Being curious as to the reason why time seems to fly faster as we get older, we intelligently asked AI for the answer.
And it seems there is science behind it, the simplest explanation being that “Each year becomes a smaller fraction of your life. When you’re 5, a year is 20% of your life. When you’re 50, a year is 2% of your life. Your brain compares new experiences against the total you’ve lived – so every year feels shorter relative to your lifespan.”
So having got that out of the way, it’s time to reflect on the year that just went faster by and look ahead to the year that will fly even faster by.
Best to hang on to your seats for the wilder, faster ride coming even as we slow down (a tad) to take in the trials, tribulations and triumphs of 2025.
Here’s what our friends in the industry thought of 2025 and what they are looking forward to in the new year – the second instalment.
Omri Morgenshtern, CEO, Agoda
Looking back – one word to describe 2025
Acceleration
One word you wish would disappear from the vocabulary
Anger
On a scale of 1-10, rate how optimistic (10 being most) do you feel about 2026? Briefly, explain why
9 – Asia’s trave and economical growth is very promising. Consumer facing AI will start being relevant for travel and we will be in the lead of it.
Looking forward – one word to describe 2026
Evolution
What are you most looking forward to?
Consumer facing AI. More connected Trip.
What’s the biggest question you are asking yourself as a leader?
Are we fast enough
What’s the one key thing you’ll be doing over the next six months to prepare your business for whatever lies ahead?
More investment. More agility. More. Can’t rest.
What is the biggest opportunity for your business in 2026?
Consumer facing AI and Connected Trip (flights, activities in addition to accommodations.
What’s the biggest problem you want to solve for the traveller?
Travel anxiety or anxiety while you travel / book
One important trend that no one is talking about yet
Consumer shift to booking multiple trip items with the same brand, rather then separate vertical players
What’s the trip you want to make in 2026 to add to your memory bank?
Iceland. Will get to it at a certain stage.
What’s the most interesting thing you read or watched in 2025?
K-Pop Demon Hunters. It’s a good movie. Two aspects of fascination: 1. How quickly something becomes a worldwide phenomenon. And the power of children and youth in making it happen. Think 6-7… 2. How open the world is to cultural and I’d even say Asian cultural stories and concept.
Morris Sim, Executive Director, Montara Hospitality
Looking back – one word to describe 2025
Unpredictable
One word you wish would disappear from the vocabulary
Geopolitic
On a scale of 1-10, rate how optimistic (10 being most) do you feel about 2026? Briefly, explain why
7 — I’m actually pretty optimistic that there will be some positive breakthroughs — even if it takes until the second half of the year.
Looking forward – one word to describe 2026
Humanity
What are you most looking forward to?
Return to a more balanced world.
What’s the biggest question you are asking yourself as a leader?
How to make humans shine, both our employees and our customers.
What’s the one key thing you’ll be doing over the next six months to prepare your business for whatever lies ahead?
Staying agile.
What is the biggest opportunity for your business in 2026?
Incorporating wellness properly into hospitality.
What’s the biggest problem you want to solve for the traveller?
Having travel be a validating experience.
One important trend that no one is talking about yet
Infrastructure overload due to over tourism
What’s the trip you want to make in 2026 to add to your memory bank?
Sending my son to university.
What’s the most interesting thing you read or watched in 2025?
Naruto Shippuden – battle of good and evil so universal, timeless, and epic. But there is a way to get back to harmony.
Bobby Healy, Co-founder, Meili/Founder, Manna Drone
Looking back – one word to describe 2025
Geopolitics
One word you wish would disappear from the vocabulary
Super-excited
On a scale of 1-10, rate how optimistic (10 being most) do you feel about 2026? Briefly, explain why
10
Looking forward – one word to describe 2026
Hypergrowth
What are you most looking forward to?
Meili’s continued growth Manna’s MK2 aircraft, and hypergrowth (for both)
What’s the biggest question you are asking yourself as a leader?
Growth vs Margin?
What’s the one key thing you’ll be doing over the next six months to prepare your business for whatever lies ahead?
Hiring, organisation reset, resetting prioritising and reenergising.
What is the biggest opportunity for your business in 2026?
For Manna, international growth with EU/US priority. For Meili, international growth, worldwide.
What’s the biggest problem you want to solve for the traveller?
Friction at the rental desk, and to bring all the beautiful benefits of airline loyalty to aggregated car hire.
One important trend that no one is talking about yet
Erosion of many travel technology moats by AI. Particularly brokers.
What’s the trip you want to make in 2026 to add to your memory bank?
Back to Mexico City. My spiritual home.
What’s the most interesting thing you read or watched in 2025?
Being Emma. Heartbreaking. Autobiography of a friend affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB)
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, Principal, T2Impact
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, Principal, T2Impact Ltd
Looking back – one word to describe 2025
Can I have two? Weird and Busy.
One word you wish would disappear from the vocabulary
Trump
On a scale of 1-10, rate how optimistic (10 being most) do you feel about 2026? Briefly, explain why
4, some bad structural data points. E.g. Transpacific travel. China vs USA and Japan (and Taiwan).
Looking forward – one word to describe 2026
Change
What are you most looking forward to?
One of the leading players being knocked out which will open up some sectors of the market. Conversely a new player with big pockets coming in and demonstrating how inefficient and wasteful Travel Technology is.
What’s the biggest question you are asking yourself as a leader?
Why?
What’s the one key thing you’ll be doing over the next six months to prepare your business for whatever lies ahead?
Practical use of AI in improving my own efficiency.
What is the biggest opportunity for your business in 2026?
Moving to a role of stopping people hurting themselves.
What’s the biggest problem you want to solve for the traveller?
How to reduce the dominance of Amadeus as having so much control within the Travel Ecosystem
One important trend that no one is talking about yet
Airline Inventory Management Challenges
What’s the trip you want to make in 2026 to add to your memory bank?
Somewhere in LATAM that I have not yet visited. (And for 2027 – Antarctica).
What’s the most interesting thing you read or watched in 2025?
Wine and War, Don and Petie Kladstrup and A Cherub but no Angel, Peter Morey-Weale
Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic/Founder, Trip101
Looking back – one word to describe 2025
Acceleration
One word you wish would disappear from the vocabulary
Uncertainty
On a scale of 1-10, rate how optimistic (10 being most) do you feel about 2026? Briefly, explain why
7.5 – Geopolitical and economic ambiguity exists, but long-term fundamentals in travel demand and tech/AI-driven industrialization remain firm.
Looking forward – one word to describe 2026
Clarity
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to stepping into a new chapter while remaining deeply committed to leading Trip101, a brand with enormous potential well beyond the Asia Pacific market. And I can’t wait for WiT Japan 2026 on June 1–2 – as Japan continues to be one of the hottest destinations in the world, it’s the perfect stage to explore what the future of travel could become in the region.
What’s the biggest question you are asking yourself as a leader?
Are we designing a business that will remain relevant in the next 5, 10, and 20 years?
What’s the one key thing you’ll be doing over the next six months to prepare your business for whatever lies ahead?
Trying to crack the code of optimizing global LLM platforms to build new, high-intent revenue streams.
What is the biggest opportunity for your business in 2026?
HistoricStays101 (https://historicstays101.com/) — our newest portfolio launched this year for travellers seeking authentic heritage accommodations around the world: castle hotels in France, palace hotels in Jaipur, India, and centuries-old ryokans in Japan.
What’s the biggest problem you want to solve for the traveller?
Helping travellers find authentic stays and meaningful experiences — not algorithmic noise.
One important trend that no one is talking about yet
It may sound counterintuitive, but AI-driven products are already commoditizing at high speed – the differences among global LLMs, AI tools, and solutions are all shrinking rapidly. The next competitive frontier won’t be the models themselves, but the ecosystems around them: proprietary data, distribution networks, trust layers, and differentiated experiences.
What’s the trip you want to make in 2026 to add to your memory bank?
Trips for WiT Africa and WiT Queenstown (already in my calendar), which will take me back to the finest wines and incredible wildlife of South Africa – and to my first snowboarding adventure in the southern hemisphere!
What’s the most interesting thing you read or watched in 2025?
Watching my daughter – aka Litty – sign with Empire, a San Francisco–based global powerhouse in hip-hop. Sorry again for being a proud parent!
Tan Bee Leng, Chief Commercial Officer, The Ascott Limited
Looking back – one word to describe 2025
Breakthrough
One word you wish would disappear from the vocabulary
Impossible
On a scale of 1-10, rate how optimistic (10 being most) do you feel about 2026? Briefly explain why.
- I feel optimistic about 2026. This year has been one of real breakthroughs – from signing our first Ascott resort and branded residence in Phuket, to growing our Citadines portfolio past 200 properties globally, and launching the world’s first open-access accessibility playbook for hospitality operators. We’ve strengthened our foundations while pushing boundaries with new initiatives. Despite uncertainty that we anticipate in 2026, I’m excited about opportunities ahead, especially with our strategy and people firmly in place.
Looking forward – one word to describe 2026
Resilience
What are you most looking forward to?
We’ve had many bold ideas that we’ve yet to put in place this year. So I’m looking forward to working with my team to turn these ideas into action – creating experiences that matter for our guests, our owners and our associates.
What’s the biggest question you are asking yourself as a leader?
What’s next, and how do I inspire my team to journey and thrive alongside?
What’s the one key thing you’ll be doing over the next six months to prepare your business for whatever lies ahead?
Investing in people and culture. Our people are at the heart of our business, and cultivating a culture where they can grow and thrive is non-negotiable. This approach not only builds a future-ready talent pool to support our business in an evolving landscape, but also guides my personal growth as a leader.
What is the biggest opportunity for your business in 2026?
Loyalty remains our biggest opportunity in 2026. Ascott’s loyalty programme, Ascott Star Rewards, has grown to over seven million members in just six years since its launch in 2019; and over 90% of our online bookings today are contributed by our members. We’ve polled our members and continued to elevate our programme with highly-sought after experiences that our members desire; and established new benefits with partners like KrisFlyer, ANA Mileage Club and most recently, AirAsia rewards. In 2026, we aim to collaborate with even more partners to enrich our programme – providing more meaningful benefits and more accessible experiences for all our members.
What’s the biggest problem you want to solve for the traveller?
Travellers today want experiences that are tailored to them, and we want to ensure they feel genuinely catered for. And this is why at Ascott, we are guided by our brand promise – Stay Your Way. We believe that every traveller experiences the world differently – whether as a solo traveller, a relocating professional or a family travelling across generations. This drives purposeful growth of our global portfolio as we expand our brands into new geographies, so that no matter the purpose of travel, guests always have the choice to stay their way with endless possibilities.
One important trend that no one is talking about yet
Active, purposeful living. From now till 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22%, according to a report by the World Health Organisation. So as we welcome an increasingly ageing population, the goal in senior living isn’t about living longer, but rather, living better. Which means, purpose-driven ecosystems are going to be even more important than ever – with the design of stay environments that seniors can embrace active ageing in – where they can enjoy the freedom to explore travel while connecting and thriving in a social and meaningful way.
What’s the trip you want to make in 2026 to add to your memory bank?
A trip to London! When we first entered into a multi-year partnership with Chelsea Football Club in 2024 as their Official Hotels Partner, we also assumed management of the 232-unit stadium hotels at London’s Stamford Bridge, which is the home of Chelsea. We are in the midst of rebranding the property and expect to officially open our very first lyf-branded property in London by 2Q 2026 – lyf Chelsea London. With its bold, experience-led and community-focused concept, lyf Chelsea London is set to capture the spirit of Chelsea and the energy of Stamford Bridge. Whether I’ll be visiting for leisure or for work when it opens, I’m looking forward to an immersive experience that truly celebrates both the heart of London and the blues.
What’s the most interesting thing you read or watched in 2025?
I’ve come to enjoy football matches a lot more, especially since Ascott was appointed as the Global Hotels Partner of Chelsea Football Club in 2024. Since then, we’ve hosted three editions of The Famous CFC, Chelsea’s international fan engagement event across several countries. Early this year, I had the opportunity to watch the livestream of the match between Chelsea and Everton at a watch party at ICONSIAM in Bangkok – where over 250 supporters gathered along the scenic Chao Phraaya River. The atmosphere was supercharged with the passion of fans, and even more so as special video messages were delivered from Marc Cucurella, Enzo Fernández, Christoper Nkunku, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Benoît Badiashile and Omari Kellyman from Stamford Bridge to Bangkok, where Chelsea fans and Ascott Star Rewards members were gathered.
Tan Bee Leng, Chief Commercial Officer, Ascott, (second from right), with senior leaders from Ascott along with Chelsea legend, Gianfranco Zola.
This image says it all, and needless to say, the night ended with a resounding 3-0 win.
