Letter from Assam, Part 3: Creatures great and small, and sunsets to make you weep in Kaziranga
From Majuli Island, the third leg of my travels through Assam takes me to Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve. This being my first safari experience in India, I really didn't know what to expect. All I know is I got more than I bargained for.
I knew I was in for something magical when, o [...]
Your time is gold and yes, we have yobots to serve you too: The Yotel promise
Walk into Yotel Singapore and you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stepped into the mission control of a space capsule. The look and feel is white and minimal with splashes of purple.
Two Yobots, one male and one female (distinguished by her eyelashes), catch the eye. Wifi-enabled, the [...]
As online travel reaches maturity in the west, what does the next chapter look like?
As the global online travel market reaches a turning point, what lies in store for all players, from global to local?
To me, there was one key message that came out of the two largest conferences in online travel for Asia Pacific and North America – WIT (Web in Travel, Singapore) and Phocuswrig [...]
Stay One Degree couples social networking with private accommodation to create community between travellers and property owners
Coupling the principles of the sharing economy and social networking has given rise to Stay One Degree – a luxury home rental platform, focused on cultivating a culture of trust between home owners and their guests.
Co-founders, Thomas Bennett and Jorge Munoz, created Stay One Degree in an eff [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 2: Breakfast with the birds, lunch with monks and dinner around the fire
From tea estates, this second part of my travel through Assam takes me to Majuli Island, the world's largest inhabited river island, and home to rich birdlife and devout monks who express their faith through art and dance. It was also there I met a hotelier of a different sort.
The Dekasang Res [...]
Ready for some cold hard facts about hotels? Angelini serves them with dollops of humour and tips
Veteran hotelier Giovanni Angelini began the new year by delivering a serving of “cold hard facts” but laced it with a sense of humour.
Indeed, the hotelier, who began his career in Asia at the Westin Chosun in Seoul, and then worked his way up to become CEO of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts [...]
As spaces and customers evolve, hotels have to make booking and planning meetings easier
After corporate travel, the meetings market (or MICE as it is called) is the next most lucrative sector for hotels and is the slowest in tech adoption. With the convergence of new technology and changing customer demands and expectations, this space is next in line for disruption.
Hotels have man [...]
8 Thoughts for 2018, Part 3
As we kick off 2018, it's time to look ahead to what awaits us and we ask our panel of industry leaders to share their thoughts and personal wishes for the new year.
Blanca Menchaca, Co-founder, BeMyGuest
One word to describe 2017: Defying
One word to describe 2018: Closing cycles
One key le [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 1: Of tea, monsoons and learning to be a guest
Since everyone's talking about the desire for local, authentic experiences these days, there's no better place to have them than in places which are remote and less travelled. The lack of infrastructure and tourists does mean giving up on certain conveniences but hey, isn't that the point of travel? [...]
Future Leaders Series to be launched at WIT Hospitality 2018 in Hong Kong
WIT will launch a 'Future Leaders Series' aimed at nurturing outstanding individuals to become future leaders in the digital travel space as part of WIT Hospitality 2018, which will be held on 20 March at Hotel ICON in Hong Kong,
The half-day forum (from 2 p.m.- 5.30 p.m.) on 19 March, a day be [...]
