012 and certainly see opportunities to develop our business channels across a number of new and mature segments.”

He said the hotel would develop its presence and business network across key geographic segments in South-east Asia. “We have strengthened our sales and operations teams with both Mandarin and Cantonese speaking staff and we have implemented a number of amenities and benefits we believe will help us attract Chinese clients to the hotel.

“We believe it will be our regional travellers who will support us through the next 12 months and we have adjusted our marketing strategy accordingly to suit this.”

Growth in Distribution, IT Solutions boosts profit at Amadeus

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Growth in its Distribution and IT Solutions businesses boosted Amadeus' adjusted profit for 2011 by 20.7% to total €487 million for its full financial year ended December 31.

This was backed by like-for-like revenue growth of 5.8% to total €2,712 million and an increase in EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation &Amortization) of 6.4% to total €1,039million.

The total billable travel transactions processed increased by 11.5% to reach 947.6 million in 2011, rising from 849.9 million in 2010 (see full results issued by Amadeus below).

Luis Maroto, Amadeus President & CEO (pictured right) said, ”In Distribution our global market share of travel agency air bookings increased by one percentage point and overall total bookings increased 5%; and in IT Solutions the Passengers Boarded total grew by 17.9% and further key airline contract signings for Altéa lifted our projected Passengers Boarded figure for 2014 to 735 million.”

Year-on-year 2011 highlights (year ended December 31, 2011)

• Adjusted profit: Excluding after-tax impact of: (i) amortisation of PPA and impairment losses, (ii) changes in fair value of financial instruments and non-operating exchange gains / (losses) and (iii) extraordinary items related to the sale of assets and equity investments, the debt refinancing and the United Airlines IT contract resolutionincreased 20.7%3 to €487.2 million.

• Like-for-like Revenue grew 5.8% to €2,712.0 million: In 2010 we sold our equity stakes in Vacation.com and Hospitality Group. 2011 figures therefore do not include any revenue from these subsidiaries. Also, revenue comparability in Q1 2011 was affected by a change in the treatment of certain bookings within IT Solutions (direct distribution) as explained in the Q1 financial report, based on which the related revenue is recognised net of certain costs. Finally, in Q2 2011 we received a one-time payment from United Airlines in relation to the IT contract resolution, which was recognised as revenue, but reclassified as other income for comparability purposes. Like-for-like revenue growth figures are adjusted for the above.

• EBITDA rose 6.4%: Adjusted to exclude extraordinary items related to the IPO and the revenue from the United Airlines IT contract resolutionto €1,039.0 million

• Total billable travel transactions processed: Billable travel transactions include air and non-air travel agency bookings, passengers boarded (PB) & e-Commerce passenger name records (PNR) increased 11.5% to 947.6 million.

• Total dividend for the year of €0.37 per share or €165.6 million: Included within this sum is the interim dividend of €0.175 per share announced on November 30, 2011, representing a pay-out of 36% of the 2011 profitReported profit for the year from continuing operations excluding extraordinary items related to the IPO.

• Net debt decreased by €719.5 million to 1.75x last twelve months’ EBITDA

• Global market share: Market share figures are based on GDS-processed air bookings and therefore exclude air bookings processed by the single country operators (primarily in China, Japan, South Korea and Russia) and GDS-processed bookings of other types of travel products, such as hotel rooms, car rentals and train ticketsof travel agency air bookings increased by one percentage point to 37.7%.

Picking up a new form of tweet speak, awesome

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

So I survived Singapore’s first Social Media Week. Truth, I only attended two day events, couldn’t have survived the parties for sure. I would have felt like a chaperon and anyway, after a week of speaking about social, the last thing I wanted to be was social.

But here’s the one thing I liked about Social Media Week – that something that started off as virtual ended up bringing people together in a physical setting, and this happened at the same time in different cities across the world. There’s got to be something special about that idea.

I also found it eye-opening (or rather ear-opening) listening to how people speak at these events. Actually, many of them don’t speak out a lot although they tweet a lot but the ones that do speak use almost a new form of language.

Their sentences are short, punchy, attention-grabbing. I think it’s called 'tweet speak'. Spoken so they can be re-tweeted by others.

For instance, it’d be harder to retweet “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference” than “Take the road less travelled, it’s awesome”.

I quite like this new tweet speak, actually. They make great soundbites and are an editor's dream.

Here are a few I picked up during the week. Please retweet any of them.

“This is creative destruction on steroids.”

“You start something today, it’s improved tomorrow and redundant next week.”

“This is the Expectation Economy.”

“Discovery now happens by default.”

“Online profiles are now the new status symbol.”

“It’s less about the having, more about the finding and sharing.”

“Other consumers are now curators.”

“Your actions on social media are helping people find amazing products.”

“News is in permanent beta.”

“You read what you are.”

“If the news is important, it will find me.”

“People pay for only three things on the web – porn, information that helps them make money and sports.”

Picking up some tips on the new speak, I started my own conversation with a couple of social media consultants to find out the latest trends.

Me: “What's your take on social plug-ins?”

Them: “So yesterday.”

Me: “Pinterest seems hot.”

Them: “It’s on its way down.”

Me: “Insta …”

Them: “Kodak.”

Awesome.

CAPA, WIT launch new event, Airline Cloud9

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Airline Cloud9 event to explore the magic of simultaneously achieving customer satisfaction and improving ancillary revenues: a joint event by CAPA and WIT

A new airline technology and distribution conference will be jointly launched by the Sydney-based CAPA - Centre for Aviation and Singapore-based Web In Travel (WIT) this year.

Airline Cloud9, set for Bangkok on August 23-24, will bring together the airline and distribution expertise of CAPA and WIT respectively to address a market need for cutting edge content and thought leadership in these two areas of the aviation business. The bottom line: responding to customer needs to improve revenues.

Both CAPA and WIT share a similar mission – to run events that inspire new thinking. Their conferences are known for their relentless focus on sharp, meaningful and relevant content.

“Whatever the changes and however fast it’s changing, the customer wants only one thing – great experiences. So the question is, how can the airline industry leverage technology to enhance profitability and create great customer experiences?

“This is the event that will bring the two worlds of airline IT and distribution and marketing to arrive at one common purpose – how to delight air travellers at critical customer touchpoints,” said Peter Harbison, executive chairman of CAPA, and Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder and editor of WIT.

Airline Cloud9 is designed as a platform for thought leadership to share ideas and best practices in airline IT, operations, distribution and marketing with a focus on Asia Pacific.

Said Harbison (right), “Technology has been identified as one of the key drivers where airlines can cut costs and grow revenues. There is a need for content that unearths the best practices and case studies in IT adoption globally, so that airlines can learn from one another and from other sectors. This is where we believe CAPA can combine effectively with WIT to deliver a real cross-sectoral learning experience.”

Added Yeoh, “Coming out of our annual WIT conference, we saw a need for a dedicated track to airline distribution and marketing due to the complexity and special needs of the airline business and we are delighted to work with an organisation of such repute as CAPA.”

The target audience for Airline Cloud9 is decision makers and leaders in airline commercial, IT and operations working in passenger service, commercial planning, revenue and operations; airline marketing professionals working in the digital space covering ecommerce, social media and mobile; airline IT vendors and suppliers; travel industry professionals working with the airline sector,; and academics, airports and government/regulatory bodies.

The conference programme has been jointly developed by CAPA and WIT and the event will be co-chaired by Harbison and Yeoh.

Airline Cloud9 will be held in Bangkok at a leading five star hotel and participants can be guaranteed an unforgettable experience.

For more information, contact Gerry@webintravel.com and stran@centreforaviation.com

Spare us the pain, what travellers want in their online experiences

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Consumers in less developed countries are more frustrated with the destination selection, shopping and booking process than travellers in more developed markets, a new study shows.

The study, Empowering inspiration: the future of travel search, attempts to uncover the pain points travellers face during the destination selection, shopping and booking processes. Commissioned by Amadeus and conducted by PhoCusWright Inc, it also details the key trends and predictions for how consumers want to be able to search for travel online in the future.

Key findings include, but are not limited to:

The frustrations and pain points travellers face when planning and booking travel

All consumers face frustrations during the destination, shopping and booking process, however, those in emerging markets are more frustrated than their developed counterparts. For example in the shopping process, 47% of US travellers experience frustration online, compared to over 78% of Russian travellers. This is due to information overload and the lack of confidence that they are getting a good deal.

New ways in which travellers would like to search for travel

In the developed markets, nearly 50% of travellers had a particular place in mind, whereas in the emerging markets, it was only about a third of travellers. Catering to these travellers is advantageous, as attracting shoppers earlier in the purchase funnel broadens their audience and reduces their reliance on search and referral traffic. Furthermore, more than four in 10 travellers across the markets are flexible about travel dates, thus tools that help determine where and which travel dates have the lowest price have widespread appeal. It is time to think outside of the traditional city pair/travel date box.

How travellers want to use mobile devices and social networks when planning and sharing travel experiences

Three in 10 travellers in Europe currently have no interest in using their mobile phones for travel-related activities, but US consumers show levels of interest comparable to emerging markets for mobile features such as alerts, check-in, etc. Mobile device usage for travel is more than twice as common in emerging markets, most notably in India, where nearly 24% of travellers research destinations online on their phones.

Looking ahead, the report also looks at how new technologies may change travel planning in the future, including but not limited to:

· The truly private ¨private sale¨: Marketplaces around the world have been flooded with promotions, deals, and now flash sale brands that tout discounts with nocontext of whether an individual would be interested in the product. As consumer segmentation and behavioural targeting to consumers becomes more sophisticated, sellers will be able to microtarget promotions to specific consumers, offering products that are actually relevant for the buyer.

· Cumulative ¨intelligence¨: With hundreds of options, online shoppers are overloaded. Eventually, programmes will learn from an individual´s behaviour over time by observing and aggregating common patterns. Microsegmentation will help companies analyse behaviour and deliver increasingly intelligent results.

· Smart systems and virtual private assistant: Devices will become smart and interconnected, and will store and make sense of information consumers look at. The programme will recognise and process inputs from the sites consumers visit and what they do on them, and will act as an assistant on the consumer´s behalf.

Stephane Durand, Director, Online & Leisure at Amadeus, said, “Amadeus commissioned this study to understand how consumers will search for travel in the future. To effectively support our customers, we need to understand the developments that look set to affect both the future of travel search and the success of travel sellers´ business. Today, we stand at the forefront of a technological evolution in travel that we refer to as Online Travel 3.0 which recognises the power shift from suppliers to retailers and to end consumers.¨

David Brett, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific said that online travel is a key growth area in Asia Pacific. “With increasing access to the internet and a growing middle-class, industry experts are predicting that Asia Pacific is on course to dominate the online travel market, with emerging markets like India leading the way. India’s online travel market alone is expected to see growth of seven billion (USD) by the end of the year, the biggest in the region. While the opportunities are plentiful, travel players looking for a piece of the growing pie will need to demonstrate a keen understanding of their local customers’ behavior and adopt the right technology to engage them.”

Durand added, “There are clear opportunities for travel sellers to inspire and convert consumers while alleviating degrees of frustrations along the way. For example, the use of advanced destination selection and content customisation tools to attract and inspire consumers earlier in the travel planning process is key to gaining competitive edge in the years ahead.”

Carroll Rheem, Director of Research, PhoCusWright said, “Megabrands…are applying enormous talent and imagination towards solving traveller problems. It is mission critical for all travel retailers…to understand and adapt to how consumers want to make travel decisions, not just how they have made them in the past. This study [illuminates] the things companies can’t see in their clickstream and conversion – desirable elements their websites currently lack.”

About the survey:

The study surveyed 4,638 travellers in the US, UK, Germany, India, Russia and Brazil. In addition to consumer insights, PhoCusWright conducted 18 executive interviews with thought leaders around the world to gain industry perspective on where travel search is headed. Although the travellers under review are not representative of the mainstream consumer, they have the most sophisticated shopping needs and represent the early adopters whose current behaviours and preferences are leading indicators of behaviour in the future.

Leading Hotels experiments with removal of transaction fees

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Three-and-a-half years after he took up the reins at Leading Hotels of The World and shook things up at the 84-year-old luxury hotel collective, Ted Teng (left) may be shaking up things again.

He is piloting a project to remove transaction fees and move to a flat membership fee. With transaction fees accounting for 45% of revenues currently, there is of course a lot on the line and Teng is naturally cautious about the move.

On a visit to Singapore, he told WIT, “We are essentially experimenting with it. We will see how far we go and how we replace it but this is the general direction – to go towards a flat fee.”

He thinks this is the right way to go for a marketing and representation organisation because “there is inherent competition in a transaction model”.

“Pay for performance sounds good and it works if you are given the task to perform. In hotels, there is no exclusive distribution. People find you through many channels or they can call a hotel directly – this creates competition. Should a travel agent book with a hotel or through LHW?”

Teng’s appointment three-and-a-half years ago at LHW raised eyebrows. This was a conservative European-centric brand, representing independent hoteliers some of whose families have been in hospitality for generations. Teng, who’d worked with Starwood and was at one time heading the Asian operation, is an Asian-American, never worked in Europe, “I don’t know how to pick a wine” but “they told me they wanted someone who could look at their business model – they were celebrating their 80th anniversary and they wanted to stay in business another 80 years”.

He added, “It’s been a learning curve, working with 430 owners, some of whose families have been in hotels for six generations. It’s a bit like an association, everyone is fairly comfortable sharing their opinions. I learnt to listen and I try and make 80% very happy and 20% satisfied.”

One of the first things he did was put together a five-year plan to improve the quality of the portfolio, re-invest in the business and generate more revenues to the hotels.

“A market of expats to a market of Asians”

“In the past, they grew the company by adding more hotels and not by generating revenues,” said Teng. And to him, the biggest mindshift that’s taken place at LHW is “from looking at Asia as a market of expats to looking at it as a market of Asians”.

In his fourth year, he says he has increased revenues to LHW’s hotels by 19%, above the industry average. In Asia Pacific, where the office is led by Philip Ho, revenues have grown 25% year on year.

He admits part of it is catching up and growth is from a low base “but we have developed several new revenue streams, strengthened our Leaders Club (currently at 100,000 members) and got closer to the travel agents”.

Up to 75% of its business is touched by travel agents. While this continues to be a growing and important channel, LHW is also investing in online direct. It is redesigning its website for a September launch and the new site will have more social and mobile features.

In the last three years, about 100 hotels left the network. “Half left because of quality, a quarter left because we were not delivering value and the rest because of their own brand strategy.”

Teng started with 475 hotels, currently there are 430 in the fold. “It was tough to cut hotels during a recession. It cost us US$6 million in membership fees but we had to do it for the future of the company. We had to catch up.”

And now he feels it’s timely to explore alternate pricing models, hence the experiment with removing transaction fees.

He said the fee model worked for a different time but new technological advancements meant it had to be reviewed. “The consumer is now channel agnostic, they don’t really care how they book, our business model needs to reflect the current environment.

“I think you can’t afford to just have incremental improvements when the world has changed so much.”

And even though LHW is a not-for-profit organization, Teng said “the danger is you can become complacent so we need to push ourselves even harder”.

The hotel distribution and marketing landscape has changed so much, he said. Citing the new roomkey.com site, a collaboration between six major hotel brands – Choice, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Marriott and Wyndham – Teng, said, “These mega chains are not going to stop flexing their muscles. We need to review how we can remain relevant, differentiate and offer added value to our members.” (Read about roomkey.com here)

The area where LHW adds most value is with hotels that can already produce 80% of its own business. “We help them to top up and our pricing reflects that. We can reach global markets. In a survey of our Leader Club members, we found the average distance between where they live and the hotels they visit is 4,000 miles and they stay at many different hotels on their holidays.”

He feels consumers today want more than the cookie-cutter type of hotels. “These did well when standards weren’t there but people in general are looking for different kinds of experiences. The Chinese travellers still want their branded goods but the new emerging travellers want something different.

“As they say, when you have nothing, you want what others have. When you have everything, you want what no one else has."

Pinterested yet?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Time Magazine named it among the “50 Best Websites of 2011”. There is news doing the rounds that it is driving more referral traffic to third-party sites than Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube combined. CNN covered it as 2012’s hottest website and tech blogs can’t stop raving about its success.

Men are complaining that their ladies are spending more time on it than with them, and women can’t get enough of travel bucket lists and wedding wish lists with it. Just about everyone is talking about it, including me - I am addicted to it. So what is this new social network called Pinterest and why should you care about it?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard and visual sharing site that allows users to curate interesting content and catalogue ideas, pictures and videos into thematic boards. What is most appealing about it is its simplicity and visual appeal. It has a ‘LIKE’ button, similar to Facebook, as well as a ‘follow’ feature like Twitter. You can draw parallels to famous bookmarking sites of the Web 2.0 era like Delicious and StumbleUpon, but what truly helps Pinterest stand out is its user base.

Pictured left: Simrat Sawhney, Circos Brand Karma

Unlike usual web-based start-ups whose largest demographic segments tend to span early adopters, techies and industry insiders, Pinterest has a much broader mass appeal and a devoted set of mainstream users. This is because Pinterest has made it very easy for users to curate and organise content by topics and interests relevant to them. It has enhanced the sharing experience for users by extending their social graph and sphere of influence from friend recommendations alone to those that come from people who share the same interests and may even be subject experts in their own right. Technology experts are calling this the “interest graph” and expect this to determine the next big consumption trend.

The burgeoning success of Pinterest is giving rise to an interesting phenomenon, one where discovery leads search. With unique visitor numbers shooting through the roof and users being bombarded with a sea of information, ideas, and cool products for purchase, people are discovering awesome things and aspiring for stuff they never thought they needed or didn’t even know existed. This is interesting for brands in many ways – young brands can increase awareness and visibility while well-established brands can seek new audiences and create new demand by tapping on the potential of Pinterest.

Search is a great way for users to find information on things they want, but Pinterest creates inspiration and this is particularly relevant for luxury brands. comScore recently reported that Pinterest is the fastest site to cross 10 million unique monthly U.S. visitors as compared to any standalone site in history. And if history is anything to go by, users in Asian countries readily adopt new social networks and several Asian countries (e.g. Indonesia, Philippines, India, etc.) make for some of the largest and the most active groups of social networking in the world.

Preference for aesthetics and visually appealing sites will only enhance user interest for Pinterest in Asia. Only Facebook and Tumblr have more social media time on site than Pinterest. And this is reason enough for lifestyle brands to take notice of the social network that’s built on the fundamental premise of “liking and wanting stuff”.

Pinterest is helping users define their personal sense of style by putting a sort of order and pattern around everything an individual likes. Fashion, décor and design, weddings, food, and travel are the dominating categories of content on Pinterest.

Luxury lifestyle brands should bank on the opportunities offered by Pinterest by creating themed pinboards showcasing their product lines, as well as other complementary ideas and products. A flood of pinboards on weddings and dream travel destinations on Pinterest are creating consumer desire for luxury wedding venues, exotic hotels and resorts, and exclusive honeymoon destinations.

Since pins are added through a bookmarklet from any site or by re-pinning another user’s pins, imagine the referral traffic you can drive to your brand website if you had your own Pinboard or even just a “Pin It” button on your website!

Additionally, because many brands haven’t yet exploited the potential of Pinterest, you can gain first mover advantage by organising pinboards for special getaways and promotions; interacting with wedding planners, fashionistas and travel influencers to showcase your brand; crowdsourcing ideas by creating group pinboards, or just promoting a lifestyle.

Using Pinterest to capture the essence of your brand and becoming a tastemaker rather than merely posting your products on the platform is strongly advised. As Pinterest designer and co-founder Evan Sharp puts it, “For most consumer brands, the idea behind your brand makes sense on Pinterest.”

Luxury fashion brand Oscar de La Renta, media brands, celebrity chefs and fashion editors like Travel Channel, Martha Stewart, Inc., Paula Deen, Nina Garcia of Marie Claire, and Marie Claire, the brand itself, designer labels like Kate Spade NY, Lilly Pulitzer, and TOMS shoes, luxury retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Zales, and Club Monaco, and other lifestyle brands like West Elm and Etsy have pioneered Pinterest in unique and interesting ways.

Whether you use it to inspire your own design and copywriting teams, or to inspire customers and engage users be sure not to ignore Pinterest.

The platform is not perfect yet, but you can bet that significant behind-the-scene improvements are being made every day.

For now Pinterest is only generating revenue through tracking codes, but will not stay far behind the likes of Facebook and Twitter in terms of monetising its platform.

Before it becomes more commercial for brands to have a presence via branded pinboards and sponsored pins, a lifestyle brand should think about doing something creative on this mammoth of a platform that Pinterest is coming to be.

The social network has brought much aesthetic appeal and high quality user experience to content curation, something that many have tried with little or no success in the past. Pinterest is visual, clean and simple. The site lets you re-share with just one click, has a highly engaged audience and a very well designed iPhone app that allows users to click a photo and upload as a pin or use the site’s regular features.

Social curation is going to be very hot in 2012 because users don’t want to spend as much time and effort on creating content as consuming well-structured content – it is just much faster and more fun. So, come on, stop waiting and be Pinteresting!

• Pinterest Infographics courtesy of Monetate Marketing Infographics

Fuel costs make dent in AirAsia's income

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

AirAsia's net profits for Q4 2011 tumbled to RM135.7 million (US$44.8 million) from RM311.1 million a year earlier due to rising fuel prices. The airline spent RM475 million on fuel during the period reviewed compared with RM292 million a year ago. Average fuel prices increased 36% over the year, accounting for half of the airline's total cost

However, revenue for the same quarter rose 9.3% to RM1.27 biliion, a result of more passengers and higher average fares.

For the year (2011) the airline posted a record revenue of RM4.47 billion, up 13% from RM3.95 billion in 2010. Operating profit was reported at RM1.20 billion, up 12% from RM1.07 billion in the previous year. Core net income for the same period was RM880.78 million, up 18% from a core net income of RM749.32 million in the previous year.

AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes (pictured left) said the loss in net profit was also due to unrealised foreign exchange losses on translation and a deferred taxation in 2011.

He noted that overall the company had performed and that the full year results indicated that the group was on the right path, which is managing matters that were within its control.

“We are proud to achieve an increase of 12% in operating profit and increase of 18% in core net income for FYE 31 December 2011. This is remarkable in an environment where macroeconomic factors such as fuel prices have impacted us and every other airline.”

Outlook for AirAsia was positive, said Fernandes as the company prepared for the listing of AirAsia Thailand and AirAsia Indonesia this year.  

AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Japan have obtained their respective Air Operating Certificates. Fernandes said the two airlines would commence their inaugural flights in first half and second half of this year respectively.

AirAsia will also take delivery of 20 new A320 Classic in 2012, of which 17 aircraft comes from its firm orders with Airbus, helping to maintain its status as the leading low-cost carriers in the region.

Consumers in APAC embrace ethical shopping

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Shopping with a conscience is taking off in Asia Pacific with an increasing number of people inclined to buying items that are environmentally friendly and based on fair trade principles, according to the latest MasterCard survey on ethical spending.

The survey revealed respondents from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and China were willing to pay more for items that observe fair trade rules, environmentally friendly or with part of the sale donated to a charitable cause.

This trend was in sharp contrast to 2009 and 2011 when South Korea was the only country that showed an increase in consumers (+7%) willing to pay a percentage of sales for a good cause. Drops were recorded in China (-25%), Taiwan (-19%), Japan (-18%), Hong Kong (-15%) and Singapore (-11%).

In 2011 shoppers were also less inclined towards eco shopping when compared with 2009 - Japan (-26%), China (-23%) and Hong Kong (-19%). The drop was most obvious in Taiwan, - from 71% in 2009 to 40% in 2011. South Korea (18%) and Thailand (4%) were the only two countries, which recorded increase in respondents willing to pay for items based on fair trade principles.

Thailand led consistently with the highest proportion of respondents (94%) basing their purchases on fair trade principles, above China (88%) and Indonesia (87%), with Australia (37%) and New Zealand (36%) ranked lowest.

Japan, despite being impacted heavily by natural disasters in 2011, saw a rise in terms of charity donations (42%), indicating its nationals were contributing to a charity as opposed to 20% in 2010. In addition, 35% said they were contributing more to charity this year compared with 2010.

Thailand, which was affected by recent flooding, also showed more willingness to donate with 31% saying they would contribute more this year than last year.

Socially responsible merchants also attracted respondents in the Philippines (76%), Indonesia (76%), Vietnam (78%) and Thailand (82%), when making purchases. However, this is less so for respondents in Hong Kong (45%), Japan (39%), and South Korea (46%).

“The latest MasterCard survey demonstrates that consumers are conscious and wary of the current economic climate, and they continue to display a sense of responsibility about the products they are purchasing,” said Georgette Tan, group head, communications, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.

Note: The MasterCard survey was conducted via online interviews between December 5, 2011 and January 6, 2012 and involved 12,500 consumers from 25 markets across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

• Photo courtesy of Tourism Malaysia

Making Social Media An Asset To Your Hotel, Part 1

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The first in a series of articles by Brand Karma on Making Social Media an Asset to Your Hotel.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll share our learnings on how social media can benefit the various departments and stakeholders at a hotel or hospitality firm, and present practical ideas for how it can be used to improve a hotel’s business. Our aim is that readers are left with a useful foundation for applying social media to increase brand favorability, guest satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately leading to higher profitability.

But first we’re going to start with a basic overview of the social media landscape for hoteliers.

Let’s begin with the social networks, which are arguably the foundation piece of social media. According to Wikipedia, a social network is “a social structure made of individuals (or organizations) called ‘nodes,’ which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.”

Indeed, social networks are made up of clusters of connections between individuals or entities, and are most commonly found on social networking web sites and communities, like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Any web site or community where one member can “friend” or establish a connection with another member is considered a social networking web site. The scale of these sites on the Internet is massive, with Facebook boasting over 800 million members as of September 2011.

What has made social networks so powerful is their viral effect: it takes only two individuals connecting within a social network to bring together hundreds, if not thousands, of clusters of connections from the two individuals’ respective social networks. This can lead to incredibly broad and rapid distribution across the Web and the world.

As a result, newer social networks (like foursquare) often benefit from established social networks (e.g.: your email contacts, your Facebook friends) by leveraging the sub-clusters that already exist. In other words, when someone on Facebook joins foursquare, they’re likely to invite their Facebook friends, who are in turn more likely to accept and join because the invitation comes not from foursquare, but from a trusted source.

Therefore, the potency of social networks comes from their ability to reach a broad audience as efficiently as they reach niche groups. Further, the speed in which information can be distributed through a social network adds to its potency.

Next, let’s define social media in a way that’s relevant to a brand. Put simply, social media is comprised of conversations and online postings written by normal people (i.e.: not editorial journalists), which share experiences with a brand’s product or service. These postings have an impact on the brand’s perception, consumer purchase decisions, or both.

So while we began by exploring the social networks, in reality the social media landscape for brands is much broader than just Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, and YouKu. Brand Karma defines the social media landscape for brands as having four main categories, as shown in the figure below:

Let’s summarize each of these categories briefly:

1) The Pure Review Sites are sites where consumers go to read and/or write reviews on a brand. No transactions take place on these sites, but they often become very popular channels in determining purchase decisions. In the hotel space, TripAdvisor is the clear category leader here.

2) The eCommerce Sites are sites where consumers go because they are ready to make a booking and are typically comparing multiple options that meet their price and location requirements. The online reviews on these sites are often used to break a tie between several different options (e.g. Which hotel has free internet access? Which hotel has the best brand-name toiletries? Which hotel is kid-friendly?). In the hospitality world, this category includes OTAs like Expedia, Ctrip, and Agoda and meta-search sites like Kayak, Wego, and Qunar.

3) The Influential Blogs are the new media equivalent of travel journalists. These are authors with significant reach and influence whose postings impact a large number of readers. Gadling and A Luxury Travel Blog are examples of influential travel blogs.

4) The Social Networking Sites were already covered in detail above, and include the big names like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and well as market-specific sites like Sina Weibo and YouKu (in China).

If you stop and think about this landscape and the types of postings that occur on all of the above web sites, you’ll realize that social media is simply the digitization of something that humans have been doing since the dawn of time: sharing vital information for the safety, enjoyment, and happiness of others.

And because of its digital format, social media is archived and easily accessible, with conversations and shared experiences often coming to life via words, sounds, photos, and videos. Finally, one doesn’t need to be a film director or an award-winning writer to tell one’s story: free tools exist to help create, publish, and index interesting content that like-minded fans will find at the appropriate time.

As a result, hundreds of millions of people have already contributed to social media, and the outcome is a vibrant, dynamic and colorful web of content that in many cases has drowned out the brand images and messaging once carefully created by brand directors and their advertising agencies.

This new Internet has become the catalyst for a paradigm shift in branding. No longer are inspirational brand promises presented in expensive advertisements sufficient; consumers seek to validate the authenticity of those attributes to determine for themselves what’s real and what’s marketing fluff. Gone are the days of when the public sees only what you want it to see; now the most insignificant operational oversight can get a guest on a soapbox to lead a revolt. Transparency is key to trust, and the definition of value is no longer determined by the brand, but by the collective experiences of its past customers.

The characteristics of social media make it a powerful new medium with direct applicability to the various stakeholders at a hotel company, including operations, sales and marketing, revenue management, and general and corporate management.

In the next article in this series, we’ll explore what drives the bulk of a guest’s hotel experiences: operations. We’ll cover how brands can use social media to improve operational excellence, and in doing so, take the important first step of improving and optimizing its public perceptions.

Mobile driving growth at Venture Republic's travel sites

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Japan’s Venture Republic (JASDAQ 2177) beat the odds in a challenging economic climate to post a year-to-year 22.5% increase in revenues and a 107.8% jump in profits in its 2011 financial year. Revenues totalled US$26 million and profits US$3.7 million in the year under review.

The company, that owns the leading meta search sites in travel – travel.jp and hotel.jp – saw a 20% revenue growth in the travel segment, reaching US$15million.

CEO Kei Shibata (left) said he was particularly happy with the record high third quarter result “which was better than satisfactory, given the tough post-crisis environment”.

The shift to mobile is happening at a tremendous speed, he said, adding he expects that its mobile traffic could be equal to PCs by the end of this year.

About 25% of overall traffic is coming from mobile for its two travel sites.

He said the tendency by users to book at the last minute has become a regular pattern since the crisis. OTAs and meta search sites are playing a huge role in this change in behaviour, he said.

He said that suppliers such as hotels and airlines, particularly the low cost carriers, are increasingly keen to market directly to users potentially bypassing travel agents and OTAs.

“We are getting positive responses from many hotels for Hotel.jp,” he said.

His priorities this year are to invest in social media. “We want to build up the social team, integrate more social plug-ins. Facebook may be a single focus.”

In the area of mobile, it would further optimize its smartphone pages and upgrade and build apps.

The company’s strategic relationship with Colopl, the mobile gaming service, struck last year is beginning to kick in, delivering value to its users as well as Colopl’s.

He is keen to enhance the relationship this year. “Our eyes are wide open to new start-ups as potential collaborators particularly in the area of gamfication x travel and social travel.”

Top 10 destinations on Travel.jp (tour packages)

Domestic: Okinawa, Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Niigata, Nagano, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kagoshima

International: Korea, Hawaii, Guam, Taiwan, China, Singapore, United States, Italy, Thailand, France

Stunning views and some good legal pointers on social media

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Now, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that a presentation on ‘The Law and Social Media’ at a firm of lawyers in a CBD office might not be the most exciting part of Singapore’s Social Media Week … but, for this attendee, Lionel Tan’s presentation was one of the week’s highlights.

Whilst Lionel’s content was interesting and his delivery very enthusiastic I should add that the outdoor Level 21 of Rajah & Tann’s office with its stunning downtown views wasn’t too shabby a location either.

Lionel covered off several areas and alluded to some specific Singapore examples in his comprehensive roundup despite his not having a lot of time.

In this post I’d like to share with you some of his key points and, in this time of mass sharing, remind you of some copyright basics that have not really changed despite the huge evolvement of the online landscape and what can now be done without a second thought and often with complete (unintentional) disregard for the law.

If, in publishing this post for example, I use a copyright protected image that I quickly Googled I may be breaking the law. Reproducing third party content attracts liability and there’s vicarious liability for organizations whose employees do the same. We need to remember this.

I’m regurgitating Lionel’s broad statements here and hope I’m being accurate and broad at the same time. I know too that there are lots of other considerations here and notions of Creative Commons and the rest but it’s worth remembering that in the age of push sharing there are still some very important legal implications.

Lionel gave some very good advice. He said that we should look to understand what it is we are trying to do with our Social Media communication and understand and pre-empt the risks around our goals. In addition to this, one should also look at the specific platform(s) and understand its specific characteristics and pitfalls.

As I mentioned, several specific examples were mentioned including the case of Gary Yue Mun Yew, who posted a doctored photograph of a Vietnamese soldier executing former Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng by holding a gun to his head.

He also mentioned the case (alluded to during an earlier presentation that day) of the Singapore SMRT spoof site set up in reaction to the alleged lack of response from the ‘real’ SMRT.

The use of the logo, said Lionel, could quite possibly be infringement. During that earlier presentation the audience was enjoying a laugh and lighthearted moment over the content on the spoof site without seemingly any concern for any possible copyright infringement. It’s perhaps this type of situation that epitomizes our sometimes casual disregard for copyright and the law when it comes to some social media.

Lionel mentioned an interesting new trend in which companies are mining their competitor’s social media output and that of its employees in an attempt to extract directions in strategy and sentiment through detailed analysis of all social media interactions.

When it comes to the law, things are changing in Singapore at least with new legislation in the pipeline. In the meantime, Lionel was keen to stress, any organization or company could prevent some huge headaches by setting up T&C’s on any Social Media pages to manage expectations and protect against future problems.

He also suggested that companies trying to enforce blanket bans on their employees’ use of Social Media might not necessarily be heading in the right direction and a strong policy with clear guidelines could be a better route. He cited Intel as a good example.

My main takeaway is that we would all do well to remember that there are still laws even in this seemingly free and easy space.

And we should, I think, be aware of a pervasive sentiment in our online society that seems to think that copyright isn’t important anymore and that there is some inherent entitlement to whatever we want and having to pay for something went out the window a few years ago.

Local OTAs rule in Japan

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Online travel agencies (OTAs) lead all travel categories in terms of monthly unique visitors, attracting more than twice as many visitors as airline websites, the most popular supplier website category.

According to PhoCusWright's Japan Online Travel Traffic Report (a Global and Asia Pacific Edition publication), in May – July 2011, OTAs attracted an average of 11.3 million monthly unique visitors.

Approximately one third of all travel category visitors visited an OTA site in this period. Travel information sites – the second-most frequented online travel category in Japan – averaged 7.1 million monthly unique visitors in May – July 2011.

Supplier sites, in contrast, typically attract far fewer visitors. While airlines lead among supplier websites in Japan, they attract less than half the visitors as OTAs. Other supplier website categories – ground transportation, hotel and car rental websites – trail even further.

Within the travel categories that attract the most visitors (and in fact, across all travel website categories), it is local, not global companies that dominate. Among the 10 most popular OTAs in the country, nine are local companies (Expedia Japan ranks eighth).

Japan's online travel bookings are projected to exceed US$31 billion in 2012.

Yes, I can - social media experiment traveller survives in Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

So it’s been proven, man can live on social media alone. Well, at least, in Singapore he did. Okay, it's hardly Survivor stuff but hey, it's still worthy of an adventure worth sharing.

Armed with no money, just the new Nokia Lumia, and a backpack containing 10 survival items, Parisian Martin Pasquier not only survived but ate well, slept well (if insufficiently) because he had too many “friends” who wanted to meet him and partied well (his worst moment was Tuesday morning after the opening party of Social Media Week – a self-inflicted hangover).

During his five days in Singapore, he said, he met only kindness and generosity, slept in various places ranging from hostels to private apartments to a flat in the heartland and ate “things I didn’t know what they were but they were good”.

The rule was he had to reach out only through social media. He used Twitter to post photographs but it was on Facebook that he found the most engagement – “my family telling me not to eat something” or “people wanting to meet me”.

Among the 10 items in his backpack were a notebook, poncho, a book of French recipes which he gave to a chef, a USB key, a second pair of boxers, a pair of fitflops and swimming trunks. The most useful turned out to the notebook which he used to record his experiences and take notes.

He was busier than expected, he said, and one precious moment was when he had 10 minutes to himself on the train when he switched off his device. The device is for making friendships, you got to know when to switch it off, he said.

Most of the contacts he made during this experiment were in the 22-35 age group. And no, he didn’t conduct any checks on those who reached out to him. “I had heard Singapore is a safe place,” he said. “I come from Paris. I am more worried about Daphne in London.” (Daphne is the Singaporean girl who went through a similar experiment in London.)

Which is why he admits that possibly Singapore is the easiest place to conduct such an experiment. It is a small, safe place, its people are highly connected and the 3G and wifi infrastructure is good.

“I suppose it’d be more challenging if it was in India or China,” he said.

He said he took on this adventure for two reasons – one, he wanted to get to know what was behind the modern façade of Singapore and two, he wanted to experience a new way of travelling.

He said he would try out a few tactics during his next trip to the US. “I will join local hashtags on Twitter and see if I can join a local conversation. Facebook groups – I don’t think so – they are useless.”

Martin, who’s used couchsurfing.com, says there are now new ways of travelling because of social networks. Of course, he said one has to be careful. “I am a social media worker and I know that anyone in France can fake an online reputation, but risks are part of any travel adventure.”

Asked how he took to the Nokia Lumia – given he’s an iPhone user, he likened it to switching from Google to Yahoo. “It’s a bit confusing at first but it’s not that different and it’s good to have another phone that’s not the iPhone.”

Nokia Lumia, one of the sponsors of the first Social Media Week in Singapore, is touting itself as the world’s first socially integrated smartphone and Ari Fadyl, head of consumer engagement, Southeast Asia, at Nokia said that Nokia was “everyone’s first phone” and that “it has always been about connecting people”.

Both Fadyl and Simon Kemp, managing director of We Are Social, agreed that this year would see some government regulation because governments had seen how powerful social networks can be in effecting political change.

Kemp said that some degree of regulation would be a good thing. Referring to Martin’s trust in “friends” on social networks, he said you never knew who you might meet and people within communities had to look out for and protect each other “from the dark side”.

Both agreed that mobile was fuelling both the social and commercial revolution. The key is in understanding and making use of the data to personalize engagement with customers.

For Fadyl, the next big thing is breaking the digital code between customer engagement and mobile commerce, and payment platforms were being built to make this possible so that your retail bill becomes part of your mobile bill.

As for how an individual can use social media to do good, Fadyl said it was important to remember that these days, “a karma comes back to you instantly”.

So better to do good than bad ...

Armed with funds and tech know-how, SilverNeedle out to build NEXT Gen hotel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Did you know that Silver Needle is a rare white Chinese tea that’s harvested over a two-week period every year? Well, I didn’t know that and neither did Bill Black, I suspect, until he started researching for a name that would infer a sense of welcome for the new hospitality company that he’s now building and heading up.

“In Asia, tea is usually offered as a sense of welcome and we wanted a name that reflected that,” said Black.

SilverNeedle Hospitality is what he calls “an integrated hospitality company” with three disciplines – investment, development and management.

When I last caught up with Black more than a year ago, he was deep in talks to buy Constellation Hotels, an Australian/New Zealand management group which has five brands – Chifley Hotels, Grand Chifley Hotels, Australis Hotels & Resorts, Country Comfort Hotels and Sundowner Hotels – and everything was pretty hush-hush.

With the deal consummated almost a year after talks began, Constellation has rebranded as SilverNeedle and Black, with his team, is ready to take the new hotel company to new places and I mean, more than geographically.

He sees a golden (pardon the pun) opportunity to do things differently. Coming from a traditional, luxury background – his career has been with Regent, Four Seasons, Fullerton and lately high end boutique hotels – Black wants to build a next generation product and experience for the next generation.

He sees an opportunity to break down the traditional hotel model and rebuild it from the ground up.

One thing you can count on – SilverNeedle’s owners have deep pockets. They are part of the Nadathur Group, an investment firm owned by Nadathur S. Raghavan and family, co-founder of NASDAQ-listed Infosys Technologies. The Nadathur Group manages around US$750 million in capital and has invested in over 25 start-ups in a range of industries from life sciences to engineering.

So expect technology to be a key part of SilverNeedle’s play in making its hotels as efficient as possible as well as in customer-facing services.

The acquisition of Constellation not only gave the company immediate scale – 4,500 rooms in 70 locations in Australia and New Zealand – but also access to systems and processes that are all about efficiency. The way hotels are run down under are very different from in Asia, said Black. There, it’s all about efficiency and room to staff ratios of 0.3-0.4.

“We were impressed by how efficient the operations are and we will take lessons from there, and blend that with our Asian standards of hospitality.”

Hence NEXT, the new brand, will blend the best of both worlds – Australian efficiency and Asian service standards. “We will provide Australian-style functionality back of the house to support the Asian sense of hospitality which is about putting people in front of the guests,” he said.

Said Black, “We recognize an opportunity with the upper mid tier catering to and being designed for the emerging middle class in Asia – people who are tech savvy, aspirational and very connected. Connected doesn’t just mean the Internet but connected to the community where the hotel becomes inclusive rather than exclusive.”

He cites the example of Ian Schrager’s new hotel, Public, in Chicago which opens up its spaces to the public so that “people will use us as their neighbourhood space”.

And he’s thinking of the “Cost Plus” model where you pay for what you get and everything else is at cost. So for example, no more exclusive business centre (read post) but an inclusive space where you can get things done at cost, no more over-priced laundry service; and no more over-priced minibar items because that becomes part of the room price and if you want extras, you can go to the convenience store and get whatever items you want.

“NEXT is about efficiency, we are not going to have three restaurants but we will outsource to local established restaurants who do that really well.”

He will also get rid of “departmentalizing” and instead have staff work as teams so they can handle multiple functions. “The reason we will be able to help you send a fax at cost is because we will no longer have a staff there manning the business centre,” said Black.

A new approach will also be taken with distribution and marketing with Mark Simmons, responsible for sales and marketing, and Mark Wong, former Small Luxury Hotels of the World, as AVP for marketing.

The emphasis will be on “direct, loyalty and connected”, said Simmons. Thus investments will be made into the web and mobile channel. “We have no legacy systems so we can make the leap into mobile easily,” said Wong who will be driving distribution. “We will focus on direct customer bookings and interaction.”

Traditional travel agents will continue to be important. In Australia, Simmons said travel agents including GDS account for 40-50% of business. Constellation’s loyalty programme, The Escape Club, with 30,000 members will be revamped and expanded.

The group has opened regional sales offices in Australia, Singapore, Bangkok with one due to open in Mumbai. It intends to open in China in the next 12-18 months.

Two NEXT hotels are due to open shortly, said Black, although he did not wish to disclose where they were.

His aim is to have 30% non-branded White Label properties and 70% NEXT branded hotels of which 25% will be owned assets. “There will be some rationalizing of the brands in Australia over time,” said Black.

Ok, wifi issue tackled, time to wash other dirty laundry in public

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

On January 1, the Dusit group of hotels freed up its wifi across all properties. Every guest now gets a user name and password and hey presto, you are in. It works per device but I suspect soon one login will get you across multiple devices.

Dusit is only doing what’s inevitable – Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts paved the way almost two years ago now – and I am sure more hotels across the region will follow suit.

Wifi has become as part of a hotel service as electricity and water and recent surveys underscore that travellers will not book a hotel if it does not offer complimentary Internet access.

When you log into the Dusit network, it urges you to refrain from downloading videos and games – which is fair enough. Customers understand that free comes with certain conditions.

So now that the wifi thing has been acknowledged as an area hotels need to change their thinking on, there just leaves three areas that, in my mind, need reinvention –the business centre, mini bar and laundry.

The business centre - dens of antiquity?

I’ve not had much occasion to go near a business centre for a long while now. They seem so dinosaur-like to me, dens of antiquity. If I want to meet, I can go to any coffee places. A cuppa and the space is free. I rarely need to print or photocopy anything.

But on a recent weekend in Singapore, an associate from Japan, staying at a hotel’s executive floor, decided to book a meeting room.

As part of his executive status, he’d have two hours free usage. Our meeting went on for four. He wanted to photocopy some documents. The bill came. S$2.50 per page or something ridiculous like that. Two hours extra time – S$60 or some such figure. The photocopying came to nearly $80.

There’s a coffee machine outside the meeting room but it’s not operational. You have to order coffee – I won’t tell you what it costs.

How can such a model be relevant in this day and age? How can you charge such insane fees for a service such as photocopying which surely should be offered free to your executive guests anyway?

Paper robbery, I thought. I understand perhaps some travellers still need these services but I think hotels need to rethink their approach to business centres. Are they profit units or service centres?

Mini bar, maxi prices

Two, the minibar – another old potato issue. Some hotels have seen the light here and offer free basic items and so if you want something more expensive, you pay for it. I think customers understand that but to be charged whatever for a can of soft drink just doesn’t fill you with happiness.

In London recently, I had to brave the cold each time to get some simple provisions – how I longed for a store in the lobby run for the convenience of customers.

Washing your dirty laundry on the road

Three, the laundry. What I am curious about is who came up with these laundry prices? Someone did 50 years ago and everybody just followed it and so that’s how it’s stayed?

I am told that among business travellers, more men than women do laundry in hotels. Women tend to wash our personal things ourselves. Men send everything in and then charge to their company account, which is why I guess no one’s ever complained about laundry bills.

I personally don’t do laundry on the road unless it’s a super long trip and even then, I figure it’s cheaper to buy new undies than wash them.

Don’t get me wrong okay. I am not advocating free up everything but I think hotels need to rethink what business they are in instead of what services they offer and what they can get away with charging for each of these services, one by one.

I look forward to the next generation of hotels for a new generation of customers.

Hotels in Malaysia jumping onto social media for engagement

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

With more than 12.2 million members on Facebook – that's a 47% penetration of its population – Malaysia is no laggard when it comes to embracing social media. Currently ranked at 17th place among Facebook countries, it is seeing fast growth – in the last month alone, numbers jumped by almost half a million (according to Social Bakers).

Malaysians are also active creators of content, going by the active blogging scene that characterises in particular the poltiical scene. And when you consider how successful AirAsia has been in leveraging social networks to sell air seats to Malaysians, well, it is no surprise that hotels in the country are also jumping onto the social media bandwagon to get their messages out in front of customers.

And these hoteliers are doing exactly what Henry Mason, trendwatching.com’s director of research and analysis, said at the opening session of Social Media Week in Singapore that "social media is about customers, not brands".

They create rapport with their fans through online "conversations", update them on the hotels’ services, latest happenings and special events. To increase fan base, they also offer discounts for room stays or vouchers at F&B outlets for “liking” them.

Guests like this "personal" touch and being able to deal directly with hotels on queries or just to keep updated on their activities.

Three hotels have seen positive results from such an approach and here, they share their stories.

Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur

Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur recently literally "shouted" in glee as its Facebook followers on its four (Facebook) pages reached a whopping 30,000 fans, a new all time record, as well as a new social media benchmark for the city’s hospitality industry (top picture).

What is unique in Grand Millennium’s Facebook strategy is that each of the page features a unique and individual conversation with a welcome gift for its fans.

The Mill Café: Hotel’s first Facebook page to reached 10,000 fans in less than a year; converse in foodies passion for good food and the highly sought seafood buffet dinner.
Lai Ching Yuen: Completed the Chinese restaurant launch with dim sum class sweepstakes last December, boasts a 10,000% growth in less than three months to over 15,000 fans. The page converse in diners’ passion about dim sum and they also receive tips from the chefs. http://facebook.com/laichingyuen
Pulse Ultra Club: Recently re-launched the fan page with interactive welcome tab, as well as “Hot Candy” photo contest with total prize worth of RM10,000. http://facebook.com/pulsekl
Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur: Currently working to install the page booking engine, as well as other features that will be available in the coming months. http://facebook.com/grandmillenniumkl

In explaining the hotel’s huge fan base, Grand Millennium’s general manager, Melvin Lim (pictured right) said the hotel understands the value of customer engagement and Facebook is the best platform to do so.

"We spent a lot of time testing on how to build a strong community relation, as well as building a brand conversation platform."

The hotel is also using Twitter to expand its engagement with its guest through its handle, @Klconcierge.

"As the name implies we want to position ourselves as the concierge that provide visitors to Kuala Lumpur with local information, whether it is from the best nasi lemak (local rice and curry dish) to travel arrangements that a concierge provides in a hotel," said Lim.

Millennium Kuala Lumpur is also on TripAdvisor and works with the latter’s team to develop partnership, attend its online training and explore its latest community tool

"Through such target approach, rather than bombarding with constant promotion the hotel is reaping rewards through increased occupancy and healthy patronage at its F&B outlets," said Lim.

Holiday Villa Hotels and Resorts

Malaysian-born and bred hotel chain, Holiday Villa Hotels and Resorts, is also seeing positive results from leveraging on social media, specifically Facebook, despite actively using it only a year ago.

The hotel group, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary, has a corporate Facebook page, as well as one for each of its 25 hotels and resorts spread out in 10 countries – Malaysia, Cambodia, China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Qatar, Sudan, U.K. and France.

Kenneth de Silva, Holiday Villa’s general manager business development & special projects (pictured left), said the corporate page has about 2,800 fans, while the individual hotels has an average of 300 fans each.

"For the corporate page we do a lot of interaction with our fans. Besides updating our F&B and room promotion we also run competition, quizzes, provide pertinent information about the destination where Holiday Villa hotels are located and sometimes just random and trivial questions,” he said.

Holiday Villa also has a Twitter account, which compliments the Facebook page.

"As these two are the most popular social media channels we update the same contents on Twitter as we do Facebook,” explained de Silva.

The hotel group also offer special rates or discounts exclusively for its Facebook fans and Twitter followers on occasions like the MATTA Travel Fair and Holiday Villa Bridal Fair.

De Silva said a valuable part of using social media to engage with their guests allow them to know what their customers are talking about in relation to their hotels.

"We hear their grievances and their compliments and this helps us to improve our services and products. At the same time we are creating customer loyalty and our brand is reaching to places in the Middle East, Europe and USA."

Future plans is to install a page booking engine into the fan pages so guests can book for rooms and services directly without having to go to the hotel’s website.

The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur

The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur, part of the Malaysian hotel chain - The Royale Bintang-Hotels Resorts Group - went straight into social media to engage with its guests when it started operations in 2009.

As with most hotel groups it maintains one FaceBook fan page for every hotel property, as well as a corporate page, uploading all information on their facilities like rooms, restaurants and events.

The Royale Chulan Facebook page currently has almost 1,900 fans, and the numbers are increasing.

“We are carrying out activities to boost the numbers, like talking to our guests and giving them the latest updates on the hotel and its outlets. We also reward our fans with special promotions for the hotel/F&B outlets and gifts for ‘liking’ the fan page,” said Franz Swoboda, Royale Chulan’s general manager (pictured left).

The hotel also has a Twitter account, as well as a YouTube channel.

"We make sure that the three (FaceBook,Twitter, YouTube) are integrated and directed to one another accordingly.”

Swoboda added that success of using these social media channels was not just measured by increase in business, but also by improved communications with its guests.

"We are able to interact directly with our guests and provide instant responses to their feedback and inquiries."

On plans to install a page booking engine into the fan page, Swoboda said it would be done the hotel’s website is revamped. "Guests then can access the reservation booking engine from the FaceBook page."

He revealed that the hotel would soon have specific pages in TripAdvisor for all the hotel’s F&B outlets as restaurants are also reviewed.

"We are also in the midst of revamping our current website to compliment the use of social media. It will be ready later this month (February)."

Is the fun over? 'This is the year of government regulation'

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I left this morning's opening session of Social Media Week Singapore with the distinct feeling that we may have had our fun in the sun as far as social media is concerned and now it’s time for the parents to come spoil the party.

With Twitter planning to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local rules (see latest story re-Brazil wanting to take up Twitter's offer), Alan Soon, managing director, Yahoo! Southeast Asia (left), said this is the year of government intervention.

Governments have seen how influential social media can be and they will do their best to invoke censorship and privacy rules.

He said companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter would have to adopt measures to respect local rules and governments would, in turn, be more vigilant about protecting the privacy of its citizens and censoring what can be said.

“Privacy is a way of control, isn’t it?” he said, adding however, “I think those governments that try to do so won’t have much success.”

Commercial interests are also weighing in heavily on the space. In the audience were mainly brand marketers looking to learn how they can use the social media space to sell products and services and get new customers and when Henry Mason (centre), director of research and analysis at trendwatching.com, declared “You don’t need a social media marketing strategy”, he hit a nerve.

Referring to Apple who he said didn’t even have a Twitter page, Mason clarified later that what he meant was that while you do need a social media strategy (mainly to engage customers and improve service), you shouldn’t use social media to sell products and services.

When the subject of celebrity endorsements on Twitter surfaced, something which may cause people to lose trust in the impartiality of social networks, Mason said if your friends start seeing commercial messages on your feed, they’d quickly lose interest.

“Social media is about customers, not brands,” he said.

The whole decision eco-system has changed, he noted. “Discovery now happens by default – you can’t avoid it. Online profiles are the new status symbol – less about the having than the finding and sharing.”

For example, you ask your friends on social networks questions such as “what digital camera should I buy?”, other customers have become curators and now even unknown people are helping in the decision making.

Soon acknowledged the pressure media companies were under. When he asked the audience how many people heard of Whitney Houston’s death through social media, almost all hands went up.

There’s been a reinvention of news, led by social media, he said. “If the news is important, it will find me” – that’s the challenge facing news organisations.

So the key is to be “discoverable”. “You can have an amazing Pulitzer prize winning author but if he doesn’t understand SEO, no one will discover him,” he said.

Of course, the counter-trend is, if something is too easily discovered, then what’s so special about it? Which is fundamentally what everyone is in search of – that pearl in the oyster, that special piece of information, that special restaurant, that no one knows about?

That is one of the issues with social media – that it tends to flock birds of the same feather around the same nest and hence does not allow for diversity of opinions and interests.

This was something Soon said he was concerned about. “I’d like to find other people who are not similar to me who don’t like the same things as me – that’s real discovery.”

Be that as it may, both executives agreed that to survive in this new “expectation economy” where customer expectations are not set by your competitors but all leading brands, companies need amazing products to begin with.

Perform or perish, was the title of Mason's presentation. If you have an amazing product, people will talk about you and people will find you. If you don't, you, well, perish.

Which doesn’t seem a revolutionary an idea at all really. “Yes, nothing’s really changed,” agreed Mason. “People don’t change as fast as technology – just the tools have.”

So what’s an amazing product, I asked them?

“Relevancy,” said Mason.

“Something I didn’t know I need,” said Soon.

Reservations "on the go" with GetThere Mobile

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Global technology company, GetThere, has added new capabilities to its mobile offering, giving travellers the ability to make air reservations with their smartphones (iPhone, Blackberry and Android) within company policy and preferences for all carriers in the global distribution systems (GDS).

Grant Rattray, managing director for GetThere Asia-Pacific (pictured left) said this new "on the go" functionality was to meet travellers' needs on the road, while still adhering to the corporation’s policies and preferences.

"That means increased savings for the corporation and a better travel experience for employees," he added.As part of its development process, GetThere conducted a usability study, asking corporate customers to compare GetThere’s mobile capabilities with those of three well-known consumer travel brands. GetThere’s mobile air shopping and booking functionality rated the highest for ease of use.

According to Sabre’s biannual survey of travellers released in December 2011, 59% of business travellers surveyed in APAC are very interested in making air reservations, including seat selections, via mobile devices. Fifty-three percent said they would book hotels using the same devices.

Revenues jump 50% in MakeMyTrip's fiscal third quarter

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

India’s leading OTA MakeMyTrip continues to post gains in revenues and profit. Here are the financial highlights of its unaudited financial and operating results for its fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Financial Highlights 
• Revenue rose 50.3% (67.6% in constant currency) yoy to $53.8 million.
• Revenue less service costs increased 36.9% yoy (52.5% in constant currency) to $23.7 million.
• Net revenue margin for Air ticketing and Hotels and packages combined increased by 1.8 percentage points to 9.6% yoy.
• Adjusted operating profit improved to $4.2 million, versus $1.6 million in the prior year’s fiscal third quarter. Adjusted net income was $3.0 million versus $1.8 million in the prior year’s fiscal third quarter.
• Adjusted Diluted earnings per share was $0.08 ($0.09 in constant currency) versus $0.05 in the prior year’s fiscal third quarter.

Said Deep Kalra, Chairman and CEO, “In the fiscal third quarter we witnessed a rapid weakening of the Indian Rupee as well as volatility in the Indian aviation industry.

“However demand for our services remained strong during the past holiday travel season as more customers chose to use MakeMyTrip for the superior user experience we offer.”

An edited version of the report as follows:

Fiscal 2012 Third Quarter Financial Results Revenue
We generated revenue of $53.8 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 50.3% (67.6% in constant currency) over revenue of $35.8 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Air Ticketing
Revenue from our air ticketing business increased by 59.9% (77.4% in constant currency) to $21.6 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from $13.5 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Hotels and packages
Revenue from our hotels and packages business increased by 45.8% (63.0% in constant currency) to $31.3 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from $21.5 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Other Revenue
Our other revenue increased to $0.9 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from $0.8 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2010, primarily due to increased sale of rail tickets and bus tickets and other miscellaneous income. 

Personnel Expenses
Personnel expenses increased to $8.0 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from $3.9 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2010, mainly as a result of employee share-based compensation costs of $2.9 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 as against $0.14 million in quarter ended December 31, 2010 as well as due to increases in annual wages and average employee headcount year over year in the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Excluding employee share-based compensation costs, personnel expenses as a percentage of net revenue remained at the same level of 21.5% year over year and decreased by 3.5% from 24.9% in the previous quarter.

Results from Operating Activities
Results from operating activities was a profit of $1.3 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from a profit of $1.4 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Wego brings local travel search to Philippines

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Asia's travel metasearch website, Wego, has launched a dedicated site for the Philippines - Wego Philippines – that enables travellers to find the cheapest flights and the best accommodation from across the market with just a few clicks online.

The site says this will help travellers save hundreds of pesos and time, otherwise spent seaching multiple travel sites. This is made possible with the features on the search engine that include:

• New Calendar Search to find the cheapest days to fly

• Hottest available fares from Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Air Philippines, AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia along with hundreds of other carriers

• New Popular Search to see the most favoured destinations and accommodation.

Users simply click through to their chosen suppliers’ sites, which include online travel agents, to book.

Wego Philippines also includes the DateWise™ Fare Finder tool that allows users to select a destination, indicate flexibility in dates of travel, and see a graphic calendar displaying the lowest fares over a month for all carriers.

Users looking for hotels will find the revolutionary Popular Search feature useful as it ranks properties according to what is considered convenient, well-priced and well placed by other users.

Based on a complex algorithm that tracks the data trails of Filipino travellers this search feature generate accurate results that in real-time. For example, Singapore is currently the most frequently search route out of Manila. The five most popular hotels there are Holiday Inn Atrium, Marina Bay Sands, Empire Hostel Singapore, Ibis Singapore On Bencoolen and Concorde Hotel Singapore.

First time travellers will find the “Popular With Filipinos” rankings helpful, while experienced users see the site as intuitive and content relevant.

Magic - intrepid women travellers share their experiences at WITX

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Singapore’s first professional female magician and escape artist Ning Cai (left) and her travel companion radio DJ Pam Ho, will be joining the all-woman’s cast at WITX 2012 in Bangkok this April.

The two adventurers, both of whom have just completed a year-long trip around the world, will be talking about their experiences as women travelers on their own and also sharing their recommendations to the industry on how to target this travel segment.

“We hope to share our experience of traveling the world as two women, the difficulties, obstacles and dangers we faced, the ways we got around them. We will share candidly about what we hope to see happen in the industry so that more women can travel more widely and more freely,” said the two.

Pam and Ning will share details on how their trip materialized including how they financed it, and how they used the online media to plan and publicise their trip.

WITX is a one-day conference, to be organized in Bangkok this April. It will gather women leaders of different generations, cultures and backgrounds who will address issues and trends, share ideas and insights and unearth opportunities in the Asia Pacific travel space.

To be held April 27 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Bangkok, the conference is organised by the people behind the award-winning Web in Travel conference.

The conference themed, “Celebrating The X-Factor In Travel”, will also focus on women as major consumers of travel.

Ning and Pam expressed their excitement about seeing the production of an event like this.

“It's about time we have an event like this! The face of travel has evolved so much, and women are at the forefront of setting trends and pushing the envelope when it comes to world travel. We're women, we're Asian, and we're avid travellers, so we're thrilled and honoured to be part of Asia's very first all-women's travel event,” they said.

To interact with them and the other all-star cast of speakers, watch this space for registration details. Those interested in attending or sponsoring should contact gerry@webintravel.com

Click here for a line-up of other speakers and the programme,

The great social experiment is underway at Agoda

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Agoda will be experimenting with social media in a big way. And mobile is now mainstream. These two forces which are feeding each other, believes Robert Rosenstein, CEO of Agoda (left), will transform travel.

What could have been a great year turned out merely good, due to the floods that afflicted Thailand in the last quarter of the year, but all in, Robert Rosenstein, CEO of Agoda, is still smiling.

He has good reason to be. The site he co-founded with Michael Kenny has become Asia’s largest hotel booking site and the space he is in can only grow as online becomes mainstream in a region where customers are becoming increasingly affluent to look on travel as a necessity, no longer a luxury.

And while the floods did cost the company business and cancellations, Rosenstein said it opened his eyes to the dedication and commitment of his team. At the height of the flooding, more than 170 of Agoda’s staff had to stay in hotel rooms for nearly a month.

“Our employees living in Thailand suffered through the floods, it was hard for everybody and it was hard for us to watch them lose their homes and yet they stll had to work to serve our international customers.

“And that’s what I am proudest of – to see the great job they did under dire circmstances. I don’t think you will see this in the investment banking business.”

Does that mean therefore they will be getting bigger bonuses, I asked Rosenstein who was in the midst of preparing bonus payments when I interrupted him for this interview?

“If only effort and sacrifice alone would determine what people got paid,” he laughed.

Overall though Agoda’s staff shouldn’t be complaining too loudly. Their company is on a strong growth path. “We saw growth across the board, online business is growing everywhere and we are one of the lucky recipients of growth. There is a perpetual trend of people booking online over traditional agents and wholesalers. If we just do a reasonable job, we will see growth across all markets.”

One realization he had in 2011 was how dynamic the market is. “Even markets that are going through tough periods – you’ll still see high occupancies and high rates. One big change and which has benefitted us is how dynamic hotels have become in their pricing – taking advantage of weak periods to lower prices and busy periods to increase prices. Our channel is fantastic for that.”

He said that while online travel continues to go mainstream, some markets still had a long way to go, even matured destinations such as Phuket and Bali and hence there was plenty of room for growth.

The thing he will be spending most time on is understanding how social media can be used as a true marketing channel, not only for creating buzz and hype but also actual conversions into customers.

“For everyone now, social media is here. Facebook has made the net a social space and it’s changed the landscape of what people use the internet for. But for the industry, it’s not yet happened. Social media companies are not speaking the real language of marketers, it’s just something cool to have. But it’s going to happen.

“So my priority is to learn about social and the new shifts in gathering data and understanding what this all means.

“Yes, there’s a social aspect to reviews there – TripAdvisor and TripFriends – but does it help us service customers better? What does it do for our core business? Do you really want to know what all your friends are doing? How does this data help us achieve our core objectives? Everyone wants to be at the top of the marketing funnel, does it help me be at the top and convert customers?”

He said Agoda would spend money and time experimenting in this space and partner with Facebook. “This time next year,” he promised, “we hope to have more answers. The thing with Facebook is they have an open platform view and that could give you real scale.”

And as confusing as the social space is, Rosenstein said we should be thankful there’s really only one significant network to deal with.

As for all those trip planning and sharing sites that are popping up, he said, “If they are making life simpler for consumers and expanding their choices, then that’s a good thing.”

Mobile has also become mainstream, believes Rosenstein, as we now live in a fundamentally mobile world and that changes the way we transact. Agoda is seeing fast growing transactions on mobile and as it matures, it will become a similar game to the traditional web. “You have to make sure that mobile and laptop customers are serviced – mobile customers are more liable to book the same day.”

He said that social and mobile were two transformational technologies that were feeding and changing each other and by so doing, changing the entire landscape of travel.

There are also a couple of other areas he intends to keep his eagle eye on. One, the deals space which some may be dismissing because of the proliferation and fatigue factor but investors continue to be in love with them in Asia. For instance, I recently heard an investor say, “You can say what you like about the deal sites but I tell you, they make real money. People actually buy.”

Recounting this to Rosenstein, he responded, “If suppliers are willing to offer great discounts, people will buy. But they also have to be sustainable and make sense for the suppliers. You have to understand it from the consumer value and hotel value – that’s what a real intermediary does.”

Thus, he said, Agoda is interested in looking at any ways that hotels discount and understand why they do that and what that does to consumers.

Collaborative consumption is also a space that intrigues him, specifically models such as Airbnb and 9flats. “This is really interesting. The challenge is going to be structure and rules that they need to solve, the same way that ebay needed to provide insurance, reputation analysis, etc.”

Many questions remain. Who is liable when the apartment gets wrecked? Are flat renters liable for local taxes? How do these sit with local regulations surrounding hospitality? Hotels need licences, serviced apartments as well – do private flats rented out as temporary accommodation?

Rosenstein agrees, “It’s not about supply and customers, it’s about structure and rules and how you bring the authorities into it? That’s where the battle will be won – creating structure.”

Asked if Agoda would consider getting into this space, he said, “We offer service apartments now so yes, we could look into that business. There is an opportunity – lots of customers are searching around and there’s technology to load different room types. But it’s not a business we know about yet.”

Rosenstein expects it to be another dynamic year – lots of ups and downs. “That's okay for us, we just need to make sure our stuff is flexible so that hotels can discount and yield with us.

“This year is also about listening to customers, when you are flat out growing, there are a lot of things you miss so we will keep our ear to the ground and see, what do they want? Do they want these apartments, for instance?”

His message to employees is, it’s been a good year, everybody has delivered through a stressful period but more stress will come. "Be proud of what you've achieved so far, but remain humble with our partners and customers."

As for why he has stayed on after selling the company to Priceline.com in November 2007, Rosenstein, who turns 45 this October 11, said, “I am staying because I don’t think I will get another chance to work with a great team, a parent company that allows me freedom and flexibility and a great industry.”

And would he do it again, build a company from scratch? “They do say once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur, and I retain that mindset. But starting small companies again – that’s a young man’s game and there are certain advantages you get with scale.”

* A look at Priceline.com’s performance

Collaboration is key to the future of travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Travel will become more collaborative in the next decade where travel providers and travellers will work together, says the report, “From Chaos to Collaboration”, developed by The Futures Company, a global foresight and futures consultancy, and commissioned by Amadeus.

The report details this shift where service-users become partners rather than customers, and where context is as important as the transaction. And at the heart of this new era of collaboration is a set of discrete “enabling” technologies and innovations.

This collaboration will also help reduce the stress, uncertainty and chaos that are present today, due partly to the onset of mass tourism.

Drivers of this travel collaboration and change in the next decade include augmented reality, gamification, intelligent passenger records, long-range biometrics and the rise of the wellbeing agenda.

The report also challenges the travel industry to overcome the uncertainty and stress of modern-day travel, through the application of new technologies and innovations.

Report’s key findings (Download full copy of report)

The next generation of experience: Travel is increasingly about depth rather than breadth of experience. Technologies, such as augmented reality, gamification mechanisms and smart mobile devices will transform the travel experience
Automatic transit: Checking-in could become the exception rather than the norm with the rise of faster and more efficient identity management systems. Chips, biometrics, long range fingerprinting and near field communications (NFC) can be deployed in a more integrated way to fast-forward how people move around
Payment with memory: All data on payments made before and during a trip will be integrated, acting as a digital memory of expenditure and activity for individuals, groups and travel industry operators. Intelligent passenger records, 'digital breadcrumbs' and contactless technologies could be used to personalise and bundle services delivering higher value and more profitable relationships
Intelligent recommendation: As technologies make it easier for people to tag and review all aspects of travel experiences, travellers will be more influenced by peer groups and expert curators. The prospect of personal travel guides and mobile tour representatives will give travellers the tools they need to enrich their experience
Taking the stress out of travel:The wellbeing agenda and changing demographics will place greater emphasis on removing travel stress. Intelligent luggage tags and tickets will give greater reassurance whilst m-Health (mobile-Health) applications will allow travellers to manage and monitor their health and wellbeing as if they were at home
The business tourist: Continued emphasis on work-life balance and wellbeing at work may see the rise of the business tourist which will demand speed and efficiency as well as a home-away-from-home.

Eberhard Haag, Amadeus executive vice president, global operations (pictured right), said over the next decade there would be a significant opportunity to redefine how the industry delivers and packages services to meet changing traveller needs.

“Key to this is more intelligent information exchange, a willingness to challenge the status quo and greater two-way partnership between travellers and travel players.”

Andrew Curry, The Futures Company’s director and co-author of the report, hopes the report would l challenge, provoke and stimulate thinking around how we will all be travelling in the future."

• The infographic below highlights stages in the travel experience and technologies essential for the future development of a collaborative travel industry. Click here to open the full infographic where you can share the frustrations and expectations you feel identified with.

No money, can he survive in Singapore for 5 days on social media alone?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Can man live on social media alone? Well, one young man is about to find out if he can depend on the social web and the kindness of strangers to survive in Singapore for five days from February 9-15.

Armed with just a Nokia Lumia 800 and 10 items in a survival pack, Martin (#CanManLondon), from London, will have to seek food and lodging each day. He will also be issued daily tasks which will be posted on his Facebook wall.

At the same time, Daphne (#CanManSG), a 20-something Singaporean will do the same in London.

This cross-city social experiment is to evaluate whether intrepid travellers can depend on nothing but the goodwill of locals and the power of social media to survive in a foreign city for over a week.

The experiment is part of the global Social Media Week, being hosted in Singapore for the first time, and which will kick off next week.

Martin will then talk about his experiences on Thursday, Feb 16, at a public event and guess what, I get the chance to interview him.

I suspect though he won’t find it hard. When I told my friends about this experiment, they took a look at Martin’s photo and said, “Oh, he’s cute, should not be a problem.” Ditto with Daphne. What do you think?

Still, it’ll be interesting to hear his stories.

Social Media Week, hosted by hosted by AKA Asia (formally impactasia Singapore), comprises a slew of activities from talks to debates to parties.

I will also be chairing the opening session on Monday where Henry Mason, Head of Research & Analysis at trendwatching.com will be speaking about how social media is giving consumers new ways of getting what they've always wanted.

Also speaking is Alan Soon, Managing Editor, Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the topic of “Social News and the Changing Habits of Consumption”.

Other activities include The Great Food Debate where a food critic, a blogger and a foodie will slug it out and a Girls In Tech panel moderated by Adriana Gascoigne, founder and CEO of Girls in Tech, a non-profit organization which celebrates women’s innovative and entrepreneurial achievements in technology and which recently opened a chapter in Singapore.

Social Media Week (SMW) is a global conference held simultaneously across 13 cities. Now in its third year, it attracted over 35,000 attendees worldwide last year.

New accessibility guidelines boon for people with disabilities

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The U.S. government’s new accessibility guidelines, to be implemented in March, marks when hotels, airlines, attractions and entertainment venues must increase accessibility to make travelling easier for people with disabilities.

The new guidelines would also allow these companies to penetrate a virtually untapped new market segment in the global accessible and inclusive tourism industry that is worth US$13.6 billion, said TravelinWheels, a U.S. based company that arms travellers with disabilities with the information they need to travel the globe more efficiently and easily.

Under the new guidelines places of lodging must:

• Allow individuals with disabilities to make reservations for accessible guestrooms during the same hours, and in the same manner as other guests

• Identify and describe accessible features in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to independently assess whether a given place meets his/her accessibility needs

• Ensure reserved accessible guest rooms are actually available for disabled guests upon arrival

"According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more than 12% of the population over age five consists of non-institutionalised people with disabilities, including more than 14 million with hearing and sight issues, and more than 19 million with mobility issues,” said Michell Haase, founder of TravelinWheels.

The 12% of the population is virtually untapped by the tourism industry.

"The new laws being put into place will help make accessible tourism not just about the physical accommodations of a venue, but a mindset providing a positive travel experience for all, regardless of their disability,” added Haase.

Fly in comfort with full row of seats on AirAsia X

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Don’t like being assigned a middle seat on a long haul flight or sit next to a snoring passenger? AirAsia’s long haul low cost affiliate is making it possible for passengers to escape this "tight" situation with its new Empty Seat Option (ESo) that makes available three seats in a row in economy for a nominal fee.

AirAsia X says it is the first airline in Asia Pacific to introduce this innovative service, which is available through its technology partner, Optiontown.com.

ESo is AirAsia X’s second ancillary offering in partnership with Optiontown after the success of its Upgrade Travel Option (UTo) service, which was launched in 2011. It provides passengers the option to upgrade to the airline’s Premium Flatbed seats.

According to AirAsia X, the UTo has helped to increase the premium class load factor by over 22%, and upgrade yield by over 60%.

AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani (pictured stretching out over three seats), said the ESo is another move by the airline to offer its guests the option to purchase only what they require depending on their needs, rather than bundling the cost to its fare offerings.

"I believe that the Empty Seat Option will be a great addition to our family of ancillary products, which will further increase our ancillary revenue stream. We estimate that we culd earn up to US$1 million in 2012,” he added.

Guide to add ESo to your booking:

1. Log on to www.airasia.com, select “Upgrade with Optiontown” under the "Flight Information" section

2. Click on "Optiontown", select "Empty Seat Option"

3. Enter the current flight booking number, select flight for ESo

4. Pay a small sign up fee (RM3/US$1) and a nominal Empty Seat(s) fee

5. Empty Seat(s) availability status emailed (72-4 hours) to customer before flight departure

6. If Empty Seat(s) are not assigned due to unavailability, fee will be refund automatically to the customer.

• Photo courtesy of AirAsia X

Automation to replace hotels' manual channel management

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A key focus for hoteliers around the world in 2012 will be the integration of their online distribution with their Property Management Systems (PMS) and Revenue Management Systems (RMS) to make their online reach faster, simpler and more powerful.

Forecasting trends for the online distribution of hotel rooms in 2012, SiteMinder says many accommodation providers will switch their channel management strategy from the "legacy" manual channel management products of yesterday to technologies capable of providing fully automated, two- way, seamless integration between online booking channels and their PMS, CRS or RMS systems.

This would help hotels gain an upper hand in what has become a complex and "cut throat" marketplace on the net, said David Williams, SiteMinder’s general manager for sales and marketing (pictured above)

"As integrated channel management solutions become mainstream this year, hotels will benefit from broader distribution reach and streamlined automated business processes that, together, result in higher revenues, lower costs of acquisition and a healthier bottom line," he added.

This year will also see an emergence and recognition of new, exciting and easily accessible distribution options such as social media sites, mobile and group buying consumer sites like Groupon to keep them ahead of their competitors.

"2012 is all about accessing new selling opportunities, focussing on effective revenue management strategy and maximising business efficiency through the full automation of the distribution process so staff can focus on adding value to the business rather than on the manual processing of data," said Williams.

Increased competition this year will also lead to more hotels to fully automate their distribution.

Williams revealed that a year ago 15% of SiteMinder’s hotel clients had their channel management systems fully integrated and automated, with the remaining still manually re-keying online booking reservation emails. Today, 35% of its hotels are fully automated. It predicts the rate jumping to 45% as hotels strive to cut costs and streamline their business processes.

The Age of Lost Innocence

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I can’t help but think that the age of innocence in social networks is over.

Remember that first day you set up your Facebook account? It was so cool. A way to connect with real friends, to share with them what you liked, what you were doing.

And then it grew and people you didn’t really know wanted to be your friends and now, your news feed takes as much time to get through as reading a newspaper, maybe more. It’s interesting to see what different people use it for – some to moan, some to soapbox, some to provoke thought, some to share humour, some grief.

Remember your first tweet? Cool, right? How to say something smart in less than 140 characters ... now everyone’s re-tweeting whatever comes across their 5 seconds of attention-span bandwidth.

But how do we know now that a tweet is not just a tweet but is paid for by some company to some personality to endorse their product?

And how do we know when a review is false? In Ireland, a hotel group was recently hauled to court for encouraging its staff to write positive reviews for its hotels.

In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority has said that “because reviews can be posted on the site without any form of verification, TripAdvisor must no longer claim that all of its reviews are honest, or even from real people”.

It told TripAdvisor “not to claim or imply that all the reviews that appeared on the website were from real travellers, or were honest, real or trusted”.

This led co-founder Steve Kaufer to defend his baby saying, "Of course, there are a small number who try to post false reviews. We target, catch and penalise those that do. But no site could guarantee that every single contribution is 100% accurate. Indeed, this would be true of any organisation, online or otherwise, verified or not, taking views from consumers. In reality, the impact of these attempts is negligible because they are drowned out by the vast majority of genuine voices that make up our community.”

In Japan, Yahoo! Answers became the latest web service to be plagued by fake contributors in Japan.
According to this report, corporate giant Jalux, which operates a bento lunch box business out of Haneda Airport, was accused of employing a company to post comments under the guise of a variety of independent web surfers. Last year, Japanese restaurant recommendation site Tabelog also had its rankings manipulated by paid review posters. It claimed that at least 39 companies were involved in the practice.

And now of course news of the week, month and months to come – Facebook going public in May with an estimated valuation of US$100 billion. What is Facebook selling? Our personal data. Our likes and dislikes. Our updates.

What's on your mind? Well, we could all be thinking if we have been suckerberged.

We willingly surrender personal data, share all that we are doing, reading, drinking, eating and thinking, so that he can sell advertisers the right to sell to us. All of us are now social, mobile targets for advertisers.

It’s bad enough getting those calls from banks in the middle of dinner offering you money you don’t have to spend so that they can make money off you or from real estate agents who want to know if you’d like to vacate your premises soon.

Because, trust me, this is the year a lot of companies will be buying ads on Facebook (see related post) to see if they will lead to actual conversion, not just generate more conversation.

So we will have more messages aimed at us at every part of our social journey. Get on Facebook in the morning and you’ll have ads offering roti prata (if like me, you constantly post food photos). Around lunchtime, you might be offered beauty treatments because everyone, including Ryan Gosling, does not look good in harsh daylight. And just as evening sets in, when people’s thoughts turn to “what should I do with myself tonight, I don’t wish to be alone”, ads targeting singles might pop up. This morning, I learnt that “real millionaires are looking for real women in Singapore”. I reckon I am as real as it gets but really, real?

And is it my imagination but lately I’ve seen an increase in the number of ads offering me knee and back pain treatments. Perhaps they’ve guessed my age (even though I don’t reveal my birth year) by the music I post online?

Personally I am not sure if these ads work as I haven't bought anything on social media platforms but then maybe I am not of the Millennial generation who, according to this report, would tend to rely on the kindness of strangers more than I do. The old question was, will people buy where they socialise? Today, it seems to be you socialise where you buy. Just as the boundaries of work, life and play have blurred, so too the idea of commercial and social spaces.

I guess if we all thought about this deeply and what we are actually surrendering with our sharing, we’d all be frightened. But like all inconvenient truths, we’d rather not, and so we continue sharing because, guess what, we are all hooked, aren't we? It's become part of our social fabric. There are some people who believe that Facebook will become the place from which we never leave (like a Hotel California) and we will do everything within it.

It reminds me of a patient who went to the doctor and he said, “I think I have a pain in my arm.” And the doctor replies, “Well, don’t think about it then.”

Because if we did, we would have to ask the question, does it really enrich our lives or will it enrich only a handful of people?

Three different perspectives on Shame

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The challenge – for each of us to write a review about the movie “Shame”. So here it is, in consecutive posts, three different perspectives on the new Steve McQueen movie.

As a journalist, I rarely miss deadlines, a consequence of working under an editor who said this was one word which meant what it implied.

However, this is one deadline I missed. I had been challenged by a friend who, after watching the new Steve McQueen movie “Shame” together in London, said we should each write a review and he set a deadline of a week after.

This was obviously in retaliation because I had dragged him to watch “Shame” when what he wanted was the “Iron Lady”. Sexual addiction as a trade for the life and times of a formidable political leader – obviously a heavy price has to be extracted.

So a month after, I think I am just about ready to write about “Shame”. I wouldn’t put this tardiness down to sheer laziness, mind you.

I think honestly that the movie left such a deep impression in me – there was rarely a moment after I had left the Odeon cinema in Marble Arch that I didn’t think of it – that I felt I had to put some distance between it and me to do it justice.

Steve McQueen’s treatment of sexual addiction in “Shame” is brutally honest yet disturbingly moving.

First, he paints beautiful veneers – the perfect, cultivated life of Brandon (Michael Fassbender) in his beautiful apartment and successful career – then he peels them away, layer by layer, that leaves you squirming in your seat.

It’s like watching your best friend get naked in front of you – you don’t really want to see it because you know once the layers are off, your friendship will never be the same again.

Brandon is a sexual addict. He masturbates everywhere and all the time. He goes to prostitutes. Yet you feel that his actions are more about releasing pain than they are about seeking pleasure. There’s nothing pleasurable about his encounters with prostitutes – it is impersonal yet strangely polite and respectful.

McQueen does the same veneer-peeling trick with his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) who arrives out of the blue to stay with Brandon and, in the process, turns his perfectly-ordered life upside down.

She’s got issues, this one – the scars on her wrist are a tell-tale sign and McQueen captures it in every scene – the moment where she is singing “New York, New York” in a bar where every note is felt, every facial nuance captured, that you know that she is singing it for her and Brandon and the two share a history of pain and need that is driving both of them towards yet apart from each other.

And when she has an affair with Brandon’s married boss and has noisy sex in his apartment, well, that drives Brandon round the bend and he literally goes for a run through the city – one of the most powerful moments in the film where you feel his pain with every pound on the pavement.

I won’t tell you the ending because it’d spoil things for you but “Shame” is a movie you have to watch for yourself to feel it – what addiction of any kind can reduce a man to when the very thing he needs is what he doesn’t.

It’s as much a story about the universal quest for intimacy, and sex with another is possibly the most intimate thing act we can do yet when stripped of all emotion, becomes the most impersonal.

Brandon loves his sister but fears intimacy because he doesn’t want to have to deal with her issues. He’s interested in a work colleague but is awkward in dating and can’t perform with her. The only place where he is in control is in the bathroom or with prostitutes, when sex is the process, not the desire.

It’s like any form of addiction. Take a woman’s quest for perfect beauty. I read in the papers the other day about two women who will not step out of the house unless they look “perfect”. Or gambling addiction, an old evil that’s since raised its ugly head with the opening of two casinos in Singapore, and tales of lost fortunes, wrecked families and destroyed lives.

Thing is, even when it destroys them, an addict cannot stop.

That’s the question you are left with at the end of the movie. Did Brandon stop? Can he?

A carnal appetite, stripped bare

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

An honest and unflinching exploration of sex addiction, Shame is far from the usual Hollywood fare.

Steve McQueen's rendering of a sex addict's world has a fragile yet sinister beauty: beneath his ordered life, depicted through the protagonist's success at work and showroom apartment, lies an insatiable appetite for the carnal.

Sex in Shame is destructive, desperate, devoid of pleasure, and, inevitably, the primary force which leads to the downfall of our protagonist. (pictured here with Steve McQueen)

The movie begins with Brandon Sullivan, played by Michael Fassbender, managing his sex addiction through sense and order. Fassbender's addict bares it all; for him, pornography and prostitutes are part of his secret double life. The other half enjoys success at work and admiration from colleagues and women alike. Fassbender is well cast in this role - his cool sex appeal is entirely convincing.

As his regimented life slowly unravels (a virus on his work computer suggests early on that his addiction can no longer be confined to his personal life), so does Brandon's ability to connect with others. An awkward date with a work colleague, heightened by an inexperienced waiter, reveals much of his psyche.

Brandon has not had a relationship that has lasted beyond four months; he does not see the point in monogamy. To say he has commitment issues would be an oversimplification. Without his sister Sissy, Brandon is unable to express more than cursory politeness - the date has all the intimacy of a business meeting. (scene below)

Sissy (Carey Mulligan) is unseen for the first third of the film. It is only her voice we hear, initially teasing - then later tinged with desperation. A voicemail left on the phone, ignored by Brandon, pleas for him to pick up. She is dying of cancer, Sissy claims. Although her tone is unconvincing, I was left wondering: why wouldn't he pick up? What was Brandon avoiding?

This is revealed soon enough when Sissy arrives, an unwelcome guest in his catalogue-like lifestyle. She is confrontational and needy; a veritable well of emotions, the foil to Brandon's controlled exterior. Sissy’s role is not so much the catalyst that unravels Brandon’s life than the parallel story of self-destruction.

McQueen's use of the extreme close up has the effect of making the audience feel as though we are prying into another's life: it is unsettling, voyeuristic and hypnotic all at the same time. In one such scene, we are staring straight into Sissy's eyes as she sings, plaintively - "I want to wake up, in a city that never sleeps. And find I'm top of the heap, king of the hill..".

We never once believe that she would make it there, or make it anywhere. Brandon watches her and we see a tear slip from the corner of his eye. It was as though her fate were sealed. Looking back now, it is clear that Brandon is deeply affected, or likely, in a similar state of mind.

An affair between Sissy and Brandon’s boss demonstrates Sissy’s almost unquenchable need for assurance and acceptance through the physical act of sex. Through this, McQueen also deftly poses a question: does a sex addict have any fewer morals than a married man who engages in extramarital affairs?

Sex addiction, like any other addiction, is an ugly business. The climax of the film shows Brandon's final act of depravity as he stumbles from one location to the next in search of human contact - in any form. From the force of a punch dealt to him after he taunts a jealous boyfriend, to the fumbling of strangers in a gay club (there is nothing in the earlier sequences to suggest Brandon may be more than heterosexual, which only heightens the sense of desperation and longing) and a final ménage à trois with two prostitutes; these are the actions of a man whose demon has finally burst forth.

Depicted with little eroticism, Brandon’s downward spiral is filmed in a dream-like sequence to a haunting score. This is a humanizing act: while his lust is at its most uncontrollable, the audience feels the greatest sympathy for him.

If nothing else, McQueen's masterpiece challenges preconceived notions of sex addiction: bleaker than I had thought, but no less human.

* Danielle Yong is a 20-something living in Singapore, has worked as a political lobbyist and is always seeking the right cause to champion.

Fresh, visceral take on an old theme - food, sex and intimacy intertwined

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Shame opens with the protagonist Brandon (Michael Fassbender) lying in bed half-naked with one hand under the sheets. Immediately, one of those faux Confucius sayings came to mind, “Man who goes to bed with hard problem, wakes up with solution in hand.”

After reading some reviews on Shame, I had no compelling desire to watch the movie but was finally persuaded when it was put to me that: “It’ll never be screened in our part of the world, and even if it were, it’d be heavily edited.”

Aware that the main theme was about sexual addiction, my initial reaction was, “And so?” After all, I tasted and survived the 70’s first hand and besides, I had just re-read the Ming Dynasty classic erotic novel, Jinping Mei (“The Plum in the Golden Vase”); what could be so engaging about priapism that has not been said or explored?

Brandon is thirty-something of Irish descent with uncontrollable sexual urges; he masturbates compulsively – in bed, the toilet, at home and at work; he pays for sex and is always logged on to porn sites. Ruggedly handsome he is taciturn, aloof and radiates sexual energy. Popular with colleagues at work, he seems to have only one end in mind – achieving orgasm. He lives alone in his smart, neat and compact flat; his fridge is empty save for a few bottles of beer; he eats Chinese takeaway from its paper box.

Then his sister Sissy (Carrey Mulligan) moves in, disrupting his regular routine. She invites Bandon to the lounge bar where she has a gig and he turns up with his boorish boss, one of his buddies from work. Sissy’s melancholic interpretation of “New York, New York” with undertones of defeat and resignation, so different from the usual triumphant interpretation of that familiar song, brings tears to Brandon’s eyes.

His married boss makes a play for Sissy, beds her (on Brandon’s bed). When Brandon confronts Sissy, “How could you have slept with my boss? Did you not see his wedding band?” She responds limply, “We are not bad people; we just come from a bad place.”

The proximity of living together ratchets up the tension between brother and sister; one morning, Sissy barges into the bathroom as Brandon is having “an intimate moment with himself,” even as his laptop, on the kitchen counter, is hooked to a live porn site. To her offer of help, Brandon retorts, “How are you helping me? ...You come in here and you’re a weight on me…you’re just dragging me down…how are you helping me? You can’t even clean up after yourself…” And then comes the barb, “Stop playing the victim…” Poignantly, Sissy confesses her greatest fear is that he will never want to see her again and plaintively reminds him of her affection for him, “You are my brother…” This simple dialogue sums up the “goods” the siblings have on one another.

Regardless, Brandon demands that Sissy quit his apartment and life. That same evening he goes on an orgiastic binge. He talks dirty to a girl at a bar, puts his fingers up her crotch, provokes her boyfriend till he beats Brandon up; the doorman at a young peoples’ singles club denies him entry; he follows a guy into a gay club to have sex and rounds the night off with two hookers, ménage a trois.

All this while Brandon has been ignoring desperate calls from Sissy. With his “hunger” sated, on the subway home, intuitively he realises something is amiss; dashes back to the apartment to find Sissy has slit her wrists. Previous scars confirm that this is not her first attempt at suicide. Upon regaining consciousness in the hospital Sissy mouths him a term of endearment: “Shithead.”

On the street, Brandon falls on his knees and has a fit: is it an epiphany or is he venting some pent-up emotion of – pain, anger, or frustration? The last (as in the first) scene is of him eying a woman in the subway car – is he or is he not on the prowl again? Only his therapist – or priest – will know for sure.

Taxi zum klo (Taxi to the toilet) made by the late director (Rainer) Fassbinder and released just over thirty years ago in 1980 also dealt with the similar theme of sexual addiction (albeit gay). Taxi, set in pre-unification Berlin (West), seemed lighter and more palatable only because the characters involved were open and casual with their emotions; sly humour and a love interest undercut the serious subject of sexual addiction; less ambitious in scope, Fassbinder merely sought to make a passing comment on the pervasive, unfettered hedonism of the 70’s.

In those pre-AIDS days, sexual addiction had yet to be recognized as an affliction, and was seen as a personal proclivity and an expression of sexual appetite and vigour. But recently, Michael Douglas, David Duchovny, and Tiger Woods, celebrities from Hollywood and the sporting world have openly confessed their sexual addiction and sought treatment. Subsequent media interest and public attention have made this a hot topic of discussion.

Carl Jung had this insight that, “Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering.” Seen in this light, we are left wondering what bad things (“from a bad place”) could have had happened to Brandon and Sissy for them to act the way they do; we want to know what drives Brandon to seek intimacy through sex; and as for Sissy – is affirming self-worth the cause of her continual quest for attention? At one time or another, all of us would have partaken of substances or indulged in activities in order to bring relief from pain, boredom or some other condition. The essence (and the danger) of addiction is that the habitual use of these substances or activities end up with them controlling or consuming us.

Obsession with sex is not really that different from being hooked on computer games, which in our cyber and consumerist age have joined compulsive shopping, smoking, gambling, and alcoholism on the list of popular and common addictions.

Food and sex are primal human urges and whether conscious or not, director McQueen uses food and how we eat as an allegory on sex, and by extension, intimacy. On a dinner date with a woman from his office, Brandon is awkward; they eat disinterestedly without much gusto and part company with a chaste peck on the cheek. Later, when he tries to bed her in a hotel room he is unable to rise to the occasion though he has no problem with another woman. (Is the director suggesting table manners can be a good gauge for performance in the sack?) We are not sure whether the woman Brandon finally beds is a hooker or some hot chick he has slept with before; probably the former because he does not appear to be the type who returns calls.

The close connection between food, sex and intimacy (in all their various forms and combinations) is a theme that has been visited and explored in such iconic films like, La Grande Bouffe in the 70’s, Babette’s Feast in the 80’s and in the 90’s Like water for chocolate. As these movies articulate, the intimacy between people sharing food and those having sex is different only in degree but not in kind; one set of activity could be done publicly with company, the other normally should be in private; food is a topic we discuss with relish, while sex is, shall we say, a more delicate subject. Eating is a most pleasurable activity for babies but when we grow older, as the hormones start kicking in, sex tends to displace food as the more pleasurable activity; while age is no guarantee of maturity, the desire for food stays with us from infancy to grave.

The ancient Romans at their eating orgies used to induce vomiting so that they could get right back to their feasting couches. Telling in today’s world, bulimia is an eating disorder usually found among young people from rich and privileged backgrounds. Social and pleasurable, eating has its dysfunctional aspect. At one end of the spectrum is anorexia – the denial of food; at the other is gluttony – an over-indulgence of food. Either way, no real pleasure is obtained through eating or food. In a world of abundance, the problem is not where the next meal is coming from but having to decide which banquet table to feast on. However, despite the presence of so much food we can still remain malnourished as the food we take may not be necessarily nutritious or good for us. All this talk about food and eating can just as easily be applied to sex.

It is worth noting that McQueen’s previous (and only other) film is Hunger, based on the life of the IRA Bobby Sands (also played by Michael Fassbender), who organized and mounted a hunger strike in a Northern Ireland prison. The title of McQueen’s current film, Shame, puzzles me; the main actors might have exhibited loss of self-respect for falling short of their own expectations, but I do not detect shame on their part – unless it is the shame of being exposed as the shallow and self-absorbed people that they are. Everyone has, at one time or another, encountered “bad things from a bad place,” but as we all know, what really matters is how we deal with them (bad things) as we find our way out of there (bad place).

Michael Fassbender has turned in a marvellous performance as a haunted and helpless man struggling with his inner demons; his eyes simultaneously express a wide range of emotions that encompass disdain, defiance, and defeat – projecting pride, wilfulness and fear. Shame would have lacked the emotional depth without Carrey Mulligan in her role as the vulnerable sister whose extreme need for attention rivals that of her brother’s sexual addiction. The siblings may hold the answers to their mutually unresolved, painful and dark (implied) past, which frankly by the end of the movie we are ready to throw in the towel and sigh – “I really don’t give a toss.”

At times distressing, even painfully tedious to watch, Shame, with its full-frontal assault and indictment on modern society, made a visceral impact on me that lasted days, which, I vouch, had nothing to do with Michael Fassbender’s taut, wiry body (not gym bought) and his impressive dander (well fluffed) – physical attributes sure to make him the talk of the town and propel him to stardom.

* The Scholar is a baby-boomer who likes to look at life from a phiiosophical, intellectual bent.

Travelport's Agility comes at a price for agents - will they pay?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Travelport’s rollout of its Agility Product Suite, coupled with a revision of commercial terms that will essentially require travel agents to pay for terminals, is causing rumblings among agents in Asia.

(See Travelport explains its Agility scheme)

The move, made in a space where agents in Asia are used to incentives and essentially free terminals by the GDSes, is being interpreted as either brave or foolhardy. It is understood that monthly fees per terminal range from US$10 to US$35, depending on markets.

Travel agents in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are understood to have received notification. Travelport’s national partners in other markets have been given grace period to implement and it is understood that most are reluctant to do so, given the consequences to their business.

“It’s a question of who blinks first,” said one industry insider who declined to be named. “And how much market share is Travelport prepared to lose?”

The programme, first rolled out in the US, has already met resistance and earlier this month, in the face of agent dissent, said it would make “limited changes” to the Agility package, according to this report in Tnooz.

Travelport’s decision to start charging for Agility is based on its belief that it now has a superior product. The move sees the rollout of its Travelport Smartpoint App and included in the package is a host of other features such as the Rooms and More accommodation tool which it says is popular among agents in Singapore and Hong Kong.

At the time of the launch, chief operating officer Kurt Ekert (left) was quoted in Tnooz as saying the move to introduce the new platform is “evolutionary not revolutionary“.

He said it would improve the agent desktop experience alongside Travelport being able to service agents in a more efficient way through further upgrades and access to technology.

“We want to help customers with what they want, how they want it, and where they want it,” he said. “It also gives customers a common platform with access to premium products.”

But the move is being seen as a huge gamble. This is a market where agents are used to being courted by the GDSes, not being invoiced by them. Even though there is technically a charge per terminal – for example, Abacus is said to charge in Singapore monthly fees of S$100 for a PC and access and S$70 for access only – most agents don’t pay those fees based on quotas which are set well within grasp of the bigger agents.

“Travel agents have to watch our bottomline and we will of course choose the solution that best meets these needs,” said Alicia Seah, spokesperson for CTC Travel, Singapore, an Abacus customer. “Our customers are also looking to us for value for money so we have to do what we have to do to deliver this.”

In Thailand, Luzi Matzig, group managing director of Asian Trails, which uses both Abacus and Amadeus terminals, said there were usually charges associated with terminals “but if we meet our quotas, we don’t get charged”.

He agreed that this happened most of the time so technically, “they are free”.

“If we had to choose between a terminal that’s 30% faster and has a price and one that is slower but free, we would of course choose the free one. Agents are Cheap Charlies,” he laughed.

Asked if he believed in the adage that “there is nothing free in life”, he said, “I agree but the reality is if you can lower your costs, especially if you have choice, then you will do it.”

There are some who say the idea behind it is fundamentally sound. GDSes have to invest in technology and come up with solutions to empower agents to compete in an increasingly competitive environment. “There should be a value to such solutions. Free means no value. If a GDS can come up with a lot of new solutions that will help agents increase productivity, then it makes sense to either charge for the terminal or make money through the increased bookings,” said an industry observer.

What's also driving is also that airlines are increasingly looking to the GDS channel to help agents sell ancillary services and that calls for investments in new tools.

“Perhaps Travelport was hoping that by being the first to make such a move, the other GDSes would follow,” said the industry insider. “But that hasn’t been the case – usually it's the one with the biggest market share that should take the lead.”

Said Peter Choo, managing director of Global Travel, another Abacus customer, “It will be interesting to see which travel agent (productive one) is willing to pay for the desktop. There could be an offset that you are not aware of.”

What is clear is that Abacus and Amadeus are definitely looking on with interest as to what happens over the next few months. Will agents pay up or pull the plug on Travelport?

Tourism comes under spotlight at Start-Up@Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Hospitality and tourism was identified as one of the emerging industries in Singapore at a nationwide 24 Hours Business Plan Challenge organised by Start-Up @ Singapore.

The aim of the competition was to raise the awareness of emerging industries, including Cloud Computing and Social Enterprise/Co-operative, and help participants fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.

More than 30 teams of entrepreneur aspirants, young and old, were brought together to participate in the 24 Hours Business Plan Challenge. This event was an appetizer to the annual mini-business plan competition – Start-Up @ Singapore Business Plan Competition.

Over the course of this highly intensive 2-day event, participants were exposed to various business opportunities that the identified emerging industries have to offer.

Speakers from each emerging industry were invited to deliver informative talks on their respective fields. Chia Tek Yew, Executive Director of Strategy and Marketing of Bintan Resorts International, represented the Hospitality and Tourism industry. Other speakers included Simone Brunozzi of Amazon Web Services, Prof Albert Teo of the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme and Mike Chian of Singapore National Co-operative Federation.

Chia (right) shared the story of his start-up and gave tips on how he differentiated himself from his competitors.

He spoke on how Hospitality and Tourism is a very mature and saturated sector. For someone who came from an accounting background, he found it hard to start as an entrepreneur from scratch in the industry.

He, personally, leveraged on many significant partnerships to make his business as successful as it is now. One point made by Chia that resounded clearly with the audience was, “the key to success for any organization lies with its people”.

Two other skill-development workshops on idea generation and idea pitching were also conducted to help the participants with the art of writing a winning executive summary and delivering an engaging pitch.

Upon completion of the industry talks and workshops, teams had to choose to work within one of the categories (Hospitality & Tourism, Cloud Computing and Social Enterprise/Co-operative) to develop a business plan’s executive summary in 24 hours. They then had to present their ideas, on Day 2, to a panel of judges consisting of industry experts and venture capitalists. Winners of each category were awarded S$500 and granted direct entry into the Start-Up @ Singapore Business Plan Competition Semi-Finals.

Winners of the Hospitality and Tourism category, BizNinjas summed up the event as a “grueling but rewarding experience. We came for the experience and got a great one. It was challenging and grueling, but it has been a good learning and interactive experience overall.”

Vivek K S, Lead of the 13^th Start-Up @ Singapore organizing team was unequivocal whilst stating that the intention of Start-Up @ Singapore was “to engage, inspire and educate all contestants on matters of enterprise and entrepreneurship”.

Now into it’s 13^th installment, Start-Up @ Singapore, the country’s largest business plan competition, has started to call for submission for their main event, Start-Up @ Singapore Business Plan Competition. Based on the submissions received in the 2011 competition, 29% of entries were of business plans for the Hospitality & Tourism industry, with capsule hotels being a popular idea submitted.

Closing date for the online submission of a 3-page Executive Summary for the Preliminary Round was Feb 4, 2012. This year’s competition will run till May 19, where teams in the Finals will pitch their full business plan presentation to the judges.

Travellers "married" to their frequent traveller programmes

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Loyalty programmes are so valuable to road warriors that they would choose them over a spouse if they could take just one on the road, reveals a survey of 9,900 globetrotters by Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG).

The poll on travellers, who are on the road 25 times or more per year, found that most of would take their benefits in a hotel loyalty rewards programme (73%), rather than their spouse/partner (15%) or luggage (11%).

Seventy-six percent of respondents revealed they felt their status in a hotel loyalty programme would last longer than their marriage or current job.

In a travel emergency 70% of respondents said that their elite status in a hotel loyalty rewards programme would be handier than their smartphone, tablet or even their personal assistant.

Other key findings:

Three quarters of the respondents (74%) said they would take an extra trip just to rack up miles or status in a loyalty programme, an almost equal number (73%) have taken extra business trips solely to rack up miles or status in a loyalty programme.
Given a choice of taking one item with them while traveling most respondents would take their benefits in a hotel loyalty rewards programme (73%), rather than their spouse/partner (15%) or luggage (11%).
Respondents were not above telling little white lies to get a better hotel room or hotel/airline travel upgrade. Nearly half of respondents (45%) would pretend it was their honeymoon, 25% would pretend they had a family emergency; and 20% would pretend to be someone important.
Losing their status in a hotel loyalty programme (65%) scares respondents more than lost luggage (12%) or missing a flight (11%).

The survey reinforces hotel loyalty rewards programmes have eclipsed other rewards programmes in value, as half of respondents said they consider hotel loyalty programmes most important. it is followed by credit card (19%) and airline loyalty programmes (13%).

Agents want more efficient process in selling ancillaries

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Travel agencies are keen to assist airlines in distributing ancillary services through the GDS if the process is more streamlined and less-time consuming, reveals Travelport’s global airline merchandising survey.

Travelport found that one of the main gripes among agencies is the current process takes up 29% more time, and this is one area they would like to see improved..

The survey, conducted with 610 travel agencies in 12 countries worldwide, also highlights the challenges travel agents face in the selling of these services, amid their own pressures to grow revenues, reduce costs and increase productivity.

The unbundling of fares and services in recent years has seen the growth of ancillary products such as checked baggage, meals, lounge passes and upgrades.

Only 16% of respondents saw unbundling as an opportunity to charge or increase fees, while 44% percent said they did not impose additional charges for booking optional services.

Presently some services are available through the GDS while others are sold via airline websites or by phone. The findings revealed a strong demand for a single aggregated source of information and sales capability.

About 70% of respondents listed the GDS listed as the most preferred channel to book and sell optional services.

Eighty-four percent of the respondents were interested in having the GDS assist them in accommodating the offering of unbundled services.

The majority of agencies (77%) are currently booking additional services for their customers, with just 8% not offering these services. Reasons cited for not offering these services varied, with agents in Europe reporting that ‘it doesn’t generate any additional revenues’ (41%), while 33% of agents in America said “most services are not available for agency booking”.

Respondents indicated their preference for branded fares, which are bundled, with optional services, such as preferred seat assignments, as they would enable them to offer a full service to clients, as well as allow them to stay competitive with airline websites.

Travelport explains its Agility programme

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The following is a statement from Travelport outlining its Agility programme.

Travelport Agility is an initiative to provide our travel agency customers with wide-ranging products in a single package and has been created to enable them to compete effectively in today’s rapidly changing travel industry.

Specifically, the programme is designed to help our subscriber customers reduce operating costs, improve staff productivity and overall business efficiency and grow new revenues. This initiative also enables our customers to be in the best possible position to take full advantage of future Travelport technologies, including access to greatly expanded and unbundled content through the desktop, whilst using tried and tested processes.

Travelport Agility will be provided as part of our new updated services to Travelport-connected travel agencies worldwide from 1 January 2012.

Products included:

Travelport Agility includes a comprehensive list of products and solutions, including the new Travelport Smartpoint App (for Galileo customers) or Worldspan GO! Translator App (for Worldspan customers).

⇒ Travelport Smartpoint App:
· Reduces training time by supporting commands from any GDS in a cryptic environment
· Improves agent productivity by reducing keystrokes for an overall booking process when searching for the ‘best’ fare
· Uses a mix of cryptic, point-and-click and graphical pop-ups to search low fares, make bookings and manage queues
· Allows agencies to be up-and-running quickly

⇒ Worldspan GO! Translator App
· Translates commands from other GDSs into the Worldspan cryptic language
· Reduces new agent training time and improves agent productivity
· Boost revenues and overall business efficiency.
,
⇒ Travelport e-Pricing (not applicable in Americas):
· Consistently delivers the lowest available fares on the top 500 domestic and international city pairs across Asia-Pacific, EMEA, North America and Latin America
· Boosts traveller satisfaction by offering flexible shopping options to find the lowest fares and best itineraries
· Eliminates the need to shop multiple sources and websites to find the lowest fares

⇒ Travelport Rooms and More:
An industry-first hotel booking engine that:
· Allows travel agency users to compare guaranteed commission rates before booking
· Pays commissions to travel agents in one monthly payment from Travelport
· Offers more properties with an abundance of rates and inventory to give travel agents and their customers greater choice
· Saves time through one website with single sign-on, fast access to available content and no chasing of commission payments
· More than 500,000 hotel offers and growing every day

⇒ Plus, all of the essential tools and resources for conducting daily business:
· Expansive global content and versatile point-of-sale tools for every travel sector
· Global fares, search and comparison shopping
· Advanced travel fulfilment capabilities
· Information services and productivity tools
· Travelport ViewTrip™ online traveller itinerary source
· Continuing access to Timatic despite significantly increased technology costs from IATA

Fees for Travelport Agility

The fee for Travelport Agility is nominal, however, as a matter of policy, we do not discuss the specific commercial terms and pricing we agree with our customers.

The pricing approach for Travelport Agility is in line with standard practice for technology companies and ensures greater consistency and transparency in our fee structure.

Typically, the commission an agent can earn by making one booking per month on Travelport Rooms and More covers the fee for the entire Agility package. Travelport Rooms and More has been very popular in the APAC region, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Americas’ Agility Package

Based on customer feedback, we have made limited changes to the Americas’ Agility package which remains in place. We are discussing these confidential, commercial details privately with our customers in the Americas.

WIT's new event features all-woman speaker cast

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

WIT will launch a new event called WITX: Women In Travel which will feature an all-woman speaker cast.

To be held April 27 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Bangkok, the one-day conference will feature women leaders of different generations, cultures and backgrounds who will address issues and trends, share ideas and insights and unearth opportunities in the Asia Pacific travel space.

The conference themed, “Celebrating The X-Factor in Travel”, will also focus on women as major consumers of travel.

“There are a few reasons why we are doing this event,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder and editor of WIT. “One is to celebrate the achievements of women in our industry across all sectors, two, to forge a sisterhood of mentoring and inspiration and three, to focus on the important growing market of women.

“I’m also always asked at industry conferences I organize or attend, why are there so few women speakers? Well, guess I want to put paid to that question as well.

“Of course, the event is open to all sexes because we believe everyone will be inspired by our cast of speakers and what they have to say.”

Confirmed to speak at the event are:

• Jennie Chua (left), one of Asia’s top hoteliers who rose through the ranks from general manager of the iconic Raffles Hotel to run Raffles International as CEO and is now Chief Corporate Officer of CapitaLand Limited, Singapore. Read about her here

• Zhang Xiuzhi, CEO and co-founder, Spring Airlines, one of Asia’s top flyers in aviation. Since 2004, Zhang has spearheaded the development of Spring, China’s only low cost airline, into one of the country’s fastest growing carriers. it is expected to report a higher net income in 2011 than the 460 million yuan (US$72.6 million) net profit it earned in 2010. Spring operates a fleet of 27 Airbus A320s and plans to expand to 50-60 aircraft by 2015.

• Melissa Yang, co-founder and CTO at Tujia Inc, a high end vacation rental website in China. Armed with a technology background, Yang’s worked with Expedia, was principal group program manager at Microsoft and CTO and VP of engineering for Escapia in the US which was acquired by HomeAway in 2010.

Other speakers include:
• Aya Aso, CEO, Agora Hospitalities, Japan
• Carmen Roberts, BBC Fast Track
• Clare Chiu, Director of Business Development, Warwick International Hotels
• Chananya Phataraprasit, Chairman, Asian Oasis Group, Thailand
• Diana Banks, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Singapore
• Elizabeth Rich, CEO, Agenda Pty Ltd, Australia
• Emilie Couton, Director of Hotel Solutions Asia Pacific
• Jeannette Ho, VP Revenue Management and Distribution at Fairmont Raffles Hotels International
• Rebecca Kwan, Group General Manager, Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, Hong Kong
• Uttara Sarkar Crees, Gyalthang Eco Travel, Zhongdian, China

More are being confirmed.

“Our aim is to bring together a wide cross-section of women across different segments of the travel industry,” said Siew Hoon. “The programme will be crafted to bring out the different personalities and their individual, unique perspectives on the industry as well as share insights into the women market.”

The event is targeted at travel industry and business professionals who want to be inspired by a varied generation of women travel leaders in different fields and learn about the potential and opportunities of the female market in the digital age of travel.

A WITX Retreat, on April 28-29, is also being planned to a destination nearby.

Tickets to the event will go on sale shortly. If you are interested in attending or sponsoring, please contact gerry@webintravel.com

Thailand prepares for Miracle, Myanmar gets set for Gold Rush

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It was good to be back in Bangkok again, feasting on my favourite eats and seeking out new places to satisfy my always-hungry senses.

It was also good to see the smiles back on my travel friends’ faces and hearing them say, “It’s slowly coming back” although how many times they’ve said that in the last two years about business, I’ve lost track and I am sure, so have they.

So you can either feel sorry for them or admire their resilience and optimism – and it’s the latter I’d rather do.

Certainly, the Dusit Thani Bangkok was a hive of activity. Lots of screaming girls at the entrance everyday – I thought they were there for me but turned out one of the Korean pop band Super Junior members was inhouse and with K-pop sweeping teendom across Asia, well, the girl mob was out in force.

(Picture shows view of the city from Dusit Thani hotel)

Prime Minister Ying Luck was also at the hotel twice during my stay, but I think she had fewer mobs and lesser security than Mr Super Junior.

The mood is hopeful and guarded. Thailand has declared a new tourism campaign called “Miracle Year” with a budget of US$203 million. Already jokes are going round saying, it’d be a miracle if nothing happens.

This is a weary nation. They’ve been through a lot. The floods in the last quarter of the year not only affected business but personally impacted many working in the travel industry.

Agoda’s CEO Robert Rosenstein told me that 170 of his staff, whose homes were damaged, stayed in hotels in the city for up to a month. Shangri-La’s general manager Thierry Douin said that close to 300 of his staff were affected – homes damaged or lost – and all were offered sanctuary in the hotel.

There are many stories like these that make you feel proud of these employees who, despite their personal problems, still showed up for work to look after their guests and travellers.

The Thai government says it will work on a four-year tourism strategy with the private sector to restore confidence in Thailand and prepare the country for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

The prospect of a single ASEAN economy with the promise of a free flow of goods, services, capital and labour across the 10 countries in the regional bloc is keeping hopes high, and tourism officials are busy thinking of how they need to prepare for this eventuality.

Proof that Thailand is a resilient and attractive destination is in the figures. Despite the troubles it’s been through, its arrivals in 2011 grew 20% to 19.1 million. East Asia is fuelling most of the growth, so expect more attention to these markets.

And suddenly, Myanmar is making the news for all the right reasons this time. The government is promising a new open approach, elections are due in April with The Lady being allowed to openly campaign, Western countries are liftiing sanctions, and incentives are being offered for foreign investment in 11 hotel zones.

The number of foreign visitors passing through Yangon International Airport rose by 21.8% last year to nearly 360,000, according to news reports. More than two-thirds were from Asian countries, led by Thailand with 59,010 visitors, followed by China with 32,757.

With demand surging, there is a serious lack of inventory so expect lots of developer interest in this country that once had the busiest airport in the region. I just hope land grab will be controlled and rules put in place to ensure tourism assets are not trampled upon by developers eager to get their hands on this last crown jewel of Asia.

On the flight back to Singapore, a headline screamed, “Gold rush to Myanmar as country opens up.”

I didn’t know whether to be excited or afraid.

One Malaysian entrepreneur's journey of lessons to discovery

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It is said that seven in 10 start-ups fail but even that cold hard fact was not enough to stop Jiun Kiew (left) from pursuing her dream more than a year ago - and she's certainly learnt a few lessons since. This is her journey.

Fresh from her studies in Australia, Kiew joined family-owned Marco Polo Holidays in Kuala Lumpur. There she stayed for 15 years. A well established, respected travel agency in Kuala Lumpur with a steady flow of business, Marco Polo gave her the right environment to try out new ideas and introduce new travel concepts to an otherwise traditional travel agency.

Her vision for the company, also her passion, was to create new individualised, high-end travel products that were then not available in the market.

However, it did not work out as she had hoped. The agency was focused on inbound and outbound, ticketing, incentives and related businesses and the scope wasn't there for her to pursue her passion.

She decided to strike out on her own. "I could not continue to grow something I had lost passion for."

Leaving Marco Polo was not easy because of the personal ties, as well as the close working relationship with her staff. In addition, starting a new business meant searching for new markets and new clients, but she was prepared to give it a shot.

Leaving Footprints, an online agency

In early 2010 Kiew launched her company, Leaving Footprints, on an entirely different model from Marco Polo. It was an online company with no physical office, and all business was carried out online.

She incorporated what she loved most about Marco Polo – Passports – into Leaving Footprints. She had created Passports, 100% customised and specialised tours that provided clients with a unique holiday experience. It had been launched in 2003 at the end of the SARS epidemic. People had told her the tours would not sell especially during such trying times. Despite the prophets of doom, the tours sold well and by 2006 a few agencies had jumped on to the bandwagon with private tours.

The online model, however, did not work. Kiew attributed part of the failure to low margins, compounded with the issue of online frauds, which put off customers from booking online.

"There were a fair amount of queries online from the US, Belgium and Africa. However, customisation of the products took up a lot of my time as my site was not fully automated. It took me about a week to attend to each query and customise the product with pricing. It was just too much time and work for very little business.”

She did not have the funds to invest in technology or what it took to build a truly automated and online business. She knew she had to pivot the business.

Journey of Discoveries, for the once-in-a-lifetime experience

Thus, Kiew reinvented the business into Journey of Discoveries (JOD) by focusing only on the unique experiences element.

As described on its website: "Journey Of Discoveries is about travelling for life enriching experiences that provide an opportunity to rediscover our world and ourselves. It is for real travellers; travellers who may have ‘been everywhere’ and yet are searching for more. Perhaps something more meaningful. Or perhaps more than just a destination."

It started operations in April 2011 on a different operating model from Leaving Footprints - as a wholesaler. It works with selected travel agents in Malaysia to market its products.

The criterion for the agents is that they cater to the high-end market, which wants niche, unique products. Her target is to work with about 15 agents in Malaysia.

Kiew takes care of operations and product development with the agents marketing the products to their high-end clients.

JOD’s products are different from other luxury tours in they are not about staying in top notch resorts or having a deluxe escape in an island paradise, according to Kiew. She goes the total distance to give clients the “Wow” factor that they would not easily forget long after the holidays are over.

Examples: small, intimate cruises to Alaska in ships that accommodate only about 50 passengers, with opportunities to land on icebergs in a kayak or zodiac; flights in hot air balloons over Egypt’s Valley of the Kings; exploration of the North or South Pole in a Russian ice-breaker; a unique train safari through the heart of Africa.

Kiew is also going to the last frontier – space. JOD is working with a foreign company to market “space travel” - a two-hour “near space” experience in a helium balloon to 35km above ground level that costs 110,000 Euros!

"It’s about the experience and not the journey,” said Kiew.

This model is working well for JOD and response to the products has been encouraging. Although the company has a Facebook fan page Kiew does not plan to dabble too much in social media to grow her business.

"It (Facebook page) was just one of those things that people said I HAD to do. I actually do believe that it has the ability to help me raise awareness in the online world. I think people who are not likely to be a prospective end user would find it ‘wow’ enough to talk about it."

But one thing Kiew plans to do in the near future is to expand her reach to China. She is taking "serious initiatives" to break into the country and work with travel agents there.

She does not see the Euro crisis or the dire forecast of global economic instability affecting her business. "I think the rich still has the means to travel despite the economic downturn, and they will continue to travel."

Lessons learnt

Although Kiew is happy JOD is working out "based on what I want for my business and the resources I have", she admits that the journey from Marco Polo Holidays to JOD has not been smooth. .

"The lessons I learnt in the past three years have been very personal ones in that they applied only because of my own resource limitations. Someone else without the same limitations would not have had to go through the same experience. In a nutshell I suppose, the main thing was my bad judgement, not necessarily a bad business strategy because the same business strategy was very successful in Marco Polo Holidays.”

The lesson she learnt from Leaving Footprints: "In my perpetual pursuit to be different I had mistakenly pursued a business, which was hardly different from my ‘been there done that’ at Marco Polo Holidays. Only the method of delivery and distribution were sort of different but the backstage work and product was exactly the same.

"I was seeking more than that. If I were to put it into quantitative terms, I had tried to incorporate a 20% new (unique experiences) into an 80% same old same old (customised holidays).

"That did not work for me resource-wise and more importantly, personal-wise. I began to feel the same monotony and tediousness I felt in Marco Polo Holidays, dealing with the same problems (staff and clients!). So Leaving Footprints was effectively not different. I am fortunate to have recognised that very quickly, and reinventing it into JOD."

• Photos courtesy of Journey of Discoveries

PhoCusWright@ITB features key European travel leaders.

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

PhoCusWright has unveiled a pioneering programme for PhoCusWright@ITB, which takes place on March 7 in conjunction with ITB Berlin.

This conference-in-a-conference is designed to help executives capitalise on key trends impacting the travel, tourism and hospitality marketplace.

This year’s theme, Travel Unleashed: Any. Every. Always. heralds the exceptional forces liberating the travel marketplace. Amidst rapid advances in technology, constant change is the norm, and empowered, hyper-connected consumers are engaging with information and organizations in entirely new ways.

PhoCusWright@ITB also features interviews with the CEOs of two of Europe’s leading online travel agencies, Darren Huston of Booking.com and Javier Perez-Tenessa of the recently formed ODIGEO.

In addition, PhoCusWright analysts will share insights on key European consumer trends and deliver findings from a recent landmark study of the European vacation rental landscape. Dynamic roundtable sessions will focus on the emerging Russia travel market, mobile strategy and other hot topics.

A flexible format enables attendees to immerse themselves in the entire daylong event or focus on select sessions.

The programme is included at no additional charge with ITB Berlin tickets valid for entry on March 7. Advance registration is required.

The event is followed on March 8 by The PhoCusWright New Media Summit, where travel bloggers, tweeters and social media enthusiasts from around the world will convene to share insights and strategies on new media in the travel industry.

Top travel websites 2011 - Hong Kong and Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A look at the top 10 travel websites for 2011, as of January 2012, from Experian Hitwise

In Hong Kong jipiao.trip.taobao.com took the lead with 10.7% share of visits compared to Ctrip's 8.2% and Qunar's 7.2% respectively

The Top 10 in Hong Kong

In Singapore, Expedia Singapore topped the ranking 14.9% visit share, followed by Zuji Singapore and Yahoo! Singapore Travel.

The Top 10 in Singapore

In every dream home: Trying out 9flats & Airbnb

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I have to admit, my most recent trip to Singapore was a price-sensitive excursion. Which is to say I was looking at a stay of three weeks with a budget which would have comfortably offered me a nice suite for one night, at the Ritz-Carlton.

Clearly there were going to be tensions between my vision of what I deserve in life against what life was coo-cooing to me in terms of a reality check.

A near and dear friend came to my budgeting rescue with the suggestion I check out 9flats and Airbnb.

These are the new “it” brands in booking accommodation from private residences, be they apartments or flats – effectively budget accommodation provided by local private property owners.

The brave new frontier of accommodation crowdsourcing if you like.

I figured neat idea, strange names. I mean I get the flats but what's with the 9 and I get bnb but what’s with the Air? I discovered 9flats is headquartered in Berlin. This hails after all from the home of Siemens and Ficken Schnapps. Airbnb is conversely domiciled in San Francisco like any self-respecting post dotcomer but few excuses for a brand that unites airheads with bed and breakfast.

AirBnB’s site suggests a homely comfortable accommodation journey, a chance to meet new friends in new places. I hasten to add it’s more akin to the prospect of meeting your long lost aunty with all the allure of home cooked meals and freshly laundered woolly socks.

Meanwhile our European friends at 9 flats suggest something perhaps a little more racy with some glossy pictures of sprawling Mediterranean penthouses and some rather swish-looking London apartments.

Not being a sucker for the lost aunty marketing thrust, I of course immediately opted for 9flats with an eye to finding my bachelor pad to share in sun-soaked Singapore. Of course we now know that increasingly it is rather more the soaked end of the spectrum that Singapore specialises in.

I set to and sent off several expressions of interest in some 9flats offerings. The process was simple, Facebook aligned and quick. I then waited… and waited. After several days of silence I began to wonder if there was an issue with the mail back at Reichstag HQ so I was forced to switch my search back to the warm fuzzies of Airbnb.

I must confess by this stage I had switched my attention from the perusing the apartment picturess to perusing the profiles of the apartment owners.

I settled on a rather attractive looking temporary landlady prospect. She indicated she travelled a lot which suggested two viable scenarios, one, being that I may get the apartment to myself or two, if she was there that might not be an altogether disagreeable experience. I would hasten to add that I am not inferring any impropriety and nor does Airbnb suggest that’s there’s a singles social networking dimension. Hmm now there’s a thought!

The apartment, as it turned out, was perfectly satisfactory. It came with a domestic whom I can’t fault nor the cute little cat with a ton of attitude. I sensed the maid was perhaps a little unhappy with the ever changing retinue of visitors but I was in luck - the apartment owner was away a good portion of my stay.

Effectively I had the apartment, the maid and the cat to myself. Purrfect. When my charming landlady finally appeared, happily resembling her photograph, alas, a game of cat and mouse ensued between the frustrated maid and the equally frustrated-with-maid landlady.

Personally I found this an entertaining bonus to my stay but I imagine some may have found the subtle Punch and Judy show less entertaining than a night at the Sheraton Towers KTV.

What we come back to loud and clear with Airbnb and 9flats is that’s it’s not just about a cheap alternative accommodation experience. You will find yourself living in someone’s home.

This is not for everyone but for me, it was no problem. My bed while of a non-compromising single dimension was clean and comfortable. Airbnb and 9flats in my view offer a serious alternative to budget accommodation providers.

I paid S$60 a night and while that didn’t include breakfast, I had my own room, free wireless and effectively the run of a centrally located apartment. I might add that the price for some reason changed quite dramatically depending on the number of days selected, so check this point. The owner was very helpful in offering me a good compromise on the prices generated.

My experience also suggested (again may I hasten to re-emphasise without impropriety) that the owner/landlord profile will give you some clues as to what to expect.

I note in most cases there were TripAdvisor style recommendations under many of the listed accommodation providers. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this experience to travellers who are looking for an alternative to budget accommodation providers.

There are plenty of interesting options and if you agree with me that life is all about the journey not the destination, then you may enjoy a new experience and meet a new friend – in my case the warm fuzzies of a cat.

Note: After writing this, I read an article that said Airbnb could have more rooms than Hilton by 2012 - it's a changing world when it comes to travellers and where they choose to stay.

BCD Travel tackles talent crunch in Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A recent whitepaper commissioned by BCD Travel's confirms that Asia is facing a huge talent crunch in the corporate travel industry.

The survey by the world’s third largest travel management company found that organisations frequently face difficulties matching the right talent to the open positions.

In Singapore, 55% of employers find it hard to fill skilled jobs. The future is expected to face further changes in talent supply. Some of the proposed recommendations to solve these issues include employee engagement, change in leadership mindset and improvement of recruitment models.

To tackle this issue, BCD Travel has begun putting initiatives in place to reach out to the Generation Y to educate them and increase awareness about corporate travel management.

Asia Pacific president Greg O’Neil kicked off the programme with a presentation to students of Temasek Polytechnic on campus. In October 2011, another similar visit was made to the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

It also organised an exclusive site visit for selected university students to come face-to-face with executives and experience the company’s daily operations.

The full-day site visit last December was aimed at providing tertiary students the opportunity to experience the corporate travel industry and the workplace environment.

BCD Travel is also a patron of WITNext, the Inspiring Young Minds initiative from Web In Travel.

“While Asia is experiencing a rapid growth in the corporate travel industry, it has been challenging to attract talent,” said O’Neil. “ Our collaboration with the tertiary institutions in Singapore aims at engaging and attracting the younger talent to the industry and grooming them to be the future generation of leaders and professionals.”

This effort by BCD Travel has changed the approach for students in their selection of tertiary internship programmes. The attendees of the site visit came to understand and assess the company, and the industry, prior to their internship and career placement.

“This event organized by BCD Travel was useful towards my career planning. It was an eye-opener as I had the opportunity to experience the actual activities that occur daily in, and the working environment of a corporate travel management company,” expressed Ivan Lim from the Faculty of Accountancy, Nanyang Technological University.

Added another student pursuing a major in Tourism and Hospitality Management, Sherilyn Lim, “After a day at BCD Travel, I realized that corporate travel management is more than just air ticket bookings. The industry presents vast opportunities, and the need to keep up with the dynamic industry makes it exciting to work in.”

Through this event, BCD Travel has found that the students these days are more engaged in their internship selection – from understanding the industry they want to work in, to the roles that would suit them best.

All in all, it was a successful visit for both parties. All the students expressed their interest in working at BCD Travel. Ivan Lim has personally reached out to the company for an internship opportunity, which they have accepted. Two others have indicated their interest to join the company as part-time employees to explore the corporate travel management industry and culture further.

BCD Travel is keen to stay on this track and continue working with tertiary institutions to educate their students, and create awareness about the corporate travel management industry. In addition, they have plans to further engage BCD Travel Asia Pacific vice-presidents to share about their specialisations like supplier relations, sales & client management, and others.

Students will also continue to have the opportunity to visit the BCD Travel office in Singapore and experience the day-to-day operations of the corporate travel management industry.

Amadeus creates world's first interline EMD link

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The application of Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) to interline partnerships means that participating airlines can now facilitate payment for and delivery of ancillary services across their partnerships and alliances.

Amadeus estimates that up to 20% of air bookings made through its system are the result of interline partnerships, representing a huge opportunity for airlines to increase revenues through the sale of ancillary services via their partner carriers.

In addition, EMDs remove the need for paper documents to account for the sale of ancillary services, which IATA believes will save the industry US$0.9 billion annually.

Interline EMD processing between Finnair and Egypt Air means the carriers’ customers can now buy ancillary services across interline flights, safe in the knowledge that the operating airline will know the service has been purchased.

Previously, the only way the operating airline would know a customer had purchased an ancillary service, such as extra baggage allowance, was through a paper document provided by the traveller at the airport.

Julia Sattel, Amadeus VP airline IT, said research estimated ancillary services were worth over US$35 billion to airlines in 2011, with ancillary services contributing upwards of 20% of total revenues for some carriers.

"A well implemented ancillary services strategy is now the difference between reaching profitability and incurring a loss for a large number of airlines," she added.

Petteri Skaffari, Finnair’s head of customer experience and sales applications shared the view that ancillary services are critical to airline profitability. "To maintain our focus on service excellence we must ensure that when we sell ancillary services they are delivered in the way the customer expects."

Yasser EL Ramly, Egypt Air VP commercial, Egypt Air noted that with the interline EMD its customers “will absolutely notice the difference - the improved efficiency and more convenient service are principal and tangible benefits, whilst the EMD will also save on time.”

Fifty-six airlines have contracted Amadeus’ EMD server to enable the provision of EMDs in order to facilitate the sale of ancillary services. To date, 22 carriers have implemented Amadeus’s EMD server resulting in 4,098,842 EMDs processed during 2011 and IATA states that 47 are currently EMD compliant.

Strong demand for ITB Berlin 2012

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The countdown to the 46th ITB Berlin, which takes place from March 7-12, has begun. Many of the halls are already booked up. Messe Berlin expects participation from around 11,000 exhibiting companies and organisations from more than 180 countries.

David Ruetz, head of ITB Berlin said bookings were on level with 2011’s figures.

The agenda of ITB Berlin Convention features up-to-the-minute and forward-looking themes, with leading experts taking part in the debates. Among the topics will be cruises and tourism market developments in the Arab states.”

The focus is on the partner country Egypt, which will be organising the opening ceremony on the eve of ITB Berlin. During the fair all of Egypt’s local regions will be presenting their wide range of products and services to trade visitors and the general public (hall 23a).

One of the high points of this year’s ITB Berlin will be the celebration of the 13th anniversary of RUF Jugendreisen.

Newcomers, returning exhibitors mirror changing travel market

More exhibitors from the Far East and Southeast Asia will be at this year’s ITB Berlin.

Indonesia, a booming tourism region, is strongly represented as is Vietnam. Exhibitor numbers from China and Mongolia have grown significantly too, with nearly two dozen newcomers taking part. India will be occupying additional display. New hotels from Rajasthan and Kerala will be exhibiting their products and services. The number of individual exhibitors from Bhutan has also risen considerably. (halls 26 & 5.2a).

Exhibitor numbers from Central Asia are also very high due to the return of Bangladesh, absent from ITB Berlin since 2007, and to a rise in individual exhibitors from Uzbekistan. (hall 7.2b)

From Africa are several newcomers and the return of countries that include the Republic of Côte d´Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad that is participating for the first time since 1999. Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya will be occupying larger stands, while Réunion’s is expanding by 50%. (halls 20 & 21).

First time exhibitors include cruise tour operators - Passat Kreuzfahrten, TUI-Flussgenuss, Hapag-Loyd and Plantours, and software providers -Tripadvisor, Unister, Mystifly, Air Fast Tickets, Expedia, Travel Guru (India), Booking Markets and z-direct. (hall 25)

The U.S. will be occupying a larger stand (hall 2.1), as will several countries from Central America: Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras (hall 3.1).

Short-haul destinations are becoming more popular, with growth in the European halls reflecting a significant tourism trend. Among the new comers in this section are Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain and the Turkish Riviera.

After several years’ absence Deutsche Lufthansa will be back at the show.

Wellness boom continues

Among the exhibitors for wellness products are newcomers More Travel from Latvia and Chic Outlet Shopping, Under the Holland Classics brand name, Keukenhof, Floriade World Expo Holland 2012, and numerous other partners will be exhibiting Dutch specialities on its stand. (hall 18)

Beauty 24 will host stage events for the public on open days that features wellness programmes (hall 16).

Other exhibitors

Brazil will be hosting its own stand for the first time, while exhibitors from Greece, Mexico and Portugal will also be debuting at the show.

Inside the trade visitor area the Pink Pavilion boasts its own genuine Viennese coffee house.

For the first time in its history Dertour has released a gay and lesbian travel catalogue, a reflection of the expanding market.

Adventure travel and socially responsible tourism are also growth markets. Exhibitors in this segment include newcomers from South America, Geoparcs and organisations such as the Rainforest Alliance, Atmosfair, Myclimate, Ecpat, Tourism Watch, TourCert and the International Eco Tourism Society, Greenland (hall 4.1).

• Details, products and services of all the exhibitors can be found at the Virtual Market Place

How to tame the black water dragon

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

On Sunday midnight, the Dragon will leap into our circle and as with any good Chinese girl, I’ve been reading up the predictions for the year.

So first up – it is going to be a “challenging” year, say the feng shui experts with happenings in three main areas – money, natural disasters and environment. No surprises there.

And it’s not only a “water dragon year”, it’s a “black water dragon year” because there’s going to be too much “water” in the first half of the year – so think “floods”.

As “water” also refers to “money” in Chinese beliefs, well, it also means that some will make a lot of money and some will lose a lot.

I am hoping I will be in the former.

In terms of industries, an average year is predicted for “water” industries which include tourism and hotels and anything to do with information technology.

It didn't say anything about online travel, in particular, but I am hedging bets that it will be a better than average year, given all that's happening from low cost airlines to customers moving online to mobile. (By the way, love the spat going on between AirAsia and Scoot over the Sydney routes - now there, competition is bound to get fiery indeed.)

An “excellent” year is meanwhile forecast for the metal industry – anything to do with banking, law firms, gold, robotics and steel.

One feng shui expert predicts a collapse of a tall building or hotel. Better hope yours is not the one.

The thing is, most of the predictions are pretty general – so really anything could happen and you could say, it was predicted. But some are quite specific especially when it comes to personal zodiac signs with some animals faring better than others in this coming year.

It’s supposed to be a good year for me apparently, so I am whistling as I write this.

I found one prediction which I thought quite intriguing. It says, “The dragon is a pretty lazy animal and therefore many people are going to feel very sleepy, tired and sleeping a lot. Though they may be sleepy but when they wake up, they can be very “fierce”.”

Sounds a bit like me right now in my jetlagged state. I am pretty “fierce” when I wake up at 3am, and trying to go back to sleep.

The same feng shui expert also predicts that negotiations in business will be pretty fierce and tough this year.

So heed that – if you are doing a business negotiation, put on your fiercest face so that you will end up with water in your favour, not in your face.

Happy Lunar New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai.

PS If you want to know more about the predictions, contact me.

'Tighter budgets but expect more to go social'

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The first thing you should know about Graeme Beardsell is that he was born in Penang. His father was in the Royal Australian Air Force stationed in Butterworth at the time. At the age of one, he left the Malaysian island.

The second thing you should know about the Chief Customer Development and Marketing Officer of Experian Asia Pacific is that, having lived in Singapore for six years, he is a foodie and named the conference rooms in the office after food items. As we walked past one named “Prata”, I asked him what he would be if he were a food item.

“Hor fun. Beef. Dry. To be specific.”

Being personal and specific is what Beardsell is all about these days as he tries to convince his customers of the new tools and technology that now make it possible for them to get personal with their customers, whether through emails, social media or mobile.

He calls it “embracing customer identity and analytics in the online space”.

It means the ability to target email market campaigns and gain insights into customer behaviour and convert lookers to bookers. It means the ability to know a customer’s profile and interests and target him with specific offers at the right time.

Imagine, you walking into Marina Bay Sands and getting a message on your smartphone offering you tickets for Wicked the musical at 30% off if you booked now.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. As a reality check, Beardsell believes that with the economic uncertainty in Europe and the US, there will be a constriction of overall marketing budgets this year.

“For a lot of CMOs and CEOs, the word is, proceed with caution. Budgets are being tethered and we will have to do more with less.”

However he sees more budgets going from traditional to digital media and he sees a drive towards social media, in particular. “There is a view that consumers see social marketing endorsements as more genuine than traditional advertising. Companies want more bang for their buck and are looking at social.”

While he himself isn’t sure about social yet in terms of ROI, he says the social sphere works for brand awareness and brand legitimacy. “There is a whole universe of interaction around your brand and you need to be aware and engage with that.”

So is email dead, given that there is a school of thought that only old people use email these days?

“Email blasting is going the way of the old-fashioned catalogues we used to get by post but targeted email marketing and understanding customers and their likes is the growth engine of our business. And people expect that with mobile too.”

Groupon, he says, has to move from being an aggregator of deals and blasting everyone with them – “I don’t know how many chocolate cakes I can buy in Ponggol” – to personalizing and understanding their customers more.

“I’d be happy to share more personal details so that as I move along through a shopping mall, it can target me with offers that suit my interests and I can take advantage of them.

“People are sharing everything, their likes, dislikes, where they are, what they are doing – for a marketer, it’s really exciting.”

He cites an email marketing campaign Experian executed with ZUJI in which the OTA implemented Experian CheetahMail and used Experian Hitwise, its online search intelligence service, to capture behavioral data and personalize customers' experiences to re-market to site visitors who made searches, but did not purchase.

According to Beardsell, ZUJI was looking for an integrated CRM database platform with centralised visibility and distributed capacity to support its email marketing and promotional activities.

The campaign was conducted over a two-week period, targeting subscribers who visited the website and searched/browsed for hotels or packages (flight + hotel) departing from Singapore, but did not convert. A re-marketing email with a personalised message and three hotel deals were sent to this group within two days of their searches.

As a result of the campaign, ZUJI saw 70 times improvement in Revenue Per Thousand Emails, exceeding what ZUJI had expected during the limited test period.

“The key to success was ZUJI gaining access to the insights of web users’ behaviour. This offered better understanding of behavioural patterns and online preferences that enabled the company to improve the level of sophistication of its campaigns. This allowed them to better cultivate customer relationships with personalized messaging.”

He agrees that tools such as these can give companies like ZUJI the wherewithal to compete with private sale sites that claim specific offers to specific customers.

Beardsell said a similar approach could be taken with mobile. However do consumers want to be bombarded by promotional messages, no matter how personal and specific they are?

“I don’t want to be blasted with every single offer by Groupon but if it’s a specific offer to my tastes and interests, I wouldn’t mind,” he said.

Contrary to hype, Beardsell said not many marketers were getting into “social, identity and mobile” as may be portrayed in the media. “People are still paying lip service to it. I guess there is the reluctance to be a first mover and also the fear of giving up something you’ve done for years for something new.”

“As a marketer myself, I understand. I find it hard to let go too and let’s face it, we do enjoy our sporting events.”

He identified markets of growth as China, Singapore and Japan. “We are seeing email marketing and extension into personalized mobile marketing bubbling along nicely in Japan.”

Said Beardsell, “In a tough economic environment, people have to think about deeper relationships with customers. Acquisition is still important but needs to be selectively done. Loyalty will also come more into the picture during tough times. Most OTAs now have loyalty programmes.”

He said it was an eye-opener to him, viewing the list of top 10 travel websites in Singapore and Hong Kong in 2011, that Cathay was #6 in Hong Kong and Singapore Airlines wasn’t in the top 10.

“It’s a wake-up call for airlines, I think, they are being disintermediated and everything SIA can do with its frequent flyer programme, OTAs will be able to catch up soon in understanding customers.”

Beardsell said the recent experience SIA had when it received customer backlash with its new website again proved the power of social media to change the course of a brand story.

That, by the way, remains the main topic of conversation on the new SIA Facebook page.

AirAsia "resolves" fare issue with Australia consumer watchdog

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the country’s consumer watchdog, slapped AirAsia with a lawsuit on January 17 claiming some fares sold on the airline’s website do not display prices inclusive of all taxes, duties, fees and other charges.

“Businesses that choose to advertise a part of the price of a particular product or service must also prominently specify a single total price,” ACCC said in a media release.

AirAsia said it was not aware of the matter before the ACCC brought its proceedings, citing the problem could be due to an IT issue in September 2011.

"As soon as we became aware of the matter based on the ACCC’s complaint we have taken corrective action and are focused on ensuring that our customers have all relevant information on our fares," the airline said in a statement.

"AirAsia always seeks to conduct its business fairly and in an ethical and proper manner, and in full compliance with all applicable laws,” it added

The airline expressed its intention "to constructively resolve the matter with the ACCC to address any issues that they may have in relation to this matter and to address any issue our customers may have had."

The case has been up for a scheduled conference at the Federal Court in Melbourne on March 2.

The issue does not affect the AUD99 promo fares for the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route launched by AirAsia X recently, with the inaugural flight to take off on April 1.

The budget carrier currently flies to the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth from its Kuala Lumpur hub.

Travelport partners Satguru, gains access to 14 new African countries

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Travelport has inked a distributor agreement with Satguru Travel & Tourism, Africa’s largest travel company outside of South Africa, which will see the GDS provider grow its African network from 27 to 41 countries and its existing GDS operations in a further two.

Through this 16 country distributor deal, the largest of its kind ever signed by Travelport, the company will also offer its customers a number of Satguru’s industry leading e-commerce applications.

The strategic partnership between the two companies, which forms part of Travelport’s ongoing strategy to invest and grow in the fast growing African continent, takes immediate effect.

Last year flight bookings made through the GDS channel in Africa increased by 7.7%. This trend looks set to continue as economists predict that the average GDP across the continent will increase by 4.7% in 2012 and 5.7% in 2013.

Satguru, which is headquartered in the UAE, is the largest African travel company outside of South Africa. Operating in 27 African countries, it also runs a number of operations outside of Africa including in Afghanistan, India, the UAE and Yemen.

Under the agreement Satguru will set up operations and run the National Distributor Centres for Travelport in Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan and Togo.

In the countries where Satguru is not the Travelport distributor, Travelport has signed a subscriber agreement that include 11 African countries plus Afghanistan, India, the UAE and Yemen.”

Mark Meehan, managing director for Travelport in Africa, said the deal with Satguru “represents a giant leap forward in our African ambitions.”

Anil Chandirani, Satguru’s managing director said his company’s partnership withTravelport would allow them to distribute the Galileo platform to a very extensive travel agency community in Africa.

Declaring 'year of the brand', Worldhotels steams ahead with growth

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Euro zone may be on the brink of crisis – how many brinks are there before one blink brings it down – but Worldhotels remains bullish for the year ahead and in fact, is anticipating its best year.

At its annual global conference in London, in between downing cups of “Shrek’s ear wax soup with bacon bits” (in line with the theatre theme) which, by the way, was extremely delicious and comforting, its more than 400 members heard how the group was going to achieve its targets.

And as with the theme, “Stronger, Faster, Higher”, the targets are indeed higher.

In a year described by CEO Rob Hornman (pictured) as “driven by fast forward”, the group aimed for a 25% growth with target revenues of US$297.6 million in 2011. It achieved US$372 million, a 35% growth instead.

Room nights sold reached 1.9 million, a 20% growth since 2009 and this year, it’s set a target of 2.1 million. Average room rates have also recovered – from US$177 in 2010 to US$202 in 2011.

The HIS Group, of which Worldhotels is a part, is also anticipating a record year with Michael Ball, chairman, saying that despite “the law of unintended consequences” and many uncertainties, “specialization sets us apart”.

The group, which includes Nexus, IFH and TRUST, has 12,000 hotels in its network, makes a total of 120 million transactions and accounts for £3.6 billion in room revenues.

Ball said the year ahead will see a continued battle over ownership of inventory and that success in distribution has moved from optional to essential. “It’s all about speed, connections and content.”

“We are so way past the ‘content is king’ phrase – the need to adapt and innovate has never been greater nor more complex.”

In a year where Worldhotels added 70 new hotels (equivalent to 11,000 new rooms) to its network, the group is looking to drive web direct business. It is also opening its own branded hotels, an interesting move marking its evolution from pure representation and marketing to hotel management.

It is launching a new website in the second quarter. Traffic to its website was up 30% last year and the group is getting more social, increasing its fan base by 65%. Its average TripAdvisor rating is 3.95 across the group, Hornman reported.

According to global VP marketing and sales, Paulo Salvador, channel mix is split 60% GDS, 16% OTAs, 25% direct and the rest from voice. The biggest growth has been in direct and GDS.

At the individual hotel level, Salvador is asking properties to reduce OTA dependence. “There are some hotels which gets 50% of their business from OTAs, that’s not healthy,” he said.

“Who will win the battle for the customer? It’s been proven in surveys that customers prefer hotel websites than OTAs – customers want choice, so channel management is very important. You need a good website to avoid OTA dependence.”

Groups such as Worldhotels struggle to control inventory maintain rate parity due to the fragmentation of their hotel membership with individual owners often preferring to work with OTAs directly.

Salvador called mobile the next revolution in hospitality and this would affect how and where customers booked their hotels. Sixty five percent of mobile reservations are being made the same day, he said.

Calling this “the year of the brand”, Salvador said Worldhotels would be investing heavily in branding activities, and has rolled out branded amenities kit for its target customer – “the world navigator” – people who are global yet want to feel and be local when they travel.

AirAsia improves efficiency with new airline operational management system

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Guests of the low cost carrier can now expect even better customer service as it deploys merlot.aero, a state-of-the-art tool, to further improve its on-time performance and minimize costs

The new cutting-edge tool smartly forecasts, organises, predicts, measures and reports on daily aircraft and crew utilisation. It also allows the airline to achieve regulatory compliance by ensuring that crew fly within their hour limits.

The first part of this new system, which manages the real time flight and service information to all of AirAsia’s social media outlets, guests, airports and support services, went live on schedule and is now in use across the airline’s global network.

The tool will also be used by the entire AirAsia group throughout the region and by its affiliate company, AirAsia X. Full implementation of the system is expected to be completed by mid 2012."

Bo Lingam, AirAsia chief operating officer, said with merlot.aero AirAsia would be able to boost the on-time performance of its flights and maximise the use of its aircraft to serve more routes and increase frequency.

AirAsia’s on-time performance for the year to date is 80%. The airline seeks to improve its performance, given its expansion and the planned increase in routes and flight frequencies.

Priceline.com implements Travelport 360 Fares

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Priceline.com has successfully completed the implementation of Travelport 360 Fares and pricing system.

The platform, built on open systems architecture, utilises the latest server technologies to deliver an accurate and comprehensive stream of direct airline and agency filed fares and rules at industry leading fare data load times.

Mark Koehler, priceline.com’s Senior Vice President, Air, said that with Travelport 360 Fares the quality of searches using this platform "is higher overall, and particularly with our international itineraries."

Mark Ryan, Travelport’s Chief Information Officer, said the company has invested over US450 million over the last five years in core technologies for continued innovation to keep its customers ahead of the curve with the latest in world-wide search and pricing technology.

A journey back in time - tracing England's Olympic history

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

With less than 200 days to go until the London2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, VisitEngland looks back over the history of the Games - – from humble beginnings in a rural Shropshire market town to the award-winning architecture of 2012.

1850: Once upon a time in Shropshire …

So everyone knows that the Olympic Games were first conceived in Greece, right? Well, in fact, the modern International Games have their roots not in Athens, but rather in the small market town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire. In 1850 the town’s local doctor, philanthropist William Penny Brooks, established the Wenlock Olympian Games to ‘promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock by encouragement of outdoor recreation.’

Now, more than 150 years later, one of the London2012 mascots has been named Wenlock (right in photo) in Brookes’ memory, cementing in history the crucial role he played as the forefather of the modern Olympic Games.

1865: The Games go national

After several successful years of Much Wenlock Olympian Games, Brookes was responsible for creating the National Olympian Games in 1865. The premiere in Crystal Palace, London attracted 10,000 spectators, and the Games were held annually in different English towns and cities in the following years.

1908: First opening ceremony

Having originally been awarded to Rome, the fourth International Olympic Games instead came to London after the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius skewed plans. The stadium at White City had been built at short notice for the Games (the first purpose-built Olympic venue), and was considered a marvel of its day, holding 68,000 spectators.

That year, the Olympic marathon started in front of the royal apartments at Windsor Castle and ended on the track at White City stadium in front of the royal box. At the time the actual race distance wasn’t fixed – it was just a very long road race; around 25 miles. Moving the starting point from Queen Victoria’s statue to East Terrace so that spectators wouldn’t hinder the athletes added 700 hundred yards to the typical distance.

The 1908 Games were the first to be launched by an Opening Ceremony, during which the competing nations marched into the stadium following their respective national flags.

It was during a speech for Olympic champions by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot in 1908 that the Olympic Creed derides. Still used to this day the Creed reads: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

When the Games closed in October Great Britain topped the medal table with a total of 145 medals. Despite the short notice, the Games were widely declared a success and lay the foundations for London’s legacy as a host Olympic city.   

1924: England sets marathon standard

 In 1924 the length of the 1908 Olympic marathon, which turned out to be 26 miles 385 yards, was internationally accepted as the official length of a marathon.   

1943: Stoke Mandeville develops sport for rehabilitation 

This August the Buckinghamshire village of Stoke Mandeville will play host to the Paralympic Torch Relay. The village was the birthplace of the Paralympics pioneering German neurologist, Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, head of the National Spine Injury Centre (NSIC) at the Ministry of Pensions Hospital in Stoke Mandeville towards the end of WWII, who came up with the revolutionary idea of using sport for rehabilitation. Sir Ludwig’s patients were encouraged to try activities such as wheelchair polo, basketball and archery.

1948: War’s over, first televised Games

Despite a shortage of time and resources London rose to the challenge to host the first Games after World War II and a 12-year hiatus. This time the Games centred around Wembley Stadium and were the first televised Olympic Games, though at that stage few people owned their own television set.

In 1948 the historic coastal town of Dover provided the welcome point for the Olympic Torch.

It was a first for both Dover and England because the 1908 London Games took place before the torch relay tradition began.

The flame, setting out from Olympia in Greece, travelled in 1,531 stages totalling 720 miles (1,160km). 1,720 weatherproof torches, including spares, were manufactured to carry it on its way. It was brought from Calais to Dover aboard HMS Bicester, a destroyer of the Nore Command. The flame then continued its relay via the Kent towns of Canterbury, Charing, Maidstone and Westerham, through Surrey and Berkshire and on to Wembley.

In 1948, due to post-war rationing, many teams who attended the Olympic Games had to bring their own food with them.

1948 – Paralympics to the fore in London’s second Olympic Games

In 1948 Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised a competition for 16 paralysed servicemen – the Stoke Mandeville Games for wheelchair athletes – that coincided with the opening ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games. Prior to 1948 athletes with disabilities had competed in the same sporting events. The first official Paralympic Games, open not only to war veterans, took place 12 years later in Rome.

Sir Ludwig went on to found the British Sports Association for the Disabled. He was knighted by the Queen on his retirement in 1966, having already been awarded an OBE and CBE. The NSIC continues its rehabilitation programme using sports and exercise to this day, and has expanded from just 26 beds to 190 in the main hospital.

2005 – London wins bid to host the 2012 Games

"The International Olympic Committee has the honour of announcing the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of… London." This was the spine-tingling announcement made to thousands of people in London’s Trafalgar Square on July 6, 2005.

The city staved off stiff competition from Moscow, New York, Madrid and Paris after an impressive presentation by ex-Olympian Lord Coe, who chaired the bid. Prime Minister Tony Blair called it a “momentous day” for the country describing London as “ … the greatest capital city in the world and the Olympics will help keep it that way”.

2012 – London hosts 30th Olympic and Paralympic Games

London becomes the first city to host the Olympic Games three times. The Games will take place across the country, with many outside of the purpose-built 500-acre Olympic Park in Stratford. Football matches will be in Coventry, Manchester and Newcastle; sailing events in Weymouth; cycling in Surrey; rowing in Eton Dorney; mountain biking in Essex; canoe slalom in the Lee Valley.

The 2012 Games will coincide with the culmination of a four-year cultural programme, the Cultural Olympiad, which includes 500 events held over four years. The finale, the London2012 Festival, will be the biggest festival the UK has ever seen.

The 2012 Olympic Torch Relay will depart from Land’s End, Cornwall on May 19. The torch carried by 8,000 bearers, will make a 70-day journey around the UK, travelling within 10 miles of 95% of the population. On August 24 a Paralympic flame will be lit in London, and will meet flames from Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff in Stoke Mandeville – the birthplace of the Paralympics – before returning to the Olympic Stadium.

• Photos courtesy of the London2012 official website

Give us free wifi or we won't book, say travellers

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Pictured: Shangri-La Hotel Edsa Manila – Shangri-La was the first hotel group to offer free wifi throughout its hotels

A hotels.com® survey of hotel amenities shows that free wifi is a must when choosing a room and that this amenity overwhelmingly factored into the decision on which hotel to book.

Thirty-eight percent of travelers reported that free Wi-Fi played a part in their decision as a "must" to stay at a specific hotel, 35 percent reported it is the simple amenity they want to see more in hotels, with 31 percent wishing it would become a standard in all hotels in 2012.

"Given the explosion of mobile use in the past few years, it is no surprise that travelers are requiring free and fast Wi-Fi," said Taylor L. Cole, APR, director of public relations and social media for hotels.com.

"Many guests never travel without their tablets, smartphones and laptops. It's as intuitive as packing a toothbrush. Guests use these items in their rooms to plan activities for the next day. We are also seeing an uptick in mobile booking the day of a stay. Guests are creating their trips while on-the-go with Tonight's Local Deals on our site and the hotels.com mobile apps, which feature exclusive mobile deals - it is only natural that they'd want to stay connected while in their hotel rooms."

To round out the tech responses, 23 percent of guests stated their favorite modern in-room amenity was the use of iPads for guest services, local information and personal use. This ranked above air purifiers/humidifiers, high-end coffee makers, iPod dock, massage chairs, video game systems, universal remote rooms and workout equipment/DVDs.

Food and Beverage

Second to technology, guests are most pleased when their favorite food and beverages are provided during their hotel stay.

45 percent reported that their favorite new amenities are: happy hours, wine tastings or any other time with free food and drinks

31 percent of travelers expressed their wish to see more complimentary bottled water in their hotel rooms (34 percent of female travelers; 24 percent of male travelers.)

On Stealing While Traveling...Despite some guests stealing linens/towels (14 percent) or magazine/books (12 percent) from hotel rooms, over 66 percent of hotel guests have never stolen an item from their hotel room.

Other amenities

Travelers felt like extra luxuries like turndown service and bath menus were "not worth the hype," according to 44% of female respondents and 30% of male respondents.

The bathroom phone gets no love. It is the least used hotel amenity, with 37 percent of total respondents saying they never touch it.

When asked about amenities at luxury hotels, women prefer designer toiletries (23 percent) and men prefer the fitness center and spa (27 percent.)

When asked if they could stay celebrity-style, the top option for both men (35 percent) and women (38 percent) was to have their kitchen pre-stocked with their favorite food and beverages. However, a close second was the ability to have a private pool and hot tub in the room (37 percent of women; 34 percent of men.) These options beat out such fun or diva-esque in-room demands like: an arcade, favorite fresh flowers everywhere, private staff or a movie screening room.

Stiff upper lip maybe but Olympic excitement is palpable

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Waking up every morning at the Royal Garden Hotel to the sun rising over Kensington Gardens is glorious. At first, a pale glow tinges the dawn sky and then like one of those slow switches, it turns orange, throwing the blueness of the sky into stark relief.

I’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather – this is the best of winter days, cold, crisp, sunny. Yesterday, I watched people play soccer, walk their children and dogs and have picnics (they are a hardy breed here).

“It was like this during Kate and William’s wedding,” said the London taxi driver who was taking me to Princess Garden in South Audley Street for a Sunday dim sum. “Not so cold but clear and crisp.” Kate and William are moving into the Kensington Palace after its renovations are completed in March.

He’s been driving for 20 years and he, like the two other taxi drivers I met, are looking forward to the Olympics. The anticipation here is a bit understated – as you would expect from this nation – and not as in-your-face as it was in Beijing four years ago.

You hardly notice it as a visitor except for a few billboards here and there. But underneath the stiff upper lip, I sense a desperate longing for the Games to somehow put things right.

“It’s the biggest international event in London in my lifetime,” said my cabbie, who looks to be in his 50s. “We need it.”

He lives in Enfield and during the riots last year, he and his neighbours had to turn vigilantes to protect their families and property. “It was bad, we had to take the law into our own hands but if the police couldn’t protect us, we had to do it ourselves.”

Asking where I was from, he said, “I wished we had some of the controls you have out there. Societies need to have rules and people ought to respect them.”

The mood isn’t good here and who can blame anyone for being glum. Everyday the media is full of bad news and I wonder if the media doesn’t as much reflect the state of the nation but shapes the psyche of a nation.

If you get bad news everyday, you stay in a constant state of glum-ness. Yesterday morning, after an invigorating walk in the park, I returned to my room to read the newspapers.

The headlines screamed, “Eurozone back on brink”, “Peacocks on the brink of administration” and with a huge photo of a sinking ship plastered on the front page, “It was just like the Titanic”.

Last week, the public inquiry into the media practices sparked by the phone hacking scandal continued. Richard Desmond, owner of the Express newspapers, was on the stand and his testimony was fascinating to listen to.

“Everyone needs disciplining,” said my London cabbie when our conversation switched to the media.

“It’s like dogs, ain’t it?” he said as our taxi went round Kensington Gardens and there seemed to be more canines than humans. One woman was walking at least six dogs. “You have to discipline them, otherwise they get out of control.”

It was rather appropriate thus that evening, I attended a dinner at the Royal Courts Of Justice. Walking into the 19th century neo-gothic building with its majestic arches, an Englishman said to me, “You have to admit, we do old well.” (I have say they do cold well too because the building was freezing and most of us dined with our winter coats on.)

The building houses 88 different courts and we were given a tour of the Appeal Court – I love British courtroom dramas and this absolutely brought them to life for me. The case of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hung in Britain in 1945, was heard here.

“In France, it would have been a crime of passion,” said our guide. “But here, Ruth, when she confessed to saying she wanted to kill her lover for flinging his affairs in her face, was convicted and hung.”

Discipline was obviously not lacking in those days.

I leave London tonight with several invitations to come to the Olympics – from three cabbies and a young girl from the National Youth Theatre who performed at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. She will be among those who will perform for the athletes in London.

Her pride is palpable. “You must come. It will be the best ever.”

So who's sleeping with you tonight?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Other than the fact that not much went right upon my arrival in Heathrow – mix-up with transfer and booking – it’s been a good first day in London.

I have a room overlooking Kensington Gardens and as I write this, the sun (a very weak version of the one I left behind in Singapore) is valiantly trying to break through the winter sky.

The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington has had a very nice upgrade. The room is a good size and functional, if a trifle draughty. In the lobby is a frighteningly huge statue of the Malaysian hotel owner, Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat, who I actually mistook for Mao when I arrived in my jetlagged state. (Do all statues look alike in the dark?)

Logging onto the Internet, a page from Swisscom Hospitality Service, pops up, telling me “the weather at your location”, giving me information “around your hotel”, “flight status and alerts”, “international newspapers”, “live radio”, “currency converter” and “translator”.

Not bad. I found the weather and map quite useful on first arrival and wondering if I should go for a walk to clear the cobwebs from my two seven-plus-hour legs on Qatar Airways to get here.

Under “Around Your Hotel”, it allows me to search by interests – café, nature, theme park, etc. I tried UNESCO World Heritage and it tells me there are eight within my vicinity – Westminster Abbey, Royal Botanic Gardens, Tower of London, etc.

It’s a good example of content aggregation, followed by curation, but not quite personalization.

Imagine if it figured out I was Ms Siew Hoon Mr Yeoh (the name I am checked in under) and am vegetarian (which I wish I was) and instantly gave me a list of vegetarian eateries nearby.

That’s the kind of granularity hotels want and all that personal information about us is out there. After all, never in history has so much been shared by so many for so little …

Sometimes, it seems to me that while we share to a frighteningly granular detail what we are doing every moment of our day, the only people who are really interested and paying attention are marketers – plus or minus a few “friends” (we hope).

Discussing this possibility of greater personalization by hotels over dinner at the Royal Garden’s Min Jiang Restaurant last night (okay, it wasn’t me who wanted Chinese but a local friend who had heard the Beijing duck was good), she said to me, “I think hoteliers are the only people who don’t know who they are sleeping with.”

Perhaps it’s because all customers look alike in the dark?

Suspension of four routes a business decision, says Fernandes

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (pictured left) has defended AirAsia X’s move to scrap four of its loss-making international routes as “purely business", and must be viewed positively by Malaysians.

He said allegations that the the airline, which is AirAsia’s affiliate, dropped the routes to accommodate and establish a business strategy with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was untrue and "irritating".

AirAsia X recently announced services from its Kuala Lumpur hub to Mumbai would be axed from January 31, New Delhi (March 22), Paris (March 30) and London (March 31). Read story here.

"Azran Osman Rani (AirAsia X’s CEO) made a business decision. We were the first to introduce a low cost long haul airline model and now the Singaporeans are following suit," Fernandes was quoted by Bernama, Malaysia’s national news agency, as saying.

"In this case, he (Azran) discovered that the best profitability is to have between four to eight hour (routes), with one type of engine and aircraft, which is the Airbus 330."

As such the airline’s move to scrap the four routes has nothing to do with MAS or AirAsia, Fernandes added.

"On the flip side, Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari is hearing that the routes suspension is to accommodate AirAsia," said Fernandes.

He also that it was good that MAS and AirAsia could collaborate in certain areas, but wrong to say this would destroy competition.

In a related development, AirAsia X's decision to suspend its Kuala Lumpur-London route from March 30 is expected to affect most of the over 14,000 Malaysian students pursuing their studies in the UK.

Since the launch of the service in March 2009, the budget long-haul airline had been the first choice to many of them to travel home from the UK because of its affordable fares and good services.

"Spot the Lumia" and get to party in the sky

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

India’s Jet Airways and Nokia Lumia are hosting the Sky Party on January 20 to celebrate their partnership in transforming the airline’s Boeing B737-800 aircraft into a flying virtual billboard with a new, innovative wrap.

The "Spot the Lumia" consumer competition to celebrate the aircraft "wrapping" requires participants to spot the Nokia Lumia either on the plane, outdoor, at Nokia retail or on TV, and upload the picture on to Nokia India Facebook page.

Photo: Nokia’s Prashant-Mani (left) Nokia with Jet Airways’ Manish Dureja

The 50 participants with the most innovative pictures will get to attend the Sky Party on January 20 - a two-hour extravaganza on board the Nokia Lumia Jet Airways flight. The aircraft will take off from Mumbai and will land back after the party.

The “wrapped” aircraft features the tile interface of the new Nokia Lumia smartphone on the aircraft’s windows, as well as its inside. The branding also lists the names of the Nokia employees responsible for this mammoth marketing initiative, acknowledging their contribution to the smartphne’s launch in India.

The Nokia Lumia Jet Airways aircraft has started its journey, flying across destinations in India from January 1 until January 31.

The collaboration with Nokia is also to enhance the airline's "The Amazing Everyday” Campaign

Manish Dureja, Jet Airways’ vice president, marketing, said the aircraft wrap was a unique media vehicle that leveraged the power of innovative brand communication and deliver value for money to brand managers across India.

Viral Oza, Nokia’s director- marketing, added the Nokia Lumia branded plane would not only brighten the days of Jet Airways’ passengers with its vivid colours, but has created a new marketing and consumer engagement benchmark.

• Photo courtesy of Jet Airways

AirAsia X axes India and Europe routes, launches KL-Sydney service (UPDATED)

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Malaysia-based long haul low cost affiliate of AirAsia has suspended services to four cities - Mumbai, New Delhi, Paris, London - due to global economic uncertainity, soaring taxes and higher jet fuel prices. It however has added the much-prized Sydney to its network (read Update below).

The affected services from its Kuala Lumpur hub are:

• Mumbai: Four weekly services, last flight on January 31, 2012

• New Delhi: Daily services, last flight on March 22, 2012. Flights in March will be reduced to four weekly services.

• London: Six weekly services, last flight on March 31, 2012

• Paris: Four weekly services, last flight on March 30, 2012

AirAsia X will offer its guests, who hold bookings after these dates, an alternative travel option at no additional cost.

All affected guests will receive an email stating options that are available to them, including a full refund, a reroute to another AirAsia X destination (e.g, in Australia and North Asia), or a move to an alternative carrier where available.

Azran Osman-Rani, AirAsia X CEO (pictured below), said these changes would improve operating cost efficiencies and consolidate its network to focus on markets where it could build a leadership position this year.

"We intend to concentrate capacity in our core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea where we have built up stable, profitable routes within an infrastructure that supports low cost services."

The airline also plans to open up new routes within these markets, as well as add frequencies on existing routes.

Azran said the continued high jet fuel prices and the weakening demand for air travel from Europe, due to the current economic situation and exorbitant government taxes, have placed cost pressures on operating long haul low cost flights between Asia and Europe, thus compromising the airline’s ability to offer low fares.

"The implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme and the escalating Air Passenger Duty taxes in UK, which will rise yet again in April 2012, has forced our decision to withdraw our services to Europe,” he added.

Factors behind the airline's move to suspend services to New Delhi and Mumbai are visa restrictions between India and Malaysia, and increased airport and handling charges. They have resulted in a structure not conducive to the low cost model.

"The airline is hopeful in reinstating services to India once these structural issues can be resolved."

AirAsia X started flights to London in March 2009, and to Mumbai and Delhi in 2010.

We understand from sources that this latest realignment exercise is part of a development resulting from the shares swap between national carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS), and AirAsia on August 8 last year when both companies decided to work together instead of competing. The four axed routes are said to go to MAS, which in turn would hand over one of its twice daily much prized Kuala Lumpur-Sydney service to AirAsia X.

It is no secret that AirAsia X has been fighting for the rights to fly the lucrative Sydney route for more than three years, with its bid consistently blocked, ironically, by MAS. But the share-swap agreement has changed the entire situation.

Sydney will be the “jewel in the crown” for AirAsia X even though it is flying to three destinations in Australia namely Perth, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

The airline declined to comment on a report in The Star that quoted an unnamed airline official as saying ticket sales for the Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route would start next week. The first flight is slated for April 1, which will give it a head start on Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ budget long-haul carrier, which has named Sydney as its first destination out of the Lion City with plans to fly the route by mid-year.

UPDATE

Sydney here we come!

As speculated, AirAsia X has clinched the “jewel in the crown” of Sydney as its fourth destination in Australia.

The airline launched the daily Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route on January 17 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Centre in Sydney, less than a week after announcing the axing of routes to India and Europe.

The inaugural flight, which takes off on April 1, offers a one-way fare of RM199 (US$64) economy, the lowest fare ever offered to Sydney by air from the Malaysian capital.

Fares for Australians flying into Kuala Lumpur will start from A$99.

Azran Osman-Rani, AirAsia X chief executive officer, said the low-cost long-haul airline expects to see revenue of RM16 million in its first year of operations into the Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route.

Photo: Azran (right) in a Bondi lifeguard uniform with Hoppo, a lifeguard from hit reality TV series Bondi Rescue, flanked by flight attendants.

He added that the airline is already looking at Adelaide as the next city for its expansion in Australia. Talks on this are only at the preliminary stage and it will not happen this year but in 2013.

Sydney too has high hopes for the new service, forecasting it to generate about 55,000 more international visitors to New South Wales annually.

Destination NSW chief executive officer, Sandra Chipchase said the NTO, in conjunction with Sydney Airport, Tourism Australia and AirAsia X, would be investing in a two-year marketing and promotion plan for the new Kuala Lumpur to Sydney route.

The service will be operated on the Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a configuration of 12 Premium fly flatbed seats and 365 economy seats.

• Photos courtesy of AirAsia X

Regulations and taxes on top of airlines' woes, says Sabre

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The 2011 Sabre Airline Solutions survey shows regulations on airport security, emissions and taxes are the top issues negatively impacting global airlines’ revenues over the next 18 months.

In the bi-annual survey by Sabre of nearly 80 regional and global airlines worldwide, executives were asked to rank what positively and negatively impacts airline revenue. About 43% of Asia Pacific airlines surveyed identified government regulations as one of the key challenges their airline will face.

Many airlines from around the world are opposed to the recently launched EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which requires airlines flying into European airspace to pay for carbon emissions.

Sam Gilliland, chairman and chief executive officer of Sabre Airlines Solutions (pictured left) said that as airlines had invested significantly to reduce their carbon emissions, governments should have policies that support this investment rather than impose one-off taxes and compliance schemes.

"Governments would be better placed having more sustainable policies, such as incentives for the research and development of alternative fuels, and adopting policies around NextGen air traffic controls."

A number of airlines worldwide also face proposed or new airline taxes that could increase the cost of air travel considerably, which may depress travel demand in an already unstable economic environment.

This is the first time that government regulations have ranked in the top three challenges that could negatively impact an airline’s business revenues.

In the past year, airlines and US airport security officials have also come under fire by passengers for increasingly lengthy airport security measures, which also threaten to dampen air travel demand.

Gilliland added that as travel played a critically important role in the global economy, all parties should focus on finding ways to make travel easier and more accessible without compromising security and the industry’s health.

"While some global governments are grappling with how to solve economic problems, they must remember to not bite the hand that feeds them. Airlines are significant contributors to regional and global economies, and making it more costly and difficult to travel will only add to fiscal hardships, not solve them."

Challenges having the greatest negative impact on airline revenues:

• Fuel prices – 81%

• Government regulations – 72%

• Airport/passenger security – 59%

Fuel price concerns continue to top the Sabre survey with 69% of airline executives surveyed specifically identifying fuel price Instability as the biggest challenge facing airlines. Fuel purchase management and fuel hedging management were most often identified as the primary issues related to fuel price instability.

Challenges having the greatest positive impact on airline revenues:

• Revenue/Yield – 81%

• Customer loyalty and retention – 81%

• IT investment – 76%

Airlines surveyed recognised customer loyalty/retention as important to increasing revenues, but there was a sharp decline over the past two years in the number of airlines that view customer loyalty and retention as a chief challenge for them. This comes in stark contrast to recent consumer surveys conducted by a variety of organisations that have shown complaints about poor airline customer service have significantly increased.

• Click here to download the 2011 Sabre Airline Solutions survey.

Star Cruises searching for its "first friends"

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

SuperStar Virgo, which is currently undergoing a US$25 million refurbishment, is launching a reunion campaign that aims to get together her first passengers on her inaugural sail 12 years ago.

Through its "Our First Friends" campaign, Star Cruises is searching for passengers who cruised with SuperStar Virgo on August 27, 1999. More than 1,200 passengers from countries that include Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia, Japan and Thailand made Asian cruise history when they went on this inaugural voyage.

Star Cruises is launching the online component of the campaign to find the first 40 of those passengers/families to celebrate SuperStar Virgo’s refurbishment. They will be invited to join one complimentary SuperStar Virgo 3D2N cruise, staying at seaview cabins that accommodate two persons. The invitation will be valid from February to April 2012.

Passengers who were on the inaugural cruise are invited to send valid details to ourfirstfriends@starcruises.com for verification. Or they can log to Star Cruises for more details. The campaign runs from January 10-31 or earlier when the first 40 passengers have been found.

Vivian Sim, Star Cruises vice president of corporate communications & PR of Genting Hong Kong, said the refurbishment of the Singapore- homeported SuperStar Virgo would further strengthen the company’s cruise holiday products for regional and international passengers.

"Our First Friends" campaign will add excitement to the return of SuperStar Virgo to service on 23rd January, 2012," she added.

Forget about the endings, live in the present

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

So the big question before us is, what’s this year going to be like for the Asian travel market given the Greek Tragedy, Arab Spring which is becoming a four-season affair, ongoing economic woes in the US and possibilities of bubbles in China and India (this comes up every year of course as it did for Dubai until it finally happened, and then life went on).

The picture seems mixed.

For Graeme Beardsell, chief customer development and marketing officer, Experian Asia Pacific, it’s “proceed with caution” and he believes there will be a constriction of overall marketing budgets.

He sees a continuing shift from traditional to digital media and whatever funds that are going into the latter will be in social media and mobile. Think personalized and targeted, he says. (Full interview next week)

Patrick Imbardelli (left), president and CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group, would like to hear less of the phrase “cautiously optimistic”.

“Not so much because things are looking up and we can afford to be more bullish. Just that it’s a nice phrase that encapsulates the mood of the last three years but it’s been bandied around so much it’s ceased to be meaningful at all,” he says.

“I think the political upheavals and economic turbulence of 2011 is a sign of the times. There are so many hotspots – Europe, the US, Russia, North Korea, Iraq, Pakistan.

“‘Uncertainty’ is the new normal; we’ve become accustomed to disruptions in business in the last three years, but it still can be unsettling and leading a company through such uncertain times requires certain steel and resolve.”

Robert Bailey, president and CEO of Abacus International, sees three challenges ahead for Asian travel.

• The continued financial uncertainty in Europe and US will play a major role in 2012.

• The volatility of the oil prices continues to be a concern. A US$10 increase in barrel price is expected to push up the total ticket price by almost 3%.

• Increased complexity of choice for consumers driven by proliferation of LCCs

Gregory O’Neil, president of BCD Travel Asia Pacific, says he is cautiously looking forward and fear the European and US economies are setting a trend for the softening of the market.

“While sales opportunities remain high, our customers appear to be in the same mode of operation. Cost management seems to be one of the prime objectives and we believe this will continue throughout the rest of the year.”

John Mims, global vice president of marketing and sales of Las Vegas Sands, who oversees the properties in Macau and Singapore, is all gung-ho about this year, having just returned from a sales trip through the US.

He believes there are many people who still don’t know how much Singapore has transformed and the China market remains a major opportunity. “Of course, if you are sitting in Europe and the US, the picture may be very different but out here, things are still looking pretty good.”

But even as I ask these questions and share the answers, my mind keeps harking back to the radio broadcast I heard last night – author and philosopher Dr John Gray speaking about “Living In The Present”.

His point of view is that “if we can stop thinking about what the future might bring and embrace the present for what it is, we would be a lot better off”.

He points to our endless obsession with what might be and our belief that a single event could somehow end everything. His talk dealt in large part with the current European troubles and the possible implosion of the European banking system and Euro and the belief by many that this could spell the end of Europe.

He says, “Surely we would be better off if we put an end to our obsession with endings. Humans are sturdy creatures built to withstand regular disruption. Conflict never ceases, but neither does human resourcefulness, adaptability or courage.”

Ancillaries. Anchovies. We asked for choice and we got it

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I was having champagne pork ribs at Por Kee Restaurant, Tiong Bahru, with friends one cool, balmy evening in Singapore when a friend started venting his anger at AirAsia.

“I used to like them, always fly with them,” he said, sputtering over the ribs which by the way are juicy and tender if a trifle sweet for my taste. “But now they are making it so complicated to book.”

“In what way?” I asked, always happy to listen to customer views about travel companies.

“There are so many add-ons. You click this and then it asks you if you want this or that, and it goes on and you keep adding and adding and by the time you’re over, you end up paying more than you wanted to,” he said.

“It’s their way of making money from ancillaries,” I said in my industry-guru voice. “Thirty percent of their revenues come from it.”

“Ancillaries. Anchovies. I don’t care. It’s irritating for the customer. I feel like I am being had and it’s complicated to book,” he replied.

“In the end,” he continued, “I gave up. I then tried Jetstar – they also have extras but it’s easier. They have something called ‘see all inclusions’.”

Finally though, he ended up flying with Singapore Airlines to Tokyo – because he said by the time he added up everything, it came up to more or less the same price.

With this conversation in mind, I asked David Hall, Jetstar Australia CEO, at a press conference what he thought of ancillaries and if this trend by airlines to unbundle might create a backlash among travel-savvier customers.

I believe he said something like “we believe in offering our customers choice” and that the airline would continue to pursue ancillaries as a revenue stream.

Well, we consumers do love choice, don’t we and so we are getting what we wished for.

(By the way, the nasi lemak with ikan billis (local anchovies) on AirAsia is pretty good and my guess is the airline sells a lot of those meals which you have to pre-order if you want to have it – it’s usually sold out, which I reckon is yet another tactic by the airline to get you to pay upfront.)

Thing is, airlines have finally found a way to make money (from selling you everything on top of an air ticket) and they ain’t going to give that up anytime soon, especially with rising fuel costs and now the Europeans wanting to charge emissions taxes for flying over their air space and the Chinese refusing to pay. You can see the airlines have quite a lot on their plate than to worry about small anchovy stuff like ancillaries.

Ironically, the very airlines that succeeded because they knew how to buck the system – AirAsia being prime example – often end up being, as they expand, like the airlines they used to knock.

Guess it’s a bit like growing up – as kids, we railed at our parents and as we grow up, we realize we become our parents.

And this year, we have new kids coming out to play – Scotty, Peachy and Smiley, for starters. Wonder what the kids who are all grown-up now and parents are going to do?

Indonesian startup Valadoo focuses on tours & activities

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

When planning long holidays, the Indonesian online customer places more importance in knowing what to do than where to stay, and budget travel and activities appear to dominate the market.

At least, these are some of the findings of a survey conducted by travel start-up Valadoo.com, described as its founders as a one-stop tour and activity deal provider.

The Indonesia Holiday Travel Survey 2011 was conducted on the Valadoo Facebook fan page. Based on 521 respondents, with the majority single and between the ages of 20 and 30, the survey was aimed at understanding “how urban people in Indonesia, especially the so-called growing middle class, behave towards offering in travel via online media”, said founder Jakarespati Wiradisuria.

Respondents cited ease of use and simplicity as the main reason why they would choose an online shopping website over another. Up to 34% said they made online purchases twice a month with the most common method of payment being ATM machine/bank transfer, followed by Internet banking.

In terms of overseas destinations, the top five spots were Japan, Paris, Thailand, Maldives and Greece with 47% saying they go on at least one annual long holiday (more than three days) and 59% saying they spent between US$100 and US$500 during their holiday.

Said Jakarespati, “Among other findings, one that caught our attention in the Long Holiday section is how people perceive the importance of knowing What-to-do (Recreation & activities) slightly higher, if not on par, with place-to-stay (Accommodation).

“In the Weekend Getaway section, one that caught our attention is the average spending of the prospectus customers where more than 60% said that their average expenditure is below IDR 1million (app. $100/person), which implies low budget travel and activities deal are much preferred than premium ones.”

(See survey here)

Valadoo was launched in August 2010 with the initial idea of a Group Buying model like Groupon and Living Social. After a while, the founders adjusted the model to the current business of providing travel deals focused around Vacation, Leisure, Activity & Destinations.

Jakarespati said the shift was triggered by the rise in demand of a growing Indonesian middle class for travel and the influence of an early investor, Royalindo Expoduta, a strong player in the MICE and travel industry.

“The pain we are trying to solve is to tackle the difficulties of most Indonesian urban people in getting accessible and affordable Weekend Getaway deals around the city (for short holiday over the weekend); not to mention that, as a one-stop tour & activity deal provider, we also exist to provide Holiday Tour for longer trips, mostly during holiday season or long weekends.”

Royalindo Expoduta has since exited and the company is starting a strategic partnership with “a prominent regional e-commerce player focused on travel” which he declined to name.

There are three partners behind the venture – himself, Aris Suryamasand Bondan Herumurti

Usage on the site shows most customers are searching for Weekend Getaways around the city, for example, Mongolian Highland camp in Bogor (around 1-2 hours road trip from Jakarta) and Caldera rafting in Sukabumi (water sport destination located near Jakarta or Bandung).

For 2012, the company plans to put more focus on brand activation, exposure and member acquisition.

With the Indonesian online travel market becoming more active – recently two start-ups entered the market (Raja Kamar and KAHA), Jakarespati said that while Valadoo’s strength would also be in content like its two competitors, it has a different target.

“While RajaKamar and KAHA (via GoIndonesia.com) seems to put more strength on hotel rooms, we put more focus on Tour & Activities. As we learned a lot from Jetsetter.com that provides customers with intensive and comprehensive information about the destination, we put guidance and detailed insight on what-we-love about the destination, what-to-do and where-to-go as our Unique Value Proposition.

“We work together with experienced travel consultants and travel writers to deliver good content/editorial to give the best to our customers.”

Boris bikes in with some mobile app pointers

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I’ve recently returned from an extended stay in London combing some downtime and some work too.

I’m very lucky when I’m in London as I always have the opportunity to stay with my brother who lives in Covent Garden just by Seven Dials. I was helping him start a business and we were working in a co-working space at Hub Westminster in New Zealand House at the bottom of Haymarket just off Trafalgar Square. All in all not too shabby a set up really.

What this meant in commuting terms was that using the Barclays Bike Scheme – or Boris’ Bikes as they are known – was a no-brainer. The number of docking stations around both where I was staying and working was almost overwhelming. Within a 3 or 4 minute walk of the office space were, maybe, 5 or 6 docks. It’s an enormous scheme and dwarves those in other cities.

Using the bikes is not without its ‘issues’ however, and finding a free bike and then finding a free dock to drop it off can be difficult. But, yes, you guessed it – ‘there’s an app for that’.

The application let’s you know what docks are near, how many bikes are there and how many spaces there are if you are looking to drop your bike off. There were some issues around the accuracy of the data at times but, in a very simple way, the app epitomized what ‘mobile’ could and should mean.

Bespoke App Development

Firstly, the app was indeed an actual app designed with an interface all built around a phone-size touch screen. It contained no existing web page content pulled from the website in the form of ‘mobilized’ web pages – it was all new – a mobile app with proper app-designed content and proper interactivity.

Pertinent Information

The app is about giving me information on where to find a bike or where to drop one off. That’s all really. Whilst there is the opportunity to read about the scheme and even sign up this is almost peripheral to the core functionality - front and centre is the information that I need at that moment – where to get a bike or where to drop one off.

Presentation

As well as a map showing the location of the docks the app also had a ‘list mode’. This simply means that I can hold the phone in front of me and an arrow points me in a direction – 140M that way is a dock with some bikes. Simple and straightforward. It’s like when you ask someone for directions in the street – “go down there and turn left..” – sometimes we are not interested in a map – we just like to be told which way to go.

Timely Data

Of course it’s key to this application that the data is dynamic – that it’s right up to date. It’s all about the what, the where and crucially the NOW. It was this aspect of the application that suffered at times but the intention was there and when it worked it was perfect.

In Summary

All seems pretty straightforward doesn’t it? But there are some great lessons here.

When thinking and designing for mobile we must ask ourselves:

What do you think the users might ACTUALLY want to do with this app? Where will they be when they use it?, what help do they need at that point? and what will they want to know?

What will they not be interested in?

How will they like to be told? How should the ‘answer’ be presented?

How can we keep it simple and uncluttered?

How will they want to interact with the application?

Asking some simple questions and focusing on the time and the CONTEXT of use has the power to enable really useful mobile development.

Simply thinking mobile is about re-purposing existing content and collateral doesn’t and won’t cut it.

Why you must concentrate on this

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A fresh breeze is rustling the leaves outside my window where I work. Birds are chirping. Traffic is trundling along. It feels like any other day really. But is it?

I spent the last two weeks, hiding from today’s space invaders. I did as little work as I could get away with. I spent as little time online as I could. The little moments I sneaked online was to play Words With Friends – Alec Baldwin is my hero of 2011 – and shared a bit of this and that, here and there, with whoever was there and interested.

I plunged deep into the things which give me joy at home. Books, music, movies, walks and, of course, food.

But it was a different kind of feasting – one that came from doing and concentrating.

Concentrating was possibly the most under-valued term of 2011. It’s hard to concentrate on anything today, and I think this is the main reason why I love to write. It forces me to concentrate and when you get into the zone, there’s no feeling like it. I suspect it’s the same zone any of us get into when we actually force ourselves to concentrate on something we love – be it kite surfing, golfing or cooking.

Last night, I took visitors to One Fullerton to admire Singapore’s new Stonehenge in the Bay. The minute we got there, my friend took out her iPhone and said, “Wow, I have to take photos and create a panorama.”

There was no time to just stand there, lean against the railings, look into the murky waters and wonder what’s inside.

“What do you do with what you create?” I asked her.

“I post it,” she said.

Last year, I was asked a question by an older wiser woman as I was sitting in her living room, posting photos on Facebook.

“What’s this Facebook thing?”

“Oh, it’s somewhere where you share what you’ve done or are thinking with people.”

“Why?” she asked.

That shut me up.

Another moment in 2011 which shut me up was during my holiday in Rajasthan when, on passing yet another wedding procession, I asked the driver if his marriage had been arranged.

He shook his head vigorously. “Yes.”

“What happens if you don’t like her? Do you have a choice?”

“My parents only want the best for me, why would they choose someone wrong for me?” he said.

In 2011, we were over-assaulted by information, over-indulged with choices, over-whelmed by events and over-weighed by gadgets. We over-shared, over-tweeted, over-did.

I suspect with the dawn of the new year, we are going to want less of everything. We are going to be more selective about when and where we allow today’s space invaders to come into our lives. We are going to seek places where we can truly get away from it all. We are going to want some choices made for us. We are going to seek concentration, quality over quantity.

It will not only be that less is more but it will be at the very least what we need.

Here’s to travel unplugged in 2012.

Book a room by a theme

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Roomorama.com, the short-term home rental service, has introduced a brand new navigation feature to search for destinations based on themes.

According to the developers, the new feature is "In line with Roomorama’s philosophy of providing unique and original travel experiences to guests, and to inspire travellers to embrace wanderlust and expand their travel horizons".

We decided to take a spin of the website to see if we would be inspired. The layout is refreshingly simple yet eye-catching in its simplicity. It is user friendly too, with the "Find Accommodations" search bar conveniently located at top of page to look for any type of accommodation in any part of the world, whether for leisure or business – from a no-frills room to an apartment in Bondi beach, a SOHO in New York or a luxury villa in Bali.

The new travel theme makes the search even more specific and more pleasurable. Divided into categories - Spiritual, Mountain Climbers, Adventure, Countryside, Lakes & Rivers, History Buff, Wine Country, Romantic, Urbanite, Sea Lovers and Events – you just need to click on to any of the themes and it takes you to a wide choice of accommodation options in both classic destinations and unexpected locales.

Example: We checked out “Wine Country" (pictured right). One click took us to a wide choice of locations from Tuscany to Santiago de Chile and Napa Valley (San Francisco).

We chose Tuscany to see what was available. One click and we were presented with a map filled with pins, each of an apartment for nightly/weekly rental, room or a charming Tuscan apartment, with the rate listed (pictured below). Another click on the chosen (pin) accommodation led to its website, complete with a map of its location, photos, amenities, relevant information and even choice of language to view the site. You can book right away if you so wish.

Another interesting section is "Events". It presents a comprehensive range of events happening in the destination you are visiting, and you can choose a hotel near the event such as an apartment with a balcony view of the Tour De France or a hotel near Hampstead for the Affordable Art Fair London.

To offer its guests even more variety, Roomorama has an insitu invitation for interested parties to contribute to the Themes section. if you have an idea for a great theme, do take up the challenge.

Verdict: A good way to book rooms the thematic way. It makes room/accommodation search more interesting and fun.

Photos courtesy of Roomorama

Amadeus launches Hotel Optimisation Package

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Amadeus Hotel Optimisation Package offers large travel agencies and travel management companies (TMCs) numerous benefits that include increased competitiveness, efficient access to full hotel content (both GDS and non-GDS), greater global hotel programme control, reduction in operational costs, and saving in time for travel counsellors.

Solutions of the package include:

• Amadeus Hotel Dynamic Saver: Powerful multi-GDS business Intelligence solution to help both large travel agencies and corporate travel managers maintain high savings standards and ensure hotel contract compliance. Key capabilities include Last Room Availability, identification of rate squatters and automatic future comparison of negotiated vs. public rates to ensure buyers get the best deal at all times.

• Integration of hotel aggregator content: The quickest path to integrating the "long tail" of content. Amadeus’ pipeline of hotel aggregators, which are being integrated across all its travel agency point-of-sale solutions, helps travel agents save time and money, as well as increase service levels for their clients. Among the agencies integrated are Destinations of the World and Transhotel with a total inventory of over 50,000 hotels.

• Amadeus LinkHotel: Customised fast-track service that enables quick seamless integration of specific hotels requested by travel agencies and their corporate customers, but are currently not bookable on the GDS (for instance, hotels close to remote manufacturing sites which typically would not show on these systems). Through this service Amadeus has connected over 6,000 hotels to the GDS universe for real-time reservations.

• Powerful tool to drive contract compliance by driving smarter booking behaviour at the point of sale.

Kartikeya Tripathi, Head of Hotel Distribution, Amadeus Asia Pacific said the package empowered its customers to tackle the complex and fragmented markets in Asia Pacific both efficiently and profitably.

"In Asia Pacific, we are seeing steady growth in the corporate travel market, which will be a key business driver in 2012. Our goal is to offer our customers a single view across multiple hotel channels and address the needs of the price sensitive traveller with more options in all price ranges," he added.

Park Hotels' revamped website enhances customer experience

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Aesthetically striking in the group’s corporate colours of regal black and grand gold, the website is also user friendly allowing easy navigation with breadcrumb links and a dynamic sitemap.

It comprises a corporate microsite, as well as microsites of each of Park Hotel Group’s eight hotels located in Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

From the homepage you can search for rooms, venues, recreational facilities and special offers from the four sub-headings – Hotels, Meetings & Events, Lifestyle, Promotions. There is also detailed information on the group, which includes milestones and awards.

New features include quick room comparison and viewing of different rooms types concurrently for reservations, which suit specific preferences. The new search box allows checking of hotel room rates and availability effortlessly with just a click of the mouse.

The website can be viewed in English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese and Japanese. it is also optimised for viewing on the go with the iPad and smartphone.

Mohd Rafin, Park Hotels Group’s senior vice president, said the improved website caters to the need for greater efficiency and convenience of guests who are tech-savvy travellers.

The Dark Side Of The New Year: 8 Things To Watch Out For

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s a Bright Sunny Day – most of the time. Welcome to your future. Here's some perspective on 2012 and a list of eight things to keep an eye on.

So here we are on the turn of the year. What a year. Social Media really matured and the notion of Social Commerce finally became mainstream. We had the Arab Spring and the emergence on the world commercial stage of new Asian Tigers like Indonesia. But there will be clouds. I am not advocating a bunker attitude or even a “lock up your daughters” mission. Still anyone failing to think about these things will likely get hurt in one way or another. Yes Virginia, there is a dark side to all of this.

1. We now live in a FAG world (with apologies to China and Japan which has a different set of dominant players).

Get used to it. FAG stands for Facebook, Apple and Google. These three companies now control pretty much all ‘access’ for the majority of us. I really don’t like the fact that I am now officially held hostage to whatever these three companies decide to do. All three of them have had their wrists slapped recently over security and personal information abuse. I almost long nostalgically for the Old WINTEL world where I didn’t have to worry about someone controlling my life and access to information. I had libraries/book shops, radio stations, newspapers. All these are now officially threatened species.

Let’s look at them individually. Google touches us so many times a day it is not even worth counting any more. Google in most of the world permeates our every pore. They have now decided that only they will determine how we see what we see. Just try this at home. Have some friends who come from say different countries and ask them to do just about any search. They will now likely see different results. Can you say censorship? Censorship used to mean that you are prevented from seeing specific things. Today’s technology censorship as practiced by Google now limits what we can see based on Google’s perceived understanding of what THEY think we like.

Apple has given up the ghost on its server business and now simply concentrates on our PC, Tablet and much of our mobile world. The house that Steve built will now move out of the world of our hardware, software and music into the world of Travel. iTravel is coming. Better be prepared for Apple has designs on so much of what you do. So yes we will continue paying high prices for stuff we don’t really need. Look for the iPod to head to that great electronic junkyard in the sky this year. Ah Facebook has decided that I need the wisdom of my friends to guide me every step of the way. Totally convinced that I should homogenize everything to what my friends do. Mark and the kids in their new digs are alleviating our need history. Timeline can be whatever you make it – whether it's true or not. Just try it. Create a fake identity and see how quickly it becomes “truth”.

2. Mobile will get a LOT worse before it gets better.

We used to talk about the coming year of mobile. Now it's past – let’s see what we are left with. Third rate applications written by unqualified developers who are in it for the quick get rich schemes. Apps that crash and don’t work. Apps that have only limited utility. Apps that waste my time. Oh yes – too bad that search in mobile is such a sucky experience (yes that is a technical term). As more travelers – especially in Asia – start to use more and more smartphones – we will see an explosion of low quality Apps. At the same time – we will start to see more and more embedded Apps. Look for the Expedia/Air Asia JV to implement several Facebook apps in the first half of 2012.

3. The Lawyers are coming bringing with them things like Patent Wars.

If you are a serious tech follower, or even a casual one – you cant help but notice the war of words and courtrooms being fought by Samsung and Apple over Tablet Patents. Well this is coming to Travel. The term Patent Troll will become commonplace in Travel as it is in most tech area. One of the reasons Google bought ITA was for its treasure chest of some pretty critical patents related to online travel search, shopping and fulfillment.

My advice for everyone is to READ those contracts before you sign them. Read your Subscriber Agreements if you are an intermediary. If you are an airline READ your contracts you get from the GDS companies. For consumers… well you can always say no to that latest gadget and online service. Find a friendly lawyer and ALWAYS register. You too might be eligible for a $5 coupon off something. (This is the traditional “prize” for consumer abuse). Report all abuse to your local consumer protection regulatory agency. Don’t become an institutional victim.

4. The Search/Availability/Truth problem.

The Truth shall set you free. However it won't actually make your life any better. The myth that the GDS state of availability is the true state will finally be exploded. But there are so many pretenders to the throne. It will be VERY hard to find out where the true quality real state of availability sits and how you can reach it through search. We will see the big search firms, Baidu and Google start to integrate air, hotel search into the conventional search results. Are the days coming when these Search giants will actually be the primary source of traffic?

5. Fragmentation is coming.

That nice easy world where things came to you in neat packages is no longer a thing of beauty. It is a thing of the past. Everything you do will require you to search or make choices that previously seemed to be so much easier. You will no longer have a single pipe into anything. Other than Google. With fragmentation also comes aggregation. There will be SO many people out there trying to provide an aggregated service. PhocusWright’s innovation summit featured many players who were “aggregating” even some aggregating aggregators. This is a trend that sadly will continue to enrapture Venture money and do little for the consumer as soon as a quality metric is applied. In Asia we will see many will come into the market only to be swatted away. The reluctance by the suppliers – particularly the airlines – to pay for Search based traffic will come back to bite them as the search engines get better.

6. Fees, Fees oh yes and more fees.

Not least of which is fees. We will all be wrestling with fees across the Travel spectrum as other suppliers and intermediaries figure out that the consumer is dumb enough to pay for them. The Travel intermediaries will be having a really hard time trying to figure out the true cost of a service package. And just think you are the experts! However a few brave companies will either hold the line on fees (or rather hide them like Southwest Airlines in the USA) or actually start putting new bundles back into the marketplace. AirAsia will be the king of fees. Even the legacy carriers will be doing more and more to nickel and dime you or Rupee and Renminbi you for just about everything.

7. In Asia we will see the entering into the sunset years for traditional offline travel agents in mature markets.

Those who have been taking just orders will see their business erode. More and more Low Cost airlines. More and More complicated products will favour the larger more sophisticated companies. Look for those players who have traditionally shunned online – like Flight Centre and JTG in Australia to ramp up their online efforts. Even in emerging markets – the traditional local agent will start their long decline just as they have in Western markets over the past 15 years. Look for new intermediaries to emerge who are entrepreneurial and very nimble. Look for Vietnam and Indonesia to havetTravel intermediaries specializing in mobile.

8. LCC wars are a-coming.

Look for the Japanese market to light up with the first emergence of Low Cost Carriers. And while Thailand’s mature LCC marketplace will see turbulence this year, India and Japan will experience more growth. Jetstar and Air Asia will start to really compete with each other. Look for Tiger to find new strength. Look for Lion Air to spread its wings. Those 737-900ERs can fly a lot of people a lot of places. And don’t forget that Low Cost does not mean Low Price. Look at Skymark in Japan - the quiet guy - to continue their journey as a true independent.

Cheers (and don’t say I didn’t warn ya!)

From Incredible to Pure - a journey into the new year

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I guess it was fitting that for my last trip of 2011, I went straight from one of the world’s most populated countries to one of the world’s least densely populated places on earth.

From the semi-arid deserts of Rajasthan to the open spaces of New Zealand, you couldn’t ask for starker contrasts in what you see, smell, eat and feel as a traveller.

Mother India hits you full force in the face wherever you go. Its cities teem with life as humans and animals share space with each other. My friend from Singapore said, “What I can’t handle is the livestock on the roads,” as our tuk-tuk swerved to avoid a huge cow sitting in the middle of the road in Bikaner.

In New Zealand, the livestock outnumber the humans but, like the approximate four million inhabitants, they live in wide open spaces, free to graze freely but within their boundaries.

In India, when you drive, you are encouraged to “please horn”, so everyone does it. It’s a matter of courtesy. In New Zealand, you long to “please horn” on certain stretches of road because you are not used to being so alone.

In India, food is cooked till it’s dead and no longer resembles what you know it to look like live. It’s hard to tell a chicken from a fish masala and in Mandawa, the first place where we spent the night in a Castle, they even served potatoes made to look like mushrooms.

In New Zealand, food is best when it’s raw – salads, fruits, honey – and a lamb shank even in a Thai restaurant, cooked in massaman curry, still manages to look like a lamb shank.

In India, history reaches deep and rich – ancient forts and monuments tell the passage of time several centuries old through remarkable architecture and incredible rich art works.

In New Zealand, I visited Puhoi, a town settled in 1863 by immigrants from Bohemia – the main attraction there is the Puhoi Pub where faded photographs trace the stories of the early settlers and tourists walk away with fresh cheeses. I recommend the blues.

Yet I also found similarities.

In the desert of Jaisalmer, where we slept in tented camps under the clear night sky, I saw stars twinkling and heard only birdsong.

In far north New Zealand, in the bays of Mangonui, where I slept in a motel, I saw stars twinkling and heard the wind, sea and birdsong.

In India, what fascinated me was how orderly things managed to be despite the disorder. No rules on the roads yet people manage to find their way. Any traffic altercation, we are told, is solved in 10 minutes.

In New Zealand, you buy honey from unmanned stalls where it’s up to you to put the money into the box.

And it made me wonder if things, left to their natural order, find their own level. If you expect people to be honest, do they become so? If you allow people to solve their own problems, do they?

India’s a nation of shopkeepers, traders and craftsmen. Like the caravan traders of old who used to ply this spice route we were travelling on, there’s always someone making, selling, trading something. In cities, people work hard. In the countryside, people work hard. It’s all out there for you to see.

New Zealand’s a nation of entrepreneurs and farmers. The wide open spaces lend themselves to agriculture and because it’s such a small population and so isolated, people have to create their own jobs.

I found cottage industries in both countries to be creative and noble. Outside Bikaner, we visited a village known for its carpet weaving and met a man who was taught his craft by his father who in turn was taught by his father. He showed us how it’s done and then opened up a book. “You know Richard Gere?” he asked. On our nodding, he shows us a photo of Mr Pretty Woman with him. Smashing Pumpkins, Prince Charles and Camilla, you name them, he’s got them.

He runs the cooperative and proceeds go towards the weavers who make the carpets.

At Mangonui Motel, my friend, the late Intan Myer built up a thriving business of glass beads and ran workshops teaching the craft to the community. Some of her beads have been donated as Beads of Courage to a local charity looking after children with cancer.

In 2012, I believe we in travel and tourism will see a rising force of entrepreneurship break the rules, change the game and touch hearts throughout Asia. Whether they are creating their own start-ups or working within huge corporations, it will be folks who are prepared to take risks, push the boundaries and challenge themselves that will stand out.

And thus, I enter 2012 inspired by my travels across extreme worlds and infused with the spirit of the late Christopher Hitchens and Intan.

Hitchens was a prolific writer who had the ability to write for many but to make you feel as though he was writing only for you and Intan had grace and compassion as her memorial so beautifully encapsulated.

Happy New Year.

Will 2012 be the year of contextualized digital experiences?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s that time of year when everyone is posting about 2012 and giving us their predictions and thoughts on a myriad of topics and trends.

Perhaps, when it comes to trends, it’s technology, Social Media and mobile that still manages to grab headlines. It’s the speed of development and the accessibility that most of us now have to these developments that means the trends, the ideas and the developments are so meaningful. We really are living through a revolution, folks.

One article caught my idea where the author talked about ‘Transmedia’

- As social media goes beyond mere blogging and photo/video/music posts—it’s swiftly moving to become a platform to integrate an “experience” into the marketing schema -Transmedia is essentially a means of telling a story by using surrounding context to determine the meaning for a participant.

I’ve been reading about transmedia for a number of years now and have heard several related definitions and views. I’m not here to come up with my own but, when reading the above article, a couple of words jumped out at me – ‘experience’ and ‘context’.

We’ve reached a point now where it might be reasonable to say that some basic level has been reached by some when it comes to using Social Media – there are some who have quite sensible integrated (in a way) campaigns and have a good grasp of what they are trying to achieve. Others continue to struggle and some still are yet to be convinced.

We see Social Media references everywhere. I commented some time ago about some organizations only promoting their facebook pages. Facebook logos and page addresses are everywhere now. I just returned to Singapore from an extended stay in London and it’s commonplace now to see Twitter hashtags promoted at the beginning of TV programmes.

There has also been activity from some on Foursquare, Instagram and other peripheral sites and YouTube and Vimeo have been used to host video content. All this and still we have the ‘old’ websites – the relevance of which I suggest will increasingly be the subject of debate. (It’s still a favorite question of mine to pose to Social Media panels – ‘Website OR Facebook page’)

As we move into 2012 I predict that we shall see some brands and organizations beginning to create integrated and, to go back to my words above, campaigns and engagement with a focus on a great experience driven from a position of context.

Each Social Media channel has its own opportunities and limitations. There is (amongst many) the immediacy of Twitter, the huge potential reach of Facebook and, for the time being, the obligatory need to be recognized by Google when it comes to search.

As consumers we have relationships with brands that form a journey with distinct phases and stops along the way. Sometimes we are searching from a relatively uninformed position – sometimes with a low price as our key criteria and other times with more aspirational and emotive drivers.

Sometimes we can be heavily influenced by others who have used a product or service and we might reach a point when we too want to shout about how good something was or rant about a poor experience. There are times when I need to be inspired by rich content and times when I don’t. Sometimes I really don’t care about how nice the hotel rooms are, I just want to know how to get there and what time the restaurant opens. And then there’s my propensity to buy again and to evangelize.

I hope, in 2012, we see some examples where brands really begin to understand our brand-journeys and begin to really use channels where the context of my engagement at that specific point on the journey is both recognized and understood.

Providing me with relevant information delivered via an appropriate Social Media channel formatted for the right device at the right time will get noticed.

It will distinguish itself as a desirable experience and I will make room for it and them in my (unfortunately rather limited) attention stream.

Integrated campaigns used to mean re-purposing the same visuals and messages for TV, print and various below the line channels. It’s far more complicated than that now and with the complication comes the opportunity for truly innovative experience creation.

It will mean a deep understanding of the customer and their needs and desires at every point along the engagement journey. And then it will be a case of (putting it far too simply) what can brands do - with what, how often, on what and when.

It’s then and only then will there be some kind of (although I don’t generally like the word) synergy between how they are communicating and how we want to be communicated with. These special connections are instantly recognizable by consumers and, to quote from a film. ‘more powerful than you can possible imagine’.

I really believe we are just scratching the surface and to talk about Social Media and mobile in terms of maturity or saturation is totally wrong.

We are on countless journeys of engagement with hundreds of brands, products and services.

The overriding journey of how digital and mobile might make some of those are more special than others has only just begun.

How to make social media rock for you in 2012

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The world of social media is evolving and how you use it should also change if you want it to rock your world. Here are some tips.

1 Don't focus on fans, but friends of fans

Brands trying to get business only out of fans are like businesses trying to only sell to their employees... or specifically, their sales and marketing team. The whole point of having fans is that they're so excited about your brands that they would let their friends know about you -- friends that otherwise could be very difficult (and expensive) to reach! So instead of trying to get your fans to buy, give them a reason to refer their friends to try what you have to offer with their blessing! There are way more friends of fans than fans anyway.

2 Monitor both evergreen and real-time content

Some brands focus on evergreen content (e.g. reviews on TripAdvisor) whereas other brands focus on real-time chatter (e.g. what are they talking about on Weibo or Twitter). As a brand manager, you need both. Evergreen content is content that convinces/dissuades people to buy, and real-time content is the buzz that has to do with your brand reputation at the moment. Brands that focus too much on one or the other are driving with only one headlight on: dangerous in most situations. If a brand is still wondering whether they should be monitoring social media or not... hope luck is on their side. But we all know hope is not a strategy.

3 Engagement kicks up another level: videos and games

Text and photos from brands won't be enough anymore. The standards of how to engage, unfortunately, isn't set by your competitors in travel, but by Hollywood and the likes of global CPG brands. This means that if you want to keep your fans, you will need to be more creative, innovative, so as not to be mind-numbing. Content will have to evolve to a more entertaining form, video, and interactivity has to be more engaging, like games. Being "me too" for category leaders will surely decrease brand status, even if your brand built itself on being "classic and traditional" and are using that as a reason to not innovate. Chanel and Louis Vuitton are "classic and traditional" brands, each over 100 years old, but they're being adventurous and bold in engaging new consumers -- always have, and this is why their brands endure. So don't hide behind having a tradition; it will just dead-end at the brand graveyard for not being relevant for these times.

4 Train your people to deal with emergencies in social media

Have your communications people been trained yet? Whether it's emergency caused by brand reputation damage, natural-made or man-made catastrophes, have your people trained to deal with this new media. If you make your people go through PR training, then they should go through social media training. It's a much larger audience, the nature of the social media beast is different, and in an emergency, you won't have time to sit around and think about what to do... so how to participate in this medium has to be instinctive by then. And if you think that catastrophe can't happen in your location, think again. #OccupyWallStreet, #LondonRiot, #Urumuqui. Need more examples?

5 Get to know your Gen Y Influencers -- Gen Y are here.

The oldest Gen Ys are now 30, and there are more Gen Ys than there are Gen Xs. They already comprise of more than 50% of your workforce, and soon, they will be the majority of your customers. It's time to stop waiting for them to grow up, because they have grown up. Gen Y's values and expectations are complex, especially when you take geographic and cultural variables into account. And while they want to be treated like individuals, they can turn into powerful angry mobs capable of overthrowing governments and institutional practices (e.g. #NoMoreBankFees anyone?) Get to know them. They hold the future of your business in their hands.

Radical rethink on how companies manage travel in 2012

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

As business around the world gets to grips with forecasting for the New Year in the midst of economic uncertainty, companies must embrace change to maximise their travel resources, says Hogg Robinson Group (HRG).  

Stewart Harvey, HRG group commercial director, said the economic outlook was driving companies to seek new business and this means prioritising markets with the healthiest prospects for growth. This means that organisations will spend differently when it comes to travel.   

"Clients will be looking for greater control over travel options in traditional markets through smarter travel and travel alternatives for internal meetings, such as video conferencing. Money saved can then be reallocated to allow greater focus on growing and emerging markets where the opportunity for new business is strongest such as China, India and Brazil."

 As corporations look to control costs, HRG predicts most travel managers will be under pressure to look more closely at travel and expense authorisation before trips are made.   

Responsibility for authorising travel typically falls to line-managers but, as they too are likely to be travellers, there will be an increased demand for technologies, which extend across desktop and mobile devices.

With corporations increasingly focused on accurate forecasts for total trip costs before travel is authorised, HRG expects the travel industry to once again come under pressure to provide greater transparency and standardisation for ancillary fees.   

HRG believes demand for business travel will remain healthy in 2012, but expects suppliers to stay conservative in their outlook, controlling inventory and capacity in an endeavour to minimise exposure to risk.   

"There have been tremendous swings in travel demand over the last few years. The current economic situation makes it very difficult for industry suppliers to make firm predictions, so we fully expect them to err on the side of caution,"    said Harvey.

Projected annual growth figures from the Global Business Travel Association(GBTA) show that travel is expected to increase by 11.2% in China, 10.8% in India and 7% in Brazil. Correspondingly, HRG has witnessed strong focus on Asia and the Middle East, with growing interest in countries in Africa and Latin America

Online shopping popular among Indians

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The latest report by comScore Media Metrix service on visitation to the top retail and coupon sites in India found that nearly 60% of online users in India, or 27.2 million, visited a retail site in November 2011.

Coupon sites are also rapidly gaining in popularity, with 16.5% of the Indian online population visiting the category in the same month, with Snapdeal.com and Mydala.com being the most popular.

Kedar Gavane, comScore director for India, said the online channel was playing an increasingly important role in connecting retailers with potential customers in India. "To take advantage of this growing opportunity retailers must ensure they are addressing the needs of potential customers, which include attractive pricing and the convenience of ordering online."

The rapid growth of online coupon sites also suggests that consumers in India are looking for deals, thus retailers have to adopt effective marketing and pricing strategies for their goods. he added.

Top retail sub-categories

Coupons was the largest with 7.6 million visitors, an increase of 629% from the previous year followed by consumer electronics with 7.1 million visitors (+12%), while 5.8 million online users visited comparison shopping sites (+25%).

Amazon, Apple top retail sites

Amazon led as the top retail site in India with 6.8 million visitors, or 14.7% of the online population. Apple.com has 3.4 million visitors, followed by the Samsung Group with 2.8 million visitors. Other top retail destinations included Flipkart.com (2.7 million visitors), HomeShop18.com (2.3 million visitors) and Naaptol.com (2.1 million visitors).

Snapdeal.com, Mydala.com lead coupon category

Snapdeal.com led the category with 5.2 million visitors, followed by Mydala.com with 1.4 million visitors and Crazeal.com with 1 million visitors.

Ctrip.com taps Pegasus' global commission processing

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

China’s Ctrip.com has tapped Pegasus Solutions for its market-leading Global Commission Processing.

The world’s third largest online travel agency (OTA), which is also the largest OTA in the ASPAC market, will utilize the preferred financial service to consolidate commission payments from Pegasus’ member hotels globally.

Ctrip’s hotel reservation network includes more than 40,000 hotels worldwide, and is used by over 50 million registered users to book hotels each year. Promising more ease in the payout process, the agreement brings greater scale and connectivity to hotels doing business with Ctrip, according to Eva Huang, director overseas hotel partnerships for Ctrip.

“As one of the largest players in one of the largest markets in the world for outbound travel, hotels already have an incentive to do business with Ctrip,” said Huang. “In addition to giving them an audience of 50 million registered users, we can now alleviate any extra steps necessary by consolidating commission payments with Pegasus.”

Pegasus Global Commission Processing processes in excess of $500 million in commissions annually, serving more than 35,000 properties, as well as the majority of travel distributors in over 200 countries.

“By 2012, online travel bookings in China are expected to reach nearly $8 billion,” added Rachel Grier, vice president, business development ASPAC for Pegasus Solutions. “Hotels recognize this opportunity, but may face challenges of distribution and payment as remittance into RMB can be difficult. This agreement with Ctrip addresses both of these issues.”

Connie Rheams, senior vice president, global strategic sales for Pegasus Solutions also added, “Pegasus reported in the November 2011 The Pegasus View that recovery in Asia-Pacific is being driven by countries like China. Its powerful economy and travel industry continues to grow, and as it does, market leaders like Ctrip are adopting proven tools, like Global Commission Processing Services, to realize the most opportunities.”

Predictions for 2012, Part 1

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

As the year winds to an end, WIT asks its panel of experts to look into their crystal ball and tell us what lies ahead.

Fritz Demopoulos, Former CEO, Qunar

China

1. We'll see a continued shift to online sales vs offline sales, direct-to-consumer vs third-party agency sales, leisure travel vs business, & international vs domestic.

2. We'll see the rise of the barbell market, ie a massive increase in high-end/luxury/international travelers while at the same time a massive increase in first-time/price sensitive/domestic travelers.

3. If there is a macro-economic slowdown, it's uncertain how big of an impact the slowdown, or hard landing, will have on leisure travel. Worst case, we'll see a steep drop in demand. Best case, consumer spending will prove to be robust as saving rates are relatively high and consumer debt is relatively low.

Asia Pacific

1. We'll see a number of Ctrip clones, ie offline/online hybrids, emerge in various markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Pakistan.

2. We'll continue to see the multi-market/supplier friendly approach by Booking.com and Agoda do well in the region.

3. Singapore, along with Beijing, will emerge to become another Asian Silicon Valley.

Morris Sim, CEO & Co-founder, Circos Brand Karma 

1. Mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs for major social media players   This prediction isn't so much surprise as to the extent to which I think this will happen in 2012. Social media has matured to becoming a powerful communication form for people and an engaging platform for brands – which means there's a lot of money and the goal for any player is to get more information on more people doing more things. Global economic woes may actually facilitate more M&A activities – and services that are B2B are as attractive as B2C. So watch for lots of activities in this area, and for services to integrate and improve for customers and brands alike.

2. Videos and games are the "it" engagement

Having just a fan page is now just a hygiene factor. Using good old text and photos won't be enough, particularly for brands that have been engaging with fans for a while. To keep their attention, videos and games are the next interactive frontier, and contest and promotions will get bigger and more creative to maintain the attention of fans. A golden age of mini-brand interactivity will begin in 2012, and it will initially benefit players with existing infrastructure like Facebook, but look for others to catch up, as well as to integrate SNS with microsites – yes, they'll be back again.

Brett Henry, Vice President Marketing and Vice President India, Abacus International

1. 2012 is the year of Indonesian Online Travel

One to two organization will be the clear online leaders in the Indonesian market - and going forward they will be difficult to catch. My money is on the local teams.

2. 2012 will also be the year of regional acquisitions

Large regionals (Ctrip, MakeMyTrip, Yatra) will continue to make acquisitions to both expand to new markets as well as better service their customers on the ground at key destinations. These players have reached serious scale – sending hundreds of thousands of customers per year to single destinations. Targeting acquisitions in these markets provides benefits for these organizations across multiple dimensions.

Patrick Andres, Vice President-Asia Pacific, Sabre Hospitality Solutions

1. Mobile will emerge from the direct-to-property (online web) "bucket" to truly become its own distribution channel. Sales and Marketing, eCommerce and Revenue Management professionals will discover that mobile users have their own characteristics and tastes, they search for different products, they have very different shopping and booking behaviors. In 2012 hoteliers will start to manage their mobile channel in a very different way than they do with their web-direct channel.

2. There will be some consolidation in the OTA space in Asia-Pacific. Today we still have a very focused regional presence, where we see different local OTA dominate in one market/country. I would not be surprised to see some regional players acquire, merge or partner cross regionally. That will lead to the emergence of one or more likely a few truly cross-regional Asia-Pacific OTA. At the same time hoteliers will continue to invest in their direct-to-property strategy to try to better balance their direct versus indirect on-line volumes.

Predictions for 2012, Part 2

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Gerry Samuels, CEO, Mobile Travel Technologies Limited

1. Every cloud has a silver lining.

In 2012 more and more travellers (even business travellers) of the Apple persuasion will leave the laptop at home in favour of the iPad and/or iPhone. With Apple iCloud, travel app developers can seamlessly synch data across iPad, iPhone and desktop. Data can persist not only across apps and devices, but across stages of the travel experience. Images, plans, itineraries and maps dreamed up on the iPad version of an app could be transferred instantly to the iPhone version of the app. At the end of a day of site-seeing, photos taken with the iPhone could be instantly available to the iPad app for documenting the trip and social sharing. Key documents like boarding passes, schedules and directions could be with travellers when they need them - no matter where they are or which device they’re using.

2. They’re mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore.

A functional mobile website used to amaze. The mere existence of a mobile app was once enough to enchant a customer. No more. More than 70% of people expect a mobile app to be easier to use than a full featured website. And many of them are frustrated and disappointed. Consumers are increasingly demanding high quality mobile user experiences and design, and they are increasingly unwilling to tolerate anything less than the best. 2012 will see mobile user fatigue and brands losing loyal customers to competitors who simply offer a better mobile experience.

Dan Lynn, managing director, Expedia/AirAsia

1. Google will not turn the online travel industry on its head. It will innovate, do some very smart (and scary) things, but its product will have holes, and will not be capable of delivering every aspect of the online travel process (or even attempt to). Like OTAs 10 years ago and meta 5 years ago it will find a place, creating challenges but also new opportunities for smart companies.

2. Japan will undergo a travel revolution as low cost carriers shake up its massive travel market, and spur a new wave of travel and exploration, and finally reverse some of the stereotypes about the low numbers of Japanese youth traveling abroad. This will kick of a wave of innovation from existing airlines, agents and ecommerce companies in marketing, distribution and creative partnerships in one of the world's most innovative ecommerce landscapes.

And as a third, but it needs stating:

3. The online travel market will continue to flourish in Asia! No matter how much European's sling mud at each other as the recriminations over the debt crisis intensify, or US politicians indulge in their own mud-slinging, Asia's economies will motor on, and in particular, the irresistible urge of finding great deals, and new travel options, while sat in your pajamas in the comfort of your own home (or increasingly while sat on the bus on your Android) will drive the online travel markets to new levels in every Asian market.

Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic, Japan
1. Mobile will account close to 40% of the total online hotel bookings at the end of year.
2. LCCs will boost the domestic flight demand by 10％(vs.around 1% as average growth ratio for the last several years.)

Robert Rosenstein, CEO, Agoda
1. Expect another year of force majeure with natural disasters, economic volatility and pockets of political upheaval in APAC.
2. The shift to online will continue gather steam as customers who once booked offline discover and embrace an increasingly social online travel space.

Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Global
1. It is going to be a difficult year for many airlines, especially in Europe, with some failures
2. Employee militancy is increasing and is likely to be more disruptive than usual, in tough economic conditions

Asia Pacific
1. Air India will probably continue unresolved - but hopefully not
2. Chinese airlines will become much more active internationally
3. British Airways will take a stake in Malaysia Airlines
4. Cathay Pacific will stay in oneworld....
5. Qantas will enter a new partnership

Ali Yilmaz, Head of Travel, Google South-east Asia
1. Increased competition in the OTA space with global players trying to get a piece of the market. 
2. Something big will happen in the air travel space. It has been a very quiet year in terms of digital marketing although the competition gets fierce every other day.

Yeoh Siew Hoon, Editor & Co-founder, Web In Travel
1. Year of the Dragon will be a fiery year for low cost carriers in Asia. Everyone’s now jumping into the fray with names ranging from Scoot to PEACH and Smile. Let’s just say it won’t be peachy for many and there won’t be a lot of smiles either. The AirAsia + Malaysia Airlines marriage will be turbulent at best; AirAsia X and Scoot will be at each other’s throats and Jetstar ups the game in Asia given its mothership’s problems at home.

2. More local heroes will emerge across the region – watch Indonesia and South Korea – as entrepreneurs carve out deep, local, mobile niches.

Positive image of tsunami-hit Khao Lak, pricing and access remain challenges

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A survey of holidaymakers in the beach destination of Khao Lak in Thailand shows that the December 26, 2004 tsunami is no longer a significant factor in tourists' perception of the area. Costs and travel time seem to be dampening modern demand more than any negative feelings about the disaster.  

The QUO Intelligence survey conducted among 206 tourists, business people and residents in Khao Lak in October 2011 showed that the more knowledge about the tsunami that tourists had, the more positive the perception of modern Khao Lak as a desirable holiday destination.

"The Andaman coast is not perceived as dangerous in terms of the threat of natural disasters. And the more individuals know of the Indian Ocean tsunami of seven years ago, the more favourable is the perception of the Khao Lak area today," said David Keen, CEO of QUO Keen (pictured below), the tourism strategy consultancy in Bangkok that conducted the survey.

Some 80% of the respondents said that the tsunami had "low" to "no" effect on their current travel decisions. Only 4% said that the 2004 tsunami legacy still had a major effect on whether to holiday in Khao Lak or not.

Some 93% of Europeans/Westerners and more than 84% of Thais surveyed dismissed the notion that the Andaman coast of Khao Lak is potentially dangerous because of natural disasters.

While the tsunami's legacy does not greatly sway modern travel decisions, knowledge of the 2004 tsunami remains high. Of the 206 tourists surveyed, approximately 80% described their knowledge of the catastrophe as "medium" to "high". Of that knowledgeable group, 63% said that the tsunami of seven years ago had "low" to "no" negative effect on their modern day travel plans.

Following the loss of about 4,000 lives in the Khao Lak area on December 26, 2004, fear of "ghosts" was rumoured to be a reason why some Thais preferred to stay away. The survey suggests fear of ghosts was a misleading argument. Some 78% of Thai tourists in the QUO Keen survey stated they would still travel to places where tragedies or natural disasters occurred. This compares to 79% of Europeans/Westerners and 88% of other Asians surveyed.

Concerns were more practical. Only 21% of Thais cited Khao Lak's attraction as being "value for money".

By 200" Khao Lak visitor numbers, driven primarily by a high degree of destination loyalty among Europeans, were back up to pre-tsunami levels. However, arrival numbers fell again in 2008 with the global economic slowdown in Western markets.

"Ordinary considerations such as travel logistics and expense appear to be much more influential today," said Keen. "While the tsunami's legacy remains, it no longer seems to be a major factor. In our opinion, the time appears right for people and businesses to take a fresh look at Khao Lak and invest in its future."

The full QUO intelligence survey on Khao Lak Thailand can be downloaded or read online here.

No more flag-waving group tours for Chinese tourists

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The days of groups of Chinese tourists following their tour guides around to the world could well become a thing of the past, according to the latest ITB World Travel Trends Report.

Young and wealthy Chinese citizens, fascinated by technology and with a desire to experience individual forms of travel, are no longer taking the kind of trips once popular with many Chinese people.

Chinese citizens’ travel habits are undergoing huge change and the international travel industry must tailor its services to meet the demands of China’s new generation of tourists.

Chinese speaking staff, typical Chinese dishes, and communicating via China’s popular social media channels could well be the recipes for success, said the report.

The demand is for high-quality service rather than low-cost group tours. China’s tourists want to experience individual travel. While visiting as many attractions as possible remains an important part of a tour, relaxation and entertainment have now moved further up the wish list.

Shopping is still one of the favourite activities of Chinese travellers, with the average amount of money they spend per visit reaching double-digit figures.

ITB advised tour operators should also take the needs and habits of Chinese people into account on their websites. Individual information pertaining to the market as well as links to Chinese search engines, such as Baidu, are what is required, instead of simply translating one’s own content.

Websites should be hosted in China to enable a quick response to any censorship activities. They should not contain any links to websites, which are banned in China, such as Facebook or YouTube.

For Chinese people, taking their specific cultural aspects into account is equivalent to affording someone respect, whereas for many Chinese tourists a website that ignores their needs is tantamount to a bad travel experience.

As for China’s young generation of digital natives, social media, online bookings and mobile technologies are indispensable tools for planning and booking trips.

Those who wish to travel abroad make use of online media to prepare in detail and to obtain information on their travel destination, and after a trip they share their experiences with other community members on the web.

Ninety-two percent of China's Internet users go on social networking sites, around twice as many as in Europe or the US.

The report surmised that the Chinese, with their continuing desire to travel, is becoming one of the world’s main source markets for tourism.

According to estimates by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 66 million Chinese citizens travelled abroad this year, 15% more than in 2010.

IPK’s Asian Travel Monitor expects that by end 2011 Chinese citizens will have undertaken around 18 million trips with overnight stays to destinations abroad. The most popular countries in Europe for Chinese holidaymakers are Germany and France.

South Korea, rising tourism star

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Amadeus has predicted that South Korea will be a market to watch in 2012 for both inbound and outbound travel growth.

According to the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), Korea has already registered a record number of visitor arrivals for 2011 - nine million visitor arrivals as of December 1, exceeding 2010 arrivals by one million.

Growth can be attributed to a sharp rise in visitor numbers from mainland China, which have increased by 17% this year to exceed two million for the first time.

David Brett, president of Amadeus Asia Pacific, said that South Korea is making significant advancements in its travel infrastructure, which is helping to drive growth in the travel sector.

"While it may not yet rival markets such as China and India in terms of travel volumes, it is certainly making some major leaps forward and should continue to do so in 2012, despite global economic concerns," he added.

According to Amadeus, there are four key drivers of South Korea's travel industry growth:

Rise in popularity of Korean culture

South Korea has attracted a growing number of international visitors in recent years due to a growing appreciation for Korean culture, fashion, music and food. This phenomenon is known as the "Korean Wave", or "Hallyu". "K-pop" (Korean music) is a major contributor to this trend. A June 2011 concert in Paris by a group of K-pop artists sold out in less than 15 minutes and mobs of fans rallied to demand additional shows.

The Korea Creative Content Agency predicted that export earnings from Korean content such as TV dramas, music and games would reach US$3.8 billion in 2011, a 14% increase over last year

Improvements in domestic transport infrastructure

More services on the Korea Train Express (KTX) and new bus transit systems have made domestic travel easier and more affordable for South Koreans and foreign visitors. These transport improvements also help to make travel to and from airports more convenient.

At the beginning of 2011 a direct rail link was opened to transport travellers from Incheon International Airport straight to downtown Seoul. The South Korean government also unveiled plans to invest US$15 billion to upgrade railway systems over the next ten years, to reduce travel time between almost any two South Korean cities to less than 90 minutes.

For bus commuters in Seoul, new smartphone technology at bus stations allows them to scan a barcode for instant information on departure times in English, Chinese or Japanese.

Expansion of low cost carrier market

Local and international low cost carriers (LCC) have expanded their routes to include more South Korean arrivals and departures, and new entrants are forcing more competitive pricing.

Domestic LCC carriers in 2010 grew by 42%, while growth for full service carriers for the same period was flat.The combination of more flights at cheaper prices is encouraging more budget-conscious travellers to book flights, both to and from South Korea.

Technology advancements

South Korea is known worldwide as a high-tech hub.The advanced technology at Seoul’s Incheon Airport has already helped to secure its place as one of the world’s best, with the airport ranking third in the 2011 World Airport Awards.

TOPAS, the leading provider of advanced technology solutions for Korean travel agencies, is also working with Amadeus to develop a next-generation technology system for travel professionals. Once migration is complete in early 2014, this new system will provide the highest levels of content and functionality available in the market.

Watching online videos popular among billions worldwide

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The inaugural data on worldwide online video viewing from comScore Video Metrix service found that in October 2011 nearly 1.2 billion people, aged 15 and older, watched 201.4 billion videos online globally from a home or work location.

"As global broadband connectivity continues to rise, online video viewing has taken off in a big way and has become a fully integrated component of the digital content experience," said Dan Piech, comScore product manager for video.

Google sites, Youku and VEVO lead global online video rankings

Google sites led as the top global video property with 88.3 billion videos viewed during the month, or 43.8% of all videos watched globally. YouTube.com was the key driver of video viewing on these sites, accounting for more than 99% of videos watched.

China-based Youku was the second largest video property globally with 4.6 billion videos (2.3%). VEVO followed with 3.7 billion videos (1.8%).

About 2.6 billion videos were watched on Facebook.com (1.3%), followed by Japan-based Dwango Co. with 2.5 billion videos viewed (1.2%).

Canadians watch most videos, Turkey has highest video penetration

Viewers in Canada and the U.S. averaged the highest number of videos per viewer in October, at 303 videos and 286 videos respectively, UK 268 videos, Turkey and Germany 250 videos each.

Turkey has the highest video penetration with 93.6% of Internet users in the country participating in this activity. Canada followed with 90.9% of web users consuming videos.

Markets in Latin America showed lower overall engagement with online videos compared to their counterparts in other regions. Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have the highest penetration.

Tipping point looming for cruise distribution and marketing

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Attending the first Cruise Shipping Asia conference in Singapore last month, I sense a tipping point looming for cruise distribution and marketing in the region. There are a couple of reasons why I believe this is so.

One, the competition is intensifying. While the industry remains largely supply-driven, dominated by a handful of big players, the traditional markets of Europe and the US are being challenged and Asia has become the new battleground for new customers and fresh itineraries.

Two, new markets and new customers create opportunities for even the most established and traditional companies to do something new. And customers from Asia are a digitally-savvy lot.

Three, new technology (think virtual, 3-D), rich media and an increasingly interactive and social web will allow cruise companies to create the right user experience to give customers more confidence and trust to book online.

Currently, cruise companies remain largely traditional in their distribution and marketing, relying mainly on travel agents. Michael Bayley, EVP international for Royal Caribbean Cruises, said the company is heavily reliant on the trade for sales and invests vast amounts in education and training each year. “They are the bread and butter of our business.”

He however noted that the web was growing as a channel and third party producers were generating higher sales volumes each year. Brands, he added, were investing more heavily on the web.

“The web has some distance to go in terms of convincing customers to buy online. It’s more of a portal to research and plan but for an individual to book, we need to build up more trust. But it’s only a matter of time before technology changes and gives customers the comfort to book,” he said.

Said Rick Meadows, executive vice president of marketing, sales and guest programmes, Holland America Line & president, Seabourn, “The web remains a limited channel for us. Our average transaction is US$20,000 each and people are not happy to transact that via the web.”

However Brett Dudley, founder and chairman of Australia-based ecruising.travel, does not believe that cost is the obstacle. He told a panel the highest amount transacted online on his site was A$127,000. “It’s not about the amount, it’s about the trust in your brand,” he said.

The success of ecruising.travel, billed as Asia Pacific's leading cruise travel agency, would appear to put paid to the idea that cruises are hard to sell online because they are complex and costly. Dudley set up a Hong Kong office a couple of years ago in an attempt to crack the North-east Asian online cruising market and he says he has seen some success.

Christina Siaw, CEO of Singapore Cruise Centre, who worked previously with ZUJI in Hong Kong, believes the time is right for online cruising to take off in the region.

Bigger ships are coming in, Asians are discovering cruising and with online travel taking off in the region, it will only be a matter of time before travellers also book cruises online, she said.

Another factor that could push cruise brands to invest more heavily in web distribution is how successful they will be in mobilizing travel agents across Asia to sell cruises.

From remarks made by the president of Costa Crociere, Gianni Onorato, during the opening session of the conference, it is clear that he feels a stronger travel agency commitment is necessary.

He said, “When it comes to distribution, we say the customer has the ultimate decision in how they wish to book. It’s whatever they feel is most convenient and most comfortable with – whether through the web, travel agent, mobile or telephone call. Our obligation is to be there and we will invest in agents and technology to be always there for the customer.”

However he noted that creating demand in Asia was a challenge, saying advertising and marketing was more expensive in Asia than in other parts of the world. “To reach customers is very expensive.”

This is why he said cruise lines had to find the most efficient means of creating demand. “If efficiency can be achieved through travel agents, then travel agents need to decide how much they need to invest today to make a profit in the future. How many agents are ready to commit?”

He said his company would continue to invest in agent educational programmes in Asia. “But are agents ready to commit and not to wait for consumers to ask for a cruise but to sell a cruise?”

In Italy, he said Costa Cruises carries 80,000 honeymooners a year and “we have many agents specializing in this market”.

“My recommendation is to look at how the cruise business has evolved in other parts of the world, take the best practices and commit to it. A strong travel agency presence and commitment is missing.”

So my prediction for 2012 – watch out for ripples in the world of online cruising in Asia.

MAS slashes routes, capacity to cut costs

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Ailing Malaysia Airlines, will axe eight loss-making routes, or 12% of its capacity, from January 2012 as part of its latest business turnaround plan unveiled on December 7.

The affected routes are:

• Kuala Lumpur - Surabaya (B737) from January 6, 2012 

• Kuala Lumpur - Dubai (A330) from January 10, 2012 

• Kuala Lumpur - Karachi - Dubai (A330) from January 12, 2012 

• Kuala Lumpur - Dubai - Damman (A330) from January 13, 2012 

• Langkawi - Penang - Singapore (B737) from January 30, 2012 

• Kuala Lumpur - Johannesburg (B777) from January 31, 2012 

• Kuala Lumpur - Cape Town - Buenos Aires (B747) from February 1, 2012 

• Kuala Lumpur - Rome (B777) from February 2, 2012

MAS’ group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya (pictured left) said the withdrawal (of the routes) was based on the company’s own independent internal profitability and yield analysis.

"This accounts for almost 12% of our passenger capacity and we estimate that the ongoing route rationalisation will improve loads, increase yields and have a profit impact of RM220-302 million for 2012."

He added the route rationalisation would have minimal impact on Malaysia's position as a top tourist destination in Asia as the national carrier would work aggressively with our code share partners.

“Through our existing arrangements with them, we will continue to promote connectivity between Malaysia and key international destinations as well as contribute towards the overall efforts by the various authorities to increase tourist arrivals to Malaysia. We also hope to return to these markets after we have stabilised our business.”

MAS’ two-pronged strategy in its turnaround plan, through a series of cost saving and productivity measures for next year, is expected to generate savings of between RM1.2 billion and RM1.5 billion, and lead it "back to black" by 2013.

Analysts, however, were sceptical of the airline’s latest restructuring strategies, noting that MAS had yet to address operational and structural issues.

Some likened the new plan to "wine in old bottle" due to its similarities to previous turnaround exercises such as the Widespread Asset Unbundling (WAU) restructuring exercise in 2002 and the Business Turnaround Plan 1 (BTP1) in 2006, both of which involved cutting unprofitable routes and spinning off assets.

Meanwhile, the airline expresses its regrets for the inconvenience to passengers as a result of these changes and assures that it will honour all forward bookings ticketed to date on the affected routes.

"The company will make alternative carrier arrangements, at its own cost, to ensure minimum discomfort to passengers," it said.

• Photos courtesy of Malaysia Airlines

Asians want to travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A survey by OTA, Travelzoo Asia Pacific, reveals 70% of its subscribers prefe travel over luxury goods.

When asked specifically what they would give up in order to travel more a high percentage of respondents in the markets surveyed were willing to spend less on luxury goods: Australia 60%, mainland China 69%, Hong Kong 74%, Taiwan 79%, Japan 66%.

This trend indicates a major shift in consumer spending habits, with preference on travel and experiences.

Travelzoo subscribers are also upbeat about their travel prospects in 2012. About 65% in all markets across Asia Pacific expect to spend more on travel in 2012 than they did in 2011.

Australian subscribers plan to spend the most per person per leisure trip, at an average of US$2,456. They are followed by mainland Chinese at US$1,415, Hong Kongers US$969, Taiwanese US$785 and Japanese US$1,431.

In addition, Hong Kong subscribers plan to travel the most frequently, at an average of five leisure trips per year.

Travel frequency and spending in 2012

Travelzoo’s subscribers are highly flexible when it comes to travel plans - 68% of mainland Chinese, 63% of Hong Kongers and 61% of Taiwanese had booked a trip on Travelzoo when they had no plans to travel prior to seeing the recommended deal.

"According to the figure we can see a strong interest and readiness to spend more on travel, despite economic uncertainties. This is good news for the travel industry. It is a trend that will continue through 2012," said Jason Yap, CEO of Travelzoo Asia Pacific.

As for preferred destinations, 24% mainland Chinese travellers rated Australia as their top holiday destination. Japan remained the destination of choice for 41% of Hong Kongers and 46% of Taiwanese. Domestic travel topped the list for 45% of Australians and 37% of Japanese travellers.

Top five destinations by markets

Beach holidays are most popular among mainland Chinese (61%), followed by well-being vacations (31%) and self-drive vacations (30%). Hot Spring and spa resorts, beachfront hotels and resorts ranked top for accommodation choices.

These trends show a strong demand for high-end vacations by Chinese travellers who have an average monthly personal income of US$1,560. This is three times higher than the national average of RMB3,096 (US$486) per month in non-private sectors.

Top five holidays by markets

APAC enjoys rise in tourist arrivals

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Statistics from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) show a 6% increase in international visitor arrivals to Asia Pacific destinations for September 2011.

For the first nine months of this year all Asia Pacific sub-regions maintained a positive performance, although at different levels of growth: South Asia +14%, Southeast Asia +12%, Northeast Asia +4%, The Pacific +1%

• South Asia: Led the pack in September with an 11% increase. It added nearly 60,000 more international visitors to the sub-region over the corresponding period last year. Arrivals from Asia to Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka increased significantly in both volume and growth rate.

The number of arrivals from Asian origin markets, supported by strong demand from China and India, was well above that of the European generating markets for the fifth consecutive month.This was also influenced by a downturn in arrivals from the UK and Italy to various South Asia destinations.

• Southeast Asia: Registered a relatively slower growth rate of 9% in September driven, in part, by a strong negative performance by Vietnam (-13%). Even so, the growth rates into all other destinations remained relatively strong, evident from the individual country performances: Myanmar (+25%), Thailand (+23%), Cambodia (+21%), Indonesia (+16%), the Philippines (+15%) and Singapore (+9%). Malaysia is still unable to release arrivals figures for 2011 because of difficulties with a new immigration system.

• Northeast Asia: Showed moderate growth for September with a collective gain of 5% year-on-year. Foreign arrivals into specific destinations were very strong: Korea ROK (+19%), Macau SAR (+18%), Hong Kong SAR (+17%), Chinese Taipei (+10%). At the other end of the spectrum, however, China saw another relatively passive month of weak demand (+0.5%). Foreign inbound traffic into Japan continued to improve progressively (-25%), but still very slowly.

Year-to-date growth in arrivals to this sub-region remains slower at 4% following a very strong increase of 12% in the January to September period of 2010. This downward shift reflects some softening in travel demand to the sub-region that can be attributed, at least in part, to the continuing uncertainty associated with radiation in Japan.

• The Pacific: Travel demand remained sluggish during September with arrivals to the sub-region growing by only 1%. Growth for was supported by the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, which saw an increase of +26% in foreign arrivals. However, this event was in part responsible for dampening outbound from New Zealand to Australia, resulting in an overall decline of 9% for Australia during September.

Most Pacific island nations recorded year-on-year increases in international arrivals for the month of September. The only exceptions were the Northern Marianas (-15%), Samoa (-14%), Guam (-6%) and the Cook Islands (-1%).

"International arrivals momentum into the Asia/Pacific region continues to hold at a relatively strong average rate of around 6%," said Martin Craigs, PATA CEO. "The rising tide is not, however, lifting all boats equally. A few Asia Pacific destinations are facing difficulties and experiencing contracting numbers of visitors."

Wego launches 'Popular Search' feature in Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Singapore-based travel site Wego has launched what it says is a revolutionary ‘popular search’ and Singapore customers are the first in the world to enjoy the new criterion in the search for travel online.

The ‘popular search’ on the wego.com.sg site enables Singaporeans to view destinations and accommodation ranked according to what is considered interesting, well-placed and well-priced by their peers.

The new popularity ranking presents options based on a complex algorithm that tracks in real-time the aggregate hotel and flight searches conducted by Singapore’s travellers. The technology is possible because Wego is a neutral travel metasearch site that collates and compares rates and fares from hundreds of other sites, like Agoda, Chan Brothers, Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia, Air Asia and Expedia.com.sg to name a few.

Singapore’s choices in all categories show that the population is well-travelled, experimental and price conscious, making it the perfect group to follow. The company says first time travellers should therefore find the ‘Popular With Singaporeans’ rankings useful and reassuring.

Singaporean users of Wego.com.sg are most frequently searching for options to Bangkok at present, followed by Hong Kong and Taipei. Bangkok hotels most popular with Singaporeans are currently:

Amari Watergate
Baiyoke Sky Hotel
President Palace
Arnoma Hotel
Centara Grand @ Central World Hotel
Grand Diamond Suites Pratunam Hotel
Pathumwan Princess Hotel
Centre Point Petchburi Hotel
Citin Pratunam Hotel
Novotel Bangkok On Siam Square

Popular search is not, however, the only innovation in the new look Wego.com.sg. Singapore is also the launch platform for a dramatically different form of calendar search for flights. Users clicking to indicate they have flexible dates can view a graphic illustrating which are the cheapest days to fly. Aptly named DateWise™ identifies the lowest fares on any given day across any given month on single or return flights - for all carriers, including the budget airlines. It can save travellers hundreds of dollars on a fare.

To illustrate, the 14^th, 18^th and 26^th of January are the cheapest days of the month to fly from Singapore to Bangkok and the 13^th and 18^th are the cheapest to return. Scheduling a day-trip for Wednesday 18^th would therefore be well advised.

As Dean Wicks, Head of Marketing at Wego commented: “In combination, these new features give Wego users a near perfect view of the global market for travel, but from the local perspective. The aim is to ensure Singaporeans save time, pay less and so can enjoy travel a lot more. We are very excited to be launching here first.”

Pegasus Solutions launches OpenFlex

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

OpenFlex, a mobile website design solution, allows hotels to deliver promotional offers correctly formatted for any mobile device.

By expanding the hotel booking choices hotels can offer guests, OpenFlex ensures hotels are capable of seizing business opportunities wherever consumers are comfortable making their accommodation bookings, said David Millili, chief executive officer of Open Hospitality and chief web officer for Pegasus Solutions (pictured left).

This also eliminates the chance of wasting precious consumer attention.

"Displaying a desktop version of a special offer website on a handheld smartphone has the potential to frustrate the consumer, who won’t book as a result. OpenFlex, combined with our powerful mobile booking engine, instead allows mobile bookers to quickly access promotional information through their preferred point of contact, and even allows them to add extra items to their room booking, such as food and beverage or event tickets

Tapping mobile for revenue generation is imperative for hotels, he added as, according to industry reports, the number of US consumers using mobile for travel research will increase from 19.7 million in 2010 to 29.7 million in 2012,

Additionally, the number of guests who will start booking travel via mobile is expected to double to 15.1 million in 2012.

"The time is right to expand our focus on the growth of online mobile purchases, as well as social media access,” Millili said. "At the hotel, it’s all about creating comfort in the stay. In selling, it’s all about creating comfort in the booking process with the same revenue-generating features the hotel is accustomed to providing via desktop versions of their website."

Taj spreads its luxury wings

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

India-based luxury hotel group, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, is as synonymous in India as the Taj Mahal. It is, however, fast acquiring a global presence through rapid expansion of its hotel portfolio.

The expansion will see a large increase in its domestic and international portfolio of 100 properties, which is spread out in 53 locations across India and in countries such as the US, UK, Africa, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Key areas that Taj is looking at to expand its global presence are China, the Middle East (where it already has a few hotels), Thailand and Morocco.

Pictured left: Baghvan Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India

In China, two properties, developed by the Zhong Qi Group, are slated for "future" openings. The 106-room Taj Palace of Heaven, Beijing is located next to the iconic UNESCO World Heritage site of the Temple of Heaven. On Hainan Island the Taj Palace, Hainan is a 500-key resort with 40 villas spread over 60 acres of land.

In Dubai the Taj group will manage the Taj Exotic Resort & Spa, Palm Jumeirah; in Doha the Taj Exoica Golf Resort and Spa; in Abu Dhabi Taj Resort & Spa, Yas Island (opening 2013).

Earmarked for 2012 openings are two properties in Morocco – Taj Palace, Marrakech and Taj Resort & Spa Tangiers. In the same year the Taj Exotica Spa & Resort Phuket in Thailand is due to open.

The group has no plans currently to expand its range of luxury hotels to regional cities such Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, said Ivy Ong, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces’ regional director of sales. (pictured right).

"There are already too many international brands and five star luxury hotels in these cities. Taj will instead concentrate on other international destinations and opening in the inners cities in India such as Bombay, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore."

Vivanta by Taj, launched in September 2010 with hotels in several Indian cities, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, plans to grow its room inventory to 5,000 from the current 2,500 over the next two years. Among the destinations earmarked for this luxury brand are Srinagar, Kashmir, Coorg, Karnataka and Bekal, Hyderabad and Kerala.

Ong said another focus area for the group is conservation, carried out through the tiger safari circuit. This is an initiative with Beyond (formerly Conservation Corporation Africa) of South Africa to manage wildlife and to relocate them such as the Gaur Relocation Initiative by Taj Safaris.

Pictured left: Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi

The current economic turbulence in Europe and political unrest in some countries have not had any adverse effects on the hotels’ occupancy. “We are still seeing regular traffic and the group will continue with its momentum of growth.”

Ong added that Taj also does not intend to "dilute" its branding and will continue to maintain its luxury image for its five hotel clusters, namely Grand Palaces & Iconic Hotels, City Hotels, Taj Safaris, Luxury Residences, and Taj Exotica Resort & Spa

* Photos of hotels courtesy of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces

Males dominate Japan's smartphone market

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The majority of smartphone owners in Japan are mostly male, commanding 61.5% of the market in October 2011 or 9 million users, with more than half under the age of 35.

These insights are revealed in comScore Japan KK’s latest report on smartphone users in Japan from its comScore MobiLens service.

Females made up the remaining 38.5 percent of the audience or 5.6 million users. Half (51.8%) of the owners are under the age of 35, with persons aged 25-34 composing the largest cohort at 25.6% of the smartphone audience (3.7 million people).

The Kanto/Koushinestu region is home to the largest percentage of smartphone owners in Japan at 39.7% (5.8 million people). The Kansai region accounts for 19.6%, followed by Chubu (13.8%) and Kyushu (11.8%).

“Smartphones are an increasingly important part of Japanese mobile culture as a growing number of people adopt these devices,” said Daizo Nishitani, vice president of comScore Japan KK.

“Understanding the characteristics of smartphone users is critical for stakeholders across the mobile landscape, including handset manufacturers, operating systems, app developers, advertisers and publishers.”

Note: MobiLens service is now available with monthly data, offering companies additional insights into Japanese mobile behaviours.

APAC's growing prosperity fuels travel industry's growth

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Rising earnings are fanning Asians’ desire to travel, according to the findings in the ITB World Travel Trends Report compiled by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin.

A year-on-year comparison shows that in the first eight months of 2011 the number of Asians travelling abroad rose by 6%. The numbers are forecast to grow by 5% for 2012.

The middle class, particularly in China, India and Southeast Asia, is driving the tourism boom in the Asia Pacific region due to increasing prosperity among them.

In China the continuing economic boom has fuelled a desire among its people to travel within their own country, a development that will also benefit the travel industry in both Europe and the Americas. (pictured left: Chinese tourists in The Forbidden City).•

The prospects for Asia remain good as 32% of the respondents surveyed said they would travel more than in 2011, while 37% wanted to travel as often. Only 19% said they would travel less.

Dr Martin Buck, director of the Competence Center Travel and Logistics at Messe Berlin (pictured below), said that Asia remains one of the world’s fastest-growing travel markets, and also has great potential for the European travel industry.

"Many tourism companies have already realised this. Simply describing one’s products in Mandarin is not enough. Marketing efforts must also take typical local aspects into account In China, for instance, firewalls block international networking sites such as Facebook.The best way to reach Chinese people is via a local equivalent called RenRen.”

Other key findings:

• Diverse range of travel products: Upmarket urban life in Asia has generated a demand for specialised products, such as history and culture, "edutainment" parks, adventure holidays, luxury travel and sports tourism.

• LCCs boost growth: In recent years the emergence of low cost airlines has resulted in rising numbers of Asians travelling within Asia. More Arab airlines flying to Asia will also generate more trips. In 2012 Japan will become part of the Asian low cost carrier network, thus giving a fillip to the country’s travel industry

• APAC continues to fascinate: Countries in APAC, particularlyin Southern and Southeast Asia, reported significant growth in arrivals. Thailand led with 16 million visitors per year, and Vietnam with five million tourists from abroad. Other increasingly popular countries include Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, all recording two-digit growth this year.

• Decline in arrivals to Northeast Asia: Visitor arrivals to Northeast Asia dropped, with Japan being the hardest hit. To date inbound tourism to Japan has failed to recover since the earthquake disaster in March 2011. During the first nine months of this year the country’s travel industry suffered a 30% drop in tourism. However, unlike after previous crises, a rapid recovery is taking place. Despite the disaster the Japanese are still travelling, with trips abroad falling by only 6%. In the months after the disaster destinations in Asia benefited from Japanese tourists. According to the Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, the stress experienced after the disaster motivated people to travel instead of keeping them at home.

• Details of global travel trends will be presented by the ITB World Travel Trends Report, which will be published in early December at the ITB website.

Three things to consider in hotel distribution and marketing in 2012

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Today’s hotel marketing landscape is changing rapidly. The advent of new distribution channels has created more options to truly personalize a strategy to suit the needs of your property. With that in mind, it was no surprise when a recent survey of Sabre Hospitality customers revealed that understanding new distribution and marketing trends presented one of the top challenges to their business.

When planning their online strategies, hoteliers regularly look for guidance on choosing the top trends to follow. Mobile, social media conversion, and channel management are three key areas where some of the most significant trends for hotel marketers are emerging. This article intends to provide an overview of each and what to look for as you plan your 2012 strategy.

1. MOBILE: This trend is number one for a reason: as computing and communications become increasingly personal and user-customized, the term refers to more than just smartphones with internet browsers. Obviously hoteliers must consider mobile as an important marketing channel, but must also be aware of the trend to expand on-property with the advent of NFC and other device-activated services. Below is a list of five tips to help maximize your mobile-marketing strategy:

Start with an optimized mobile website and booking engine which considers user experience across multiple mobile devices, including tablets. Take advantage of this trend with an excellent mobile site designed to get your mobile visitors to the answers they are looking for quickly and efficiently, with the ability to book on every page.
Think of mobile as its own channel so you can offer special rates, promotions, product descriptions as well as tracking specifically for this market.
Take advantage of SMS/text message marketing programs. Guest can opt-in and receive messages pre- post- and during their stays at your property.
Work with sites with geo-location services such as Foursquare, Facebook, Gowalla, and Yelp to offer promotions. Participate in the free marketing programs that many of these sites offer, such as adding links to your website and other social media accounts, uploading pictures or offering check-in deals and specials.
Optimize your location for mapping and mobile search. Consider running a mobile targeted AdWords campaign with click to call and tailor your message to mobile users.

2. SOCIAL MEDIA: By now you have hopefully initiated conversations and established relationships with your customer base through various social media channels. If you’re a hotel or a hotel group, you will have an active presence on at least Facebook and Twitter, if not other channels, and use these to engage and retain fans of your brand. The next question is, are you using social media to convert?

In the past year, social media channels such as Facebook have created more and more opportunities for hotel marketers to use social media as an extension of their direct-to-consumer strategy. Some areas to consider to help your business grow through your social media efforts:

Leverage Facebook as an extended booking engine and include call to actions just as you would on your own website to prompt fans and new customers to book directly.
Take advantage of push-marketing opportunities on Facebook and include a specially designed optimized landing page that encourages interaction and engagement.
Update your own content with targeted tags for the channels that are right for your brand. Consider including new tags such as Facebook send and Google +1 to leverage your customers’ networks on the larger social networks.
Plan your social media advertising campaigns with your marketing efforts on these channels, giving new fans and viewers the opportunity to easily convert and engage with your brand.
Are you investing in remarketing to capture interested consumers? Remarketing is an advertising campaign directing users back to your website or social media profile after they have already viewed your content and clicked away, and can help you capture a segment that may not have otherwise converted using your channels.

3. CHANNEL MANAGEMENT: Even though hotels do not want to be dependent on third parties/OTAs, there is still a value to these partnerships in the overall marketing and distribution landscape. The Billboard Effect trend has been one that we have been telling customers to pay attention to throughout the year, and it is still relevant for 2012. Managing and maximizing your presence across channels, including OTAs, can help you use third-party relationships to drive business back to your own property website.

The Billboard Effect tells us that 23% more bookings direct to brand website when present on OTAs (Cornell study).

The average online travel consumer spends 10 searching sessions over and average of five weeks before a reservation is finally made, accessing at least 20 websites in total. Your strategy should embrace their research – but ensure that you offer rate parity across channels, and that your own property is optimized to convert and be the place that more customers choose to make their bookings.

Jessika Lynch (jessika.lynch@sabre.com) manages marketing and communications for Sabre Hospitality.

Taipei, Australia top holiday destinations for Asians

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

HotelClub Hotel Index reveals the top 10 regional and long haul international destinations for Asians travelling during the busy holiday season.

The results tracks both the most popular destinations booked by HotelClub’s Asian members, as well as the hotel pricing trends for each city compared to the same travel period last year.

Pictured left: Taipei 101

Taipei remains the number one holiday destination for regional travel for the second year in a row. Bangkok has risen four places to number two, a positive sign for this flood stricken city. Japan is also a highlight with Osaka and Langkawi each jumping spots to make their first appearance in the top 10.

Asian travellers continue to love major international cities with London, Paris and New York City featuring in the top 10. Hawaii has skyrocketed on the list, rising over 30 spots to round out the top 10.

Australia is the most popular country for Asian long haul travel with Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast dominating as three of the top four destinations. New Zealand has also become fashionable in the past year with both Auckland and Queenstown making their first appearance in the top 10.

Other key highlights:

• Bangkok is the best-priced and only regional city under US$100 with an average hotel rate of US$75.

• Langkawi has jumped four spots to number nine in line with its lower average hotel rates, making it a good value regional spot.

• Queenstown is the only long haul city in the top 10 to decrease its year on year hotel rates, while Auckland remains the best value long haul destination with average hotel rates at US$100.

• London continues to be a favourite destination, rising one spot and remaining relatively flat with a 1% increase in average hotel rates year on year.

Jeremy Bellinghausen, HotelClub president, said that unlike other markets Asian travellers seemed more comfortable going to Japan following a year of terrible natural disasters.

There has been a small decrease in travel to Tokyo, but Osaka is becoming much more popular with HotelClub’s members.

"Internationally we’ve seen a consistent trend in Asians travelling to Australia, especially the two biggest capital cities of Sydney and Melbourne. But this year New Zealand is quietly giving the Aussies a run for their money, with increased exposure for the country due to the Rugby World Cup and better value pricing for this year’s hot spot Queenstown," added Bellinghausen.

Desert-bound, minus expectations

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Of late, I have been advising friends not to have high expectations of anything because then you’re invariably disappointed, I say in the voice I put on when I am attempting to be the sage I am not.

However I have to admit I did arrive in Delhi, Capital of Mother India, with high expectations. I was looking forward to the new airport – after all the nightmares at the old one, any change would be good, I thought.

And that did live up to expectations. Love the different Buddha hand gestures that await you at the immigration counter (pictured) – somehow they imbue you with a sense of peace even if you have to wait in a long queue and the guy ahead of you has a problem with the immigration officer.

This particular immigration officer reminds me of my old headmistress in school. She’d sit at her desk in her office while us kids waited outside for our turn and each time she bellowed “Next”, we’d quake in our shoes.

His bark though is worse than his bite. I was welcomed into his country and wished a pleasant journey.

At this stage though, I don’t know how pleasant it will be because I am still at the stage of being obsessed about staying connected because like all entrepreneurs for whom there is no life-work-play balance, just life, I simply must have access to my everything or else I will …

And this is where my high expectations have been dashed slightly. Having heard all about how super connected and mobile India is, I had expected it not to be a problem to get a pre-paid data card so I can be my own mobile hot spot.
So when I saw the Airtel counter advertising “super fast 3G data card”, I made a beeline for it.

“Can I have a data card please?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said, shaking his head.

“This will allow me to access data, right?” I asked, to be sure.

“No.”

“It’s a data card, right?” I asked, to be doubly sure.

“No data, cellular,” he said, nodding his head.

“But your sign?” I said, pointing to the big red billboard.

“Oh,” he said, nodding, shaking and waving his hand, “that’s just advertising.”

And so you have it. There’s a lot of advertising at the airport about USB modems, 3G, video streaming in a flash but that’s all it is.

I went to three separate counters and got the same story. No data, only 2G cellular. Imagine my elation when I found one counter that said it had a USB modem with pre-paid data. After 20 minutes of negotiating and understanding its limitations and conditions, I found out it didn’t work with my Mac.

“Is this Mac compatible?” I asked.

I got a lot of head nodding and shaking which didn’t exactly shed light on the question.

Finally, the guy said, “Please call customer service.”

“Aren’t you customer service?” I asked.

“No, only sell.”

So as I write this, he’s sold me a local SIM card – I had to get something after all that exploration of India’s cellular network – which will give me roughly 10 text messages, one international call (depending how long I talk) and 5 telephone calls.

Not sure how useful that will be but I live by the principle it’s better than nothing.

I suspect though that by the time I get to Rajasthan the same evening, all this obsession about connectivity would have been blown away by the desert wind and I'll be content to just enjoy the camel ride into the sunset. Rajasthan unplugged, here I come.

When you're travelling, you depend on the kindness of strangers

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Today a friend of mine, Intan, would have turned 50. She missed it by a couple of days.

The day she left us, there was a lone star in the Singapore sky. I believe that was her telling me she was in peace somewhere out there.

Last night, at the stroke of midnight, I stood under a star-studded sky in Rajasthan, India, and I believe that was her with all the new friends she’s made, and the old ones she’s joined.

Intan had a gift – a heart that had space for everyone, much like the place she called home for the better part of her life. She and her husband Rich Myer, made their life at Mangonui Motel in New Zealand and it is truly the motel with the best views on earth.

I think when you live in a place like that, that has such open-ness, where your view on life is unobstructed, you do open your heart to everyone who walks in your door.

As she did me.

Yesterday, we drove from Mandawa to Bikaner. We were running late, as women do because we love to linger over lunch – it felt like a summer’s day in Tuscany, we agreed.

Lunch was at a place called Midway (something) – the lunch places are called Midway here because this was the place of the early caravan traders and they had to stop somewhere midway on their way to somewhere else.

Our next stop was the Fort at Bikaner which closed at 4pm so our driver had to put his foot on the pedal. We were making good time, passing camels, cows, dogs, horses, trucks, tractors, bicycles, motorcycles, cars – anything that passes for transport in India – until our van blew a flat.

Cool as a desert cucumber, our driver stepped out. Have to confess we women were useless, none of us knew how to change a tyre but we did stand around, shouting encouragements and saying hi to a curious cow.

Midway (through the changing of tyre), a van pulled up by us and out came three men – they looked like the Blues Brothers appearing out of the desert dust.

There was a lot of chatting with our driver and suddenly, it was all activity. In less than 10 minutes, the tyre had been removed and changed. There was a lot of smiling and chatting – they were curious where we were from. Being all from Asia, our group of five has been mistaken as anything from Korea to China to Japan.

Anyway, we got to the fort not on time but in time as our tour manager had asked if they would keep it open for us and so we were the last visitors that day to tour a hugely impressive and distinctly magnificent fort.

We then took a tuk-tuk through the streets of Bikaner and experienced the full force of Mother India. For all the mayhem and chaos though, I love the way everything seems to fall in place here.

Cows and camels seem to know the rules of the road as much as people – that there are no rules, only respect for each other.

I love the way people are so tolerant here. They yield space to each other even if it’s just by a hair’s breadth. They share their space with all animals. They are curious, in a very friendly way. And they open their hearts to strangers.

India is as different from New Zealand as night and day. Yet Intan and the three strangers, who helped us yesterday with no expectations, shared something in common – a desire to be kind and open to all travellers through life.

Intan, you will be in the desert moon tonight as I sleep under the Jaisalmer sky.

Ayers Rock Resort inks deal with Accor to expand its reach

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Ayers Rock Resort has appointed hotel group, Accor, to help take it to new markets, as well as maximise opportunities for Indigenous employment and development.

Under the agreement Accor will provide the iconic resort and tourist attraction, which is managed by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, a full range of services to complement its the day-to-day operations,

Accor's priorities are to open up new markets for the resort, boost domestic leisure and conference demand, and help create career opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

Other initiatives under the agreement include:

• First-ever charter flight from China (in January 2012), with most of the passengers from Guangzhou

• Major promotion of the resort in emerging Asian markets

• Opening of a new conference & exhibition centre in August 2012

• Extensive refurbishment of the hotels, starting with Sails in the Desert Hotel

• The launch of a new "under the stars" 5-star dining experience, called Tali Wiru

• Introduction of new activities and experiences

Ayers Rock Resort is the largest integrated resort complex in Australia consisting of five hotels – Sails in the Desert, Desert Gardens Hotel, Outback Pioneer & Lodge, Emu Walk Apartments, and Lost Camel Hotel. The hotels will retain their names, but will be aligned to corresponding brands in Accor’s portfolio.

The addition of Ayers Rock Resort will boost Accor’s Australian network to over 160 hotels, and add its Northern Territory presence, which currently comprises hotels in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs

Accor will also bring to Ayers Rock Resort its comprehensive sales, marketing and distribution network, a significant presence in the resort’s traditional markets, and a leading position in key emerging markets such as China and India.

The hotel group's large network of hotels and resorts, as well as its loyalty programme, in Australia will boost the resort’s domestic tourism market.

Ayers Rock Resort will also leverage on Accor’s expertise in Indigenous employment. The latterr pioneered Indigenous employment in the Australian hotel industry when it launched its nationwide Indigenous Employment Programme in 2001. In the past decade the company has provided employment opportunities for over 600 Indigenous Australians, providing crucial job training programs.

Koos Klein, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia’s managing director (pictured right), said Accor would play a key role in re-building and growing Ayers Rock Resort’s market both internationally and within Australia.

"Since the Indigenous Land Corporation purchased Ayers Rock Resort earlier this year we have been looking at a comprehensive range of measures to rejuvenate what is one of Australia’s most important tourism assets."

He added that the company is developing a new vision for the resort, with new directions, new activities, a programme of major refurbishments and upgrades and a far reaching programme to involve far greater numbers of Indigenous Australians at the resort.

Accor Australia vice president, Simon McGrath, said the partnership with Ayers Rock Resort provided the company with an exceptional opportunity to help advance Australia’s tourism industry.

"Ayers Rock Resort is one of Australia’s greatest tourism assets and a fundamental driver for our inbound industry, so it is essential that we reposition the product and attract new markets."

TravelShark poised to plunge deep into Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

TravelShark is getting set to take a bigger bite of the Asian waters with the relocation of its CEO Sue Heilbronner (pictured left) to its Singapore headquarters from Boulder, Colorado.

Boulder and Singapore, two more different places you couldn’t find. One’s dry, the other’s humid. One’s mountainous, the other’s at sea level. One’s cool, the other’s hot.

But one thing they do have in common is an extremely active environment for online entrepreneurs and that’s something Helibronner is finding out since her move to the tropical city this month to be where her company is headquartered

It’s also the reason the company, Swiftfrank Pte Ltd, was set up in Singapore and why TravelShark, which describes itself as “the global travel network” has a US presence in Boulder.

Heilbronner said, "My personal relocation in early November of this year was to ensure that the CEO of the company was resident in the HQ office and of course to help our company better establish a foothold and accelerate growth in Asia."

She noted the trend in American online travel companies looking towards Asia for growth opportunities. "Online travel as an industry has been in large part centered in the United States and I do think that's changing. More and more we are seeing major US companies in online travel establishing major offices in Singapore to service Asia.

"Singapore is an obvious choice for this purpose and with Asia being the fastest growing travel market in the world, there are a wealth of strategic reasons to be here."

This trend was also taking place in industries beyond travel, said Heilbronner. "Pharmaceutical companies are increasing their R&D resources here; manufacturing companies like Crocs (founded in Boulder) enjoy being here, near their manufacturing facilities in Asia; and the list goes on."

With just three weeks under her belt in her new home in Singapore, she said she is just finding her feet and learning about the market.

"Our primary focus is in hospitality, and I think one interesting fact I've noticed is that the industry leaders in Asia tend to circulate all over Asia. It is a quite different group than the group I've been closely connected to in the US.

"The hoteliers here seem to take a very regional view of the market. They think more internationally in that more travellers in Asia travel internationally and much of the hospitality market in the US is serving 'domestic' travellers."

She said she’s seen some real innovation coming out of the region in online travel. "I met with two companies recently, which seemed to be very motivated and creative. In both cases, the ideas were very well-suited, or uniquely well-suited to Asia. I found this interesting and pretty illuminating because it's clear that the way people travel here is different than what I'm used to seeing. Plenty to learn.

"As for markets, frankly Singapore is perhaps most interesting. We operate www.SingaporeHotels.com, and the occupancy and RevPARs here are strong and growing in a way that the industry in the US hasn't seen in three years. We recently purchased www.BeijingHotels.com, www.BangkokHotels.com, www.KualaLumpurHotels.com, and another 75 sites in Asia. This allows us to serve Asian customers and hotel companies better than ever, and we're excited about the opportunities there."

She said that TravelShark’s mission is to connect “global travellers to hyper-local travel solutions and memorable trips”.

"We are reaching this vision primarily by ensuring that our sites, which are by nature hyper-local, are serving unique content and trip-planning tools to online travellers."

On the content side, the company recently purchased Rather Guides, a group of 30 hyper-local travel guides previously focused on the US and Europe.

"All the content from these guides (40 very insider-local stores and restaurants with wonderful photographs) now appears on our TravelShark sites (see Seattle Hotels and click on 'RatherLocal' for example) free to users.

"We are expanding the reach of Rather to Asia, and we will be launching Rather Singapore, Rather Hong Kong, and Rather Bangkok at a minimum in Spring 2012.”

It also recently launched the Sharky Awards (pictured left) to recognise "truly unique and unexpected discoveries in the travel industry".

"One of our first recipients was the Quincy Hotel in Singapore for ‘Sharkiest Perquisites (perks)’. As this programme grows, it will further enhance the tools and content on our market sites.

"We are also adding 300-400 locally created and curated articles and videos on travel ideas in-market to each hone of these sites apart from the Rather content."

Apart from content, TravelShark will launch over the next six to 12 months a number of new trip planning tools on its thousands of sites, including sites in Asia.

"We are enthusiastic about the manner in which these tools will improve quality, usability and visibility of our sites – and therefore revenues for our hospitality clients and for TravelShark."

The company started life as Swiftfrank and ditched it in favour of TravelShark earlier this year.

Asked if she’s had any negative response to the name TravelShark given that sharks aren’t exactly considered friendly creatures in Asia or anywhere else, she said, "Yes. Funny. We know that sharks are not beloved everywhere. They are memorable everywhere, and we felt that the idea of trolling the globe for the best travel inspirations was a nice metaphor.

"We spent a great deal of time outlining our rationale for the name change. In sort, no one could spell "Swiftrank" or understand how the name connected to what we did. For good reason. You can see some videos that explain this problem in a tongue-in-cheek way.

She added, "Over the next 6-12 months, TravelShark is going to become a fitting umbrella name for our thousands of b2c websites. We will migrate our corporate brand from being strictly B2B to about 90% B2C.

"Exciting transformation, and we weren't going to be able to do it with a name like ‘Swiftrank’. And seriously, have you seen the man-sized shark? He's soft, furry, and very amusing! We hope to bring him to the next WIT conference to take on the TripAdvisor Owl. We know who wins that fight. Owl may be smarter. Shark is stronger."

As for what new ideas she wants to bring to Asia, Heilbronner, who’s been in the digital marketing arena in travel for the last eight years, said she’s seen lots of changes in terms of how online marketing and revenue management connect to reshape the thinking of hotel performance.

"I've seen the ups and the downs from the Online Travel Agents, and I've been involved directly in helping thousands of hoteliers embrace the direct online marketing channel to consumers on a global scale. I think some of that learning is still in front of the industry in Singapore, and, as I have been in the US, I look forward to witnessing and to being a bit of a catalyst to that change here.

"Our company is not only a great resource to consumers, but a great resource to suppliers. It will be fun to more broadly share that story."

FastBooking pumps up GDS services

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

FastBooking’s new service, beginning with the “FG” chain code, interfaces seamlessly with the FastBooking Engine back office to provide hoteliers with a high-performance, single-image solution.

"The new FastBooking GDS offer leverages our technological know-how and innovative capabilities across the Internet and GDS spectrum," said Richard Kefs, FastBooking executive president.

Among the first FastBooking client hotels to adopt the FG chain code are the Groupe Lucien Barrière (France) for seven of its hotels, the Legendale Hotel Beijing (China), and the Hotel Monterey Group (Japan).

FastBooking GDS delivers a "single image": A key productivity enhancer and massive time saver, FastBooking GDS delivers a veritable ‘single image’, the holy grail of booking engine back office functionality.

The same powerful algorithms calculate prices for GDS and other channels. PAR (Prices, Availabilities and Restrictions) rate details are entered in the FastBooking Engine back office, are displayed on the same screen and managed in exactly the same way for Internet and GDS posting, and can be shared with GDS and other channels.

Makes rate management easy: All FastBooking Engine functions are available to configure GDS rates: Price sharing,Availability sharing, Room grouping, Allprice format, Min/Max stay, Overbooking, Close on arrival/departure, Agency commissions, and more.

The system is exceptionally flexible when it comes to GDS publishing. Using predefined access keys that simplify and speed the process, hoteliers can manage rates on their own. A single rate can be published as multiple GDS rate codes. A master rate, at parity with Internet rates, can drive all GDS rates. Hoteliers can publish this rate in the GDS as rate code "BAR", equal to the Internet BAR.

Optimises hotel visibility on GDS/IDS channels: With FastBooking GDS, hoteliers manage all channel content from a single screen. No need for multiple entries of information or prices. ensures the best presentation of the hotel in terms of content such as descriptions, languages and images. Seamless, next-generation connectivity gives travel agents direct, real-time access to hotel data. “This vastly increases their confidence in the hotel when they book rooms for their clients,” says Pierre Charles Grob.

Increases visibility, adds a guarantee for travel agencies: The FG chain code appears on GDS screens, making it easy for travel agents to identify FastBooking hotels.

"We ensure a fast response time. We also guarantee commission payments via our partner WPS. These factors are reassuring for travel agents when they book," said Kefs.

"A la carte" access to image-enhancing GDS marketing programmes: FastBooking assists with GDS sales and marketing services by submitting the hotel’s profile to main Consortia preferred rate programs including, Carlson Wagonlit, BCD Travel, HRG, and others. Additional promotional GDS preferred placement campaigns, partnerships, and other services are proposed in the solution.

Watch out, sea change coming to cruising in Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I spent most of last week at a cruising conference and you could say it’s taken me into new waters (pardon the pun).

It’s opened my eyes to how big the market is getting, how much bigger the ships are getting and how, for the first time, instead of bringing their older ships to Asia, brands such as Royal Caribbean and Costa Crociere are bringing out their biggest and newest vessels to our part of the world.

You could call it a sea change (again, pardon the pun) for the industry.

RCCL is bringing in Voyager of the Seas (picture credit: Royal Caribbean) which is being hailed as a game-changer not only because of its size (capacity 3,.114 passengers) but also its facilities which includes a Royal Promenade, a marble floored street stretching just over 3/4 the length of the ship and featuring shops and light dining venues.

For the China market, this move is significant, said Dr Zinan Liu, managing director China and Asia Pacific of RCCL. It changes the perception among the Chinese that foreign companies only bring in old ships and base their best ships in Europe or the US, he said at a panel.

Already, 50% of RCCL’s customers now come from outside the US and even though Asia is only a small percentage, the company sees it growing and is investing in the region.

Costa Crociere, the Italian brand under Carnival, is expanding capacity in Asia by 40% in 2012 and will bring out the 2,394-passenger Costa Victoria in May. About 70% of their business comes from Europe but again the company is taking bets on growing its share in Asia.

Bad times at home and a year of disruption in the European cruise market due to the “Arab Spring” is obviously forcing these brands to look to the region for new customers and new itineraries.

This takes investment and commitment, said Costa’s president Gianni Onorato, by which he means spending money and not making any yet. The company opened two schools in China in train crew members and in 2012, he said, and it is committing two of its biggest ships ever to the region.

Only two cruise lines are making the commitment, he said in a panel. Why? “Because it is very expensive,” he said.

As a journalist, I’ve never really paid too much attention to the sector and as a traveller, I’ve never been much of a cruising fan – having only been on three cruises in my life, first on Superstar Virgo, then on the Minerva, followed by Silver Sea Cruises.

You could say, I am a typical cruiser in Asia – moving up the value chain with each trip and going further and longer.

This is what these cruise lines are betting on – changing the perception that cruising is only for the “newly weds, nearly deads and over feds”, wooing first timers and then getting them to repeat and cruising further and longer.

The industry seems inordinately proud that “once you’ve cruised, you’re hooked” with one speaker comparing it to a drug. I am not convinced – but most cruise operators boast of really high repeat factors. Seabourn says it’s as high as 40-50% repeat.

But there’s a lot of work to be done if they are to grow the Asian market not just as a destination but also as a source of new customers.

Here’s what I observed.

1. The industry is largely supply-led – big companies with big ships call the shots. And so there’s not a lot of competition and what that means is differentiation and innovation is slow to happen. There are specialist cruise operators – one company Orion Expeditions of Australia is a great example of a niche player, operating boutique vessels that take its guests where big ships can’t. These are the operators that will carve out new itineraries in Asia and I look forward to their bigger and deeper plays in our region.

2. The industry is hampered by government regulations which makes it impossible for cruisers to have a seamless experience as they do in Europe or the US. A trip where you need multiple visas and constantly have to have your passports checked at every port of call can be tiresome.

3. For an industry that has high repeat factors and where the customer is captive for days on end, it’s been slow to use the web and social and digital channels to build direct customer relationships and so is heavily reliant on trade distribution – and travel agents in Asia are not advanced in cruising knowledge because it is a more complicated product to sell. This state of affairs led Costa’s Onorato to make a plea for travel agents to make a commitment to selling cruises. Basically, he said, we’ve put in the money, you must do your part as well and I definitely detected a note of impatience in his tone.

4. The very same “complexity of sale” is what cruise operators say is the reason for the slow adoption of online direct sales. That, and also, the high ticket prices of cruises. Seabourn’s Rick Meadows said with an average transaction of US$20,000 each, “people are not happy to transact via the web”, yet the success ecruising.com has had in Australia and, to a certain extent, its Hong Kong office which it opened three years ago, would belie that notion. (More on distribution matters in the next post)

5. As a destination, there’s also a perception that the region is “a niche vacation option with limited ports of call, focused on gaming,” said RCCL’s Bayley.

6. As a source market, there also seems to be the belief that what Asian cruisers want is “Las Vegas on water”. Stu Lloyd, senior director, marketing and membership services, at PATA , said this during a panel, a comment which a few industry observers from Asia disagreed with. Star Cruises’ Michael Goh said the success his company has had with new forms of cruises, other than gaming, is proof that Asians want more than “eating, shopping, gaming and karaoke”.

Every hurdle though represents opportunity and my feeling, after the end of the three days spent at Cruise Shipping Asia, is the opportunities are immense in this new segment, and particularly in the online space which is ripe for disruption by some smart player.

I reckon it’s only a matter of time before we see waves being made. (Pardon the pun again)

3 Ways to Anchor Social Media Efforts in Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I love bingo. I love sitting for formal dinners. I love unpacking my suitcase in one place and, visiting six. I love breakfast buffets. I love being isolated in an ocean with no land in sight.

I am a cruiser.

I am also a marketer.

Thus I accepted the invitation to speak at the first annual Cruise Shipping Asia Conference with great alacrity. It presented a unique opportunity for me to speak at the cross section of two of my passions. The session, curated by Web In Travel, was “Marketing in the New Age” and I was asked to home in on social media.

Using the lens of Asia, the topic becomes much more interesting given the current business activity. On balance, businesses across Asia are approaching social media as an experimental foray. One indication is the nature of the conversations, which tend not to be conversations at all; rather, one-way messages from corporate communications. Another indication is that many social media accounts are setup for specific promotions, then abandoned. To that point, a recent study by Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific found that over half of Asian companies studied had inactive accounts across four social media categories – micro-blogs, social networks, corporate blogs, and video sharing.

What’s lacking is the strategic consideration and business context for meaningful and sustainable conversations between brands and their audiences on social platforms. So I thought it would be most appropriate to speak about a few concepts – localisation, visual media, gamification – that marketers operating in Asia could consider to excite customer relationships and realise the benefits of thoughtful social engagement.

LOCALISE

We are all on the same Internet, and the penetration of social networking sites in Asia is high, but it behooves marketers to look deeper. There is no one size fits all social strategy or engagement plan, and the need for what I call local relevance is just as important as any argument for global consistency.

Whilst Facebook does enjoy high penetration in many Asian markets, and Southeast Asian countries make up 60% of Facebook users, the behaviour of consumers in each country can not be so easily generalised. For example, Singaporeans lead the world in time spent on Facebook per session. An Experian study found that, on average, a Facebook user in Singapore spends over 38 minutes per session, while a Facebook user in Hong Kong spends less than 6 minutes.

As my colleague outlines here, there is social networking beyond Facebook! In Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, for instance, local platforms boast the highest penetration among their respective netizens. In part, this is because of their cultural preferences and divergent drivers for going online in the first place. The GlobalWebIndex found that the primary motivation for Australian and Chinese people going online is to “stay in touch with friends”. That motivation was not even in the top three for the Japanese. Instead their primary motivation for going online, and South Korean’s secondary motivation, is to “research and find products to buy”.

Given the fragmentation of the Asian region in the social space, those marketers that understand the nuances of their consumer behaviour and preferences in each country, and in some cases individual cities, will enjoy success in the longer-term.

Starbucks and Coca-Cola, two of the top 5 social organisations according to the Social Business Index, are providing leadership for global brands seeking to be locally relevant. They are not only on Facebook hosting conversations with their audiences on a country-specific level, but also are engaged in rich and interactive conversations on various other platforms. For example, Starbucks China is on Jiepang, the Chinese location-based service (LBS) social network, and Coca-Cola Japan has launched its own content-rich portal site ‘Coca-Cola Park’.

VISUALISE

There is an opportunity for marketers operating in Asia to further explore how photography and video can enrich their consumer engagement online.

Photo sharing is trending upwards in Asia, particularly on mobile phones. A recent comScore study found that the Philippines, India and China topped the charts in terms of the percentage of people who share photos directly from their mobile phone to social networking sites; with nearly 70% of Filipino people doing so. The rising popularity of mobile photo sharing applications like Instagram and Camera 360 is a symptom of this. In its first 12 months, Camera 360 (exclusive to Android) gained 6 million users, half of which were from China.

It is not just about photos either. In Asia, comScore Video Metrix cites that online video reaches at least 80% of the web population in Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. In Hong Kong and Singapore the online population is watching over 10 hours of online video per month, and that figure soars to approximately 17 hours in Japan. It is expected with the broadband penetration increasing in most markets that this figure will continue to increase.

It’s clear that photo and video sharing is increasingly popular with Asian consumers, and it presents a compelling opportunity for marketers to capitalize on the activity already taking place. In doing so, they will likely generate more interaction between the brand and its consumers, as well as amongst consumers themselves. Tourism Australia, Huggies, and PayPal have each enjoyed success from their programs in which visual media played a leading role.

Tourism Australia designed an initiative titled, “There’s nothing like Australia”, which encouraged Australians to share their personal ideas about what special places and experiences await visitors in Australia. Over the course of 28 days, Aussies uploaded nearly 30,000 unique photos, appended with their personal stories, to excite the world about their country. Even after the close of the campaign, the visual recommendations make up a searchable digital map of Aussie’s favourite holiday experiences. Complementary to this campaign, is the organisation’s usage of Instagram. Visit their Instagram Facebook tab to see the many beautiful photos aggregated in Australia to promote the unique perspectives and experiences the country has to offer.
Huggies Hong Kong created an integrated campaign that was centred around parents sharing photos of their babies on its localised Facebook page. Although there was an incentive to participate (the chance for their baby’s photo to be 1 of 60 wrapped around city buses), Huggies HK benefited from engaging their audience in an activity that was already instinctive in this market. Within three weeks over 6,000 baby photos were uploaded and the activity propelled Huggies HK to become the second largest brand page in the market.
PayPal used online video and a blogger outreach program in Singapore and Malaysia to “rally online shoppers towards safer, brighter shopping online.” PayPal created a boy band, “I Promise You”, specifically for the campaign and they personalised music videos based on timely content published by each pre-identified, influential blogger. Although the parallel can be made to the personalised video responses created by Old Spice, PayPal’s videos proactively communicated their message in an engaging way to a very targeted audience. Taken together, the videos instigated over 3,600 views and ancillary press coverage.

“GAMIFY”

Online gaming is increasingly popular worldwide, and not just for stereotypical gamers, but for a more mainstream online audience. In fact, Popcap Games commissioned a survey that revealed the average social gamer to be a 43-year-old woman. The advent of social gaming – games with a very gentle learning curve that live on social networks and can be accessed at a negligible cost – are playing an important role in the increasing ubiquity. Most telling is that 35% of social gamers have no previous gaming experience and many social games boast a larger audience than prime time TV shows.

Asia is said to be the largest market for online games. According to a recent study published by Ovum, the Asia-Pacific digital games market will more than double over the next five years to be worth over $30 billion in 2016, with the revenues from mobile gaming alone tripling in five years to reach $8.2 billion in 2016. While China boasts the world’s largest end-user market, Japan is one of the most profitable. Japanese “mobile games town”, or DENA, has a market capitalisation of 5.2 billion and is said to have a 30 times higher output than Zynga and a 15 times higher output than Facebook.

The increasing popularity and penetration of online gaming, specifically social gaming, is that it offers marketers a productive framework for engaging with customers. My colleague goes in to more detail here.

As might be expected, there are varying degrees in which a business can embed its brand in the games themselves. Exploring beyond them, the principles of gamification are worth considering. If businesses feel they are not, perhaps in three years Gartner will count them among the 30% of top global companies that will not have at least one gamified application.

The eConsultancy defines gamification as “understanding how users behave, how they can be motivated, and the types of rewards which will make them behave in a way that will help a company achieve its business goals.” The first part of this definition reiterates the importance of understanding customers, but the latter is what ties their behaviour to business outcomes. I strongly believe the principles of gamification can inform the ways businesses in Asia encourage consumers to not only interact with brands, but also on behalf of them with their own networks. Not to mention, in a way that is more fun and communal.

Consumers in Asia are ready to play, so what will businesses do to give them a go?

There are many examples of brands creating unique tie ins with social games themselves, like LUX’s “Fantastical Manor” on Farmville Chinese, and others building their own games. For example, 7-11 Malaysia’s “Price for Prize” live gameshow held on Facebook, and Toyotas “Social Network Racer” on Facebook. Still it’s those brands that are leveraging game mechanics to excite customers towards business outcomes that are most compelling.

Expedia in Singapore launched the “Pack Your Friends” application on Facebook, which encourages people to get their friends involved in their effort to win a free trip. The more suitcases of 3 friends a person packs on Facebook, the better their chances are of winning the trip of the month. Statistics on the number of suitcases packed, as well as the number of friends engaged has excited people to continue participating in the challenge and spreading the message about Expedia’s great package deals. In addition, it gets people talking and thinking about new destinations to go with their friends, and amplifying the activity to their networks.
Just this week, Coca-Cola has set out to “gamify” the vending machine experience in Japan. By the end of the first quarter of 2012, Coca-Cola expects many Japanese consumers to be attached to at least one of its 820,000 vending machines across the country. As part of the ‘Happiness Quest’, Penn Olsonshares, “users are motivated to scan the QR code on their favorite vending machine and create its virtual identity. This entails naming the machine and choosing its avatar from a library of 20 designs. Each check-in awards the user points that can be spent to customize their machine….These virtual items include shoes, character skins, and backgrounds…[Also,] checking-in under certain conditions will also earn the user badges.”

With Asian consumers across markets being much more “open to brands” on social media than their Western counterparts, marketers operating in Asia have an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage for their businesses if they approach social media marketing in a more thoughtful and engaging way.

I have shared a few ways marketers can start; considering the divergent social media behaviour and preferences of their Asian consumers; leveraging the ever-increasing popularity of photo and video sharing online; and incorporating game mechanics in their marketing programs. It is because these social activities already exist to the nth degree in many Asian countries, the resonance and effectiveness of programs is much higher.

Cruise Shipping Asia Presentation

* Margery Lynn is social business consultant for the Dachis Group in Asia, based in Singapore

Google+: Ignore At Your Own Risk

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Few will have missed the introduction of Google’s new social network. While Google+ has passed 40 million users in just a few months, media reports have covered the whole spectrum between cheerful optimism, confusion and announcements of its certain death.

Many of the less positive reports were focused on lack of activity on the network, or at least the perception thereof. While that makes for an interesting debate, it is much more important to look forward, in order to understand where Google+ is heading, and why it is going to be essential to anyone who is in business, in the travel industry or elsewhere.

Google vs Facebook and Twitter

The biggest mistake you can make is to see Google+ as another version of what is already there. Google+ is no Facebook, and it is no Twitter either. It shares some of the structure and looks of Facebook, but the way people use it is more similar to Twitter. Google+ allows for longer write-ups, and seamless integration of links, photos and video like Facebook, but shares with Twitter the focus on ‘following’ rather than ‘friending’.

Circles are key to understanding Google+, because circles allow you to organize people by interest. With Circles at the basis, Google+ has quickly developed into a thriving ‘interest network’, rather than a social network of friends per se. The key to making Google+ useful is to find people that have similar interests as you. And once you get the hang of it, that is much easier than it sounds. Google+ has more than its fair share of travel bloggers, tech entrepreneurs, journalists, tech investors and photographers.

Business Perspectives, Social Search

If social marketing is important to your business, you need to look beyond today’s picture.

Google+ has several layers, and only some of them have started to surface. Pages for Business is a great example. As a basic form of presence, this is a first visible step of what Google+ is going to offer to businesses. But expect much more to come.

Deceivingly simple, and incredibly important for brands is Direct Connect. The easiest way to understand Direct Connect is by using it. If you type +Dell in Google Search, you will immediately see what it does; it is a very direct and easy link between Google Search and Google Plus Pages for brands.

Google+ is defining the very early stages of Social Search. The Plus social network will be tightly integrated with Google Search. Experiments have shown that content that is part of your network on Plus already ranks higher, and is better visible in Google Search. If search engine marketing means anything to your business, you should be on high alert.

The +1 button plays a key role as well. Today the +1 button may seem to have an isolated spot on your website. But integration is already taking place, and +1’s from web sites, Plus Pages, and Google Search can be tallied, and will impact the performance of your web site in organic and paid search. It is still early days to determine how Google+ will affect Search rankings exactly, but you should expect an increasing impact.

Ignore the naysayers, get started

Social marketing and search engine marketing are both incredibly important to the travel industry. The merging of the two is going to define the next phase of online marketing, and it is happening in front of our eyes. You might not find your friends on Google+ today, but that’s a short-sighted way to look at it.

Google+ means business. And as with all that is new, moving early can give you a head start over the competition. So go ahead and build that profile, or start following some interesting new folks if you haven’t been around for a while. Get a good feel for it, and get yourself ready for the bigger things that are about to come. The launch of Plus Pages for businesses is a perfect moment to step up your effort.

Follow Sandor Bakalis on Google+

Travelport to "focus on few key projects" as Universal Desktop rolls out

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Financial challenges notwithstanding, Travelport believes its position as the most global GDS with an even spread throughout the world will hold it in good stead for future growth, particularly in Asia. Corinne Wan finds out what lies ahead for the company which is celebrating its 40th birthday this year.

Travelport may be having its share of financial woes – it staved off declaring bankruptcy with a last-minute debt restructuring recently and critics are still sniping away at its overall financial health – but its management team remains bullish about growth and convinced that its global spread of business and continued innovation will see it through the challenging times ahead.

In Singapore to attend WIT and ITB Asia, Jason Nash, Travelport vice president, product innovation technology (pictured left), told WIT that he sees growth for the company coming from all parts of the world as it is present in the main global markets – Asia Pacific, Middle East/Africa, Europe and North America.

"Unlike Sabre that is strong in the US and Amadeus in Europe, we are well spread out throughout the world, with good potential for growth in the Asian region," he said, adding that Singapore is its biggest market in the region while Thailand, the Philippines and Australia are strong markets.

"In Asia there are many small agencies and we could give them a global presence through our solutions."

An example of a solution, which has helped travel agencies improve their efficiency and boost productivity, is the Travelport Universal Desktop, which competitors had dismissed as “when is this ever going to happen?” due to its long process towards implementation. Touted as a “groundbreaking booking solution”, it provides travel agents access to multi-source content and pricing, pricing and travel management tools through a single platform.

Nash said Travelport has signed agreements with six travel agencies in APAC to participate in the regional testing and development of Universal Desktop. The agencies in beta testing are MP Travel and Orba Travel Brokers in Australia, Quotient Travel and Serangoon Air Travel in Singapore, SkyJet and Shalom in Hong Kong. All customers will commence beta testing shortly.

These new contracts follow successful agency trials from global launch partner – Australia’s Flight Centre and UK’s Global Travel Management. The former has rolled out Universal Desktop to its key markets around the world (Read story).

"Developing innovative tool/solutions is the direction Travelport will continue to pursue to empower our travel partners to search and book travel," said Nash.

Elaborating on this, Niklas Andréen, Travelport group vice president, hospitality and partner marketing (pictured right) added that the company will also refine its traditional products to enhance the booking process.

"For example we’ll refine Travelport Rooms and More, a web-based point-of-sale tool,to enable aggregators to sell tickets and provide travel agencies with a seamless booking process, bookings."

To date Rooms and More has been rolled out in 71 countries, with 2,000 registered agents.

For HotelClub, Orbitz/TravelPort network, one of the largest hotel reservation services on the Internet, more suppliers are being added to offer customers a wider choice of accommodation.

"We will build on what the market wants and develop as we go along," Andréen added.

Travelport is also working with more hotels chains. Recently the company and Hilton Worldwide Inked an agreement committing more content and advanced technologies for travel buyers, which include the lowest available rates via the GDS and complete pricing for hotel stays.

The company has also just offered a new developer network programme that provides members with full access to key software resources, dedicated help and support and an entry in the new Travelport Developer Directory. (Read story)

A recent ground-breaking deal for the company is the joint development agreement with TravelSky Technology, China’s leading provider of information technology solutions, to develop advanced airline technology. The first project under this agreement is a collaboration on a new and innovative Master Seat Maps module –which applies marketing and customer value to the physical seat characteristics of a given aircraft. (pictured left)

"We will continue with our goals through such partnerships and develop solutions to meet the changing needs of the markets," said Andréen

Nash added that to meet the challenges ahead, Travelport would focus on a few key projects and do them well - this includes customising apps using components like API, leveraging on mobile for B2B, and developing geo guides using Travelport Universal API to build them.

"There is a great future for the leisure market, and while our focus is on this market currently, we are also looking at the corporate market going forward."

• Photos courtesy of Travelport

Europeans still travelling despite euro crisis

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The continuing economic turbulence in Europe has not put a dampener on the continent’s tourism industry. On the contrary tourism industry figures are up. These are the findings of the ITB World Travel Trends Report compiled by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin.

The findings show, on a year-on-year comparison, trips out of Europe have increased by 4%. Economic uncertainty in many European countries has not affected travel spending, which has risen by 2%.

According to UNTWO, from January to August 2011 international trips to Europe rose to 671 million, an increase of 4.5%. The forecast for next year is positive too.

In September 2011 travellers from 13 European countries were asked whether and how often they intended to travel next year. Answer: 43% said they would be travelling as often in 2012 as this year, 27% aimed to travel more, 20% said they would be travelling less than in 2011.

Overall IPK’s "European Travel Confidence Index" lies at 103 points for 2012, indicating 2%-3% growth next year. This would represent solid growth and would mean a new all-time high number of trips, ahead of the previous record year of 2008.

Martin Buck, director of the Competence Center Travel and Logistics at Messe Berlin (pictured right), said that despite the difficulties experienced by various eurozone countries Europe’s travel industry has to date made it safely through 2011. I

"In particular, stable prices and easy online booking procedures have ensured that Europe continues to attract international travellers and also remains the world’s leading source market."

Other key findings:

• Swiss keen travellers: The number of trips made by the Swiss grew by 9%. They were followed by Sweden (7%) and Belgium (6%). The Germans were more restrained as the number of trips they took in 2011 rose by only 1%.

• Short haul trips popular: Compared with 2010 short-haul trips grew by 4% and made up 90% of trips overall. About 3% decided to travel long distance. The number of short trips, one to three overnights, rose by 10% while figures for longer stays stagnated.

• Travel within Europe: Respondents from the 13 European nations polled preferred trips to northern, central and south-western European regions. Due to the political revolutions in countries, such as Tunisia and Egypt, many tourists avoided North Africa, which suffered losses of 15%. Travel to the Asia Pacific region stagnated too, due to a drop in trips to Japan following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The winners were North and South America, which together registered a 6% increase in tourism.

• City breaks popular: Among European travellers major cities were popular again this year. City breaks were among the most popular form of travel, rising by 10%, followed by round trips (8%) and beach holidays (6%). By contrast, trips to rural regions and ski holidays fell by 7% and 5% respectively.

• Preference for low cost flights: European travellers clearly like to save money getting to their destination as low cost flights rose by 10%, while traditional air travel suffered a 4% drop.

• Mobile booking not in vogue: Bookings by smartphones have made no significant impact to date. Only 3% of European travellers said they used mobile devices to make their travel reservations, with the remaining 97% booking their trips via a PC or laptop. For accommodation booking, online reservations accounted for 63%, overtaking bookings by telephone or in person (37%).

Details of European travel trends will be presented by the ITB World Travel Trends Report, which will be published in early December at the ITB Berlin website.

Shanghai, San Diego ... And Heeg?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

These are the last three cities I've been dancing in.

Shanghai we know. San Diego we know. Heeg? Or Heecht?

Well, last night we went to the very local, the only local dance club in this small town in Friesland, a northern province in the Netherlands. We're here for a few days, supposed to be enjoying the beautiful Dutch summer. However, the sun today is no where to be seen.

So since the days are dark, we thought we might as well stay out late ... dancing of course, and make the most of the nights.

Heeg is a very small Fries town, alongside a canal. Very picturesque. During the day families, kids, sailing clubs come with their boats and moor them alongside the canal and go to one of the many terraces for drinks and lunch.

At night, I guess, since there is not much to do, everyone goes to the local bars and eventually rolls into the only nightclub in town. We're there with them. The latest techno music is pumping, we're drinking the very strong local drink called Beerenburgh and around us ... only teenagers. Literally! Robin was three times the age than most people in there. And me, twice the age and some more.

Arlette, my sister-in-law, while dancing wildly was simultaneously preoccupied that someone would come up to her and say 'aren't you Bas' mother?' Bas being her 17 year old son.

That was our competition!

We were like museum pieces to these kids, who left us alone in our little corner of the dance floor, observing us in amusement and full of wonder. Look at them move, they must have been thinking.

The final thing that gave us away is when the Jagerrmeister team came by offering free shooters. Everyone else took them. But us.

And that's when I realized, you know you're getting older when you decline a free drink. I know I never used to!

Follow Bojan on his travels at www.bojantercon.com

As Indonesia hots up, Raja Kamar banks on Ctrip model

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Komodo Dragon is awakening to ecommerce. Hot on the heels of Raja Kamar acquiring MG Holidays, KAHA Group, the other hotel distribution player in the market, has also thrown its hat in the ring.

It’s entered into a joint venture with former Wotif product director Thailand, Indonesia and Indochina, Yusuf Ijsseldijk, to launch its full-service online B2B and B2C travel sales engine, Goindonesia.com, catering to Indonesian domestic and outbound travellers.

Goindonesia.com (left), which will initially feature hotel and transfer bookings and later airline and package tours, will offer a range of payment options such as Internet banking, closed-amount payments via ATM, and credit card transactions.

Catching up with Scott Blume (below), newly-appointed CEO of Raja Kamar, the day after the KAHA joint venture was announced, I asked the online travel veteran if this signalled the beginning of exciting times for Indonesia. “Yes, it shows the market is waking up and you can be sure we will see a few more plays announced,” he said.

Acknowledging that Goindonesia.com will be head-on competition for Raja Kamar, Blume said, “Our differentiator is our deliberate approach to be as comprehensive and deep in content as possible. We have hotels in 135 cities, some of them I didn’t even know existed before now, so it’s not just Bali and Jakarta.

“And we will have a Bahasa site only, no English for the moment. We want it to make it a pure domestic play for now.”

However that does not exclude plans to venture into other markets where Indonesians are frequent travellers. “There are opportunities for some niche partnerships and acquisitions in nearby Asian markets with direct access to content such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam, either through partnerships or equity positions over time.”

Its acquisition of MG Holidays gives it a B2B play, to complement Raja Kamar’s B2C platform. The former CEO of ZUJI/Travelocity, who’s moved to Jakarta in his new role, sees good growth potential for both platforms, predicting a 20% growth for MG Holidays and “because B2C is so new to Indonesia, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 50% year on year growth”.

Blume likened Raja Kamar to more of the Chinese OTA Ctrip model where he expects 80% of bookings to be fulfilled at call centres - the company will have 200 staff handling calls in the Jakarta call centre. The issue of ticket delivery will be solved by having printable vouchers.

While he said Indonesians were not big on credit cards yet, they liked using bank transfers “and that’s fine with us”, he said.

The Rajakamar.com site, in soft launch, will be upgraded in the next few months. Said Blume, “We need more reviews. We have done a great deal in providing depth of content but we could do better with marketing the content online.”

He added, “We will do some clever marketing to make sure the brand stands out – we will use some traditional media but will be looking for smart social media ideas.

“Our shareholders have said they will invest US$20 million in the next five years and a large chunk of that will go into marketing as well as technology development and partnerships.” Raja Kamar is a partnership between three of Indonesia’s competing inbound operators - Panorama Group, Dwidaya Tour and Travel, and Smailing Tours.

Search will also play a role in marketing and Blume said, “It will be fascinating where the future of search will be in Indonesia. Indonesia’s ecommerce is starting at a stage where the search business is more mature. Elswhere, OTAs took off as paid search was beginning and evolving. Now search is only a piece of the puzzle while social is immature and growing.”

What’s for certain is that it will not be buying branded keywords on the principle of partnership with suppliers, said Blume.

Raja Kamar will work on the nett rates model. It will also be bulk buying on the B2B side to protect availability during peak periods. While he said rates will be very competitive and targeted at domestic travellers, there’s nothing to stop overseas customers (say from Malaysia) from buying on the site.

Asked how this would affect hoteliers who might have offered the rates only for domestic, Blume said, “This will be a test case for hoteliers on how they look after domestic business.”

It does look like all the pieces are in place for Raja Kamar to do well. Indonesia is a thriving economy with 6.5% GDP growth, low cost airlines are making it possible for more people to travel, the domestic market is huge in a country of nearly 240 million and ecommerce is nascent and can only get bigger and the Indonesian customer is a highly digital and social animal – it is Facebook’s second largest market and Blackberry’s biggest market.

“Well, at least one thing is clear, we will only do a Blackberry app,” laughed Blume.

So what could possibly go wrong? “What’s clear is there will be more and more adoption online, just a question of how fast. With online adoption, people will look for content and then contact a call centre – again, how fast will that be?

“So I guess the only thing that could go wrong is the speed of adoption and how much money we have to spend in marketing to facilitate that.”

Amadeus, Eva Air renew distribution agreement

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The renewed agreement between Amadeus and Eva Air, Taiwan’s second largest international airline, not only strengthen their relationship but provide Amadeus travel agents worldwide with access to the carrier’s fares, schedules and ticketing.

Eva Air has committed to make the same fares, schedules and inventory available through the Amadeus system as is available through any global distribution provider (GDS).

Amadeus subscribing travel agencies will have access to a comprehensive range of fares, schedules and inventory from Eva Air.

Additionally, Amadeus and the airline will run several joint promotions for the travel agency community in Taiwan to celebrate Eva Air's upcoming 20th anniversary.

Eva Air said that this agreement with Amadeus supports its plans to expand in both its home market, as well in Asia and globally.

John Chapman, vice president, airline group, Amadeus Asia Pacific, added that with the contract’s renewal Amadeus travel agents in Taiwan, Asia Pacific and globally can enjoy full access to Eva Air’s content through the Amadeus Selling Platform.

MakeMyTrip pushes on, plans stake in My Guest House Accommodations

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

MakeMyTrip Limited (Nasdaq:MMYT) turned in a performance that was described as “quite well in the seasonally slow second quarter” in its unaudited financial and operating results for its fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2011.

Deep Kaira, chairman and CEO, said, "Our success was driven by our relentless focus on delivering a great user experience and unmatched value for MakeMyTrip customers as the travel market in India continues to move online."

Here are the highlights

• Gross bookings for Air ticketing and Hotels and packages combined increased by $89.0 million to $245.0 million, representing growth of 57.0% year over year (yoy).
• Number of Transactions for Air ticketing and Hotels and packages combined increased 64.0% yoy.
• Revenue rose 83.8% yoy to $43.8 million.
• Revenue less service costs(2) increased 65.8% yoy to $21.3 million.
• Net revenue margin for Air ticketing and Hotels and packages combined increased by 0.4% to 8.3% yoy.
• Results from operating activities improved yoy to $0.9 million, an increase of $0.6 million from the prior year's fiscal second quarter. Adjusted operating profit improved to $2.3 million, versus $0.5 million in the prior year's fiscal second quarter.
• Profit (Loss) for the period was $0.07 million versus $(1.8) million in the prior year's fiscal second quarter. Adjusted net incomewas $1.5 million versus $0.6 million in the prior year's fiscal second quarter.

On November 8, 2011, MakeMyTrip entered into an agreement with My Guest House Accommodations Private Limited (MGH) which will see the company initially acquire an approximate 29% stake in MGH for a cash investment of approximately US$1 million.

The plan is to acquire 100% of MGH's ordinary shares through an earn out structure based upon the achievement of various business parameters spread over eight years.

New Delhi-based MGH is engaged in the business of aggregation, sales and distribution of hotel room inventory with a special focus on budget lodging accommodations and serviced apartments.

“We believe the investment strengthens our presence in the distribution of low budget accommodation inventory. It will also strengthen our connectivity with hotels in India and allow us to improve efficiency in the distribution of hotel room inventories,” said MakeMyTrip.

Halong Bay, one of Nature's best

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

One of Vietnam’s top tourist destinations has made it to the coveted “provisional list” of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

The other six on the list, based on the first count of vote results on 11/11/11, include Amazon (South America), Iguazu Falls (Argentina, Brazil), Komodo (Indonesia), Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines), Jeju (South Korea) and Table Mountain (South Afriaca).

(Watch the video of the announcement and read the full list here)

According to the project organiser, New7Wonders, it was possible there would be changes between the provisional winners and the confirmed winners. The final slate will be announced during the official inauguration ceremony in early 2012.

Vietnam’s tourism industry is elated with the honour bestowed on Halong Bay, and expects to see a sharp increase in the number of visitors to the destination. For this year the bay expects receive 5.4 million tourist this year, including 2.5 million foreign travellers.

The dramatic Halong Bay, studded with nearly 2,000 limestone karst islands covering over a 1,500sqkm area, was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, and then again in 2000 for its geological value, the bay is Vietnam's top tourist attraction.

"Halong Bay is the unimpeachable choice," said Kurt Walter, group general manager of Apple Tree Group Hospitality, which includes Emeraude Classic Cruises on Halong Bay (pictured above).

"For so many years, Halong Bay was shrouded by the veil of war and strife and really, it's only been since the 1990s that the world has started waking up to the bay's magnificence. And now that it has, we expect to see a great deal of interest in seeing the bay first hand."

Since 2007 millions have cast votes for their favourite natural wonders.

Say goodbye to lowest common denominator apps with MTT's new platform

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd. (MTT) has implemented its new M2B mobile travel platform, M2B Next Gen, which allows travel suppliers to develop real, fully native mobile applications for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry from a single implementation.

“Poor quality, lowest common denominator apps are quite common – but consumers and travellers have increasingly high expectations for apps. Some data suggests that more than 26% of all apps are only ever used once,” said MTT’s head of marketing Sasha Wilson.

M2B Next Gen delivers the efficiency and speed-to-market of a “Develop Once, Deploy Everywhere” mobile approach, but with a twist. With M2B Next Gen a single implementation delivers both mobile web and apps. But where other platforms produce lowest common denominator apps, M2B Next Gen deploys 100% real, fully native apps for each mobile operating system.

And here’s the twist, MTT applies a layer of custom handcode to each app to take advantage of the native user interface capabilities of each mobile operating system. M2B Next Gen produces iPhone apps that are real iPhone apps, Android apps that are real Android apps and so on. Each function, each button and each image are coded so that users feel that each application was created especially for their mobile device or tablet.

M2B Next Gen supports native app capabilities that drive user satisfaction and engagement like easy and instant sharing via SMS and email, convenient push notifications and contextual messages based on user location or app state, and slick user interface features like animations.

In the past, producing a full range of fully native mobile apps has been a complex undertaking. Because each mobile operating system uses different technology, typically individual stand-alone apps had to be built and maintained. One common strategy has been to start small, and add new apps and features over time, but with this approach it’s easy to end up with a Frankenstein mobile channel – one bit bolted on to the next with nothing quite fitting or working together.
The time and overhead involved in full native app development has been prohibitive for many travel suppliers, and as a result, lowest common denominator mobile apps have proliferated.

“The lowest common denominator belongs in a maths classroom, not in customer facing mobile apps,” said Gerry Samuels (pictured), founder and executive director, MTT. “If you really want to generate revenue and goodwill with your mobile channel you need to deliver fully native apps your customers will love. Lowest common denominator design and functionality just isn’t good enough. ”

M2B Next Gen delivers the broadest range of mobile travel functionality and supports airlines, hotel chains and travel intermediaries.

Be a "BIG Shot" and win free trips on AirAsia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A joint initiative between Tune Money and Visa International, BIG is an innovative global loyalty programme that allows members to earn points when travelling and shopping, and redeem them for rewards including flight seats.

(Tune Money is the financial arm of Tune Group that has Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Dato' Kamarudin Meranun, ’s co-owners and founders of AirAsia, in the same designations.)

BIG’s soft launch was held two months ago, but was officially unveiled by the stakeholders in Kuala Lumpur on November 14.

The BIG Card is both a VISA prepaid payment and loyalty rewards card, which can be used anywhere a VISA card is accepted. It allows the cardholder to earn points, known as BIGGIES, whenever they spend at all Visa accepted merchants and BIG partners worldwide, which include AirAsia and Tune Money in Malaysia, Indosat in Indonesia and CentralWorld in Thailand.

BIG membership is borderless and is opened to anyone aged two years and above, anywhere in the world. Each member, nicknamed “BIG Shot”, is issued with a BIG card carrying the cardholder’s name and membership identification number, or BIG Shot ID.

In Malaysia the BIG card doubles up as a BIG Visa Prepaid card, which cardholders can reload at all major banks or online at the BIG website.

Earning BIGGIES is simple, said BIG CEO Johan Aris Ibrahim. "Just present your BIG card at Visa merchants and BIG partners or quote your BIG Shot ID when you shop online and BIGGIES are automatically loaded into your account. For example, each RM2 (USD0.60) transaction with BIG partners like AirAsia, AirAsia Megastore, AirAsiaRedTix, AirAsia Go and Tune Hotels earn you 1 BIGGIE"

For the BIG Visa Prepaid card in Malaysia, each RM2 transaction paid on the card generates 1 BIGGIE, while selected merchants give double the points. This is on top of the points earned as a BIG Shot.

Pictured (L-R): Going BIG withTune Money Peter Miller, AirAsia Tony Fernandes, BIG Johan Aris & AirAsia’s stewardesses

There are 1,500 BIG partners with more than 3,000 retail outlets around the globe where Big Shots can collect double BIGGIES, both online and offline. On top of that BIG has also set up an online shopping mall, featuring more than 1,000 cross-border global merchants allowing BIG Shots to earn BIGGIES.

"Apart from collecting BIGGIES our strategic partners also enable their current members to convert their existing loyalty points into BIGGIES, providing them a wider option for redemption,” Johan added..

A BIG Shot can start redeeming from as low as 400 BIGGIES. Those with insufficient BIGGIES have the option of topping up with cash.

Fernandes, who is also AirAsia group CEO, said this global programme was a reward to the company’s loyal guests and customers, adding that BIG's greatest feature is the redemption of flight seats.

"BIG has certainly given a new definition to frequent flying and loyalty programmes as we know them. Merchants and partners should view BIG as an extended marketing and loyalty arm in further growing the businesses and market shares."

To date BIG has received 65,000 applications from 150 countries. When combined with AirAsia's existing customers, who will be moved to the BIG card, it expects to have a membership of over 100,000. The airline targets one million members by mid-2012, with the programme generating RM500 million additional sales in the same year.

Fernandes said the card will be launched in Indonesia in Q1 2012 and in Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore by end-2012.

Peter Miller, Tune Money CEO, said BIG’s target market was the "young at heart" who would like to fly for free.

"Essentially, a card for the now majority of consumers who are comfortable transacting online such as booking AirAsia flights and would like the opportunity to earn free flights and more from their online and other transactions."

Stuart Tomlinson, Visa country manager, Malaysia, added the BIG Visa Prepaid card was a safer and more convenient payment option for travellers as they can simply load up their card before they fly, and earn points for their next trip with every transaction.”

BIG is managed by Think Big Digital Sdn Bhd, a 50:50 joint venture between AirAsia and Tune Money.

Lao Airlines to fly direct to Singapore, new routes planned

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Happy news for fans of Laos of which we are one – Lao Airlines is launching flights to Singapore from November 24, and potentially to Guangzhou and Seoul.

This follows the delivery of two brand new Airbus A320s, which effectively doubles capacity for the national flag carrier of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Prior to this, Lao Airlines’ fleet consisted of eight turboprop aircraft – four ATR72-500s and four MA-60s. The two A320s will also be deployed on existing services to Bangkok, Kunming, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City as well as on domestic services linking Vientiane to Luang Prabang (pictured) and Pakse.

Each A320 is configured with 16 business class and 126 economy class seats.

Lao Airlines’ thrice-weekly flights linking Vientiane and Singapore create yet another gateway for Singaporeans and Singapore-based expatriate communities and visitors.

The timing of the flights arriving at and departing Singapore offers excellent connections for visitors from Europe, Australia, South Asia and the rest of Southeast Asia. Lao Airlines’ President Dr Somphone Douantdara said, “Lao Airlines is on the threshold of a new and exciting growth trajectory, one that is in tune with the upswing in tourism to Laos. The introduction of new Airbus A320s into our fleet and the opening of a non-stop service to Singapore greatly expands our capacity to tap into the potential feed through our gateways in Bangkok and Singapore.”

Lao Airlines will concentrate on building brand-awareness for the airline in an effort to promote the new service to Singapore but will at the same time co-operate with the Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) and the Laotian tourism industry to promote travel to Laos.

Growing trade ties between Laos and Singapore along with increasing investments by Singapore-based companies in Laos has resulted in a higher volume of corporate travellers between the two countries.

Prior to this, travellers from Singapore to Laos needed to fly via either Thailand or Vietnam. BL Khoo, managing director of Universal Travel Corporation Singapore, said this inconvenience has resulted in a minimal number of Singapore tourists travelling to Laos as compared to other Asian countries.

“Although Laos is well known for its stunning nature, rich cultures and traditions and peaceful lifestyle, it is like a hidden treasure yet to be discovered by many.”

Following the promotion of the new services, Khoo said the company has generated more than 200 bookings and it is still growing strong.

“These numbers are promising and encouraging. Laos will certainly serve as another choice of destination for many Singapore travellers; offering a different kind of experience.”

Lao Airlines has appointed Maple Aviation as its general sales agent (GSA) in Singapore.

Travel 3.0 takes centrestage at Amadeus' Online Connect

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Hail the new era of online travel 3.0 and the rise of consumer power. That was the key message that came out of the annual Online Connect event organised by Amadeus.

Held at the Hermitage Hotel, Monte-Carlo, the conference for online travel agencies was attended by over 35 key global delegates who came together to discuss how online travel agencies must compete, sustain their business and evolve, with technology acting as a key enabler to fuel growth.

The new era of online travel, otherwise known as Online Travel 3.0, was at the heart of the discussion, with over 60% of delegates agreeing that this was taking place today; end-consumer expectations have changed as online and mobile technologies have evolved, with supplier and retailer collaboration being driven by customer insights.

Guest speakers included Clive Humby, a retail and branding expert, who drew inspiring parallels of the online world with the more traditional successful retailers, highlighting the importance that retailers place on personalising the customer´s experience, and what the online travel world could learn from them; and Carroll Rheem from PhocusWright, who shared the results of a global study commissioned by Amadeus on travellers´ online shopping habits, which will be launched publically later this year.

Carroll Rheem, Director of Research, PhocusWright, commented, ¨While some traveller needs are universal, local dynamics add distinct characteristics to each marketplace and can make or break enterprising retailers. But a snapshot of current traveller behavior is just part of the big picture. As a dynamic industry consistently at the forefront of innovation, the business of selling travel requires players to keep a sharp eye on the future.”

Earlier this year, Amadeus launched Extreme Search for online travel agencies, an inspirational shopping tool that offers an intuitive search solution that revolutionises the way consumers search for air travel online. Amadeus Extreme Search allows consumers to search by budget, type of activity or geography, rather than searching by traditional criteria such as origin and destination.

Walking In The Rain and Reminiscing

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s become a common occurrence these days in Singapore to be rained upon. Without fail, every late afternoon, just as the crows are getting ready to curl up to sleep, the skies will open up and kaboom, buckets of water will pour from the sky.

(Picture: Clouds build up in the Singapore skyline as a heron probably asking, what the hell am I doing here, paces, ready to take flight)

Just before that, lightning will split the sky and thunder will roar in the distance like someone is really, really mad at us.

Do I recall it ever being so wet in Singapore these monsoon months?

Not in recent memory but then my memory ain’t what it used to be, as country singer Jason Aldean sings in the video below.

We’ve had floods in Singapore but of course, not as bad as what we are seeing in images from Bangkok. It’s kind of surreal, an entire city waterlogged or sogged for months. Parts dry, parts wet, parts inundated – life disrupted.

Growing up, I recall loving the rain because each time it rained, while the area where I lived would always be flooded, our house was always spared.

That’s because our house situated in a Malay “kampong” was built on stilts so water rarely came into the house, it just sloshed around under us. And when the rains stopped, we as children would treat it as our swimming pool.

I remember thinking how clever people were to build houses like these because they knew that in the tropics, stilts were a good idea. It kept the area under the house cool and that’s where we as children played, my father read his newspapers in a hammock and chickens were free to roam.

And it also meant keeping your things above water.

Today, the house I grew up in is no longer. We had to move out a long time ago because the owner wanted to redevelop the area and today, the Malay “kampong”, which was our haven during the May 13, 1969 racial riots because we were among friends and fellow Malaysians, has been replaced by high-rise flats and condominiums which keep us apart rather than a part of something bigger.

The area still floods like it used to except this time, there are no stilts, only basements and people complain about their cars being damaged.

I was told by a friend in Bangkok that before, the rice fields of Ayutthaya helped absorb the water flow from the north. Factories which have replaced the fields do not absorb, they only spew. Somewhat simplistic thinking but perhaps there is truth in simplicity.

Don’t get me wrong. I still love the rain but I am just looking at it with new eyes these days because it appears in our rush to urbanise, we forgot one fundamental – water has to go somewhere.

Thoughts from the Conference of Conferences

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Last month, at the suggestion of Siew Hoon, I attended ICCA in Leipzig, Germany with a presentation entitled“Building a distinctive event-brand with a unique, irreverent personality”.

There are no prizes on offer for guessing correctly who that ‘personality’ is.

For those of you who don’t know, ICCA is the International Congress and Convention Association, and I suppose you could call its annual event the ‘Conference of Conferences’.

For those of you who know WIT and share in the fun that it represents, you will not be surprised to hear that building my presentation and delivering it in an as enthusiastic way as possible was not difficult. Indeed, several people were kind enough to comment on the passion that came across during my 25 minutes in front of them.

What was particularly interesting and quite comforting too, given that my presentation was on the last morning, was the recurrence of certain themes running through much of the conference content.

WIT, of course, is about many things but would be very different if it wasn’t for the fact that it is very experience based, very collaborative, positively participative and on top of the trends of the day.

And whilst WIT has, to a large extent, embraced these aspects, grown up with them and been prepared to experiment and innovate, it was a little surprising to me to understand that the broader conference world is still, in some sense and in many cases, still coming to terms with these trends and looking at ways to embrace them.

As I mentioned, it was comforting to see these conference-trend topics emerge on the days before my presentation and know that I could speak from the heart and with passion about WIT knowing that they form a large part of what makes WIT both special and unique.

We even had a whole presentation (quite a good one it should be noted) on experience marketing and creating experiential engagements between customers and their brands. Some of you may be raising your eyebrows reading this – “we’ve been hearing about this for a while now, haven’t we?” Yes - we have – you have. But there are plenty of people who apparently haven’t and, even if they have, don’t know how to implement.

I’m used to being an early adopter and the reactions that that can invoke – checking in of Foursquare everywhere I go, for example, and having people wonder what the heck I am doing and why. But I’ve thought over the last six months or a year or so that people are surely coming to grips with the more mainstream Social Media things like Facebook and Twitter, right?

Wrong. There are still a lot of people out there for whom even the most mainstream aspects of Social Media (if that phrase makes sense) like Twitter and Facebook are still veiled in mystery and cloaked with the unknown.

Not a theme in the same way but more of a broader trend was the formal acknowledgment of Gen Y. (Something that WIT more than makes a nod towards with WITNext and all that surrounds those efforts). There was at least one formal session where understanding and communicating with these young folks formed the core subject matter. Again, this was a subject where there was plenty of potential for education amongst the, shall we say, older demographics.

I always get a little nervous during the days before a presentation and then that nervousness turns to more positive excitement as the actual hour approaches.

In Leipzig my excitement was re-doubled when I realized that we really are doing something very right with WIT – a brand and a conference that does way more than understand the trends of the day.

WIT, as you know (and if you don’t, you should probably find out) jumps right in and invites everyone to be participative and collaborative and acknowledges that the experiential thing is growing and evolving from year to year and, like all great innovators, isn’t afraid to make mistakes.

Raja Kamar makes first acquisition in bid to become 'king of rooms'

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Signalling its serious intent to be the number one B2C hotel portal in Indonesia, PT Raja Kamar International, Indonesia’s recently formed hotel distribution company, has acquired 100% of MG Holiday, Indonesia’s leading hotel wholesaler, with immediate effect.

Scott Blume (left), Group CEO of Raja Kamar International said, “This transaction will bring considerable benefits to the Raja Kamar International group, including direct access to MG Holiday’s extensive hotel inventory across Indonesia.

“This direct access to over 1,800 hotels will allow the combined Raja Kamar group to work closely with hotels across the existing wholesale channel and bring hotel partners access to new customers via Indonesia’s home grown specialist hotel website, Rajakamar.com. MG Holiday has 6 offices across Indonesia and over 260 staff members, who provide specialist knowledge of Indonesia’s unique hotel offerings to their customers.”

The appointment of Blume to head Raja Kamar International, Indonesia's largest domestic hotel distribution group, was announced at the recent WIT Conference. Rajar Kamar is a partnership between three competing tour operators in Indonesia - Panorama Group, Dwidaya Tour and Travel, and Smailing Tours.

RajaKamar.com, which literally translates to “king of rooms” in Bahasa Indonesia, aims to be the number one B2C online hotel booking channel with the largest inventory of Indonesia hotels, selling primarily to Indonesian consumers.

MG Holiday produces well over 700,000 room nights a year in Indonesia and has experienced in excess of 20% percent year on year revenue growth for the last three years as Indonesians increase their domestic travel and more and more hotels are being built across the archipelago.

The founders and shareholders of MG Holiday, Eddy Yeo and Raymond, will become shareholders of Raja Kamar International Group and continue to hold key executive positions with the combined group, working with Blume.

Yeo commented, “Raymond and I are delighted to be joining forces with three of Indonesia’s premier travel groups, under a single corporate structure and vision, and we are very confident that we will be a major driving force in hotel distribution in Indonesia and nearby Asian markets in the future. It is a very exciting time for the Raja Kamar Group, our hotel partners and our employees”.

Raja Kamar International offers over 1800 hotels, in over 135 cities and towns across Indonesia and 40,000 international hotels, bookable 24 hours a day over the internet, or from 24 hour telephone reservation centres.

WIT's Grooviest Start-Up launches GetFlight Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Air fare search in Singapore just got more competitive. Barely a month after it won The Grooviest Start-Up at WIT 2011, GetFlight.com.au, the first and only site dedicated to sale airfares for flights in and from Australia, has launched GetFlight Singapore, a new sister site that utilises GetFlight’s proprietary global platform.

GetFlight.com.sg is launching with six brands, including two online travel agents (OTAs) and four airlines: Jetstar, Malaysian, Singapore and Tiger Airways, to allow consumers to search and explore sale airfares from Singapore.

The launch of GetFlight Singapore is part of the company’s global strategy, to provide travellers with a simple and easy-to-use platform to discover, compare and book sale airfares.

Principal founder, Ian Cumming told WIT, “We decided to launch GetFlight Singapore as the second site on our global platform because Singapore is a competitive hub for both low-cost and full service airlines.

“GetFlight is different because we only track sale airfares, and our map-based search platform allows consumers to perform open-ended queries like "Singapore to Anywhere for less than $100 in February".

“Using GetFlight, consumers can additionally compare sale airfares on OTAs and meta-search sites so this would allow us to partner with companies such as Skyscanner and Wego in the future. We also plan on adding more airlines for GetFlight Singapore.”

GetFlight.com.sg will direct users to the airlines’ websites for purchasing, and users can subscribe to personalised email alerts notifying them of specific sale fares for only the places they want to go. Currently GetFlight.com.sg is tracking sale airfares to over 40 cities in more than 20 countries, and GetFlight expects to add additional airlines over the coming months.

GetFlight.com.sg joins GetFlight.com.au on the GetFlight global platform, a technology platform that pushes real-time airline fares across web, mobile and social channels. The platform, which deeply tracks user location, engagement and search history, can easily be configured and rolled out to other regions.

Additionally, the GetFlight platform provides a branding engine that can offer partners a white label integration with their existing websites and customer base.

Cumming won the Grooviest Start-Up award as part of the Start-Up Gallery during the WIT Bootcamp, following a competitive set of presentations, with the finalists including American-based tour and activities marketplace Flextrip.com and TourPackages.com.sg, owned by Singaporean tech company Travelogy.com. (Picture shows Cumming with Don Birch, who co-chaired the judging panel at the WIT Bootcamp.)

Said Cumming, “Participating in the Bootcamp and winning the Grooviest Start-up award was a very rewarding experience for me for a number of reasons. The 5 and 3 minute pitches really helped me focus on clearly communicating GetFlight's core value propositions.

“Being recognised by some of the region's most experienced travel executives and investors in the industry was a great honour, especially alongside the tough competition from fellow Bootcamp finalists FlexTrip.com and Travelogy.com.

“My only suggestion for the Bootcamp is to hold an after-party for the startups since I really would have liked to talk more to the other participants.”

He said that GetFlight.com.au was “still climbing in Australia”.

“We now have approximately 8,000 sale airfare alert subscriptions. We've sent consumers more than 140,000 alerts for sale airfares so far and tracked more than 37,000 sale airfares in the Australian market.

“We've just released an update to our map interface that makes it easier and faster to use, and this had led to improved user engagement. We've also increased conversion on our affiliate commissions so our revenue is increasing on that front.”

Asked what was the biggest challenge in getting ts site known to consumers, Cumming cited “building an audience with a very minimal marketing budget”.

“We decided to use PR (public relations) to drive customer acquisition, and this strategy has paid off. We've achieved consumer press in mainstream Australian online and in print publications, including news.com.au, The Australian and Choice Magazine. By being religiously focussed on providing a great product we've been able to keep those consumers on our site and get them to recommend us to their friends.”

As for expansion plans, he said, “That is our secret sauce! But I think if you look at markets which have sale airfares - we want to be in those markets within the next 6-12 months.”

Travelport launches new developer network programme

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Designed for third party developers, the Developer Network provides members with full access to key software resources, dedicated help and support and an entry in the new Travelport Developer Directory.

Travelport created the new programme to facilitate the faster introduction of innovative new applications to its 67,000 travel agency customers worldwide. It will offer extensive commercial, technical and support benefits to approved developer members.

The company’s developer tools will continue to be built on open standards technology, so developers can programme in the environment of their choice and build applications that easily integrate with existing Travelport databases and technologies.

Membership includes access to the Travelport Universal API™, which provides access to extensive content and functionality through a single API connection.

In 2012 members will also gain access to the Travelport Universal Desktop Software Development Kit (SDK), which creates a wealth of new opportunities for developers. The extensive configurability can be further enhanced to meet agency needs with custom activities incorporated into workflows, shopping and booking from blended GDS and non-GDS content, and custom pop-up widgets with anytime access.

Gillian Gibson, Travelport chief marketing officer, said the focus on creating leading solutions is core to developers’ business, which leave many little time for other essential activities, such as lead generation, marketing and advertising.

"Because the Travelport Developer Network addresses this challenge, providing our developers with a single access point to our extensive content and agency network, along with providing technical support, it is indeed a win-win-win for developers, Travelport and our joint customers."

Over 20 independent software developers, including Dolphin Dynamics, Rearden Commerce and flextrip, have already signed up to the new network ahead of its official launch at the PhoCusWright conference in Miami, U.S. (November 15-17).

SiteMinder unveils new version of Channel Manager for hotels

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The company’s next generation, state-of-the-art distribution platform is set to boost online distribution, as well as challenge conventional thinking in automated distribution of hotel rooms to leading booking channels..

"The platform is a major step forward in providing unique functionality to users that has not been made available in any other channel management systems to date,” said Mike Ford, SiteMinder managing director, of the new product which was launched last week at World Travel Martet in London..

The new system offers a fully transparent dashboard onto everything happening in the underlying switch, from hoteliers being able to instantly see channel connectivity status, right up to the ability to seamlessly connect rooms from their PMS/CRS to the channel rooms in real time.

"What we have done is given full control to the hotelier, to the extent that they do not need to rely on a support desk to connect rooms to channels or to inform them of issues in channel connectivity. This translates into the hotelier being able to launch new offers on booking sites connected back to the channel manager and PMS with a few clicks of the mouse," Ford added.

More than 5,000 properties in more than 70 countries now use SiteMinder’s cloud-based, zero-transaction-fee technology to increase online revenue, improve business efficiencies and significantly drive down the cost of acquisition.

TravelClick acquires channel management provider, EZYield

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

TravelClick’s recent acquisition of EZYield enables it to improve hotels’ ability to grow its distribution reach and manage reservations electronically.

EZYield’s integrated solutions suite allows hotels to send and update availability, rates and inventory on more than 650 travel websites via a simple online portal, as well as electronically receive reservations directly into hotels’ data management systems.

EZYield’s products will continue to be offered as standalone solutions. Over time, the products will also be integrated into TravelClick’s Hotelier central reservation systems, as well as other property management systems (PMS) and central reservations systems (CRM), so hotels can manage rates, inventory and reservations simply and simultaneously across all their distribution channels.

"Third party distributors, such as Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), are a critical source of revenue for hotels, and TravelClick is committed to bringing its customers the best global channel management solution to maximize revenue through these channels," said Larry Kutscher, TravelClick chief executive officer (pictured left).

James Filsinger, former chief executive officer of EZYield (pictured right), will lead TravelClick’s combined channel management business and report to Jonathan Cherins, executive vice president and general manager of reservations solutions. The company will remain in Orlando, Fla. where TravelClick also has a significant presence.

"By combining forces with TravelClick, we will have even more resources available to bring leading edge solutions to market, as well as a sales and distribution platform to deliver our products all over the world, enabling hotels to sell the most rooms at the highest possible rates," said Filsinger.

Jonathan Cherins,TravelClick executive vice president and general manager of reservations solutions (pictured left), said the combination of TravelClick’s unique set of tools and EZYield’s solutions "will further strengthen the company’s offering by providing hotels connections to more sales channels via an intuitive user interface, and seamless connectivity between a property’s data management systems and its online channels."

Sing It Loud and even geeks can cry

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

With this post, I’d like to thank kd lang for unlocking something in me. I caught her live at the Esplanade in Singapore the day she turned 50. I liked the way she declared it in front of 1,800 “fellow freaks” as she called us.

The day I declared turning 50, I did in in front of only 20 close friends – but thanks to viral word of mouth plus the fact that it happened during a WIT Conference, I guess it’s now known by 20x2(days)x450(delegates)x6,000(Facebook fans)x1,000 (Twitter followers).

I am trying to be writer who can geek.

It was good to see kd lang at 50. She looked great and she glowed. And her music flowed. Like well aged wine.

If anything, I think she’s found her groove as an artist. Her latest album, Sing It Loud, with her new band, Siss Boom Bang, talks about claiming “who you are”. Gone ‘s the angst of her earlier songs and in place, a new-found sound that has a soulful blend of joy and irony. Think Talking Heads-meet-Joni Mitchell.

Her version of the Heads’ “Heaven” drips with irony, her unplugged rendition of “Hallelujah” makes you melt and her fresh interpretation of her breakout hit “Constant Craving” is fun and upbeat.

By the time she got to the closing, her shoes were off (that’s after she blew out the candles on her birthday cake) and, in her final number, she said, ““We want our music to be home for you, that’s why we make them.”

Yes, by the time you get to 50, you realize life’s bitter+sweet, dark+light, sad+funny. Everything but black+white.

Reminds me of a conversation my niece had the other day as she was eating an avocado from Sabah. “Why does it taste sweet in the beginning and then bitter at the end?” she asked.

“That’s life, isn’t it,” retorted another 50-year-old soul.

I told Travelstart’s Stephan Ekbergh about watching kd lang and her turning 50 and the man who wowed us at WIT with his “customer love” said, “So what, rich 50 is the new 30.”

I like his qualification. Money can buy you youth?

A few days later, I was back at the Esplanade watching The National, an indie rock band from Ohio. This couldn’t be a more different band than kd lang’s.

The National is a relatively young band – formed in 1999 – but from their music, you’d think these were old, tortured souls. Think Leonard Cohen-meets-Arcade Fire.

Their songs are a blend of dark+light, soft+heavy, sweet+bitter or as someone said, “beautifully tortured”. They sound like elegies to lost love, innocence, youth …. whatever you can lose in the journey of life.

Yet they are strangely uplifting.

A great concert/experience/event is also when the unexpected happens.

You would expect a rock concert to end with a siss boom bang but for its final encore, The National went unplugged and lead singer Matt Berninger led the audience in a sweet and tender rendition of “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks”.

Yes, even geeks can cry.

Why I Would Never Hire A Social Media Expert

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

WIT winning debater, and editor of Discovery Channel Magazine, Luke Clark argues that for most of us mortals, social media is best left for socialising. (This is the argument he shared at the WIT Conference.)

• A social media expert is like a “casual Olympian”. Nothing as amorphous, random and ever-changing as this realm has any real experts yet.

• Second of all, if there really are true experts available, why are they for hire? Granted, I might hire Mark Zuckerberg if he weren’t so busy – but you know what? The few real experts in social media simply aren’t “for hire”.

• My next point is, have we lost track of what social media is actually for? It is for socialising, for goodness sake. I’m not hiring someone to go to the movies. I didn’t hire someone to go out and meet the woman I ended up marrying. Hiring someone to be social for me is simply a dereliction of my social duty – you want to interact as a brand? Go and be social yourself.

• Plus, would you want to be anything but casual on Facebook? Why would you really want a serious, monetised, stretegised, itemised – automatic, hydromatic, grease lightning campaign? On Facebook? Is it because that’s what your customers want? Or because a social media “expert” told you so?

• Let’s face it. Most of the things about social media aren’t that difficult. Answer a question on Facebook. Post a quick tweat in a “hip and happening” style. Don’t be fooled – because I print out a metallic blue name card with the work title of SOCIAL OVERLORD and buy bean-bags for my meeting room, doesn’t make my tweets any more effective than yours.

• If you went to the doctor with a stomach ache, would you want a doctor who only looked at people with stomach aches? What if the stomach ache was related to a condition in your throat? Or heart? Instead, general practitioner – or a TCM doctor – would have holistic training on all conditions. So if you really need an expert, hire a media expert – social or otherwise.

• Think about this seriously. What are you doing? You spend all your week trying to get your staff to stay off social media. Then you pay someone whose main claim to fame is that they’ve spent the last four years wasting their time on it?

• With no disrespect intended, there is a very important reason not to believe my worthy opponent Mr Loh Lik Peng. For him, social media may actually be the right forum. But people, he is seriously cool – most of us are not. He owns The New Majestic Hotel, and Wanderlust, both bastions of serious hipness. In the past I’ve done photo shoots with fashion models in these places: the models looked almost as sexy as the surroundings. This guy was on the cover of CNBC Business Europe; Design Hotels called his one of its “illustrious personalities”.

• He is someone you would not hesitate to bring to Zoukout to introduce hip young things. People, he is not you and I. My point here is simple – very few of us have products seriously worth disturbing people on their occasional stolen moment of fun, in amidst an otherwise dreary day.

• Friends, the internet is a weapon of mass distraction. You and I don’t have the goods to justify disturbing people’s social lives. He does! That is why I – and 99% of the people here – would, and should never hire a social media expert.

• And let’s feel good about that. Let them be cool. As Lester Bangs says in the movie Almost Famous: “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool.” Let’s go onto social media and share our uncool lives with each other. And leave the hiring of media experts exclusively to the genuinely cool folks.

• Self defeating corporate footnote: Luke would also not hire a social media expert, because at Novus Media Solutions, he works with several! www.firestarter.com.sg

IDeaS wants to be the AirAsia of revenue management

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

If everyone can fly with AirAsia, then every hotel can revenue manage, according to Brian Sterrett (left), vice president global sales and marketing of IDeaS, who is looking to the region to drive the company’s growth in the next few years.

Sterrett, who attended the WIT Conference, said that IDeaS wanted to be the AirAsia of hotel revenue management. “We want to make the idea and execution accessible to everyone,” he said.

Based in Minneapolis, Sterrett joined IDeaS in January this year from iMANY, a revenue management software company, which provides solutions for the life sciences industry among others. He is responsible for all sales and marketing worldwide for IDeaS.

Sterrett observed that in terms of using data to optimize channels for profitability, the life sciences industry was ahead of the hospitality business.

“Both revenue management problems require analysis of large volumes of transactions and making good decisions using the data. This is very important in life sciences – when to close out channels that are more expensive.

“Hotels do it in a very unscientific way currently.”

However he said the democratization of pricing science was happening. “We are getting better pricing decision-making processes into the hands of more hotel operators, regardless of how sophisticated they are.

“The data quality and analytics is also getting better and “more is less”. You don’t have to be an advanced revenue management professional to successfully drive pricing decisions.

“We want to put the science ahead of the technology and make it simpler for everyone to use.”

With Asia accounting for 25% of the company’s total business now, Sterrett sees this growing to 30% in the next three years. “It is increasing as part of our total mix and we will be investing in a few areas.”

In Asia, about 80% of all employees are located in the development centre in India, with 20% in client facing services across the region. The latter group will double in the next 12 months, he said.

“We are also adding products to our mix, tailored to chains and hotels which are less sophisticated in revenue management. The prices will also be more affordable – for example, independent hotels can access our solutions on a timeshare basis – we think this is a good starting point for us to grow our business across the region.”

Currently, the company counts 2,200 hotels as customers worldwide. “This is only a small slice of the market so there is tremendous opportunity for growth,” he said.

Business, he added, was growing by 25% a year. His goal is to double revenues in three years and have five times the number of customers it has now.

He said that, like airlines, hotels are looking for solutions in ancillary revenues and one nut to crack is the meetings business. “There’s always been demand for revenue management related to function space and it’s a difficult problem to solve.

“It’s not the same kind of decision making that’s involved in room revenues and there are lots of little complexities – room configuration, etc – but we are developing partnerships to analyse the data.

“We are also seeing more conference centres attached to hotels now so there is definitely a need for hotels to have the right data to make the right revenue decisions in this segment.”

On his first trip to Asia, Sterrett said attending WIT helped him solidify his belief that the region is very diverse. “Singapore is a great centre for revenue management today but there are very diverse levels of sophistication across the region in using science to drive pricing and revenue.

“Clearly, from a travel standpoint, Asia is the region of growth. The US, for the near term, and Europe are challenged. The development is here, lots of new buildings coming up.

“There are more flights coming into the market – the numbers in China are pretty overwhelming. I heard someone said there are nine new airports opening a year in China.”

He said the distribution channel mix hasn’t changed that dramatically with the exception of mobile which has emerged as a new channel.

As for which is the most expensive channel, Sterrett said it varies by hotel and market “but it seems major OTAs show up as an expensive booking channel, this is what we hear from hotels we deal with.

“The important thing is to make good decisions about the use of your channels and the most cost effective is direct.”

As for social media, he said personally he sees it as “more of an influence channel to inform booking activity”.

Open up your 'Chinese Wallet', here comes Kosmopolito

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The name Kosmopolito Hotels International (KHI) may not be as familiar as Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, but this Hong Kong-based hotel chain is slowly but surely making an impact in the hotel scene with its interesting range of hotels and aggressive marketing.

KHI currently owns and operates 17 hotels spread out across Hong Kong (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories), China (Shanghai, Wuhan) and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Johor Bahru). Seven more will come on line within the next two years.

Last June, when KHI opened Dorsett Regency Hotel Hong Kong, its 10th hotel in Hong Kong and 17th group-wide, it claimed the position of being one of the largest hotel operators in the former British colony.

Heading this young hotel group is an equally young thirty-ish Winnie Chiu as its president and executive director (pictured left), leading a team of "people who are smarter than me so they can inspire me"., as she laughingly put it, from its headquarters in Hong Kong and a regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

KHI was set up in January 2007 as a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Far East Consortium International Limited (a company listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange). In October 2010 KHI spun off from Far East Consortium as a developer, owner and operator of hotels, and was listed on the HKSE.

"Far East was too diversified as it was involved in numerous activities including property development. KHI is a cleaner setup as it focuses on hotels,” explained Chiu.

Apart from bringing Asian-inspired hospitality to the world the KHI chief believes in innovation and in being different in its hotels' design. These are evident in KHI’s hotels, each with its own character and design.

KHI hotels are grouped under four key hotel brands - Boutique Series by Kosmopolito, design led hotels with an individual style and character; Grand Dorsett and Dorsett Regency cater to the mid-scale business market; Silka, economy range similar in concept and services as Accor’s Ibis.

Pictured above: Silka Hotel Johor, Malaysia (left) & Cosmo Hotel, Hong Kong

This (branding) strategy is “to have a more cohesive and engaging portfolio of brands, improve awareness of our brands, enhance the hotels’ appeal to our target markets as well as proving a strong platform for marketing,” said Chiu.

The new hotels being developed - including one in Singapore and London, the latter KHI’s first hotel property in the UK and outside of Asia - are examples of their appeal.

The 11 storey, 242-room Dorsett Regency Hotel, London (pictured below left) is unique as it is built on the site of the an old cinema - former Pavilion Cinema in Shepherd's Bush. it is slated to open in 2013.

On the other hand the 285-4oom Dorsett Regency Hotel "On New Bridge" in Singapore's Central Business District (pictured below right), will be a modern hotel targeting business travellers. It is scheduled for completion in Q2 2013.

These two hotels also illustrate the philosophy of KHI, which believes in giving travellers something different like staying in a former cinema or a converted serviced residence.

Chiu sees the main area of growth coming from within the Asian region.To this extent the group has adopted what is known as the "Chinese Wallet Strategy". With a population of 1.3 billion and as the world’s fourth largest source market for outbound travel – 57.4 million Chinese travelled abroad in 2010 – China is a rich source market.

“Research shows that Chinese who travel abroad for business and education also return to the same destinations for leisure, and they are spending more on travel.” Chiu said. Asia is the favourite destination commanding 68% of the Chinese outbound market.

With 10 hotels operating in Hong Kong, rising to 12 by 2012, and with the large number of Chinese travelling to the former British colony and regional countries, it makes sense to adopt the "Chinese Wallet" strategy both in Hong Kong and without.

Chiu is, however, quick to point out that while KHI's marketing strategy is "Asian focus", it is also looking at foreign markets – breaking down the ratio to 50:50 Asian to foreign.

"Our hotels, while Asian inspired, also appeal to a cosmopolitan market."

Chiu's vision is to double KHI’s portfolio in next five years with hotels in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney), Japan and increasing the numbers in China.

"Malaysia, especially Sabah and Sarawak, has good potential," said Chiu. That is one of the reasons why KPI recently opened an office in Kuala Lumpur.

The properties in Malaysia are Dorsett Regency Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Grand Dorsett Subang (Kuala Lumpur), Grand Dorsett Labuan, Dorsett Johor, Silka Hotel Johor and Maytower Hotel and Serviced Residences (Kuala Lumpur). Two more hotels, in Cheras and Jalan Imbi will be added to the portfolio early next year – the former to be a Silka while the brand of the latter is yet to be decided.

Chiu sees a strong demand for Silka hotels, not just in Malaysia but within the region, “as hotels under such brands not only offer value for money but facilities such as Wifi and laundry room that are valued by both business and leisure travellers."

“Low cost carriers such as AirAsia have created a new segment of travellers who are happy with hotels such as Silka,” she added.

When asked if KHI would set up a hotel management company to manage other hotels or franchise out its brands Chiu shook her head, saying, “My priority is to get my branding right. It’s dangerous to dilute the branding.”

FastBooking's new service to increase hotel's direct bookings

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

FastBooking Direct Link brings Internet users from worldwide partner sites closer to the hotel’s official website with a single click on the "check rates" button.

The service, developed for independent hotels and independent hotel groups, debuts with Google (Google Maps, Google Hotel Finder), TripAdvisor and Trivago. It will extend to Kayak and Wego in Q1 2012.

"Direct Link gives independent hotels and groups critical visibility on travel and price comparison sites when Internet users are searching for accommodations.The hotel benefits from increased traffic on its official website, greater potential for bookings and profit, and the very real advantage of ‘owning the relationship' with the customer," said Jean Louis Boss, FastBooking vice president, marketing.

The Direct Link programme extends the hotel's brand visibility to a global customer base with high purchasing power.

Partner websites link to a dedicated landing page on the official hotel website using XML connectivity. This landing page displays the results of the request made by the web user on the partner site.

"We estimate that FastBooking Direct Link highlights the official hotel website and the hotel's availability to a combined total of more than 100 million unique, qualified visitors each month on the partner sites," Boss added.

Direct Link is available through FastBooking Hotel Traffic Builder, a programme featuring customised SEM promotion campaigns to increase hotel visibility and direct online bookings.

Air China teams up with Abacus in expansion strategy

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Air China has upgraded its reservation inventory participation system to Direct Connect Availability (DCA) by Abacus International, and embarked on a three-year marketing programme with Abacus as part of its expansion strategy.

Abacus DCA connectivity is a highly evolved system interface, which enables travel agents to compare rates and availability directly from travel supplier in-house systems. It also provides airlines control of point of sale quota allocation by deciding which flights can be processed.

"By adopting Abacus DCA airlines have control of the supply and demand for seats to better cater to travellers’ demand patterns," said Ho Hoong Mau, Abacus’ division head of airline distribution (pictured below).

With this system Air China can now better optimise its revenue generation for maximum yields and reach in Asia, and agents have instant access to what’s available.

"It also paves the way for Air China to explore tapping Origin/Destination (OD) business by using Abacus’ suites of revenue optimisation products like Abacus Married Segments," Ho added.

The marketing programme between Air China and Abacus will allow for greater growth by Air China across the region.

The partnership will see the two companies work closely together in expansion efforts for the airline through the Abacus network. Air China will also have greater reach for its agents, as well as offer increased fare promotions through the Abacus FareX system.

Maldives claims 'Always Natural-

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Maldives has unveiled its new tourism slogan and logo, "Always Natural". (pictured left)

"The slogan and logo are designed to underscore the outstanding natural beauty of the Maldives, which tourists from all segments of the market consistently rate as one of their main reasons for visiting the country", said Thoyyib Mohamed Waheed, State Minister for Tourism, Arts & Culture and chairperson of MMPRC (Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation).

Additionally, the new identity reinforces the government policy of repositioning the Maldives as a country focused on sustainability, and with a wide range of offerings, which appeal to both its traditional markets and the growing inbound tourism markets of China, Japan and India.

The logo and tagline were created by QUO Keen, a specialist brand consultancy for the tourism industry,  

David Keen, CEO of QUO Keen (pictured right), said the brand stands for the Maldivian people, for tourism and for all of Maldivian industry.

"The slogan ‘Always Natural’ talks to the wonderful character of the people of the Maldives, to sustainability and to the ultimate tourism experience. The logo has been hand-crafted to express the natural elements of the country formed in a thumb print."

The new unified identity for the Maldives goes above and beyond the country's current image of a luxury honeymoon destination. It aims to become a brand with transferability to all areas of Maldivian life and livelihood, from sustainable energy to fishing and the natural smiles of the people of the Islands.

The new brand also offers unique cross-marketing possibilities as it been created for investors interested in the drive towards sustainability, and those drawn to conduct business with a country of unique natural characteristics, added Keen.

Airline ancillary revenue soars

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The "Amadeus Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue for 2011" reveals ancillary revenue increased to US$32.5 billion worldwide, lifting the airline industry from losses and provides an effective hedge against runaway fuel bills.

Amadeus and IdeaWorks, which earlier this year reported on the ancillary revenue disclosed by 47 airlines in 2010, applied these statistics to a larger list of more than 200 airlines to provide a truly global projection of activity for 2011.

Holger Taubmann, Amadeus VP distribution, Amadeus (pictured right) said the rapid growth of ancillary revenues would lead to an increasing interest from full service carriers around the world, such as. KLM and Iberia, joining the ranks of carriers implementing the Amadeus Ancillary Services solution for travel agencies.

"The model is now focusing on services which increase the scope of the product offering and reinforce the brand rather than unbundle the ticket price,” he added.

The IdeaWorks analysis reveals four natural groupings or categories (listed below), which are based upon a carrier’s ability to generate ancillary revenue.

• Ancillary revenue champs: These carriers generate the highest activity as a percentage of operating revenue. The average achieved by this group was 19.8%, which is slightly up from 19.4% for 2010. Examples include AirAsia, Aer Lingus, easyJet, Ryanair, and Spirit Airlines.

• Major US airlines: US-based majors generate strong ancillary revenue through a combination of frequent flier revenue and baggage fees. The average for this group was 11.9%, which is a sizable increase above the 2010 rate of 7.2%. Examples include Alaska, American, and United.

• Low cost carriers: LCCs throughout the world typically rely upon a mix of à la carte fees to generate good levels of ancillary revenue. The average in this group was 6.5% and is above last year’s 5.4%. Examples include AirTran, Blue1, IndiGo, Jazeera Airways, Pegasus, and Spring Airlines.

• Traditional airlines: This category represents a catch-all for the largest number of carriers. Ancillary revenue activity may consist of fees associated with excess or heavy bags and limited partner activity for a frequent flier program. The average here remained at 2.9%. Examples include Air China, Emirates, Finnair, LAN, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines.

Julia Sattel, Amadeus VP airline IT (pictured left), said that outside of the US market and the global LCC sector, airlines tend to choose a model that complies with industry standards rather than a customised approach to the development and deployment of their ancillary services.

"Whatever the model, there is no doubt that the growth of ancillary sales is here to stay. The Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) standard for the fulfilment of ancillary sales is rapidly gaining momentum. According to IATA, there are now 28 airlines in the world that are EMD capable, 15 of these are using Amadeus’ EMD Server and have issued over 2.5 million EMDs this year alone," she added.

The US Major Airlines category produces the largest share of global ancillary revenue - $12.5 billion result (38% of the global total) – by just seven airlines namely Alaska Airlines, American, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, United, and US Airways.

Compare this to the second largest piece of the pie at US$10.9 billion (34% of the global total), which is generated by a far larger group of 140 airlines, the Traditional Airlines category. The results showed that US-based airlines have readily adapted to a la carte world, but they also benefit from consumers who are keen to get frequent flyer miles.

IdeaWorks believes that the majority of ancillary revenue for US major airlines is generated by the sale of frequent flyer miles, notably those linked to co-branded credit card activity. This financial activity exceeds US$6.5 billion annually in the US alone. Baggage fees for US carriers represent approximately 20% of their ancillary receipts. The remaining revenue is produced by a large array of a la carte and commission-based activities.

Other sources include on-board sales of food, beverages, Wifi, and hotel bookings. In addition, airlines offer an ever-increasing selection of services that add to traveller's convenience such as priority security screening, early boarding and exit row seat assignments.

Carriers in North America began to emphasise ancillary revenue after the oil price shock of 2008. Not surprisingly, this region leads the world for ancillary revenue production. IdeaWorks estimates the region achieved a stunning 72% increase above the level estimated for 2010. Ancillary revenue rose across the globe and was largely driven by traffic and passenger revenue increases as the industry recovered from the 2009 recession.

According to IdeaWorks, 48% of the US$9.9 billion worldwide increase can be attributed to the higher overall level of revenue and passenger activity. The remaining 52% is attributed to carriers becoming more focused on ancillary revenue through better financial disclosure, stronger merchandising efforts, and adding more à la carte services for sale.

• Infographic and blog post on how ancillaries are changing the economic landscape for airlines

Groove Condensed: Lessons from WIT Live

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Up in the hills of North Thailand, as our longtail boat cut through the deep, full and flowing Mekong River, I had a chance to reflect on the journey that was WIT Live last month.

Starting with THack@WIT, it showed the possibilities of innovation in an open travel world as about 40 developers got together for a 24-hour hackathon to work on APIs that had been made available for the event.

(Picture: Kevin May, editor of Tnooz, rounding up the developers for their presentations)

From Following The Sun – allows you to choose airline seats for best views of the sun – to tracking Where Is My Travelling Parent (the winner), participants showed off their work at the Bootcamp, leaving us non-geeks gobsmacked at what can be achieved overnight.

WITP (because we love acroynms in Singapore) won because the judges felt it had myriad applications – as in you could use it to track WITK (Kid) or even WITP (Pet).

Utopia would be of course the day when the gatekeepers opened up access to all data but as a panel at the WIT Conference, I Dream of An Open Travel World, concluded, that day is still a while in coming.

Right now, start-ups face a challenge, said Alex Kremer, co-founder and COO of FlexTrip, in getting access to data. One, it is closed and two, if it were open, it is expensive.

There is some selective opening of the gates. Greg Webb (right), president of Sabre Travel Network, in his session on the Leadership Groove talked about the Sabre Red App Centre set to open in a few weeks.

With the centre, Sabre wants developers to build innovative apps for its travel agency customers and the apps would be integrated into the Sabre Red Workspace point of sale tool. It will offer developers a 70-30 split on paid apps.

Here are some other themes which resonated with me through the WIT journey.

1. Innovation That is Adaptive and Imitative

In the WIT Bootcamp, it was clear that innovation is alive and well in Asia and indeed, perhaps we need to be innovative with how we define the word “innovation”.

In China, Fritz Demopoulous (left), former CEO of Qunar, whose company was acquired by Baidu, said innovation could mean a new business process or system that addresses local complexities.

It need not be about cool and sexy tools or ideas but something creative that solves local problems, he said.

And what’s wrong with imitation if it is done innovatively, said a panel on China at the WIT conference. That means copying an idea, adapting it and executing it well in the local context.

On the panel were names like myALN (My Affordable Luxury Network), which describes itself as a cross between Jetsetter and Voyage Prive and Lashou, a Groupon clone.

In Korea, the most super-wired country in Asia, retailers like Tesco are having huge success with virtual vending machines in train stations but it is clear travel lags behind customer adoption with most travel sites still focused on price and transaction.

What’s the message? Korea is ripe for the taking for the smart and brave.

2. Local heroes win

Local companies that solve local issues will win. Look no further than India or China for examples of local brands that have cornered the market – Ctrip, Qunar, MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, Yatra.

This is inspiring entrepreneurs throughout Asia. In Indonesia, deal sites are hot and DealGoing.com is aggregating local deals. Ticket purchases are being simplified with Tiket2.com. Social networks are spreading like wildfire – trackpacking.com allows sharing of photos, stories and tips. And local delivery service, Go-Jek – “an ojek for every need” – is addressing the monumental problem of traffic jams in Jakarta.

With the emergence of social, local and mobile, local heroes will clearly have the bigger advantage.

The challenge local heroes face is scale – unless you’re in markets like India, China, Indonesia and perhaps Vietnam which is becoming an interesting place for online play.

I recall one moment when Winnie Tan (pictured above), one of the entrepreneurs pitching at the Bootcamp for her company, tourpackages.com.sg, answered a challenge by Abacus International’s Brett Henry.

“What you’re doing is too small,” he said. Her retort: “We think it’s big enough for what we want to do. And Brett, you’ve always championed local heroes.”

Local heroes who stand up for their place in the sun will win.

3. Local heroes will stumble

In their attempts to scale and grow, local heroes will face challenges. Can MakeMyTrip make its model work in South-east Asia? Its successful IPO means increased pressure for growth and in expanding, it will face similar problems that the multinational OTAs such as Expedia and Travelocity have faced. (Pictured, Amit Saberwal who is leading MakeMyTrip's development in the region)

While there may be more empathy for an “Asian” brand vs a “Western” one, the diversity and historic legacy of the region will require sensitive treatment.

Ctrip so far has only made forays in North Asia where it feels it is still in its comfort zone. Japanese heroes like Ikyu and Rakuten have stepped into China but they know very well that China is as different from Japan as dumplings are from sashimi.

Rakuten is making serious attempts to go global. It has made English the official language in its Tokyo headquarters. Make no mistake, this is a big deal. “Imagine, if you were told, from one day to the next, you could no longer speak English, only Japanese,” Kei Shibata, CEO of Venture Republic, Japan, asked the audience.

In Vietnam, Buffalo Tours has taken the joint venture route with Wotif and the new site, ivivu.com, has just launched. This is a marriage of convenience and compatibility, said both partners. For Wotif's CEO Robbie Cooke (pictured left), it’s about local expertise and content. For Buffalo Tours' Tran Trong Kien, it’s about technology, marketing and scale.

It was interesting though – the one name that kept coming up in various sessions as the OTA brand most likely to succeed in Asia either as a pan-Asian brand or within local markets was Agoda.

What’s made Agoda work? I am guessing – hard work, relentless focus and discipline.

4. Love or hate, we need each other

Mobile will give more power to intermediaries. Mobile will allow suppliers to regain control of inventory. Deal sites will disappear and OTAs will live happily ever after. Deal sites are here to stay and will continue to give OTAs grief. OTAs will continue to wield power over hotel distribution. Hotels will fight back by pursuing clever and smart multi-channel strategies.

Yes, all these were said – and everyone has their opinions, right or wrong. But perhaps there is no right or wrong, just the right to have opinions.

Paulo Salvador of Worldhotels certainly made his feelings known during the Hotel-OTA panel – he believes hotels are financing the OTA business model with the high commissions being charged. OTAs however believe they bring real value to hotels by driving demand through their marketing and thus they should be paid for that service.

I do love the inherent tension in the relationships in our industry. Tension is good. Conflict gives rise to creativity. It is when everyone is feeling smug and comfortable, that things go blah and boring.

(Picture: There was laughter during the Deals or No Deals panel but the tension was also evident in the outcome of the debate – the audience voted for No Deals)

There is a need for more transparency though in relationships. If the web has rendered us naked in front of customers, then we need to get naked with each other to look after our customers better – they are after all the main reason we need each other.

5. Search + Social, Friends Forever

While Team Social won the debate at the WIT Conference, it is evident that Search and Social, if used together smartly, packs a powerful punch.

Search is tried and tested, Social is still being tested but has immense possibilities. It needs new thinking and new approaches.

(Picture: Joe Nguyen of comScore Inc tries a new approach to search during the debate)

Besides, Social is sexier and more fun. Everyone is doing it – and people are talking more and more about travel on their social networks.

And because everyone can do it, well then perhaps everyone considers themselves a social media expert even though Luke Clark, Editor of Discovery Channel magazine, in his debate says that’s an oxymoron – like an “amateur Olympian”.

6. Put the Love (or Sex) back in Content and Make It Un-Google-able

Sean Simmons (left), legal counsel for Wotif Group, had a novel approach to the Content Groove panel. He likened the session to a “Sex In The City” episode and called me the Carrie Bradshaw of the industry. Where’s Mr Big then, I ask.

His premise was that perhaps we had spent too much time thinking about content as transactional – that it had to be optimized and searchable and had to produce an actionable result – and that we had lost the plot when travel content should inspire and make people want to discover places and people.

Interestingly, last week, Coldplay released its new album called “Mylo Zyloto”. When asked why the strange-sounding name, Chris Martin said, he wanted something un-Google-able.

This reminds me of something that very rich man Warren Buffet said once, “when everyone is doing one thing, do the complete opposite.”

The future of content, according to the panel? Deep, local, discovery, authentic, quirky

7. Welcome to the Golden Quadrangle

In the Golden Triangle of Thailand, I was told there is now a fourth country – China. A Chinese businessman has bought a 99-year lease on a massive piece of land and he’s built a casino with shopping malls to follow.

I don’t think we in the industry are prepared in any way, shape or form on how the Chinese outbound market will impact our tourism infrastructure.

That’s why the groove Patrick Andres of Sabre Hospitality Solutions picked – People Will Change Travel – resonated with me. Next year, it is said 60 million Chinese will travel overseas. How can that not change travel?

At the Lanjia Lodge where I stayed for a couple of nights, we lived among Hmong villagers. They served us, cooked for us, taught us how to make Hmong batik and sang and danced for us.

When we left, they came out to say goodbye to us. No check-out process, no “did you take anything from the minibar” question, the goodbye was as sweet as the hello.

In the Headline Act during the opening of WIT, Rod Cuthbert, chairman emeritus of Viator, cited a survey in the US that said people were happier before their vacation than during it. “Are we doing something wrong with the tourism experience?” he asked.

I think the answer is blowing in the wind in North Thailand. If not there, then it's contained in the message brought to us by Travelstart's Stephan Ekbergh (below) as he talked, danced and grooved his way to “Customer Love” at the WIT Conference.

Now there's a local hero.

Travelport launches new hotel programme

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Travelport has launched a new hotel programme, which gives Travelport GDS-connected travel agents guaranteed access to the lowest publicly available rates from a wide range of global hotel groups.

Available on both the Galileo and Worldspan GDS, the "Lowest Public Rate Programme" already has more than 40 participating hotel brands signed up, including Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), Preferred Hotel Group, Leading Hotels of the World and Marriott International.

Agents booking via this programme have the ability to find and book the lowest public rate of the day offered anywhere by the participating hotel, including pre-paid rates and special promotional offers regardless of whether the rate is flexible or has restrictions.

This means that no additional searching is required by the agent to find the best rate of the day, thus enabling them to save time, whilst satisfying their customer’s needs.

"By offering complete rate parity, hotels participating in ‘Lowest Public Rate’ stand to boost their brand awareness and loyalty amongst travel agents, many of whom prefer booking through the GDS channel," said Niklas Andreen, Travelport group vice president, hospitality & partner marketing (pictured above).

"This is a win-win partnership that enables our hotel partners to expand their sales opportunities, whilst giving agents confidence that they have secured the lowest rate of the day."

Let The Gamification Begin

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

If there was one word that stuck in my mind from the three days of discourse, debate and discussion at WIT, it was “gamification”.

It was a word that aroused passions too – some people hated it, insisted it didn’t exist as a proper English word while some people loved it, saying language should evolve like technology to embrace new forms.

Wikipedia, the Oracle of Democracy, declares it thus: “Gamification is the use of game design techniques and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications (also known as "funware"), particularly consumer-oriented web and mobile sites, in order to encourage people to adopt the applications. It also strives to encourage users to engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications.”

“Gamification works by making technology more engaging,[4] and by encouraging desired behaviors, taking advantage of humans' psychological predisposition to engage in gaming.[5] The technique can encourage people to perform chores that they ordinarily consider boring, such as completing surveys, shopping, or reading web sites.[4]”

Games are as old as time. I remember growing up in the days of Jurassic Park and playing seven stones, spinning tops and snakes and ladders. They taught me about coordination, competition and strategy.

Most people I know who own iPads spend more time on games than anything else. I am currently playing Words With Friends with 23 friends. In moments of solitude, I play Solitaire. I deleted my Skype app because it kept pinging me in the middle of my fishing for sharks. I’d rather fish than chat. That’s how addictive games are.

WIT’s Groovy Marketer of the Year, House of Travel in New Zealand, had to find a way to get its customers interested in buying longhaul holidays in a weak economy and when most people were shopping online, so it came up with the Mix and Match game (pictured) which allowed you to pull buddies in from Facebook and spin for destinations.

Niall White, group strategy director, talks of pursuing a gamification strategy. “For us, it’s important to constantly work at accessing “eyeballs” online and we see a “gamification” strategy as one way of achieving this. We try to develop engaging “games” which customers play and share for prizes, to create an awareness of our product and service.”

Truth is, games make travel planning fun. So with technology now enabling us to play more games than ever with the proliferation of handheld devices, it makes sense that we should play games with our customers.

Japan is of course most ahead of this “gamification” curve – this is a nation that is super-wired and loves games.

In his presentation at the WIT Bootcamp, Kei Shibata, CEO of Venture Republic, which operates the country’s largest travel meta search engines (Travel.jp/Hotel.jp), talked about how the merging of gamification and mobile could help create new demand and revitalize destinations.

Colopl, Japan’s biggest location-based gaming company, has a total of 2.1 million registered users and three million page views a month. It has 40 million check-ins a month in Japan alone “more than foursquare’s worldwide check-ins combined”. And the total distance its users have travelled since its service began? 11 billion kilometres, further than from Earth to Pluto.

Colopl was now being used by 118 souvenir shops, 860 hotels, 22 transportation companies and 11 tour companies in Japan, said Shibata.

Two days later, I was listening to Kensuke Joji of Hakuhodo DY Media Partners inc. who shared the new games travel companies are now able to play with customers with location-based magazines and the company’s new smart device application, Rocket Box, which brings television programming to a smartphone.

Seeing this as a new way to engage new customers, Venture Republic has signed an agreement with Hakuhodo DY Media Partners to launch a new mobile service by early 2012.

CEO Kei Shibata explains how this will work. The user watches a travel TV programme at home. If they are inrerested in travelling to the location, they can access the specific mobile application where they can then search Travel.jp/Hotel.jp database to find a suitable tour package, hotel or flight. When the user travels to the location, he or she can play, watch the TV/movie content to review, get some location information, create a photo book using his/her smart device.

At WIT, there was talk that while the industry was very good at helping customers plan and book their travel, we weren’t that good in the in-destination portion of the journey.

In fact, Rod Cuthbert, chairman emeritus of Viator, shared a survey that showed people were happier planning their vacation than during it – “so are we doing something wrong with customer service,” he asked, lamenting in particular the check-out process. “We are good at saying hello but bad at saying goodbye,” he said.

While Cuthbert was talking more about the human touch that could make holidays happier for more people, there is reason to hope that perhaps with new technology, social media, smartphones and more creative smarts entering our industry, we could learn to engage with customers in a more personal, engaging and, dare I say it, “gamified” kind of way.

Technology helps to unlock content but customer focus is key for Groovy Marketer, House Of Travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Web In Travel’s first Groovy Marketer, House of Travel, New Zealand, shares how it intends to thrive and stay relevant in the leisure tour operating groove. Group strategy director Niall White speaks to WIT’s Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Q: Operating a traditional tour operating business is hard enough in any market these days with shrinking margins and online competitors offering sexier ways of planning travel and dynamic pricing – but it must be doubly hard in a small market like New Zealand which has more sheep than people? How does House of Travel stay relevant and profitable?

Well, we have just as many cows, would you know... Our big advantage is we have been operating for 25 years and have invested in developing a big brand personality.

This helps give credibility to whatever we do in the market. Apart from that our market is small but not really different than any other market place we have seen. Direct distribution is a real challenge with airlines and hotels distributing direct to customers online.

Companies with a strong focus on the customer and delivering them a better holiday experience than they can do themselves online will succeed. This is a tangible benchmark. And operating out of an established brand well known to consumers really does help.

Q: You've said the future of leisure is to unlock the long tail – offering a vast number of properties at low volume. How are you unlocking that?

For a travel consultant to be able to provide a customer a better experience than they can do online themselves, we need to access content and technology that will provide a travel recommendation.

We have travel technology that allows us to manage direct contracts as well as access over 15 world-wide hotel/ supplier connectors. These provide real time dynamic rates which we aggregate into a single desktop, showing a travel consultant who the best supplier is to buy a particular hotel on a given day.

Q: With 90% of travellers researching online before contacting a travel agent, do you see a day when brochures will disappear and you will put them all online, risk losing IP and moving to dynamic pricing?

Brochures are a real debate. Customers need to be inspired to travel and whether a brochure unlocks the intention to travel or not is a good debate. There is no doubt that providing commodity product and price in a brochure in today’s world is perhaps the wrong thing to do if a customer is price focused... We have yet to agree the answer on this one.

Q: How has HOT used social media to brand itself and sell more packages? Tell us about your Mix and Match game.

For us, it’s important to constantly work at accessing “eyeballs” online and we see a “gamification” strategy as one way of achieving this. We try to develop engaging “games” which customers play and share for prizes, to create an awareness of our product and service.

Watch video of game.

Q: What were the results from this promotion?

In this game we were blown away with the results... we enjoyed some...

68,000 unique players
280,000 entries
16000 new FB likes
50000 user comments
On average customers spent 13 minutes on the game...

Social media is just one aspect of a customer engagement plan - we still don’t have all the answers about commercialising these games, how engaging customers around a brand can’t be a bad thing.

Q: What else are you planning in this space?

We need to be iterative and relatively dynamic in this space, so plans change regularly. We spend a lot of time looking at social media success stories in other industries around the world as it’s still a relatively new phenomenon. Developing an engaging group strategy across retail shops and online will be key. Our travel consultants are excited about developing social communities which is fantastic - I guess watch this space.

Q: Secret to survival for a leisure tour operator?

Accepting that change is the new norm...; accepting that we are always working between crises; and focusing on providing a better holiday experience than a customer can do themselves on line. Keep a customer focus. So many travel companies these days act like they are technology companies and forget they only exist if they add value to a customer base of travellers.

India, Indonesia - lands of opportunities for online travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Two countries, so similar yet so different - one maturing, yet still seeing explosive growth, the other emerging and about to see explosive growth.

Indonesia may not have strong online travel brands but awareness is growing, said Danny Oei Wirianto, CEO of Mindtalk, Indonesia (pictured left). The presence of AirAsia in Indonesia is doing a good job in educating the public of using online to book tickets and make payment.

"We’ll see what happens next year,” said Wirianto who's just started Mindtalk, a new social network which he hopes to take global.

For India, where the online travel space is flourishing and three big local OTAs are dominating, it is not game over yet but just early days as there is a huge market waiting to be tapped.

"Currently there is only 8.9% Internet penetration in India, 500 million in middle class that is still growing and the country is a consumer market. So I'd say the Indian online travel market is still in its early days,” said Amit Saberwal, director of international market development, Makemytrip, India (pictured right).

In agreement is Rajeev Kumar, CEO + managing director, Mystifly Consulting, India (pictured below) who disclosed that online penetration is growing at 8%, with rapid adoption of broadband too.

They were sharing insights into the two dynamic markets of India and Indonesia at the panel discussion at the recently concluded WIT 2011 conference in Singapore.

In response to a question by moderator Brett Henry, Abacus International’s VP marketing & VP India, on why Expedia and Travelocity had not taken off in the region as they have in the US, the panellists played the local card.

Graham Hills, general manager of Wego, Indonesia (pictured below), said that a market like Indonesia is still in a discovery phase. “What is being offered and what's needed is local content and local product offerings. Credit cards are not going to work in Indonesia."

Makemytrip’s Amit said that In India there’s a distribution problem as 50% of consumers stay in small towns and villages. “There is a need for local strategy to identify the distribution problem,” he said. Indeed, he added, there needs to be a different strategy for different parts of India.

Mindtalk’s Wirianto commented, "If you want to play local, you must have local partners.”

The challenge though is how to be local, yet scale and expand beyond home territory.

Hills believes that with Indonesia being such a big market, a local play is sustainable and at the moment, flight and hotel search was in its infancy in the country.

For MakeMyTrip which is attempting to expand beyond India, Amit said, "Scale is everything. It’s not negotiable at all. But you need a local strategy and do what you have to do.”

Wirianto believes that one does not scale "unless one has conquered major markets."

Are the two markets ready to skip the PC and go straight to mobile, as some pundits have predicted?

Hills said Indonesia could not do without the PC completely. “Maybe PC to mobile.”.

"The PC is evolving into tablet. Presently 90% of search is carried out on mobile. Mobile is going to see huge growth," said Amit.

Rajeev said PC is here to stay as currently 85% online usage is on a PC, with 15% on mobile.

"Focus is on both the PC and mobile. We won’t skip the PC, but mobile is the way to go in the future," said Wirianto.

Finally, the panellists offered these nugget of wisdom to do business in their markets:

• Wego’s Hills: “Localisation. Search and Social, not one or the other.”

• Mindtalk’s Wirianto: "What works outside Indonesia doesn’t mean it will work inside Indonesia."

• Makemytrip’s Amit: "There are opportunities for start-ups. Be brave.”

• Mystifly’s Rajeev: "Focus on your first customers, then fan out."

Coping with my absence of daily Grooviness

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

So, it’s Thursday - the day after 2 days of WIT and I’m on a a bit of down. For me the buzz, the atmosphere and the new friendships at WIT are a highlight of the fourth quarter of the year.

I was just looking at some of the tweets around the hashtag #wit2011 and I saw this:

“3 words I've heard the most at #WIT2011 this week. Penetration, Mobile, Social. Succeed at all 3 & you'll go far!!”

These are definitely some of the grooves Siew Hoon was thinking about with the theme this year, “Find Your Groove’.

Interestingly, for me at least, I noticed that these hot topics - these grooves - mobile and Social Media seem to have taken on a new maturity. I suppose one could say that they are now being ‘carefully considered’ by almost everyone including senior management when, perhaps just a year or two ago, they lay more in the domain of the early adopter / geek zone.

It’s all serious now. Deadly serious.

But that didn’t stop some healthy and fun debate. And there were still those warning us not to rely too heavily on mobile and others still seemingly wary of Social Media and all that that entails.

The whole world of ‘Deals’ got mentioned a lot too and my take is that when people start reacting strongly to something it’s a sign of real disruption and the gnawing at the foundations of some of those institutions built on years of mutual back-slapping . I’m not involved with having to secure revenue from rooms I own or sell those of others as my business so I have some luxury of distance from Groupon and the like but some of the banter feels a bit like coming from those who feel threatened.

I don’t think it’s too different from some of the underlying sentiment of Apple haters. Watching others turn their backs on what traditionally forms your daily comfort zone is going to make people behave in that way.

One speaker even suggested that there would still be wide use of desktop PCs in 20 years‘ time. I think that’s unlikely and we might all do better by thinking how we can make tomorrow different rather than thinking that it might look like today. I know of at least one great man who’s been in the news lately who thought like that.

I’m already looking forward to next year and I hope to try and inspire Siew Hoon when it comes to a theme for next year.

I know that I echo her own thoughts when I say I hope everyone had a groovy and fun time. WIT is all about a community and is bigger than just the last few days - a notion I shall be doing my best to communicate to the ICCA delegates next week in Leipzig.

I think if I can be as half as energetic and engaging as ‘you know who‘ I’ll have done pretty well.

See you next time.

WIT Day Two - New Zealand's House of Travel is WIT's Groovy Marketer

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

House of Travel, New Zealand was hailed as Web In Travel’s first Groovy Marketer at its annual conference this week as part of its inaugural WITovation Awards 2011, presented by Amadeus Asia.

The Christchurch-based tour operator was chosen by WIT for an innovative mix-and-match game on Facebook, which was such a huge success that it will be launching another game shortly.

Pctiured left: Niall White of House of Travel

The Mix and Match game, which allowed players to match friends with holiday prizes, was played in two rounds over 28 days. In all, it attracted 68,070 unique players, saw 279,613 competition entries with a 13-minute average time spent per session and resulted in 37,128 total hours engagement with its customers. It also gathered 16,000+ new Facebook Likes (fans) over the period.

"Groovy Marketer" was the only editorial choice in the WITovation Awards, the rest of which was through a nomination and judging process.

Said Ms Yeoh Siew Hoon (pictured right), editor and founder, WIT, “It was a hard decision because there are a lot of companies doing good and fun things in digital, and there were some of the obvious more high profile examples.

"But I chose House of Travel because one, as a traditional tour operator, it is battling against the odds in a world turned topsy-turvy by technology and changing customer behaviour, it operates in a very small market – four million people – so it has to be extra creative; and New Zealand is really far from anywhere so every trip it sells is almost a longhaul one except if it’s just across the ditch; and it’s in a space which has been regarded as slow to move into the new areas like social media.

"Yet it has managed to stay on top of changing trends and changing customer behaviour with other things it’s done and this year, launched this Facebook campaign that was both groovy and fun. The idea of a slot machine-type competition, I thought, would work so well in the Asian context given that two of the world’s biggest gaming destinations are now here – Macau and Singapore."

In the other categories:

• Cleartrip India was awarded Mobile Mover – the judging panel, led by Timothy Hughes, CEO of Getaway Lounge, Australia, chose the Indian OTA’s mobile apps for their excellent user experience, simplicity and ease of use. “Simply excellent. Booking process very fast, easy to use, and if you have an account it is even easier,” was a comment. See Cleartrip mobile.

Pictured right: Cleartrip's Satyajeet Singh with the award

• Accor Australia was the Social Groover for its creative celebration of its 20th anniversary which revolved around the message “A lot can happen in 20 years – share your moment” and it invited the public to share life changing moments around their website. The judging panel, led by Morris Sim, CEO and Co-founder of Circos Brand Karma, praised the campaign for its “stories, likeable characters and authenticity”.

Added Sim, "In this year's Social Groover entries we saw interesting use of social media for branding. The winning entry, Accor Australia, connected with users emotionally in its use of memories, pictures, and videos through multiple channels.

Pictured right: Accor's Maria Taylor saying thanks

"Accor integrated users sharing their experiences in social media with traditional marketing channels such as broadcast and retail. As social media becomes mainstream, marketers will incorporate social channels as part of the overall brand engagement, and Accor's campaign can be used as a successful case study."

(Watch video here)

• Ibis on Bencoolen, Singapore won in the Groove Specialista for its successful viral Pay What You Want campaign when it opened its doors with the judges, led by Jens Uwe Parknity, managing director, Expedia Affiliate Network, saying that other than it being a novel idea, it had a clear message, demonstrated consistent use of regional social media networks and blogging sites, and delivered measurable results. The campaign generated 10,000 registered members from over 100 countries, a total of 80,000 addresses were collected and it attracted 57,000 unique visitors. It also resulted in substantial room revenues.

Pictured left: A jubilant Puneet Dhawan from Ibis on Bencoolen

• The Customer Lover award went to AirAsia. The judges, led by Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, managing partner of T2 Impact, said it came to a close call between AirAsia and Cleartrip but “we believe that Air Asia with its reach and pedigree of loving its customers just edged out Cleartrip’s entry”.

The judges commented, “Air Asia's approach is very user-friendly and appeals to a wider market with varied demographics. The use of a named Avatar gives the service a personality and creates an online rapport with the user. This service exceeds customer expectations regarding budget airlines where cheap equates minimal service.”

Pictured right: AirAsia's Frank Bateman with the trophy

Added the judges, “We also want to give honourable mention to Banyan Tree who submitted in a separate category as we believe that they provide a special kind of love for their customers.”

Meanwhile, in a live competition round today (October 19) GetFlight won the Grooviest Start-Up. At the WIT Bootcamp on October 17, Monday, seven start-ups pitched to a panel of investors and advisors, out of which three finalists - Flextrip, GetFlight and TourPackages.sg - were chosen. The panel of judges included investors from around the world, and also featured two representatives from the Business Angel Network of South-east Asia (BANSEA).

GetFlight is a winner!

The WITovation awards are aimed at recognising companies or individuals which have made a difference in a chosen field, either through a specific marketing campaign or an overall strategy, in the digital travel space.

'We congratulate all our winners who have shown creativity and innovation in an exciting space in travel and hopefully they will inspire others to follow,” said Ms Yeoh. “We also want to thank our judges for putting in the time and effort and to those companies who sent in their nominations, thank you for supporting our inaugural awards.'

Karun Budhraja, Regional Director, Corporate & Marketing Communications, Amadeus, said, "Amadeus is very proud to be associated with the WITovation awards in its first year. These awards recognise innovation and excellence and they are two things we like to aspire to ourselves. This year it’s all about finding your groove and I hope the WITovation awards go forward in leaps in bounds in the same say that WIT has.”

• Picture above: GetFlight's Ian Cumming celebrating with judge Don Birch

WIT Day Two Top Tips for Tip Top Grooves

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Pitch from the Top - a panel of Travel Industry leaders are asked to give us their pick of the Grooves out there. What Groove do they think is going to impact big time on Travel?

Patrick Andres, Vice President Asia Pacific, Sabre Hospitality Solutions kicked things off by saying that there were possibly a number of ‘things’ he could pop up on the screen to answer this... “The Cloud”, “Social Media” for example... but he’s clear:

"What's going to change travel, is what's always changed travel, the pyramid of needs of people. People will change travel.”

Sascha Hausmann CEO, eRevMax was up next, “We need a reality check”, he says, ” We are mistaken if we think mobile will replace computers. (What can only be described as a large murmur from the audience then ensued) “We still have over a billion PCs that are being used everyday. We need to focus on mobile AND PC’s.

Jason Nash , VP Product Innovation, Travelport GDS- “It’s convergence - convergence of technology and of devices. HTML5, Social and search are slowly combining. Mobility is where it’s at. GPS - offers in specific locations - this represents totally new opportunities coming our way. These are opportunities for differentiation. We should ask ourselves, “How can we combine these components to bring new really useful solutions to the customer?”

Sascha is quick to clarify, “Of course mobile is important, but don’t JUST focus on mobile. Jason is quick to add. “We have to focus on where the ‘ball’ is. We need to think forward - if we don’t, we will be disappointed.”

Siew Hoon asks Sacha, “What are you spending most of your money on? - “integrating or products - making them talk to each other.

Perhaps these integrated products will be aimed at the explosion of ‘new’ travelers Patrick talks about - new travelers who will demand that hotels and airlines change the way they do business.

At a conference where Mobile has been highlighted as key ‘Groove, one should perhaps listen to Sascha and make sure our focus doesn’t get too targeted around mobile only.

Or perhaps Jason might be more on the proverbial ball with his suggestion of convergence around mobile.

Patrick, of course, would add that it’s up to us all to decide.

Trust making strong inroads in Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Trust International is continuing its growth in the Asian markets with the announcement of a Chinese version of yourVoyager CRS and a new Hotel Internet Booking Engine (IBE) at the recently concluded ITB Asia and Web in Travel (WIT) in Singapore.

In the Asian market, Trust reported an 8% increase in hotel bookings and a 15% increase in the average room rate.

"Trust has had excellent results in the first nine months of the year, and we’re anticipating the remaining year to continue to be strong based on our new business pipeline and growth of existing customers," said Richard Wiegmann, Trust International managing director (pictured left).

yourVoyager is now available in Chinese, offering its fully customisable, user-friendly CRS to the growing Chinese hotel industry.

Trust’s new hotel Internet booking engine, Trust|GuestBooker, allows mobile reservations and has other new features including Google Map integration, full packaging options, built-in media support, an intelligent availability calendar, and integrated room upgrades.

Trust believes new partnerships and new products will drive the company’s continued success in Asia. An example is its regional and local partnerships with TravelSky, the largest provider of information technology services for Chinese airlines and travel industry, which have created direct access between Trust’s hotel clients and the massive Chinese travel market.

Qiang Xue, vice president of TravelSky, said the its agreement with Trust has enhanced the reach of its high-end network and enriched its hotel reservation offerings, improving the hotel reservation process for Chinese travellers.

Trust has also recently formed relationships with Derbysoft, a Shanghai-headquartered technology company serving hotels and the hospitality distribution industry, including Rakuten Global Market, which has a strong presence in the Asian travel market. I

A new alliance between Trust International and Google last November allows hotels to be listed on Google’s main search or map pages worldwide, with real-time sharing of rates and availability directly from the hoteliers’ websites as the customer research travel options within Google Maps and Hotelfinder.

"By combining state-of-the-art technology with best in class service, we can help our hoteliers reach new customers wherever they may be looking for travel information," said Wiegmann.

Trust’s future plans include connecting with more regional hotel groups and offering its reservation and distribution solutions, enabling them to sell rooms via global distribution services (GDSs), call centres, the Internet, as well as their own hotel website.

The company expects to soon announce more direct connect services to PMS and IDS channels through its partnerships with Wotif, DerbySoft and Travelsky.

"We continue to invest in products and services for customers worldwide and specifically for rapidly growing markets, such as Asia," said Christine Tan, Trust VP - sales for Asia (pictured right).

TravelRave 2011 ends on a high note

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

TravelRave, Asia’s mega travel and tourism festival, came to a close on October 23 after a week-long celebration of Asian tourism.

In its second year the festival saw the hosting of 10 world-class events, starting with the Singapore Experience Awards, and culminating with the Cornell Hotel Society Asia Pacific Regional Conference. They collectively attracted more than 9,500 attendees, a 15% growth over 2010.

"It has been a fruitful week of meaningful discussions and meetings. Many who attended TravelRave this year have made valuable contacts and gained useful insights from the various sessions," said Aw Kah Peng, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board. (pictured right).

One of TravelRave’s highlights was the by-invitation-only Asia Travel Leaders Summit, which saw industry leaders discussing issues pertinent to the Asian travel and tourism industry. Among those participating were Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWO), David Scowsill, president and chief executive officer of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Zhuang Chenchao, co-founder and chief executive officer of Qunar, and Rattan Keswani, president of Trident Hotels.

To develop the next generation of travel industry leaders and encourage the young to seek a profession in the industry TravelRave launched a regional youth competition - the inaugural TravelRave Talent Challenge.

The winner is a student from Singapore Management University, Mabel Fu, who said. she would definitely consider joining the industry upon my graduation.”

Other highlights of the week included the inaugural release of new tourism and travel findings. Among them was the research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) on the importance of business travel and its impact in Asia.

TravelRave 2011 also saw the strengthening of bilateral ties and continued partnership between countries in Asia, with Singapore and ITB Asia jointly showing their support for Japan’s recovery efforts. This led to the participation of leading Japanese tourism companies at ITB Asia, highlighting Japan’s resilience and recovery.

Cover It Live @ WIT 2011 Day 2 Afternoon

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

&amp;lt;a href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=53892ac5c7&quot; _cke_saved_href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=53892ac5c7&quot; &amp;gt;Cover It Live @ WIT 2011 Day 2 Morning&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Cover It Live @ WIT 2011 Day 2 Morning

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

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WIT Day One - Golden age of online travel is upon APAC

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Asia Pacific is a slumbering dragon waiting to conquer the online travel market, and you have to get your online strategy right if you want to get a share of the pie.

The region, specifically China and India, will dominate the online travel space in the next few years, alongside New Zealand, Australia and Japan that will also see an online travel boom.

If you are in the region and want to grow your market share you have to know what strategies to implement, said Clement Wong, director research, PhoCusWright (pictured left) at the WIT Conference session on "Getting your Asian online strategy right".

APAC has already overtaken the U.S. as the second largest travel market estimated at US$274 billion in 2011, with the U.S. pushed to the third position with US$271 billion. Europe leads with US$337 billion. Positions remain status quo in 2012 with Europe still the biggest (US$355), APAC US$290 and U.S. US$288.

By that same year (2012) Europe will emerge as the world’s largest online market with 41% share, followed by the U.S. at 34%. APAC will control one fifth of the market worldwide. China, with the rise of OTAs, will lead in the region. India, with an increase in online penetration at the same pace as Singapore’s, will level with China.

Wong outlined the emerging trends as:

• Credit card usage rising across the region

• Booking online, pay offline due to complexities over payment in some countries in the region.

• Rising access to Internet, subsequent rise in online travel

• Car rental will form a large segment of the travel services in demand

So how does one do it right in online travel in APAC? Wong offered these suggestions:

• Same, same, but different: Local travel consumption varies widely. Adopt a single strategy but do things differently.

• Best of the East and West: Lend soft touches to matters as one mistake could chase customer away. Ensure the customer's journey is consistent and make arrangements to meet their needs. For example, travellers from APAC visiting Europe for the first time may just want to shop, but they still want things local such as food or TV programmes, Ensure these needs are met.

• Mobile is King: Technology will leapfrog and many consumers, especially In Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea where Wifi is widespread, will use mobile at WiFi points to search for destination content and plan their holidays. Mobile booking and payments will be common.

"Question is how to have a killer mobile app? What is your mobile strategy,” asked Wong. “You’ll miss out if you have no mobile strategy because we are seeing the beginning of the golden age of online travel in APAC."

WIT Day One - Finding your parents and WITcubator

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

One new aspect of WIT this year has been the THack.

THack is Tnooz’s unique event which brings together travel industry APIs and the development community to brainstorm and create new digital travel products and web or mobile-based tools.

Largely going on out of the spotlight, the THack took place during the 24 hours immediately before the start of Bootcamp on Monday.

Kevin May from TNooz has been up on stage several times over the last couple of days introducing us to the teams that took place and, during his last appearance, sharing with the us the details of the winner.

The team of three, led by Lee Peng of development company Forcepts, used APIs from Abacus, Hoiio and OAG to produce the hack – called WhereIsMyTravelingParent – within the usual restricted time-frame. More...

There’s a lot of tech stuff going on there - most of which goes way beyond the rather simple understandings of this author.

However, what is clear - and it’s something that Kevin alluded to several times - is how the THack demonstrated how much could be achieved in such a small amount of time.

Innovation (or the lack of it) is a topic that has come to the fore several times already during our time at Suntec.

Perhaps one of the biggest names in innovation is Steve Jobs and Siew Hoon mentioned him during the opening ‘Headline’ panel session this morning on Day One of the conference proper.

And one of the panelists suggested that there is no shortage of ideas - just a lack of willingness to take them up and get them turned into ‘business’.

Ian Cumming, Founder, GetFlight, Australia mentioned yesterday that folks in his company get 100 hours a month (I hope I got that right) to work on their own ‘projects’ - something akin, possibly, to the kind of formal ‘innovation’ time at companies like 3M.

When we look at what can be achieved it’s tempting to ask (even blindingly obvious I’d suggest) why we don’t get this kind of productivity and output more often.

There are a lot of reasons and, as you read this, I have no doubt that you are forming your own.

One reason or perhaps a collection of reasons comes down to basic mindset and culture. And it’s a testament to Siew Hoon and the spirit of WIT that WITcubator has been launched at WIT this year - an initiative that will go some way to making the atmosphere and environment that fostered such great stuff at the THack something tangible and increasingly prevalent in the WIT community.

Watch this space. I’m sure there will be some great updates coming over the coming weeks and months.

WIT Day One - The future of mobile is bright!

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Mobile is the way to go as more and more people are using their smartphones in work and play. “Mobile Moves” at WIT Conference reveals strategies on how companies can use innnovation to make their mobile apps stand out.

Gerry Samuels, (pictured right) found and executive director of Mobile Travel Technologies (MTT) kicked off the discussion with the X-factors, which are shaping and driving mobile.

• Android app is better than the iPhone app. For example, an that alllows users to swipe from left to right just to see fares day by day.

• Travel is social. Apps could seamlessly share information like sharing a song on Spotify with someone listening in or sharing information on Facebook wall.

• Eric Schmidt, Google executive chairman, said, “The future of search is mobile”. For example, Google’s surprise move to buy restaurant-review firm Zagat will make the search content more local. (About 40% of the searches on the mobile have local intent, and the percentage is set to increase.)

• Siri, the interactive personal assistant on Apple’s newly launched iPhone 4 S, will impinge on Google.

"In the next version of Apple iOS may also be a boarding pass or loyalty care. The iPhone may be the single device to take you seamlessly on travel. Eye is on Apple and Google,” said Samuels.

Mike Bezer, vice president global sales, Asia Pacific of Carlson Wagonlit Travel Singapore (pictured left), said that a good strategy to differentiate an app is to look at the whole product and then “Slice and dice services, making ancillary mobile more interesting.”

He cited two companies, which have used this method and achieved success with their apps. A Russian airline integrated rail travel in their app to make the airport experience for their customers more pleasant without having to be in long queues for taxis.

"A US company, Hotel Tonight, enables users to book hotels for the same night, with the whole process of booking the room, confirming and input in just five seconds."

Singapore Tourism Board recently launched “Your Singapore Guide” app and its deputy director of marketing activation and innovation, Lim Wee Khee (pictured right) said its objective was to reach travellers directly.

"It is more than just a travel app as it haas travel information, an event calendar, is location based and has information on taxis and travel establishments, among other innovative features. Beyond that we team with Singapore Airlines and Starhub. All these make the user experience with the app more enjoyable."

Available for the iPhone and Android the app has 10,000+ downloads.

The mobility of using a mobile device like the tablet could provide travel agents with more mobility and interact more with their customers. "Travel agents could take booking after work and make it possible to be in touch with their clients beyond office hours," said Anil Damodaran, director marketing, mobile, consumer solutions and customer enablement of Abacus International (pictured left).

Joseph Chan, CEO, AsiaPay Payment Ltd, Hong Kong (pictured below) believes mobile also has another great potential, that is to be a payment device.

"Right now the mobile is a channel for booking, with credit card used for direct payment. Mobile may offer consumers another choice for making payment for services."

And the future of mobile?

• The cloud will bring the PC, mobile and tablet together. A consumer may usee the tablet to buy services, which are pushed to the cloud and then down to the mobile. However, it's not happening yet.

• Local mobile search, ancillaries, cloud integration, app

• Key words that will drive the future of mobile are: Simple, Quick, Local, Who, What, Partnership, Useful, Innovation, Value, Work, Relevant

WIT Day One - Siew Hoon headlines by asking "What's your company Groove?"

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The first panel at WIT this year was Siew Hoon discussing headlines with four panelists:

Azran Osman Rani, CEO, AirAsiaX
Dhruv Shringi, CEO, Yatra, India
Rod Cuthbert, Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Viator Inc
Richard Wiegmann, Managing Director, Trust International

Before discussing headlines Siew Hoon asked the panel to dwell on the recent news - the passing of Steve Jobs. Asked whether he was indeed a great innovator Dhruv drew attention to something Fritz Demopoulos mentioned yesterday. - “The best marketing is having a great product”

The panel then moved on to discuss innovation in Asia and Siew Hoon asked, “Do rebels make the best innovators?” Azran responded by sating that he thinks of himself as an upside down geek, “You need an alternative perspective”, he says.

Azran went on to suggest that we need to anticipate change quoting a headline featuring Mark Zuckerberg.

It was noted by the panel that a big challenge in Asia is to find leaders who can create brands across the whole of Asia with Azran adding that, “we (Asians) still look predominantly towards western brands. Cultural differences and linguistic diversity makes things challenging in the region.”

“Who will be the biggest changers?”, Siew Hoon asks.

Rod suggested that the biggest changers are probably not even here today. “We don’t know who they are and where they will come from.”

The theme of this year’s conference, of course, is ‘Find Your Groove’ and Siew Hoon asked the panelists what their ‘company groove’ is.

Rod’s response was short and straightforward, “We picked a groove and stuck to it - that’s the key thing we did right.”

“Same for us, Richard added, “sticking to a focus is important”.

“Is Asia and innovator or an imitator?” Siew Hoon asks.

“Innovation happens at many levels”, says Dhruv, ”there’s scope, for example, for innovation in SCM and many other areas”.

Rod adds that the hard thing is getting people to pick up on an idea - ideas are not too hard to generate.

Azran brought the conversation around to Social Media (something that might get mentioned again). “Engagement post the experience is important - Social Media allows us to keep the engagement going”.

“What’s next?” asks Siew Hoon, “what’s the unexpected?”.

Dhruv suggests that, although Google and Apple have been mentioned, what about thinking about Facebook? - what can they do? And what about deal sites for the short trips? - they are a major concern to us - something to watch out for ‘

We end with the panelists being asked to predict a headline.

Richard suggests something like “Google loses relevance?”

Time will tell. Let’s check at next year’s WIT.

Cover It Live @ WIT 2011 Day 1 Afternoon

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=454345f573&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; _cke_saved_href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=454345f573&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Cover It Live @ WIT 2011 Day 1 Afternoon&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Cover It Live @ WIT 2011 Day 1 Morning

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

&amp;lt;a href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ecefe52425&quot; _cke_saved_href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ecefe52425&quot; &amp;gt;WIT 2011 Day 1 Morning&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Asia the place to be, says UNWTO boss

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Shifting global travel patterns on the back of economic challenges in Europe are delivering new opportunities for Asia.

Yet, at the same time, travellers from Asia – and in particular those from Singapore - are more than ever heading in the opposite direction to take advantage of the sickly UK pound and the weak Euro, says Clement Wong, PhoCusWright director of research

Melissa Ow, assistant chief executive, Singapore Tourism Board (pictured left), speaking at the ITB Asia opening day media conference, said Asian countries no longer had to rely on European countries as source markets.

"In Singapore 70 percent of our visitors now come from within Asia," she said.

Wong said that while Asia Pacific represents almost one-third of the global travel market, it currently accounts for only 21 percent of online revenue.

"Nevertheless, rising Internet access and purchasing would see the online travel market enjoying double-digit growth in 2012.The online market will grow twice as fast as the offline market," he added.

UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said Asia is in the box seat to capture the lion’s share of 1.8 billion international tourists expected by 2030,

"This is definitely the place to be for businesses and destinations," he said.

Raimund Hosch, CEO of ITB Asia organisers Messe Berlin, said space at this year’s show was sold out four months in advance. And next year’s event would go to “another level", he added.

Exhibitor space would increase by 20 percent to accommodate more than the 750 exhibitors from 70 countries represented at ITB Asia 2011.

Stickman aids children’s charity

Attendees at ITB Asia 2011 receive a smiling rubber figurine adorned in ITB’s distinctive orange hue. The little orange figure is known as the ITB Asia Stickman and marks ITB Asia’s social media project to do its bid for charity.

Messe Berlin (Singapore) initiated the scheme to raise funds for Operation Smile Singapore a volunteer, non-profit medical services organisation that provides reconstructive facial surgery to needy children and young people.

Delegates are encouraged to snap a picture with the ITB Asia Stickman in the different cities they travel to for leisure or business, and encouraged to upload their snapshots onto the ITB Asia Stickman photoblog or e-mail: stickman@itb-asia.com).

ITB Asia has pledged to donate US$10 for each of the first 250 photographs uploaded, to Operation Smile, The total sum raised will go towards funding approximately seven life-changing operations.

About 500 of the ITB Asia Stickman figure will be given away during ITB Asia 2011 from 19 to 21 October 2011.

Meetings industry faces up to social media challenges

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Social media is changing the way people interact – face to face relationships are being replaced by virtual relationships – but overall people are connecting more than ever.

And this has implications for the meetings industry, according to Paul Brown, Hilton Worldwide president of global brands and commercial.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening of ITB Asia, Brown said hotels needed to embrace technology and use it to change the type of meetings offered.

It was also essential he said, for hotels to improve how meetings were sold and marketed. Social media had a role to play.

"It is important how we sell the experience and the value of meetings," he said.

"We must have confidence in the value of the product and the services we offer at our hotels, and confidence in the long-term viability of our industry."

Brown said research indicated that 85 percent of business executives still preferred face-to-face meetings while other data supported the view that it was a competitive disadvantage for companies to cut back on face-to-face meetings when their competitors were not doing so.

Who's not happy with their office technology?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

If you think the young are a demanding lot, and Baby Boomers are just happy in a familiar space, the latest Carlson Wagonlit Travel Australian Business Traveller Insight pretty much bears this out.

In a study of the growth of social media and the impact on business travel, CWT said that younger, savvier and more socially connected Gen Y travellers offer a unique insight into the way business travel is likely to evolve in its use of mobile technology.

"They are much more positively pre-disposed to using technology when travelling for business," says Matt Carracher, Director Products and Online Services, CWT Asia Pacific.

Interestingly, of the younger set, 34% said that the technology provided by their employers was “not so good”, while Baby Boomers rated theirs technology as being “good” or “excellent”.”

The report findings show that social media has changed the face of business travel.

A total of 82% of respondents cited ‘social contact’ as the greatest benefit of connectivity whilst travelling. This was made up of staying in touch with family and friends (68%), ensuring work/life balance (39%), enhanced business traveller experience (30%) and increasing personal safety/security while on the road (23%).

In terms of Gen Y business travellers, 64% accessed personal social media when on the road, with females being the heavier users.

Overall, almost one third of Australian business travellers believe the technology provided by their organisation is average, poor or very poor.

The CWT research reveals that real time alerts (72%), mobile check-in (70%), in-flight WiFi (66%) and mobile paperless boarding passes (62%) are the top four technology innovations that would improve business travellers’ productivity and travel experience.

ImpulseFlyer launches with WSJ Asia partnership

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Most travel start-ups struggle with distribution but it appears that ImpulseFlyer, the private sale site for boutique and luxury hotels, which officially launches this morning, October 18, has managed to crack that nut at the starting gate.

It launches with a full-scale distribution partnership with Wall Street Journal Asia that will see it offer a co-branded site on asia.wsj.com.

Said CEO and founder, Steven Gong (pictured below), "We’re excited about the partnership, Wall Street Journal Asia is a massive brand that reaches millions of affluent users that are broadly spread across the Asia Pacific region."

He declined to give details of the partnership.

The main site, ImpulseFlyer, and the co-branded site will offer the same deals. For Wall Street Journal Asia, the partnership "introduces their user base to a brand new service that caters to their demographic", said Gong.

"There is no online travel brand that exists for affluent customers – sites like Agoda and Expedia are mass market brands," he said. "They exist in Europe and the US, but not in Asia yet.

"We are the first private sale site to cater to the emerging affluent market in the region, offering stunning luxury and boutique hotels at members only prices. We will offer a site that consumers in Asia have not seen before."

The user interface will be visually arresting, and friendly to use. It uses the badge system to identify different features of a hotel – such as free Internet, spa, or any awards it has won – so that customers will be able to quickly identify the property that suits their needs. Each sale will last seven days. Impulse Flyer works on a commission basis.

Asked if he had met resistance from hotel brands who fear such sites compromising rate parity, Gong said, "Yes we have but we tell them we are different.

"One, we are a private sale. Two, the type of customers we are able to deliver. Three, we don’t do coupons – coupons are problematic and inflexible for customers and create admin issues for hoteliers.

"We have a real time booking engine - guaranteed availability, instant confirmation - just as you would buy from an OTA."

Gong added, "Most of the rate parity problems come from public deal sites. We fence in the deal and people have to apply for membership." He declined to reveal membership criteria.

He shares a personal anecdote as to why his business model will work. "I love to travel and I love staying in luxury boutique hotels. I went to one in Phuket once, it was a fantastic deal, 40% off. The deal was so good I stayed in the penthouse – stunning. I came back, told my friends about it. When I returned to Phuket, I chose the same hotel, stayed in the same room category and paid full price – I had done it before and I understood the value of what I was getting.

"I am not cost conscious but the deal was the carrot – and they captured me as a customer for life."

Gong said the aim is to be supplier friendly and he intends to work with both branded and independent boutique hotels.

"We will never buy branded keywords on search engines – how can u call yourself a partner and do that? We are completely against that – we want to give you incremental customers, not those who will book directly with you."

The site will open with deals in Thailand, Hawaii, Vietnam and Cambodia. Most of the deals will be in Asia Pacific destinations since most of the travel is intra-regional.

He doesn’t see ImpulseFlyer as a channel for distressed inventory but “another marketing channel, based on conversion, that exposes the hotel to a very specific affluent audience base”.

It’s also not to displace OTA bookings or direct bookings but “it’s all about filling the rooms that they haven't been able to sell”.

Self-funded thus far, ImpulseFlyer was built from the ground up with a team of developers in Singapore. "We thought of outsourcing but it would have been a large trade-off. To manage that team remotely would have been incredibly difficult especially when we are building a brand new product."

Brand Karma introduces free analytics tool as social media becomes mainstream

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Circos Brand Karma, which launched its social media analytics tool for hospitality at the WIT Conference in 2008, will launch a free tool, Brand Karma Express, this morning (October 18).

The free tool is available to all hoteliers who wish to monitor and manage what anyone is saying about their property at any time on Facebook, Twitter, and TripAdvisor.

CEO & Co-founder, Morris Sim (pictured left), said, "Since we launched our hospitality business at WIT in 2008, we thought it appropriate and timely to introduce our free tool back at WIT this year. We’re also celebrating our sixth anniversary and this is our way of celebrating with the industry which has so warmly welcomed us since our launch."

Reflecting Brand Karma’s deep understanding of the hospitality industry, in addition to monitoring brand reputation, Brand Karma Express also enables hoteliers to act on issues that arise from social media via a ‘logbook’ feature. With the tool, hoteliers can assign internal owners to social media issues and track their eventual resolutions.

A two-minute video explains everything you need to know about how to use Brand Karma Express, and is available at www.brandkarmax.com

The tool is aimed at independent properties and first-timer hotels that have not been able to afford such services previously.

Said Sim, "We feel that basic social media analysis has become a hygiene tool to manage your hotel’s reputation and everyone should have access to it. Social media has democratized the ability of people to share and we hope this free tool will democratise the ability of every hotel to know what its customers are saying about it and to respond appropriately.

Asked if a free tool could cannibalise its existing business that also includes consultancy, training, and social marketing services, Sim said, "There is always that possibility but we feel the pros outweigh the cons. We offer an optional upgrade path for Express users to Brand Karma Standard, which is our full-service tool to help hoteliers better understand what consumers think of their brand in comparison to their competition and diagnose operations and marketing issues.

"Whether Express users upgrade or not, the more people who understand the power of sentiment analysis and online reputation management, the better it is for the hotel universe and customers."

In the last three years, Circos Brand Karma has expanded its business considerably and has quadrupled its staff from 10 to over 40. It now has offices in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States.

Its global premium hospitality brand clients include Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Frasers Hospitality, Auberge Resorts, and Langham Hotel Group. The company remains privately held by a group of angel investors, but is planning on seeking venture capital funding next year to expand.

Said Sim, "More companies are taking social media seriously and we’ve seen an increase in spending in this space, so we want capital to grow our operations and offerings to better support our clients. New job roles like social media managers and digital marketers didn’t exist when we first launched; now most brands have someone in these roles or are recruiting for them.

"Because consumers are so reliant on social media now, it has gone mainstream, hence having people responsible for it is natural; it’s becoming an integral part of branding. We definitely see an increase next year in staff training because the cornerstone of a successful social media strategy is the ability to manage and create content towards the achievement of business KPIs.

"And by that I don’t just mean posting offers on Facebook pages, but a comprehensive content and engagement strategy across all platforms including broadcast, print, video, local, and interactive on the web and on mobile devices."

He said he was seeing demand from hotel customers for holistic solutions, from strategy through training and campaign execution.

"We’ve been really fortunate because we invested in learning how to act on social media insights from day one with our first customer, so we’ve had three years of experience in making social media actionable for operations to improve guest satisfaction, and uniquely, for sales and marketing to increase direct business. The social campaigns we’ve run for our clients have steadily increased in size and in numbers, and include everything from increasing brand awareness to improving yield and loyalty. We’re also actively sharing what we’ve learned; every Brand Karma Standard subscriber has a trained Guide that calls them to share insights on a regular basis."

Brand Karma has also continued to invest in new technology that has made its sentiment tool more sophisticated, including the native analysis of Chinese and Japanese reviews and social media.

"Language is such a reflection of culture, which determines travellers’ perceptions and expectations of a brand. That’s why we’ve invested heavily in understanding a language natively, particularly for Chinese – which we launched after four years of development by some of our smartest engineers. Japanese sentiment analysis is currently in beta with some large Japanese hotel companies that are very pleased with our accuracy. I expect that to release before the end of the year.

"Sentiment analysis of some languages is easier than others; other companies approximate the sentiments by translating a review into English and running an English analyzer on it – but this doesn’t work with Asian languages like Chinese or Japanese. The accuracy through this method is less than 50%. As Asia is such a growth engine for the world, we felt that it was important to really understand these travellers, which has helped us to not only provide better insights for our clients into what satisfies Asian travellers, but has been absolutely critical in our ability to design business strategy and marketing campaigns for our consulting clients."

The need for training was what prompted the company to set up Brand Karma University, which includes both free articles and video content on the company’s website, as well as paid-for customized training in digital marketing.

Asked about the most interesting things happening in social media currently, Sim said, “The speed at which it’s become mainstream has been phenomenal. It’s the largest communication medium in human history, and it’s evolving at a pace that’s never been seen. This is partly fuelled by the fact that over 50% of world’s population is under the age of 30.

"The other driving factor is the access to computing power via mobile devices and connectivity at lower and lower access fees. We’re glad that we started our journey in social media early – as frequent flyers, we continue to marvel at its power. Let’s just say that there’s never a boring day at work, and we’re looking forward to getting Brand Karma Express out to as many hoteliers as possible."

WIT's Bootcamp gets the week off to a great start!

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s been an excellent day at #wit2011 with Bootcamp kicking off the week’s proceedings.

We heard in the morning from a number of key players in the region, each giving the attendees valuable insights into their areas of expertise. What’s clear is that, although we are one region (in some sense), the opportunities are huge as varied as the different markets - from the newly empowered masses in India and China to the high tech bubbles and idiosyncrasies of Japan and Korea.

Things got serious in the afternoon when several startups got the opportunity to pitch to a number of Investors and Mentors and to the audience. It was a tough job and Timothy O'Neil-Dunne was meticulous when keeping the timing down to a tee.

Things got even more serious when, after the afternoon break, Don Birch and the rest of the judges had the startup hopefuls back up on the stage one by one facing some tough questions.

Everyone did very well - it’s not easy up on stage being grilled by some very knowledgeable, very clever (and, apparently in some cases), very wealthy individuals.

It’s clear that there is no shortage of energy, ideas and drive. Boot camp puts all that in touch with people who have no shortage of advice, mentorship and the aforementioned money!

I’m writing this (just about) post refreshments at ‘Harry’s Bar’ and what’s clear is that the environment - the culture - created by the WIT community (curated by Siew Hoon, of course) is one where those looking to chase their dreams are both encouraged to do so and, importantly, given the more practical help to succeed.

Entrepreneurship is not just about filling out forms for grants and looking to convince potential investors that their money is safe.

Thriving to succeed is about not being afraid to fail and about having people champion your dreams rather than having them constantly warn you of the risks and the consequences.

Boot camp creates that culture and I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone who was there today when I wish all the the startups every success in chasing their dreams and realizing their ideas.

We're off! WIT BootCamp - the many and varied opportunities that is Asia Pacific

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Bootcamp this year was kicked off by Siew Hoon - of course! She reminded us that you can follow all the action this year on our hashtag - #WIT2011 on Twitter.

We then heard from some regional experts working in some of the key locations in Asia Pacific - one region, but each with some specific insights unique to their location.

First off China and and we welcomed, Fritz Demopoulos, Advisor, WITNext

Fritz talked about the innovation in China but not so much from a technology perspective rather from a business and revenue model angle - the creation of models, some of which might even be considered as bordering on llegal in some countries.

“In China people talk about ‘Cost per action’ and ‘cost per time’. There are a range of offline / online initiatives with hybrid models being seen as making a lot of sense in China” Fritz added.

Fritz mentioned several areas where these new models are emerging - two key ones being Mobile and Big Data. “I would encourage you to think of these (and other) categories when thinking about starting business”, Fritz added.

From Japan we welcomed Kei Shibata, CEO, travel.jp

G is for Gamification NOT for Gaming is the message from Japan. Gamification is the integrating of gaming type features into commerce - creating a sense of competition, collaboration and leveling up.

It’s important to make the distinction between a ‘game’ and the ‘gamification’ of something.

From Indonesia, Graham Hills, General Manager-Indonesia, Wego talked about the importance of Location Based Services in Indonesia and how he sees another emerging trend in the ‘portalisation’ of Coupon sites - one point of entry into all your favorite deal sites.

Despite being one region we are many things. From the developing massive markets in China and India where most people have never used a fixed-line phone to Blackberry loving Indonesians neighbors to the hi tech bubble that is Japan we are a bubbling mass of opportunities and stages of development.

From Korea, David Asahara, Expedia Affiliate Network Director, North East Asia then offered us another angle. The message from Korea was “Speed, gadgets and Podcasting!” and, “Prime Time? - what Prime Time?”

David mentioned the Tesco shopping wall - digitally re-creating the store environment and the Kakao application which is increasingly getting more social with its inclusion of sharing and Twitter-like features.

And there was also mention from someone tweeting (#WIT2011) that Facebook is giving Cyworld a run for its money too!

From Australia, Ian Cumming, Founder, GetFlight talked about several sites innovation the way people book flights and how to get from one place to another.

Talking about innovation in Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand, Brett Henry, Vice President Marketing, Abacus International.

Brett talked about innovation in the deal sites market. He also talked about apps being built from the ground up in specific languages and the UI being ‘dialed in’ for the market.

In Vietnam, Tran Trong Kien, CEO, Buffalo Tours, Vietnam talked to us about big growth in internet usage and how the access is moving to Mobile. The biggest activities are news, search and music.

Payment is a big challenge in Vietnam. There is change but more trusted opportunities will really drive the uptake of eCommerce and online booking.

Asia Pacific - one region, but many different markets all with their own characteristics and opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Cover It Live @ WIT Bootcamp 2011

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

&amp;lt;a href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=fc65b3dda5&quot; _cke_saved_href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=fc65b3dda5&quot; &amp;gt;WIT Bootcamp 2011 Part II&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Winner selected for TravelRave Talent Challenge

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Singapore Management University student, Mabel Fu Meibao, has won the TravelRave Talent Challenge, a competition run by the Singapore Tourism Board and WITNext to raise the awareness of travel and tourism careers among young talent in Asia.

The Challenge, launched in August, asked 18-25 year olds across Asia to pitch their three best ideas on how travel could better engage with Generation Next to draw them into the industry as talent.

Close to 100 entries were received from students across Asia. Three finalists were picked and each had to produce a five-minute video.

Mabel, 24, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Management, double majoring in Finance and Marketing, was selected the winner by a panel of judges which comprised industry leaders such as Abacus, Accor Asia Pacific, BCD Travel and STB.

Among the judges’ comments: “Ideas were conveyed clearly and succinctly; creativity of pitch video was outstanding; ideas were creative, easy to understand and communicate and feasible to implement fairly quickly; and implementation of ideas will not affect operations and does not require high cost commitment and/or resource investment.”

Fu wins a cash prize of S$800 and internship opportunities with some of WITNext patrons. WITNext is the inspiration and mentoring initiative under Web In Travel.

She also gets to attend an exclusive networking session with delegates of the Asia Travel Leaders Summit (ATLS) this week as well as enjoy free access to relevant TravelRave events such as the Singapore Experience Awards, ITB Asia and the Web in Travel Conference.

AirAsia says, we have faith in Expedia; Cleartrip says, we wish them luck

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Its action in cutting off API access to its content through all B2C and B2B channels in India may not have made it many friends in the country but AirAsia’s group head of commercial, Kathleen Tan (left), is unfazed by critics.

She told WIT, “Part of our deal with Expedia is we will cut off online distribution since we have a 50% stake in this joint venture. The numbers from India’s OTAs are insignificant as their buying is still traditional like the traditional agents.

“They are more keen to sell selective routes and, similar to traditional agents, are only after cheap fares and want a flat price which is not exactly our dynamic pricing.

“We own 50% of Expedia India. They may be new but we are investing there and the market size is big enough for all. The only difference for Expedia is they have 400 airlines to sell and can tap on its global network and serve different niche segments. A lot of Indians travel to US now and this could be Expedia's edge.”

In India, Hrush Bhatt, founder and director, product strategy of Cleartrip, confirming that AirAsia has withdrawn API access to content through all B2C and B2B channels in India, said, “This cuts them off from distribution through OTAs and offline travel agents across India.”

He added, “With internet penetration at less than 10% of the population, AirAsia is going to face a challenge on distribution in India. Expedia India is still a small player with just a fraction of the online travel's traffic.

“We expect that Air Asia's competitors will be more than happy to embrace the distribution channels where AirAsia has specifically chosen to be absent.”

Bhatt said that customers would choose to shop in environments in which aggregated content exists.

“Cleartrip continues to focus on comprehensiveness of content and today arguably has the most compelling International flights product that offers full service and low cost content through the same interface.”

Asked if he saw this AirAsia exclusivity benefitting Expedia India, Bhatt said, “We don't see a big benefit for Expedia India from this at all. In fact, it may deter competing airlines from wanting to work with Expedia. As far as industry alliances go, this is certainly a first-of-its-kind partnership, but the rationale for the partnership is a bit foggy.

“Expedia isn't a company that has ever cared very much about selling low cost airline seats, they care about package and hotel revenue. We're not sure why you'd partner with a company which regards your product as a commodity they couldn't care less about.

“If AirAsia believes that the partnership will allow them to accelerate their own package and hotel sales, then we wish them luck.”

On AirAsia’s side, Tan said the upside is the entire Expedia network (not just Asia's JV) will have AirAsia inventory.

“I have faith in our JV and just three months in operation, they are showing better results than expected. We have a young and dynamic team in Expedia India and I have faith they can do a good if not better job than the rest of OTAs who have been around a long time.

“China is a good example where we didn't depend on OTAs nor traditional agents but focus on building the brand, offer low fares and we are building a strong FIT market where critics told me we will not succeed.”

How Asia's travel start-ups got their names

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Ahead of the WIT Bootcamp: Entrepreneurship & Innovation on Oct 17, we thought it'd be interesting to find out the history behind some of the names of Asia’s travel start-ups.

“Many years ago, like many search engine focused marketers, we marketed our hotel product through many different domain names that we owned or partnered with. We always wanted to build a singular brand and move away from search, and we had been looking for good name for at least a year.

“Agoda was one of the names we came across that was available in multiple languages and for sale online. We liked it because it sounded a lot a lot like a slang for “I’ve got to go” as in “I got ‘Agoda’ Tokyo this weekend.

With so many different nationalities inside our business speaking English to each other with different accents, we had a good laugh about that and eventually settled on the name. It didn’t hurt that it was only five letters, relatively easy to pronounce, started with the letter A, and sounded Asian because of the similarity with Pagoda.

“As with all things we do, we also tested the name with real customers and received good response. We then worked with creative talent to create a more clear brand identity. It all came together over a period of about six months and we never looked back.”

- Robert Rosenstein, CEO & Co-founder, Agoda

“We had created a list of around 50-60 different potential names. All names on that list had one thing in common: the dotcom domain name for each was available, that was the primary criteria by which a name made it onto the list.

“One afternoon, I thought up the name, "Cleartrip", and added it to the list. The more time "Cleartrip" spent on the list, the more it stood above and apart from every other name on the list. The founders discussed the name and we decided to go ahead with it as the name.”

- Hrush Bhatt, Founder & Director, Product & Strategy, Cleartrip

“We actually never used a professional agency for this but instead thought of a long-list of names (TravelRaja, TravelPlay, IndiaTrip etc etc) ourselves (the few of us on an all-night session). Then we narrowed down to approximately five names and did a dip-stick with 100 odd folks to see their reaction to each name.

“While we were clear we needed a generic name for SEO benefit, we also did not want to restrict ourselves to an India play (in fact that's why the original name of INdiaAhoy was not used for our main site). MakeMyTrip made everyone smile and happy and that decided it for us.

“Oh, and also, we did not want to buy an expensive name (this was around June 2000) so by and large went for domains that were available.”

- Deep Kaira, Founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip

“CC Zhuang, the other co-founder, came up with the name. Douglas Khoo is the third co-founder.

“We started with "woqunar" ( where am I going today? ) because we never thought "qunar" could really be available. Surprisingly, "qunar" was indeed available.

“We also considered ziraffa and giraffa, ie a play on giraffe. The idea was to have an animal of some sort.

“We started with a Chinese name so we never really cared about translation into English. Qunar though seems to be easy for foreigners to remember.

“The real objective is to get a Chinese name that is suitable, unique, easy to remember and consistent with your brand. I think the key to translating into Chinese is to be locally relevant. I would suggest all companies to throw out the idea of translating and simply come up with a great, local name.

“China is a big enough and unique enough market to justify a standalone brand, name and strategy.”

- Fritz Demopoulos, Co-Founder, Former CEO, Qunar

“Like a lot of online business start-ups in 2005, we were faced with limited domain name options and limited budget to buy an existing domain.

It was very popular at the time for start-ips to make up names or register misspellings. I remember working from home and feeling very frustrated that all the best domains were taken - it was driving me crazy - and that’s how Bezurk popped into my head. Bezurk is a misspelling for the word "Berserk" which means crazy.

“We were crazy to think that Bezurk would resonate with consumers, The association of Crazy with Travel was madness. There are over five ways of spelling Berserk so it was a miracle that travellers found us. You needed to be dyslexic to find us.

“In 2007 we had a naming competition amongst our staff and every name possible was listed on our office white board. Everyone’s creative thinking was at the point of exhaustion when we came up with Wego. We wanted to have a name which was short, easy to spell, had few misspellings, and related to travel. We tried every permutation of the words Travel & Go.

“It was when were combining different words like " I Go", "You Go" that "We Go" was born

“When we typed the word Wego into Google, we came across the company who owned the domain. They were a software company who did not know what to do with the domain so were realistic on the asking price. They had not used it so the domain was clean. As it turned out they had only decided to sell the domain a few days before we found it. So it was meant to be.”

- Craig Hewett, Chief Commercial Officer & Co-Founder, Wego

“Yatra - means "journey" in Hindi. We must have gone through a hundred names before settling on this. When we finally settled on this, we realized that someone in the US owned the URL and we had to go out and buy it - cost us, I think, about $40,000 which when you are not funded is a lot of money, but in hindsight has turned out to be one of the best decisions as the name, given its familiarity and common usage, has given us tremendous brand recall despite investing lower amounts in brand building than competition.”

- Dhruv Shringi, CEO & Co-Founder, Yatra

“Even though the name Zuji has no meaning in itself, the Asian sounding name was chosen to highlight being an Asian insider embracing innovation and efficiency. In some markets, the name sounds like "footprint" in the Chinese language; which connotes "journey or travels".”

– Wong Kok Kit, Chief Financial Officer and who was on the founding team of ZUJI

Want to share your stories of how your travel start-up got its name? Contact us.

Expedia counts on exclusive AirAsia inventory as it executes JV in S'pore, India and Japan

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Just got back from my catch-up with Dan Lynn, managing director of Expedia AirAsia, and what should I see on the way home? A bus emblazoned with Expedia.com.sg saying, “Don’t let the best travel deals pass you by”.

Expedia Singapore (pictured below) is the first full service Expedia branded site that’s been launched post-the signing of the AirAsia-Expedia joint venture in March – it offers 1,400 hotels and 400 airlines, of which AirAsia is one, Lynn is quick to stress.

But it is clearly the exclusive access to the cheapest AirAsia flights that will differentiate Expedia from the other OTAs in Singapore – the joint venture agreement gives Expedia exclusive distribution rights beyond AirAsia.com of the airline’s flights and packages throughout Asia Pacific, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand.

Lynn said he had been encouraged by the numbers on Expedia Singapore so far. “It shows that the proposition of AirAsia flights in combination with our hotels is incredibly powerful.

“In Japan, where our package business is the biggest, it accounts for 20% of room nights. In Singapore, we are seeing 50% of room nights coming from packages so it shows that if you take a low cost carrier and bundle it into a package, it’s a great idea.”

In Japan and India, where Expedia already had full service sites, the AirAsia content has been switched on. And competitor OTAs, including MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip and Yatra in India, have been notified by AirAsia to remove its inventory from their sites.

Dhruv Shringi, CEO of Yatra, told WIT he was initially a bit surprised by the request “given that Expedia has virtually no distribution of note in india”.

He said he didn’t see it having too much of an impact on Yatra and he added that Indian low cost carriers were also flying to the destinations that AirAsia flies to and were willing to offer attractive rates to the Indian OTAs.

Asked how cutting off its inventory from India’s three largest OTAs would benefit AirAsia, Lynn said the joint venture is for the longterm and “AirAsia has decided to work with someone proven who can build scale and volume for them.

“Don’t forget too that AirAsia’s built its own distribution network and direct channel and we can complement that.”

(Picture shows Expedia India offering “every flavour of South east Asia at the lowest cost”.)

(A check on MakeMyTrip tonight shows that AirAsia is still listed on the site and it will be interesting to see how this exclusivity is enforced. However this could be due to the fact that agreements have yet to expire and are being allowed to run out.)

Lynn admitted that Expedia had lot more work to do in India. “Not many people knew we were there and we need to accelerate our investment to get brand awareness. Our sales have grown 400% in the past year but having said that, we still have lots of work to do.”

With sites like Cheaptickets coming into Singapore, promising consumers the ability to shop for low cost and full service airlines in one site, and Skyscanner setting up in the region, the market for flight search is getting crowded.

Said Lynn, “Our unique value is packages, and my focus will be on packages and hotels.”

A top priority is to build up hotel content in tertiary markets. This is where it will go full head-on with hotel-only sites like Agoda. Said Lynn, “I admire their focus, it’d be easy to say, let’s add car rental and so on, but they have stuck to their core and done really well.

“It seems in online travel, there are two strategies – come to us for this one thing or come to us and we will help you with your trip. We are in the latter category and we now have the advantage of having the best low cost airline inventory,” said Lynn.

He clarified there would be no Expedia AirAsia site as such and that the joint venture would work towards launching Expedia full service sites in markets such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, which were taking longer to roll out due to local complexities.

It also has responsibility for AirAsia Go and Lynn said that the site would continue to sell AirAsia flights and hotels. His objective is to improve the user experience and “market it like Jetstar Holidays for fans of AirAsia and in markets where AirAsia has a bigger profile than Expedia, such as Malaysia”.

GoRooms, which also falls under Lynn’s responsibility, is a standalone hotel site that was never launched and Lynn is still reviewing what to do with it.

“We have been focused on getting the AirAsia flights rolled out and getting the brand launched in Singapore. Moving forward, we will improve user experience on AirAsia Go and add Expedia’s hotel product into AirAsia Go.”

Asked if he was aware of the skepticism surrounding the joint venture, with naysayers citing “cultural conflict” as one key reason why it wouldn’t work, Lynn said, “Joint ventures have a bad reputation. The way you increase the chance of success is that you don’t give yourself any option – it’s like marriage but without the option of divorce.

“The moment you start to say, well, if it doesn’t work out and you have a Plan B, then you are not going to work at the hard stuff. You’ve got to say, there is no way out so I’ve got to do the hard stuff.”

His job is to take the best bits of both companies and blend the two. “I don‘t think our companies are that different, Expedia is 15 years old, AirAsia is 10. Both of us, given our scale, are relatively lean on people, we are a bit scrappy, we get things done, we don’t overthink.

“Expedia may be American but it has a global outlook, 45% of Expedia Inc’s business is outside the US and will pass 50% this year.”

As he sees it, it’s no different to when they launched Expedia Japan and it hired a local team and just got on with it. “We figured out what worked in Japan and did it.”

In Singapore, it’s about getting the basics right – offering the breadth of choice, exclusive AirAsia inventory, great value and easy to use. “Boring but you’ve got to get these basics right.”

As for the partnership between Expedia and Groupon signed in the US, Lynn said he wouldn’t be spending too much time on that. “The daily deals space is too noisy and frothy right now. At Expedia Singapore, we have phenomenal value everyday and maybe that’s what I need to do a better job at – to surface that and allow people to find deals that suit their budget much more easily.”

Note: Dan Lynn will be sharing more about the Expedia-AirAsia partnership and his thoughts on the online travel space at the WIT Conference, Oct 18-19.

Deals fatigue settling in; some best practices to bear in mind

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

If you are one of the 115 million subscribers of Groupon’s daily deals email, you expect that every morning when you awake you can grab your coffee and see what offers are available in your area.

You may have also noticed the utter saturation in the marketplace with the amount of deal websites that have sprung up in the last 2-3 years. A recent Wall Street Journal article, “Get ‘Em While They Last: ‘Daily Deal’ Sites Dying Fast” cites that 170 of 530 deal websites have shut down or been sold so far in 2011. Even through this apparent consolidation, that means that over 360 deal Websites still remain.

Group buying or private/flash sale channels provide an opportunity to quickly move an influx of short-term inventory. Typically, a block of inventory is secured from the advertiser in the form of room nights, restaurant credits or spa services. The inventory is then discounted 40-60%, the sale will take place for generally 48 hours and the publisher will keep a commission of 30-50% of the total gross sale. The resulting financials of the sale is net revenue to the advertiser of approximately 25-40% of the original retail cost.

With new customer acquisition costs drastically increasing for big players like Groupon, it appears that both advertisers and users alike are becoming more wary and discerning of what is really a ‘deal’ in these marketplaces.

Due to the vast number of sites vying for their business, advertisers are slower to jump at these opportunities for fear that overusing these channels will erode their retail rates. The saturation of these websites paired with higher user acquisition costs, leads one to believe that even pioneers like Groupon may be ‘over-the-hill’ as it relates to their current business model.

While these channels reach a sizeable audience and there are responsible pricing tactics to limit erosion of rate, the general message is to proceed with caution. When consulting clients on this subject I will generally recommend that if they choose to use flash sale websites, that they ensure their use complements other forms of advertising, to avoid making flash sales a core component to their marketing strategy.

Best Practices for engaging with Flash Sales:

• Flash sale sites should only be used during need periods to help build occupancy without displacing higher paying guests.
• Where possible, package in high value amenities with the rate, such as champagne, breakfast, or spa services. This helps to maintain rate opacity and absorb the discount across rooms; by packaging in add on’s, the room rate is not as greatly impacted.
• Get statistics/demographics from the site. Take the help of the flash sale account manager and listen to their advice on creating a sale that generates the demand, when you need it, where you need it, and who you want it from.

Flash sales may be a flash in the pan looking back on this era in a few years, however while they are around, they can be beneficial as an infrequent component to the overall media mix if pursued carefully.

Ken Barna (ken.barna@sabre.com) manages customer online media campaigns for Sabre Hospitality Solutions.

Tablets could revolutionise travel agencies; every frontliner should have one

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The mobile revolution and the tablet could enable traditional travel agents to make up for whatever ground they may have lost when the travel business went online.

Indeed, Robert Bailey, president and CEO of Abacus International, said just as tablet devices are revolutionizing the way we work, they could also transform the way travel agents do business.

“Mobile will help them make the generation leap,” he said.

Asked by WIT if every travel agency boss should arm their frontliners with a tablet like the iPad, Bailey replied, “Why not? Imagine being able to take your office to your client, it changes the entire experience and delivers a concierge experience to your customer.”

Danny Kondic, vice president of channel management, said, “For traditional brick and mortar agents, this tool could revolutionise the way travel is sold.

“Imagine, if some visionary person could take this and transform the way a travel agency is run – get away from the counters. So far from being the death knell, this technology could completely innovate the way travel is sold.”

The two executives were speaking at an Abacus media lunch to share the results of the latest Abacus’ Asia Travel Insights Survey 2011 which shows how mobile technology has contributed to Asia’s strong rise in the global travel landscape.

While market growth, previously anticipated at 4-8%, has been revised to 2-4% due to the global financial climate and natural disasters such as the tsunami in Japan, Bailey said “Asian travel industry growth and confidence remain high as it proves its resilience in mitigating any outstanding factors”.

The survey, conducted at a pre-European economic crisis period, found that 75% of those surveyed anticipate their business will experience growth of greater than 10% in the next 12 months, with 25.8% of respondents seeing a growth of greater than 20%.

Mobile technology was the most heavily highlighted area from the survey. Travel players indicated mobile transactions, social media, mobile apps and mobile-specific websites as the key areas of investment for 2012.

In a region that holds 56% of worldwide mobile users, Asia Pacific has proven to be a heavy hitter in mobile uptake. Over 2.1 billion people will use a mobile phone at least monthly this year, representing over half the population of the entire region, and growth will be steady, with penetration reaching 72.6% by 2015, reaching a mobile population of nearly 2.9 billion in Asia Pacific.

Almost all the respondents in the survey had invested in some mobile technology over the past year, and plan to continue to in 2012 and Brett Henry, VP Marketing, VP India, Abacus International, predicted that the mobile device will play an even greater role for travel transactions in the coming year.

By 2015, global shoppers will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via mobile phones.3 The number of mobile bookings in the travel space has also accelerated from $20 million in 2008 to over $200 million in 2010 – 8% of mobile users are expected to book travel from their smartphones by 20124.

In terms of transactions, 69 percent of Asian consumers prefer using their mobile device for most payments. Chinese consumers were most favourable (76%), followed by India, (75%), South Korea (56%) and Japan (47%).

“Mobile devices are indispensable and are essential for anyone in Asia. It provides an easy channel whereby travel providers can make bookings, provide on-demand service, manage loyalty programmes and conduct transactions for revenue generation,” said Henry.

Mobile technology has really helped to make travel businesses more cost-efficient, and to revolutionise the end traveller experience.”

FastBooking hotels more visible to travel agents with Travelport's hotel tool

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The partnership between Travelport and FastBooking sees the latter’s hotels displayed and bookable via the latter’s newly-launched Travelport Rooms and More™.

The tool also boosts the visibility of FastBooking client hotels among the 65,000 connected travel agency customers in the worldwide Travelport network and create more high value opportunities.

It combines the metasearch functionality and user interface developed by Sprice.com with Travelport’s core B2B expertise to deliver a completely integrated hotel-booking platform.

Travelport said the tool was part of the company’s ongoing drive to enhance its hospitality offering to travel agents worldwide.

"The FastBooking portfolio of independent hotels located in high demand destinations is fantastic new content for the increasing number of Travelport Rooms and More travel agency users,” said Niklas Andreen, Travelport’s group vice president, global hospitality (picured above).

Alain Hirschfeld, FastBooking’s marketing director, business development, said the agreement with Travelport was in line with its goal of increasing its hotels’ online business with travel agencies worldwide and consolidating its position in this high-potential segment.

SLH challenges agents to pick a song for a place

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Frank Sinatra said it best with his songs “Autumn in New York” and “I Love Paris”…Sometimes a melody can conjure up memories of your favourite places around the world.

Now travel agents are invited to put their musical knowledge to the test and help Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) celebrate 20 years of success during its anniversary year by entering a new travel agent prize draw, “I’ve Got The World On A String”, launching on its dedicated travel agent site http://agents.slh.com.

SLH is offering agents the chance to win one of many luxury stays - the world over, from now until 15 December 2011. One grand prize draw of a 20 Night Itinerary including four 5 night stays at its hotels worldwide and GBP2,000 towards travel expenses* will be up for grabs, as will a regular monthly prize of a 3 night stay at an SLH property.

“We recognise that travel agents are critical to the success of our brand,” says Paul Kerr, chief executive officer for Small Luxury Hotels of the World. “With more than 65% of reservations made by agents using the GDS code, LX, we realise how important it is to provide the tools to sell the SLH brand as effectively as possible. That’s why we created the travel agent website.“

In order to enter the prize draw, and stand a chance of winning the grand prize or a monthly prize draw, agents must find 20 song titles that have the location of an SLH hotel in it, then name an SLH hotel in that location.

Entries with the name of a specific SLH hotel in its title will also be accepted. Answers can be submitted via the prize draw form on the dedicated travel agent website. The winning song lists will be published on the site and winners will be notified at the end of the month, with the Grand Prize Winner announced on 15 December 2011.

Some inspiration for your song list… I Love Paris, by Frank Sinatra – Pavilion des Lettres, Paris Snow In Berlin, by Midnight Choir – Brandenburger Hof, Berlin That’s Why God Made Mexico, Tim McGraw – Anticavilla Hotel, Cuernavaca, Mexico

Pandemonium breaks out at AirAsia X

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Chengdu, home ot the cuddly pandas, has received a shot in the arm with the inking of a deal with AirAsia X, the long haul budget affliate of AirAsia, to boost tourism to the city.

The strategic partnership with Chengdu Tourism involves an estimated cash investment of RM1 million (RMB2 million) for joint marketing and advertising campaigns. A Chengdu tourism centre will also be set up in Malaysia where AirAsia X has the privilege of being the only airline promoted.

Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X (pictured left), said its latest collaboration was part of the airline’s ongoing effort to promote its 13 routes to China.

"Our flight into Chengdu from Kuala Lumpur has proven popular ever since we started operations in October 2009. We have seen a significant jump in passenger load with over 84% traffic both inbound and outbound for the route."

To kick start this collaboration, AirAsia X will run a contest - The AirAsia X Pandemonium - on its Facebook page for its one million plus fans. Two lucky winners of the contest, to run from October 31 to November 30, will get an all expense paid trip for two to Chengdu.

Video below

To give you a taste of what Chengdu, capital of China’s Sichuan Province, also known as the "Heavenly State" (Tian Fu Zhi Guo), has to offer – from the famous Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Centre to the ancient Wuhuo Temple (pictured above), great shopping and mouth-watering cuisine.

Smartphones, tablets driving up digital traffic in the US

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

comScore has released a report, "Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing U.S. Digital Media Consumption Habits", that shows these devices are changing US digital media consumption habits.

The report analyses how cross-platform consumption has created a vastly different landscape as consumers utilise a growing number of devices to consume digital content. It also looks at the impact these shifting consumption habits have on online visitation and engagement across the Internet. (Download a copy here).

"The popularisation of smartphones and the introduction of tablets and other web-enabled devices – collectively termed 'connected devices' – have contributed to an explosion in digital media consumption. As these devices gain adoption we have also seen the rise of the 'digital omnivores' – consumers who access content through several touchpoints during the course of their daily digital lives,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile.

Report’s key findings:

Mobile phones drive digital traffic around the world, while tablets are gaining steam: The share of non-computer traffic for the U.S. stood at 6.8% in August 2011, with approximately two-thirds of that traffic coming from mobile phones, and tablets accounting for much of the remainder.
Increased WiFi availability and mobile broadband adoption in the U.S. are helping drive connectivity: In August more than one third (37.2%) of U.S. digital traffic coming from mobile phones occurred via a WiFi connection. This percentage grew nearly three points in just the past three months. On the other hand, tablets, which traditionally required a WiFi connection to access the Internet, are increasingly driving traffic using mobile broadband access. In the same month nearly 10% of traffic from tablets occurred via a mobile network connection.
Today half of the total U.S. mobile population uses mobile media: The mobile media user population (those who browse the mobile web, access applications, or download content) grew 19% in the past year to more than 116 million people at the end of August 2011.
iPads dominate among tablets in driving digital traffic. In August iPads delivered 97.2%of all tablet traffic in the U.S. iPads have also begun to account for a higher share of Internet traffic than iPhones (46.8% vs. 42.6% of all iOS device traffic).
In the U.S. tablet users display the characteristics of early technology adopters: young males in upper income brackets:In August 54.7% of all tablet owners were male and nearly 30% were aged 25-34. Nearly half (45.9%) of tablet owners belonged to households earning US$100K and more.
Nearly half of tablet owners made or completed a purchase on their tablet: Tablet owners exhibited significant use of their devices throughout the entire online shopping process – from doing the initial planning, conducting product and store research, making price comparisons, to finally transacting. In the past month, more than half of tablet owners looked up product or price information for a specific store (56 percent) and read customer ratings and reviews while on a tablet (54%)
Nearly three out of five tablet owners consume news on their tablets: 58% of tablet owners consumed world, national or local news on their devices, with one in four consuming this content on a near-daily basis on their tablets.
Tablets facilitate real-time social networking: Nearly three in five tablet owners updated their social networking status or commented on others’ status on their device during September, while slightly less than half shared their location using a location-sharing site during.
The incremental reach through mobile and connected devices should not be underestimated:In the case of a publisher, such as Pandora, the incremental reach of additional channels like connected devices is significant. In August 2011 the additional mobile and connected device audience for Pandora accounted for more than half of their total cross-platform audience.

iOS is leading connected device platform by device share and traffic share

Although the Android platform accounts for the highest share of the smartphone market (43.7% in August) its total audience among mobile and connected devices in current use is eclipsed by Apple iOS. The iOS platform had the highest share of connected devices and smartphones in use at 43.1%, fuelled by the iPad’s dominance in the tablet market while Android accounted for 34.1%of the total mobile and connected device universe.

The iOS platform also accounts for the largest share of Internet traffic, measured in terms of browser-based page views, in the U.S. at present. When measuring market share of Internet traffic by platform, iOS accounted for more than half (58.5%) of the share of total non-computer traffic in the U.S. Android OS ranked second, with 31.9%of overall non-computer traffic in August. With iOS having a significantly higher share of traffic (58.5%)compared to its share of devices (43.1%)it suggests that iOS users are heavier-than-average consumers of Internet content.

The future of social: Learn from cavemen and babies

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Where is social going? Here, on the eve of our 6th anniversary, are my thoughts.

Meet the creators: Video is the language of social

Meet Mike Corey (pictured right). He’s a 26 year-old videographer who loves to travel from Toronto, Canada. Recently he used his previous body of user-generated-content to win the Cathay Pacific Around the World in 80 Days Competition, and subsequently, had a trip of a lifetime, gathered more fans around the world, and created a ton of great content to bring the Cathay brand to a new generation of travelers. Mike is now up for a hosting gig for a reality show in Canada. Good luck, Mike.

Meet Bunyao "Bruce" Liu (pictured left). He’s from Hsin-Chu,Taiwan. He posted his student project at Savannah College of Art and Design, "Deadline," on YouTube in 2009. It was a stop-motion animation short film using Post-It notes. Today, as one of the most popular video of that genre, it has garnered over five million views, making him a highly sought after director. The Taiwanese government recently commissioned him to make a piece for its Centennial Celebration, you can see it here.

The awesome thing is … Bruce is only 26-years old, and he has already travelled the world to tell brand stories. Enjoy his follow-up, Sticking Close to You

Meet Dan Savage. He’s a 47-year old gay American author. He and his husband (pictured right) created a video on YouTube for bullied teenagers, telling them that "It Gets Better" in response to numerous teens that had committed suicide. The video started a movement, and has gathered over 20,000 video entries, including messages of hope from Barack Obama, and employees of Apple

Mike, Bruce, and Dan are the future creators of social – they represent a new generation of global citizens who use videos to shape our views of the world, and each other, through their eyes. Each of them expressed a relatable point-of-view in a special way. And through their views, we were inspired, entertained, and moved. Each is a reporter, a studio, a network, and a broadcast channel. You may never meet them, and they may never have another hit, but their digital footprints have already made an impact on the world through social.

Truthfulness of the content: Jackie Chan is not dead, again!

How many times can a person die? If you’re Jackie Chan (pictured left), the answer is twice (so far), just in 2011. In March, Chan’s heart attack was widely tweeted; except he hadn’t suffered an attack. In August, an “RIP Jackie Chan” Facebook page started. Today, it has more than 400,000 fans. But as of the writing of this post, he is still alive.

There are truths, lies, and then, there are opinions. Political campaigns have tried to obscure truths via opinions and validate lies with opinions. Like magicians using sleigh-of-hand to create illusions, people in power, or wanting to be in power, are good at using data and their opinions to create a belief that eventually become accepted truths.

Here are some examples from past and current history:

• Earth is flat.

• Stomach ulcers are caused by stress, alcohol, and spicy food.

• The HPV vaccine causes mental retardation.

Because we arrive at a certain belief by connecting dots of information, people who are good at manufacturing ‘believable or hard-to-verify content that looks like information’ are particularly dangerous in social.

The NewYork Times, a venerable publisher, has the motto, "All the news that’s fit to print." This is an ethos that has generally worked over the years, and we accept what’s published as nuggets of fact. However, social media, which contains way more content, has more opinions than facts. A lot of harm can be done when opinions are interpreted, or worse, misrepresented as facts, particularly as they relate to one’s health, family, finances, security, culture, religion, and government.

There are a lot of opinionated people. Intentional or not, they can obscure truths.The mosaic of their opinions creates "truthiness". If you want to rely on opinions, you’ll need to step back to see what the mosaic of information is really showing.

Hence, ambiguity of veracity is the future of social. Jackie Chan – may you live in peace without another death hoax.

The trusting consumers: We are babies

In the age of social, consumers have access to what effectively is an infinite source of content for every purpose created by ever more people who reporting news and telling stories at all times and from everywhere. On the other hand, consumers will have to sort through an unprecedented amount of information to discern between truths, lies, and opinions. How will it happen without the rational mind exploding?

This will come down to how we use our mind and our heart together. We can use our intellect to process, filter, and select the content that we best believe to represent truths, and then rely on our feelings to trust the sources that originate truthful content.

From an evolutionary perspective, this isn’t new; we have this encoded in our DNA from the caveman days.

We’ve evolved to react instinctively to environmental cues to keep us from harm and to draw us towards safety, comfort, and happiness.The five senses that monitor the physical world are hardwired to the brain and we react without having to think. For example, we have the urge to spit out bitter things (associated with poison) but prefer sweets (sugar as a source of energy).

We’ve not developed instinctive reflexes to cues from the digital world. However, our caveman ancestors did develop ways to perceive and interpret cues from their social environment – namely, information about other people: their relationship with you and with each other, and most importantly, who you can trust and rely on.

You can see this in babies. Babies spend their early days after birth recognising facial expressions and body language so as to determine who their primary caretakers are. They then learn to interact with them to ensure their own survival by expressing joy, surprise, pain, sadness, and fear. They instinctively know that their primary caretaker is a lifeline – a source that knows and can provide all that which is good.

If babies instinctively develop a sense of who to trust, what happens in adulthood? Who adults trust determines everything from who they hang out with, who they marry, who they give their money to, who they receive advice from, and who they buy from. As the physical environment nowadays isn’t as menacing as our caveman days, our social senses are utilized even more to deal with modern life.

Therefore, as the explosion of content creates information overload, human beings will do what they have always done: observe the Creators’ actions (in this case, their content) to see whether they can be trusted, and if so, trusting what they have to say about the world.

Will this lead people to the wrong conclusion and to take the wrong actions? Yes. Human history is full of lost causes and awful purposes led by flawed people Social won’t correct that. In fact, because social is orthogonal to morality, it may actually realize wrongful causes by providing channels to accelerate strangers trusting one another.

But the future of social is about trust – both as a noun and as a verb – and as a result, it will involve both the mind and the heart.

The Conclusion: Social Is Irrepressible

The creators, the content, and the consumers are all driving and being driven by the future of social. These three parts are intricately linked, and each can benefit or be harmed by the future of social. And they will.

Khaled Mohamed Saeed (pictured left), aged 28, allegedly videotaped Egyptian police dealing in drugs. He was brutally beaten to death by two plainclothes policemen in broad daylight while sitting in a cafe, but the police insisted that he had died swallowing a packet of hashish.

His friends posted his post-mortem picture (pictured below) and later, the videos, and a revolution began.

"We Are All Khaled Saeed” – a Facebook group, gathered hundreds of thousands of followers, and some 6 months after Saeed’s death, became a rallying and organizing point for the protests in Egypt that eventually led to the end of a regime that had in power for 40 years.

Very few Egyptian protesters met Khaled Saeed. But he was “The face that launched a revolution." His content united strangers across Egypt to risk their lives and stand up to an oppressive dictator.

Central to the future of social is the power of content to create trust between unknown creators and anonymous consumers. The trusting bonds developed between people are strong enough to overthrow governments. It is such a powerful medium that people in power will undoubtedly try to constrain or eliminate it.

But just as the human spirit is irrepressible, so too will be social.

Note: Morris Sim will be speaking at the WIT Conference, Oct 18-19.

Final touches, outrageous requests - are you ready?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Woke up this Friday morning to realise that two Fridays from now, I will be taking an AirAsia flight to Chiang Mai where I will then take a five-hour ride to the Golden Triangle to take a breather in the hills of Northern Thailand.

The weather should be superb this time of year and I am looking forward to my return to Lanjia Lodge (pictured), which sits atop a cliff overlooking the Mekong River and has views of the three countries that make up the Golden Triangle.

I will watch birds, take walks, cross rivers and eat home-cooked meals prepared by the Hmong villagers who look after the lodge for Asian Oasis.

Maybe I will even learn a Hmong dance and play a Hmong instrument … or bring my new ukulele along and have a jam session with the Hmongs who are natural, gifted musicians.

It’s nice to dream.

For now though, we are busy putting the final touches to the WIT Conference which will kick off with the Bootcamp on Oct 17.

Last evening, we confirmed Greg Webb, president of Sabre Travel Network, as a speaker – very exciting. He will open Oct 19, Day 2, with a conversation with me on The Leadership Groove.

As with hotels and dynamic pricing, conferences these days have dynamic content too and we are constantly having to move things around to accommodate last minute requests and brainwaves.

Our debates are shaping up well, our moderated sessions are being whipped into shape by our moderators and our speakers are working hard to deliver presentations that will be original and insightful.

This year, we are also trying out a new mobile-optimised site for our conference – www.eventmobi.com/wit2011. It allows you to add/edit your own profile for both speakers and attendees and will enable you to take notes within sessions and give us instant feedback on the sessions.

To help you with data roaming charges, Bridge Alliance is giving us 2-day free SIM cards – so please bring an extra smartphone along. I am sure all of us have more than one device these days – I don’t wish to boast but when I travel, I feel like a hyper-connected camel these days.

The fun thing about doing a conference like WIT is feeling everyone get into the groove of things and we are getting some outrageous requests from speakers, exhibitors, sponsors – well, we aim to please so don’t be surprised by what you will see, touch and feel at WIT this year.

At the heart of WIT is serious, highly curated content but delivered in an engaging and different kind of format. We are entering an exciting and dynamic time in the online travel space in Asia Pacific. Companies in Europe and the US are looking to Asia for new opportunities – we are seeing more delegates from these markets versus previous years’.

The size of our markets, the hunger of our people to travel and to consume new gadgets, the increase in activity and supply among airlines, hotels and other travel-related suppliers which is fuelling new demand – all these factors point to great opportunities for those smart enough to get in and do it right.

What this means of course is increased competition and established players will have to fight hard to hold onto their share. In the last months, we’ve seen more online travel players set up in Asia. Investors have also been sniffing around “for the next big thing”.

We’ve got 3 full days ahead of exciting content – Bootcamp is packed with stories of innovation and entrepreneurship, and we will see start-ups pitch their idea to our judges for the Grooviest Start-Up prize.

At the WIT Conference, expect heated debates around the subject of deals – consumers love them, hoteliers hate them, what are we going to do about them? AirAsia telling MakeMyTrip to remove its inventory from its site due to its partnership with Expedia – that should get a few people talking. Hotels + OTAs – a love-hate partnership that needs to be reconciled. Mobile and the battle for control of the customer. And more …

Amid all these, we will also find time to celebrate – we will announce the winners of our inaugural WITovation Awards and it’s been a great experience doing this. We wanted to do this by nomination and peer judging and we have some great winners to showcase. And finally, we will celebrate Sugoi Japan.

See you Oct 17, can’t wait.

Free mobile guide to ITB Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Visitors to this year’s ITB Asia from October 19-21 can download a free guide to the show on their mobile phones.

The ITB Asia Mobile Guide features a map of the ITB Asia exhibitions grounds, programme of the ITB Asia and partner events, press conferences, list of all exhibitors, places of interest in Singapore and a small selection of restaurants and bars.

Information of every exhibitor is easily available as each has a direct link to the Virtual Market Place.

The guide is available for download at the Apple App Store and Android Market. You do not need to have Internet connection to use the guide on your mobile phone after installion, and all the information can be accessed for free at any time.

The guide, provided by GIATA & TOURIAS, makes it easy for visitors to find their way around the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The ITB Asia Mobile Guide will also be available as an internet based version to display additional features such as detailed hall plans, shortly before the show commences. Check here for its availability.

Planet Travel thanks you, Steve Jobs

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

In the wee hours of this morning, I was inspired to write a column about how, to me, the iPad’s been the best thing to happen to travel in a long time. A few hours later, I woke up to an Apple home page that showed a black-and-white photo of Steve Jobs.

My throat clenched. My heart sank. For a moment, my mind went blank. Then I sent a tribute off to rememberingsteve@apple.com. I am sure there will be gazillions of tributes sent, and mine will be lost in the global outpouring of sadness and loss, but I cannot let this moment go without saying my piece.

My inspiration for the column came from a conversation at a pub the other night. My iPad2 was on the table next to my ice cold beer. The guys I was with kept staring at it. Tip for girls: Do not bring the iPad along on dates. They are more interested in your device than you.

“Let’s see what you’ve got,” one said.

“You know you can tell so much about someone’s character from looking at their iPad,” the other chipped in.

So there you have it, your life is now an open iPad.

Then their eyes opened in horror. “Have you got a crack on it?” “I see two cracks.” “Oh my God.”

Yes, my barely-three-month-old iPad2 has got a couple of cracks on it and when people notice it, you’d think I’d committed some horrible crime. I swear I could have 10 zits on my face and they wouldn’t notice that – but they’d notice the cracks on the iPad.

Anyway, it got me to thinking how important the iPad has become in everyone’s lives. And I am probably Apple’s biggest evangelist, along with several million others.

I recently convinced an 80-something-year-old friend living in the UK to get an iPad so that we could communicate more but the hook for her was the fact that she could download recipes from the Internet so that she could be inspired to cook even better than she already does. This is someone who doesn’t even use a mobile phone and is now writing me emails.

Then I told this story to a 60-something-year-old friend of mine in Thailand who uses her mobile phone only to talk, nothing else. Well, the next time I saw her, she told me she’d got the iPad and that her son was teaching her to use it. She loves gardens and now she can be inspired by the world wide web of gardens.

At a travel conference recently, I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the boss of a major travel agency who said they had given an iPad to every consultant so they could work better with their clients – not only to inspire them but also to do functional stuff like plan their bookings.

In many travel agencies across Asia, there are owners who still haven’t given their staff laptops and their own broadband connection and here’s this one who's leapfrogged into the current.

I truly believe the iPad’s been the best thing to happen to travel in a long long time. It is inspiration in your hand. Its rich user experience lends itself beautifully to travel content. Images come alive. Videos give movement to travel. They make you want to move off that couch.

It takes you from one world to another with just a glide of your fingers, and it makes you simply want to glide like a 747.

So on this day, October 6, the day the creator of the iPad left us, I call on all travel agency owners to give an iPad to each of their frontlife staff – if we are to inspire the world to travel, we need to arm our frontliners of inspiration with the coolest thing to happen to travel.

On behalf of all of us in Planet Travel, thank you, Steve Jobs and we wish you peace on this greatest journey of all.

Steve Jobs - he knew me, you know, and he knew you too

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I was wondering about doing a blog piece on Apple and the iPhone 4S - struggling with what to write.

Then, yesterday - when I first heard the news at 7.45 in the morning (Singapore time) - things changed. And the subject of the piece became clear.

I was going to talk about about how a ‘disappointing product from Apple’ - the 4S - will still manage to be the world’s largest-ever selling phone. Instead, it’s time to reflect on a man who built a company - a company whose ‘disappointing product’ will trash all others when it comes to sales.

Much will be written about the man himself and about the company, and my efforts would probably add little to a subject and melange of content that will attract the world’s best journalists and writers. So, when it comes to my own 2 cents’ worth, I just want to touch on a brief period in history - a time when, for me, and for millions of others things changed. For ever.

That time - that thing - I shall always remember was all about Apple and, specifically, all about the iPhone. It was the time when all that talk about the mobile internet came true.

As an avid technology fan and confessed geek, I’m always looking for the ‘next thing’. Indeed, a couple of times in past jobs that I’ve had, I’ve even tried to convince others of the next thing. I remember blabbing on about WAP services in the late ’90’s whatever they were supposed to be.

I’ve even been lured by false prophets masquerading in many forms promising some of these ‘next things’. On my desk at home is my O2 xda pocket PC ‘mobile’ device - something I bought in 2003. It ran (and still does) some rubbish windows operating system with a browser. The browser (manipulated by the always-needs-re-calibrating stylus pointing device) was also rubbish and I remember suffering a large bout of buyers’ remorse following that stupid purchase. I can’t remember ever using the browser. I suspect the first few minutes were so painful as to dissuade me from ever trying again whilst the wonderful brain did that cover-up thing to minimize the trauma.

What Jobs and Apple did was bring that browser experience to us in a way that, quite simply, made sense. All talk now (and for some time), of course, is about applications and they invariably provide a far superior experience, but the early Safari browsing experience on the first iPhone was good and it tipped the ‘talk of the mobile internet’ towards people actually ‘doing the mobile internet’.

Whilst the innovation, the technology and all the other good stuff was brought together to give that to us, people at Apple, and, I have no doubt Jobs himself, never let go of that one simple core consideration - ‘Will people want to use this?’

And by asking that question and by bringing us something that answered it with a resounding ‘yes’, Apple transformed everything. They, unlike those responsible for the thing on my desk, gave me and everyone else, something we wanted to use.

You can still feel that same consideration resonating through everything Apple do. It’s a simple consideration and one that I talk about a lot in my work with people. It’s also a consideration that a lot of companies still don’t pay enough attention to when it comes to their products, their services and all their consumer touch points.

In the triangle that is technology, good business and consideration to what people want, desire and need, Apple and Steve Jobs have shown us just how important that last bit is.

As I read the tributes to him, some of whom are from people like Bill Gates who knew him personally, I realize that Mr. Jobs knew us all that little bit more than most. In knowing us - in knowing what we want - and building a company around that, he has created a legacy that will resonate at a very personal level for a lot of us.

Everything about Apple, for me at least, pivots around this point. And a cursory look at Twitter, at Facebook and all around today would suggest that it appears to be the same for a few others too.

Thank you, Steve.

(It might sound ridiculous to say. ‘from the bottom of my heart’, but, you know what? - it’s from some place not that far from there.)

3 Jamaicans in Geneva

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I had been craving a Frappuccino all morning. Walking around Geneva Lake, past the beautiful Parc du Chateau Banquet and La Perle du Lac, passing several small cafes that served wonderful European cappuccinos, and all I could think of was the Starbucks I had passed earlier on, and my Frappuccino. Damn Starbucks!

So instead of lounging around like the Swiss were, enjoying their day by the lake, I headed to Starbucks. I took my order, grabbed my Frappuccino and a raspberry muffin to go along with it and headed to one of the tables outside. At least I was going to sit outside in the little square!

I saw the only table left and headed towards it. As I was putting my tray down, this older woman with beautiful chocolate skin said to me ‘oh, I was just thinking of moving to that table for it’s in the shade.’ Hmm, shall I insist on the table since I was there first? Aghh, let’s try something new, I told myself. Do you mind if we share the table, I said to her. Absolutely not, was her reply with a big smile.

And then all of 3 ladies moved to ‘my’ table!

So there I was, sitting amidst three wonderful ladies who ended up being from Jamaica. They were visiting their younger brother who lived in Geneva. They came from a family of six. Girl - boy - girl - boy - girl - boy. How, I said, did your mother work that one out. That to me seems more like a technique than probability.

Yes, they all chimed it. Their mother told them that immediately after making love, a woman has to turn to her right if she wants a girl and left, for a boy. And lie on that side for at least 30 minutes. Invaluable!

I ended up spending an hour with them, yacking away, laughing and enjoying the Jamaican care-free spirit which is just so wonderful. Everyone was looking at us for they all saw how awkwardly this story started.

The gals were in their sixties, early seventies, and looked wonderful with big smiles. When your heart is big and your smile as well, it’s amazing how youthful that makes you appear.

Surprisingly, they also knew my little country Slovenia. As soon as I told them where I’m from, they said ... Merlene Ottey. Do you know her?

Who?

She is a top-level international sprinter that now lives in Slovenia and competes for my country. Who knew! We had made a connection.

I walked away completely joyous. Thank god I insisted on my Frappuccino.

Flight Centre launches Travelport Universal Desktop

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Australia-based Flight Centre Limited (FLT) has launched Travelport Universal Desktop™ following successful pilot programmes in key markets around the world. A broader rollout will include the rest of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, then extending to the remainder of FTL's global network.

The solution enhances FLT's ability to access and sell airfares and other travel content globally. It also provides travel consultants with a faster and simpler research and booking tool, thus strengthening their relationship with their customers.

Melanie Waters-Ryan, FLT’s chief operating officer and global product leader, said the application does not simply add a graphical layer to an existing GDS, but has been designed to take travel agents into the next era of travel agency technology.

"Feedback from our agents has been overwhelmingly positive and the Desktop’s superior workflow control and content integration is helping our travel consultants work faster and smarter, which in turn saves time and improves productivity," she added.

A ground-breaking application the Desktop provides agents access to multi-source travel content and pricing, plus breakthrough travel management tools – all through a single platform. This enable them to deliver the type and level of customer service travellers are demanding today.

Agents also become more productive through enhanced workflow control and content integration. The solution enables business processes to become more efficient, shrink training costs and generate new revenue opportunities.

Underpinned by a re-engineered architectural and technical infrastructure that includes Travelport Universal API™, Universal Profile and Universal Record, the Desktop is the flagship agency point of sale.

"Travelport’s collaboration with Flight Centre to launch Travelport Universal Desktop is a big step forward in delivering the technology tools necessary for the future needs of all of our agency community like Flight Centre, irrespective of their size or orientation," said Gordon Wilson, CEO and president of Travelport (pictured right).

Travelport is working with a number of beta customers across the globe to complete the next phase of validation and completion of in market testing prior to a broader rollout plan.

During the coming months Travelport will be working closely to support Flight Centre in its forthcoming rollout, as well as ensuring beta customers are prepared for a wider market engagement.

Cheaptickets launches in Asia, promises to crack the low cost code

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A site that promises the cheapest flights to anywhere is coming into Asia in a move that is bound to shake up the already competitive online air and hotel market - but can it crack the low cost airline content code?

Cheaptickets.sg is officially launching its Singapore site during the week of Web In Travel, Oct 18 and 19, and will roll out shortly in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines in the next year. It is also scouting for partners in China and India.

Cheaptickets.sg, which is live now but is still being tweaked, promises it will be the first site in Singapore to offer low cost and scheduled flights in one place, said brand manager Isabel Gonzalez.

“Right now, it is a hassle to book low cost out of Singapore,” she said. “I know, I have to do it myself. You have to go to each airline site and compare fares and sometimes you have five screens open at one time.

“This will save time and with more people booking on mobile, this will be what people want. Everything is about saving time nowadays.”

Without going into much detail, Gonzalez said cheaptickets has the technology and capability to aggregate low cost content. “We have support from our companies in India and the US to get the product right here.”

Other than flights, it will also offer air and hotel packages.

Cheaptickets is part of Netherlands-based Travix, which is part of BCD Holdings, which also owns BCD Travel, the global corporate travel management company.

In Europe, there’s been a history of sites such as cheaptickets which aggregate low cost air content running into trouble with the low cost airlines who’d rather customers book with them directly than through intermediaries.

In the US, another site that’s part of the family – vayama.com – was cut off by Delta as part of a Delta-wide move to squeeze online travel agencies out of their distribution.

It will be interesting to see what plays out here in the region.

It will also be interesting to see how AirAsia reacts to cheaptickets.sg because it is known that the low cost airline has asked OTAs in India such as MakeMyTrip to stop displaying its inventory due to its joint venture with Expedia which stipulates that only Expedia can have exclusive access to AirAsia’s inventory.

This move by AirAsia has baffled many industry observers who question if such a move makes sense for the airline to rely completely on one distributor.

At the China Travel Distribution Summit, Amit Saberwal, director of market development for India’s largest OTA based in Singapore, shook his head at the development, saying he couldn’t fathom such a move by the low cost airline that’s trying to expand and grow in the Indian market that is so clearly dominated by the three top Indian OTAs, his, Yatra and Cleartrip.

A test by WIT on the cheaptickets.sg site for flights from Singapore to Chiang Mai did not show up any searches yet for AirAsia which is the only low cost carrier to fly this route (see screen shot). Gonzalez said the site was still being worked on and the company was currently talking to low cost airlines to get them onboard.

She said, “Obviously we see a lot of potential in Asia which is why we are launching in the region.”

Asked for characteristics she had observed in the Singapore market, Gonzalez said, “People are very spoilt here, there is so much on offer, both from offline and online travel agents. You can see that offline travel agents are also coming up more nowadays, and then you have MakeMyTrip, Expedia and ZUJI all competing too.

“And it’s a small market, five million people, so there are big challenges but we believe Singapore is a good place for us to launch. It is the gateway where people have the budget to travel on weekends. They have the money and desire to travel.”

The End of Colonial Commerce - Time For A New Guard

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

“Hello World!”

As we enter a new phase of the world order, we can see that the traditional first and second Worlds are entering a period of stagnation perhaps even decline.

Just as the New World eclipsed the Old World so too is Asia rising to take on the role of the world’s leading economic area.

For the past 15 years – indeed way before as far as ecommerce is concerned – the West and in particular America ruled. They defined the world and their evangelists spread far and wide. They were much revered.

The adoption of the web found its acceleration in the free and open economy of the US market. There are many scholarly works as to why – I just think it’s the intersection of many influences that made it work. As Asia rises – business is not as usual. The West has lost its hegemony and what replaces it is very different.

In the past Asia has looked up to the West for the ideal models in ecommerce. The move from conventional commerce to ecommerce was a trend that could and in fact did accelerate Asian economies.

Everyone knows that China will be the world’s leading economic power in a relatively short period of time. The boost effect will raise the regional adjacent territories. I hasten to add that this is not a vassal state issue – but rather there is a halo effect. At this point where should one look for pointers.

West or East?

I looked up the definition of Colonialism. There are a large number of different ones. The one that resonates is this one: “Control by one power over a dependent area or people.” That power from the old World(s) has now passed to Asia. Note that the past tense was used.

Airbus has just published its biannual Global Market Forecast. Along with Boeing’s Current Market Overview, these are the bible for long term planning.

Howeve, the reality is closer than even these documents reveal. Next year approximately 20% of Airbus’s production will go to serve the Chinese customer.

Perhaps now is an interesting time to examine if those influences – or rather new ones – are right for the change. Yes – this is actually happening.

At this year’s WIT Conference, we will be witnessing a changing of the guard in my opinion. Having come to every single WIT since its inception – I can see and sense this change.

There is less adulation of the Western models and now more attention to the Asian ways of doing things. In travel, there is so much that is different.

We can start at the level of how the world of Asia communicates, how its social interaction is different. I am trying to avoid generalization but for this I have to generalize.

When I am asked to distinguish differences in travel between Americans and Europeans, I use the simple analogy. Americans are cash rich and time poor. Europeans are time rich and cash poor.

Asia so far defies such easy generalizations. So who are these Asians? They are different. There is the wonderment of exploration and expansion. There is the lure of different experiences. The joy of watching the output of the travel systems that are in place is sometimes just sitting in one place and watching the different behavior of tourists.

Travel is one of life’s purest forms of pleasure. The process of travel has become very complicated and this complication is not necessarily good. Asia is breaking those bounds and defining new boundaries for how the younger and hungry Asian markets need to be serviced.

Now is the time for investment in technologies. The end of old colonial models and technologies and the emergence of truly Asian worlds will require different technologies.

And I am not talking about just double byte characters. With little legacy to hold them back, new players will emerge not just in China but across the entire region.

Welcome to the new world. Goodbye Columbus.

If you're doing mobile, 'do a little and do it bloody well'

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Once upon a time, in the dark days before the iPhone changed everything, circa 2004, Gerry Samuels decided to set up a company specializing in mobile travel technologies.

He called the company, yes, MTT, Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd, and he based it in Dublin. You don’t need to drink a lot of Guinness to come up with that name. Says what it does, simply.

Having worked with companies such as Worldspan and Sabre Holdings, he saw a future that would be increasingly mobile and decided to take the plunge to become an entrepreneur.

Today, Samuels is probably laughing all the way to the bank because after several years of people declaring “this is the year of mobile”, well, mobile has now become the thing everyone wants to talk about and is anxious to get into given that customers are buying smartphones and hand-held devices faster than Steve Jobs can make them.

And who do you get when you want someone to talk mobile? Well, Samuels of course which is where I met him for the second time this year, speaking at the China Travel Distribution Summit.

So after so many years of evangelizing mobile, and now that it’s here, what is he evangelizing about these days, I asked him.

“The next phase of mobile,” he says. “Now mobile services are taking over from the regular web and we are just scratching the surface. The implications are enormous – on your customer’s journey and his in-destination experiences, and how we will manage our lives between different devices and the role the cloud will play in all of that.

“Different devices offer different experiences and we might do part of the process on the desktop, pass that information to the cloud, and then manage part of it on mobile. This is an important development.”

By 2014, he says, more people will access the web through mobile than through desktop and 15-20% of transactions will be on mobile.

These are shifts the industry needs to watch, he says. Big players like eBay and Amazon are seeing huge traction in mobile transactions and are giving people the confidence to purchase on their mobiles devices. A player like Facebook also has a big role to play because more people are accessing it via mobile.

Samuels says the industry should also watch what Google is doing with mobile and Apple with its iTravel patents should also not be ignored. “They have disrupted the music business and they could figure out what to do in travel next.”

So how can a small player compete, I asked, because it is getting increasingly expensive to manage all these different channels?

“The answer is to do a little and do it bloody well,” says Samuels, citing Hotel Tonight as an example. (See article)

“Take a slice of your business and apply it to mobile,” he advises.

So if I were a player like airfares.com.sg, which is one of Singapore’s leading air fares site owned by Misa Travel, what could I do?

“Well,” says Samuels, “if let’s say 20% of their business is to Thailand, then they could just build a Thailand app that gives their customers information on the destination.”

And if you were a boutique hotel in Samui, you could develop an app and encourage your guests when they check-in to download it. “Then have great information on the app, book a spa, take photos and share with your friends and you can push information or take instant guest feedback through the app.”

Having said all that, Samuels admits there is still a lot of uncertainty over mobile and where it will go next. “We are at the cusp of it. There are a few big plays and then a stack of others. In China, mobile usage is huge and customer adoption is way ahead of what companies are doing. They still have a long way to go in terms of investments in e-commerce and websites.”

And one critical challenge exists – as fast as the mobile industry is growing, there is a lack of talent to keep pace with needs.

“The number of mobile commerce developers is a very small pool. It’s a new industry and it’s moving incredibly fast and it’s not easy to find people with expertise at the sharp end who can build platforms that are scalable, secure and able to handle large volumes.”

Note: Gerry Samuels will be speaking at the WIT Conference on mobile (of course) where he will share a few big ideas and how you can get that X-factor going.

The future of loyalty is social

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

SimpliFlying recently released an exclusive infographic on The Future of Loyalty Programs will be powered by Social Media, which offers an sight into how social platforms are becoming increasingly important to these programmes.

Here's a summary of the report:

• There are more airlines on Twitter than there are airlines with frequent flyer programs (191 vs 179)

• Almost 90% of frequent flyers use Facebook regularly, and over 65% "Like" at least one airline on Facebook

• To frequent flyers cheapest fare is the least significant loyalty factor among customer service, earning loyalty points and onboard experience

• 72% of frequent flyers would join a social loyalty programme

• Over 65% of frequent flyers would like to earn social loyalty points via check-ins or by contributing ideas to an airline's Facebook page.

• Over 80% of frequent flyers would like to earn social loyalty points by recommending the airline to a friend or providing positive feedback.

Business travellers want it personal and mobile these days

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The majority of business travellers not only want to receive location-specific offers at their destinations, but they also want to use their mobile devices to shop and book hotels.

Here are the results of the latest study on mobile use among business travellers by Sabre Travel Network.

• 72 percent of business travelers are interested in the ability to view hotels on a map using their mobile devices, an increase of 26 percent from 2009.
• 47 percent of business travelers use their Smartphone daily to view or receive advertisements, a 95 percent increase from 2009.
• 66 percent of respondents reported interest in the ability to add a hotel reservation to an existing itinerary using their mobile devices

“Our survey shows that business travel today is personal. Travelers want the same functionality and convenience from their business travel tools that they have in their daily lives. People use travel services on their smart phones everyday and for every trip – before, during and after they travel,” said Chris Kroeger, senior vice president of Sabre Travel Network.

For hoteliers, the impact is obvious – so here are a few best practices suggested by Sabre to get you started:

• Make sure you have an optimized mobile website and booking engine. It might seem too obvious to add to this list, but it's really too crucial to leave off. Every industry mobile stat published these days points to how much more consumers are using mobile for booking their travel, and this is especially true in the business sector as shown in the survey results. While your website and even booking engine may currently show up on a mobile device, it they haven't been specifically designed with the mobile audience in mind, the experience can become frustrating. Take advantage of this trend with an excellent mobile site designed to get your mobile visitors to the answers they are looking for quickly and efficiently, with the ability to book on every page.

• Think of Mobile as its own channel so you can offer special rates, promotions, product descriptions as well as tracking specifically for this market.

• Take advantage of SMS/Text message marketing programs. Guest can opt-in and receive messages pre- post- and during their stays at your property.

• Work with sites with geo-location services such as Foursquare, Facebook, Gowalla, and Yelp to offer promotions. First claim and clean up your listings. You will often find multiple listings for your business under slight variations for your name created when people check-in. You want to try to fully promote your brand within the network built so it's important to report and merge duplicate listings. Next, participate in the free marketing programs that many of these sites offer such as adding links to your Website and other social media accounts, uploading pictures or offering check-in deals and specials.

• Optimize your location for mapping and mobile search. Claim and optimize your listing to ensure that listing information like address, directions and Website URL are accurate and all necessary fields are created and keywords are incorporated. Encourage users to write reviews of your business on Google Places. An advantage there is that if you have a strong optimization strategy in place for the web search version of Google Places, you will also position well in mobile search. Consider running a mobile targeted AdWords campaign with click to call and tailor your message to mobile users.

• Consider QR code promotions within your marketing to bridge on- and offline strategies. Add QR codes to print collateral and send users to a specifically designed mobile landing page. QR codes can also be implemented on the property's internal Wi-Fi page or the TV home screen so users can interact with their mobile devices within the property.

Technology enhances AirAsia's product and service delivery

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

From mobile travel protection to inflight entertainment via Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and a new airline management system AirAsia, the region’s largest low cost airline, banks on technology for efficient services and to grow its ancillary business.

AirAsia INSURE on the go

One of AirAsia’s latest tech offerings is a new feature on mobile, where guests can purchase AirAsia INSURE travel protection plan whenever they make bookings via AirAsia Mobile.

Johan Aris, AirAsia regional head of financial services & loyalty, said as the airline understand its guests’ needs and the latest mobile lifestyle it has made its travel protection availability via AirAsia Mobile.

"We have made it easy and smarter for our passengers to enjoy the premium travel protection plans, which is now already embedded in the booking process via AirAsia Mobile. It is our objective to ensure our passengers are covered even when they are on the move,” he said.

AirAsia INSURE has a range of benefits that include protection for personal accident, 24-hours worldwide travel emergency assistance, and On Time Guarantee (OTG) benefit that offers cash compensation for delays of more than two hours from the scheduled departure time.

It’s the Galaxy Tab for inflight entertainment

AirAsia X, the long-haul low fare affiliate of Malaysian-based AirAsia Group, has chosen the Samsung’s Galaxy Tab as its gadget of choice for Inflight Entertainment (IFE) and electronic Flight Bag Applications (EFB) for its flights.

The use of the Google-powered tablet in AirAsia X’s flights is a result of a partnership between Tune Box, the new digital media arm of Tune Group, and Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes, Tune Group chairman and AirAsia X director, said the Galaxy Tab would be connected to the on-board cabin Wifi to deliver videos, music and interactive games to passengers.

For the EFB solutions, the tablet will be used to bring innovation into the cockpit to help flight crews perform flight management tasks more easily and efficiently.

New airline management system

AirAsia has invested in a cutting-edge airline management system, merlot.aero, which will greatly improve AirAsia’s operational efficiency.

The new system optimises the airline’s aircraft and crew utilisation, making it possible for the airline to further improve its on-time performance and minimize costs, among others.

AirAsia’s year-to-date on-time performance is 80%. The airline seeks to improve its performance, given its expansion and the planned increase in routes and flight frequencies.

Bo Lingam, AirAsia chief operating officer, said this state-of-the-art operational tool offers its guests the best travelling experience.

"With the new system in place, AirAsia will be able to boost the on-time performance of our flights and maximize the use of our aircraft to serve more routes and increase frequency."

The system will be used by the entire AirAsia Group throughout the region and by its sister company, AirAsia X. The system rollout is in November, with the full implementation of the system expected to be completed by mid 2012."

ITB Asia to provide a showcase for Japan's recovery

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Focus will be on Japan at this year’s ITB Asia, held from October 19-21 at Singapore’s Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre, as it will be the show’s partner country.

This partnership is a multi-agency initiative made possible with the support of Messe Berlin (Singaapore), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Pico.

"Japan is a key player in the global travel industry and tourism is a major contributor to the nation’s economy. By rallying the support of the regional travel industry through ITB Asia, we hope to spur on a faster recovery and contribute towards its overall social and economic growth," said Nino Gruettke, ITB Asia’s executive director.

ITB Asia will provide a strategic platform for Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) to showcase the country’s impressive recovery from the March 11 earthquake and promote the destination to over 6,000 attendees expected at the three-day trade show.

The JTA delegation will provide updates on the remarkable progress of the post-earthquake rehabilitation work. They will also unveil a host of marketing and promotional initiatives aimed at restoring consumer confidence and encouraging the return of travellers.

On show are exhibitors that include the Shizuoka Prefectural Government, home of Mount Fuji, Prince Hotels & Resorts, Hoshino Resort and Nippon Travel Agency.

Hiroshi Mizohata, JTA’s commissioner (pictured right), aaid the Asian markets played a very significant role in contributing to Japan’s inbound and outbound tourism.

"Tourist arrivals from Asian countries accounts for almost 70% of Japan’s international visitors. Despite the challenging post- earthquake recovery plans which Japan is spearheading, we aim to continue our support for the travel industry," he added.

Aw Kah Peng, STB’s chief executive (pictured left), said that Japan, with a traditionally strong travel and tourism industry has always been an important partner in Asia.

"This collaboration at ITB Asia and TravelRave will further strengthen existing tourism co-operations and leverage growth opportunities in the region.” (TravelRave is a mega travel and tourism festival week organised by STB to be held in Singapore in October 2011).

According to PhoCusWright, Japan was the largest total and online travel market in Asia Pacific in 2009, contributing gross bookings amounting to US$75.5 billion, or 34% of the region’s total travel market.

A study by the Union of International Associations also showed that Japan ranked second in the "Top International Meetings Country" category in 2010, recognising the country’s position as one of the world’s preferred business events destination.

ITB Asia Stickman helps children smile again

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Messe Berlin (Singapore), organiser of ITB Asia, has launched a special social media project to help raise funds for its adopted charity – Operation Smile Singapore.

The star of the project is the ITB Asia Stickman (pictured left), a smiling, bendable rubber figurine in the signature ITB orange. Together with 99 other custom-made fellow stickmen they are available for adoption at this year’s show. All donations will go to Operation Smile Singapore.

Exhibitors and delegates are encouraged to take photographs of the little orange models in different cities as they travel around the world for business or leisure, and upload them on to a dedicated ITB Asia Stickman photoblog, or through submission by email to stickman@itb-asia.com

ITB Asia pledges US$10 for each of the first 250 photographs uploaded, to Operation Smile. This is a not-for-profit, volunteer medical services organisation. which provides reconstructive facial surgery to indigent children and young adults. The money raised will go towards funding seven life-changing operations.

This project is the brainchild of Nino Gruettke, ITB Asia’s executive director (pictured right).

"With close to 7,000 delegates from 60 countries expected to attend the show this year ITB we want to tap on their experiences and take advantage of the viral nature of social media outlets to contribute as an industry towards the fantastic work done by Operation Smile Singapore."

The success of this fund-raiser hinges on the concerted efforts of everyone who owns an ITB Asia Stickman, Gruettke added.

The ITB Asia Stickman project will take place over a year, from October 19, 2011 until ITB Asia 2012, or when the target of 250 photographs has been reached.

• ITB Asia is held at the Suntec Singapore Exhibition & Convention Centre, 19-21 October, 2011. It is organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd and supported by the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau.

myALN fuses Jetsetter and Tablet models to go after luxury travel in China

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Trying to carve out a slice of the luxury travel market in China is private sale site myALN (Affordable Luxury Network) started by four former college room-mates from Harvard.

“Online players in the luxury travel space are non-existent in China,” said CEO & co-founder Frank Lin. “Yet it’s huge and we see a lot of opportunities in the space. Contrary to what people think, not all Chinese travellers are price conscious and there is a segment that is looking for high end experiences and are driven by value.”

He added, “Ctrip and Elong are more mass market and if you have the money now, where do you go to buy online a high quality luxury experience? Nowhere at the moment, so we hope to make a difference.

“We want to create a personalized high end service platform for China. People don’t go to Ctrip to buy a high end experience, it’s like you don’t sell Prada in Carrefour.”

“What we want to do is reinvent the online travel space in China through social media and luxury.”

Calling myALN a blend of the Jetsetter (which promises the world's best vacations at members' only prices) and Tablet which offers “the best luxury & boutique hotels worldwide), Lin said the site now has 100,000 members, 35% of whom are active. A third of its members are from Shanghai where Lin is based, 20% from Beijing and 10% from Guangzhou.

It does not do daily deals but offers weekly packages. “We are selective about the hotels we feature and we sell more packages – multiple nights, transfers, activities.

“People are not as price conscious as you might think. They want high quality and while price is also an issue, the quality is more important than the price. Our best sellers are the more expensive packages.”

It started off with domestic destinations but in June, launched packages to nearby places in Asia. “We are starting to see sales to international destinations – Hong Kong and Macau are popular and Bali and Phuket are starting to see growth.”

Lin said it met initial resistance from certain hotel companies who were suspicious about deal sites and what that meant to their rate parity. “But this is why we work on nett rates and an opaque pricing model and offer packages rather than room-only.”

Lin said myALN’s proposition is focused on customer service. “This is lacking in China. Getting the hardware is easy but getting the service right is hard. We focus on the way our customers are looked after and we work closely with our hotel partners to ensure our customers get special treatment.”

The site was self-funded in the beginning and the founders grew the membership by inviting the aluimni of Ivy League names such as Harvard and Berkeley, and top Chinese universities.

“Growing the member base is not easy but that’s where the value is. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it,” said Lin.

Earlier this year, it secured about US$1 million in funding from angel investors.

Lin said that creating demand though was more challenging than building the content. “We cannot advertise too overtly because it is exclusive so we have to grow through word of mouth.”

Social media is thus very important to building brand awareness. “We are a social media site – people can rate packages, rank them, organise a trip with friends.”

It will soon be launching a new version of the website that will have a boutique hotel section.

On how it came up with the name, myALN, Lin said, “It took us a while. We debated for quite a long time, especially on the Chinese name. Advisors told us the URL was not the easiest to recognize but we had to consider the cost – and it’s less expensive if it’s under five characters. Anyway, luxury brands are all short names – Prada, LV, CD. So ALN could become the brand for luxury experiences beyond travel – restaurants, spa services, etc.”

Asked what mistakes they had made, Lin said, “When we started, we thought about just targeting typical five star hotels – but that didn’t work. Luxury lesiure travellers do not want to stay at branded cookie cutter type hotels.

“Secondly, we should have been more aggressive in branding and marketing ourselves. We were conservative in the early days and like most entrepreneurs in love with their business, we thought, oh, people will find us. We do social media and people will love us.

“But you really have to work hard to get yourself known out there.”

Note: Frank Lin will be speaking at the WIT Conference – he will be part of “Dream of the Red Hot Groove” panel discussing the latest trends in China.

What exactly is a 'Social Media Job' and how do you get one?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I was listening a to a panel the other day where the participants were discussing what a ‘Social Media’ job might involve nowadays and how someone might go about getting one.

It wasn’t that long ago that I used to hear lots of stories about companies not knowing where their social media competence should ‘sit’ within an organization. It used to be that a ‘Social Media’ person was someone who was going to deal with people ‘being difficult’ about the company online. At best this person was a ‘community manager’ - at worse someone thrust into doing customer care on Twitter and Facebook. So I guess we have moved on a bit since then. This particular panel would suggest that some people have.

You, yourself on social media

The panel seemed unanimous in its opinion that having a strong personal presence on social media was important. Indeed one panelist described the importance of being ‘personally branded. This is, of course, much more than just ‘googling’ oneself and ensuring that nothing ‘dodgy’ comes up. This is about looking good online - about looking like you know what social media means and how to create good marketing and branding.

The panelists mentioned LinkedIn quite a lot too. Whereas some might say that LinkedIn falls into some kind of social media category for me if feels like a place where you just put your CV and add get some recommendations (in that ‘oh so internet -I’ll recommend you if you recommend me kind of way’ - like follow me follow you?).

Building an engaged Facebook or Twitter community is something quite different, of course, and a lot harder.

Original Content

How much content out there is original?, one panelist asked. The point being made, of course, is that anyone can retweet someone else's tweets and anyone can post others’ links on a Facebook fan page.

Those looking to hire Social Media folks are looking for people who can create original content. Obviously someone who can create wholly original blog pieces (like this one!) is valuable but there are other, more subtle and less obvious aspects of originality.

Curate and comment

I know many people who follow people on Twitter or subscribe to their RSS feeds and shared items because those folks have a knack for finding and publishing stuff that others want to read.

Not only do they find and publish - curate (my current ‘mot juste’) - but they comment on their items. And it’s this ‘adding opinion or a ‘slant’ that was identified by another panelist as another sought after skill when looking to recruit good people.

Wired

When listening to the discussion I was reminded of a Kevin Kelly talk from a few months ago where he described the Internet as ‘one big copying machine’. Mr. Kelly described how, as we move forward, we will tend towards looking to pay for only that which cannot be copied. ‘Immediacy’, ‘personalization’ and ‘authentication’ were some of the words - some of the attributes - he used to describe the currency of the future internet.

In parallel with this we should consider what will allow you to take part of another’s attention stream when it comes to grabbing their attention via social media.

So, when it comes to thinking about who might be involved in your social media efforts think what skills they might bring with them.

What competencies and value do they have that can’t be easily copied?

Worldhotels launches global Facebook contest

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Worldhotels, one of the leading groups for independent hotels, has launched a global contest for fans of its Facebook page.

Until September 30, 2011 the group’s Facebook friends are eligible to win 25,000 Frequent Flyer miles with one of the 19 Frequent Flyer partners of Worldhotels, and a two-night stay at one of its 450 unique hotels.

All they need to do is to submit their favourite travel experience and an image, and Worldhotels will then post the experiences on its Facebook page. The most popular submission, measured by the number of "likes" by users, will win the grand prize.

Roland Jegge, Worldhotels vice president Asia Pacific (pictured left), said, "Social media is one of the most significant emerging challenges for the hotel industry since the rise of the internet 15 years ago."

He added that Worldhotels, with the uniqueness of each of its 450 hotels, aims to become the leading player in social media among all independent hotel groups.

Grooviest Start-Up to be recognised at WIT Bootcamp

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Up to 10 entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors and mentors during the WIT Bootcamp: Entrepreneurship & Innovation held on Oct 17, as part of the annual Web In Travel conference.

The WIT Start-Up Gallery, supported by BANSEA (Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia), will surface a string of new start-ups in the digital travel space with entries from Australia, US, China and Singapore.

The winner, “Grooviest Start-Up”, will be announced on Oct 19 during the main WIT Conference by the panel of judges which includes investors and business leaders from the US, Europe, China and South-east Asia.

Other innovators will also be recognised at the WIT Conference which is launching its inaugural WITovation Awards 2011. In line with its theme, “Find Your Groove”, winners will be announced in these categories – Social Groover, Mobile Mover, Groove Specialista, Customer Lover and Groovy Marketer of the Year.

Presented by Amadeus Asia, the awards are by nominations only and judging is done by a selected panel of experts.

THack@WIT

Apart from the Bootcamp, the WIT Conference, in its seventh edition, has expanded this year to include a new event – THack@WIT, Asia’s first open travel hackathon being organized in partnership with travel technology news website, Tnooz.

The 24-hour hacking event for developers, sponsored by Abacus as the exclusive GDS and Expedia Affiliate Network, will take place at Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa & Spa, Siloso 4, on Oct 16-17, the Sunday before the WIT Bootcamp and Conference kick off.

THack is Tnooz’s unique event which brings together travel industry APIs and the development community to brainstorm and create new digital travel products and web or mobile-based tools.

Developers from across the travel, tourism and hospitality industry are welcome to attend, as well as engineers and technicians from local academic institutions in the region. The event is free for developers to attend and participate.

WIT Conference

Meanwhile, the main two-day conference on Oct 18 and 19 is on track to attract close to 500 travel and tourism leaders keen to debate and learn about the fastest growing segment of travel in the fastest growing travel market in the world.

Up to 80 speakers will convene under the WIT umbrella to discuss leading edge trends such as mobile, social media, group deals and learn about how changing customer behaviour is impacting in markets such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan.

“Disruption is taking place at all fronts – from the economy to natural disasters to technology and changing customer behaviour. WIT will be the place to focus thought leadership in how companies can navigate their way through this disruptive, confusing landscape,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, Founder and Editor of Web In Travel.

The WIT Conference takes place alongside ITB Asia at Suntec City 18-19 October 2011.

Mobile - who wins? Suppliers or intermediaries?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

You can tell that mobile is going to be the next battleground to win the customer.

At the China Travel Distribution Summit, Gerry Samuels, founder and CEO of Mobile Travel Technologies, said travel suppliers were taking an increasingly aggressive stance on mobile as they see it as an opportunity to win back the customer.

“Suppliers are taking an aggressive stance in using mobile to engage directly with and sell to their customer,” he told the audience.

At the same time, OTAs see mobile as an opportunity to gain a stronger hold on the customer.

At another panel, Amit Saberwal, senior vice president-hotels and international markets of India’s MakeMyTrip, said he sees mobile as offering travellers on the move the opportunity to make last-minute decisions on hotel bookings “and we want them to think of us first when they land”.

“As such, building a brand that customers can trust is critical,” he said.

To which a hotelier retorted, “Or he can go straight to the check-in desk of said, trusted hotel brand.”

At last year's China TDS, Glenn Fogel, executive vice president of corporate development, predicted that the rise of travel apps would swing the pendulum back in favour of intermediaries. His reasoning – consumers will not download every supplier app, intermediaries have the advantage in technology and can take a fun approach to apps and apps are habit-forming.

The intermediaries that will benefit are OTAs and metasearch, he said. He also suggested that broad search engines might create their own travel apps and even mobile phone players could be tempted into entering the space as they wondered why should all the money go to the OTAs and search engines?

So who wins? This debate will continue during the WIT Conference during various panels exploring mobile, channel management, customer loyalty and hotel-OTA partnerships.

APAC airlines see positive passenger growth

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Preliminary traffic figures for August, released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), showed continued growth in international air passenger market, but air freight demand remained weak.

Asia Pacific based airlines carried a combined total of 17 million international passengers in August, a 3.9% increase over the same month last year. The revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) for international passenger traffic grew by 5.3%, reflecting good demand on long haul routes.

Available seat capacity grew by 6%, resulting in a slight 0.6 percentage point fall in the average international passenger load factor to 79.3%.

However, international air cargo demand for the region’s carriers was 5.8% lower compared to the same month last year.

Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general (pictured right) said Asia Pacific based airlines carried 126 million passengers for the first eight months of the year, 3.5% up on the same period last year.

"Passenger air travel demand is still quite strong, supported by continued growth in both business and leisure travel, but cargo markets remain weak. At the same time, airline margins are being pressured by high oil prices."

Overall, Asia Pacific airlines are in a relatively favourable position, given many of the region's economies are still reporting solid growth.

"However, the recent deterioration in the global economic outlook is cause for concern, and could potentially undermine both business and consumer confidence, leading to a more cautious view on medium term growth prospects," Herdman added.

Quicker booking on Malaysia Airlines

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has introduced another online channel, Mhquick, an application extension for the Google Chrome web browser that makes booking on Malaysia’s national carrier even quicker.

Available on the Google Web Store, this e-commerce suite is another feather in the cap for MAS after the introduction of the MHmobile and the MHbuddy Facebook apps.

This latest development is in line with the company’s goal to enhance the MH experience for its passengers by offering more convenience to those who are on the go or are time-conscious.

With the installation of MHquick users just need only one click of a button - placed near the address bar - to book MAS flights, check their Enrich points, check-in online and get the best deals available without having to leave the website they are browsing.

MHquick has similar user interface to MHmobile's and is thus a quick and easy way to book, check-in and fly, said Dato' Dr Amin Khan, MAS executive vice president of commercial strategy (pictured left).

"Now you have more choices to book on your desktop according to your needs, either via MAS website, through your Facebook using MHbuddy or through Mhquick.”

MHquick also enables MAS customers to plan their travels easily in one go. There is also less hassle, as they no longer need to go through the tedium leaving a site or changing several tabs to check their travel arrangements, he added.

To date about 400 Google Chrome users have downloaded the app extension.

To install MHquick, search for "MHquick" on the Google Chrome Web Store.

Abacus conference highlights changing corporate travel landscape in Central Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Business leaders from around Central Asia met to exchange notes on travel industry developments, and to explore new business opportunities at the 1st Abacus Corporate Conference held on September 22 in Almaty.

The 200-plus participants were updated on latest hot topics such as the evolution and predictions of the corporate travel landscape, as well as lessons in travel procurement.

Pavel Spitsyn, general manager of Abacus Central Asia, said the conference served as an excellent forum for the corporate agencies, corporations and Abacus to discuss and exchange ideas on the latest industry trends and developments.

"Travel agencies are growing rapidly in the region, and Abacus wants to work closely with them to help improve their productivity, work processes and customer experience," he added.

Abacus also shared other general industry trends seen in Central Asia,

A delegate from Kazakhstan, Victoria Pavlenko, travel projects manager from ITE Group Plc., Iteca, said Abacus’ new online travel management solution - Abacus TripPlan – has helped her company to stay at the forefront of competition.

"Productivity is king, and with an easy-to-use graphical view, this new solution simply makes travel compliance easier," she noted.

Other delegates also highlighted the need for innovative solutions, such as Abacus TravelIntelligence, to help in their work.

Abacus boasts a robust network in Kazakhstan and Central Asia to complement its extensive reach and expertise throughout the region.

Pictures below show speakers in action & delegates networking at the conference.

You want to book a hotel tonight? Disruptors that are changing the game

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Room 77, the website that lets you pick “the perfect room”, has entered Asia – its first destination being Hong Kong. Kevin Fliess, Vice President of Product for Room 77, announced the expansion this morning in Guangzhou, saying there were plans to spread its network further.

Fliess said that travellers were becoming more sophisticated in how they buy hotels and “a hotelier that can meet that new guest demand can improve brand loyalty”.

He said that disruption to the travel space was coming from three areas – customers, new start-ups and the new technology giants, Google and Apple – and most of it was happening in three areas, mobile, social and search.

“It is important to understand what’s happening in these three areas so that you can stay ahead of the curve,” he said.

In the first half of 2010, he said, more than US$90 million was invested in online travel start-ups.

He cited two examples of disruptors – Hotel Tonight, which allows mobile only last booking platform on iPhone and Android, and the social recommendation engine Gogobot, which tries to solve the problem of trusted hotel reviews.

Both these applications are built ground up on platforms where the customers already are – on the smartphone and on social networks like Facebook.

He said when Hotel Tonight was launched, there was skepticism about its model “but turns out that 30% of hotel reservations are made on the same day”.

“Traditional players must work and integrate with disruptors to better serve customers,” he said.

Citing the example of hotel reviews, he said nobody paid any attention to it 10 years ago and now they have emerged as a major influence on how customers book hotels.

“Leaders must embrace disruption and change,” he said.

In a following session, Adam Goldstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Hipmunk, urged the audience to look at what Google was doing to hotel search by using maps.

Google, he said, was good at getting customers used to certain ways of searching and if this caught on, then maps would become an important part of search.

And he predicted that the combined Google-ITA Software “could turn out to be the most important flight provider that any airline has to work with in next two to three years”.

To a question on whether he is afraid of Google, he said, “We are not afraid of Google because it is a big company that moves slowly and we are a small company that innovates constantly,” he said.

Goldstein also said that mobile apps were becoming competitive with desktop applications and once mobile reached 50% of the market, companies would not feel the need to invest in the desktop and focus solely on mobile.

He also cited the Hotel Tonight example which he said could be a desktop app but because “it’s something you carry with you in your pocket, it has enabled a whole new booking experience”.

And the future of travel search would be in better results, better experience and mobile.

Sensational Singapore - 'Oh yes, Mum, I thought again, you should see it now'

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A few months ago my Mother and step Father were staying with me in Singapore. Towards the end of the week they were here we had a great evening out starting with an al fresco dinner along by One Fullerton with the extraordinary Marina Bay Sands doing that ‘you can’t quite keep your eyes off me, can you?’ trick and rewarding our attention by giving us a light display between dinner courses.

After we’d eaten we walked along the water, past the Merlion and under the Esplanade bridge towards Boat Quay. It was at about this time that my Mum quietly declared what was on her mind, “What an amazing place this is,” she quietly said.

A couple of days ago about half an hour before the second Friday free practice session for the Formula One cars at this year’s Singapore Grand Prix, I was stood on the Esplanade bridge above where my Mum had uttered those words. I was sipping a beer and looking out towards MBS once again and through the crowds of people enjoying the very special atmosphere.

“Mum, if you thought it was amazing then, you should see it now,” I said quietly to myself.

Although I didn’t go last year I went to the Grand Prix the first two years it was held here. The first year was very special with a visit for eight days from my sister and her husband. We still speak of that holiday as one of the best times and, although the Grand Prix was the focus of those days, my adopted home delivered a great experience every day with great shopping, great food, buzzing night life and encounters with furry animals at the Night Safari.

There is no doubt that having an event in the middle of the city provides massive logistical nightmares whilst also offering the potential to be special with the stunning backdrop of the CBD and other buildings already in place and the absence of other headaches like the need for temporary toilets to be towed into the middle of a field as at Sepang or Silverstone a real plus.

So there is a head-start for Singapore I suppose but rather than take it easy with this advantage and do something acceptably good, you can almost feel and touch the mantra and drive of those involved in organizing it. I don’t know any of them and I am not privy to what gets discussed but I’d be surprised if the words, ‘best’, ‘best ever’, ‘superb’ etc don’t get bandied around at every meeting about every aspect because that’s exactly what it feels like.

Eddie Jordan introduced the BBC coverage of qualifying on Saturday evening with a few sentences revealing his feelings about the event. He thinks it’s by far the best event on the calendar and pointed to the attention to detail in the paddock area as one aspect where the organizers excel. (I think he would like it even more if the Singapore Sling chicane was redesigned but that’s another matter)

What irked me slightly was thinking about all those BBC viewers who might not realize that paying just SGD38 also gets you the opportunity to experience that same wonderful attention to detail along with all the other almost intangible aspects that make a Friday evening in the walkabout zone equally.

I enjoyed my beer so much on the bridge that I went and got another one from the bar where there was no queue and where there was a smile on the face of the woman who served me which suggested that, although, she was working, she couldn’t help but be part of the atmosphere too.

And as I turned and looked once again at MBS towering over this unbelievable spectacle I felt proud. I felt very proud.

“Oh yes, Mum, I thought again, you should see it now.”

Monopoly, disruption and game changers at the centre of the universe

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I landed in Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou past midnight this morning and felt like I arrived in the middle of an industry cocktail party.

At immigration, I met a group of travel agents from Singapore on a Singapore Airlines fam tour. Airline objective: To promote their new late flight to the third largest city in the world’s largest travel market (soon). Agents’ objective: To play golf.

Nice to knows some things don’t change.

I then met a hotelier from a major hotel brand who's probably about to develop his 100th hote in China.

So welcome to the new centre of the universe where everyone is still trying to crack the source code to the riches that lie within. And it appears it may be getting harder because some things do change especially in the fast growing and dynamic online travel sector where new forces are at work and throwing up fresh challenges.

From my one day at the China Travel Distribution Summit, it is clear that competition has intensified (lots), the landscape has changed with the advent of new players like Baidu (which bought Qunar) and start-ups, and leading OTAs, Ctrip, eLong and Mango City, are facing pressure like never before.

Social networks and the explosion of mobile are causing the ground to shift and while China still offers the promise of growth, it now also offers uncertainty in who will be the new winners or the next game changer.

Raising most concern was the Baidu-Qunar entity which James Tang of Ctrip said had monopolized access to the customer.

Guang Fu (left), CEO of eLong, said with 84% of general search coming from Baidu, the acquisition had created the biggest vertical search engine for online travel and a “monopoly of customers’ entry point”.

This had created “quite unfair competition” for the customer, he said and OTAs would have to find other ways of acquiring customers. “I hope Baidu and Qunar will have fair representation of results, this is a serious topic.”

Guang Fu said that even though the market was growing, the competition has become more aggressive for start-ups and current OTAs and that online travel was “no longer the sector everybody can enter and get customers”.

He said online travel companies had three mountains to climb – traffic generation, rate management which he described as chaotic and customer experience.

The first as he explained was getting more challenging, rate management was increasingly chaotic and the area of customer experience will be the new battleground as travel suppliers and OTAs fight for customer loyalty and retention in a market driven by price and value-conscious customers.

In opening the conference, founder Charlie Li outlined the new opportunities: Upscale and low end (citing the lack of high end luxury brands), content aggregation for local tours and activities, high speed train, outbound travel planning and booking, likely deregulation of gds market (this potato is raised every year by the way), travel inspiration and sharing and engagement with on-road travellers.

He said the new start-ups cover the full travel process of dreaming, planning, booking, on-road and sharing with a focus on the smartphone but their biggest challenge is “how they can grow customer base and develop a mature business model and not killed at start-up phase”.

One new entrant everyone’s watching is AirBnB and its clones which are popping up everywhere. While some speakers said it was exciting and opened up opportunities, others said the model was still a question mark on Asia with security being the most pressing concern.

During a panel I moderated, I asked the panellists to pick the next game changer. Kei Shibata of Venture Republic, Japan, said “Ali Baba” while Amit Saberwal of MakeMyTrip, India, said, “The one who succeeds in selling offline packages online.”

And there you have it, the centre of the travel universe in the midst of disruption.

Find a lower price anywhere else and you will get first night free, promises IHG

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) announced a major initiative to better serve guests’ evolving needs in the hotel industry.

Pioneering the way forward, the launch of “Best Price Guarantee” offers the most powerful website guarantee ever to guests booking on any of the IHG brand sites - any guest who finds a qualifying, lower room price for an IHG hotel elsewhere online will receive their first night free, and the rest of their stay will match the price found.

The benefits of the Best Price Guarantee as part of IHG’s new “Book With Us Advantage” are available at all seven of IHG’s hotel brands — InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.

Says the company in a release, “IHG understands how important booking and securing a hotel reservation is to its guests. Therefore, those who book directly on any IHG brand website will not only receive the best price, but they will also enjoy all the other benefits of the new Book With Us Advantage.

“Booking directly on our websites allows guests to choose from the most available room and price types for all of IHG’s hotels. There are no hidden booking fees, and all transactions are safe and secure. Guests can also receive valuable reward points, which never expire, from the world’s best hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club Rewards® (PCR). Additionally, when guests book directly through IHG, each hotel learns about guests’ preferences, allowing hotel employees to cater to their specific requests and ensure the best possible experience.”

“IHG understands how much price influences a guest’s booking decision,” says Michael Menis, Vice President – IHG Web and Interactive Marketing. “We are so confident we have the best prices for our hotels on our websites, that if guests find a lower price elsewhere online, we will back it up with the most powerful guarantee ever and give them their first night free and the rest of their stay at the lower price found.

“The Best Price Guarantee is our pledge to IHG guests that we understand their needs – and are backing it up with a free night.”

The latest move seals its position as a pioneer in online travel, says the company. In 1995, IHG became the first hotel company to make online booking possible through the Internet. Then in 2002, this global giant revolutionised the competitive landscape again with its then titled “Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee.” Best Price Guarantee builds on that legacy of innovation in the travel industry.

When Dolphins Attack (or rather, when people unhappy about their treatment attack)

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

In the last couple of weeks there has been much activity on one particular Facebook wall here in Singapore – that of Resorts World Sentosa. RWS is an integrated ‘resort’ – home to Universal Studios, several hotels and one of Singapore’s two casinos.

Plans are well advanced for the opening of a Marine Life Park, part of which will be the world’s largest Oceanarium. As part of this, 27 dolphins have been wild-caught (two have since died) and are currently ‘housed’ in the Philippines waiting their onward journey to Singapore.

Urged by Animal Concerns Research and Education Society's (ACRES), RWS’ Facebook wall was ‘bombed’ with comments from people unhappy with these plans resulting in it being temporarily suspended with accusations of cyber-harassment emanating from RWS folks. There is more detail here.

I have my own views on the ‘animal welfare’ aspect, as I’m sure you do. But I don’t want to dwell on those contentions here. Rather, I want to focus on more objective ground and consider what RWS could have done differently (if anything) and mull over their preparedness.

Most importantly, perhaps, we should ask ourselves what lessons might be learned.

The nucleus of strategy

It is important to understand the true nature of the core of the antagonism here. This wasn’t a case of a company’s errant employee stepping out of line with some stupid social media postings. And it wasn’t an unfortunate mistake by someone in an organisation resulting in someone finding a cockroach in their dinner.

This is about a core strategic component of a multi-billion dollar company’s business development plan. And it happens to have dolphins at the heart of it.

“Sorry about that thing in your dinner - it won’t happen again.” Or, “We’ve reprimanded said errant employee” won’t work here.

Before you get excited or even mildly interested in this piece, I should warn you right now that I really don’t know what they should have done differently. There are no answers or forthright opinions here – rather considerations and interesting thoughts that a couple of friends shared with me when we discussed it.

“They should have had a clearly defined crisis management strategy and formal escalation procedures in place” was the clear position of friend number one.

Appropriate action?

Of course we don’t know that this wasn’t the case. Indeed, everything RWS did might have been part of a clearly defined procedure. I didn’t watch the developments ‘live’ so have no insight into timelines and the speed of reaction. There is (almost) nothing I know that happened to suggest anything but well-considered action and reaction.

But the point about having something in place is extremely important – particularly in this case. Whereas it’s hard to predict errant employee behavior, not anticipating hostile reactions to wild dolphin capture and transportation is inexcusable.

There are some accusations on the fan wall that RWS were deleting some of the comments. I don’t know if this really happened but would suggest that if this did indeed take place (was this part of the escalation response?) then this was not a good idea. It cuts to the heart of what Facebook walls mean to fans and this was almost certainly always going to be counter productive. Now, if all of those particular posts were libelous or used inappropriate language then we’d be talking about something very different but I don’t think this was the case.

I’m guessing that if there was a plan in place to deal with such emergencies, deleting posts was not part of it. Was the plan ignored at some point out of desperation?

I’m a great believer not only in the plans but the transparent statement that can be extracted and posted on the page identifying what the ‘wall’ is for - what will be tolerated and what will be removed. The T&C’s if you like. This page from BP America is a good example.

Stop. Breathe. React

Friend number two likened (with her talent of creating real-life analogous situations) the ACRES action to people protesting right outside a store with the possibility of other customers feeling intimidated by this and the storefront essentially being hijacked. In this case, closing the store temporarily seems more like a sensible course of action.

The analogy is open to criticism and perhaps the real defining characteristic of Facebook fan walls is that there is actually nothing in real-life that can be compared to them. The openness of something that, for the most part, is the subject of limited degrees of interest and curiosity from most within an organisation (including, sometimes, those at the very top) suddenly becomes the organisation's biggest area of concern.

RWS are still getting posts from unhappy ‘fans’. But they are obviously not deleting them (at least not all) anymore and the page appears open for business.

What would you have done? What will you do if it happens to your company and are you prepared? Do you have a plan and are you prepared to follow it through?

Phew! I’m sure the dust is far from settled at RWS and, for the vast majority of guests, the enjoyment of everything RWS has to offer remains completely unaffected.

But there must be a great number of lingering headaches in RWSland and, I would imagine, some less than favorable comments about Facebook and all that bloody social media nonsense.

Powerful line-up of speakers at ITB Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Messe Berlin (Singapore), organiser of ITB Asia, has added four new conferences to this year’s show that will be held from October 19-21 in Suntec Singapore.

These include panel discussions on loyalty programmes, boutique hotels, women in action and a business travel plenary session.

The conference programme is the show’s largest line-up to date, with the addition of the inaugural TTG Travel Agent Conference, the Asia for Asia Conference organised by Singapore Tourism Board, and the second instalment of the successful ITB Asia Association Day.

Nino Gruettke, ITB Asia executive director of ITB Asia (pictured right) said the conference component has always been a key element of ITB Asia's knowledge-sharing platform.

"This year’s programme is all set to be even bigger and better with over 3,000 minutes of high powered content, about 40% more compared to 2010."

The conference kicks off on the first day of the show, October 19, with a keynote speech from Paul Brown, Hilton Worldwide’s president of global brands & commercial services, who will address the impact of demography and technology on MICE business in Asia.

The panel on loyalty programmes on the day features Paul Kerr, President & CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World; Robert M. Rush, president & CEO of LRA Worldwide; Maria Taylor, vice president loyalty and direct sales, Accor Asia Pacific; Sung-A Hong from Starwood’s Loyalty and Partner Marketing division; Alfie Yee, director of marketing, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide; Sim Beng Koon, regional director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).

The session on boutique hotels, also on October 19, includes speakers from Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Wanderlust, New Majestic, Hotel 1929, The Scarlet Hotel, W Hotels Worldwide and Design Hotels.

The business travel plenary session on October 20 highlights research findings on "The Economic Impact of Business Travel in Asia Pacific" by Adam Sacks, managing director of Tourism Economics.

The final conference session on October 21 puts the spotlight on female travel leaders who share stories of their journeys, what they have done to achieve success and their vision for the future of travel and tourism in "Women in Action". On the panel are Claire Chiu, director of business development from Warwick International Hotels; Jeanette Ho, vice president of sales and marketing, Raffles Fairmont Hotels; Aya Aso, president & CEO of Agora Hospitalities, Japan; Barbara Gallay, president, FROSCH New York.

ITB Asia is also a partner event of TravelRave, a mega travel and tourism festival week organised by the Singapore Tourism Board to be held in Singapore in October 2011.

New social media monitoring tool for hotels and restaurants

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

TrustYou of Munich and Dallas-based Review Analyst have formed a strategic partnership to launch TrustYou Review Analyst, touted as the world's largest and most international social media monitoring provider for hotels and restaurants.

The new service has the largest and widest range of review sources for in depth analysis on what hotel guests say about properties they stay in. Restaurants are now featured too.

it is also able to read, translate, and analyse over 10 languages, making it possible to find, collect and analyse any hotel or restaurant, which is mentioned.

TrustYou Review Analyst will soon have the world’s first free online guest satisfaction survey integrated within.

As a part of the merger Mike Wylie has been appointed as the CEO of the US operations.

US, UK and Japan tops with travellers

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The United States, United Kingdom and Japan have been voted the top global travel destinations, according to the Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey 2011.

The survey, conducted among 11,620 respondents from 23 countries and territories around the world, showed that one in five (20%) said they are likely to travel to the US for leisure in the next two years.

The UK followed closely behind in second place, with 19% of the respondents indicating they are likely to travel there for their holiday, followed by Japan (16%) and France and Italy (both 15%).

Pictured left: Cherry blossoms in Tokyo's Ueno Park

Ross Jackson, head of cross-border business, Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa said that it was no surprise that one in five people would likely visit the US in the next two years as the country has great cultural diversity, amazing scenery and is a shopping paradise.

"The competitive exchange rates preceding the survey would have helped make the US an even more appealing destination to international travellers."

Of those who wanted to visit UK, 27% said they were likely to attend a sporting event. "The upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games could be a pull factor and it was an indication that sport tourism is proving to be a growing attraction for today's travellers," Jackson added.

A post-tsunami survey revealed Japan is still key destination for Chinese and South Korean travellers, its two key market segments. More than one in three respondents (34%) from Mainland China and one in four (24%) from South Korea said they were likely to travel to Japan in the next two years.

Pictured right: Royal Pond in London, popular tourist site

The global average spend for the last trip taken by respondents in the past two years was US$1,481, rising to an expected global average of US$1,895 when travelling in the forthcoming two years.

The highest spenders were from Australia who spent an average of US$3,636 in their last trip. Saudi Arabia travellers followed as the next highest spenders with an average of US$3,129 on their last trip.

Projected spending in the next two years also demonstrates that respondents from Australia again look to be the highest spenders, with a projected average travel budget of US$3,582.

The survey revealed the top factors influencing travellers’ choice of destinations included availability of good deals (70%), natural scenery (69%), political stability and good weather (both 66%) and new destinations (65%).

On average, respondents plan to make four international trips in the next two years, with an additional 11% intending to travel in the next two years, compared with the last two years. Most travellers indicated they intended to spend an average of 10 nights on their next vacation.

Other key findings

Travel style: Almost half of all those surveyed (47%) intend to arrange their own trips by booking directly with hotels and airlines. Flexible individual tours, which allow travellers to choose their own activities, are the next most preferred way to travel (28%), followed by packaged group tours (18%).

Before leaving for their trips global travellers get their travel information from online sources (55%) rather than offline sources (43%). Top websites among global respondents included TripAdvisor (29%), Travelocity (29%) and Lonely Planet (23%).

Travel activities: More than three in five respondents (62%) said they are likely to engage in outdoor activities when they are on overseas holidays. Half of those surveyed (50%) intend to sample local cuisine and experience the local nightlife scene (49%).

Other popular activities are beauty/ health and wellness treatments (37%), music events learning a new skill (both 36%).

Accommodation: More than half of the travellers surveyed (52%) plan to stay at three to four star hotels, followed by stayovers at friends’ or relatives’ homes (16%). Budget hotels and five star+ hotels are equally popular (both14%).

Travel companions: Most travellers will holiday with their spouse or partner, with 43% saying they plan to do so in the next two years. Holidaying with family and relatives (40%) is the next most popular choice, followed by travelling with friends (23%).

Jetstar signs with China's Alipay

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Jetstar has announced a cooperation with China’s largest third-party payment company Alipay, giving hundreds of millions of Alipay users the ability to transact directly from their Alipay accounts when purchasing fares from Jetstar.com

The cooperation will support Jetstar’s growing Chinese customer base as the carrier expands its Chinese network, which will include nine Chinese destinations by November with the start of long haul services from Beijing to Singapore and then onto Melbourne*.

Alipay is an affiliate of the Alibaba Group in China. As of September 2011, Alipay had over 600 million registered users and accounted for about half of China’s online payment services market.

Jetstar Chief Group Commercial Officer David Koczkar said, “Jetstar’s cooperation with Alipay will give our growing number of Chinese customers hassle free access to our all day every day low fares.

“In the last two years alone we have added six mainland Chinese destinations to our expanding network with more Chinese routes in development.

“Working with Alipay with its enormous customer reach and high trust ratings is part of our commitment to finding the best ways to deliver our low fares to the Chinese travelling community.”

Third party payment channels like Alipay are the preferred online payment option for Chinese consumers.

Alipay Chief Financial Officer Eric Jing said, “Jetstar is one of Alipay’s important overseas merchants. We are pleased to work with Jetstar to enable more Chinese consumers to enjoy enhanced access to Jetstar’s quality services.”

Jetstar has also recently launched a dedicated Chinese booking site to better accommodate its Chinese customer base.

“China is Australia’s biggest export tourism market in terms of expenditure and Singapore’s second largest source of tourism traffic,” Mr Koczkar said.

“It is vital that we continue to innovate our product and distribution channels to make our low fares more and more accessible to the Chinese consumer.”

Reaching more airlines with Amadeus

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Amadeus has improved travel agents’ access to the inventory, schedules and fares of nine low-cost and hybrid carriers with a total inventory of over 74 million seats sold annually.

The company has signed distribution agreements with Air Arabia (Maroc), Air Méditerranée, flydubai, Porter Airlines and Vision Airlines. These airlines are now bookable by travel agencies using the Amadeus system.

Porter Airlines has also signed a full content agreement along with Frontier Airlines, another North American carrier.

In Europe, airberlin, Germany's second-largest airline, and Norwegian Air Shuttle, a Scandinavian low-cost carrier, have extended their relationship with Amadeus and renewed their existing content agreements.

David Brett, president, Amadeus Asia Pacific (pictured below) said that the company was committed to bringing and guaranteeing Amadeus’ travel agents worldwide access to the most comprehensive range of fares, schedules and inventor.

"Furthermore, airlines on the Amadeus system can improve margins by targeting higher yield business passengers and extending their reach into new segments - many low-cost carriers start distributing to travel agencies to pursue revenue growth," he added.

Two thirds of the international bookings of airlines on the Amadeus system are made by travel agencies and on average the yield per net booking is 66% higher in the travel agency channel than it is in the airline website.

Earlier this year Amadeus also implemented a solution, which enables Germanwings to deploy e-ticketing services to travel agencies but without adding complexity to its operations.

All travel agencies using Amadeus can now make bookings, issue tickets and carry out post-sales trip changes for Germanwings flights. The booking and ticketing process is seamlessly integrated into the travel agent’s workflow and mid and back- office systems.

"The easier it is for a travel agent to access a low cost carrier’s content the higher booking volumes that LCC will attain," said Brett.

Total bookings on low cost carriers by travel agencies using Amadeus in the first half of 2011 increased by 21% compared with the first half of 2010. Approximately 70 low cost carriers are now bookable within the Amadeus system, including AirAsia, easyJet, Virgin America and WestJet.

Abacus, Transaero to jointly increase footprint in Central Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Abacus International and Transaero Airlines, Russia’s second largest air carrier, have inked a marketing agreement, which will enhance the airline’s growth across the region.

The two companies will work closely together to increase the volume of bookings on Transaero Airlines’ flights via the cost-effective Abacus system.

The Russian airline will utilise Abacus’ extensive network to amplify its marketing and sales reach within Central Asia.

This cooperation will also allow for the use of more revenue maximisation functionalities offered by Abacus and provide wider coverage for all its agents.

Having established a significant presence in Kazakhstan, Abacus is investing substantial amount of resources to deploy Abacus’ technologies and solutions in achieving a wider reach throughout Central Asia.

Boris Gulnitsky, Transaero Airlines deputy general director – commercial director, said as the airline continues to grow in Central Asia, Abacus has become its choice partner to expand its sales opportunities due to the latter’s cutting-edge technology and solutions.

Ho Hoong Mau, Abacus International’s division head, airline distribution (pictured right), said with the partnership Abacus would be able to help Transaero leverage its productive network to reach more customers in Asia, as well as facilitate cross-selling on the code-share partners like Singapore Airlines.

"Central Asia has long been a key focal area for Abacus and we seek to continue our investment in this key region as we maximise bookings for Transaero," he added.

Based in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, Transaero currently operates flights to more than 130 domestic and international destinations, covering markets in Asia, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Opening homes for heritage's sake

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

When I was approached to be a judge for this year’s Melaka Tourism Awards and to choose the "Best Tourist Attraction - Traditional House", my first question was "What’s a traditional house? Aren’t all the houses in Malay kampungs (villages) traditional?" (Pictured above: Kampung Padang Sebang)

The answer: "Come and see for yourself as the traditional houses in Melaka are a class of their own".

With that ringing in my head I arrived in Melaka to be immediately whisked off by my three charming minders in a four wheel to start my tour of the five houses I had to judge. And, in the process, I discovered Melaka "hidden gems", not much publicised and oft skipped by visitors as they are not on the itinerary of the usual "must visit" attractions, such as Jonker Walk,The Stadthuys or the Malacca River Cruise.

A pity really as they are buildings of unique architecture and beauty as I found during my journey of discovery.

A typical traditional Melaka house stands on 12 to 16 main pillars (about two metres high). Its most striking feature is the decorative flower-motif tiled steps, which also serve as the house’s main entrance. (pictured above the steps of Kampung Duyong)

The houses are very colourful. Villa Sentosa (pictured below) has a pink driveway and red tiled steps, Kampung Bukit Palah is in brilliant yellow, while the others are in various hues.

There is no entrance fee. Visitors can just wander into the house and a member of the family, who stays in the house, happily shows them around. If they wish, the visitors can make a donation, with the contributions going to the upkeep of the house.

When I asked Abdul Rahim Hj Hashim, Villa Sentosa’s owner, why he opened his home to strangers, he answered: "Why not? We are very proud of our ancestry and happy to share our heritage and our family history with our guests from both within Malaysia and overseas”.

This was a common refrain from the other owners I posed the same question to.

Such a selfless act is indeed rare in an industry where the dollar sign reigns dominant, and where giving back is still the norm rather than the rule.

As I journeyed from house to house I discovered there are other commonalities among them:

• They are treasure troves of family heirlooms, ancient artefacts and memorabilia, some almost a century old

• The owners and their families stay in the house, so there is always someone to show tourists around – that’s the reason for the houses being commonly referred to as "living museums".

• House owners cater meals, usually lunch or tea, on requests only.

Villa Sentosa, which proudly proclaims itself on brochures as “The Living Museum”, is the crème la crème of all the traditional houses in Melaka. Strategically located within the city centre, along the Melaka River and near hotels, it’s very popular with tourists.

This beautiful house was built in the1920s in the style fashionable during the era. Once inside it’s as if time stood still and I was transported back to the early 1900s through the intriguing collection of costumes, Malay embroidery, furniture, muskets and a wide array of ancient relics. (pictured above)

Such family heirlooms are prevalent in all the houses, each with their own history and stories.

The 100-year old Kampung Padang Sebang is far more resplendent, and is a beautiful integration of Malay and Chinese culture in its design, embellishments and decorations. (pictured below)

Its carved tiling roof top are reminiscent of the roofs in ancient building in China, the main wooden structure used the dovetail technique with no nail, its long vertical windows were designed with louvers, and the roof tiles were from Italy. A truly magnificent house.

However, this house is a bit off the tourist track. Its owner, Haji Hashim bin Taha, said he didn’t know how the tourists find out about his house. “They come in small groups, and usually visit on their way in or out of Melaka, as the road where my house is enroute to Melaka.”

I personally like Kampung Duyong run by the husband and wife team of Fatimah and Yusof. It is cosy, beautifully decorated with artefacts dating back decades. The steps leading to the house are the most beautiful I have ever seen in such a house.

A remarkable fact is the house has been painstakingly reconstructed, as the government acquired the land where the original house stood. It’s filled with all the assets of a traditional house.

Beyond a glimpse into the family's history tourists can enjoy homestay in a small house next to the traditional house, plus traditional massage and reflexology by Yusof.

The other two houses, Kampung Pengkalan Batu (pictured below left) and Kampung Bukit Palah (below right) are just as impressive, each dating back decades and a family museum in its own rights.

The owners of the houses are rather laidback in marketing their beautiful assets, relying instead on word of mouth and support of the Melaka State Government under Perzim (Melaka Museum Corporation). All the houses are listed in the Melaka Museum and that's where usually how tourists find out about them.

At least two of the five are working with local travel agents to bring in the visitors.

However, with the popularity of social media some of the owners expressed their interest in using this medium for promotion, but not really jumping into it yet. As they said, they were happy with the current visitor numbers and helping, in their small way, to promote Melaka’s rich history through their living museums.

My journey to Melaka, though short, was enriching as I came up close and personal with a small group of people who proudly open their homes for heritage's sake.

• Photos courtesy of the writer

At A Glance: What's On at WIT 2011

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A summary of events taking place at WIT Conference 2011

Oct 16, THack Day@WIT, Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa

The first open travel 24-hour hackaton in Asia will be held on Oct 16, in a partnership between WIT and Tnooz. Developers from around Asia will work on an exclusive, open API and companies opening up APIs include Abacus, Expedia Affiliate Network, Everbread, Wego, OAG and Add To Trip. The event is FREE for developers. See this page for more information.

Oct 17, WIT Bootcamp: Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Ballroom 2, Level 2, Suntec Convention Centre

If you want to know the newest and latest in online travel start-ups in Asia, you have to attend the WIT Bootcamp on Oct 17. You will also get to hear start-ups pitch to investors and mentors at this one-day event, supported by the Business Angel Network of South-east Asia (BANSEA). If you already have a WIT ticket, the Bootcamp is free. Entry to Bootcamp only is S$380 per person. See this page for more information.

Oct 18-19, WIT Conference: Find Your Groove, Ballroom 2, Level 2, Suntec Convention Centre

The WIT Conference is shaping up as the event where everyone is anyone in travel distribution, marketing and technology will be at. Close to 80 speakers have been briefed to deliver great content in the style WIT’s known for, and planning is underway to create a social experience that will make it the place to hear great ideas, to learn, and to have fun and make friends. See this page for the programme and register here.

Oct 20-21, 2-5pm, ITB Asia Clinics, powered by WIT, Level 6, Travel Technology Pavilion, ITB Asia, Suntec Convention Centre

WIT is curating four clinics for ITB Asia. Topics are:

• Managing Your Online Reputation by TripAdvisor – Brian Payea, Head of Industry Relations, TripAdvisor
• The Evolving World of Online Hotel Distribution – Keith Povah, Division President, RTSuite, RateTiger
• Mobile Customers & How It Impacts You – Led by Anil Damodaran, Director Marketing, Mobile, Consumer Solutions and Customer Enablement, Abacus International
• Postcard From The Edge: Brand Adventures in Social Media – Morris Sim, CEO & Co-Founder, Circos Brand Karma

These clinics are free for WIT and ITB Asia delegates. For timings, go to this page, Entrance is on first come first served basis.

Trend Alert: Next game changer will come from China or India

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

David Brett, president and CEO of Amadeus Asia Pacific, sounded a trend alert at the Amadeus customer conference in Bangkok this week – with the economic shift taking place in the world, tomorrow’s leaders will be different and the next game changer will come from either India or China.

Today, he said, the big players in technology are names such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter or Microsoft. But look at China where some of these brands are not allowed and look at how a player like Baidu, China’s answer to Google, has emerged.

“The question is, what will it be?” he asked the audience of more than 400 travel agents from across the region attending the event themed, “Navigate 2011: Exploring A Better Future”.

He said it was hard to believe that the iPad, which had sold 25 million units by June 2011, did not exist 18 months ago and it was often hard to know what was coming next in this fast-paced changing world.

Citing his own family experience, where his own children’s behaviour was changing with new devices, he said customer adoption in Asia was ahead of other regions in the world.

At a later panel titled “Navigating a path to success through the age of disruption”, he agreed with the observation that in Asia, the gap between customer adoption and company innovation was wider than in other parts of the world.
And he called for a greater sense of urgency in the pace at which travel agents were adopting technology.

With Asia tipped to account for a third of global travel spending by 2020, Philippe Chereque, executive vice president, commercial, Amadeus IT Group, said Amadeus would be investing heavily in the region.

Europe is facing economic uncertainty and in the US, key assumptions are being challenged to improve margins and increase slow revenues.

He said travel agents needed to rethink how to deliver services in a new age where the traveler will always be connected and where social media is influencing his choices.

“Travellers are looking for a more seamless travel experience to address the weak points in a trip,” he said.

In an interactive poll, it was clear that travel agents also see the change coming. When asked which channel would see the highest growth in bookings over the next five years, the audience picked mobile, followed by OTAs, and then traditional travel agents.

Asked what was holding them back from embracing technology fully to meet the needs of the changing customer, most cited “complexity” – and that it wasn’t fear or high costs.

“We need to inspire confidence among our customers to adopt technology,” said Brett.

So what will be the next game changer, Brett was again asked.

“The thing is, we don’t know,” said Brett, reiterating the example of the iPad. But as he said in his introduction, “Life is unchartered territory.”

Which brings to mind this quote by Andre Gide – "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."

Dachis sets up in Asia, brings with it new Social Business Index

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It is time for companies in Asia to start thinking of being “social businesses” rather than just “doing social media marketing”. And this is the paradigm shift the Austin-based Dachis Group, which was set up in 2008 to develop the future of social businesses, is keen to make happen in South-east Asia through its new office in Singapore.

Margery Lynn, who has been charged with its expansion in South-east Asia, said, “My objective is clear – to understand how best we can lend our expertise in social media marketing, workforce collaboration, and social business intelligence to help build social businesses in this market. Then, of course, productively delivering on these practice areas for our clients.”

She will also be bringing the group’s newly-launched Social Business Index (SBI), which covers over 26,000 brands from over 20,000 companies and over 100 million social accounts worldwide. Currently, Facebook, Google and News Corporation lead the list.

The Social Business Index provides free insight to the public on how social a given company is, and how they compare to their industry, their competitors, as well as a best in class break down by company, subsidiary, geography, department and brand. It’s described as “a lightweight glimpse into Dachis Group’s big data analytics platform”.

Explained Lynn, “The Social Business Index (SBI) provides ongoing real-time ranking, analysis, and benchmarking of Social Business adoption and performance.

“There are already a host of global travel brands involved, such as Singapore Airlines, Air China, Expedia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts WorldWide, InterContinental Hotels Group, The Walt Disney Company, and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

“So I believe the SBI is a great reference for organizations, including those in the travel segment, to gain a better understanding of their aggregate performance of specific social business engagement behaviors.

“We are still building out the local travel category and invite organizations to visit www.socialbusinessindex.com and register.”

On the shift in thinking to “social business”, she said, “We believe that the opportunity that the changing trends in technology, society, and work afford does not end with social media marketing.

“Despite perhaps beginning with social media marketing, the implications of becoming a more dynamic and socially-calibrated business can positively affect businesses’ bottom line; when they approach social from a strategic perspective and continually gauge the effectiveness of strategies and tactics to engage their internal and external audiences.”

Travel, she said, was an important part of the group’s plans “when it comes to realizing our vision for social businesses”.

“We have a depth of experience working with travel brands around the globe that includes for example, Marriott, IHG, Starwood, British Airways, and Disney on a number of different levels. But sometimes it is our experience in other business verticals that inform and push our thinking in this one.”

She said the biggest challenge in growing Dachis Group's business in Asia is keeping up with the rapid growth and change. “I have to be obsessed with social media, but also the nuanced end-user behavior and adoption across South-east Asia, particularly, the realm of mobile technologies and applications are keeping me up at night.”

For her, the future of social is upon businesses. “Many businesses today are for the most part operating with legacy systems, command and control cultures, and dated processes, which ultimately affect their competitiveness.

“So beyond businesses playing catch up, I feel the next decade of developments “in social” will change by degree, rather than by kind.

“In other words, social will become more mobile, apps will become more prevalent (even in enterprise collaboration tools), and social networks will become accessible in different ways with the advancements in cloud computing and multi-device accessibility.”

Since arriving in Singapore about two months ago, Lynn said her priority has been to immerse herself into the Singaporean culture, online and off. “I find the diversity of food, the extent of shopping, and the consistent heat, oh yes the heat, wonderful, and unmatched to any city in the world I have lived prior to Singapore.”

How channel management yielded results for Caribbean Islands Travel

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

For Caribbean Islands Travel, life before it installed a channel management solution was cumbersome. To load inventory, its team had to open two sessions – one to check inventory and the other to load it.

“We wasted a lot of time”, said Luis Medina, manager of Caribbean Islands Travel, a Florida-based company that handles reservations for Royal Resorts in Cancún and the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Royal Resorts has six beachfront resorts and offers villa, suite and room accommodation.

Further, it also had to keep in mind that every channel worked with different systems, procedures and limitations.

In November 2010, it installed RateTiger to expand the services it provided for Royal Resorts.

“We felt it was necessary so that we could have more control and provide rapid response when managing many channels. When we started to work with more than three channels, we found we were spending a lot time making rate or inventory modifications.

“Ñow if we change rates and inventory, it only takes a few minutes on any channel.”

Today, his team loads inventory and rates at the same time for all channels. “An agent would spend around three hours updating just one important distribution channel for the six Royal Resorts in Cancún and the Riviera Maya, now the time invested is less than one hour for all channels for all properties. We soon confirmed that it was an awesome tool that truly was allowing us to become more efficient and competitive in the current global media.”

The team has also seen an increase in bookings and revenues “because there is always inventory going into our channels and we can modify rates more responsively, this means the revenue increases as well.”

“We started working with our first OTA in December 2009, and if we compare January, February and March 2010 with the same months in 2011, the online reservations we handle for Royal Resorts have increased by more than 300%, on average.”

In the current dynamic market, Medina said the company needs to be more responsive to market conditions regarding rate setting and promotions. It also has to be more responsive to trip reviews and social media.

“Royal Resorts has a Customer Satisfaction survey called In Search of Excellence which guests are encouraged to answer prior to check out or fill out online when they are back home. The results are carefully monitored and areas of opportunity identified. Steps are taken to improve service and enhance the vacation experience of guests.

“TripAdvisor and Expedia reviews are analyzed and shared with resort staff. Negative reviews are immediately addressed; investigations are carried out and Management contacts guests directly or via a published response.”

Royal Resorts is active on Facebook and Twitter and has a blog called www.royalresortsnews.com with a question and answer section where guests and potential guests can post queries, give comments or voice an opinion.

“My staff offers support by answering specific reservations and inventory questions for Royal Resorts. Special offers are promoted through social media, particularly Facebook,” said Medina.

He noted that the online channel had tremendous potential for sales and “if we work efficiently with the channels, keeping inventory and parity, we will sell more and see the Royal Resorts properties achieve even better occupancy percentages”.

“We have seen good comments from guests on the channels. Furthermore, representatives of the channels we work with have praised our handling of inventory supplies, and we never hear complaints regarding rate disparity.”

Accor makes economy all about Ibis, and puts more money into Accor brand

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Accor today unveiled a major new strategy that will see it put all its economy eggs into one Ibis basket and, at the same time, will put the Accor brand more in the face of the general consumer “to meet distribution challenges”.

The changes, announced by chairman and CEO, Denis Hennequin, aim to “establish Accor as the world reference in the hotel industry capable of inventing the hotels of the future”.

“Our ambition is reflected through a new signature: “Open New Frontiers in Hospitality” and through stronger identity symbols. Our objective is to offer a new, unique hotel experience with repositioned brands and modern, innovative services.”

The first step sees it leveraging its scale in the economy hotel segment – 1,400 hotels in four continents, excluding Motel 6 – and putting it all under one Mega brand, Ibis, with three brands – ibis, which remains ibis, all seasons, which will become ‘ibis styles’, and Etap Hotel, which will become ‘ibis budget’.

The former president of McDonald’s Europe and the man credited with the American fast food chain’s success in France, possibly its most challenging market, said, “I have decided to challenge some of the basics of our business model: change is not an option, it is a necessity.”

He said that with the group’s international leadership, “we will revolutionize our economy brand portfolio around the ibis brand, which benefits from unrivalled worldwide notoriety.

“Consequently, ibis, Etap hotel and all seasons will evolve into a group of three strong, innovative, modernized brands and become ibis, ibis styles and ibis budget. “ibis” is now the keystone of our economy portfolio.”

Explaining the rationale behind the Ibis strategy, the company said, “Consumer expectations have evolved significantly. The vertical segmentation of economy to upscale brands is a thing of the past. Now, all brands must be able to project a self-enhancing image to their customers and offer modern, contemporary, stylish services.”

Hence, Accor felt that the group’s economy hotel products and services needed to be re-invented so they could go beyond their market segment and cater for the changes in consumer expectations.

The implementation of this new segmentation – which will be completed worldwide by early 2013 – will increase the clarity, consistency and strength of the three economy brands, will enable Accor to achieve critical mass in several markets and will also boost each brand’s notoriety and growth potential.

A vast communication campaign will accompany this rebranding in 2012. Its objective will be to capitalize on the image of the ibis Mega Brand by highlighting the shared DNA through three structuring concepts: modernity, simplicity and well-being, while clearly differentiating the distinct offers of each of the three economy brands.

Said the company, “ibis, ibis styles and ibis budget intend to become the brands that offer the highest level of comfort and well-being in the economy hotel segment.

“A plan to modernize the hotels and improve bedding comfort will be implemented. We will proceed to a reconfiguration of common areas, food & beverage offer and consumer technologies so that the hotels correspond to new trends and meet the expectations of tomorrow’s customers.”

With Accor now a pure-player hotel group’s brand, Hennequin believes the time is right “to redefine its objective and missions”.

The new tagline “Open New Frontiers in Hospitality” reflects the group’s aspiration to regenerate the spirit of innovation that is inscribed in the company’s genes and imagine new forms of hospitality, notably digital ones.

The Accor brand will now play a larger role, particularly with the general public, and particularly in distribution.

The company said that in the Internet battlefield, “which is crucial to the future of the hotel business”, it will be associated with the most strategic direct distribution channel, namely Accorhotels.com, and with the loyalty program A|Club renamed Le Club Accorhotels.

The new strategy will be announced to industry partners at an event in Singapore tomorrow. This is where execution of the new Ibis strategy will be critical to the brand’s global success because this is where the Ibis brand is seeing the fastest growth.

HED Flocations maps a new approach to flight booking

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

When Singapore Airlines relaunched its website in May, it unveiled a slick, Web 2.0-inspired user interface. Users almost immediately revolted against the new interface, its attendant bugs and various crashes, culminating in a public apology for the new website by the airlines' chief executive in two months later.

User interface design in travel may be ripe for innovation, but it's a potential minefield, as SIA discovered.

But flight ticketing startup Flocations is stepping into the breach with a unique UI designed for price-sensitive leisure travelers.

Flocations uses a map as its primary interface, with markers showing destinations within a certain radius defined by a price ceiling. Hovering your pointer over each marker shows you the price. Clicking on the marker shows you another layer of details, including the airline, time of flight, airport and links to other flights and hotel searches.

"We want to make it dead simple for users to plan their leisure travel," said Flocations' UI designer and co-founder, Florian Cornu, in response to e-mailed questions.

Flocations is slick and the map interface delivers immediate visual impact. The idea, Cornu said, is to create an interface that helps to "inspire" leisure travelers by providing them with a price ceiling and destinations.

"No need for them to be hindered by tedious destination searches using several booking sites," he said. "We try to simplify that process by giving users a visual representation of where their dollars can take them."

Cornu says the service is at a very early stage and that the map interface is just one of the ways Flocations will present information. He says the team plans to start monetising Flocations with hotel affiliate programs.

Flocations is built by a quartet, including Cornu, who met at the Singapore franchise of the global business lovefest Startup Weekend in May. The team ended up with a prototype when the event ended, and continued work on it for three months, launching at the end of August.

Users have responded favourably to Flocation's premise of delivering "travel inspiration" so far. Preetam Rai, a technologist and frequent short-haul flyer based in Singapore, said Flocations' UI works for him because it focuses on his budget instead of his destination.

"I can find out the prices immediately via their UI. Compare this to opening multiple browser windows for the various budget airlines and then running the search one by one," he said. "Flocations is now my first stop to look for inexpensive trips."

But Aen Tan, a noted user interface designer in Singapore, thinks the Flocations UI may not work for the vast majority of travelers.

"I believe users are used to using sites like Wego and Zuji," he said. "To the average user, [Flocations is] confusing and therefore has perceivably less credibility."

Tan said the UI needed more icons and symbols to help users find features, and that a map would always load slower than text-field. He also pointed out that Kayak does a better job of using a map for flight bookings by plotting a destination's price on the map, among other things.

But both Tan and Cornu agree on one thing. Innovative UI design is badly needed in the travel space and one startup has got it in spades: Hipmunk. The flight-booking site trades on its "agony-free" UI built around flight times and its Y Combinator alumni founders Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian.

"Maybe that will be the two main sites travelers will use from now: Hipmunk when the destination is known, Flocations for leisure travel," Cornu said.

Note: Flocations will be one of the teams pitching during the WIT Start-Up Gallery at the WIT Bootcamp on Oct 17.

Skyscanner expects Asia traffic to surpass Europe's in 2 years

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Skyscanner’s new office is pretty swish. From the 40th floor of the Ocean Financial Centre, you can pretty much scan the skyline of Singapore.

On the walls are computer screens that show revenue tickers, session tickers, downloading times, tweet tracking – it’s like being in a medical room hooked to machines that tell you what your vital signs are at any time.

This is after all a business where the vital signs have to be closely monitored at all times so that customers, anytime, anywhere, can use the site to search for flights anywhere around the world.

“Did you ever think nine years from now, you’d be here, looking down on this view?” I asked Gareth Williams (left), one of the founders who was in Singapore to celebrate the office opening.

“I didn’t know so but it’s always been a goal. When we first came out couple of years ago, we wanted to open in Asia but I guess the turning point was when we saw a data point that said seven of the top 10 routes for traffic were in Asia.”

One of its secrets to success is hiring local nationals in markets it goes into and thus far, it has recruited successfully in India, Indonesia, Philippines and China. It is still recruiting for Korea, and Australia and New Zealand, said Ewan Gray, regional director for Asia Pacific (right).

How much is the company investing in its Asian expansion? Williams doesn’t disclose the amount but says it has made a £2.5 million external investment in Europe and because it is a profitable business – its target revenue this year is £23.5 million this financial year – it will be putting money made into Asia.

He is clear about one goal though – to grow Asia traffic to surpass its current European traffic in two years. That means growing from 1 million sessions a month to 15 million sessions a month.

For Williams, the answer to growing traffic is not spending mega millions on SEM or other forms of advertising. “It is quality of results and coverage of flights that lead to longterm traffic,” he said. “50% of our visitors are repeat.

“If you deliver results, users will be loyal, they will tell their friends and they will feel strongly about your brand.”

Gray said he would be working on the B2B front to develop travel agency partnerships and on the B2C side to increase brand awareness.

“In some markets in Europe, such as Poland or Hungary, consumers are often more likely to book offline even though they search online and we’ve found partners with dedicated phone lines and we share commissions. We will investigate these opportunities here.”

Travel agents are also encouraged to look for information on the site. “There is no incremental costs to us as we are not paying GDS fees so if they want to use us as an information resource, that’s fine for us,” said Williams.

Feeling high in Cuzco!

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Everyone warned us about the effects of altitude sickness in Cuzco!

Agh. I've been up to 5,416 m in Nepal, I've climbed Slovenia's tallest mountain Triglav which is 2,864 m and just last week we were in Tucson, Arizona and drove up Mt Lemon which peaks at 2,800 m. What altitude sickness!

Cuzco is located at an elevation of 3,200 m and guess what? We felt a bit dizzy, light headed and definitely out of breath while walking up the steep narrow streets of beautiful Cuzco. And when I opened my toiletry bag, the gel tube was completely bloated from the lower atmospheric pressure, as was my contact lens solution bottle. My deodorant bottle decided to explode when I tried to apply it in the morning, the application ball just flying off the body and deodorant splattering all over the hotel room carpet. Ok, they were right!

Do you know what they give you hear to overcome the symptoms of altitude sickness? Tea from coca leaves. The tradition originates from the mountainous Andes, where the locals actually chew coca leaves to combat altitude sickness. At least you have a reason to enjoy coca here. Before buying it, check though what kind of restrictions your country has for bringing in the leaves. You do not want to end up in jail.

Cuzco is gorgeous. The city is located in a valley, which once used to be a lake, and has expanded into every which direction, right up the sides of the surrounding hills. For that Kodak moment shot, go up to the ancient fortress of Sacsayhuaman (literally pronounced sexy woman) above the city where you will see all of Cuzco below, the single and two-storied buildings carpeting the whole valley in front. Beautiful.

The city is populated by the native Quechua people, their language actually being the second official language of Peru, along with Spanish. Many of them are dressed in their traditional and colourful garbs, including cute little kids who walk around with little lambs in their hands. Yes, I also thought it was a bit odd, till I realized they carry the lambs so that you will take a photo of them ... which of course is not for free.

Perhaps though, this is a way of preserving the colourful cultural patrimony of this beautiful town up in the Andes, which is akin to an open museum.

Follow Bojan on his adventures at www.gowithbo.info

Hotels in Asia enjoying strong rate growth

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Hotels around the world reported rate growth of 4% in the first half of 2011, which also sees the growth shifting to Asia from Europe, according to the latest hotel survey from the Hogg Robinson Group (HRG).

Of the 50 cities surveyed, 33 reported a year-on-year increase in hotel rates with unexpected boost from Asian cities, such as Istanbul. 

Key trends:

• Sydney (pictured right) joins the ranks of the top 10 most expensive cities worldwide due to a 16% increase in average room rate in the first half of 2011, which was sparked by a significant increase in the number of new business events. 

• Over two-thirds of the cities surveyed reported hotel rate growth, compared with only one-quarter of cities last year, supporting signs of global recovery and pick up in business travel in recent months. 

• The strongest performing region was Asia Pacific, where average room rates rose by 7% due to the concentration of hotel development and financial centres, including Hong Kong and Singapore. 

• Singapore jumps seven places up the list of most expensive cities in the world, owing to a 10% increase in average year on year room rate due to high demand from business travellers. 

• Hong Kong fell out of the top 10 most expensive cities in the world for travellers from the UK. This can be attributed to the GBP strengthening against the HKD earlier this year. 

• Moscow retained its top position with the most expensive hotel rates despite a modest rate increase in local currency and GBP. It bounced back from last year's 12% decrease despite many new hotel openings, demonstrating the city's position as a strong business destination. 

• Istanbul achieved the highest increase in hotel rate of 37% due to the growing interest surrounding the city as a business destination. Travellers to Istanbul are also conscious of its security issues and more inclined to stay in five-star accommodation.

Stewart Harvey, HRG group commercial director, said although many large companies have put in place travel restrictions and cost reductions, hotel rates in the majority of cities surveyed increased.

"Demand is driving the rate. We can expect hotel rates to continue to rise as more economies grow and business demand picks up."

Margaret Bowler, HRG director Global Hotel Relations, said the shift from Europe to Asia in hotel rate growth was significant as it demonstrated changing business priorities.

"The rates demonstrate that demand has increased for travel to emerging regions as a result of the need to do business and that travellers are willing to pay higher hotel costs during their stay. Outside of Asia, Istanbul in particular has come out with strong rate growth."

Many of the cities with the top 10 most expensive average room rates are the same as in 2010, with the exception of Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, and the new additions of Sydney and Istanbul.

All of the cities listed in the chart above have experienced rate growth in local currency ranging from 2% to 24%, with Istanbul, Zurich and Sydney reporting the highest variance.   

Moscow has retained its top spot despite a modest rate increase of 2% in local currency and 1% in GBP. It bounced back from last year's 12% decrease in the midst of many new hotel openings, reinforcing the city's position as a strong business destination.  

Newcomer Istanbul reported the highest rate growth in both local currency and GBP. A large part of this growth can be attributed to growing interest in Istanbul as a business destination, combined with travellers' preference to stay in five-star properties over three and four-star.

Bowler explained, "Many business travellers visiting Turkey choose top end hotels in Istanbul due to safety concerns. For example, they often request a hotel with a bar, so that they do not have to walk far to meet business partners."
With the exception of Istanbul, the cities with the top five highest rate increases compared to last year showed modest growth in local currency. (chart above)

Both Madrid and Paris saw rate growth in GBP and local currency, resulting from a flat euro exchange rate and a strong six months of trading.

Like these European cities, Singapore also experienced a 5% year on year increase in local currency due to high demand from business travellers.  

Cape Town and Abu Dhabi experienced the largest rate decreases with 53% and 42% in local currency respectively.

Cape Town rates have suffered since the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where many new hotels were constructed to meet the increased demand during the tournament. Although the demand has now decreased, the additional capacity is causing price competition.

Abu Dhabi has encountered a similar situation with increased supply and decreased demand due to the rise of business in the city and the recent safety concerns around unrest in the Middle East.

Rates in key global cities show a mixed picture of the health of business travel, as hotels in some cities and regions are reporting rate growth in local currency and others are reporting rate decreases. (chart above)

Frankfurt displayed growth in both quarters, as did Paris, potentially led by the pick up of the banking sector in the regions.

Although Johannesburg hosted the FIFA World Cup last year it reported flat figures in Q1 and a rate reduction of 6% in Q2 demonstrating that, as with Cape Town, there has been no lasting impact on hotel rates from the World Cup.  

When measured in GBP, with the exception of Eastern Europe and Africa, all regions saw average room rates increase albeit by a small amount. (chart above)

The strongest performing region was Asia Pacific where average room rates rose by 7%, due to the concentration of hotel development and financial centres including Hong Kong (3% rate decrease) and Singapore (10% rate increase).  

 In Europe, a 1.6% rise was recorded. This was primarily aided by strong markets in France and Germany.

The increase in Paris hotel rates was driven by the Paris Air Show in June, which resulted in limited hotel availability and less competition. Propelled by the finance sector, Germany's hotel market has become stronger each year.   

Eastern Europe, however, fared worst and had the highest regional rate decrease of 6.6%. Moscow has historically pushed up this regional rate, however the city only managed a 1% increase this year and was not able to pull up the overall regional average.

  In Africa, the contrast between room rates in the first half of 2010 and the same period 2011 is marked, from a 16% increase January to June 2010 to a 5% drop in the same period this year. This demonstrates the effect hosting the FIFA World Cup had on the country last year, in terms of occupation volumes and opportunities to maximise overall rates.   

Despite widespread political unrest, the Middle East & West Africa (MEWA) recorded a flat year on year although it is certain that occupancy was down.  

"Slow and steady is the key theme here, with most regions recording small room rate increases – an indication that business travel is increasing too. The overall picture is one of stability, which should help to reinforce and renew business confidence,"  Bowler concluded.

Singaporeans paying less for hotel rooms across Asia

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The strong Singapore dollar is responsible for Singaporeans enjoying good hotel bargains in cities across Asia for the first six months of 2011, according to the latest Hotel.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®).

Other factors contributing to the price falls in the region include natural disasters and currency fluctuations, despite the global average price of a room increasing by 3%.

Japan and China saw the biggest price falls for Singaporean travellers. After the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis earlier this year, hotel rates in Tokyo dropped 11%, Kyoto by 22% and Sapporo by 29%.

However, the outlook for Japan’s tourism is looking up. In a recent Hotel.com global survey, 86% of respondents said they would consider a trip to Japan within the next year.

In China, currency fluctuations and an oversupply of hotel rooms have also seen prices dip in cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai.

Johan Svanstrom, Hotel.com managing director, Asia Pacific said the latest index prices have dipped in some very popular destinations for Singaporeans, such as Shanghai and Tokyo.

"In terms of value for money, now is a great time for Singaporeans to travel to nearby destinations in the region."

Outside of Asia, Munich and Paris saw the greatest price falls. Singaporeans paid 18% less for a hotel room in the German city and 14% less in the French capital. (Figure 1)

Costlier for travel to United States and Australia

However, hotel rates in some of Singaporeans’ favourite destinations – the US and Australia - have gone up, with double digit percentage rises in some of the country’s major cities.

San Francisco, for example, saw a 24% increase as a result of heavy demand from leisure, as well as business travellers. Las Vegas increased by 12% and Los Angeles by 8%.

Owing to its popularity among Southeast Asian travellers, as well as the strong Australian dollar and economy, room prices in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney were up 22%, 18% and 11% respectively. In Perth, Singaporeans now pay an average of S$231 per room per night. (Figure 2)

Targeting enables Sprice to score in S'pore, M'sia and India

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Singapore-grown Sprice Travel Network, which was acquired by Travelport in 2010, made the ranks with the highest number of unique visitors and page impressions in Malaysia, Singapore and India, according to comScore Media Metrix May 2011 data.

The network comprises top regional publishers including OneIndia, ExpressIndia, The Malaysia Insider, Utusan Online, Travelific (NSTP) andSify, with an audience reach of 17% and 25% in Malaysia and Singapore respectively.

Vikas Gulati, Sprice’s vice president, business development & marketing, Asia Pacific (pictured left), said the company’s focus on travel audiences allowed it to consolidate a targeted consumer base, which was a huge differentiator.

"Sophisticated targeting capabilities like destination targeting, search and site re-targeting have allowed us to understand travel planning and purchases better, hence reinstating our ability to deliver better ROI for our clients."

He said this behaviour targeting capability is not only beneficial for marketers to reach out to specific customers, but has also been enhancing the experience of the travellers through value added information.

Gulati said that the travel industry has seen significant increase in travel planning and purchasing taking place over the internet. However, the key for advertisers remains the ability to identify and capture these online consumers with relevant messages and improve campaign effectiveness, noted Gulati

Some of Sprice’s clients include Starwood, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Tourism Board, AirAsia, Millennium Copthorne, Cebu Pacific and Amex.

Tables 1, 2, 3 (below): comScore Media Metrix May 2011 ranked Sprice Travel Network among the top networks with the highest number of unique visitors and page impressions in Singapore, Malaysia and India. Other networks on the list were those, which catered to a more general audience.

Kuoni India, Abacus form strategic partnership

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The new partnership will accelerate Abacus International as India’s premium Global Distribution Network and enable Kuoni Travel (India) to leverage on the former’s full suite of solutions including Abacus WorkSpace and Abacus PowerSuite.

Additionally, Kuoni India will benefit from access to Abacus’ business process and strategy consulting practice.

Rajiv Duggal, Kuoni India’s managing director (pictured left), said that as Abacus was in the fore front of bringing next generation products, technologies and services to the Indian agency community, the new cooperation would further propel the company’s growth and leadership.

"We have been impressed by Abacus’ next generation point of sale system, it’s portfolio of mobile solutions, and it’s mid and back office suite. Abacus solutions will enable Kuoni India to deliver a differentiated customer experience for our travellers as well as drive material increases in business productivity."

Brett Henry, Abacus International’s vice president India (pictured right), said it was a great endorsement to be selected as Kuoni India’s preferred product and technology partner.

"Our position is to be the premium provider in the marketplace. We are really out to do something different – challenging the status quo!"

Google+. Huh? You what?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Do you use Google+? I do, or perhaps I should say, I have an account and I’ve added some people to some circles and had myself added to some circles by some some other people ‘friends’? ‘circle-owners’? Apparently the ‘Circles’ bit is critical in as much as it helps differentiate itself from Facebook - or rather it did but not as much as before as I understand Facebook’s latest privacy changes may have gone some way towards dulling that distinction.

So much to keep up with isn’t there?

And, you know what?, I’m not going to spend my time really looking at the details of Facebook’s latest changes and how they stack up against this somewhat overdue offering from the Internet’s search behemoth so I can give you an in-depth analysis on the pros and cons of each. Why? Because I really can’t be bothered with Google+.

I love Google generally, I really do. Over the last month I have smiled several times as it appeared to me that the latest additions and changes to the Gmail interface seem to have been made at the sole behest of my own wish-list. The changes to the inbox and how it prioritizes and organizes would suggest that Google has had some electrode attached to my head over the last couple of years recording and deciphering every little ‘hmmm... wouldn’t it be great if this did that and if you could only ...’ etc.

Maps have been a constant source of wonderment and search has so sublimely done what I wanted and expected that I have barely noticed how good it is bar the occasional silent acknowledgement from me when each beautiful enhancement appears.

But really, I mean REALLY, what is it with Google+? Actually I don’t know that much about it because I have hardly used it. I have tried a few times I really have. But it just seems ugly in its appearance and I don’t know what its doing or trying to do.

There’s a lot of stuff competing out there for my attention. You know what I’m talking about right? - content, iPhone apps, hundreds of fantastic websites - and whilst Google+ isn’t about content per se, it had the opportunity to play a role as the next personal content curator albeit through the wisdom and at the behest of my friends.

Oh yes, the friends in those circles.

I loved the idea of the circles thing at first because I remember seeing a great presentation some time ago where a ‘Googler’ described very eloquently how the Facebook way of ‘friends’ (one lump and share with all or none) didn’t reflect the reality in how we (actually) belong to different groups (circles!) of friends and our membership might be the only thing those groups have in common. ( I think the key example in the video was how the protagonist’s group of children (friends) that she taught not generally mix with her gay table-top dancing crowd). There’s the potential for some strong affinity when you hear someone talking about key user-driven insights from a research program and then releasing a product a year or two later that addresses them right up front.

I don’t really understand it though. I set up some circles. And, in trying to really come on board with the idea I even asked someone if the notion of circles within circles existed - I had Venn diagrams going on in my head. She didn’t know. Does anyone know?

What’s wrong with it? Well, I suppose I just don’t get it. You know Instagram? I got that. And I got Facebook when I first started using it and, despite it’s own many mysteries, I still get it. I just don’t want to have to get ‘up to speed’ with something like Google+.

If I got a new job and I had to learn some new software program or interface for some half-complicated end of year management reporting function or something I could imagine needing to invest some time or going for training. But not with Google+ - guys, you just need to do it for me and do it right away. You just need for me to ‘get it’.

Perhaps it’s not complicated. Perhaps it’s just rubbish? Am I the only one who thinks this or are we possibly talking naked person riding on a horse time?

Feel free to let me know. Add me to one of your circles even. Do you have one for people who just don’t ‘get’ Google+? Add me to that if you do.

Skyscanner wants to be Amazon of flight search

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Nine years after he personally wrote the code to simplify flight search to solve a particular problem he had, Gareth Williams, CEO of Skyscanner, remains focused on one goal – to make travel search more like a book search – flexible, fast and cheap.

“Will it also come with recommendations like Amazon does?”

“Yes,” says Williams excitedly as he doodles on the writing pad in front of him. Indeed, the first thing he reached out for when we sat down for the interview was the writing pad and pencil and I thought he was going to interview me.

He explains, “I'd like the flight search experience to be as natural as looking for a book (or many other products) on Amazon.

“However, from a supplier (airline vs publisher) perspective, I remain convinced that the airline wants to see the customer on the airline.com site and that suits users too.

“I see it primarily as problems of a) the cost of flight data (GDS) and b) the huge search space (10k airports, is 100m airport pairs, times by ½ * 365^2 date pairs and you aren’t even addressing individual flight counts yet..”

“Are you there yet?” I ask, having lost count by this stage.

“Not yet but we hope to get there before Google and ITA come out with their new product,” laughs Williams, who calls himself The Geek Motivator and claims to know 1,000 IATA airport codes. “I think we have good plans for addressing these problems.”

Williams is betting that Google and ITA Software will release “quite a good product, it will be in the US only because of the quality of their data and it will be free text”.

“It’s not an issue of UI but data – your ability to store data and re-use it. We will produce for Europe what Google is doing for the US,” he promises.

He speaks with the confidence of a man who knows how to fix such problems. In 2002, he was looking for flights from London to the French Alps to visit his brother and because there were five airports in both places, there was no way to do a single search.

So he spent two weeks building a tool to save 30 minutes of searching, He and his two partners, Barry Smith and Bonamy Grimes, decided to release it as a website and in the first month, recorded 150 visits and £46 of revenue.

It was only in 2005 that the three partners went into it fulltime and started growing the business. Today, Skyscanner gets 15+ million visits and 75 million searches a month and is available in 26 languages.

And it is now in Asia, which is why Williams is in Singapore – to attend the office opening party tonight.

Even as it expands into Asia, Skyscanner’s working on a couple of fronts to expand its business. It is moving into full travel search and will include hotels, car hire, insurance and airport parking.

It aims to become a service that will be delivered predominantly on mobile. Already there are 2.6 million Skyscanner apps installed and 20% of its traffic is via mobile.

The geographical spread is different between mobile and website and the company is expecting higher growth in mobile from Asia. “Longterm, we’re not sure the app model works but we will make it available on a dedicated browser site with apps,” said Williams.

Then it wants to expand flight coverage to cover long distance travel between any two cities and have every budget airline as well as scheduled airlines. Plus, it will also get into itinerary management, trip planning and social media.

With so much going on, is he concerned with losing focus on what is Skycanner’s main groove – “saving millions of people time and money with a comprehensive, intelligent and simple travel search experience”?

“We’re still focused on finding travel information. For the first three years, we only did budget airlines in Europe. Sorting out flight data has taken us longer than expected. Then you find that the GDS will charge and that’s probably killed thousands of start-ups with the data problem. But we are still constant to travel information, a true vertical.”

One lesson he learnt was “not to use Google to translate your site”. “When you are a techie, you don’t know what you don’t know.”

If he were to build a flight search now, how would he do it? He laughs, “I wouldn’t do it. I’d do hotel search instead because margins are bigger and data is smaller. And maybe I wouldn’t do it in the same way – we did everything ourselves, manage our own data, built a brand and built website functionality.

“In retrospect, we should have paid greater respect to the size of the problem that we had.”

Having said that, the company is profitable and I asked if he and his partners were planning an exit as ITA Software has done with Google and Qunar with Baidu. “It’s not a priority for the founders now. We want to get to 10 times the size we are now,” he says, “and a lot will depend on the success we have in Asia.”

The most likely route though would be an IPO and if that were the case, it’d most likely be in Asia. Having said that, he fears what that would mean. “I am not sure we would do well with adult supervision.”

What the company has done well in though is “persistence”.

“I used to think it was the quality of the idea but it’s persistence that gets you there. Boring but true,” says Williams.

By the way, this is one of Williams' doodles and he has a plan to digitise them all. Who does it look like, you think?

Lessons in revenue management and an OTA experiment

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I was catching up with a Singapore hotelier the other day. I say this because this is a very rare occurrence these days. They are very busy because their occupancy’s going through the roof, as are their average rates because they’ve been spending a lot of time yielding them.

As I understand it, this is the math behind revenue management. When rates are high, you make them higher. When rates are low, you make them higher.

They are also very busy because this month is Formula 1 (Sept 23-25 in case you want to come and I can offer you my homestay even though I am not listed under Airbnb) and this town is going to be one HOT party town – for three days. There are two new clubs opening – Pangaea and Avalon – at the Crystal Pavilion at Marina Bay Sands, both of whom use adjectives like unique, one-of-a-kind, extraordinary and very, very special.

Both are Hollywood-pedigrees and now want to be Singawood-celebrities presumably because all the celebrities back home have been Botoxed beyond recognition.

My friend's hotel, like most establishments in town, will be full over the F1 weekend, even though he is nowhere near the race track. He is not offering any minimum-stay package because he tells me, “Strange, they all leave on a Sunday.”

This goes to prove no one cares what goes on the tracks, they’re just here for off-track activity where they hope to be rubbing shoulders with other hangers-on of the F1 circus of fame and debauchery.

Because there’s a big event coming up where it’s almost guaranteed to be full house, my hotelier friend decided to try a little experiment. He switched off the OTA channel for a week. He wanted to see if business would be diverted to his direct website channel. Apparently this is something hoteliers who practise revenue management do too – they switch from tap to tap as you and I switch games on our iPads.

Did it work? Nope.

Let me give you some background. This hotel does almost 50% of its business on the web – 55% direct, 45% indirect. That’s already a high percentage of online business but his corporate people obviously want him to boost the direct channel because then, it’s all straight to the bottomline because there’s no need to pay commissions to the OTAs. That’s another thing I know about revenue management. Cut out middlemen, more for me.

What he found was that traffic to the branded website did not increase during the week the OTA channel was switched off, and consequently there was no increase in bookings. In fact, he suspects that he may have lost customers who may have been searching out there on the OTAs for hotels in Singapore.

After a week of sweating and watching his website traffic, which can be more stressful than being in the back of a bus in Thailand, he switched it back on.

And now he is relaxed again and hence, able to enjoy his lunch with me.

“What do you think that proves?” I asked him.

“That we still need the OTAs – they are the ones customers want to use because they think they have the best rates even though we in the industry know about rate parity but the customers don’t.”

This is what I know about rate parity. It’s as fluffy a theory as chapatti.

“And besides,” he continued, “it’s the OTAs who have the money to spend on search, they know how to drive traffic to their sites, they give customers choice and they get customer behaviour online.

“And besides,” he continued, obviously on a roll, “what’s wrong with paying commissions to intermediaries – we have been doing that since the beginning of time. We pay traditional tour operators and these are the people who still use static rates while OTAs have dynamic rates.”

This is one thing I know about static vs dynamic rates. One’s fixed, the other changes.

And that’s all I know about this subject so I am going to shut up and go back to yielding my coffee machine.

* The name of the hotelier has been withheld to protect my future lunches with him. This is also why I love the Internet – you can write nonsense without attributing it to anyone.

Business Angel Network SEA to hear pitches at WIT Bootcamp

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

BANSEA (The Business Angel Network South East Asia) is supporting the WIT Bootcamp: Entrepreneurship & Innovation and will be on the panel listening to pitches in the WIT Start-Up Gallery.

The WIT Bootcamp, to be held Oct 17, the day before the main WIT Conference in Singapore, is the meet-and-match place for travel tech professionals, entrepreneurs, innovators and investors.

The first half of the day programme will feature experts from across the region including Australia, Indonesia, China, Japan and India who will share the latest online travel trends emerging in their respective markets, with a focus on start-ups.

The second half will feature a Start-Up Gallery in which up to 10 new travel start-ups, selected by the organizers, will pitch their business idea in five minutes each to a panel of mentors and investors.

BANSEA will join the panel which includes a global line-up of investors including Morten Lund, CEO, Everbread, one of the early investors in Skype; Fritz Demopoulos, former CEO of Qunar, China who recently exited following an acquisition by Baidu; Abrar Ahmad, Partner, Travel Capitalist Ventures, of the US, whose fund specializes in travel start-ups; Stephan Ekbergh, CEO, TravelStart, South Africa  and Danny Oei Wirianto, CEO, Mindtalk.com, a leading digital media entrepreneur in Indonesia who also owns an investment fund to accelerate start-ups.

Established in 2001, BANSEA is an angel networking group that promotes the development of the angel investment community in South East Asia. It has over 60 individual members who are themselves successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, private equity and venture capital investors.

The WIT Bootcamp is free to delegates of the Web In Travel Conference taking place Oct 18-19 at the same venue, Suntec Convention Centre, Ballroom 2. Admission to the WIT Bootcamp only is S$380 per person. Register here.

Mentoring event heads to Bangkok, hear from top travel start-ups and global brands

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Want to be a start-up in the online travel space? Or find a job with a global travel brand? Then join our WITNext event in Bangkok on September 28.

Yes, our inspiration and mentoring event is heading to Bangkok, the second time we are holding in the Thai capital.

The first one, held last year, was well received by the industry and hospitality students and we are working again in partnership with HSMAI Asia Pacific (Hotel Sales and Marketing Associates International), which is a global hotel sales and marketing association and has chapters throughout Asia.

WITNext in Bangkok, which will be held at the Globe Bar of the Centara Grand, will feature a cast of speakers that come from various segments of the travel and tourism industry and who will speak about the range of career opportunities available in each of their fields.

The evening will kick off with “Lessons in Entrepreneurship + Innovation” from (pictured) Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic, Japan, who runs the country’s leading travel meta-search website, travel.jp and Morris Sim, CEO + Co-Founder, Circos Brand Karma, a leading social media analytics company specializing in hospitality.

Both Kei and Morris started their companies from ground up and will share the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur, as well as the rewards and benefits of running your own start-up and what are the job opportunities in the digital travel space.

This session will be moderated by Brett Henry, Vice President-Marketing and Vice President India for Abacus International, Asia’s leading Global Distribution System which connects thousands of travel agents in the region to the major airlines, hotels and other suppliers.

Following that, Yeoh Siew Hoon, Editor and Founder of Web In Travel, will moderate a discussion about finding your career groove with veterans in the travel business.

Chananya Phataraprasit, Chairman of Asian Oasis which runs several travel companies including technology, tour operating and lodges will share her take on the potential of tourism in Thailand and where the career opportunties are.
Scott Smith, Senior Lecturer, Assumption University, Thailand and Director, Young Skal, Thailand, who is passionate about hospitality and travel, will share his perspectives about how the industry can better engage with young talent in the country.

They will be joined by senior executives working for major global travel brands – Ali Yilmaz, Head of Travel, Google, South-east Asia, John Mims, SVP World-Wide Sales & Resort Marketing Asia, Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Alvin Ch’ng, Commercial Director, TripAdvisor For Business, will talk about carving about a career in the corporate world.

We have also planned a surprise ending for the event which is aimed at helping everyone find their groove which, by the way, is the theme of this year’s WIT Conference, being held in Singapore, from Oct 17-19.

WITNext in Bangkok is being held the evening before Asia Connect, the HSMAI one-day conference where WIT will be curating two sessions.

Location they say is everything. Welcome to magical Machu Picchu!

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The lamas were grazing around the sacred Inca site all day, yet a couple of minutes before sun down, they positioned themselves at the edge of a terrace and gazed down at Machu Picchu as the light was dissipating and dusk was beginning to envelope us all. They didn't move.

It was nearly as if they were the keepers of Machu Picchu, making sure that the holy site was being preserved for yet another day, for eternity. Them, and us, admiring man's creation and the beauty of nature, all in harmony.

At that very moment you knew you were privy to something very special. A sacred site. A holy site.

The journey to Machu Picchu began with a train ride from Ollantaytambo. Crowds of backpackers were getting ready to jump on the Perurail train that was going to take us to Aquas Calientes, which is the last station, at the foot of Machu Picchu. The only way to get to Machu Picchu these days is either to take the 90 minute train ride from Ollantaytambo or to do the 4 day 82 km Inca trail. We chose the former option, although one day I would love to do the Inca trail and experience the magic of hiking through the Andes.

It wasn't just any train carriage that we were on, it was the Orient Express carriage that was fitted in old style luxury. It was fit for an Agatha Christie murder mystery. The train goes down the sacred Urubamba river valley, passing several Inca sites, terraced hills and many land slides.

The journey starts off in a barren mountainous landscape, and as you traverse the valley heading to Aquas Calientes, the mountains become more and more lush. Suddenly there is jungle everywhere, with red jacaranda trees in bloom and birds of paradise adding colour to the otherwise tropical green vegetation. How does the ecosystem change so fast?

Machu Picchu is everything you can imagine. It was built in 1450 and was a populated Inca city for less than 100 years. What is fascinating is that the 500 inhabitants that lived there left no written records, no artefacts (most have probably been looted), no artwork. Nothing. Machu Picchu today is still shrouded in mystery which perhaps adds to its appeal.

By 1550 the Spaniards had already invaded South America and it is believed that Machu Picchu was abandoned at the time, for the Inca men had to go and fight the Spanish army to defend Peru. Unfortunately, they also lost and thus Machu Picchu went into abandon for centuries, until Yale professor Hiram Bingham re-discovered the isolated city on top of the hill on July 24, 1911.

The Incas worshipped the mountain, the sky and the sacred river far below. They worshipped nature. All things considering, despite their attention to detail, their advanced building techniques and complex level of social organization, the society to some degree seems fairly primitive. After all, Europe was going through Renaissance at that same time. Nonetheless, what the Incas built is nothing short of breathless. From the very isolated location that they chose at an elevation of 2,400 m, to the stunning scenery, to the simplicity of the structures that are in perfect harmony with its natural surroundings. And peace. A very peaceful and powerful setting.

Now, the vast majority of the 2,500 daily visitors that come to Machu Picchu (that is the max number of tickets they sell each day which seems to be doing well in preserving the isolated site) sleep in Aguas Calientes and then take the first bus leaving at 0530 to get to Machu Picchu at 0600, when the gates open. If you're young and full of energy, you get up at 0400 and hike up the mountain.

And then there is us. Creatures of comfort! The Orient Express has a lodge right by the entrance to Machu Picchu called Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. The price is steep and there are only 18 rooms. But as we rolled out of bed at 0530 and got dressed and headed to the entrance of the grounds, we saw a small group of young kids completely sweaty and dusty, albeit excited to enter the sacred site at dawn. Yes, that is when we realized that the money was worth it. By 0600, there was already a long lineup of people waiting to get in. We were able to circumvent all that hassle.

Given that we had already explored all of Machu Picchu the day before, this morning we headed to Intipunku, the sungate which is about a 45 minute hike from the lodge. Watching the light spill over the hills above Machu Pichu and then slowly washing out the Inca site with daylight was a magical end to our trip here.

Walking back to the lodge, smiling, we were leaving Machu Picchu knowing that we had seen it in all its beauty, throughout the whole day. The Inca's really knew how to pick a site. Location, they say, is everything.

Follow Bojan on his adventures at www.gowithbo.info

Business travellers prefer to book direct on hotel website, says Accor survey

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The majority of business travellers prefer to book their business travel accommodation directly online with the hotel brand (57%), followed by the secretary in the company (40%), while usage of offline travel agents is in the minority (16%).

This was one of the findings of the Accor Asia Pacific Business Traveller Survey 2011, in which more than 10,000 Asia Pacific-based business travellers were surveyed online about their travel habits. The survey was conducted with Cimigo, and targeted Accor A Club members.

Having the client book the hotel is least likely to happen in Australia (6%) and New Zealand (6%), compared with the total market (14%).

Convenience is the key driver for booking directly online (67%), closely followed by the expectation/possibility of special offers (63%) and the peace of mind of instant confirmation (62%) of the room booking.

Business travellers also expect that the hotel branded website will offer the most competitive rates (49%), slightly ahead of independent online travel websites (43%). This is especially true for business travellers from India (62%) and Indonesia (56%).

Reasons for choice of hotel

The main reason for choosing the actual hotel stayed at was the convenience of its location (56%), the number one driver across all of the key markets in the survey. Previous experience with the actual hotel or the brand behind it (as well as competitive pricing) also factored strongly.

The survey also found that business travellers in the region are ‘environmentally aware’ when choosing a hotel: 61% would choose a hotel simply because it is more environmentally conscious, and 59% would pay extra to stay in a hotel with a superior environmental commitment to a similar standard hotel in the same location.

For those willing to pay more, the average they would be prepared to increase was 10% (across all markets). Business travellers from China were most likely to be described as driven by environmental concerns, with 91%
willing to pay extra, followed by travellers from Indonesia and Thailand (77% and 70% respectively).

Respondents from Australia (38%) and New Zealand (37%) were least likely, though in both of these markets, female business travellers were more environmentally driven then the men.

Travellers from China and Indonesia have lowest budgets

Allocated budget for business travel hotel accommodation averages at US$121 per night, with some variances across the region. Business travellers from New Zealand (39%) and Australia (36%) are most likely to have ‘no defined budget’ for their accommodation, compared to the total base (26%) and their average spend on hotel accommodation is also higher than average (US$131 and US$158 respectively).

The lowest budgets for business travel accommodation are in Indonesia (US$92) and China (US$99).

However, across the region, hotel accommodation budget can be increased in special circumstances, such as travelling with someone more senior (22%), travelling with clients (23%) or travelling long-haul (28%). The incidence of an increase in budget for travelling with seniors and/or clients is highest for business travellers from China (38% and 30% respectively).

More males than females, Chinese road warriors pounding the road

The survey also found that across the region, business travellers took an average of 6.3 business trips in the first 6 months of 2011. Male business travellers (7.0 trips) were on the road more frequently than females (4.5 trips) and differences were also observed by job title/grade, with Directors and C-Level (i.e. CEO, COO, CFO etc.) travelling most frequently (8.0 and 7.3 trips respectively).

The average number of trips also differed by country of residence, with Chinese (8.7), Indian (7.3) and Singaporean (7.1) respondents taking the highest number of trips on average, and Thais (5.0), Australians (5.2) and New Zealanders (5.2) taking the fewest number.

The average number of trips for Chinese respondents was boosted by a significant segment of ‘road warriors’ – 15% took 20+ business trips in the first 6 months of the year.

The majority of business travel was international, though domestic travel was also included in the survey. The larger the geographical size of the country, the higher the incidence of ‘domestic only’ business travel: Australia (34%), New Zealand (26%) and China (25%) topping this list.

Singapore and Hong Kong (both 38%) were the destinations most frequently travelled to for business and appeared in the “Top 3” destinations for travellers from all the key markets in the survey.

Looking to the remainder of the year, the average number of trips planned was similar to the average number taken, with male and more senior job titles again expecting to travel most frequently.

The full report is available here.

Singaporeans, Chinese work the hardest; Indians like their gyms

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Business travellers surveyed in the Accor Asia Pacific Business Traveller Survey 2011 are a hard-working lot, with folks from Singapore and China topping the hard-working charts.

The survey found that 75% worked in the hotel at some point during their trip, increasing to 82% for respondents travelling from China and Singapore.

Travellers from Hong Kong are most likely to ‘burn the midnight oil’ with 14% working between midnight and 6AM, compared to 7% on average. The most likely times for business travellers to work in the hotel are after office hours: 35% working between 6PM and 9PM and 52% working between 9PM and Midnight.

Respondents from Australia (53%) and New Zealand (55%) were most likely to work between 9PM and Midnight, and were also most likely to be early risers (35% and 38% respectively working between 6AM and 9AM).

Taking a break from work is more likely to involve a visit to the hotel fitness centre (53%) than the hotel spa (36%).

Indian business travellers are the ‘power users’ of the fitness centre (64%). While in the fitness centre, business travellers are swapping one treadmill for another, with 93% using cardiovascular equipment rather than weights (39%). Australian business travellers are most likely to use weights, at 48%.

When availing of the spa facilities in the hotel, business travellers from Singapore (83%), Hong Kong (74%), China (71%), India (70%) and Thailand (70%) are more likely to avail of body and foot massage services, while travellers from New Zealand (74%) and Australia (69%) are more likely to use the sauna/steam room.

Hotels fail in responsiveness to MICE enquiries, IFH survey reveals

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

There is no doubt that the global conference and event business has experienced an upswing since 2010 with more events and more participants.

And hoteliers and MICE organisers are increasingly bullish about the high-yielding sector. (Pictured: Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore)

However, the 2011 IFH® Institute For Hospitality Management survey found that a great many hotels are missing out on much of these increases and business due to a lack of appropriate procedures and responsiveness to enquiries.

The situation would appear to have worsened for various reasons since the 2008/09 downturn and to put it bluntly, too many hotels are literally leaving major amounts of money on the table by failing to have proper MICE handling procedures or supervision of.

In order to establish in which way and at what level inquiries are responded to in the event area, and ultimately how much turnover is generated, the IFH® team for the area Quality Performance Benchmarking (mystery shopping) made a comprehensive set of attractive test MICE inquiries at the end of 2010 to 165 hotels in the 3-5 star category worldwide.

The result, an overwhelming number of the hotels neither addressed the actual needs and requirements of the enquiry and in many cases did not even respond. Whether Amsterdam, Hong Kong or New York – with regard to personal communication with the customer, silence prevailed to a large degree.

The most important results at a glance:
• 30% of the 167 hotels that were sent inquires did not respond at all.
• Of the 117 hotels (70%) that responded to the inquiry, 85 % did not speak nor attempt to personally contact the customers by phone to query or follow up on the response.
• Only 26 hotels (15%) provided a tailor-made offer oriented to the needs of the customer.
• 75% of all offers were merely “non-binding proposals” (i.e. prices and general proposals) although the details of the inquiry had been specifically worded.
• Only five hotels of a total of 167 were able to make a convincing offer and encourage the booking 

About the 2011 IFH®MICE Survey
84% of the 167 hotels contacted were from major international hotel groups and consortia with the remainder (16%) being privately owned independent properties. In terms of star rating the survey concentrated on the upscale segment with 64% being 5 Star and 36% being 4-star category.

Most of the hotels are in Europe (40%, of which 6% are in Germany), followed by Asia and the Russian Federation (each with 16%), the US (15%), Middle East (9%) and Australia (4%).

The average number of rooms per hotel was 421 (from 23 to 4,000 rooms) with their average number of function rooms for events being 15 (from 1 to 64 areas). These are hotels which should attract a great deal of MICE business.

Within the scope of the MICE analysis, these hotels were contacted by means of an identically worded email containing an event inquiry via an appropriate fictitious company address. This “company” also had its own company website with appropriate content.

Afterwards, the complete event inquiry procedure was analysed and evaluated - from the first inquiry to the conclusion of the contract - based on a set of criteria (eight categories such as communication, customer orientation and sales behaviour).

The inquiry comprised a 3-day event (two overnight stays) for 30 persons with full board, including a special dinner as well as an attractive accompanying programme to be arranged in more detail. The stipulated maximum budget was EUR 30,000. The proposed event was outlined with just enough essential basic information, but making it absolutely crucial to take up personal contact with the customer.

No contact – no tailor-made offer – no conversion

Perhaps the most alarming shortcoming was that only 8% of the 167 hotels surveyed called the “customer” to discuss the request. Of the remaining hotels, 30% did not respond at all or sent a standard offer without referencing or sufficiently clarifying any other details.

Lucas Peng (left), IFH Asia Pacific Managing Director ,commented; “It is quite astonishing how disinterested or perhaps understaffed the employees in the event area seem to be. How else can these results be explained?”

34% of all the written offers were simple, standardised F&B lists, 14 % sent lists of technical equipment that were not helpful at all. And only just under half of the hotels sent an offer taking the two evening meals into consideration.

Frequently, the offers contained a number of diverse and disordered attachments such as unsorted photos and digitally standardised banquet brochures.

In summary there were not enough responses and the majority of those who did respond did so in a very unconvincing manner.

In the end, only five of the 165 hotels worldwide were able to make a convincing offer and encourage the customer to book the event. These submitted offers were complete, had an accurate description of the services offered, included concrete prices as well as an attractive layout.

Summary

The results of the MICE analysis are sobering to say the least. Above all, the personal communication with the customer was insufficient and the significance of the personal contact not recognised. But how, if not through personal contact, does a hotel find out what the customer really wants?

Furthermore, international standards for preparing offers for event inquiries seem to be lacking. Classic sales rules, such as timely response, checking requirements prompt follow up, etc were not followed.

These are all the rules you can learn – thanks to staff training and seminars. With the results being so consistently short of the mark, it also shows that those hotels who do establish and follow good MICE handing procedures are likely to benefit exponentially from the continued upswing in MICE business.

Find unique tours yet be a responsible traveller in the Mekong

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A tour of the new online guide, Mekong Responsible Tourism, shows a wide range of “responsible” holiday activities, "over 185", according to the developer, in the Mekong River region.

Most of the featured activities carry detailed descriptions, complete with colourful photos and description of how they help in improving the life of the local folks and in preserving the environment.

The site is user-friendly, easy to navigate and comprehensive. The home page shows, at a glance, what the site offers – from news around the region to a discovery map on the responsible tourism opportunities in the Mekong, links and contacts.

"The guide complements other guides, but offers a different angle. Each country profile focuses on cultural and natural heritage sites. The site also includes sections on what to do, where to stay, where to shop, and where to eat," states the media release on the site.

This, I find to be true, as I check out some of the tours. They are interesting and different, with many rather off-the-beaten tracks, from the usual holiday destinations one find on travel agents’ sites.

For example, in Vietnam I chanced upon the tour, Trek and stay with the Muong tribe (pictured right).

"Go trekking or biking through lush karst landscapes and stay overnight at Muong homestays in Ngoc Son Ngo Luong Nature Reserve. The area combines wonderful landscapes with traditional Muong villages, where you can rest and share daily activities with the local population." – a description that certainly whets my appetite to go and do it.

Or the tour in Cambodia for bird lovers. Tantalising with the headline Not just for the birds, (pictured below) the experience is listed as "a must-see for bird watchers and nature lovers, genuine ecotourism tours deep in Cambodia’s northern protected flooded forests."

it’s also interesting to learn the Sam Veasna Centre conducts the bird tours to six protected areas across Cambodia. Apart from coming up close and personal with some of Cambodia’s varied and unique wildlife, you are also encouraged to tour the local villages at the sites to gain an understanding of life in a remote forest community.

Two other useful features on the site are:

• Cultural and environmental tips, which are unique to the people and cultures of the countries featured.

• Google maps, which allow you to browse a town or province for responsible activities so they know where to go. The map icons show exact locations for active tours, homestays, nature discoveries, art and culture venues, body and mind healing services, as well as places to stay, eat and shop.

The guide is an extension to the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) marketing website, Explore Mekong, which is for consumers and travel agents seeking information and ideas for visiting the Mekong region.

Only responsible tourism operators and suppliers have been included in the website, said MTCO, and the profiles of 20 responsible operators are included. (You can check the selection process for inclusion on the site).

"The e-guide profiles a wide range of operators and suppliers who are committed to making the Mekong region a better place for inhabitants to live in and for tourists to visit," said Christine Jacquemin, project coordinator of MTCO, which produced the guide with French government support.

The MTCO hopes the e-guide will achieve its two objectives. One, to boost demand for the many responsible businesses in the Mekong region that now cater to all budgets and types of holidaymakers. Two, to foster more responsible tourism practices among travellers and the travel industry.

The guide does not provide online bookings for the tours, but it has listed contact information for each activity. Each entry has a comment zone where you can share you opinions and questions before, during or after the experience.

MTCO is currently developing a downloadable PDF version of the site. In the pipeline are booklets for each country in PDF, which can be printed out as a book, a version of the website for mobile devices, and a French language version.

Verdict: Great website, which is both educational and informative, not just for travellers but also for tour operators to help them create new and unique packages and, in the process, help preserve the environment and improve the livelihood of the local communities.

Rugby World Cup gives New Zealand a visitor boost

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

International travel to New Zealand is expected to increase significantly during the Rugby World Cup, according to analysis by Forward Keys, the business intelligence tool launched by Forward Data in partnership with Amadeus.

The forecast for the event, which runs from September 9 to October 23, is derived from an analysis of all Global Distribution Systems’ travel agency bookings data computed by Amadeus.

Air bookings made up to August 26 indicates that international passenger arrivals to New Zealand will increase by 25.4% during the tournament, compared to the same period in 2010.

About 72% of all the tourists are from the world’s major rugby playing nations, with Australia providing the largest number of visitors - +14.8% compared to 2010. Following behind are the United Kingdom (+56.2%), France (+449.8%) and South Africa (+503.8%). Interestingly, traveller numbers from the USA decrease compared to 2010.

International arrivals are expected to spike four days before the first match between New Zealand and Tonga (see Chart 1, Point 1). One of the highest spikes in arrivals is expected on October 7 (see Chart 1, Point 3), which coincides with the start of the quarterfinals.

While most long haul travel is booked for the pools phase of the competition, almost half of the total arrivals expected from South Africa occur during the final phase of the competition, suggesting a high degree of optimism about the Springboks’ performance.

David Brett (pictured right), President, Amadeus Asia Pacific said Forward Keys could enable hotels in New Zealand to anticipate the spike in visitors and more effectively leverage their commercial efforts.

"The analysis shows 2,000 passengers will arrive from France two days prior to the game with New Zealand, suggesting an opportunity for hotels to tailor their promotional efforts specifically to this customer segment," he said.

Olivier Jager, Forward Data’s CEO added that customers around the world could significantly increase operational efficiency and maximise profitability by anticipating visitor arrivals, understanding their length of stays and where they come from.

SIA economy seat choice, AA+Sabre deal extended, Japan arrivals cut by half, EVA Air's new app ...

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

SIA extends economy seat choice to all booking channels

Singapore Airlines announced (02-Sep-2011) that the advance selection of Economy Class seats on SIA-operated flights is now available through all booking channels.

Previously, the ability to perform specific seat selection in Economy Class was exclusively available to customers who booked via the SIA website, while only generic seat requests were available for bookings made through travel agents, other airlines or SIA Reservations & Ticketing offices and call centres.

AA extends with Sabre

American Airlines extended a deal that will keep its flights listed on reservations systems run by Sabre Holdings Corp (CNBC, 30-Aug-2011). The agreement was set to expire on 31-Aug-2011. The companies agreed to extend it until after American's anti-trust lawsuit against Sabre is over, which is expected in 2012.

Arrivals to Japan cut by half

Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) stated (31-Aug-2011) the number of international visitors to Japan halved during the Apr-2011 to Jun-2011 period, as a result of the 11-Mar-2011 earthquake and tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

Tourism expenditure from foreign visitors declined 47% to JPY120.8 billion (USD1.6 billion) with consumption per traveller remaining unchanged, at around JPY110,000 (USD1430). By country, China had the highest total expenditure level at JPY29.9 billion (USD389 million), followed by South Korea (JPY16.8 billion/USD218 million) and Taiwan (JPY16.7 billion/USD217 million).

EVA Air launches smartphone app

EVA Air launched (30-Aug-2011) a new iPhone/iPod touch/Android app, available in three languages - English, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese. EVA will release an iPad application in Nov-2011.

Groupon-type deals don't make sense for OTAs; ZUJI works on refreshed branding

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Expedia made a lot of noise with its AirAsia joint venture. Wotif made the news with its joint venture in Vietnam with Buffalo Tours. Meanwhile, ZUJI/Travelocity’s been rather quiet, leading many to wonder what the OTA’s been up to. Is it losing steam? Is it being tethered by its parent strings of Travelocity and Sabre?

Well, Roshan Mendis, president and CEO of ZUJI/Travelocity Asia Pacific will have you know that it’s enjoyed a strong first half of the year with business up 50% in sales and profitability and it’s been working quietly away at a refreshed branding that will be unveiled year end.

As for all the hype about deal sites, he believes the Groupon model does not work with intermediaries and oh yes, he doesn’t “get” the AirAsia-Expedia joint venture.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Mendis to find out what he’s been up to and the views he holds on various issues.

Q: What’s the year been like so far?

We have grown volume and share in every single market we operate in. We have leadership in outbound and in hotels in India. Australia’s been a bright spot for us, we were lagging but we are growing well and 60% of our business there is now outbound.

It appears we are riding the online travel wave in APAC, helped by markets seeing robust growth.

Q: Australia’s considered the most competitive online travel market in APAC, yet you have managed to hold your own?

Yes, 18 months ago, there was a question mark – could we compete? Webjet had 60% of the air, Wotif had 60% of hotels. We had to prove capability, brand and strategy and with a new team in place, we have more than doubled our share of the market. It remains a competitive market – but it’s worth A$1.7 billion and growing at 20%, so there’s room for everyone.

Q: What’s your take on deals? Have you experimented with them?

With deal sites mushrooming, we asked ourselves how we should play. We tried Groupon in Singapore and Hong Kong. It’s very difficult to make it work for someone like us – an OTA – because of the economics of the channel. We will be shying away from that type of thing going forward. The general economics of a Groupon-type deal does not work for intermediaries.

What deal sites do is create an impulse market for travel and other products and they seem to be very popular in Singapore and Hong Kong. This is good for the overall market. A lot of our travel is shorter lead time, weekend inclusive and we have our own ability to stimulate demand with great offers, right prices and right messaging.

Q: Yet Expedia and Groupon signed a partnership deal?

On this particular one, it’s not so much a distribution deal. It seems to be a hotel content acquisition effort by Expedia on behalf of Groupon. I am sure the economics are figured out in a way to accommodate this effort.

It confuses me, a few of the Expedia deals.

Q: I assume you’re referring to the AirAsia partnership?

I thought it would get clear in my head over time, it hasn’t. I guess we shall see what it eventuates into.

A whole bunch of players have done deals in the last decade – media swapping, portal, fixed placement fees. We’ve done and tried a lot of things. The concept of aligning with a supplier so intimately that you share 50% is a brand new one. Conceptually, it flies in the face of “unbiased intermediary offering to the consumer” - the implied objective of them working to distribute AirAsia content preferentially and exclusively. Let’s wait and see.

Agoda and Jetstar partnership – that’s a straight white label deal, not that much different to what we have with Virgin Australia.

Q: So what’s on your priority list? I hear you’re stymied because of the lack of attention given to the region by headquarters.

The mantra of our new CEO (Carl Sparks) is to achieve the fullest potential of our brands, wherever we are. We are in a growing market, growth attracts investments and attention and we can expect global to be supportive of our efforts.

We are in the midst of re-energising and re-investing in our brand. We haven’t done that in APAC since ZUJI was started and the look, feel and delivery is thus as old as ZUJI. It’s time to do that.

The new realities of online travel have opened up a whole slew of opportunities and we expect the refreshed branding to be rolled out by year end.

Q: What’s the refreshed branding all about?

The new realities require us to get back to the core of our proposition – to provide a compelling proposition to our customer and put that at the forefront of what we do. You can expect us to deliver around the customer.

Q: The end customer in Asia is changing for sure.

Yes, other than the fact that they are growing in sheer numbers, they access us in a variety of ways, they want to do business with us in a variety of ways, they want to talk to us, about us, among themselves. At the end of the day, they want the choice, trust and flexibility to enable them to book in the way they want that’s most convenient for them and what they wish to experience from the trip.

Q: What kind of trends are you seeing in use of devices?

In the next few years, mobile will account for a quarter of bookings. The iPhone and iPad will account for a large majority of that. They want to talk to us, they want to use phones and see us. Do something on the web and complete it outside the web – all these trends are emerging.

In emerging markets, where strict online penetration is still slow, it is important to follow our customers, understand why it’s low and solve these problems for our customers.

Q: Is it hard to pick out the real trends vs the hype – otherwise you could end up chasing a lot of tails?

Yes, there’s a lot of activity out there. There’s lots of noise and a few things that will actually trigger change. You have to pay attention, listen and pounce on the ones that are game changing.

Q: So what are the qualities needed of a leader at a time of such profound change?

Given all the noise and news, and the fact we all read the same news feeds, follow the same tweets, and we are getting it all and double quick, it is important to be be consistent, persistent and focused. There are hundreds of employees looking to you for direction. It is easy to be reactive, jumpy and change based on the latest news feed. You need to make plans that are of a reasonable time frame, that will get you over the hump, that will last and be dogged about pushing it.

The challenge is to get this focus, to be structured and have the right resources and not be distracted.

Q: Facebook is a distraction, isn’t it? At work especially? Do you ban it?

No, it’s important for staff to see how these things work as they can be helpful in promoting business objectives.

Q: Consistent, persistent, focused – that's the boring stuff, stuff that don’t get you media play.

For me, the most exciting thing you feel is when you have success in business and that’s the excitement I share with the team. Yes, you can talk about what’s cool and sexy and you need to also present results for the last quarter and what role they had in those numbers.

Keeping it real, that’s the excitement I strive to drive.

Q: In Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”, it is said “If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” What do you do better than anyone else?

We are the pioneer, we have built brand equity and we have the unique opportunity to leverage that. That, combined with understanding our customers better and deeper and being able to serve them uniquely is an advantage we can drive, that’s not easily replicable.

Q: Does your ownership by a GDS handicap you?

I can't point to any practical day to day incidents that have constrained this business because of Travelocity or Sabre ownership. We have the appropriate amount of freedom and flexibility to invest in things that are beneficial.

Q: What do your “enemies” do better than you?

Priceline, more than Expedia, has done a better job on executing in the digital space and in direct response digital space – their ability to aggregate customer demand.

Expedia with its house of brands has amassed fantastic amount of scale at the supplier level that we continue to bridge in quantity and quality.

Q: Let’s talk loyalty – that’s a space none of you have been very good at.

This space is notoriously fickle, part of the blame is on us because we’ve taught customers to deal hunt and price hunt. They rarely go to one place and book travel. Many of us have tried to combat it with loyalty points, coupon driven, etc

The more lasting is if we are able to target the customer in a special way when they do come to us – what we know about them, how we react to that information, how frictionessly we pass them through, and the convenience and aftersales.

Outside of the bells and whistles of loyalty points, the key is to innovate and develop in those dimensions.

I often look to competitors not for the big things but quite often the small things. Google is good at delivering what you want after you have told them what you want. They don’t pretend to know before that. Amazon is good at understanding what you want and seeking to understand your preferences and catering to them.

Travel is peculiar, it is experiental and contextual.

With our rebranding and refreshing, and our pursuit of enabling and embracing travel in a personalized way, I want to stress it’s not a destination we aim to reach on day one, it’s a journey we will begin and a dimension along which we will progress.

Q: Let’s talk reviews and social media.

If you look at how people behave on our site, certainly travel reviews are among the top five criteria for purchase influence. We are building our own and making it possible for travellers to make informed decisions on travel but it’s not the be-all-and-end-all.

With social media, it is important to differentiate the different levels. Of course, what people share on the Internet, that’s an important part of the business. Do we react to what people say in posts and blogs – yes. Do we resolve customer issues – yes. Do we use social media presence to promote and portray the positioning – yes.

It is very important to think of social media as an engagement and marketing tool but we haven’t yet been aggressive in advertiisng in social media, we haven't found the results yet.

Q: Finally, Sun Tzu also said, “Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?” So if you could do all you could, what would it be?

The caveat here is “realistically”. I am doing a lot of what I can do in today's context – investing, growing and developing a lot of people; trying to attract and train the best talent; looking at ways to service customers better, to deliver a more compelling proposition to suppliers; and how we can add back to society and environment, and have fun.

If I answered differently, then I am not working hard enough.

Note: Roshan Mendis will be speaking at the WIT Conference 2011.

Watch out, there's a stray in the neighbourhood: A story of Groupon and hoteliers

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I live in what you might call a curated neighbourhood. It’s one of those integrated residential developments and about the only thing we don’t have is a casino although I am told next year we will be able to walk across a bridge and a park to get to the gaming tables. I can’t wait.

It’s built on reclaimed land so technically I sleep on an ocean bed. Its residents are young (and old) urban professionals, and expatriates favour the area. Each apartment block is prettily manicured with own swimming pool, gym, tennis and squash courts and each has its own security guardhouse.

It sits right next to what in Singapore is called the “heartland” – the Tanjong Rhu Housing Development Board (HDB) estate, one of the oldest on the island. Here is a local neighbourhood where the accents and flavours are distinctly different, and its residents are mainly Singaporeans who, last weekend, went to vote for their new President in what was the most hotly contested elections in history for this largely ceremonial post.

The one thing these two neighbourhoods have in common are the domestic helpers – mainly Filipinos and Indonesians who look after the young, nurse the elderly and walk the dogs. These helpers are comfortable in both precincts which really wouldn’t be able to function without them. In fact, the whole of Singapore would come to a standstill without them.

Residents from the two estates rarely mix. It’s quite interesting walking from one neighbourhood to the other and observing the differences. It’s a bit like crossing the Causeway from Singapore to Malaysia – the differences are subtle, but discernible.

The dogs in particular are different. Because there’s a rule that big dogs are not allowed in HBD estates, canines in the local precinct are the small breeds while those from the manicured side of the fence range from the pedigree retrievers to huskies to Samoyeds.

Every now and then, a stray dog from the local estate or a nearby construction site will wander into the manicured precinct.

And for days while the stray is roaming around, my fellow residents are suspicious and hostile. They will alert everyone that there’s a stray around and when they see me going near it, they will tell me, “Don’t let your dog play with it, it may be diseased.”

Someone will then report the stray to the authorities and soon, the stray canine will disappear and calm will return to the neighbourhood.

I tell this story because at the Asia Connect event last Friday, a delegate who does not come from the travel industry asked me, “Why are they treating the Groupon guy with such hostility?”

He couldn’t understand why Groupon’s regional sales director Kelvin Teo, after his speech at the HSMAI-organised event, was being grilled with such ferocity by the audience of mainly chain hoteliers.

One questioned why his brand was being used in the presentation as to his recollection, his company was not working with Groupon. Another said the Groupon business model was damaging to hotels’ pricing strategy and yields. A journalist asked him if Groupon had travel agency licences and Teo’s response was, “yes in markets where we are required to”.

In his presentation, Teo shared a few success stories – how Groupon helped Virgin Atlantic sell 2,900 Groupons in 30 minutes when it launched a new route and how AirAsia cash vouchers sold out in three hours. And when it did a weekend one-night deal with Royal Plaza on Scotts, Singapore, it helped the hotel generate S$42,000 in 24 hours.

He shared a few more examples of mainly independent resorts in Thailand to demonstrate the power of Groupon to turn “projected losses into nett profit”.

It is clear hoteliers are very uncomfortable with the Groupon model – the 50% share of the discounted rate you must give them – yet it is also clear some properties are choosing to work with them.

So you see, Groupon’s like the stray that’s entered the well-manicured precinct of hotel-dom. Most of the residents remain suspicious and hostile. They don’t quite know what to do with it and they fear it will bring mayhem into their rate-paritied worlds.

“But customers want it, don’t they?” asked this non-travel industry innocent, as though that was the answer to everything.

Isn't it?

Japan Internet users spend most time on blogs

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

More than 80% of Japan’s entire online population in Japan visited a blog site in June 2011, an increase of 7% from the previous year, according to comScore Japan KK, a subsidiary of comScore, Inc.

FC2 inc. led the pack with 46.7 million visitors, followed by Livedoor-Blog with 33.4 million visitors (up 35%), while Ameblo.jp drew 32.2 million visitors (up 14%). Seesaa (up 25.5 million visitors) and Yahoo! Blogs (16.2 million visitors) made up the top five.

Daizo Nishitani, president of comScore Japan KK, said blogs play a central role in Japan’s Internet culture.

"Blogging has historically been a popular Internet activity, as the opportunity to interact anonymously appealed to many online users. Beyond the wide reach of the blog category in Japan, visitors are also highly engaged on these sites – spending more time on blogs per month than any other country globally."

Top global blog markets

The average Internet user in Japan spent more than an hour (62.6 minutes) visiting blogs in June. South Korea ranked second with an average of 49.6 minutes, followed by Poland at 47.7 minutes.

Japan was also among the top markets for blog category penetration at 80.5%. Taiwan ranked highest globally with 85.5% of its online population visiting blogs, followed by Brazil (85.2%) South Korea (84.9%) and Turkey (81.9V).

Double digit growth in visitors for top blog sites

More than 59 million Internet users, aged 15 and above, visited a blog site in Japan from a home or work location in June, an increase of 7%.

• Charts exclude visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Seaside inspiration for THack@WIT

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Developers taking part at THack Day@WIT, the 24-hour hacking event held in conjunction with the WIT Conference, will be able to take inspiration from the ocean breeze and palm trees, plus work on an API made available exclusively to participants for this event.

The hackathon, which will kick off Oct 16 at 10am, will take place at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa, Siloso 4 and has confirmed Expedia as the latest sponsor.

THack@WIT, a partnership between Tnooz and WIT, is being sponsored by Abacus as the exclusive GDS and Expedia.

To date, developers will be able to work on open APIs provided by Abacus, Everbread, Expedia Affiliate Network, Wego and AddToTrip. Others are expected to be added in the coming weeks.

“We decided to choose a venue that would inspire rather than leave these poor developers locked in a box,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, editor and founder of WIT. “This way, they can take in the sea breeze anytime they want – after all, it’s the tropics here – and we look forward to some great ideas coming out of this collaboration with Tnooz.”

Tnooz editor and co-founder Kevin May added: "We are firm believers that collaboration, sharing of expertise and development tricks, as well as having access to some of the best sets of data the industry can offer, can lead to some wonderfully creative ideas, especially in the pressure cooker atmosphere of a hack event."

The event is FREE for developers to attend and participate. Contact Kevin May.

ZUJI sees bookings double from this year's NATAS fair

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Holiday bookings have more than doubled compared to last year’s NATAS (National Association of Travel Agents) Travel Fair over the same period on zuji.com.sg, according to the OTA.

From every aspect of short, mid and long haul, the OTA, which is offering post-NATAS deals on its site following the three-day fair held the last weekend of August, says it has seen a list of destination winners emerge.

Short Haul
• Bangkok bookings increased by up to four times year-over-year (YOY).
• Yangon (left) is making significant progress in moving up the charts of Singaporeans’ choice getaways to nearby destinations.
• Beach destinations, the likes of Phuket, Bali and Koh Samui, saw close to double the bookings too.

Mid Haul
• Hong Kong and Macau remain as Singaporeans top holiday destination, and even more so, with almost double the bookings YOY.
• Seoul saw a steady 50% growth YOY.
• And China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen, Chengdu, Qingdao, Fuzhou and Guangzhou, almost tripled its bookings.

Long Haul
• With the stronger Asian currency, and the increasingly affordable flights to USA, bookings to Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Vancouver almost tripled its bookings YOY too.

The NATAS Fair, which sold out with 1,088 booths, welcomed a total of 67,051 visitors over three days and achieved a record S$100 million in sales.

Robert Khoo, CEO of NATAS, said: "We are quite happy with the overall performance of this fair. Our sales figures have hit an all-time high of S$100 million, an increase of 17.6 per cent from HOLIDAYS 2010. This is despite having a slight drop in visitor numbers of 4.8 per cent as compared to last year. This rounds up 2011 as a very good year for NATAS, with both travel fairs successfully breaking records."

Finnair goes to the Angry Birds, seeks fans for Asian Challenge

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Finnair has begun a worldwide online search for the eight biggest Angry Birds fans to fly on the longest and highest Angry Birds flight ever from Helsinki to Singapore on September 20, 2011.

Onboard this one-of-a-kind theme flight, the fans of the world-famous mobile gaming device, developed by the Finnish company Rovio, will compete in the Angry Birds Asian Challenge at an altitude of 10 kilometers.

The online competition is open for all fans, from August 31 to September 12, 2011, to tell why they are one of the Angry Birds’ most dedicated fans.

“This avian alliance is one example of Finnair’s creative, fresh way of operating. Finnair is a significant player in traffic between Asia and Europe, and our goal is to double the number of Asian flights to 140 flights per week by 2020. It’s great to be involved in bringing Finnish innovation to Asia,” says Finnair’s Vice President, Global Marketing Jarkko Konttinen.

“Although the Angry Birds have already flown almost everywhere in the world, the trip to Singapore will be the birds’ longest continuous flight to date.

“The Angry Birds game has been downloaded to various platforms over 350 million times, and we are delighted to be able to bring new Angry Birds games and experiences to a growing fan base,” says Peter Vesterbacka, Rovio’s Mighty Eagle and Marketing Manager.

The five most popular fans and two-to-three favorites selected by a jury will be awarded an unforgettable flight experience on Finnair’s Angry Birds branded Airbus A340 to Singapore. During the flight, the Angry Birds fans and other flight passengers will be able to participate in a competition on game consoles specially programmed for this event. A real live Angry Bird will also be present on the flight. The winner of the competition will become the proud holder of the very first Angry Birds Asian Challenge title.

Tweets detailing the swish of wings and the demise of pigs during the competition will be sent from the flight. It will be possible to follow the events in real time at this address.

Watch the feathers fly on this flight.

Asia dominates APAC's tourism boom

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

International visitor arrivals into Asia Pacific destinations grew by 6% year-on-year in June 2011, reveals a report by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

Southeast Asia: The region saw a growth of 15.5% growth during the month of June, maintaining the positive momentum of the previous months. The rebound in arrivals to Thailand (+54%) contributed to this growth, supported by the other destinations in the region, all of which enjoyed double-digit growth.

Strong travel demand within ASEAN, and an increase in arrivals from China are also factors contributing to the positive arrival figures.

South Asia: International arrivals growth was a robust 12% in June, boosted by double-digit increases in inbound numbers to Nepal (+38%), the Maldives (+27%) and Sri Lanka (+20%). India maintained the same pace of growth as in the previous month at 7%. European arrivals contributed mainly to this growth.

Northeast Asia: The region saw 3.7% increase in arrivals for June, after a slow growth of 0.6% in May.

Japan continues to recover, reducing losses in inbound arrivals from -63% in April to -50% in May and -36% in June. Countries experiencing slow growth were Chinese Taipei (-2%) and China (+1%). However Hong Kong, (+16%), Macau (+15%) and South Korea (+11%) enjoyed buoyant growth for the month.

The Pacific: International arrivals declined by 4% in June with Australia (-4%) and New Zealand (-10%) showing significant decreases compared to the corresponding period last year. This downturn was caused partly by the ash cloud disruption to air travel from the Chilean volcano and the continued effects of the earthquake in Christchurch.

Some Pacific Island nations still showed positive growth, especially Palau (+63%), Vanuatu (+27%), Tahiti (+19%), Papua New Guinea (+16%), New Caledonia (+11%) and Cook Island (+8%).

Kris Lim, director of PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre, said that the first half year’s growth of 5% underlined the resilience of travel and tourism in APAC.

"The comparatively weaker economies of the USA and Europe mean that much of this growth has had to come from intra-regional travel, and this in turn has only been possible because of the stronger regional economies and the continued expansion of airline seat capacity within the region."

Lim added that at the current rate of growth overall arrivals to the region would push to the 433 million mark by the end of the year, up from 408 million last year.

"While European arrivals remain key to South Asia’s growth, Southeast Asia will be driven by the rapidly growing China and India outbound markets while Northeast Asia is expected to see strong gains in arrivals from Southeast Asia driven by the steadily growing low-cost carriers network," he added

• For more market trends and insights, visit: Sub-Regional-Trends-2011

Business travel prices on the rise

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Business travel pricing trends for the second quarter of 2011 shows continued rate increases for flights and accommodations, as suppliers continue to take advantage of the return in demand and other market factors to raise rates.

American Express Global Business Travel reveals these trendsfrom its eXpert insights Business Travel Monitor (BTM), its long-term price trending index for domestic and international trips originating in North America

Pricing Snapshot – Q2 2011 Business Travel Pricing Trends:

Average domestic one-way airfares increased to US$260 in Q2 2011

• 8% increase from US$240 in Q2 2010

• 5% increase over the previous quarter, US$247 Q1 2011.

Average international one-way airfares increased to US$1,970 in Q2 2011

• 9% increase from US$1,810 in Q2 2010

• 6% increase over the previous quarter, US$1,866 Q1 2011.

Average domestic hotel rates increased to US$156 in Q2 2011

• 3% increase from US$151 in Q2 2010

• 4% increase over the previous quarter, $150 Q1 2011.

Average international hotel rates increased to US$258 in Q2 2011

• 11% increase from US$232 in Q2 2010

• 8% increase over the previous quarter, US$238 Q1 2011.

Trending Insights - Airfares

Tickets for both domestic and international flights have been consistently higher for companies throughout 2011 compared to each respective month in 2010. Having passed the pre-recession pricing levels last quarter, airfares have continued to rise. The year-to-date average fare increase has slowed the last two months, however, suggesting that fares may be stabilising.

"With the on-going supplier consolidation and alliance activity around the world and more businesses looking to aggressively channel volume with fewer suppliers, airlines have a more complete view of supply and demand than ever before and have used this information to determine pricing very effectively this year," said Christa Degnan manning, director, eXpert insights research, Advisory Services, American Express Global Business Travel.

While rate increases have slowed, it’s highly unlikely average airfares for businesses will decrease in the near future, she noted.

Trending Insights – Hotels

Recovery in the hospitality industry continues with many companies paying more for their travellers to book accommodations.

"As hotel new development pipeline slowed with the uncertainty in the economy, hoteliers have benefited from more favorable demand to supply ratios by and large in 2011," said Manning.

Many hoteliers have also renewed their focus on the business traveller as this more lucrative sector of travel has picked up.

"As hotel market pricing is always about location, location, location, the recovery for certain areas has been particularly strong driving hotel rates in recently popular destinations up much more rapidly. Travel buyers will need to rely heavily on volume and the ability to deliver market share to secure competitive rates in these regions, while meeting planners will want to evaluate multiple destinations to avoid the biggest price increases in cost per attendee per day next year," she added.

U.S. Cities with Highest Hotel Rate Increases in Q2 2011 vs. Q2 2010

A heady brew of exits, passion and Gen Y desires

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I think I traded too much beer last night. So forgive me if this post is a little incoherent, but what the heck, it was the last WITNext in Singapore before we begin the countdown to the WIT Conference in October.

It was great for Fritz Demopoulos, former CEO of Qunar, to fly in from Hong Kong for the event.

In his panel with Yen-Lu Chow, founder of Whole Tree Ventures, a new venture accelerator, Fritz told us that the first thing he bought after his exit from Qunar – following Baidu’s investment in the Chinese travel meta-search engine – was a car for his wife.

And instead of lying on a beach in the Caribbean or playing golf at St Andrews, Fritz said that he is looking for new ideas, new ventures and vows he wants to be “more innovative, more flexible” in future.

“Sometimes when you are focused on your business, you can be too focused and almost obsessed and you don’t want to hear about anything else,” he said. “Now I can look at opportunities out there – and there are lots of them – and be more innovative and flexible.”

For Fritz, it’s taken six years to exit Qunar which Yen-Lu said is pretty good for most start-ups.

Yen-Lu, who used to work with Apple and founded his first business in Singapore 14 years ago, said a few things happened this week which had great significance for the tech world – Steve Jobs resigning as CEO, although “he’ll still be involved in the company”, HP buying Autonomy, killing its TouchPad and getting out of PCs – “they make most of the world’s PCs”.

He invested in an online travel company some years ago which didn’t do too well and now he’s looking at the budget hotel segment in line with the growth of low cost carriers.

His passion is “youth wellness” and a couple of his ventures involve youth education and English literacy. He shared a little detail about his “One Tablet Per Child” vision and using the tablets to improve English literacy among poor communities in Asia. (Yen-Lu pictured with National University of Singapore students)

Fritz meanwhile has invested in an OTA in Russia and was in Jakarta with some associates looking at the gaming business. “Jakarta is great – so much energy there, and all pretty nascent, so plenty of opportunities there.”

Steven Gong, founder of Impulse Flyer, Ewan Gray, who’s heading Skyscanner’s charge in Asia and Tai Parata, who’s heading deals site Ensogo’s foray into travel then took the stage.

Gong (right, picture below) said now that he’s started his own company, “I feel like I am not working – I am having so much fun, as challenging as it is.” His start-up is a private sale, flash deals site for luxury, boutique hotels and you can tell, like most founders, he is absolutely passionate about it.

Gray’s got his work cut out for him – he landed in Singapore 24 hours before WITNext and will move into new offices, hire a new team and roll out Skyscanner’s expansion plan.

Talking about the challenges of staffing in Singapore, Gray (centre) said, “If you think Singapore is hard, you should come to Edinburgh” proving indeed everything is relative.

Asked if he had encountered hostility from hoteliers who are generally suspicious about deal sites, Parata said he hadn’t met much resistance. “It’s a question of explaining what we do, and how we do it, and because it is such a new space, we can make up the rules as we go along.”

For the Kiwi-born Parata (left), life has to be a balance between work and play. He’s known to take six months off between jobs to ride his motorcycle through exotic lands. “You have to have a balance, it can’t be all about work,” he told the Gen-Y in the audience.

After that, it was up to a Gen-Y to hold the floor and Margery Lynn (below), who’s setting up the South-east Asian business for The Dachis Group, a consulant in social business, talked about how companies should engage with this generation more.

Gen Y has different needs, wants constant feedback, loves to create and collaborate, see innovation as the responsibility of everyone and not just a group task and has no qualms about mixing personal friends with work friends unlike baby boomers.

Okay, she was generalizing about an entire generation – but I applaud Margery, who arrived in Singapore six weeks ago, for daring to stand up in front of a new audience and staking her ground.

Later, over beer – which somehow kept arriving at my table – I asked Fritz what was the hardest skill he had to acquire as an entrepreneur. “Manage my emotions”, he said. “There are days when you feel down and you can’t let that show – and you can’t take it all to heart. Experience teaches you that.”

I’ll drink to that.

(See more pictures)

Thank you, Steve Jobs

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

My parents and I moved to the United States in 1979, when I was 10. I’m what you’d called FOB: a “fresh-off-the-boat” immigrant who is MIT (Made in Taiwan).

The first few years were tough for my family, caused in part by the then declining domestic and global economy. I also didn’t speak a word of English when I first arrived in the US, so it was trying at times to fit in, especially because sometimes I couldn’t tell whether people were laughing at me or with me.

Throughout primary school, I stayed away from the Apple II computers that were available at school because they intimidated me. It seemed like there were a lot of typing that you had to do to get anything done, and when my friends tried to explain to me what you could do with a computer, I didn’t really comprehend due to my limited grasp of the English language.

Floppy disks were always fun as a makeshift Frisbee, but I was never invited back to a friend’s house after I tossed ‘Missile Command’ into the fireplace. A few of my friends did really cool stuff making their computer show colors synchronized with sound (by writing code, as I later learned), but the cooler the stuff they did, the more I shied away from computers.

In 1984, my parents saved up enough money to buy me a Macintosh without me asking because my mom saw some researchers using it in the lab at SUNY at Buffalo and she thought it might be good for me. That was of course the first model of the Mac. My mom put it in the living room because there wasn’t enough room in my bedroom for it. So there it was, next to the TV, and my journey in technology began on that Mac.

At first, I used that Mac (whose screen was in black and white) to write term papers using MacWrite. Then, I used MacPaint to illustrate stuff. I even played a game, Zork, which was a choose-your-adventure game.

In our humble home, through colorful autumns, chilly blizzards, and sweltering East Coast summers, my computing world opened up… with my trusty Mac’s graphical user interface. I had access to the power of computing in the same way my technical friends had, except I didn’t need to remember commands.

I don’t know when the switch came for me and I gained the courage to move from a user of computers to a developer and now, a producer, of computer software. Since 1984, the computing world has changed dramatically. I’ve also had an interesting path going from a Mac user, to a developer and marketer of Windows software at Microsoft, to starting my own company where my primary computing device now is a MacBook Pro.

A year ago, on my son’s 2-year birthday, I bought him his first Apple device – an iPad. He had learned how to do basic things like browsing YouTube on my Mac from when he was 18-months old, and I figured that the touch device would be better for him to navigate given his hand-eye coordination at that point. Of course, my mother needed to have an iPad, too, so it was fun to see the two generations, separated by nearly 70 years of life experiences, both using the iPad with ease from the minute the beautifully designed boxes were opened.

You can say a lot about what Steve Jobs has done for Apple, the economy, American leadership in technology, innovation, etc. But for me, his impact is deeply personal. During his first tenure, he made it possible for me to enter a new field; one in which… 30 years later, I’m still in. In his second tenure, he introduced a new paradigm that brought the power of computing to new generations of people, my 70-year old mom and my 2-year old son, enabling them to connect effortlessly, and look very cool while doing it.

Both times, he did it via design; his designs broke down the barriers between people, devices, information, and technology. They gave people around the world a common platform to admire and use, connect, learn, and be entertained. I doubt I would be in the position I’m in today if it weren’t for his vision, successful execution, and attention to details.

Thank you, Steve Jobs. I wish you the very best.

Low cost airlines dominate flight searches in Singapore

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Given all the deals and disruption in the travel market over recent months, what have Singaporeans been searching for online?

Wego.com has taken a snapshot of 50,000 users’ flight choices, selected while searching its own and its partners’ websites across the Lion City. The results, compiled from a sample study this July, make for interesting reading.

If the budget airlines at Changi Airport seem busier, it is due to huge uptake of low cost fares. Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia accounted for a quarter of all flight selections made, with Indonesia AirAsia and Lion Air displacing full-service brands in the top 10 airline rankings. Tiger Airways alone grew its share of Wego.com and partner searches by 6 percentage points year-on-year.

Cathay Pacific moved up to third place in the rankings, ahead of Singapore Airlines. This was largely attributable to its aggressive pricing on the Singapore-Tokyo route in the period following the March natural disaster in Japan. Cathay Pacific increased its share of selections from 4 to 36 percent year-on-year, at the expense of non-stop flights from Delta (formerly Northwest), United and ANA.

The low cost carriers are clearly stimulating growth in travel to closer to home destinations with Jakarta and Phuket climbing the top 10 destinations list at the expense of Shanghai and Tokyo, despite volumes of searches to both these destinations also rising. And, with Seoul ousting London for 10^th position, it’s intra-Asia all the way.

There were some notable downward shifts in pricing as well. With the budget airlines firmly established on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, almost two-thirds of flights selected were priced below S$50 this July compared with half in July 2010. Also, two-thirds of Hong Kong selections were below S$300 compared with only 30% last year, driven by both capacity increases and more low cost airline frequencies.

Martin Symes, CEO at Wego explained: “There are many factors at play, but it is clear from the numbers that the budget carriers have hit on a winning strategy in Singapore. Their next challenge is establishing brand loyalty – as more competition approaches this dynamic outbound market.”

Wego Travel Insights will look next at Asia’s hotel market, publishing analysis from its sites in a fresh report due out in the fourth quarter 2011.

Atlantis, The Palm takes waterparks mobile

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Atlantis, The Palm has launched a mobile website, developed by Dublin-based mobile travel specialist Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd. (MTT), designed to serve the local market as well as travellers and resort guests.

Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, posiitoned as the first truly integrated entertainment destination resort in the region, offers a variety of must-do experiences such as Aquaventure, the largest waterpark in the Middle East.

The new mobile website allows visitors to book Aquaventure, Dolphin Bay and The Lost Chambers. Marine and waterpark bookings can be made as stand-alone transactions, or in conjunction with a room reservation.

"With MTT, Atlantis has rapidly implemented full mobile booking and management in English and Arabic for rooms and for our in-resort experiences. We had two goals in launching our mobile site: to provide exceptional, convenient customer care for our hotel guests and to make our marine and waterpark experiences easily accessible to our local market," said Ravini Perera, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Atlantis, The Palm.

“The site has been very well received, and we’ve seen a steady stream of bookings since launch.”

Optimised for virtually every handset, Atlantis, The Palm’s mobile website was built using M2B, Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd.’s cross platform mobile suite for the travel industry. Designed to reduce the cost of deploying across multiple mobile platforms and devices, M2B supports mobile web, web apps, downloadable native apps and SMS services.

“More and more we’re seeing mobile travel move beyond just basic booking. Ancillary sales, customer service, loyalty features and so on are becoming key components in a robust mobile strategy. Creative and innovative brands like Atlantis, The Palm are using their mobile channel to really delight customers and to generate significant incremental revenue,” said Gerry Samuels, Founder and Executive Director, MTT.

Atlantis the Palm’s mobile website is located at mobile.atlantisthepalm.com

What would Don Draper do with Facebook?

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It's the HSMAI Chapter's Asia Connect event - a full day event at Singapore's Pan Pacific Hotel and it was up to Dave Yang from Facebook to kick off the day's presentations

Dave introduced his presentation with a key idea (one, incidentally, I think, many brands are still struggling with) 'You have your community - you have your fans - what to do next?'

Before going on to share a Nike case study, Dave reminded us (as if we needed it!) of Facebook's general hugeness and influence. It's now the top sharing site on the internet with Portals on the decline, classic search up a little and Social up significantly. He used the phrase "where we start the day is where we tend to end the day" suggesting, I suppose, that Facebook is people's jumping on point in the morning and the last thing they see before they go to bed go to sleep having probably got the laptop or tablet in bed with them.

Goodness! It's more pervasive and ubiquitous than we thought!

With an image from Mad Men, Dave reminded us that we are moving from interruption to integration and he focused for some time on the targeting opportunities that Facebook now affords those (and who wouldn’t?) looking to advertise on the biggest advertising platform the world has ever seen.

Targeted ads are not new of course but adding the endorsement of some of your friends to that targeted ad is where Facebook is really changing the way of things and disrupting the industry. Sort of, ‘we know you might like this and these friends of yours do too’ kind of approach. The convergence of context, targeting and word of mouth is here.

Can you imagine trying to explain this to those guys on Madison Avenue ploughing those early furrows of understanding how to get people to buy things?

It was clear listening to the guys from Nike on the polished short clip that Dave showed that they see Facebook as integrative part of their program. This was nicely summed up with the words. “It wasn’t a case of Facebook or TV (for the world cup) - it was amplifying what we were going to do on TV anyway.”

Indeed, Dave went on to discuss a couple of case studies stressing that the first consideration needs to always be. “What are we trying to achieve?” (Some things haven't changed since those Mad Men days).

And again it was about Facebook supporting existing good marketing stuff and good ideas - integrating with a marketing calendar with Singapore Tourism Board and supporting a customized booking system for W Hotels being two good examples of solid and understood stuff being amplified, polished and leveled up with Facebook.

He even talked about one initiative focused around a cat that lived in a hotel. I’m not sure if the guffaws in the audience were of amusement or of a more patronizing nature. Those in the second group might do well to take a lesson from the people who thought, ‘cats on the internet? (think the story of Bob) hmmm ... - behind the scenes look at our business and establishing some intimacy coupled with interesting angle and emotional connection? hmmm’: Result - successful campaign.

With the announcement just yesterday of new changes to the privacy settings and photo filters to combat Instagram’s offering, Facebook belies its enormity and wriggles and shifts itself once again getting that just bit more comfortable in the throne that is reserved for the indisputable King of the internet.

Cover it Live @ WITNext

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

&amp;lt;a href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2333a239ae&quot; _cke_saved_href=&quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2333a239ae&quot; &amp;gt;WITNext Aug 25&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Small things and the best email one Company President ever wrote

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I met a good friend yesterday. It had been a while since we’d met and he informed me of a new exciting venture he was entering into with some other good folks. It’s an online project centered around the facilitating of environmentally focused activities of its members.

We got to talking about the kinds of interactions and features that work well on websites and about some of the ones that don’t.

He told me about a great little touch that he remembered on a website called CD Baby which made me consider various little social media touches I had seen first hand or come across in the news or via a blog.

It is the little things that make the difference in all walks of life, and social media is no different.

CD Baby

Back to my friend and CD Baby. My friend had told me about a great little touch where, on the order confirmation screen, users have the opportunity to add something in a freeform text box where the question asked is: “is there anything else we can do for you?” I have looked at the website but not put in an order myself so can’t be sure of the exact wording or how it appears but you get my point. According to my friend, people used to ask for things like gum with their order and then gum would be popped in with the CD.

What is important is that they added something so seemingly small and innocuous when set alongside all the other things that had to be in place yet here was my friend telling me about it some years later. He made no comment, for instance, on the UI flow of the ordering process or the menu structure.

CD Baby (again, possibly?)

It reminded me of another great friend and former colleague who, I think, was also ordering a CD (and possibly from the same site - Michael, if you are reading this, perhaps you can confirm and share your experience - Michael did confirm that it was CD Baby - his original comment added as a note at the end of this post) who came over to me at work one day excited about the language used in the email confirmation text he’d received after completing his order - stuff about how his order would be treated with the utmost priority and how, as he was reading the email, someone was carefully selecting the specific CD and carefully wrapping it...... you get the picture.

I call all these things ‘special moments’ -- moments when brands and organisations create points in time where something out of the ordinary happens. They often share several characteristics: they make people smile; they get talked about; they’re often very simple and generally (comparatively) inexpensive to implement.

Singapore Airlines

If you have ever flown Singapore Airlines Business Class (Ed note: What’s this Business Class you speak of Carl?!) you might remember what a great experience that is. You get the standard modcons you’d expect: the seats are great, the food delicious and all the stuff in between. But the thing is… I expect that stuff… the thing that stood out for me was the the little gesture, in this instance it was when the cabin crew knew and used my name. And that’s the thing I tell people about. Like I am now.

Forbes Travel Guides

I was interviewing a woman the other day who works for Forbes Travel Guides. Her job revolves around the best hotels in the world and she has stayed in quite a few of them.

I asked her for a ‘special moment’ story from all her luxurious stays. It wasn’t anything to do with great food or wonderful bathrooms or hugely-wide flat-screen televisions. It was about a porter who noticed that one of her suitcases was damaged and got it fixed for her. The little things, right?

Potentially Your Brand

Another friend was showing me the first template development for her new website last week. All that you would expect was there -- solid functionality, a clear, simple and elegant design and a look that would resonate with her target customers.

But my point to her was simply this. What can you do that’s unexpected? Things that just work are great and necessary but they don’t generally get talked about -- they don’t generally form the subject of stories.

What can you do, I asked, that will make your customer smile? What will make them share stories about your site?

What might make someone, for example, write a blog piece and mention your brand or company.

Note - comment from Michael on Original Post

The CD Baby mail you are referring to in #2 is the most successful email Derek Sivers ever wrote.

From When he started CD Baby, every customer got a standard email,

"Your order has shipped today. Please let us know if it doesn't arrive. Thank you for your business."

"After a few months, that felt really incongruent with my mission to make people smile. I knew I could do better. So I took twenty minutes and wrote this goofy little thing….

Dear Susan, Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Saturday, July 28th. I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sigh… Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby the little store with the best new independent music

This one silly email, sent out with every order, has been so loved that if you search Google for "private CD Baby jet," you'll get almost twenty thousand results. Each one is somebody who got the email and loved it enough to post it on his website and tell all his friends."

I'm a genuine example of a social disease

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I was sitting on a bus - a rare occasion for me. And for once, with a defective Blackberry, I could not connect to anything. So I decided to just pay attention to the world around me.

A pair of ladies who seemed scholarly were sitting across from me and were discussing a new phenomenon. They were discussing Social Media Depression. I instantly wanted to whip out my iPad or Crackberry and look it up but being not in the USA, the data roaming charges would have killed me.

I started mentally taking notes resolving that I would look up this issue as soon as I could. Indeed this is not just an isolated case. There are lots of scholarly works focused on this topic. As far as I can tell this is not just a simple issue.

Today the web has become a place of wonderment and joy as well as a tedium and a bore. We have some wonderful stories of long lost family members being re-united. Of couples finding true love online. But we have the dark side of stalking and even murder. Now we have the issue of addiction and other afflictions which can only be described as diseases or neuroses.

Recent statistics are showing that we are reaching saturation point where there are literally no more people to add to our social network. While I am not actively looking, I can see in the past 3 years on average I have added 4 people to my network a week. That means that I now have a network of effectively more than 1,500 people.

I cannot possibly manage that many. Yet I have directly interacted with all these people. (At least I think so). I have two profiles on Facebook. I have 5 Twitter accounts. I have 20 emails accounts that roll up to my Outlook. I have 12 phone numbers. Need I go on?

So what can we do? We have to learn to manage this. I need better tools but perhaps I need to actually unplug and switch off.

Dr Jared DeFife writing in Psychology today has this advice:

“We have a complicated relationship with digital media. Our ability to connect to others, communicate with the masses (hello blogosphere!), and retrieve information at a click is astounding and unprecedented. We used to have touch-tone phones instead of touch-screen PDAs. Even those of us who grew up without the internet, email, Crackberries, Google or Wikipedia can hardly imagine what we could possibly do without them. Most of us are plugged in pretty much 24/7, and it may come with significant costs to our health and <http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/happiness> happiness. It's probably not realistic or useful to go off the grid for good, but just make sure you find some time to unplug and unwind.”

Yes, I am a genuine example of a Social Disease.

Here are a few references for you to consider:

Getting to know the real outliers on TripAdvisor

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called Outliers a few years ago that examined what makes people successful (his other book, The Tipping Point, has become a must-read for many businesspeople worldwide -- particularly those involved with marketing).

Outlier is really a statistical term that describes an observation that is numerically distant from the rest of the data. Sometimes this indicates a measurement error, other times, it indicates the existence of a heavy-tailed distribution (which Chris Anderson also wrote a book about called The Long Tail which described how the Internet changed business).

Recently, in my TripAdvisor Master Class, I talked about the idea of Outliers and how they applied to travel. The responses were so positive that I thought I'd share one of the examples here.

We analyzed English reviews that were written about hotels in each city on the TripAdvisor tour to see how positive or negative the sentiments in the reviews were. As we are independent from TripAdvisor, we have our own technology to do the analysis that's vastly different and in more detail than what the summary numerical ratings provide.

To make a long story short, our technology basically rates each applicable review on a scale of positivity by auditing the words used by reviewers to describe their experience.

Here then is a distribution graph of reviews over a 16-month period on our scale. This graph here is about Bangkok hotels. The X-axis represents the range of rating, and the Y-axis counts the number of reviews we found in each range.

Interestingly enough, the distribution of reviews by the positivity of sentiments expressed resembles a normal distribution curve. I won't get into the actual ranges but I will say the ranges covered by the yellow rectangle are neutral to slightly positive and comprise of the majority of reviews. This backs up TripAdvisor's assertion that more reviews are positive than negative, and that the average rating (when you only consider TripAdvisor's scale) is above 3 (average) on a scale of 1 to 5.

The area in the graph where I denote 'Outliers Here' is where it gets interesting -- in that the reviewers were extremely positive or negative (i.e. different from the 'norm' reviewers covered in the yellow area). Who were they? What can we learn about them?

So we did an analysis to see of the countries that contributed outlier reviewers, which countries had the most positive to negative ratio? And which ones had the most negative to positive ratio?

So it turns out that for a set of primarily English-speaking countries, the United Kingdom had the highest positive to negative ratio (roughly 6 positives to 1 negative). Singapore, on the other hand, had the lowest (2.7 positives to 1 negative). For a different set of primarily non-English-speaking countries, Finland was most positive (7 positives to 1 negative), whereas France was most negative (3 positives to 1 negative).

And what about Thais?

You'd be surprised to find that Thais were actually more negative than the French or the Singaporeans (2.4 positives to 1 negative). The interesting thing was... the hoteliers in the room were not surprised by this discovery. Perhaps we're more critical than visitors of hotels in our own country? (by the way, in a separate analysis on a few more countries this hypothesis held up...)

So what does this mean for hoteliers?

Well for one, our independent analysis corroborates that TripAdvisor reviews (at least in the cities we looked at) is generally more positive than negative. This isn't surprising when you look at their guidelines for posting, which actually prohibit insulting language and profanity... hence reducing the number of outlier negative comments. Given that TripAdvisor rejects a certain number of reviews they consider to be fraudulent or inappropriate, the general positivity makes sense.

Also, in knowing the outlier behaviors by country (or by other characteristics like age or gender), is interesting for reputation management. To date we've focused a lot on improving operational performances. But some criteria are culturally subjective (e.g. when is staff 'overly' friendly? how large and varied do the selections need to be for the breakfast buffet?). So doesn't it make sense to have a strategy for managing reputation in social media with a cultural point of view as well?

Social media is interesting in that if you're able to focus, you can find rich data about people that were previously inaccessible. The proper use of this to delightfully surprise guests -- especially the ones that have statistically shown to be positive outliers -- can yield rewarding results.

Curating elite resorts for a new customer in a new age

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Mark Greedy’s the first to admit that his new business, Elite Resorts of Asia Pacific, would not have been possible without the Internet.

“I remember talking to my son (who is working with Greedy in Elite) about how one day we would be global and he said, 'Dad, we are global now'. It took me a while to get that.”

It was also natural that Greedy, who spent the best part of his career with Leading Hotels of The World leading the charge in Asia Pacific for the representation and marketing company, would establish his new business in a field he knew well.

Asked why he started Elite, he laughed, “To raise income and make money, what do you think?

“But it’s also an area I know well and there is no organization right now that provides a customized version of a mixture of public relations, advertising, customer relationship management in a cost effective way that focuses on resorts and resort properties.”

According to Greedy, representation companies do not customize given the huge number and range of properties they represent.

Currently, Elite represents 61 resorts in 14 countries and his target is to reach 150 “that fit our criteria”.

He admits it’s been challenging building the business – individual resorts and properties are difficult to aggregate. “I knew the resorts from past experience, I knew who I wanted and it’s been a job of personal curation.”

But thus far, he’s done a fairly decent job of curating resorts by country, styles and settings. Elite’s definition of resorts extends to ships, trains, safaris and private islands. It also has interesting features such as a search tool that allows you to state your interests and find a resort or experience match.

His fee is US$10,000 a year for marketing and representation. More than a year into the business however, he said his clients are now asking him to move into transactions and so he is seeking travel agent partners for fulfillment.

“I have tried to avoid it but our members want it, and so do our resorts,” he said.

“The future of individual resorts is underpinned by the Internet and consumers are moving to the web. This is the new world model of doing business and travel agents are also going online.”

Currently, he has 4,000 upscale travel consultants and 85,000 consumers on his database.

“We haven’t reached critical mass yet. There are some beautiful resorts out there that nobody knows about. They can’t afford to go online nor do they know how to do it,” said Greedy.

He does not see himself as directly competitive with representation companies such as Leading Hotels or Small Luxury Hotels. “We say we are supplementary, we create additional marketing support customized to the resort’s needs.

“We don’t take kudos for saying we have 20,000 resorts. 150 would be good enough for us.”

YourSingapore app to offer personalised experiences

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

YourSingapore Guide app is now available for iPhone and Android users (sorry Blackberry, you are excluded again) who want to create personalized experiences of their stay in the Little Red Dot.

Available for free, the app, jointly developed by the Singapore Tourism Board and partners, American Express, Singapore Airlines and StarHub, aims to free up visitors to explore the city on the go.

It contains information on attractions, shopping deals, dining options, and events and has tools such as a location-based service that displays the attractions, products, services, and experiences that are closest to the visitors.

There’s also an interactive travel guide to search for a restaurant nearby, plan travel routes and even call for a taxi – something that is definitely needed these days in Singapore.

Visitors will also enjoy privileges provided through the partners, and can share their holiday experiences via social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.

The idea is that visitors can begin their journey by designing their desired Singapore experience on the YourSingapore website, before arrival in Singapore. Upon arrival, they can then use the services on YourSingapore Guide app.

According to the ITB World Travel Trends Report (2010/2011), as many as 40% of international travellers already own a smartphone, with more than 40% of them currently using their devices to get destination information. And as many as 37% of international leisure travellers say they use mobile social networks during their trips. Holiday photos and other content are consumed and posted online while the traveller is still at the destination.

“The prevalence of smart phones and mobile technology has created new opportunities for companies to enhance the consumer’s travel experience,” said Sophia Ng, executive director, brand & marketing at STB. “By providing travellers access to information at their fingertips wherever they travel, whenever they need, companies can help to improve the traveller experience, increase flexibility, productivity and even security.”

She said the STB aimed to stay ahead of “the evolving needs of consumers, and providing innovative solutions that will enable us to better engage and connect with them”.

As for the issue of roaming charges, visitors will have free data access when using the app with the co-branded YourSingapore StarHub Preferred Tourist Prepaid Card, which includes free IDD calls to 18 destinations and free data access within YourSingapore Guide app.

Retailing at S$15, the card comes with $18 worth of credit value and offers another 30MB of bundled local data.

Available in 4Q-2011, StarHub’s tourist WiFi will allow tourists to enjoy free wireless surfing in Changi Airport and selected hotspots throughout town.

Be an early bird and win an iPhone Travel App at WIT

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Early bird delegates to the WIT Bootcamp and Conference stand a chance to win an iPhone Travel App. (Sorry, non-iPhone users)

WIT is teaming up with Abacus and GuideGecko, publisher of iPhone Travel Apps, in this initiative which will see GuideGecko develop two apps on the fly during the events for two lucky delegates.

What you have to do is email gerry@webintravel.com and give us these details – name, company, nature of business, contact details (tel and email) – and state which event you will be attending – WIT Bootcamp, Conference or the ITB Asia Clinic on Oct 21, 2-3.30pm, on “Mobile Customers and How It Impacts You”.

Organisers will then choose two names (at random) out of those submitted and develop the apps for collection at the event/s.

The two delegates chosen need only provide us with the text and photos to put into the app. Preferably some geo-coded listings (i.e. locations with their longitude and latitude). That will allow GuideGecko to showcase the map and other features such as "places nearby", etc on the app.

This information will be needed at least two weeks before the event.

Early bird to WIT runs out on August 31, so hurry and sign up and win an iPhone Travel App.

THack comes to WIT in October

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Tnooz THack initiative will hit the city of Singapore in October 2011, in partnership with Web In Travel .

The 24-hour hacking event for developers, sponsored by Abacus International as the exclusive GDS, will take place on Oct 16-17, the Sunday before the WIT Bootcamp and Conference kick off.

THack is Tnooz’s unique event which brings together travel industry APIs and the development community to brainstorm and create new digital travel products and web or mobile-based tools.

The event continues and expands on the successful internal developer days held by Abacus in previous years at WIT.
Developers from across the travel, tourism and hospitality industry are welcome to attend, as well as engineers and technicians from local academic institutions in the region.

The event is FREE for developers to attend and participate.

Tnooz is coordinating the collection of APIs being made available to those taking part in the event.
Confirmed so far include (others to be added in the coming weeks):

Open APIs used in previous THack events include:
• Google Maps
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Wikipedia
• Flickr
• Panoramio
• Android voice control

The event will have the following timetable:
Sunday 16 October
• 9am (venue TBC) - start
• Various initiatives will run throughout the day.

Monday 17 October
• 9am - development time ends
• 11.45 - presentation of entries at the WIT Bootcamp, Ballroom 2, Suntec Convention Centre.

Tnooz and WIT are also co-hosting the Appy Hour social event (sponsored by Abacus International) at the end of Day One of the main WIT Conference on Tuesday 18 October, from 6pm to 8.30pm.

NB: Travel companies wanting to provide an API and developers wishing to attend should contact Tnooz editor Kevin May for more information.

NB2: Commercial sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Tnooz CEO Gene Quinn.

NB3: More information about the WebinTravel Conference, including registration, main WIT programme and WIT Bootcamp.

Following the path of passion on Impulse

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

If you had told me when I graduated from university back in Sydney that in 10 years time I would be living in Singapore and launching an online travel startup company, I would’ve told you that you were crazy.

I have made what most people would consider some strange and risky decisions in my career, but all the decisions that I’ve made have been driven by one thing and one thing only: passion.

Throughout my final year of university I thought I had found exactly what I was looking for in a career. I wanted to become a management consultant more than anything else in the world. Working with major clients, working with very smart people, working on critical, strategic projects, and traveling frequently around the region.

I was absolutely ecstatic when I got the call from the recruiter telling me that I had got the job. I really enjoyed management consulting. Going into the business, I thought I would be a consultant for my entire career. I was very fortunate to work on a variety of interesting projects in Australia, South Korea and Malaysia, across multiple industries.

After several years in management consulting, I started thinking about what else I am passionate about. Looking at what I enjoyed doing outside of work, I was absolutely fascinated by the online space. I had been a very early Internet user since 1995 (I was a computer geek from a young age) and was astounded at how quickly it was developing worldwide. I was fascinated with online startup companies in particular, and kept up-to-date with new startups and emerging business models. How great would it be to start my own online startup one day, I thought.

The lesson here? What you may think you’ve always wanted to do in your career may not actually be what you really want to do. Take a step back, and understand what you’re really passionate about more than anything else in the world. Once you’ve figured that out, find a line of work that is directly aligned to your passion.

So in pursuit of a new career and to also fulfill a personal goal to live and work in Asia, I moved to Singapore – jobless. I could have settled for a “normal” corporate or consulting job fairly quickly, but I was determined to find the perfect job – one that would launch my career in the online/startup space. Months passed, and I was still jobless.

My bank account was being drained. After a personally (and financially) difficult period of unemployment, I came across a job offer online for Bezurk.com (now Wego.com), the online travel search engine. The position was for an online marketing manager with relevant experience.

I looked through my CV. Online experience – zero. Marketing experience – zero. Travel industry experience – zero. I had no chance at all to get that job, but I knew that Wego.com was exactly the type of company that I had been looking for – a new online startup, tackling a problem in an industry that I was also passionate about – travel. I sent an email to the company explaining that while I was not applying for the advertised position, I had skills and experience to add value to the business. I managed to land an interview, and although I was lacking in direct experience, my passion and desire to work for Wego.com got me the job.

Changing careers from being a management consultant to working at a startup meant that certain sacrifices had to be made. I think you know what I’m talking about. That’s a pill that’s hard to swallow for most. It should have been for me too considering I hadn’t been working for a while, but in my heart I knew it was the right decision.

The lesson here? Persistence and determination pays off. And be prepared to make certain sacrifices to follow your dreams. Think long-term. Make sure your short-term sacrifices are for long-term gains.

After several years at Wego.com, I left to join a very different company – Circos Brand Karma, a new media company whose initial focus was on the hospitality industry. I met Morris Sim, CEO & Co-Founder, at the Web In Travel conference in 2008, where he and one of his other co-founders, Mario Jobbe, were launching their social media analytics product during the conference. Morris was standing next to me during one of the coffee breaks, and I turned to him and introduced myself. Little did I know that I would be working for his company 16 months after that initial encounter.

The lesson here? Network, network, network. Develop strong working relationships with people in your industry, and build your personal brand.

So what am I working on now? I’m launching ImpulseFlyer –my own online travel startup company. ImpluseFlyer is an invite-only luxury & boutique hotel flash sales site for the Asia Pacific region, inspiring you to travel - in style. I have never experienced the level of happiness that I am experiencing right now that finally I am doing what I wanted to do all this while – launch my own online startup company.

The lesson here? Always keep the big picture in mind. If I tried to start this company before I worked for two previous startup companies in the online travel space, it would have been dramatically more difficult without that experience. I joined those companies with the long term view of learning how to take a startup from idea to execution, and to scale – to then later on use everything that I learned one day for a startup company of my own.

Finally, that day has come – and I’m loving every minute of it!

Steven will be speaking at our WITNext, Aug 25, at the Beer Market, Clarke Quay, Singapore.

Battle of the brands in Koh Samui

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

An influx of international hotel chains to Koh Samui, Thailand’s third largest island, is setting the stage for fierce brand competition.

Entering the fray are well-known brands including InterContinental, Le Méridien, Conrad, Accor and Moevenpick - all with plans to set foot on the island by end 2011.

According to new data the Samui Hotel Market Update report released by consulting firm, C9 Hotelworks, five hotels managed by global operators will enter the existing supply side during the second half of this year. ‘

The destination has already experienced a surge in luxury brand penetration with properties operated by Four Seasons, Starwood’s W, Banyan Tree, Six Senses and Orient Express.   (Download the full report here.)  

C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett (pictured right) said the influx of new hotels and resorts was a dynamic performance indicator.  

"Leading hospitality brands have been proven to induce demand into a destination and are a strong catalyst for sustainable growth."

  He likened this trend to luxury retail where upscale shopping malls rely on anchor brands to attract upscale shoppers.

"Travel and retail track a strikingly similar customer driven model."

The report also shows inroads made by Koh Samui in the first half of the year, with hotels hitting an overall occupancy of 62%. This could signal that the island is getting back to business.

Barnett noted that airlift continues to be a primary focus as the increasing popularity of the monthly Full Moon Party on nearby Koh Phangan is drawing worldwide attention, and is displacing seat capacity required for expansion of the mainstream leisure segment.   

The stalemate over the issue of a new airport shows an absolute disconnect between government policy and private sector development ambitions, he added.

"We don’t fault Bangkok Airways, which operates the privately run facility, in hampering growth due to its commercial agenda, but look at the epidemic problem over the lack of a government managed long term tourism strategy."  

Recent media comments by Bangkok Airways founder, Prasert Prasarttong-osoth, that the airline was studying the possibility of divesting a 30% stake and, possibly, going into an IPO could pave the way for change on Koh Samui.

Travel industry watchers also viewed positively market liberalisation under the ASEAN Economic Community in the next four years, and open skies policy in the region.

Source: C9 Hotelworks Market Research

AirAsia's profits drop, hit by fuel costs

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Low cost carrier AirAsia posted a 47.6% decline in net profit to RM104.25 million (US35 million) for the second quarter ended June 30, compared to the same period a year ago on higher fuel costs.

Revenue for the quarter under review increased 15.2% to RM1.08 billion compared to the quarter a year ago.

The airline's group chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes (pictured left) said in a press release that the second quarter was traditionally one of its weaker quarters, but despite the challenging environment in the industry the team has come through again.

"Costs have gone up, but much less than among others in the industry. We've grown revenues, our cash balance is a healthy RM 1.9 billion, and our gearing level has been reduced to 1.48 times as compared to 2.27 times a year ago," he said.

He added that the airline was on track to achieve the goals for the year and was building on an already strong foundation to enhance growth in the coming months and years.

"Also great progress has been made in monetising our ancillary investment like CAE and Expedia which will allow myself and the management to focus more on the operations."

Fernandes said due to the affordable fares a higher passenger load factor of 81%, which was four percentage point higher year-on-year, was achieved.

On ancillary income, Fernandes said it has been a tremendous revenue stream for the airline with ancillary income for AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand and AirAsia Indonesia seeing gains.

Outlook

Fernandes remains bullish on the prospects of the remaining two quarters of 2011.

"Load factors achieved in July 2011 increased year-on-year (y-o-y) for all three carriers. Forward bookings are looking very strong. We shall continue to work our best to deliver high load factors of at least 80% and to maintain the lowest operating costs in the industry."

The fall in crude oil prices and strengthening of respective local currencies will help ease the impact of high jet fuel prices on operating costs.

Looking beyond 2011, Fernandes said AirAsia would stay focused on its own strategy – containing or driving down costs, raising yields and further expanding network reach.

"The setting up of the AirAsia ASEAN office in Jakarta will allow us to and promote both the airline and the company as a regional brand."

Fernandes revealed that AirAsia Philippines was on track to launch its first routes the fourth quarter.

He is also "very excited" about AirAsia Japan, a joint venture with All Nippon Airways and AirAsia's first venture outside of ASEAN, as "Japan is a huge, huge market with a very low LCC penetration rate."

AirAsia 2Q11 by the numbers

• Revenue: RM 1.08 Billion (up 15% y-o-y)

• Profit before Tax: RM145.0 Million (up 0.6% y-oy)

• Cash Balance: RM 1.9 Billion

• Malaysian Operations:

o Revenue / ASK: 16.71 sen (up 6% y-o-y)

o Ancillary Income per pax: RM 50 (up 15% y-o-y) ·

• Thailand Operations:

o Passengers: 1.6 Million (up 30% y-o-y)

o Ancillary Income per pax: THB 405 (up 30% y-o-y)

• Indonesia Operations:

o Passengers: 1.3 Million (up 33% y-o-y)

o Ancillary Income per pax: IDR 139,680 (up 10% y-o-y)

• Net Gearing Ratio: 1.48 (reduce from 2.27 y-o-y)

• Amount due from Thailand fully paid off

Visa and Lonely Planet team up on travel site

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Lonely Planet and Visa have joined forces to create a travel microsite packed with expert information on destinations and the best way to access money abroad. Travelers thinking about planning their trip can now access essential information through one comprehensive resource which combines Lonely Planet and Visa’s specialist knowledge.

Travelers can access the microsite at www.visa.com/lonelyplanet where they will find expert destination advice and information on how to access their cash in 12 destinations around the world: Australia, China, Croatia, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the UAE and Ukraine.

The site is packed with essential travel services including an ATM locator, suggested trip itineraries and a calendar of events for each destination. Visitors to the site will also be able to ‘Ask the Expert’ questions regarding their trip and receive individual tailored responses from Lonely Planet.

There's a free desktop application which includes a countdown clock, local weather and currency information as well as regularly updated links to tailored promotions before departure. In addition, a series of 12 “Just Landed” destination guides are available to download from the site.

Ross Jackson, Head of Cross-Border Business for Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa at Visa, said: “Our travel research¹ indicated that seven out of 10 of travelers use the internet as their primary channel for planning their holidays. The challenge though, is finding up-to-date and reliable information. By teaming up with Lonely Planet, we are able to provide trusted, accurate and up to date information for travelers to plan their holiday,"

Lonely Planet’s Business Development Manager, Addy Cutts explains “Travelers often come to Lonely Planet with queries about the best way to access their money abroad and so this partnership allows us to offer our expert travel advice with specific payment detail provided by Visa. The microsite will enable travelers to access Lonely Planet’s specially produced content for 12 destinations accompanied by Visa’s money tips to provide travelers with detailed information on how to access their money abroad securely.”

Why deals are seductive, and why travel agents in Taiwan don't like them

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

I was having coffee with a 20-something the other day when she started talking excitedly about her upcoming holiday in Phuket. “I’ve just bought a deal – 3 days, 2 nights for $300, air and hotel included,” she boasted.

“You know, it’s the low season and you could have gotten good rates yourself,” I said.

“Yes, but with this, I didn’t have to think. My girlfriend sent it to me, asked if I wanted to go and all I had to do was tick one of 3 hotels. No brainer,” she said.

And that is one of the attractions of deals. Besides the great value, it removes the thinking process for customers. The more choices we have, the more we want someone to make those choices for us.

I suspect too that most of us spend so much time making decisions in business and at home that sometimes, it’s just nice to well, not have to decide when you play.

“You order. I’ll eat anything.” Don’t you hear that all the time at dinner tables these days? At such times, I’m often tempted to order sheep’s eyes.

It’s clear though that deal sites are having a huge impact on travel and is affecting hoteliers and all travel agents, online or offline, and as you will read later on, causing huge waves in Taiwan.

Yes, maybe 90% of them will go under at some stage but while they are around, expect lots of disruption.

One hotelier in Phuket told me that he had been approached by at least 30 companies asking him for deals. “We are waiting to see, we’re not sure it will add value to our brand,” he said.

He is in the minority. Hotels in Thailand, particularly Bangkok, are ripe for deals – business is still not returning to the capital city. Corporates may be returning but leisure is soft.

Some hotel groups are asking their individual properties to stay away from deals – it’s a nightmare for rate parity, they tell me. One OTA offered a deal in Thailand which ruffled some feathers among competitors who asked hoteliers why they had offered that OTA that special rate.

In Taiwan, this disruption to the traditional distribution channel is making some people unhappy.

A recent article raised the question of why Groupon, which is not a travel agent, is being allowed to sell travel when local regulations state that you have to be a travel agent to sell travel and those flouting it could face a fine of NT$50,000.

In this particular story, it said that Groupon had been selling a cruise itinerary online and a reporter had posed as a customer and called Groupon to buy the deal. The reporter said the invoice had been issued by a particular travel agent which denied knowledge. Groupon declined comment.

Taiwan travel agents have also raised issue with supermarkets and convenience stores selling air tickets. Sometime ago, Uni Air, the Eva Airways domestic and regional subsidiary, started selling tickets at 7-11 but this was stopped after agents complained, saying convenience stores did not have a travel agency licence.

Daver Lau, general manager of Amadeus Taiwan, told me, “A lot of different forces are at play here. Everyone is trying to go multi-channel but in Taiwan, there’s a lot of protection on the travel agency side. Airlines have been quite restricted in selling tickets directly.”

He said the lines weren't clear. For example, if you paid for your ticket online and then pick it up at 7-11, it would be looked at differently from when you pay for your ticket at 7-11. At the same time, convenience stores are allowed to sell high speed rail tickets (which travel agents also sell), so it “will be interesting to see how things develop,” said Lau.

Questions such as these will continue to be asked as new players enter to disrupt the traditional model of distribution and customers continue to seek value, convenience and oh yes, the need not to have to think too much about play stuff.

Help, I am being stalked but I'll take the fish head curry anytime

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A long time ago, I was stalked. I am sure many of you have had that experience before. That feeling of being watched and followed, getting strange letters and worse, having strange letters about you sent to your boss, your parents, your friends.

Well, that feeling’s coming over me again. And the stalker is Mr Groupon.

See, Mr Groupon is everywhere I click. I just clicked on Movie Mistakes to give myself a bit of a distraction from the mistakes I am making in my life – and lo and behold, Groupon is offering me up to 70% off 5-star hotels in Singapore.

How is this possible? No, not Mr Groupon appearing in all places – this is an art he’s perfected, being everywhere you are, this is what stalkers do – but hotels in Singapore offering 70% off.

Most hoteliers I know are laughing all the way to the bank – their rates are high, occupancies are buoyant. This town never had it so good. Who would have thought two casinos and one theme park would make such a difference to the little Red Dot?

One you gamble with your life and one you play with your life, and it’s making hoteliers’ life very happy indeed.

So how can Groupon be offering up to 70% off? I clicked on the ad and it asked me to fill in my name and email address. Curiously, the image of a hotel room makes me feel as though I’d be entering a trap if I did what it asked me to.

So I resisted. Stalking lesson #1 – never give your address to your stalker, even though he may know it from having followed you, but you shouldn’t volunteer information because that might mean consent.

Anyway, I am guessing it is a trap – I don’t believe hotels in Singapore are offering up to 70% off. It’s like those Sale signs that are up permanently in shops in Orchard Road – the good stuff always costs more. You know the trick – they get you in with the Sale sign and then you find something else and you buy it at a price you never intended.

Shopping lesson #1: Remember those three questions you must ask before buying anything these days? “Do you need it? Can you afford it? Is it worth it?”

In Malaysia last week, Mr Groupon kept offering me hamburgers. 50% off, I think. He followed me from Thailand – he should have known I don’t like hamburgers because I didn’t have any of what he was offering in Bangkok, yet he persisted.

Stalkers are that way, it’s not because they are dumb, it’s because they can.

I go into Facebook to try and get away from him – because Facebook’s my personal social space, right – but hey, there he is, offering me a summer barbecue at 70% off again. Doesn’t he know it’s summer all the time in Singapore? Who needs more heat when heat is all around you?

The pot of fish head curry (70% off, of course) does look delicious though. That popped up when I went into Free Dictionary because these days, if you’re not getting 70% off, you’re getting it free.

So excuse me while I pop out for some fish head curry, and try and get away from Mr Groupon for a while. Knowing his persistence and creativity, though, I know he’ll pop up in one of my devices because he’s sure smarter than those gadgets we carry.

Oh well, stalk and be damned.

Stalking lesson #2: Better the stalker you know than the stalker you don’t.

Vietnam's hotels go high tech

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

On your next visit to Vietnam you'll be unlocking your room door with your mobile phone, sign on an iPad when paying for dinner, and transact through a host of gadgets throughout your stay.

Yes, hotels in Vietnam are jumping on to the tech bandwagon and are using innovative high-tech gadgets and latest software for their operations, doing away with paper and, in the process, improve efficiency and service.

The 52-year-old Caravelle Hotel (pictured right) in downtown Ho Chi Minh City has joined a handful of leading hotels worldwide, which have converted their magnetised room keys to advanced RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. You just need to be in the door’s proximity to unlock it with this high tech key.

"Imagine walking up to your room with your hands full and letting the key in your wallet or pocket unlock the door for you -- that can happen if your wallet is close enough to the lock," said Linton Borthwick, Caravelle Hotel’s executive assistant manager of rooms.

As the microchip communication with the lock is infallible guests will never have to go to the front desk with malfunctioning keys/key cards, as so often happen

Borthwick’s pet project, however, is a remote check-in service that allows arriving guests to bypass the front desk altogether. Introduced in early August two Wii-pads, remote handheld tablets, enable guests to check-in anywhere on the property.

Currently this mobile check-in is from the lobby's seating area, but it will extend to other areas such as the rooftop bar, in the elevator and even by the pool.

The Caravelle, best known as a haven for journalists during the Vietnam War, has also installed GPS tracking in all its Mercedes vehicles.

The 110-year-old Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi (pictured left) is also undergoing a digital makeover, and an array of slick, modern devices have “invaded” every corner of this historic hotel.

Suites come with state-of-the-art Beosound 8 docking sound systems, and Apple’s iPads are available for guests’ use. The tablet is also at the concierge desk for guests to search online for information on where to go and what to see. At the Italian restaurant, Angelina, guests can go through the wine list and menu on this popular tablet too.

By October all rooms in the Metropole will have Wifi, and it will be a free service for guests.

The popular Go Concierge programme will be revamped. Concierge on duty will be able to print information, from requests for ticket reservations to restaurant recommendations, from a pre-loaded database. Guests could have confirmation letters, itineraries and even directions in their hands within minutes.

"The biggest changes we're making are invisible, most of our guests will probably never be aware of them," said Kai Speth, Metropole’s general manager. "What they will experience are shorter wait times, and smoother, more efficient service when putting up at the Metropole."

The technology wave in Vietnam is not just confined to land, but also extends to the waters. Emeraude Classic Cruises on Halong Bay has equipped one of its vessels, the Emeraude, with modern gadgets and instruments that include Fingerprinted Clock-In/Clock-Out, 3D radar and advanced GPS tracking.

Jacques Le Fur (pictured left), Emeraude’s captain said even thought these tools were not required by Vietnamese regulations they would provide seamless service, as well as safety when cruising.

The finely tuned GPS tracking automatically sounds an alarm any time the anchor drifts, or when the vessel lists to an unusual degree.

Le Fur is also able to ascertain when engineers and sailors complete hourly rounds by examining the clock-in fingerprint log.

By bucking the obstacles to transplant modern technology into the country these establishments are shedding their decade-old practices and adapting to the changing way of doing business. As one industry player said, “Innovate or get left behind.”

Amazon sites attract largest number of Internet visitors

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

A report by comScore Media Metrix service revealed that Amazon had the largest global audience among the retail and auction sites analysed in June, with 282 million visitors or 20.4% of the worldwide Internet population aged 15 and above accessing the Internet from a home or work location.

Other top brands in the study were eBay with 223.5 million visitors (16.2%), China’s Alibaba.com with 156.8 million visitors (11.3%), Apple.com with 134 million visitors (10%) and Rakuten with 57.8 million visitors (4.2%).

Amazon, eBay, Alibaba have largest global audiences

Geographical composition of Internet sites for retail and auction sites

Amazon and Apple worldwide sites showed more globally distributed audiences compared to most other brands in the study. Amazon attracted 35.4% of its visitors from North America, while Europe contributed 31.8% and Asia Pacific 24.1%.

Apple.com had 32% of its visitors from North America, while Europe contributed 29.6% and Asia Pacific 24.9%.

Visitors to China’s Alibaba.com and Japan’s Rakuten were mainly from the Asia Pacific region, at 85.7% and 72.7% respectively.

Of the 10 selected sites, MercadoLibre showed the strongest concentration of visitors from a single region, with 93.3% of its visitors from Latin America where it ranked as the top retail player in the region.

German retail site, Otto Gruppe, also had a heavy single region concentration with Europe accounting for 92.3% of its audience.

Wal-Mart’s and Hewlett Packard’s visitors’ concentration were in North America at 83.4% and 45.1% respectively.

Gian Fulgoni, comScore co-founder and chairman (pictured right), said that while retail e-commerce had grown to become a US$150+ billion annual industry in the U.S. it still presents enormous upside opportunity across much of the globe.

"Technology has changed the way consumers behave, and increasingly they are opting for the convenience and pricing advantages offered by the online channel. Several global retail brands have already capitalised on this global consumer trend, and many other retailers are sure to pursue their share of the pie," he added.

• Charts: Statistics exclude visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Momondo launches multi-stop, round-trip search

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The travel search aggregator Momondo, which this month was picked one of the “best travel websites and apps” by Travel and Leisure Magazine is launching a new search engine for multi-stop round-trip travel.

The initiative makes it possible to search flights with multiple destinations in just one search and compare the best prices for the total trip.

The multi-destination search feature is a new addition to Momondo’s travel search that previously has offered only one-way and standard return-trip flights.

Examples of multi-stop round-trip flights might include:

*Flying from New York to London, then from London to Paris, then taking the train to Rome and flying back to New York from Rome.

*Flying from New York to San Francisco, taking a road trip to Los Angeles and flying back to New York from Los Angeles.

*Flying from New York to Tokyo but returning from Tokyo to Washington DC and later returning back to New York on one’s own by car, bus or train.

Previously, a user had to conduct several searches between respective cities to get a comprehensive view of the entire round-trip. The new search engine gives an overview of the best prices for the entire round-trip in one search, across more than 700 online travel agencies and airlines.

The new search engine in beta is at http://www.momondo.com/Multi_city.aspx.

And now, Jetstar Japan leaps into the fray

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Hot on the heels of AirAsia teaming up with All Nippon Airlines to launch AirAsia Japan comes news that Jetstar Japan will soon be formed – a partnership between Qantas Group, JAL and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Jetstar Japan is expected to start flying by the end of 2012, with an initial fleet of three new Airbus A320 aircraft, configured for 180 customers in a single class.

This fleet is planned to grow to 24 A320s within a few years. Total capitalization commitment for the new airline is up to ¥12 billion.

At a press conference to announce the launch of new China services last month, Chief Executive Officer of Jetstar, Bruce Buchanan (left), had declared this the decade of low cost for North Asia.

He said the new venture will link existing Jetstar services to Osaka and Tokyo with other leisure hot-spots across Japan.

Fares are expected to be an average of 40 percent lower than current prices and special sales with even lower prices, which will make regular air travel a reality for millions more people, he said.

“Jetstar is about bringing exciting travel options within reach for more people, by offering sustainably low fares,” he said.

“Jetstar Japan means people will be able to travel on our network into Japan, and then continue on to the famous ski fields or cultural centres under our much-loved orange star.”

Jetstar Japan expects to fly from Tokyo (Narita) and Kansai International, with other destination airports and bases being considered including Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Okinawa.

“As Jetstar expands into new markets across Asia, it gives us economies of scale to strengthen the low cost advantage right across our network,” said Buchanan.

Jetstar Japan will be the newest link in the airline’s expanding network, which already offers connections to 17 countries including Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and New Zealand.

Jetstar was the first low cost airline to enter Japan in 2007 with flights from Osaka and Tokyo to Cairns and the Gold Coast. In July 2010 Singapore and Taipei were connected to Osaka. More than 2 million people have since travelled on these routes.

How to fill rooms during lean times with tactical marketing

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The travel industry is now blessed or some may say cursed with hundreds of options to distribute travel products, OTA, SEO, SEM, EDM and on it goes to the point we run out of three-letter acronyms but each of these channels hold a very important place in the distribution pyramid.

Travel suppliers need to have a variety of tools in their arsenal to handle the volatility of the travel industries demand patterns. Relying on one or two demand generation tactics will no longer cut it as the industry continue to evolve into a multi dimensional distribution network.

Filling inventory during peak times is something that is a given but filling your inventory when there is no demand is something that takes a lot more effort and planning. Employing tactical marketing is way for travel suppliers to reverse market trends and maintain their integrity.

Tactical marketing is the art of being able to get people to experience your product who were never planning on utilizing your service without displacing existing business.

Here are the top five tips to execute a tactical marketing campaign:

1. Where to send your tactical offer
Choosing the right forum where you distribute your tactical offer is critical. You need to create an immediate impact, which means you need to use ‘push media’ such as print, TV or email as opposed to ‘pull media’ that is search based.

2. What is the competition up to
Before you craft the killer deal, conduct extensive market research. The last thing you want to do is going to the effort of creating and executing a tactical offer only to see your competitor get all of the up lift in bookings. To avoid this make sure you are bench marking the competitive set that prospective consumers put you in. Knowing what the competition is up to requires you to research on the Internet, make phone calls and even undertake site visits. Set up Google alerts that will notify you when your competition is active online, this is a free service.

3. Crafting the killer offer
The primary purpose of running a tactical marketing campaign is to get people to experience your product that had never planned to, fill in your need periods and create an opportunity that converts the customer into lifelong clients. To do this you need a wow deal. Consumers need to see your deal and have them ask themselves the question - why wouldn’t I do this, as opposed to why would I go.

Price is important but a tactical offer should be stacked full of value. These are elements that don't cost you a lot of money but consumers value. Things like free upgrades, a bottle of wine in the room on arrival or discounts such as two for one breakfast or dinner all go a long way to adding o the experience of the offer. Choosing value “add-ons” that don’t inflate the price of your offer all work to creating a wow deal.

4. How long to run the campaign
It is essential to create urgency when launching your tactical offer. If you are a CBD hotel you can be very aggressive in your booking window for the tactical offer such as 48 to 72 hours should yield you very good results. If your product is further afield and requires planning then a 7- 14 day booking window may be more appropriate.

5. Track, track, track
The best part of running a tactical campaign is you can track the success. We have seen that using promo codes that are supported by most web booking engines are an effective way to track a campaign. Don’t forget about the phone, although everyone is talking the internet, the phone still yields a great returns and gives you the opportunity to up-sell while you have them on the line. Having said this, phone tracking alone can have its pitfalls as suppliers can only get a sense of the effectiveness of the campaign as opposed to the detailed data.

News briefs: Expedia Malaysia adds AirAsia, Frankfurt Airport app

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Expedia adds AirAsia flights on Malaysian website

Expedia announced the introduction of AirAsia flights and packages on its Malaysian website, offering bookings for flights, hotels and holiday packages all on one platform. ‘Expedia.com.my’ has been designed for Malaysian travellers and offers a portfolio of over 140,000 hotels worldwide, along with fully localised services such as targeted deals and a Malay language (Bahasa Melayu) version of the site.

Frankfurt Airport's free app

Fraport announced (15-Aug-2011) the launch of its free app for Frankfurt Airport, known as FRA Airport. Since its 08-Aug-2011 launch, the app has been downloaded over 17,000 times, Fraport says. The app provides information to travelers about Frankfurt Airport, including information about parking, shopping, eating, drinking all via maps and live flight data. Via "push-notification" passengers and their meeters and greeters can also receive information automatically about any changes regarding their flight.

Narita adds more wireless spots

Japan's Tokyo Narita Airport stated (15-Aug-2011) the free wireless LAN service at the airport is available in the arrival and departure lobbies in Terminals 1 and 2, five locations after outbound passport control in Terminal 1 and in the Broadband CAFÉ after outbound passport control in Terminal 2. From 11-Aug-2011, the service was expanded and made available in eight locations after outbound passport control in Terminal 1 and four locations after outbound passport control in Terminal 2.

MakeMyTrip powers on, buys into ixigo

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

MakeMyTrip, India's leading online travel company, managed to maintain strong growth and, at the same time, has bought into ixigo, the online travel metasearch engine.

In its unaudited financial and operating results for its fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2011, Deep Kaira, chairman and CEO, said the strong growth was maintained “despite uncertain global and domestic economic conditions.”

“Our success and market leadership was driven by offering customers great value for innovative travel products and by continuously improving their entire experience with MakeMyTrip.

“Additionally, our strategic marketing investment this quarter has resulted in very robust growth in transactions and expansion of margins in our Hotels & Packages business, as we worked to further differentiate ourselves from our
competitors.”

• Gross bookings for Air ticketing and Hotels and packages combined increased by $89.5 million to $264.1 million,
representing growth of 51.2% year over year (yoy).
• Number of Transactions for Air ticketing and Hotels and packages combined increased 54.4% yoy.
• Revenue rose 54.3% yoy to $52.0 million
• Revenue less service costs increased 52.3% yoy to $21.1 million.
• Net revenue margin for Air ticketing and Hotels and packages combined increased marginally to 7.7% yoy.
• Results from operating activities improved yoy to $1.8 million, an increase of $0.5 million from the prior year’s
fiscal first quarter. Adjusted operating profit improved to $1.6 million, versus $1.4 million in the prior year’s fiscal
first quarter.
• Profit for the period was $0.8 million versus $1.3 million in prior year’s fiscal first quarter. Adjusted net income
was $1.5 million versus $1.7 million in prior year’s fiscal first quarter.

Fiscal Year 2011-12 Outlook

The Company continues to be optimistic of its long term growth prospects as the travel industry continues to increase
capacity to accommodate the demand for travel by the fast growing middle class and Internet population in India. The
company is currently maintaining its Fiscal 2012 full year guidance range for Revenue less service costs at $86 to
$89 million as global economic uncertainties persists.

Investment in ixigo

On July 4, 2011, MakeMyTrip entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire 19.9% of Le Travenues Technology Private Limited, which owns and operates www.ixigo.com, an online travel meta search engine. It has agreed to pay cash consideration of $4.8 million for the purchase of new shares as well as existing shares. SAIF, its largest shareholder, has also agreed to acquire 56.7% of Le Travenues Technology Private Limited for $13.7 million. It expects to complete this share acquisition this month.

Aya's Agora hits right notes as Tokai Kanko takes stake

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

You wouldn’t know it from what she is doing now but a long time ago, Aya Aso, CEO of Agora Hospitalities, Japan was a classical concert pianist. She took part in competitions and had her own solo recitals.

In fact, it was her experience in having to organize her own concert that made her realize she had skills that would later come in handy when she made the move into hospitality.

“I decided to do it in a large concert hall and I wanted to organize it myself. I didn't want any agent to tell me what to wear, what to play, and I didn’t know anything about the business.

“I did it out of passion, designed my own poster, wrote my own press release although I didn't know it was called that at the time. I drew up the proposal to get sponsorships, invited the newspapers and sold my own tickets.

“It was fun. I told my father about it and he said, that’s called marketing.”

Today, she still plays at home and for friends. “It was difficult – you have to train a lot, and be really disciplined,” said Aya, who was raised in Brazil, did her studies in the US and moved back to Japan after living abroad for almost 20 years.

Her first job in hospitality was working at the reception of the Sheraton Grande in Los Angeles. She was hooked from then on. “I was so proud of working in that hotel, my boss was an elegant, smart, quiet woman. I never felt this way when playing the piano.”

When she returned to Tokyo many years later, she worked at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. After that, she decided to do her CPA and went to work for Deloitte Touche and later Price Waterhouse Coopers as a re-engineering consultant.

But she returned to hospitality soon after and worked for a start-up called Space Design at a time when design service apartments were just beginning to emerge in Japan. She later joined Ishin Hotels Group as vice president marketing where she built the group’s marketing outreach over five years.

All this was in preparation for the “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow – to run her own hotel management company which on July 20 reached a major milestone she’d been working towards.

On July 20, Tokai Kanko, the Japanese listed company, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hony Capital, China, and Hong Kong-based Far East Consortium (run by Tan Sri Dato David Chiu) to set up a hotel investment platform to invest in Japan.

At the same time, it signed an investment agreement to invest in Agora Hospitalities. Under the arrangement, Tokai will have the right to convert its investment to an initial 60% equity stake in Agora and has a further option to increase its stake to 90% in Agora. As a first transaction, Tokai acquired a 175-room hotel in Moriguchi, Osaka, and the hotel asset will form part of the hotel investment portfolio.

This is the breakthrough Aya’s wanted – to have a fund in which to invest in hotels in Japan and for Agora to manage them.

Currently, Agora manages Nojiriko Hotel El Bosco and three ryokans, Imaiso and Nanzanso in Izu and Kikkatei in Kyushu. Agora will soon be adding another full service hotel in Osaka.

The Nojiriko Hotel El Bosco was a former Prince hotel which was languishing. “I was looking at lots of hotels and I had a nice feeling when I walked into it. Its location is in an unknown place, it’d been open 27 years, its business was very seasonal and the customers were getting older and there were no new customers.

“Common sense said it wouldn’t work but I thought it was a great resource that needed to be reused, otherwise nobody would take it over and it would be forgotten someday. I wanted to preserve the great architecture, the beautiful nature around it. This kind of place is needed for people who lead busy lives.”

So she took out a master lease and renovated the hotel which has 60 rooms in two wings. “All I did was change the atmosphere, changed the energy and passion.”

Business was of course affected after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami but the hotel is now regarded as THE place to come to for young couples, single women and students on retreats.

It’s known for its designer restaurant by master chef Makoto Ozawa who is famous for using fresh ingredients and whipping up marvelous concoctions. The meal I had there was intensely satisfying, unlike any Japanese meal I’d ever had. The flavors were subtle, the ingredients fresh and the blends creative.

“It’s not about luxury, but lifestyle which I see as a continuation of your daily life. It should be part of our life to experience something like this – to learn something about nature and food and keep it as part of our lives.”

Initially, she met resistance from the staff but after the hotel rebranded, the customers also changed and when employees saw the shift, they too adapted.

“It took a long time but like good food, good teams need time to build,” said Aya.

Aya’s vision for Agora is to build an alliance of hotels and ryokans that represent the beauty of Japan, properties that “will help travellers experience the beauty of this country”.

“The beauty of Japan is in the seasons and we want to design travel experiences based on the seasonality – go at the right time and provide the right environment.”

She wants to build up the alliance into a network of 50 properties and with the new fund, this goal will be achievable.

Having worked her way up the industry because she loved it, she is keen that a younger generation of Japanese regard hospitality as a rewarding career but she is concerned that the industry is not providing the right environment for young people to learn.

“In the past, hoteliers moved from hotel to hotel and you learnt new things. Under this economy, all hotels are trying to hire local people at cheaper wages, they are not giving a broader view to their people.

“For example, with our hotel, when we close it in winter, we send the staff to a ski resort in Hokkaido and when they return, they change because they have learnt something. These opportunities are important for everybody – the best learning comes when you step outside yourself and your own environment.”

Note: Aya Aso will be speaking at the WIT Conference 2011.

Better quality searches, shift to online boost profit at Venture Republic

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Despite the tourism crisis which descended upon Japan after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Venture Republic, which owns Travel.jp and Hotel.jp, managed to show a doubling of profit in its second quarter financial report.

CEO Kei Shibata said the continuous uptrend of traffic for Travel.jp (and meta search in general) compensated for the dip of demand caused by the earthquake and tsunami. “We assume more users were using meta search to find a better deal at the last minute.”

He said that revenues were up by 12.5% “in spite of the severe downturn in March and the sluggish demand still affecting the domestic travel market”.

“With the new search system in place, we improved the quality of our traffic for OTAs which are enjoying better conversion ratios now and this enabled us to charge higher for our CPC rate.”

The company has also launched two new services – an iPhone app for Hotel.jp, the first app of its kind in Japan that aggregates all hotel reviews and ratings by major hotel sites including Rakuten Travel, Jalan, Ikyu, JTB and TripAdvisor and combines that with its own user generated photos of hotels and ratings. Shibata said Hotel.jp has the largest selection of local hotels at 28,340.

Its new flight search feature is also the first "realtime meta search" for all domestic flights in Japan offering a unique interface that allows users to visually see/compare the prices and flight schedules at once.

Explained Shibata, “Some meta search engines like Kayak or Wego also provide real time search service for Japanese domestic flights but the fares are far from competitive (because local fares are not published in GDS) and the user interfaces are completely different.”

More master classes planned, new management centre launched at TripAdvisor

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

More than 800 hospitality business owners in Indonesia and Thailand attended the first TripAdvisor Master Classes to be conducted in Asia Pacific.

“We were pleased with the response in every destination we went to - from Jakarta to Bali and Bangkok and Phuket,” said Alvin Ch’ng, commercial director, TripAdvisor For Business. “Most overwhelming was Bangkok where we saw more than 300 participants.

“As we expand in Asia, we want to have more outreach to business owners so that they can leverage off what we do and we can better learn to respond to their needs.”

The Master Classes shared digital marketing tips as well as insights on how travellers were using reviews and how business owners could use the Management Centre to respond and promote their properties.

This week, too, TripAdvisor announced the launch of a new Management Centre which comes with free resources and content to help hospitality business owners, managers and marketers engage with the TripAdvisor traveler community, drive sales and manage their properties’ reputations online.

“TripAdvisor has launched the new Management Center and accompanying educational series to provide hospitality business owners with helpful resources and actionable strategies for increasing bookings,” said Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business.

The new Management Center includes the following resources and enhancements, which can be found on the “What TripAdvisor can do for you” page:

· How-to videos: Two-minute clips providing an overview of TripAdvisor’s free tools
· How-to guides and tip sheets: Quick overviews and advice on the most effective marketing activities
· TripAdvisor for Business blog: Regular updates on TripAdvisor news and resources, property success stories and industry updates
· Easy-to-use design: Straightforward, intuitive user interface based on owner feedback

Added Ch'ng, “Our research shows that travellers place great importance on reviews as well as management responses to reviews, whether positive or negative, so it is important for owners to respond well and within guidelines,” said Ch’ng.

The research conducted by Forrester Research shows that:
• 81% of travellers think reviews are important when choosing a hotel
• 78% think management response to positive reviews is important while 79% think a response to negative reviews is also important

In the Master Classes, local hoteliers also shared their experience with managing reviews and how using the Business Listings produced good results for some of them.

Said Ch’ng, “We hope these Master Classes have armed hospitality business owners with information and insights on how they can manage their business listings.”

More Master Classes are planned for Australia and Malaysia.

News briefs: Travelport launches Smartpoint App, US travel agents sell more air tickets ....

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

Smartpoint App to improve agent user experience

Travelport has launched the Travelport Smartpoint App which evolves the Galileo Desktop with dynamic and interactive technology to speed up reservation process, reduce call handling time and improve the agent user experience.

Gillian Gibson, chief marketing officer of Travelport, described the app as "innovation at its very best" due to its unique features and as a tool to strengthen agents’ existing investments in people and technology.

The app’s key features:

Support commands from any GDS, enabling an agent to hit the ground running whatever GDS language they are used to with no need for re-training.
Substantially reduce keystrokes for the overall booking process by 15%, and up to 72% when searching for the "best" fare and itinerary to match traveller’s needs.
Allow agents to use point-and-click functionality across the board to search low fares, book flights, hotels and car rentals, manage queues and travel bookings.
Build on how agents work today and enable them to be operational in minutes with a download and go set-up
Use an interactive calendar to combine air and hotel in one search with just a simple click.

Air ticket sales by US travel agents up 6.36%

ARC, the financial settlement link between airlines and travel sellers, reported that the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies increased 6.36 percent* year-over-year in the first seven months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, and 28 percent over the same period in 2009.

January through July 2011 ticket sales totalled $50.5 billion, compared to $47.5 billion in 2010, and $39.4billion in 2009.

Year-to-date passenger segments for the first seven months of 2011 fell 2.5 percent – at 219.3 million segments, compared to 224.9 million in 2010 – while reflecting a 4 percent increase over the same period in 2009. Ticket transactions for January through July 2011 were down slightly, at -2.05 percent compared to the same period in 2010, while up 6 percent over the same period in 2009.

Orbitz revenues up

Orbitz reports (09-Aug-2011) the following financial highlights three months ended Jun-2011:

Net revenue: USD201.8 million, +4.3% year-on-year;
Operating income: USD19.8 million, -7.9%;
Net income: USD8.9 million, -8.7%.

More Colombians visiting travel websites

comScore, Inc released (11-Aug-2011) the latest results from a study on the online travel market in Colombia. The study found that in the past year visitation to the travel category increased 25% to reach 3.2 million unique visitors in Colombia, as more online users utilised the web to research and purchase travel. Despegar-Decolar Sites led as the top travel destination in Colombia reaching 453,000 unique visitors in Jun-2011, followed by Expedia Inc and Avianca.com.

KLM picks RightNow CX

KLM selected RightNow CX, a customer experience suite, to power mobile applications for its passengers (Breaking Travel News, 10-Aug-2011). The mobile site allows passengers to book flights, check flight status and find answers to queries.

Rivals become allies, what's in store as AirAsia + MAS join hands

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It's a done deal. On August 9, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s state investment arm, and Tune Air Sdn Bhd, both major shareholders of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia respectively inked a deal that saw Tune getting a 20.5% stake in MAS and Khazanah 10% equity in AirAsia.

The partnership will see both carriers review their network services and seek cooperation on routes and opening "flights to new destinations currently not served" by either.

Photo shows (L-R) AirAsia deputy chief executive Kamarudin Meranun, Khazanah MD Azman Mokhtar, MAS chairman Md Nor Yusof & AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes at the signing ceremony - Reuters pic

It will also allow the carriers to work together to cut rising costs by sharing maintenance, and bulk purchases of parts and aircraft.

Khazanah also proposes to buy a 10% stake AirAsia X, AirAsia’s affliate long-haul budget carrier on terms and at a price to be agreed on later.

This deal effectively gives Khazanah a monopoly on the Malaysian aviation scene, with its ownership in MAS, AirAsia, AirAsia X and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (manager of airports in Malaysia).

The agreement also marks the end of years of rivalry between MAS and AirAsia, which have waged their battles openly.

The collaboration has been hailed in the media as "remarkable", "historic" and "unprecedented". Another word was “ground-breaking” - especially referring to the fact that AirAsia’s executives would sit on MAS’ board and have a say in the airline’s managment and operations..

The media attention is understandable - it's the first time in the region that a low-cost carrier is getting into bed with a full service carrier. And beyond that, the speculation that the underdog was being called in to rescue an institution.

Imagine, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes cast as the “white knight” sent in to rescue an ailing old warrior and eventually to rule the kingdom.

Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar has however denied the deal was a bailout for MAS, stressing that there was "no extra money" coming, from either the government or AirAsia in the share swap. (MAS recorded a Q1 net loss of RM242.3 million/US$80.6 million against a profit of RM310.6 million in the same period a year ago.)

Some analysts, however, view this cooperation as Khazanah’s move to ward off competition between MAS and AirAsia, as well as to compete with both Singapore Airlines and Qantas given both airlines are planning to launch new low-cost subsidiaries in Asia.

“Crazy talk”

It is the prospect of the forming of a monopoly that has raised the most concern and whether consumers would be the loser in this new scenario. After all AirAsia was created so that everybody could fly. Would a tie-up between AirAsia and MAS mean the end of the kind of competition that's been seen the last nine years that led to an explosion in air travel in the ASEAN region?

AirAsia’s Fernandes was quick to quash such speculation, calling it "crazy talk" and pointing out that the agreement only involves share swaps between his airline and MAS, and is not a merger.

He reiterated that the agreement, known as Comprehensive Collaboration Framework (CCF), was geared towards growth and improving competitiveness in both the airlines' respective market segments.

He explained that the CCF would work in favour of MAS and AirAsia and the consumers as it puts the country's industry players in the same direction in the interest of growing their businesses and the economy, while at the same time providing better services and more job opportunities.

Additonal advanages - improve competitiveness and grow KL International Airport as an aviation hub, attracting more arrivals to the airport.

Fernandes also dismissed fears of higher fares, stating that even on routes where AirAsia is the only operator, the fares are still coming down.

"We can be more productive if we put our energies together rather than working against each other," adding that "the sky's the limit" with this collaboration.

Khazanah's Azman reaffirmed this fact, saying the new framework would emphasise MAS’ and AirAsia’s key strength, which he described as "two distinct and separate companies with two distinct and separate business models" that will leverage on their "core competencies".

This means MAS will exit the low cost segment and focus on being a premium full service carrier, while AirAsia continues its run as a budget airline. As such, any competition between the two airlines would be removed.

Casualites and changes

No deal of this magnitude can be achieved without some “casualties”.

The first is Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin who quit as MAS chief executive and managing director on the day the deal was signed. He took over MAS' reins in August 2009 from Datuk Seri Idris Jala, who is now a government minister. He will join Khazanah as its executive director for investments from September 12.

Mohammed Rashdan Mohd Yusof from Khazanah has been appointed MAS executive director. A new managing director is to be appointed soon.

A four-person committee will take over management of the national carrier until such time a new managing director is appointed. Chaired by MAS board member Datuk Azman Yahya, the members include Rashdan, AirAsia’s Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun (AirAsia deputy group CEO). It is without doubt Fernandes will have a say in future management of MAS.

Firefly, MAS’ community airline, could become another “casualty”. The carrier, which offers flights out of Kuala Lumpur Subang airport and KLIA to domestic and regional destinations, will be redesignated as a full service regional carrier, not unlike Singapore’s SilkAir.

"Firefly’s resources would be refocused to launch a new regional full service airline operation," said MAS chairman Tan Sri Mohd Nor Yusof, who replaced long-serving chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid on August 1.

This change in Firefly’s status will be a great disappointment to many travellers who have benefitted from the fare wars between it and AirAsia. Not to mention the airline has been providing the option of "flying a full service carrier at low-cost carrier prices".

Firefly’s redesignation effectively makes AirAsia Malaysia’s only airline to operate in the budget segment, which is a shame really as Firefly did provide some form of check and balance.

It is also no secret that Firefly, through its aggressive expansion, flying to numerous destinations and hubbing in some of Malaysia’s capital cities, has been giving AirAsia a run for its money in the budget travel segment, although Fernandes has dismissed any such notion.

Big deal?

So is the MAS-AirAsia partnership a "big deal", someone asked me.

Without a doubt, yes. Certainly it is to AirAsia and MAS. To MAS employees, they will be uncertain of how this new deal and management will affect them. To Firely, it means a change to its original business model. To consumers, perhaps - depends if Fernandes lives up to his statement that competition will remain robust and that air fares will remain competitive.

To Malaysia's airline scene - with both carriers aligned, and different interests set aside, the biggest question to ask is, could Kuala Lumpur emerge as a serious air hub in the region?

But perhaps the biggest deal is for Fernandes - what a coup for a former music man who started an airline from scratch, who vowed to compete with the big and tested and now he's not only joined the competition, he's removed it.

Taking the random out of room booking

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

It’s an experience any frequent traveler is familiar with: You make a hotel reservation, check in at the front desk, and proceed to your room — only to find you lost the hotel lottery, relegating you to a room with a leaky sink, a view of a concrete wall, or an awkwardly positioned desk on which you won’t be able to work.

This is the travel headache that Room 77 seeks to cure. The website, launched in February, contains a searchable database of hotels across the United States, with information about individual rooms. It’s where hotel and attraction review site TripAdvisor meets airline seat intel tracker Seat Guru, says Kevin Fliess, general manager and VP of product at Sunnyvale, California–based Room 77.

“Almost everybody can recount at least one time in their life when they have just been totally disappointed by the room,” Fliess says. “On the flip side, once in a while you are pleasantly surprised, and wouldn’t you like to have known what the right room was for you?”

Room 77 currently has 500,000 rooms in its database, out of what the company estimates are five million rooms worldwide of three-star quality or higher. The amount of information available on each room varies. All entries include a map with the room’s location in the hotel, and some also feature photographs and reviews. The site stores data about attributes including distance from the elevator, noise level and view, and helps travelers find the room that best matches their preferences. Users can access Room 77 through its website or via its iPhone app and soon, an Android app.

The site gets its revenue from commission on leads delivered to either booking partner Orbitz or the individual hotels that offer direct booking links. Users cannot request specific rooms when booking online, but Room 77 offers a tipsheet for increasing the chances of getting what you want —book through the hotel’s own site rather than a third party, call the front desk (not reservations) 48 hours before you check in, and be nice. In case you can not get your top choice, Room 77 generates a list of four others that best match your criteria.

“At least in the US, every hotel will honour room requests,” Fliess says. “They know that a consumer who cares to request a specific room is a discriminating traveller and if they make that consumer happy it is going to drive repeat business and greater guest loyalty.”

Fliess hopes that that desire to drive repeat business will lead hotels to cooperate more closely with Room 77. “Today we deliver leads but if a hotel has a white label booking connection, and if they can give us price and availability we’ll take it,” he says. “Today you don’t see price and availability on Room 77. That’s something that we are currently working on. We want to deliver as seamless an experience as possible for the consumer and we have had conversations with a number of hotel chains about working more closely with them on offering a tighter booking integration.”

In addition to improving satisfaction among a discerning segment of customers, hotels also might be able to turn room-selection into ancillary revenue. If travellers want to choose a particular room before they arrive, might they be willing to also pay a fee to guarantee that room? According to Fliess, Room 77’s market research showed that 40% of travelers would be willing to do so.

“I don’t think there is any question in the world that this is the way the industry is headed,” he says. “The question becomes how do you create the consumer demand? If I don’t know what I’m buying, how can you charge me? So were are creating the transparency that is going to create the demand. You’ll be seeing some pilots coming out this year with a couple of hotels.”

To realize its founders’ vision, one thing Room 77 still needs is more data—a more comprehensive selection of rooms, and more information on them. It has about 10 percent of the world’s three-, four-, and five-star rooms, and is adding two or three destinations per month. Information on most entries still seems to be limited, and its growth will depend on the cooperation of hotels and the contributions of early adopters, who have already helped shape the product by requesting the inclusion of wifi signal strength as a measurable attribute of each room.

As it takes its next steps, Room 77 has a little help from its recent round of funding — $10.5 million raised in June, led by General Catalyst Partners. Fleiss says that the new funds will be invested primarily in hiring more engineers and doing some online marketing to expand its user reach.

While the site is currently focused on a couple dozen US cities, Room 77 has global intentions, with expansion into markets including China. “The possibility exists for both adding Chinese hotels and then making the content available to Chinese travelers,” Fliess says. “One of the things we are looking at is potentially syndicating our content to partners. I know that a lot of U.S. online travel companies have failed when they have attempted to make inroads into the Chinese market so we are very interested in finding partners who can help us with that, and are open to making our content available to those partners so that they can distribute it to their audience.”

Note: Kevin Fliess will speak on the upcoming TravelDaily China Travel Distribution Summit which will take place at Guangzhou from September 21 to 22, 2010.

Win an internship and be mentored in TravelRave Talent Challenge

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

The Singapore Tourism Board, together with WITNext, this week launched the inaugural TravelRave Talent Challenge to engage youth on relevant trends and topics across the travel and tourism industry.

The TravelRave Talent Challenge is a regional youth competition open to all 18-25 year olds. The competition aims to gain insights direct from youths on how the travel and tourism industry can engage the Next Generation as fresh talent and attract the best of them.

For the competition, Participants are required to submit their three best ideas by 29 August 2011 in text, video or Powerpoint slides, addressing the following topic:

"With the booming Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry, it is critical to attract more talent and create new ways of meeting the diverse expectations of the younger generation. Propose 3 ideas that a travel and tourism company could adopt to enagage the Next generation to be part of the industry and how they can groom future leaders."

Participants will be judged based on the originality, innovativeness, relevance, feasibility, sustainability and scalability of their ideas.

Judges for the competition include patrons of WITNext, who represent leading Asia travel brands such as Abacus International, Circos Brand Karma, TMS Asia Pacific, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, BCD Travel, and more.

Up to five winners will attend an exclusive networking session with the delegates of the Asia Travel Leaders Summit (ATLS) as well as enjoy complimentary access to relevant TravelRave events in October. In addition to S$10,000 worth of prizes.

Winners will also get an internship opportunity with top companies in the travel and tourism industry - mainly sponsored by the WITNext Patrons.

WITNext is WIT's inspiration and mentoring initiative which will be rolled out through a website to be launched shortly. A WITNext event is scheduled for Singapore on August 25, and one for Bangkok on September 28.

For more details of the competition, visit www.webintravel.com/travelrave-talent-challenge and email syaz@witnext.com for more information.

'I didn't build my business on algorithms'

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0800

“I didn’t build my business out of algorithms. I built it with people.”

That’s the message I will most take away from the past two weeks as I traveled through Jakarta, Bali, Bangkok and Phuket, meeting and listening to hoteliers and restaurant owners whose fortunes are affected in one way or another by review sites such as TripAdvisor.

Picture shows pool at Moevenpick Resort & Spa, Phuket which, by the way, was absolutely full with mainly Chinese, Korean and Australian customers.

It was a restaurant owner in Phuket who said it as he expressed his frustrations over the power of such “platforms” to affect small businesses such as his – one bad review and your business could dive; one good review and your business could fly.

Either way, it’s real people who are affected, he said.

Such is the reality of the new world – it’s algorithms that determine whether a review is fake or real and indeed, that helps us seek what we find on the Internet. (Read this interesting article on Google)

With 23 reviews coming in a minute at TripAdvisor, which now has 50 million reviews, it is impossible for humans to be sifting through the reviews and deciding which are fake or which are genuine.

And so algorithms are the first line of defence, with a second level of quality control applied, where necessary, by some sort of “fraud squad” trained at detecting fake stuff. And let’s face it, neither technology nor humans are infallible.

Even so, I found it interesting that almost 50% of reviews are rejected by TripAdvisor with the ratio higher in some countries than others.

The restaurant owner’s frustration is understandable. The hospitality business is run by people and travel review sites are run by technology.

Yet, he understands too that he cannot stop the tide of user generated content and that this is the new age of social media where, even though things can get decidedly unsocial for business owners, you have no choice but to deal with it.

The power is definitely in the customer’s hands these days and let’s face it, some customers are just plain weird or nasty.

One resort owner said he had been threatened at the front desk with a negative review on TripAdvisor by a customer who wanted a better rate.

He refused and, sure enough, a negative review appeared to which he responded “professionally, explaining why I couldn’t meet this customer demand”.

“You then have to hope that normal people reading this will understand the situation.”

Then there’s the case of a repeat customer who’s been to a resort three times and each time he writes a negative review. “I don’t understand why he doesn’t tell me what’s wrong when I meet him at the resort but each time, he will write a negative review. Yet he returns,” said the hotelier.

It seems though that this customer is in the minority because generally there are more positive than negative reviews on TripAdvisor.

Either way, business owners get the last say on a review so no one gets into a slanging match which it is why it is important hoteliers respond to every review, whether positive or negative – TripAdvisor research shows that customers think as highly of responses to positive as negative reviews.

Brand Karma’s social media analytics tool gave some interesting insights into which nationalities were more prone to positive reviews.

Seems the Brits are the kindest in the markets that were covered while locals tend to be more negative in their own home markets. The Indonesians and Thais had the lowest positive-negative ratios when it came to reviewing hotels in their own countries. And oh yes, the Singapore ratio was also skewed towards negative territory.

It is clear among hoteliers, there is a love-hate relationship with sites such as TripAdvisor. What is certain is that it’s not going to go away.

“The important thing is to enchant our guests. People write reviews when they are moved, whether positively or negatively,” said Michael Nurbatlian, ecommerce manager of Indigo Pearl Phuket. (left)

And what would you rather be enchanted by? People or algorithms?