Letter from Assam, Part 4: Cruising on the Brahmaputra and sleeping in the middle of nowhere
The final leg of our Assam Tea & Wildlife Adventure takes us on a five-hour drive to the city of Guwahati where we board a river boat, our home for the next two nights. On this cruise on the Brahmaputra, I learn about time, silk and breathing in the moments.
On our way out of Kaziranga Wildli [...]
Johan Svanstrom on how Hotels.com intends to stay on the pitch in Asia
Before he became president of the Hotels.com brand, Johan Svanstrom was based in Hong Kong and played a key role in building up the business in Asia Pacific. With Expedia committing more resources to growth in the region, Svanstorm and his team are riding high on the wave of globalisation. I caught [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 3: Creatures great and small, and sunsets to make you weep in Kaziranga
From Majuli Island, the third leg of my travels through Assam takes me to Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve. This being my first safari experience in India, I really didn't know what to expect. All I know is I got more than I bargained for.
I knew I was in for something magical when, o [...]
Your time is gold and yes, we have yobots to serve you too: The Yotel promise
Walk into Yotel Singapore and you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stepped into the mission control of a space capsule. The look and feel is white and minimal with splashes of purple.
Two Yobots, one male and one female (distinguished by her eyelashes), catch the eye. Wifi-enabled, the [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 2: Breakfast with the birds, lunch with monks and dinner around the fire
From tea estates, this second part of my travel through Assam takes me to Majuli Island, the world's largest inhabited river island, and home to rich birdlife and devout monks who express their faith through art and dance. It was also there I met a hotelier of a different sort.
The Dekasang Res [...]
As spaces and customers evolve, hotels have to make booking and planning meetings easier
After corporate travel, the meetings market (or MICE as it is called) is the next most lucrative sector for hotels and is the slowest in tech adoption. With the convergence of new technology and changing customer demands and expectations, this space is next in line for disruption.
Hotels have man [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 1: Of tea, monsoons and learning to be a guest
Since everyone's talking about the desire for local, authentic experiences these days, there's no better place to have them than in places which are remote and less travelled. The lack of infrastructure and tourists does mean giving up on certain conveniences but hey, isn't that the point of travel? [...]
Nagaland, here I come – travel is still not easy, thank goodness for that
As I prepare for my year-end trip to Assam and Nagaland in Incredible India, I can’t help but reflect on the year that’s just whizzed by and the year that will undoubtedly come upon us faster than we can say travel.
Here are my reflections on the cusp of a new year.
• Isn’t it wonderfu [...]
Hoteliers should be panicking about Airbnb, says Ian Schrager
Hoteliers should stop being in denial about the impact of home sharing on their business, believes Ian Schrager, the hotelier extraordinaire hailed for his ground-breaking concepts.
“They should be panicking,” he said, during an interview at the Expedia Partner Conference in Las Vegas ear [...]
How to play the infinite game, curing loneliness with travel and living forever
Long game or infinite game, whatever the term you choose to use, I am sure there was purpose behind the choice of Simon Sinek as keynote speaker at the Expedia Partner Conference held in Las Vegas last week.
Sinek, who’s working on a new book called “The Infinite Game”, drew an analog [...]
