In the news: New directory from LUXE City Guides, Travelport’s new managing director for Greater China, Agoda’s ‘travel smart’ study
TRAVEL PRODUCTS: LUXE CITY GUIDES INTRODUCES DIRECTORY FOR AGENTS AND HOTEL CONCIERGES
A directory for travel consultants and hotel concierges
LUXE City Guides has launched LUXE Directory, a new tool for hotel concierge teams, travel consultants and remote concierge service providers.
The directory provides updated digital database of more than 6,000 recommendations organised by locations and category such as accommodation, dining and shopping.
Resident curators in each destination collect, expand and update content from personal suggestions tried and tested by locals.
Simon Westcott, CEO of LUXE City Guides, said the new directory was designed to deliver fully customisable itineraries to its clients’ customers.
Travel consultants and hotel concierge teams could compile these itineraries by searching the directory and creating personalised shortlists. They could send these lists to their clients via email or instant messaging apps.
Companies using the directory can also add new content and recommendations in their database, place their logos and create custom emails and PDFs to share with their clients.
The directory is accessible on any browser and device, without the need to install any software or app.
LUXE Travel Guides is working with a number of partners and they include Goldman Travel in Australia, The Peninsula Group, Citibank Prestige, and regional providers of the AMEX Centurion concierge.
PEOPLE: MING FOONG TAKES CHARGE OF GREATER CHINA REGION FOR TRAVELPORT
Ming Foong, Travelport’s new MD for Greater China region
Travel commerce platform Travelport has appointed Ming Foong as the new managing director for the Greater China region and online business group Asia Pacific (APAC) based in Hong Kong.
Foong was most recently Travelport’s director OTA for APAC and business development North Asia and Japan, and has been with the company since 2012.
APAC accounts for more than a quarter of global OTA gross bookings, driven by the rapid growth of Chinese e-commerce and online businesses. Travelport said Foong’s appointment would harness on this growth.
According to forecast from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), China’s business travel spend is expected to double to US$340 billion in the next 10 years.
STUDY: WANT GOOD ROOM DEALS? AGODA HAS A GUIDE TO HELP YOU FIND THEM
Agoda study reveals the best room deals (Image credit: kadmyiStock)
Online booking platform Agoda said it could help travellers discover the hottest room deals across the globe with its ‘travel smart’ study that it described as “a reliable trip planning guide” to do just that.
The study analysed room prices worldwide using booking data from users of its site last year.
Here are the study findings (infographic below):
- The cheapest time to book is at the beginning of the year particularly in Europe, while destinations in Asia rank cheapest between June and November.
- May and September are the most expensive period for rooms worldwide, but this does not apply to some Asian destinations like Bangkok.
- Rooms in Amsterdam, Oslo and Berlin are more than 20% cheaper in January, with the cold weather accounting for this dip in prices.
- Good deals in cities like Barcelona and Paris are in November and December despite the global average prices peaking at this time.
- In Asia rates are up to 16% cheaper on average in June and September in countries like Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan. For the summer period in Hong Kong (summer) accommodations are cheaper by up to 14%.
- Across the globe the most expensive month for rooms is May, when 88% of markets studied had higher-than-average room rates. Exceptions are in Hong Kong and Sydney when rooms are seen to be cheaper than average.
