Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, one of the largest hotel franchise groups in Asia-Pacific, will expand its presence in the region under a new hotel management agreement.
The hotel franchise group has signed an agreement appointing Bangkok-based hotel management company, Krest Hospitality, as its preferred management company in South-east Asia.
Quality Hotel Marlow in Singapore, which is operated by Choice Hotels
With local market expertise spanning hotel management and international branding, Krest Hospitality – an affiliate of Kosmopolitan Hospitality – expects to further develop and expand the property portfolio across Choice Hotels Asia-Pac’s Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands. Krest Hospitality’s responsibilities include identifying new properties, negotiating contracts, implementing staff training and providing marketing services.
Choice Hotels Asia-Pac CEO Trent Fraser said the deal with the local hotel management company will help realise the franchise group’s growth strategy.
“With extensive knowledge and a successful track record in South-east Asia, Krest Hospitality is ideally placed to assist us in expanding our presence in the region,” he said.
Since launching in 2015, Krest Hospitality / Kosmopolitan Hospitality has experienced impressive growth, and currently manages more than 18 hotel properties worldwide.
The strategic alliance will cover Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Maldives, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Choice Hotels Asia-Pac currently has several properties in the South-east Asia region, and, as a result of this alliance, hopes to see this number further increase by more than 20 properties over the next five years.
The international lodging franchisor also has more than 300 hotels across the Asia-Pacific region.
Think about the last time you booked a flight. Did you visit your preferred airline’s website or call a travel agent? Did you compare prices using a third party’s online platform and then shop around for the best deal?
If you’re like the majority of consumers, you booked your flight online only after you compared the costs of the same flight from different airlines. Indeed, recent research on flight pricing found 56 per cent of travellers cited price as the primary influence on flight booking decisions. What’s more, they conduct a lot of research before booking a flight – McKinsey estimated travellers go through up to 100 touchpoints before making a purchase.
Because travellers booking holidays online are willing to put in lots of research time to get a great price on a flight, it’s no wonder third-party booking platforms like Expedia, Kayak and Skyscanner have become a preference and have transformed the air travel industry.
It’s easy to see why they’ve been successful: these sites considered the customer journey and worked to provide a user-friendly, one-stop price comparison and shopping experience that reduces the number of touchpoints and makes finding the right deal much simpler for customers.
In addressing the customer’s pain points, these third-party websites have outpaced airlines in capturing today’s digital consumer. In fact, these disruptive competitors have done such a great job that many airlines have been unable to keep up with them technologically – including mobile platform offerings and personalisation – and now fail to meet customer expectations altogether.
The tech challenge
The digital challenges facing airlines are multifaceted, but can generally be traced back to a common issue: outdated technology.
While the majority of airlines’ desktop websites are serviceable, they are not nearly as streamlined and user-friendly as the sites from the third-party competitors. A lacklustre, clunky interface can immediately prompt customers to leave, opting for a more user-friendly site.
As for mobile options, many airlines do not presently have mobile-optimised websites, leading to slow page loading times, unappealing interfaces and hard-to-use features. These inefficiencies, coupled with the amount of touchpoints required during the customer journey, cause many travellers to lose patience and head to another site.
Getting an upgrade
Not all hope is lost – there are ways for airlines to implement newer technologies to meet customer expectations, but it does require them to retool their thinking and to make vast changes to their digital presence.
The first shift is to develop mobile-first strategies. In 2017, McKinsey found that 43 per cent of travel-related searches were made on smartphones, and it’s likely this percentage rose over the past year. This means airlines should invest in their mobile channels more heavily than their desktop options to meet customers on the channels they already use. Then, brands need to provide fast, efficient and simple customer interactions by creating mobile-optimised websites and applications.
Aside from booking a flight, the rest of the air travel experience occurs offline, but there are ways to enrich that offline experience with digital tools that provide real-time offers based on location and a 360-degree customer view courtesy of personalised customer data.
For example, when Singapore Airlines revamped its mobile app, the airline added features like loyalty programme user management, Android Pay and Apple Pay, connectivity with tablets and smart watches, and full integration with entertainment systems. Additionally, the app provided customers with travel suggestions and maps when they reached their travel destinations. These changes boosted the app’s ratings by 2.5 stars, and led to 4.6 million downloads and 17 number one rankings on app stores globally.
Let data be your pilot
By implementing digital tools such as automation and machine learning, airlines can easily store customer data such as seat, meal, and entertainment preferences and auto-populate these fields for the customer’s next booking, providing a more personalised user experience – something travellers have said they want.
A study by American Express found a staggering 83 per cent of millennials would allow travel brands to track their digital patterns in exchange for a more personalised experience. And they weren’t alone – 85 per cent of all respondents said customised itineraries based on their personal interests were more desirable than mass-market offers.
Airlines can also boost personalisation through customised prompts for offers and upgrades in the lead-up time to the customer’s flight. Then on the day of the flight, digital boarding passes, reminders of gate numbers, and special in-airport shopping or dining deals based on the customer’s individual data can be sent via push notifications or emails.
By shifting thinking towards the end-to-end customer journey, airlines can not only overcome digital challenges, but exceed customer experience expectations. Though the changes required are extensive, and even overwhelming, they are necessary steps that airlines must take in order to be competitive in the crowded digital travel space.
Eva Air to fly to Milan from next year
Eva Airways will commence a regular service between Taipei and the Italian city of Milan starting February 18, 2020.
The carrier will operate four flights weekly between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Milan Malpensa Airport, utilising a Boeing 777-300ER.
Outbound flights will depart Taipei at 23.00 and arrive at 06.30 the next day in Milan, with a flight time of around 13 hours and 50 minutes. Return flights will leave Milan at 11.00 and arrive in Taiwan at 06.30 the next day, taking around 12.5 hours.
Air Canada to resume full India schedule
Air Canada will resume its Vancouver-Delhi flights on August 1; its daily, non-stop Toronto-Delhi flights on October 1 (eastbound) and October 3 (westbound); and its Toronto-Mumbai seasonal flights will return on October 27.
The Toronto-Delhi flights will be operated initially with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, but beginning October 27, additional capacity will be added to this route with 400-seater Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, featuring three classes of service.
Air Canada’s seasonal Toronto-Mumbai flights will operate four times weekly from October 27, 2019 until March 28, 2020 with a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.
The airline will have up to 18 weekly flights connecting North America to Delhi from both Toronto and Vancouver, and to Mumbai from Toronto.
Vietjet links up Busan and Nha Trang
Vietjet has launched its latest international route that connects the beachside Vietnamese city of Nha Trang with Busan, South Korea’s second largest city.
The Nha Trang-Busan route operates four return flights per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. With a flight time of around four hours and 40 minutes per leg, the flight departs from Nha Trang at 23.50 and arrives at Busan at 06.30. The return flight departs from Busan at 08.05 and arrives in Nha Trang at 10.45.
Vietjet is the first carrier to operate a direct route between the two destinations, making this the airline’s ninth service between Vietnam and South Korea.
Scoot will soon scoot over to Changi Airport’s Terminal 1
From October 22, 2019, Scoot will operate from Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 1, moving over from its current space in Terminal 2.
Terminal information on Scoot flights departing and arriving on October 22 will be available on changiairport.com and the iChangi app. All Scoot customers will be progressively updated from late July.
Ocean Park Hong Kong is joining hands with Japanese anime series One Piece to stage the Ocean Park Summer Water Battle presented by Skechers.
From now until September 1, the Waterfront Plaza at Ocean Park Hong Kong has been transformed into a water battle zone where guests will face off against each other in classic scenes from One Piece. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of One Piece’s characters, Luffy and the Straw Hat crew members will also be visiting the park, and fans can relive their epic adventures in seven encounters and photo spots.
Ocean Park Summer Water Battle presented by Skechers
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Highlights include the Thousand.Sunny Ship by the park’s lagoon, the bounty posters, a super-size fountain in the shape of Luffy’s signature straw hat, and more. Guests can also grab their water guns and join Luffy’s crew to fight against the Marines in a throwback to the Battle of Marineford while dodging water cannons and traps.
At the Whiskers Harbour kids zone, there will be various One Piece-themed water attractions including a foam party zone, straw hat water-mist arches, super water curtains and fountains.
Aside from One Piece-themed food items found at The Terrace Café Aqua City Bakery, fans can also look out for the exclusively designed Luffy Themed Topper Cup and Chopper Themed Topper Cup, as well as the Chopper Popcorn Set, available at designated food kiosks in the park. Limited-edition merchandise including T-shirts, summer clothing, waterproof phone cases and exclusive One Piece gifts at the park’s retail shops and game booths are also available.
In addition to water attractions, Ocean Park Hong Kong is also adding a brand new technology-enhanced ride. Following the launch of Hong Kong’s first-ever virtual reality (VR) roller coaster, this summer the park will unveil Hong Kong’s first VR free fall ride, The Abyss – VR Space Voyage. Riders will have to put on VR headsets for the ride, and will experience outer space, as well as a free fall that reaches terminal velocity.
Experiences has become a buzzword of late in the travel industry, with many tour suppliers and operators slapping the term on every possible activity and tour. Douglas Quinby, Arival’s co-founder and CEO, attributed to the popularity of “the ‘E’ word” to Airbnb, which launched its Experiences arm two years ago.
But what exactly constitutes a unique experience? For TakeMeTour’s founder Taro Amornched, ‘experiences’ in the tours context means connecting travellers with locals who share their expertise, passion or hobby in a destination, giving the example of a local banker leading jogs around Bangkok’s Lumpini Park followed by a street-side breakfast by the park’s edge.
Or are experiences – according to Airbnb’s definition – about discovering Berlin’s forests and lakes with a professional dog walker or learning to make fake sushi with sampuru (sample food) expert in Tokyo?
But do travellers always want to ‘live like a local’ wherever they go, seeking in-depth interaction experiences with local hosts and communities? While industry predictions suggest that group tours are out and that one-of-a-kind, authentic experiences are now de rigueur, especially among the millennials, I believe the reality lies somewhere in between.
A core group of travellers probably still want sightseeing tours, whether it’s hop-on, hop-off buses, city tours or attraction visits, especially when visiting a new destination. Most first-timers to a city still want to check off the must-see spots and iconic attractions – a reason why Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building or Angkor Wat continue to see surging numbers of visitors year after year.
Renato Domini, CEO, Panorama Destination, believes there will always be interest in classic sightseeing tours, but thinks the delivery of tours and activities has to keep up with changing market preferences and competition. The onus, too, is on DMCs to offer creative products or special touches in tour programming to remain “specialists” of the destinations, he maintained.
The rise of experiential travel is also leading a new breed of package tours, one that strikes a balance between personalisation and independence. For example, attraction pass provider Leisure Pass Group has rolled out the Great Cities Passes for travellers to ‘mix and match’ the in-destination attractions, shared the company’s vice president of product Asia, Ivy Chee.
Ultimately, it’s about tour operators and suppliers knowing the market and matching the right product to the right customer. Just as Polaroid shots or drone videos to guests provide upselling opportunities for an Instagram tour, it would also make sense to pair chefs and restaurant owners with foodies looking to savour a destination’s culinary heritage and offerings on a food tour.
While Airbnb has outlined its ambitions of being an end-to-end travel seller (see page 9), the sharing economy giant’s foray into the experiences and adventures segments is unlikely to turn the tour operating business into a zero-sum game.
The global travel population is getting bigger each year, and within the colossal market of 1.4 billion travellers worldwide surely there is room for every type of player to carve out their niche.
The Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT) will tap Guam extensively as an opportunity market, starting with its first sales mission in the US territory next September.
Guam is a low-hanging fruit apt for wellness and medical tourism, as well as shopping and entertainment, said Christine Ann Ibarreta, president of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International, during a recent meeting where DoT unveiled its marketing and promotional plans for 2020.
Tourists at Boracay in the Philippines
A resource person from Guam will help with the sales mission and related programmes, she added.
While arrival numbers from Guam are not properly accounted for, but lumped with their US counterparts instead, Ibarreta – who used to helm Resorts World Manila’s (RWM) sales and marketing – said the integrated resort has made positive traction in mining the promising inbound market from the US territory.
Guam’s close proximity – located just three-and-a-half hours from Manila – and cheaper air tickets make it more convenient for Guamenos to travel to the Philippines than other Asian destinations.
She said the Philippines can woo Guam’s insurance and other relevant companies to send their cardholders to the Philippines, instead of the US, for medical tests and check-ups. There is a limited number of hospitals in Guam and they must be US-licensed.
Guamenos also flock to the Philippines, which is gaining popularity as a tourist destination in the US, for dental and aesthetic procedures.
Concert tickets to catch K-pop and international acts are also cheaper in Manila than those starring similar artistes staged in other Asian countries, Ibarreta pointed out. Shopping and entertainment are also more wallet-friendly.
Alongside Guam, the DoT will also tap the US state of Hawaii, especially the Japanese and Filipino-American retirees.
Cathay Pacific has completed the acquisition of Hong Kong Express Airways (HK Express), and has also picked one of its own to head the wholly-owned subsidiary.
Ronald Lam, Cathay Pacific director commercial and cargo, will be the CEO of HK Express, which will remain as a stand-alone low-cost carrier to serve a niche market.
Cathay adds budget carrier to group portfolio
Cathay Pacific CEO and HK Express chairman Rupert Hogg said: “HK Express will continue to operate as a stand-alone airline using the low-cost carrier business model. I would also like to reassure HK Express customers that there is no change to the airline’s operating model and that business will continue as usual. There will be more value fares and more destinations available to travellers.”
Hogg added that the acquisition of HK Express is an attractive and practical way for the Cathay Pacific Group to develop and grow its aviation business over the long term, while also enhancing the competitiveness of its Hong Kong home base as a leading aviation hub.
“Our respective businesses and business models are largely complementary. HK Express captures a unique market segment that, together with the extensive network offered by the Cathay Pacific Group, could multiply connection opportunities through Hong Kong. This will bring tremendous benefits to the travelling public with more choices and greater convenience for their travel experience,” he said.
Hmlet bridging gaps in demand for affordable, flexible and secure housing across the region.
Singapore-based co-living operator Hmlet has raised US$40 million in a Series B funding round, which will enable it to grow its presence in gateway cities across the region.
Led by Burda Principal Investments, this latest funding round also saw participation from existing investor Sequoia India and new investors Mitsubishi Estate, Reinventure Group and angel investors.
Hmlet aims to bridge gaps in demand for affordable, flexible and secure housing across the region
Hmlet plans to use its fresh injection of funds to expand its presence in gateway cities – where housing is expensive – across the company’s existing markets of Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney. Plans for launch in Melbourne, Brisbane and Tokyo are also in the pipeline.
Alongside Hmlet’s co-living business model, the Series B funding will also go into growing local operations to further capitalise on current conditions of property markets.
Prior to this Series B funding round, Hmlet raised a US$6.5 Million Series A in November 2018, and a US$1.5 million seed round in 2017.
“When we launched Hmlet, we wanted to create a better way of living for an increasingly mobile workforce, who want a sense of home and community in whichever country they choose to live in. We’ve seen our philosophy and operational model resonate with the market, which has allowed us to secure our Series B funding less than 12 months after our Series A round,” said Yoan Kamalski, CEO of Hmlet.
The startup has also announced the launch of its largest facility in Singapore to date, a 150-room property at 150 Cantonment Road that features co-living spaces including communal kitchens, a wellness studio and an all-day, in-house cafe.
Incorporated in 2016, Hmlet currently manages over 1,500 rooms in 75 locations across three cities in Asia-Pacific, and is looking to build a network that spans across 10 cities in five countries within the next two years.
Due to recent seismic activity at Mount Bromo in central Java, Indonesia, the crater rim at this iconic destination is no longer permitted for visits until further notice, according to an Asian Trails Indonesia newsletter to clients. This applies to all bookings with immediate effect.
Visitors are still able to access the viewing point at Penanjakan, and vehicles will still drive down to the parking area at the foot of Mount Bromo, but clients will no longer be able to venture any further by foot as the could previously. All Asian Trails tours will be operational with this slight amendment to the touring activity.
Mount Bromo is showing signs of seismic activity
Mount Bromo erupted last Friday afternoon (July 19) at 16.67, according to The Jakarta Post which obtained the information from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
Although the eruption caused tremors up to 37 millimetres, a BNPB spokesperson told The Jakarta Post that the situation is under control. However, tremors with amplitudes of 0.5 to 1 mm were still recorded through Saturday morning.
Mount Bromo has been on Level 2 alert (caution) since 2016.
Australian holiday parks are gradually regaining control of their online sales distribution channels, and clawing back market share from large OTAs such as Booking.com and Expedia, according the first RMS Cloud Holiday Park Performance Index.
The findings were based on more than two million online bookings that were made through the RMS Cloud distribution and property management platform from 2014-2018.
Marengo Holiday Park in Apollo Bay, Australia
Holiday park operators boost direct bookings
The performance index shows between 2014-2018, the online market share of Booking.com and Expedia fell from 65% to 55% – a drop of 15%. Meanwhile, consumer direct bookings on independent holiday park websites rose by 15%, climbing from 34% in 2014 to an all-time high of 39% in 2018.
If the present trajectory continues, the index stated that direct bookings would be able to overtake OTA bookings by 2024.
Direct bookings much more profitable for operators
Cabin revenue achieved by operators through their own websites is much higher than via either Expedia or Booking.com, the RMS Cloud Holiday Park Performance Index also revealed.
Direct cabin bookings generate an average of 21% more revenue per booking than Expedia and are 10% more lucrative than Booking.com, the analysis showed.
When the 15% average commission charged by OTAs is factored in, the income differential between direct and OTA bookings can exceed 30%. It must be noted direct bookings often comes at a cost such as marketing, website development or price incentives.
Holiday park rates peaked in 2015, but it’s been mostly downhill since as operators have no pricing power outside of peak holiday periods. As a result, profits in the industry are under pressure and it’s easy to see why operators are putting a greater emphasis on direct bookings.
OTA sector a straight duopoly
Despite the progress Australian holiday parks have made over the past 18 months in reclaiming online share, the OTA duopoly of Booking.com and Expedia still have 55% of web bookings. Booking.com is the market leader, outselling Expedia 3: 1 in the holiday park market.
These two companies are famously competitive but in the Australian holiday park market, Booking.com is the clear OTA leader and pulling away.
Shifting landscape
Managing director of RMS Cloud, Peter Buttigieg, said holiday park operators are building better websites and marketing more aggressively to boost their share of online bookings and save on the commissions charged by dominant OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia.
“The landscape has shifted, and the data shows that for the first time ever, OTAs are losing market share to holiday park operators,” said Buttigieg.
“Previously it’s all been one-way traffic in the other direction, but now smart operators have lifted their online game and are fighting back, often with great success, demonstrating that given the choice and a great deal many consumers prefer to book directly with suppliers.”
Other findings
Other findings of the report revealed that holiday park stays are getting shorter while average booking lead times have increased. The average booking in 2018 was made 39 days out, up from 30 days in 2014.
Average nights per stay has also fallen 10%, from 2.1 nights to 1.9 nights. While it doesn’t sound like much, when combined with flat or declining rates, this fall has significantly impacted the average revenue per booking.
Conclusion
After many years of allowing foreign-owned OTAs Booking.com and Expedia to dominate online holiday park bookings, Australian holiday park operators are fighting back. They are investing in their websites and online presence while pushing book direct offers to consumers, cutting out the middlemen and saving on hefty commission rates.
In an era of stagnant rates, it’s their best option to maintain or increase profit, and for that reason alone it is fair to assume 2018 marks the leading edge of a longer-term trend, one that over time may eventually see direct bookings exceed those coming through the OTAs.
Think about the last time you booked a flight. Did you visit your preferred airline’s website or call a travel agent? Did you compare prices using a third party’s online platform and then shop around for the best deal?
If you’re like the majority of consumers, you booked your flight online only after you compared the costs of the same flight from different airlines. Indeed, recent research on flight pricing found 56 per cent of travellers cited price as the primary influence on flight booking decisions. What’s more, they conduct a lot of research before booking a flight – McKinsey estimated travellers go through up to 100 touchpoints before making a purchase.
Because travellers booking holidays online are willing to put in lots of research time to get a great price on a flight, it’s no wonder third-party booking platforms like Expedia, Kayak and Skyscanner have become a preference and have transformed the air travel industry.
It’s easy to see why they’ve been successful: these sites considered the customer journey and worked to provide a user-friendly, one-stop price comparison and shopping experience that reduces the number of touchpoints and makes finding the right deal much simpler for customers.
In addressing the customer’s pain points, these third-party websites have outpaced airlines in capturing today’s digital consumer. In fact, these disruptive competitors have done such a great job that many airlines have been unable to keep up with them technologically – including mobile platform offerings and personalisation – and now fail to meet customer expectations altogether.
The tech challenge
The digital challenges facing airlines are multifaceted, but can generally be traced back to a common issue: outdated technology.
While the majority of airlines’ desktop websites are serviceable, they are not nearly as streamlined and user-friendly as the sites from the third-party competitors. A lacklustre, clunky interface can immediately prompt customers to leave, opting for a more user-friendly site.
As for mobile options, many airlines do not presently have mobile-optimised websites, leading to slow page loading times, unappealing interfaces and hard-to-use features. These inefficiencies, coupled with the amount of touchpoints required during the customer journey, cause many travellers to lose patience and head to another site.
Getting an upgrade
Not all hope is lost – there are ways for airlines to implement newer technologies to meet customer expectations, but it does require them to retool their thinking and to make vast changes to their digital presence.
The first shift is to develop mobile-first strategies. In 2017, McKinsey found that 43 per cent of travel-related searches were made on smartphones, and it’s likely this percentage rose over the past year. This means airlines should invest in their mobile channels more heavily than their desktop options to meet customers on the channels they already use. Then, brands need to provide fast, efficient and simple customer interactions by creating mobile-optimised websites and applications.
Aside from booking a flight, the rest of the air travel experience occurs offline, but there are ways to enrich that offline experience with digital tools that provide real-time offers based on location and a 360-degree customer view courtesy of personalised customer data.
For example, when Singapore Airlines revamped its mobile app, the airline added features like loyalty programme user management, Android Pay and Apple Pay, connectivity with tablets and smart watches, and full integration with entertainment systems. Additionally, the app provided customers with travel suggestions and maps when they reached their travel destinations. These changes boosted the app’s ratings by 2.5 stars, and led to 4.6 million downloads and 17 number one rankings on app stores globally.
Let data be your pilot
By implementing digital tools such as automation and machine learning, airlines can easily store customer data such as seat, meal, and entertainment preferences and auto-populate these fields for the customer’s next booking, providing a more personalised user experience – something travellers have said they want.
A study by American Express found a staggering 83 per cent of millennials would allow travel brands to track their digital patterns in exchange for a more personalised experience. And they weren’t alone – 85 per cent of all respondents said customised itineraries based on their personal interests were more desirable than mass-market offers.
Airlines can also boost personalisation through customised prompts for offers and upgrades in the lead-up time to the customer’s flight. Then on the day of the flight, digital boarding passes, reminders of gate numbers, and special in-airport shopping or dining deals based on the customer’s individual data can be sent via push notifications or emails.
By shifting thinking towards the end-to-end customer journey, airlines can not only overcome digital challenges, but exceed customer experience expectations. Though the changes required are extensive, and even overwhelming, they are necessary steps that airlines must take in order to be competitive in the crowded digital travel space.