Radisson Blu, one of the brands under the Radisson Hotel Group
As HNA Group considers selling Radisson Hotel Group, Bloomberg reports that China’s state-owned Jin Jiang International is weighing a bid for the Minneapolis-based hotel company.
HNA Tourism Group had bought Carlson Hotels – comprising hotel brands Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites – for an undisclosed sum in 2016, before the latter’s recent rebrand into Radisson Hotel Group.
Radisson Blu, one of the brands under the Radisson Hotel Group
The debt-ridden Chinese conglomerate has been dumping assets globally, and its divestments snowballed to billions this year.
Bloomberg, quoting unnamed sources, said HNA could get at least US$2 billion from the Radisson sale, which is expected to attract other bidders.
Discussing HNA’s financial troubles in a recent interview with TTG Asia, Katerina Giannouka, Radisson Hotel Group’s head of Asia-Pacific, stressed that Radisson was self-financed and pursuing a five-year plan independent from the owning company’s contributions.
For potential bidder Jin Jiang, overseas expansion has been high on the agenda. It has been described by the CEO of Louvre Hotels Group, a company it acquired in recent years, as a “strategic, long-term player (that) does not want to exit”. Jin Jiang also owns 12.3 per cent of France’s Accor SA.
Local experience discovery platform Trell has raised US$1.25 million in seed funding from multiple investors. The Bengaluru-based startup, which generates content via short videos and images, will use the funds to scale and strengthen its product, technology and data science capabilities.
The latest seed round was co-led by BeeNext and WEH Ventures. Sprout Venture Partners and individual investors, such as Rajan Anandan, managing director of Google India, and Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, also participated in the round through LetsVenture platform.
Earlier in March 2017, Trell had raised US$250,000 from existing investors including Aprameya Radhakrishna, founder of TaxiForSure; Nirav Choksi, chief executive of supply chain finance tech firm CredAble; Shanti Mohan, CEO of deals platform LetsVenture; Nitin Gupta, CEO of Ola Money and founder of payments firm PayU India; and Amit Lakhotia, former vice president of business at Indonesian e-commerce firm Tokopedia, among others.
Trell was launched in August 2017 as a platform designed for millennials to share their experiences of places and food, as well as discover those of others through user-generated short-form video content.
Prashant Sachan, Trell’s co-founder, said: “There is a rising trend of exploring local and travel experiences among the 230 million urban millennials in India. Their need to discover new experiences around them has to be served differently, as the existing platforms are using conventional and dated ways to do so.”
Co-founder Pulkit Agarwal added: “The content is all visual, geo-tagged and has a strong storytelling element, which makes it contextual and immersive, and this differentiates it from other competitors. It will offer an intuitive way for its users to discover real-life experiences around them.”
Trell – accessible on Andriod, iOS and Web – claims that it has already crossed half a million downloads and has over 200,000 monthly actives, within eight months of its product launch.
The platform is currently home to one million user-generated content uploads with experiences ranging from exploring local street food stalls to European backpacking trips.
According to Agrawal, users are creating over 10,000 original posts every day, a number which has been growing 1.5 times month-on-month since September 2017.
Nearly half of Asia-Pacific travellers begin planning at least 60 days in advance
Asia-Pacific travellers are the heaviest planners of all global regions, according to Sojern, with 45 per cent of travel searches starting more than 60 days out from the departure date.
Sojern’s Third Global Travel Insights Report of 2018 covers searches looking back at 2Q2018 and looking forward at 3Q2018.
Nearly half of Asia-Pacific travellers begin planning at least 60 days in advance
It further shows that 65 per cent of travel searches in Asia-Pacific start more than 30 days in advance of the departure date. In comparison, 63 per cent of travel searches in Europe and 61 per cent in Latin America started more than 30 days in advance of the departure date, while in the Middle East and Africa it was 43 per cent.
Another highlight is the finding that while mobile devices are abundant, global consumers are still using desktop for the majority of their searches while planning travel. In North America, 72 per cent of travel searches happened on desktop during Q2. For Asia-Pacific, it was 67 per cent and in Latin America it was 64 per cent.
Mobile search is “king” in two regions – Europe, with 53 per cent of European travel searches happening on mobile and 52 per cent in the Middle East and Africa.
“Even with mobile devices nearing global saturation, we continue to see that travel planning search volume remains desktop-heavy,” said Jackie Lamping, vice president of marketing at Sojern. “While there’s clear evidence that mobile is playing an increasing role in the dreaming and inspiration phases of trip planning – mostly driven through social sharing on Facebook and Instagram – travellers still come back to their desktop in order to research options in more detail, compare prices, and ultimately arrive at a confident decision.”
He explained that many consumers still feel that price comparison is better done on desktop—whether that’s due to faster website load times, access to more content, or the ability to open multiple browsing windows simultaneously.
Airbnb shows it does not take its tagline “don’t go there, live there” lightly, having added the Great Wall of China to its platform not merely as a sightseeing option, but as a complete overnight stay experience.
The homesharing platform said it worked with historians and preservationist groups to open up “unprecedented access” to the world wonder, allowing guests to spend the night in a custom-designed home situated along the ancient portion of the wall.
The bedroom on the Great Wall
High above the ground within a centuries-old tower along the Great Wall, Airbnb has created a bedroom offering 360-degree views and a vantage point for stargazing.
At sunset, guests can enjoy a dinner with multiple courses, each representing a different aspect of Chinese culture. Dinner will be accompanied by a traditional Chinese music performance, which is bookable year-round for all travellers to China.
The following morning, guests will embark on a sunrise hike through China’s countryside while learning about the Great Wall, its heritage, history and protection efforts from the wall’s official historians.
Calligraphy is one of the Airbnb Experiences offered, along with the once-in-a-lifetime stay on the Great Wall
Airbnb has launched a contest to select four winners to enjoy its new offering, and is taking the chance to plug its Airbnb Experiences category of products.
During the stay, each winner will also have the option to choose from Airbnb Experiences currently on the platform, such as making their own personal stamp by learning Chinese seal-engraving or learning calligraphy on Chinese traditional fans during a personal Chinese calligraphy course.
Over the past year, the number of Airbnb listings in China has grown by 125 per cent, and there have been more than 3.3 million guest arrivals in Airbnb homes in China, it said.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will launch a 593-key resort in the western Pacific island destination of Palau, said to give the country’s Aimeliik region its first upscale international hotel.
Commenting on the group’s Palau debut, Joon Aun Ooi, president and managing director, South-east Asia and Pacific Rim, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said: “International visitor arrivals to Palau have jumped 50 per cent since 2010, and the country remains an intriguing and appealing destination for many Asian travellers. With direct air links from key source markets such as Seoul and Taipei, the prospects for Palau’s tourism industry – including the MICE sector – remain bright.”
A rendering of the resort
Developed by the Sea Sky International Development Group, the resort will offer 132 guestrooms and over 400 villas, including over-water and hillside options.
It will also feature an executive lounge, two free-form pools, a children’s pool, a kids’ club and a wellness centre. The resort also includes a purpose-built conference centre with a variety of options for event planners, including a ballroom seating up to 140 guests and four meeting rooms for up to 60 people.
For F&B, guests can choose from a lobby lounge, beach bar and terrace, pool bar, an all-day dining poolside restaurant serving Asian and international cuisine, as well as a specialty Chinese restaurant.
A rendering of the docking platform
Palau comprises more than 200 jungle-clad islands in the western Pacific Ocean, about 1,500km east of the Philippines. It is a choice destination for divers and snorkellers, with its healthy and protected reefs housing marine life including approximately 1,500 species of fish, sharks, rays, turtles and more.
Wyndham Palau will be located 20 minutes’ drive from the Palau International Airport and a short boat transfer from Koror, the country’s main commercial centre.
One of the biggest advantages of cruise companies that struck me the other day – like ships passing in the night – is that their assets are moveable. I was reminded of this convenient truth for these companies when Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) decided to redeploy its China-centric ship, Norwegian Joy, from its homeport in Shanghai to the US.
The move created for it a domino effect of positioning its ships around the world where revenues would be highest. NCLH is a listed company; it minced no words that it was monetising strong global demand and driving higher shareholder returns.
Ican practically hear hotels moaning how they, too, wish they could move their property elsewhere each time RevPAR was down; alas, they have to stick their neck out in the market. That not sticking-it-out come rain or shine, which other tourism sectors do, is what bothers me about NCLH’s decision, no matter how logical you may say it is.
This is particularly so when the Norwegian Joy has been profitable since entering the China market – and only for just a little more than a year at that. It received the highest satisfaction level of all Norwegian Cruise Line fleet (NCLH also operates Oceania and Regent cruise lines), according to guest feedback surveys across all the line’s ships.
A lot of effort and progress have been made by the line to understand the Chinese consumers (even little things like shifting dining hours to 17.00 onwards than 18.00); increase their spending onboard through WeChat marketing; educate smaller agents to sell cruises; plus there’s the exclusive partnership between NCLH with Alibaba which has not even scratched its potential.
The ship itself was purpose-built for Chinese and its entry into China last year created a stir for cruising among Chinese travellers who love bells and whistles all the time.
The Norwegian Joy will be moved from Shanghai to Seattle in April 2019
There are no fewer than 28 F&B outlets – the widest array of dining experiences yet on any new ship that has been purpose-built for China – accommodation offerings that make it attractive for multi-generational travel which is popular for Chinese, great facilities for gamblers and gamers alike, among others. Its hull artwork was painted by renowned Chinese artist Tan Ping, who picked the phoenix to symbolise supremacy over all birds of the world. Its godfather is Mandopop star Wang Leehom. Now imagine this ship homeporting in Seattle then Los Angeles. No wonder NCLH has to spend another US$50 million to rejig the vessel to suit a different customer set.
What’s the point of the rigmarole of building a China-centric ship, of saying the company is bullish about China, as NCLH’s president & CEO Frank Del Rio did just last February, only to sink the plan all too soon even when the toddler is profitable?
Granted, with only 26 ships, NCLH feels it is underserving many markets of the world. But that only means it has made a huge miscalculation of building a China-centric ship in the first place.
Clearly, NCLH now sees that the opportunity cost of being in China today is high, considering other parts of the world can bring higher returns than the wholesale ship charter style that is still predominant in China.
But there is also an opportunity cost of leaving a fast-growing and fast-changing market like China for a whole year. As to which is the larger opportunity cost, only time will tell.
There’s also something to be said of real commitment in helping develop a market – not just approaching it like ships passing in the night.
Grab is eager to grow in Indonesia, where Gojek is its main competitor
As it consolidates market share in South-east Asia on the back of a takeover of Uber’s operations in the region, Grab has raised US$2 billion from its current financing round, “a significant portion” of which is expected to be invested in Indonesia.
The funding round saw investor Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) joined by global financial institutions, including OppenheimerFunds, Ping An Capital, Mirae Asset – Naver Asia Growth Fund, Cinda Sino-Rock Investment Management Company, All-Stars Investment, Vulcan Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Macquarie Capital and others.
Grab is eager to grow in Indonesia, where Gojek is its main competitor
In a statement, Grab said it would use the funds to expand services in South-east Asia. On top of ride hailing for a range of transport modes, its services today include GrabPay, GrabFood for on-demand food delivery and GrabExpress for parcels.
Most recently in July, it entered the on-demand grocery delivery space by launching GrabFresh in Jakarta, with other cities to follow later in 2018.
The company intends to use a significant portion of the proceeds to continue investing in Indonesia.
Grab said it has over 7.1 million “micro-entrepreneurs” on its platform, more than half of whom reside in Indonesia. Through Grab’s partnership with local wallet and rewards programme, OVO, Grab said it has formed the country’s most widely accepted mobile payments ecosystem, with more than 60 million downloads.
According to Grab, this has been a year of exponential growth in Indonesia accompanied by a significant increase in market share.
GrabFood this year expanded beyond Jakarta to serve 28 cities and towns across Indonesia. Its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in the country almost quadrupled in the first half of 2018, while GrabExpress’ GMV has more than doubled in the first half of 2018.
Sharp rises in fuel prices have prompted major North American airlines to warn of flight cuts and fare hikes, and that direction appears to be rippling into Asia with Singapore Airlines Group’s LCC Scoot firing the salvo to increase airfares by an average of five per cent.
In a statement released yesterday, Scoot said that effective September, its fares will increase by between S$5 (US$3.70) and S$30 per sector, depending on flight duration.
Scoot fares will increase by up to S$30 per sector
Jet fuel price has surged almost 40 per cent year-on-year and now stands at nearly US$90 per barrel on average, according to the LCC.
With fuel comprising 32 per cent of Scoot’s total operating costs, the rise in jet fuel prices has pushed up Scoot’s fuel expenditure by 31 per cent year on year, it said.
Singapore Airlines reported RPK declines across the group in the April-June quarter, as well as a 57 per cent plunge in net profit on the back of rising fuel prices.
Besides increasing fares, Scoot is also looking at containing costs. Some initiatives being considered include exploring ways to reduce fuel burn, review suppliers’ contracts, improve productivity and keep manpower resources lean, among others.
Amid speculation that Scoot’s fare hike may be the start of increases across Asia’s airline sector, travel agents in Singapore are not jumping the gun.
Albatross World Travel & Tours’ president and CEO, Crystal Sim, told TTG Asia: “Any increase in fuel charge has no direct nexus with airline charges. It does not mean ipso facto that airline prices automatically go up… We expect it, but not automatically. In time, it will come.”
Meanwhile in the Philippines, airlines such as Philippine Airlines and budget carrier Cebu Pacific are petitioning to impose a fuel surcharge to cope with rising costs, according to local reports.
The country’s Civil Aviation Board is also in discussion with local carriers on a fare matrix scheme for the fuel surcharges, the Philippines’ GMA News reported.
A strong line-up of speakers at the first Asian MICE Cruise Conference panel
IT&CMA 2018 will debut the region’s first-ever Asian MICE Cruise Conference on September 18 as part of the show’s three-day business, education and networking programme.
Confirmed opinion leaders taking the stage include Dream Cruises’ president and Crystal Cruises Asia’s managing director, Thatcher Brown; Royal Caribbean Cruises’ managing director Angie Stephen; Worldwide Cruise Associates’ co-founder and president, Steve Bloss; Genting Cruise Lines’ senior vice president – international sales, Michael Goh; Silversea Cruises’ vice president, corporate & incentive sales, Freddy Muller; and Princess Cruises’ Southeast Asia director, Farriek Tawfik.
A strong line-up of speakers at the first Asian MICE Cruise Conference panel
Said Karen Yue, editor of TTGmice and group editor of TTG Travel Trade Publishing: “The cruise industry is booming and MICE is undoubtedly the next big thing for the sector. Market leaders are already capitalising on the potential, while many are still coming into the game. TTGmice is proud to put forth this first and only platform of its kind in the region – an open conversation with the world’s leading cruise executives.”
Kicking off IT&CMA’s education highlights on its first day, this half-day event at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld will feature an intense panel discussion led by cruise CEOs and an experts’ exchange on making the case for MICE cruises, among other sessions, as well as networking opportunities at its hosted breakfast, coffee break and luncheon.
On the motivation behind this conference, Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media said: “As a pioneer in the business events industry, TTG is always at the pulse of key developments impacting the profession. Cruise offers a huge playing field for its many stakeholders, where its potential rests on the immense collaboration between the private and public sector across verticals and geographies to ensure that the right policies, infrastructure, facilities, producs and services are in place.”
Organisers therefore expect 400 regional MICE stakeholders relevant to the cruise sector to attend, with at least half of attendees comprising of buyers covering corporate incentive, meetings and events, incentive trips, luxury travel, associations and academics. Hotels, resorts, airlines, destination management companies, government representatives from national tourism organisations, convention visitor bureaus and ports, and media professionals will form the remaining audience profile.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) 2017 Asia Cruise Trends, cruise capacity across all metrics (number of ships, voyages, operating days and passengers) has increased significantly since 2013 with greater uptrend expected in the foreseeable future. Asia remains at the heart of this growth with passengers from this region quadrupling over 5 years. Last year, passenger capacity was estimated at 4.24 million.
While leisure cruise demand has seen a revival, the concept of cruises as an appealing and viable option for business events is still relatively new. Shared panelist Tawfik of Princess Cruises: “Today, there is low awareness among organisers and companies that MICE events can be organised easily and held successfully onboard cruise ships. As a possible budget-saving, all-inclusive alternative to hosting a meeting at a luxury resort, cruises also offer plenty of interaction and teambuilding opportunities, as well as a unique experience to give delegates that “wow” factor, such as waking up in a new country every day while only needing to pack and unpack once. The advantages of a MICE event at sea are endless.”
Bloss of Worldwide Cruise Associates echoes the perspective that greater exposure is needed for MICE cruises. He said: “As a collective, we strive to foster understanding of what a modern cruise ship is, and make purchasers aware of how to buy cruises while embracing cruises’ different terms and requirements. Today, there are over 55 cruise lines, some 400 ships plus 100 new ships in the pipeline. It is possible to have an unbiased all-in-one cruise shopping experience with options that extend globally.”
In addition to being part of the inaugural conference’s panel, the organisation is also exhibiting under IT&CMA’s cruise cluster.
IT&CMA 2018 will be held from September 18 – 20, 2018 at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld. It is co-located with the CTW Asia-Pacific – The Leading Corporate Travel Management Conference for the Asia-Pacific.
Matthew Smith has been appointed general manager of Destination Asia in Singapore, succeeding Bob Guy who retires after eight years as managing director of the DMC in the Lion City.
Smith brings with him 18 years of experience in the travel industry and a developed network in meeting & events and DMC activities.
From left: Matthew Smith and Bob Guy
Alongside the management of daily operations, he will also drive forward new initiatives to further develop key sectors of meeting and events, luxury FIT travel and cruise.
Guy had set up the Singapore office in October 2010 alongside James Reed and Gill Guy, growing the company from an initial five staff to 34 travel specialists.
He will continue in his role as managing director of Destination Asia in Malaysia until the end of the 2018.
