Grahame Tate, Managing Directors, IDeaS Asia Pacific

Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the hotel space in 2013?

• A flattening of demand or at best a slower increase than in 2012
• More brand consolidation
• A broader realization that OTA’s cannibalize each other and the hotel web sites and that the generation of demand is still the responsibility of the hotel not the responsibility of the OTA contract you just signed

Q: What are the three things hotels should invest in in the new year?

• MarketingAnalytics
• Analytics Technology
• Revenue and inventory management ability

Q: What are your predictions for hotel distribution and marketing next year?

Consolidation of OTA’s and a mild strengthening of position due to the flattening of demand

Q: Which hotel groups are the ones to watch next year, and why?

Indonesian Local groups – they are enjoying the uptake off a low base but at the same time are also wiser for having watched their neighbors go through similar over the years

Q: Three important events that happened this year that you think will have significant impact on travel in the future.

• Mobile proliferation – it wont really bring any dramatic increases in demand, but simply be a more personal way of booking – maybe slightly more last minute stuff
• Scoot
• The rise of 6+ star hotels in India

Q: Most over-used word/s of 2012

• Mobile
• Computational Complexity ( using only once is too much
• Fiscal Cliff

Q: Most under-estimated word of 2012

Mercenary

Q: What word/s will disappear from the hotel vocabulary?

• Profit ???  ha ha
• Commodity

Q: As the year winds to an end, what will you remember most about 2012?

• My crazy travel schedule
* Staying at Leela Delhi
• Record year in YOY revenues increases for IDeaS Asia Pacific and globally

Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2013?

• A more street wise team
• More focused trade events
• Stronger collaboration with various business partners
• A bit of a rest compared to 2012
• The year of the holiday

Paul Southey, Vice President Asia Pacific, TravelClick

Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the hotel space in 2013?

• More will open
• More rooms will be sold
• The tired properties will fall off the grid with no investment

Q: What are the three things hotels should invest in the new year?

Service! Direct marketing. Social engagement. We need to make hospitality hospitable again

Q: What are your predictions for hotel distribution and marketing next year?

• Hotels will invest in more direct efforts to attract and convert
• Online spending to surpass TV and print in developed markets

Q: Which hotel groups are the ones to watch next year?

• Silver Needle
• Far East Organisation
• ITC

Q: Three important events that happened this year that you think will have significant impact on travel in the future.

• Movement in the setting of commission with OTA retail model
• Movement of the setting of Wholesale/Retail model into a mash up
• Greater momentum as demand increases relative to supply of suppliers investing in “owning” the customer through the buying process.

Q: Most over-used word/s of 2012?

Socialise

Q: Most under-estimated word of 2012?

Value/price

Q: As the year winds to an end, what will you remember most about 2012?

Consolidation – more to come

Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2013?

It’s a New Year

Richard Wiegmann, CEO, Trust International

Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the hotel space in 2013?

• Mobile taking a way bigger share in both looks and reservations
• Soft Brands becoming more popular as people are sick of standards
• Discussions on various levels (incl. legal) about best rate guarantees and last room availability

Q: What are the three things hotels should invest in in the new year?

• Hotels will need to get better at retention of customers and CRM will be the focus
• Better technology to control their sales destiny
• Unique product, Unique experience & Unique product experience (make me feel special)

Q: What are your predictions for hotel distribution and marketing next year?

• OTA and Web Direct will grow at better rates than GDS
• Revival of the Meta-Searchers with different business models
• Marketing Spend will carefully increase with more focus on own channels

Q: Which hotel groups are the ones to watch next year, and why?

• Leading Hotels of the World with their new pricing model for hotels
* Expansion of Motel1 and similar budget products in a (hopefully) recovering world

Q: Three important events that happened this year that you think will have significant impact on travel in the future.

I do believe that the travel market is so resilient globally, that it could grow, despite natural disasters, terrorist attacks and a global downturn, by 2.7% in spend over the past 10 years. Hence there might be an impact because of those, but the recovery will be quick.

Q: Most over-used word/s of 2012?

• “Love/Hate relationship”, e.g. between hoteliers and OTA´s
• “Whatever”, there is a better way to say “I don´t care”
• “Currency Crisis”, yes it is there, yes it is global, no need to repeat it 20 times a day on CNN or BBC or whatever station

Q: Most under-estimated word of 2012?

“The Power of the incumbent (president)”

Q: What word/s will disappear from the hotel vocabulary?

“Sorry Sir, only Pepsi, no Coke”

Q: As the year winds to an end, what will you remember most about 2012?

Web in Travel

Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2013?

Web in Travel