AirAsia: The journey to becoming a digital airline has begun
AirAsia always has big ambitions, evident from its growth from a two aircraft airline in 1993 flying to a handful of destinations to currently the biggest low cost carrier in Asia with 165 destinations in 25 countries.
Now its group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has another visio [...]
Travellers to Malaysia rely on reviews to pick hotels
Most travellers are influenced by three factors when it comes to booking accommodation: price, ratings/scores of accommodation on a review site, and proximity to key attractions (not necessarily in that order).
For example, almost all visitors (95%) to Malaysia are influenced by price, while 91% [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Gen-Z, the new millennial?
And so the focus now falls on Gen-Z. The new buzzword du jour. Millennials are so passé, they should have stopped ageing if they wanted to stay relevant.
So what is it that Gen-Z wants? Are their travel tastes so remarkably different to millennials’? Simply put… They want exactly the same th [...]
Letter from Penang: Beyond food to tech, heritage and startups
I have in my Dropbox a food guide to Penang. It saves me time whenever a friend tells me, “Hey I am going to Penang, what shall I eat and where?”
The problem with Penang is the good food is found in places which I don’t even know the name of, just the location – for example, right across [...]
AirAsia strengthens ancillary portfolio with purchase of travel planning startup Touristly for US$2.6m
Asia’s largest low cost carrier AirAsia has acquired a 50% stake in Malaysia-based online travel planner, Touristly, through an asset injection and loan deal valued at RM11.5 million (US$2.6 million).
Launched in June 2015, Touristly describes itself as a “travel platform that helps trav [...]
How reward-U is aiming to be “Hong Kong’s everyday loyalty programme”
In putting together its reward-U loyalty programme, Hong Kong’s low cost carrier HK Express turned a couple of things on its head.
One, members are rewarded for dollars spent, not miles flown. Two, it moved from an FFP (frequent flyer programme) to a lifestyle-based scheme, rewarding customer l [...]
Dara Khosrowshahi on pivotal leadership moments, confluence of 3Ms and being a tortured executive
In a catch-up over local coffee with Yeoh Siew Hoon, Dara Khosrowshahi, president and CEO of Expedia Inc, recalls his early stepping-back-in-leadership moments, and why it’s important to know where you are going, not just what you are doing. Plus, his thoughts on the confluence of the 3Ms and the [...]
Eight Essential Takeaways from WIT Hospitality 2017
The second WIT Hospitality conference took place on March 28 at Hotel ICON last week. The Silverbox Ballroom teemed with industry characters ranging from C-class executives to fresh-faced students only just embarking on their hospitality careers.
The conference dove deep into topics that continue [...]
Trends that matter In hospitality
What are the trends that matter in hospitality? In a one-on-one with WIT founder Yeoh Siew Hoon, Lorraine Sileo, vice president research, Phocuswright shared these insights at WIT Hospitality in Hong Kong
What are the biggest trends in hospitality
Room revenue is on the rise, growing f [...]
Expedia’s first Innovation Lab in Asia will be beach-head for mobile learning
We sat in one room watching a man have sensors attached to his face – two above the eyebrows and a couple on his cheeks. The sensors, using Electromyography (EMG) technology, will tell us when he’s frustrated or delighted as he browses the Expedia website for his dream hotel.
Turns out he’s [...]
