Hospitality
Villa rental market in APAC growing along with travel recovery
19/08/2022 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
How has travel behaviour changed over the past two years, and how can villa owners stay on top of the trend? Travellers are ready to fly again According to a research by American Express, 74% of travellers are more willing to book a trip, even if they have to change or cancel it later on. Masterca [...]
Singapore students win Accor’s Take Off! Challenge with metaverse idea
18/08/2022 by Caitlyn Tan
THREE university students from Singapore and their metaverse idea won Accor Group’s Take Off! Challenge this year, an annual worldwide student competition designed to attract young talent to the global hotel group. The winning team, Meta Trio, comprised Phuan Shi Yun, Ng Min Feng and Chia Pe [...]
D’EDGE names Accor marketing veteran as new MD APAC
03/08/2022 by WiT
D-EDGE Hospitality Solutions has named Accor marketing veteran Emilie Couton as APAC managing director, replacing Christine Tan, who led the business for seven years. Couton was formerly with Accor, covering sales, digital marketing, guest experience and loyalty roles, over 20 years, the last [...]
Bali, Thailand make it to Airbnb’s top 20 places for remote work
07/07/2022 by WiT
OUT of Airbnb’s list of 20 destinations in its Live and Work Anywhere initiative, only two in Asia made the cut – Bali, Indonesia and Thailand. The choice of Bali and Thailand in Asia is not surprising – these are the two places that consistently make it to the many lists of top places for [...]
The Wrap: Passengers love mobile, touchless tech, Ascott expands, Air India transforms
05/07/2022 by WiT
Passengers going all in for mobile and touchless tech, SITA Insights show ITA’s 2022 Passenger IT Insights research highlights pent-up demand for both business and leisure travel emerging from the pandemic, with passengers further embracing mobile and touchless technologies. The survey revea [...]
“Mountain Kid” Le Masurier wants to build Dek Doi resort for those seeking “new era of community”
04/07/2022 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
From renting one room on Airbnb to building a brand FROM helping his mother rent out the top floor of their holiday home in Chiang Dao on Airbnb six years ago, William Le Masurier now has plans to develop a resort that will capture the essence of his “Dek Doi” (which means mountain kid) brand. [...]
Here’s the lowdown on Ovolo:  From underground bars to peanut butter bourbon in Bali
28/06/2022 by Ian Jarrett
Hotel group says the time is right to expand its brand across Asia THERE is no question that Hong Kong hotel group Ovolo likes to do things, well, a bit differently. It likes to stand out from the crowd. Take its latest venture in Melbourne: a near-secret, 45-seat underground meeting place – i [...]
Metaverse could become equaliser for small, independent brands, says Accenture’s Tansey
28/06/2022 by WiT
With rising consumer interest in virtual experiences, Accenture highlights opportunities for travel and hospitality ACCENTURE recently released its latest research on the impact of the growing use of immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality in the travel and hospitality sector. [...]
Letter from 5lasserre: Where time is as fluid as the wine and as silent as the cats
23/06/2022 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
I AM writing this as I overlook the vineyards of St Emilion, a French medieval village in the heart of Bordeaux. Since I’ve been in France the past week, I’ve experienced a heatwave – two days of temperatures that made me think I was in Oman, instead of Brittany – and a hailstorm, with stone [...]
WebBeds’ Sun on rate parity, credit and distribution shifts
21/06/2022 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Bedbank sees strong recovery in both traditional and online channels Just as its hotel partners had to pivot to domestic during the pandemic, so did WebBeds as it re-deployed resources towards domestic content, closed its Taiwan office and ramped up its domestic distribution network, working with l [...]