The idea of “Reboot” came to me while I was on Samui island, relaxing in a private villa by the beach. It was the weekend after WIT 2014 had just ended and this was my annual retreat to unwind.
Yeoh Siew Hoon looking through 10 years of achievement by WIT.
We had just marked “Little Big 10”, the first WIT after the acquisition by Northstar Travel Media. I felt convinced there was a new wave coming, just as I felt a decade ago when the first WIT was launched.
A new wave for online travel, like we’re on the brink of something new and big. A new wave for Asia, the region I’d been writing about for decades – it seemed that everyone’s got it now and wants a piece of it. A new wave for me personally, because I needed to rethink the next steps in my career.
I had “rebooted” myself 10 years ago when I ventured out, leaving a fulltime editorial job to become more than a journalist – it was time for another version of me to emerge.
“Reboot” became a personal and professional clarion cry. Little did I know then that, as we rolled out the theme, how it would resonate with many industry colleagues and friends.
I don’t know if it’s that phenomenon of “you wear glasses and suddenly you realise how many people wear them” but I started hearing stories about businesses needing to “reboot” and colleagues and friends telling me about the personal and professional transformation they were going through.
Rebooting is like fixing a broken keyboard, let it go and start with a new one. (Image credit: orcearo iStock)
A hotelier talking about the changes happening in distribution and how he feared becoming irrelevant. OTAs, once the disruptors, now seen as “legacy” as start-ups. Low cost pioneers such as AirAsia, which changed travel in South-east Asia, struggling with growth. Metas rebooting into OTAs to capture more revenues. Hotel companies planning their own “neutral marketplaces”. GDSes playing for higher stakes than just being in travel distribution.
Many friends were also asking themselves hard questions. What do I really want to do? Maybe it’s the year of the Blood Moon or something but I swear to you, something’s going on.
When I was in Thailand’s Golden Triangle last month, I met a barista who used to be a vet working with horses and cows. He hurt his back on the job and realised he couldn’t continue. He read up about coffee, visited cafes and opened his own. It’s the only café in the world where I’ve been served latte with rambutans, a tropical fruit.
He not only “rebooted” but differentiated.
In Helsinki, hosting the CAPA Aviation Awards of Excellence, I learnt about how Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas, rebooted himself into one of the world’s most successful airline chief executives. His parents were poor, his father had to hold three jobs to put him through school and he didn’t take his first flight till he was 22.
In Sydney, I met Audra Morrice, Masterchef Australia Season 4 finalist, who rebooted herself from telco executive to celebrity chef. She’s described as the Martha Stewart or Nigella Lawson of Asia – not sure that is a compliment, frankly – because I feel Audra’s blazing her own trail. This was why I invited her to WIT to speak, her session is on Oct 21.
Wendi Koh and her team taking us down memory lane at WIT 2014,
This weekend, I met up with Wendi Koh, who is producing our opening segment on October 20. Essentially my brief was to do something new and different. Wendi’s been performing at WIT through the years and this year, I wanted her to get uncomfortable – to be more than a performer.
I don’t want to give too much away but I know that for the three minute opening, it took a major “reboot” on my part, and Wendi’s, as well as the artists’ she worked with. We all got uncomfortable and we hope you will enjoy the opening, as you will our conference.
Rebooting is not easy. In fact, it’s scary. You have to let go of what you know and strike out for the unknown.
In the book “Forty Rules of Love”, by Elif Shafak , there is a quote, “Fret not where the road will take you. Instead concentrate on the first step. That’s the hardest part and that’s what you are responsible for. Once you take that step let everything do what it naturally does and the rest will follow. Do not go with the flow. Be the flow.”
See you on October 19 in Singapore.
Hear what Siew Hoon has to say about rebooting Asia here: Let’s Reboot Asia, see you at WIT from WebInTravel on Vimeo
Let’s Reboot Asia, see you at WIT from WebInTravel on Vimeo.
