In the news: Hotel Jen’s interactive Night Light programme, Skyscanner revealing the best time to book flights, Global Hotel Alliance’s partnership with Sabre
DESTINATIONS: HOTEL JEN REVEALS CITIES AFTER DARK WITH INTERACTIVE NIGHT LIGHT PROGRAMME
Night Light presents cities in a different light
Hotel Jen, part of the Shangri-La group, is running a unique programme that invites you to see cities in a different light with its first experiential programme, Night Light.
The data-driven Night Light maps use real-time geo-tagged social data from residents in each of the nine Hotel Jen in Asia Pacific (Beijing, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Penang, Singapore, Maldives, Manila, Shenyang, Johor) to highlight hotspots where travellers can go after dark to eat, play and relax like a local.
Describing the programme as the ‘first-of-its kind’, Hotel Jen said it was designed to help guests who wish to be immersed in a destination and explore safely after dark.
This is how it works: each participating hotel features on its website an interactive and ‘living’ map, which continuously aggregates data from social check-ins and selected hashtags. It then presents interesting hotspots after dark, such as local hangouts or Jen’s picks, with filters that viewers can use to remove the noise of cliché activities and uncover experiences off-the-beaten tourist track.
The online map lights up every evening after sunset, and is powered by the city’s inhabitants including a select group of local influencers, “Jensetters”, who share their insider knowledge with a focus on the home-grown art, local flavours and native rituals.
For example in Manila, comedian-actor Mikey Bustos points out his top picks for a delicious Filipino barbecue and a chill-out evening without the tourist crowds, while @hesayshesaysbrisbane shares their favourite sunset spot in Brisbane.
Hotel guests can also participate in the weekly Night Light events and happenings such as salsa dance and yoga lessons in Singapore or night walks high atop Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak.
“Through our new experimental ‘Night Light’ programme we are encouraging our guests to head out and explore the thriving activities that each destination has to offer between sunset and sunrise,” says Marisa Aranha, vice president of sales and marketing at Hotel Jen.
“There’s more to a city after dark than what’s featured in conventional guide books. We want to provide a new outlook for busy business travelers, genuine night owls and curious families through our exclusive insider insights.”
See the Night Light Maps here or follow the social conversations using hastage #LeaveBoringBehind and #NightLight hashtags.
MARKET INTELLIGENCE: THE BEST TIME TO BOOK FLIGHTS ACCORDING TO SKYSCANNER
Phuket: Three weeks advance booking to get good air fares (Image credit: Pipop_BoosarakumwadiiStock/iStock)
Are you the type of traveller who does not plan in advance for your holidays but decide only at the last minute where to go for your breakaway, and still hope to find the best prices for air tickets?
If you live in Singapore you can do that that with help from search engine Skyscanner, as it has drawn up a listing of the best time to book to 10destinations popular with the city state’s residents.
“Contrary to popular belief travellers do not always need to book months in advance to avoid hefty price increases, as there are a few sweet-spot weeks closer to departure. Singapore-outbound travellers booking and planning their air tickets less than two months in advance can still enjoy just 10% price hikes,” said Skyscanner in a statement.
For example, travellers planning to visit Bali and Hong Kong should book their tickets four weeks in advance, and three weeks to Phuket and Jakarta to avoid high price increase (see chart below).
“By saving on flights, travellers are free to spend more at their destination of choice be that on hotels, car rental, or restaurants and sightseeing. But what we also want to highlight this year is really the ‘sweet spot’ deals, where Singaporean’s can book flights just a few weeks in advance and still enjoy great deals – without having to plan months ahead,” said Pamela Knaggs, marketing manager, Singapore and Malaysia for Skyscanner.
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: GHA PICKS SABRE AS TECH PARTNER
GHA and Sabre are new tech partners
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the alliance representing over 550 hotel across 35 brands, has selected Sabre Hospitality Solutions as an alternative distribution provider for its members.
Under the agreement, GHA’s 35 member hotels have the option to choose the Sabre SynXis Central Reservations (CR) as their distribution solution while still enjoying the benefits of GHA’s multi-brand Discovery loyalty programme.
“Eight of our member brands already use the Sabre SynXis CR, and so it was a natural step to add Sabre as one of our preferred technology partners,” said Christopher Hartley, CEO of GHA.
The SynXis CR provides distribution of rates and inventory through all online and offline distribution channels; connectivity to global distribution systems, online travel agents, website and mobile booking engines; and seamless integration of critical property, revenue management, loyalty and content systems.
• Featured image credit (Hotel Jen Orchardgateway, Singapore): Hotel Jen
