Airbnb announces intention to become a publicly-traded company
Vacation rental giant Airbnb has announced plans to list its shares on the stock market in 2020.
In a short statement posted on its website, the company did not give any details on how it plans to list its shares, but Reuters believes that it is widely expected to take a direct-listing route. A direct listing to go public is a process in which no new shares are created and helps companies save millions of dollars in underwriting fees.
Airbnb announces intention to become a publicly-traded company
According to Reuters, Airbnb has not given any details on whether it was profitable in 2Q2019 but has previously said that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation were positive for 2017 and 2018.
On September 18, Airbnb released a statement stating that in 2Q2019, the company achieved more than US$1 billion in revenue, and is the second quarter in its history in which the revenue exceeded US$1 billion.
Since its founding in 2008, Airbnb has evolved from a home-sharing site into a full-service travel company. This year in June, the company added Airbnb Adventures, a new collection of multi-day experiences for small groups hosted by local experts, to its platform.
The Hong Kong protests have taken a toll on the tourism industry as a whole, with no light at the end of the tunnel yet; protests at the airport earlier in August
Ovolo Group’s founder & CEO, Girish Jhunjhnuwala, has called on the Hong Kong government to bail out the local hospitality industry, in light of the current economic downturn in the region.
Widespread anti-government strikes in Hong Kong have hit the country’s retail, aviation and financial sectors hard, with the tourism industry bearing the brunt of the city’s protest movement.
The protests in Hong Kong have taken a toll on the tourism industry as a whole, with no light at the end of the tunnel yet; protesters occupying the airport earlier in August
In light of the current situation in Hong Kong, Jhunjhnuwala issued a statement, urging the Hong Kong government to “lend a helping hand” to struggling local businesses during these trying times.
“It’s devastating to see the effect that the recent situation in our city has had on local businesses, particularly those of us in the hospitality industry. As reported by the South China Morning Post, tourist arrivals year-on-year have fallen by five per cent in July and an alarming 40 per cent in August – the largest decline since the SARS outbreak in 2003. Group arrivals from the mainland have also dropped by 90 per cent in the first 10 days of September.
“When our businesses weather tough times, those whom are hit the hardest are not the top-level executives but our team members – the employees working at the forefront of our organisations. It’s those members of society, that unfortunately, are the ones who are now facing reduced hours, reduced wages or in some cases, even redundancies.
“With this in mind, it is imperative the Hong Kong government and Hong Kong Monetary Authority both step in to lend a helping hand to local businesses who are struggling during these times – not only to ensure we reduce negative economic impact and avoid loss of wages or jobs, but to ultimately protect Hong Kong’s status as a thriving tourism hub for years to come.”
New Zealand's All Blacks and South African Springboks in action at the ongoing Rugby World Cup. Photo credit: Rugby World Cup Japan 2019
Advanced flight bookings to Japan suggest rugby fans from the UK, New Zealand and Ireland will be on the ground in force to support their teams during this year’s Rugby World Cup, according to research by Travelport.
With three teams from the UK – England, Scotland and Wales – taking part in the Rugby World Cup, it’s no surprise to see the surge in flight bookings to Japan during the tournament coming from the nation, said the travel technology company in a statement.
New Zealand’s All Blacks and South African Springboks in action at the ongoing Rugby World Cup. Photo credit: Rugby World Cup Japan 2019
With New Zealand looking to add a third win to their back-to-back victories in 2015 and 2011 respectively, the All Blacks will see good support from the stands with the number of tourists heading to Japan up 70 per cent year-on-year, it added.
Not only does the average traveller booking 134 days in advance, the study also revealed that New Zealand fans were “the most forward-thinking travel planners, keen to secure their ticket early”.
As part of its study, Travelport analysed booking data from all global distribution systems to Japan, as of September 12, 2019, arriving from September 18, 2019 to November 4, 2019. The company then ran comparable data for the same period last year to identify trends.
A 2021 opening has been given to the Universal Beijing Resort
The Universal Beijing Resort (UBR), which is Universal Studios’ Beijing theme park, will be opening in 2021, the company said on its official WeChat account.
Upon completion, it will be the largest Universal theme park in the world.
A 2021 opening has been given to the Universal Beijing Resort
The park project was announced in 2014, and will be the fifth Universal theme park worldwide, and the third in Asia.
Additionally, UBR will also debut two hotels, namely, The Universal Studios Grand Hotel and the Nuo Resort Hotel – Universal Beijing Resort.
Located in Beijing’s Tongzhou district, UBR will be served by a dedicated subway station with two metro lines, reported China Daily.
UBR is owned by Beijing International Resort, which is a joint venture between Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment and Universal Parks & Resorts, which operates under Comcast NBCUniversal.
Outrigger Hospitality Group has appointed Kenny Kan as senior vice president and chief development officer for the Hawaii-based hospitality brand.
In his new role, Kan will oversee the company’s growth initiatives, both in Hawaii and around the globe, and help execute the company’s strategic growth strategy by increasing the Outrigger portfolio through acquisitions of resort properties and securing management contracts in Hawaii as well as global resort destinations.
Working closely with the CFO and general counsel, Kan will work towards further propelling the hospitality brand into impactful global expansion and sustainable development.
His role also entails reinforcing development across all three tiers of ownership and management, including: Outrigger Resorts, the “by Outrigger” branded portfolio and third-party managed assets.
He will report directly to Outrigger’s president and CEO, Jeff Wagoner.
Most recently, Kan served as vice president, capital markets and treasurer, for Alexander & Baldwin – Hawaii. He previously served in a corporate finance and strategic planning role for the Outrigger Hospitality Group.
Kan has also held leadership positions in The Resort Group in Hawaii, private equity firm Grove in New York and Goldman Sachs in Tokyo.
Global designer residence and hospitality company, Yoo Worldwide, has ramped up its expansion in the region with the appointment of Krongsak Paramacharoenroj as the group’s associate director of business development – South-east Asia.
Based at the company’s Bangkok’s office, he will report to Rich Millar, Yoo Worldwide’s vice president of business development – Asia Pacific.
In his new role, Paramacharoenroj has been tasked with driving the expansion of Yoo across South-east Asia.
Following his graduation, Paramacharoenroj oversaw the development of two restaurants and two boutique hotels in Thailand, before joining real estate and hospitality consultancy, C9 Hotelwork. There he worked on various consulting assignments for leading property developers and international hotel brands.
Cross Hotels and Resorts has expanded its presence in Vietnam with the signing of a hotel management agreement for the X2 Vibe Halong Bay, in collaboration with Halong Bay Hotel Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of Vietnamtourism – Hanoi JSC.
Set to open in late 2023, the 470-key, 39-storey property will be located in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay, less than 60km from Van Don International Airport and a few hours from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.
Rendering of X2 Vibe Halong Bay, the group’s fourth property in Vietnam
Catering to both leisure and MICE travellers, the hotel will house facilities like an outdoor swimming pool, meeting and function rooms, an all-day dining restaurant and a fully-equipped gym.
X2 Vibe Halong Bay will be Cross Hotels & Resorts’ fourth property in Vietnam, following the debut of X2 Vibe Viet Tri Hotel last August, and the signing of the luxury X2 Hoi An Resort & Residence (open 2020) and Away Hoi An (open 2021).
Cross Hotels and Resorts currently operates 24 hotels across three distinct brands in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has appointed Taleb Rifai, former secretary general of the UNWTO, as a special advisor to the organisation.
In his new role, Rifai will provide guidance and vision to ATTA’s work in empowering a global travel community to deliver experiences that protect natural and cultural capital while creating shared economic value, starting with the MENA region around the momentum created by three years of AdventureNEXT in Jordan.
Photo credit: UNWTO’s Flickr
Together with ATTA’s executive team and advisory board, Rifai will assist the organisation and its members to navigate the evolving tourism landscape as they continue to address relevant industry issues and position adventure travel as a force for good.
Rifai served two terms as secretary general for the UNWTO from January 2010 through December 2017. His focus in the position was on the travel and tourism industry’s contributions and responsibilities in a rapidly growing and changing global environment.
Prior to his work with UNWTO, Rifai held a number of other positions, including assistant director with the International Labour Organization, several ministerial portfolios in the Government of Jordan, CEO of Jordan’s Cement Company, director of Jordan’s Economic Mission to Washington, DC, and director general of the Investment Promotion Corporation in Jordan.
Princess Cruises is seeing energetic adoption among Asian travellers since it began homeporting in this region six years ago, with almost 400,000 Asian guests cruising with the company in 2018.
Stuart Allison, senior vice president, Asia Pacific Commercial & Operations, who has described Asia as the company’s “key strategic market”, revealed that the current cruise season has recorded a 15 per cent growth in business for cruises starting or ending in Singapore.
Princess Cruises’ Stuart Allison (above) sees opportunities aplenty for the company to attract more travellers in Asia, even as the company records strong growth in the region
Laying out Princess Cruises’ plans for the coming season as well as years forward, Allison told TTG Asia: “We are continuing our deployment which will have us cruising to China, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore in the year ahead. We are also having five ships being built over the next six years, one of which – Sky Princess – arrives next month.”
“We are in the midst of our biggest growth period we have ever seen,” he remarked. “Asia’s growth is key for us, not only to support our new fleet but also our existing 17 ships operating around the world.”
Allison noted that there is a sea of opportunities for Princess Cruises to attract more Asians to cruise within the region, as “people generally favour cruising from their doorstep” and many Asians like travelling within the region.
He observed that as Asian cruisers level up, they look to farther regions which Princess Cruises can offer through its popular Alaska land and sea combination as well as new sailings to the Baltic on the Sky Princess and the Mediterranean on the Enchanted Princess, which is the next ship to launch after Sky Princess.
“Princess Cruises is the number one Alaska cruise in the world, so travellers who want to cruise Alaska often go with Princess. As well as having our own ships in Alaska, we have trains that pull up along the ship to take passengers into the wilderness of the national parks where our lodges are,” he elaborated.
Despite the robust performance, Allison pointed out that the cruise penetration is still low in Asia, with Asians accounting for under five per cent of the total outbound travel.
To get more Asians onboard, Princess Cruises is gathering “as many advocates as we can find to beat the cruising drum”, said Allison. Investments in travel agent engagement include the company’s Princess Academy online training course, which has 800 travel agencies and 8,000 consultants registered across Asia today.
Agencies that are on Princess Cruises’ portal, OneSource, can register their staff for the Princess Academy. A course participant will have to complete all modules and tests – with 40 courses available on product and sales – to eventually reach the top, and gain the Commodore rank. Commodores are rewarded with a free cruise trip.
“What we find, consistently across the world, is that travel agencies with Commodores within their staff are typically better sellers of our cruise products. While it is a big commitment for travel agencies to have their staff do our programme, the return is significant. They will get more cruise business,” said Allison.
Today, there are around 4,000 Commodores across Asia, 200 of which are in South-east Asia.
Allison also stressed the need to repeatedly remind travel agents of the high commission potential from selling cruises.
“Within the commissionable price for cruises, there is travel, accommodation, most of the main meals, entertainment, etc. The actual opportunity for the agent to earn a commission on all that is much greater than from a land programme, where he probably only gets a commission from the flight and hotel,” he said.
When asked how much travel agencies could potentially make from cruise commissions, Allison said: “Let’s say, on average, a cruise of six nights in Asia costs US$150 a day. In a market of four million cruisers, that’s a US$3.6 billion piece of business. If agencies earn an average of one per cent commission, that’s US$300 million to US$400 million in commission potential. I would want a slice of that myself!”
Accor has introduced Greet, touted as a new community-based, responsible and non-standardised economy brand that seeks to serve travellers looking to make a positive impact on the planet.
Created in early 2019, Greet was designed to meet growing demand among travellers for a high-quality and affordable hotel experience, while simultaneously seeking to add meaning to their purchases and reduce their impact on the planet, said Accor in a statement.
Accor's new responsible brand, Greet
1 of 2
The Greet concept addresses this dual challenge through a flexible business model for partners, and a totally new hotel experience for customers, it added.
The brand was designed to serve consumers, partners and investors in search of an alternative adventure incorporating non-standardised hospitality, according to Accor, which claims that one of the brand’s key strengths is the freedom and great flexibility it offers to hotel owners under its banner.
The only guidelines are that greet hotels must include a number of the brand’s key features, including its logo in the common areas, a large table d’hôte for communal bonding, and ensuring that 20 per cent of rooms can accommodate between four and six people. Each greet hotel owner is also required to meet the following eco-friendly directives: Salvaging objects sourced via second-hand networks or from eco-responsible suppliers, upcycling unusual decorative items, and repurposing these objects.
Franck Gervais, AccorHotels’ CEO Europe, said: “With the launch of greet, our aim is simply to provide an ideal solution to independent hotel owners by offering a brand that combines the regeneration of existing hotel structures with cost control, both in terms of renovation and redevelopment of the spaces.”
An ecosystem has therefore been introduced to assist hotel owners in their policy of renovating and upgrading their assets, said the company, adding that partnerships with key organisations will enable each hotel to turn their approach to giving second chances into a reality.
Hence, Greet has joined forces with several leading charities, including Emmaüs, which will enable owners to source second-hand furniture and designs made using recycled items, as well as Valdelia – an eco-organisation providing a comprehensive solution to collect, recycle and re-use old furniture from all types of organisations – which will strengthen the connections with these networks. Another flagship partnership has also been launched with “L’atelier Consommateur & Citoyen”.
“These partnerships are essential as they help to turn our commitment to giving second chances into reality, both for our franchisee partners and our customers. greet is an inclusive brand, where the community genuinely plays a key role. We firmly believe that by working together, by creating synergies at both the national and local level, that we will be able to have a positive impact on our society,” Gervais said.
With the opening of its first Greet hotel in the heart of the Burgundy vineyards in April this year, Accor Group hopes to open 300 greet hotels throughout Europe by 2030, notably in Marseille, Lyon Perrache, Paris, St-Witz, Rennes, Bourges and St-Germain-en-Laye.
