THE trend of same-day hotel and airline bookings looks likely to grow in the future and travel agencies must consider how to stay relevant and value-add in such a climate, said speakers at Travel Tech 2015.

Though such travellers who book arrangements on the day of travel are in the minority, the number of last-minute bookings for hotel search queries are on the rise, said Marc Woo, Google Malaysia’s head of e-commerce & travel at yesterday’s conference in Kuala Lumpur, organised by the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA).

This indicates that consumers are driven by the availability of platforms and technology, and the ease of doing searches on mobile devices on-the-go, Woo added.

GfK global director, travel, Laurens van den Oever, said he believes the trend for same-day bookings is aided partly by the oversupply of hotel rooms and airline seats, which drives hoteliers and airlines to use platforms that could absorb excess capacity.

However, he felt that it would be difficult for intermediaries, such as travel consultants, to add value to same-day bookings.

On the sidelines, Nigel Wong, MATTA’s vice president – research & technology, disagreed and told TTG Asia e-Daily that it would depend largely on whether a travel agency is flexible enough to allow execution of same-day bookings.

He elaborated: “It depends on what types of services are provided by the travel agency. If it is a city tour, all you need is a vehicle and a guide. But if it is a package with limited inventory, for example accommodation on Mount Kinabalu, then this may not be possible, as the agency will first have to contact the accommodation provider before confirming the booking.

“Undoubtedly, those with an online platform with capabilities for same-day bookings and instant confirmation will be able to take advantage of instant engagement with clients.”

Wong, who is also managing director of Kuala Lumpur-based Urban Rhythms Tours Adventures & Travel, is partnering with Borneo Trails Tours & Travel to create WonderfulBorneo.com.

The mobile-friendly portal will allow same-day bookings of tours within Sabah, and is scheduled to go live in mid-May.

AFRICA is proving to be the next frontier for Thai hospitality groups buying, building or acquiring properties on the continent.

In the latest announcement, Minor Hotel Group (MHG) said yesterday it has acquired the Cheli & Peacock Group of Companies and its six camps in Kenya –Elsa’s Kopje, Elephant Pepper Camp, Joy’s Camp, Tortillis Camp, Kitich Camp and Lewa Safari Camp.

To come under MHG’s Elewana Collection, which already consists of eight other properties showcasing the highlights of Northern Tanzania, Kenya and Zanzibar, the Cheli & Peacock camps will nevertheless continue to operate independently under the guidance of founders Stefano and Liz Cheli.

 Earlier this month MHG also said it is partnering Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company for two Anantara resorts in North Africa – the 93-key Anantara Tozeur Resort in south-west Tunisia and the 230-key Anantara Al Houara Tangier Resort in northern Morocco. Both are scheduled to open in 2017.

MHG is also going to add a fourth brand to the continent when it rebrands Essque Zalu Zanzibar to Per Aquum later this year. In total, MHG has 25 properties in seven countries in Africa across the Anantara, Avani and the Elewana Collection brands, and owns the Radisson Blu Hotel, Maputo, in Mozambique.

At the same time, fellow Thailand-based hospitality group Dusit International also celebrated the grand opening of dusitD2 Nairobi late last month.

The first Dusit property in sub-Saharan Africa, the dusitD2 Nairobi is the company’s second venture into Africa after the Dusit Thani LakeView Cairo in Egypt in 2009.

Chanin Donavanik, managing director and CEO of Dusit International, said in a press release that the launch is “only the first of many projects for Dusit in sub-Saharan Africa” as the group looks to solidify its presence in Africa.

THE Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) and research company GfK will collaborate by means of data exchange to obtain greater market insights and understanding about outbound consumer behaviour among the Malaysian travelling public.

In a pilot project, 10 members of MATTA have agreed to share their data with GfK on the booking habits among Malaysian outbound travellers as well as the common services travellers book via a travel consultant.

“Information collated will provide greater market insights to better understand the rapidly changing consumer behaviour of travellers and help the travel industry make smart decisions to grow their business,” said Nigel Wong, MATTA’s vice president, research & technology.

An MoU was signed yesterday between Hamzah Rahmat, president of MATTA, and Laurens van den Oever, GfK’s global director, travel, for long-term collaboration that will ensure consistency in data collection, which in return will provide a better representation of the Malaysian travel landscape.

On this partnership, Hamzah commented: “As the national association of travel in Malaysia, we recognise the need to leverage technology in order to remain competitive in the market and become more relevant to the modern consumer. The partnership between MATTA and GfK is for the benefit of the Malaysian travel industry and will help the industry grow to its fullest potential.”

GfK will provide monthly reports to MATTA and the travel agencies involved in this pilot project.

Earlier this year, Gfk joined hands with Singapore’s NATAS to produce a holistic report on the Singapore tourism sector that will be launched this June. It is also collaborating with HATA in Hong Kong, with plans to tie up with JATA in Japan and AFTA in Australia for big data analytics support.

ANTICIPATING rising visitor numbers, Singapore-based Keppel Land is launching the new Inya Wing at its Sedona Hotel in end-2015.

The Inya Wing will see an addition of about 420 rooms, bringing the hotel’s total room capacity to 786. At 29 storeys, the new tower block will be one of the tallest structures in Yangon when completed.

The new hotel wing will cost US$80 million to develop and will be fully integrated with the existing Sedona Hotel Yangon.

Speaking at the topping-up ceremony for Inya Wing yesterday, CEO of Keppel Land, Ang Wee Gee, said the property market in Yangon is poised to deliver healthy performance over the next year as Myanmar is expected to enter a phase of sustained economic growth.

Myanmar is forecast to reach 4.5 million tourist arrivals in 2015 and 7.5 million in 2020, said Ang.

Keppel Land owns and manages the Sedona hotels in Yangon and Mandalay.

Deputy minister of hotels and tourism Tin Shwe said the expansion of the hotel is timely and reflects the steady pace of growth in Myanmar’s economy.

FOREIGNERS taking domestic flights by Golden Myanmar Airlines (GMA) should be prepared to pay over 50 per cent more than locals.

Since April 1, the airline has introduced a new price structure with one price category for foreigners and several categories for locals. For a flight between Yangon and Nyaung U, foreigners pay US$89, whereas the lowest advertised price for locals is US$59.

“(Due to) GMA’s trend towards a full flag carrier like other airlines, we have introduced a dual pricing system from now on,” Sabai Phyu Soe, PR and marketing executive for GMA, told TTG Asia e-Daily via email.

Dual pricing is common in Myanmar’s tourism industry. In Yangon, for example, People’s Park charges foreigners more than 16 times the local price for admission.

In March, Yangon’s Winner Inn Hotel advertised on an Internet forum a Standard Single room at US$50 for foreigners and 30,000 kyat (US$32) for locals.

Asked about the dual pricing, Aung Myo Myint, who does business development for the hotel, responded that the GDP in most countries around the world is 10 times that of Myanmar. “If we were to price our local rates to match foreigner rates, locals would not be able to afford the hotel rooms.”

According to Thi Ha, a lawyer from Germany law firm Luther Law Firm’s Yangon office, there is nothing in Myanmar’s law that prevents companies from implementing dual pricing.

But Andrea Valentin, director of Tourism Transparency, opined: “I think dual pricing for airlines is probably not a good idea if there is more competition in the future, but if the Myanmar law allows this then… investors need to be aware of this protectionism.”

“Other countries in the region have taken their time with removing the dual pricing system for foreigners, but eventually they remove it because of market forces,” she said, adding that removing dual pricing may not prove popular with locals.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts yesterday announced the signing of The Westin Manila Sonata Place and The Residences at The Westin Manila Sonata Place, slated to open in 2019.

The Westin brand’s first mixed-use development in South-east Asia, the new build property will be located in the Ortigas business district in downtown Manila and will be 11km from Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The Westin Manila Sonata Place will offer 300 guestrooms, three F&B venues, fitness centre, spa and swimming pool. For meetings and events, there is 1,400m² of function space, including two ballrooms and six meeting rooms.

Residents of The Residences at The Westin Manila Sonata Place will enjoy a separate pool, fitness centre and lounge, as well as access to the public areas of the hotel.

The property joins two other Philippines-based hotels in the Starwood pipeline, Sheraton Manila Hotel and The Westin Manila Bayshore, scheduled to open in 2017 and 2018 respectively.