Letter from Shanghai: Scent of a hotel, toasted loo and lobster in a jar
It being the first time I have stayed at a Waldorf Astoria, I figure I should write about it.Especially about that toilet seat that flips up automatically every time I open the door to the cubicle. Quite spooky at first encounter. I think I jumped. I developed a fear of self-opening toilet lids afte [...]
One day, vacation rentals will supplant hotels in leisure segment – that’s HomeAway’s ambition
HomeAway’s expansion has largely been driven by acquisitions. Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Carl Shepherd, co-founder & chief strategy and development officer of the world’s largest vacations rental site, to find out more about its plans for Asia.Q: What’s the state of the overall vacatio [...]
‘Challenger’ Andres brings customer focus to Travelport, eyes OTAs and hotels
Six months into his new role as vice president Asia and regional managing director Asia Pacific for Travelport, and Patrick Andres is digging into what he learnt on his first job to grow the travel distribution company’s business in the region.“As a young boy working at the Westin Toronto, I re [...]
Expedia revs it up with clear goal in sight – to build first pan-Asian OTA brand
He may be the President and Chief Executive Officer, Expedia, Inc. and President, Expedia Worldwide, but at heart Dara Khosrowshahi remains a product guy. I know this because he became truly animated when he showed me the Expedia Hotels & Flights app on his iPhone.“It’s so tactile. We take [...]
From no choice to tough choices: Singapore tourism at watershed moment
I think sometimes we are spoilt for choice. You go into a restaurant and they pile you with choices. You go online and you’re inundated with choice. Which app? Who do I read? What do I want to buy?Well, the good news is for those who attended the recent Singapore Tourism Industry Conference, the c [...]
Talk about robot kisses and it doesn’t have to be pink
There’s this ad that’s intriguing me right now. It appears on my Kindle, because I bought the cheaper version that comes with the ads. I have so far resisted paying for games online on my iPad and instead I put up with ads.This makes me wonder of course what kind of signals this is giving us con [...]
From selling rooms to cooking fun – and it all started with a bike ride
Inspired by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman’s “Long Way Round”, former Singapore hotelier Daniel Tan got on a motorcycle and did a three-month ride across Asia.He had just completed his MBA while working with Pan Pacific Hotels Group and decided to quit his marketing job to take on this mot [...]
Women rule in loyalty, as bookers and as workers
So the big question about loyalty is whether you can buy it or you have to earn it? From what we’re seeing in travel, most suppliers just seem to be buying it with most programmes geared towards driving transactions ie “If you spend this, we will give you this.”Rather than creating that cosy, [...]
Are you a ‘leftover’ woman? And are you self-critical? Read on
Is the universe telling me something or what? On the flight to Bangkok to open our second WITX event and I am reading the IHT and what should I come across but two articles that speak directly to the topic of how women are redefining not just travel but societies, economies and workplaces.First is a [...]
How Tourism Australia personalies, mobilises and socialises content
Last week I attended the iStrategy conference in Sydney, Australia. Nick Baker, the Executive General Manager of Consumer Marketing for Tourism Australia, gave a keynote address on Tourism Australia’s past year’s experience, which brought into focus “content and the key levers of personalise, [...]
