Think like an immigrant, work like an artisan and live in beta
It’s the new formula for workers in the new sharing economy and I couldn’t have picked a more appropriate place to write this piece than Shanghai, gateway to 1.35 billion people in a country that’s on beta-steroids.
(Pictured left: Shanghai by day)
At the WIT Conference, Philip Wolf, fo [...]
People as a Marketing Factor, Part II
The second part of this series is based on the panels in the Marketing Track at WIT Conference 2013.
Summary and Thoughts of the Placement Panel
As this panel was about existing and emerging channels of distribution, we began with Lawrence Kuok from Starwood (pictured left), who gave a [...]
Explaining ICCA to youths and what it takes to be an entrepreneur
I am headed to Shanghai today to attend the ICCA annual conference. Yesterday, my nieces, one of whom works in hotels and the other in a digital media agency, asked me what ICCA was and what the conference was about.
I told them that ICCA stood for International Congress & Convention As [...]
Marketing is Changing as a Result of the 5th P, Part I
The traditional 4Ps of Marketing surrounding Product, Pricing, Placement, and Promotion has undergone a major update and at Web In Travel this year I, as the moderator, along with a wonderful set of expert panelists, examined the impact of the 5th P – People, and how they’re fundamentally ch [...]
Meet the APAC traveller: Constantly connected, highly social
Two pieces of research launched at the Web In Travel conference reveal that travellers in Asia are not only constantly connected but also highly social in how they share and what they share on their travels.
Google’s research across 11 Asia Pacific countries, covering 11,000 interviews an [...]
Take time to learn from silver surfers and grow your market
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet four Japanese seniors – two couples – who were visiting Singapore. One couple’s last visit to Singapore was 40 years ago and, of course, their impression is, “It’s completely changed.”
They stayed at the Marina Bay Sands, dined and wined at t [...]
Lessons from WIT: Key ideas from Day 1
Sitting at Penang airport and just got the news on my social feed that Lou Reed is finally taking the wildest walk of his life. Reed, 71, was a huge influence on blues and rock in his time and his words and music always made me smile for all that it implied.I feel like I too have just taken a walk o [...]
Letter from Hong Kong: Some pick hotels for returns, others for romance
Just returned from Hong Kong after attending the HICAP conference – good to see how the event has grown since its early days when it was held at the Kowloon Shangri-La.
It’s a sign of the growth of the hotel industry in our part of the world – when it began in 1989, the business was being dri [...]
MYGOLA raises another US$1.5 million funding
MYGOLA, which pivoted from wanting to be an “uber travel agent” to a one-stop shop for users to plan their travel itineraries, has closed Series A funding of US$1.5 million.
The round was led by Helion Venture Partners, one of India's largest funds, and investors in MakeMyTrip and Redbu [...]
Airbnb poised to build up brand and supply pipeline in Asia
Airbnb’s expansion in Asia continues apace. Its head for PR and social media, Lena Sonnichsen, is moving from Hamburg to Singapore effective November 1, and it has appointed country managers in Korea and Japan, and is scouting for a head in Australia.
Sonnichsen, in Singapore ahead of her [...]
