ZUZU Hospitality hits sweet spot, and why there’s less need for hotels to have a brand today
Four years on, after having signed its first hotel in July 2016, ZUZU Hospitality believes it has found its sweet spot in helping independent hotels manage their demand and revenue management.
It now has 1,800 hotels, with the sweet spot being those with 20-50 rooms, across South-east Asia name [...]
It’s action-packed time in Middle East as Saudi opens up, consumers move to mobile, WorldExpo 2020 gets set to open
As WiT Middle East prepares to return to Dubai on April 7, it is clear the winds of change blowing through the region’s travel market have intensified with the opening up of Saudi Arabia in full swing, the continuing migration of consumers to mobile and, of course, the building up to WorldExpo 20 [...]
Amid sustainability concerns, cruises get set to sail into the big-time in Asia; travel agents urged to wake up
Just as the word “sustainability” has taken the aviation world by storm, with flight shaming impacting air travel in Sweden and Europe, in particular, cruise companies are also bracing themselves for potential backlash against their industry.
When asked for one key development in 2019, whic [...]
From UK to Malta and Paris, a Europe in turmoil and aviation under pressure
In the UK, the media was full of Brexit uncertainty, a longer running and more dramatic story than the Netflix series, “The Crown”. Who needs historical dramas when one is unfolding right before your every eyes?
After a few days in Cardiff, we flew onto Malta, straight into the country’s w [...]
Letter from Fort Lauderdale: Time shifting as search chokes, funds bloat and brands battle for supremacy in next age of tech
As I wait for the first of three flights that will bring me home from Fort Lauderdale to Singapore via Houston and San Francisco, I have downloaded the Timeshifter jetlag app, one of the startups that presented at the Phocuswright conference. It’s relatively easy to set up, I just hope it works b [...]
Letter from Explore ’19: Persevere, respect, be mindful – and oh, get more sleep
If I had to sum up the first day of Expedia Group’s Explore ’19 conference in Las Vegas today in three words, they’d be “perseverance, respect and mindfulness”.
The morning opened with a talk by Colin O’Brady who, after nine years of having his legs burnt at a beach party in Thailand [...]
Expedia sets as its “Everest” – a frictionless travel experience
He got burnt badly at a beach party in Koh Tao, Thailand, was told he’d never walk again and ended up climbing several mountains including Everest and walking across the Antarctica. Colin O’Brady opened Expedia Group’s Explore ’19 conference in Las Vegas this morning by asking delegates, � [...]
Twenty years on, from Ctrip to Trip: From China power to “glocal” giant
It felt like I was going to a rock concert. The night before, on a cruise on the Huangpu river, the city lights were in full blaze but one illumination stood out, the Pearl Tower lights announcing that Ctrip was turning 20 – a city paying homage to its homegrown Internet giant.
This morning, [...]
Transformation of a sacred cow: The flight path of SIA into a digital enterprise, beyond airline seats
Singapore Airlines (SIA) started its digital transformation in 2016. Since then, hundreds of millions have been invested in IT capex with the vision of creating a “future where SIA remains a prestigious proposition but becomes a smaller part of the whole entity, and the other seeds would have bec [...]
Navigating the pitfalls for travel startups: A “safety” guide
“My goal is to highlight some of the most common place calamities to befall travel startups,” was how Rod Cuthbert, board member of Veltra Corp and former chairman & CEO of Viator & Rome2rio, started his presentation at WiT Innovation Stage held last week in conjunction with WiT S [...]
