In the news this week: Hotel guests reviews from Wego, PeerMatch from PandaBed, WiFi for the masses on AirAsia
Hotel guest reviews – the good, the bad and the unusual
Guests are candid in commenting on their hotel stay
We all have things to say about our stay in hotels – from praising the “great food at the buffet” to complaining about “no hand towels in the bathroom” and relating about “being touched by a friendly ghost” – all of which make for interesting reading, as well as serve as a gauge of the hotels’ standard of service and product quality.
Travel search site, Wego, and big data travel review partner, TrustYou, have compiled some of the more unusual feedback from hotel guests around the world to show how personal a hotel stay is for all of us.
The comments they found are wide ranging – from too many women to not enough women, resident ghosts and a poolside bird convention.
Joachim Holte, chief marketing officer at Wego, said “Hotel guests are usually quite candid about what impressed them and what didn’t. Every traveller is different; with unique expectations and views of their experiences, and we can’t help but enjoy some of the more colourful comments which we thought were worth sharing.”
Added Benjamin Jost, CEO of TrustYou, “Guest reviews provide insights to fellow travellers as well as hotel management, but more importantly they highlight the individuality and personality of travellers, while also demonstrating that the tiniest details are not overlooked.”
Wego listed the top 10 comments as:
- No ghost sighting
- One ghost touching
- Weird, glass enclosed bathroom in room shared by hairy mates
- Too much cardio, not enough squats in the gym
- No toaster = horrible!
- Pool attracted a bird convention
- My toilet seat fell off
- Too many women in the bar
- Not enough women in the bar
- Extra charge for children: fabulous!
Some of the more “colourful” comments include:
- “Comfortable, clean and mostly quiet. My toilet seat fell off.”
- “The gym has no free standing squat racks. Too much cardio!! I am a strength athlete and do back and front squats.”
- “The hotel charges extra for children so you are almost guaranteed not to see or hear any!”
- “The evening meeting of crows at poolside was funny! And a lot of pigeons around. If you have a bird phobia, poolside might not be for you.”
- “It was a friendly ghost though as my friend told it to go away and we meant no harm.”
But not all comments are negative. There are some short and sweet reviews like the hotel visitor who simply stated that she had returned home “a fatter person”. clearly a stamp of approval for the hotel’s cuisine.
New matching service from PandaBed based on cultural/community preference
Image credit: PandaBed
Singapore based online homestay marketplace, PandaBed, has launched PeerMatch that unlocks culturally attuned homes in Asia.
Describing PeerMatch as “an industry-first”, the company said the service was launched to meet an increasing demand from Asian home owners who exercise discretion when accepting house guests.
House owners can indicate their guest preferences based on Asia’s four main religions, nationality and age group.
Likewise, the PandaBed guest can book a home, which is hosted by an owner of similar cultural background. For example, Muslim travellers can now stay in a Muslim-friendly home that has a halal kitchen on PandaBed.
Lester Kang, PandaBed’s co-founder and marketing head, said, “Whilst there are similar platforms that connect travellers to homes, our approach is differentiated and highly attuned for Asia. PandaBed focuses on the human connection that allows travellers to find the perfect host-guest match, thereby creating a better overall experience”.
James Chua, PandaBed’s co-founder and business head, added that Asians are conservative, culturally diversw, and prefer living in familiar community groups. “The essential ingredient to a vibrant home-sharing eco-system is in connecting homeowners to travellers who are culturally similar.”
PandaBed has ambitious plans to double its 5,000 homes to 10,000 within the next few months. The team will also be working closely with community groups in the region to help solve the accommodation supply-crunch surrounding cultural events.
Now everyone can use WIFI on board AirAsia
AirAsia Allstar volunteers testing the WiFi service / Image credit: AirAsia
Asia’s largest low cost carrier, AirAsia, will launch WiFi on board for the masses by the end of the year.
A range of WiFi products including Instant Messaging, emails as well as content streaming, will be made available gradually on all AirAsia flights with the AK flight code, and will be introduced throughout the AirAsia group progressively.
A group of 120 AirAsia Allstar volunteers boarded a test flight on August 13 for the very first user acceptance testing (UAT) conducted for the WiFi service. Three instant messaging services – LINE, Whatsapp and WeChat – were tested. Live updates of the test flight were shared on the airline’s official Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s group chief executive officer, said this would be the first onboard WiFi product in the world at affordable pricing system.
“Finally, the masses will be able to enjoy WiFi on board at a low cost price. As I promised to the market, this is one of many initiatives that we are rolling out to boost our ancillary income per passenger spent target of RM60 (US$19) from the current RM46 in the near term.”
Fernandes added that it took five years to develop the product. “The WiFi equipment that was introduced to us much earlier was just too expensive, and we decided to develop our own. It has taken us five years to come to this stage, but in true AirAsia style, we have to get it right and provide our guests with the best value at the most affordable rates.”
For the next two months, AirAsia will be providing 60 guests on each flight with the opportunity to participate in the “free user test”. Details will be shared via AirAsia’s website and official social media channels.
• Featured image credit: Wego
