Hotel wonderland as distribution is disrupted and ALICE comes out to play
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away, I dreamt of being a hotelier. In fact, I recall asking a general manager if he would switch places with me for a day just so I would understand what it was like to walk around with hands behind my back and look at floors to see if there was litter or occas [...]
What David Bowie said about the Internet rings true for travel too
I know much has been written about the passing of David Bowie this week and even more shared on social media and it’s times like these that you realise again the power of the Internet.It gives voice to a community united around one thing and it allows us to share all our different memories, perspe [...]
As 2016 dawns, may the force of women be with you
Warning: This post may contain a spoiler alert, but really it's quite obvious. Just as “Lara Croft” got a reboot under the masterful hand of Rhianna Pratchett, into a heroine with more than boobs, Star Wars has also been rebooted with the seventh sequel, “The Force Awakens”.And the force i [...]
May the Internet be with you – hark the forces at play at Expedia
As I write this at JFK airport, waiting for my Korean Airlines flight to Incheon, the Force has awakened. Yesterday – December 17 – was the premiere of the long-awaited and much-anticipated “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, which is getting smash reviews by the way. It was thus only natural t [...]
We shouldn’t stop travelling but we should ask, what if something goes wrong?
I don’t know if it was this post about a writer whose father died in a house rented on Airbnb that moved me and got me thinking – or if it was the terrorist attacks in Paris, or that bomb that downed a Russian jet, or the terrorist alert in Bali, but there’s no denying we live in frightening t [...]
The more travel consolidates, the more freedom for differentiation
No sooner had I uttered the word “consolidation” then another piece of news arrived in my inbox. This time, Sabre Hospitality Solutions buying the Trust Group of companies which include Trust International, Nexus and InnLink for US$154 million.The deal, to be finalised early next year, immediate [...]
As travel consolidates, welcome to the land of giants and specialists
Marriott buys Starwood; Accor in talks with Fairmont; Expedia nabs HomeAway – what’s next as the big gets bigger? Marriott buys Starwood. It came probably in a tweet, a Facebook post or a LinkedIn update. Just three words which mean a lot. A heck of a lot.In fact, you could say, in travel indust [...]
Letter from London: Bacharach, Shakespeare and Southwark reimagined
In London, I caught the musical, “Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined”. Written by young Canadian artiste, Kyle Riabko, it’s a tribute to one of pop music’s most celebrated and prolific songwriters and while I normally eschew musical medleys, Riabko’s clever and contemporary arrangement and [...]
Letter from inside a Tesla: Nerds love it, women will love it, what’s not to love?
I am not big into cars but even I know the future when I see it.
My first encounter with a Tesla was about three years ago when Joe Nguyen of comScore said he wanted to show me his latest gadget and took me for a drive in one of the first few models of the electric car invented by Elon Musk.
We co [...]
Letter from County Wicklow: Like roses in Ireland, Asia is blooming
On the drive from Dublin airport – minus my baggage – I asked the driver if County Wicklow was where the water came from to make Guinness.He laughed and said, “The things tourists believe.”Thing is, it does take a certain suspension of disbelief to travel. That just the day before I had been [...]
