Posts by Yeoh Siew Hoon
The game that got everyone fired up and someone fired – it’s 20 years in the making
14/07/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
How can a game that’s not even launched in Singapore get everyone talking about it, fighting to get downloads of it before its official release and even someone fired in Singapore? Pokemon GO, the augmented reality game which allows you to travel between the real world and the virtual world [...]
Developing your playbook for Asia – nuances matter, people critical
07/07/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Travel insiders from Asia picked social, mobile and content as the new opportunities for Asia. As with entry into any new markets, you’ve got to develop the right playbook. The fundamentals may be similar – yes, get the product right, define your market, hire the right team – but it’s in [...]
Under Brexit cloud, travel leaders share experiences of Asia
01/07/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
The timing of the first WIT Europe in London held yesterday could not have happened at a more poignant time in the city’s history and travel industry leaders, while grappling with uncertainty, agreed there couldn’t be a better time than now to seize the Asia opportunity. Every speaker express [...]
Letter from London: Brexit aftermath and an Icelandic moment that united
28/06/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Twenty four hours in London, and it's rather surreal. On the surface, it seems nothing's changed since my last visit a month ago, yet so much has. I can sense the shock and disbelief that it’s come to pass and the realities and (some regrets) are starting to sink in – what happens now after B [...]
The making of Town Hall Hotel and the rise of a London neighbourhood
22/06/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
I've always believed in the power of collaboration and more than that, creative conflict. That often it takes two opposites, like yin and yang, to create magic. Such is the case of the story of the making of the Town Hall Hotel & Apartments in London. Marie Baxter still remembers the day in [...]
Anand Nadathur takes lessons from father to sharpen SilverNeedle for next generation of travellers
21/06/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
The occasion was the launch of the first Sage Hotel in Western Perth but actually it was more significant than that for Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality – it also marked the comeback of Anand Nadathur to the business he founded. Anand, the younger son and director of the Nadathur Gr [...]
Fear only the fearmongers
20/06/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
It’s an interesting place to be. Here we are planning for our first WIT Europe conference in London and we don’t know if by June 30, Britain will still be part of the EU depending on how the referendum on June 23 goes. Some people would call it awful timing but for me, it's the best of time � [...]
Making work so fun you never want to leave and how not to kill creativity
16/06/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Even though it was just 8am, the canteen at Facebook’s Singapore office was pretty packed with employees having breakfast. I was a bit surprised – I had this idea that kids working at these new tech companies were not early risers and preferred working late at night. “Hey, maybe they never [...]
South Korea rising star for Hostelworld as it embarks on campaign to correct perceptions about hostel stays
15/06/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Where previously Asia was more of an inbound destination for Hostelworld Group, today it has become a strong source market for travellers and South Korea, in particular, is taking the Dublin-based company by surprise. The global marketplace for hostels now counts South Korea as its seventh la [...]
Oasis Collections expands to Asia on the back of AccorHotels’ investment
13/06/2016 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Parker Stanberry, co-founder of Oasis Collections, is the first to admit he was a bit surprised when approached by AccorHotels, the French-based hotel group that is aggressively making acquisitions in the technology and private accommodation spaces. “They seemed an unlikely investor. At fir [...]