Accor’s Issenberg talks Fairmont, culture and content
For a man who’s spent the past seven months leading the integration of a US$3 billion acquisition, involving 115 hotels across 40 countries, Michael Issenberg, the chairman of AccorHotels Asia Pacific, was looking decidedly relaxed when I caught up with him in Sydney.
Since Accor’s acquis [...]
Letter from Bethnal Green: Discovering a new hood, and the street art of Brick Lane
I have to confess that I never thought I’d ever write a letter from Bethnal Green – because, prior to last month, I didn’t even really know where it was and the name had only been on the periphery of my consciousness, associated with inner city London, gangs and crime.
It didn’t seem to b [...]
How a corporate hippie is reimagining George Town heritage + hotels
The day I went to check out the Jawi Peranakan Mansion, Chris Ong’s newest boutique hotel in Penang, a Chinese family of about 12, with young kids, were checking in.
They had booked on Expedia, were taking two rooms and the staff were wondering how to tell them that each room only had capacity [...]
The game that got everyone fired up and someone fired – it’s 20 years in the making
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 � [...]
