Leaving home, but never really leaving it: The invisible web
It’s amazing how much has changed in the last five years and perhaps it’s because we live it everyday that we don’t notice how it’s crept up on us, so as to be almost a part of us.I am talking about technology, especially that part that moves with us, and why I believe (no brainer, really) t [...]
ADD be gone, write great letters and welcome back, long-form
Dear FriendsHappy new year. I know. I am late. But it took me a while to get my brain back into gear after I put it to sleep over the holidays.It wasn’t actually sleeping really, just wandered off. But now that it’s back in working order, I find myself thinking about attention span, letter writi [...]
He got out of poverty, now he wants Local Alike to champion community tourism
Growing up in the Isan village of Roiet, Thai entrepreneur Somsak Boonkam (Pai) knew he had to pursue education to escape poverty. At age 8, his parents managed to gather enough money to send him to Chantaburi High School. From there, he studied his way to university at Nakhom Pathom.“That changed [...]
Doing hotels differently, the Taipei Inn way
Like Warren Buffet, Taiwanese investor Jimmy Dai believed that if everyone was going one way, he would go the other. And so 10 years ago, when he thought of building a hotel in Taipei, he went against the trend and built the city’s first design boutique hotel.“At that time, the hotel industry in [...]
Together, we helped build a dormitory in Laos, thank you
If you were to ask me what I remember most about 2014, it’s the smile on Marie Cammal’s face when we told her about the amount we had raised at our WIT Charity Auction and how 70% of it would go towards her efforts to build the dormitory for young girls on the Thai-Lao border. (The rest goes t [...]
If you want to be Guardians of the Start-Up Galaxy, here’s what you should heed
There is a scene in the opening sequence of the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” that sticks with me. Our hero, Peter Quill, is walking into a cave. He’s wearing pretty fancy futuristic gear, having flown in his super duper futuristic craft. You are at the edge of your seat wondering what’s l [...]
The year in review: From desert to bay, the fun’s just beginning
When we started 2014, it was with the intention to run 10 events to celebrate our “Little Big 10” anniversary. As the year unfolded, I lost count – what is it they say about life being a journey and not a destination.Well, now that we’ve nearly reached the destination – year end 2014 – I [...]
No alarm bells here, Huston wants to stay humble with more heart
It’s hard to feel sorry for Darren Huston. After all, he runs the world’s biggest travel company which shows no signs of stopping and which has been gobbling up almost everything in its path.Let’s do the numbers first before we get to the sorry part. According to its latest financial results, [...]
Monsters, copycats and start-ups – “siege mentality” needed in 2015, says Agoda’s Rosenstein
The year may be winding down but not for Rob Rosenstein, CEO & co-founder of Agoda. It was a public holiday in Thailand but the entrepreneur behind Asia’s top hotel booking brand was jam-packed with meetings, with people popping in and out of his office, all wanting time with him, including me [...]
Why Tujia had to take a different approach with vacation rentals in China
When Melissa Yang returned home from the US to start a new vacation rentals site for China, she knew she had to do it differently. While the experience she had had working with Escapia, a vacation rental bookings site which was acquired by HomeAway in October 2010, came in handy, she knew a differen [...]
