In the news: Travellers and hotel’s souvenirs, New Travelport Smartpoint, EMD technology for four Asian carriers, VoA for Chinese and Indian visitors to Malaysia
Hotel room items “hot” among travellers as souvenirs
Shampoo, conditioner, towels, and even TV remote controls in hotel rooms are common items taken home by guests as souvenirs, with more than two-thirds of travellers doing that as uncovered by a recent TripAdvisor survey.
According to the report, 65% of global travellers and 63% of Asian travellers admit to taking something from a hotel following their stay, with toiletries being the most popular pilfered items.
Three in five (59%) global hoteliers and an equal number (59%) of Asian hotel owners report that their guests often take a variety of items when they leave.
However, the TripBarometer Truth in Travel survey reveals several discrepancies between what travellers say they take, compared to what hoteliers report missing from hotel rooms once guests depart (see first belowchart).
Other key findings:
- Guests are more likely to admit taking items that are customarily thought of as complimentary such as toiletries or stationery.
- Some travellers feel that towels, light bulbs and batteries in their rooms are also free for the taking.
- Although only 7% of global travellers said they have taken towels from hotel rooms, one in four hoteliers report towels going missing following a guest’s stay.
- One in 10 hoteliers report clothes hangers going missing, and 7% have found the batteries removed from TV remote controls after guests check out.
Items travellers take from hotels vs. what hotels report having been taken
The survey also reveals that travellers worldwide love a freebie, and is a key motivator for choosing an accommodation. Over the past year traveller interest in complimentary amenities has gone up, reinforcing the idea that one of the best ways for hoteliers to entice guests is to offer free services as part of the daily rate.
Amenities global travellers expect from their accommodation in 2013 vs. 2014
• Photo credit (TV remote control): LoloStock/Shutterstock.com
Travelport Smartpoint redesigned for travel agents
Travelport has launched a new version of Travelport Smartpoint, its travel agency point-of-sale (POS) application that features multiple efficiency enhancements specially designed to help travel agents.
The enhancements include interactive graphical mapping capabilities and a range of new intuitive tools and function. It also incorporates a virtual account number (VAN) payment functionality from eNett, which offers agents an additional safe, secure and fully integrated payment solution directly within their desktop environment.
Additionally, there are enhanced hotel shopping, intelligent fare rules and advanced seat maps that are capable of showcasing all features of a seat.
Jason Nash, Travelport’s vice president, empowered selling solutions & product Innovation, said, “Travelport Smartpoint is an evolutionary solution that supports and enhances travel agents workflow. This latest version marks a significant step forward and is part of our ongoing point of sale strategy for travel agents which is all about providing them with the most innovative travel booking technology and deepest content, which together are making our merchandising content come alive.”
Since launching in 2011, Travelport Smartpoint has been embraced by more than 110,000 travel agents worldwide. According to Travelport, the application’s success is due to its ability to offer users a blend of graphical and cryptic user interaction alongside a range of time-saving features such as improving the agent user experience, reducing training costs, and speeding up the reservation process.
• Photo credit: stock_shot/Shutterstock.com
Four Asian airlines embrace Abacus EMD technology
Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong-based Dragonair have adopted the Abacus electronic miscellaneous document (EMD) technology in response to the IATA mandate for all miscellaneous documents issued from January 2014 to be electronic.
Many airlines have already partnered with Abacus to implement the required proprietary technology, creating a new paperless ticketing environment.
Beyond the benefits of full digitisation, carriers benefit from functions such as the ability to track their ancillary sales, access to lounge with Abacus e-coupons, and in-flight Wifi.
Databases will also be more closely aligned with the trade channel on transactions.
“With Abacus EMD, airlines can simultaneously go green, drive efficiencies and boost yields,” said Abacus’ division head of airline distribution, Ho Hoong Mau. “We are delighted to help four more powerful brands in Asia’s burgeoning aviation industry to achieve the EMD standard, realising the benefits in terms of cash and credit card reimbursements and ancillary sales through the region’s trade channel.”
Lee Ser Yi, Singapore Airlines’ vice president for corporate sales and distribution, said adopting the Abacus EMD solution “allows Singapore Airlines to improve our customer experience by automating miscellaneous fees and deposit payments, while reducing paper dependency and related costs.”
Malaysia reinstates VoA for India and China nationals
In conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2013 (VMY 2014), which starts on January 1, the Malaysian governrnent has relaxed visa restrictions for visitors from India and China
However, the reinstated VoA facility comes with a condition – the Indian and Chinese tourists have to enter Malaysia through a third country.
Currently, India and China passport holders are required to apply for a visa for travel to Malaysia.
In 2010 Malaysia scrapped the VoA facility offered to visitors from eight countries, including China and India, due to abuse.
It has been reported that thousands of tourists have abused their VoA, which was introduced in 2006 in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007, by overstaying. According to the Immigration official 39,000 Indian nationals and 6,000 Chinese citizens have overstayed in Malaysia.
• Photo credit: SIHASAKPRACHUM/Shutterstock.com
