Western Australia goes on drive to solve room and access issues

June 18, 2012

FACED with a severe room crunch, Western Australia is taking steps to add hotel capacity in the capital city of Perth, while also working on spreading tourism to the rest of the state, aided by new airport developments.

Due to a mining boom and an influx of corporate travellers, hoteliers in Perth are enjoying dizzying rates and occupancies to the tune of a three-star room priced at A$300 (US$303), said one inbound tour operator, who cited the example of a “short-sighted” motel who wanted to cease room allotments.

Hyatt Regency Perth director of sales, Matthew Talbot, said the average rate at his hotel was poised to increase by 25 to 30 per cent this year.

“For the last 20 years we’ve worked on a flat leisure rate all through the year but now we’ve broken it down to a weekday and weekend rate,” he said, explaining that leisure visitors were now encouraged to arrive on Fridays.

Late last year, Western Australian became the only state to offer hotel development incentives, as the government “recognised that there was a failure in the market despite very favourable trading conditions”, said Tourism Western Australia CEO, Stephanie Buckland. These include the provision of Crown land at reduced market rates, flexible floor space bonuses and infrastructure grants. A prime site released is the downtown Fire Emergency Services Authority House.

Meanwhile, forthcoming inventory is set to ease the situation slightly, with three new hotels scheduled to open their doors later this year, namely the 236-room Fraser Suites Perth, the 56-room Quincy Boutique Hotel and 12-suite Terrace Hotel. Coming soon will also be an Aman hotel with over 40 rooms.

As part of a wider strategy to attract more leisure tourists to other parts of the state, new events are also being lined up such as the inaugural Margaret River Gourmet Escape in November, which will see the likes of Heston Blumenthal and Rene Redzepi attending.

In order to make the rest of the region more accessible, Buckland said the two priorities were the potential redevelopment of the Busselton airport in the southern wine region, and the establishment of international flights to Broome, the northern gateway to the Kimberley. Feasibility studies are being conducted for the former, with the intention for it to receive flights from the east coast and eventually, international ones. For the latter, which is already capable of handling international services, a link from Singapore is being targeted.

She added that financial incentives would be typically dangled, such as cooperative marketing funds and airport concessions.

Shangri-La unveils Garden Wing after US$52m overhaul

By TTG Asia

June 18, 2012

SHANGRI-LA Hotel Singapore has reopened its Garden Wing after an eight-month US$52-million makeover.

Nestled amid six hectares of tropical greenery, all 158 Garden Wing rooms and suites now feature a large balcony with views of either the hotel’s gardens or swimming pool.

Each of the three Premier Balcony suites also features an outdoor Jacuzzi and private barbecue grill.

A new dining outlet, Waterfall Garden Café, and Singapore’s first CHI, The Spa will open in July and August, respectively.

Changi Airport T1 to get capacity boost

By TTG Asia

June 18, 2012

CHANGI International Airport’s Terminal 1 will undergo an additional round of upgrades, just as the paint begins to dry on its four-year US$390m revamp.

According to a report in The Straits Times, the arrival hall on the first floor will be expanded to raise the terminal’s capacity from 21 million to 24 million passengers per annum. Dedicated facilities to support fly-cruise and fly-coach options will also be added.

The renovations are scheduled to begin within 12 months, starting next April.

Changi Terminal 1 recently completed an overhaul that began in May 2008, which added more retail and F&B outlets to the facility.

In 1Q2012, Changi International Airport handled 12.3 million passengers, a 12.9 per cent year-on-year increase. The airport is expected to handle more than 50 million passengers over the course of the year.

Qantas adopts ‘pick and stick’ strategy

By Gracia Chiang

June 18, 2012

AUSTRALIA’s flag carrier announced yesterday more services on its Sydney-Dallas (Fort Worth) and Perth-Melbourne routes, but remained tight-lipped about any further route cuts or additions to its international network.

After a first year of operation on the Dallas (Fort Worth) route and a successful codeshare with American Airlines on flights from around 60 destinations, Qantas will increase the frequency of the route from six weekly to daily from July 1. It is served by Boeing 747-400ER.

Qantas will also increase A330 services from 44 to 68 a week on the Perth-Melbourne connection from October 15, replacing flights currently operated by Boeing 767 aircraft.

As part of its restructuring efforts, Qantas has already dropped Singapore-Mumbai and Auckland-Los Angeles routes, as well as consolidated its A380 services from Sydney and Melbourne to London via Singapore. It no longer flies to London via Hong Kong and Bangkok, but now codeshares on those flights with its alliance partner British Airways.

These changes are already bearing some fruit, John Simeone, head of international sales, Qantas Airways, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“On our Sydney-Singapore-London and Melbourne-Singapore-London flights, the A380s are performing above expectations. They are very popular with customers. Hong Kong and Bangkok are performing as expected.

“We’re also seeing good traction in terms of passengers transferring through Hong Kong and Bangkok. Now that we’re selling it in a different way, we’re seeing a different type of traveller, people who are using Bangkok as a layover for two or three days, both from Europe and from Australia.”

According to Simeone, Qantas’ Brisbane-Singapore service was also faring strongly, although he was unable to reveal load factors.

When asked if Qantas intended to expand its footprint in Asia, Simeone said: “We’re really at a ‘pick and stick’ phase at the moment…We need to focus on the core routes we have in terms of improving our international performance.”

As for plans to establish a premium airline in Asia following the failed talks with Malaysia Airlines, Simeone said: “We’re reviewing a variety of options…our international strategy is around our gateways – that’s probably the strategy we’re sticking to.”

AirAsia ponders travel agent tie-ups in emerging markets

By S Puvaneswary

June 18, 2012

AIRASIA is looking at ways of tweaking its highly successful B2C model and is considering engaging travel consultants as part of its distribution network – especially in less developed markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

According to AirAsia Indonesia president director, Dharmadi, AirAsia Indonesia is considering introducing a commission structure for travel consultants. “We are discussing this internally,” he said.

AirAsia group CEO, Tony Fernandes, said: “(Travel consultants) are a very important growth (channel) for AirAsia. They should not consider us as the enemy.”

“We will make some exciting announcements (with regards to increased cooperation with travel trade) in the coming months.”

As for Malaysia, its home country, AirAsia is quite content with its existing distribution channels – 95 per cent of its business comes from seats purchased directly by consumers on the AirAsia website.

Hotel guest numbers to hit record levels in Pattaya

By TTG Asia

June 18, 2012

PATTAYA is on track to receive a record eight million hotel guests in 2012 – the highest figure for any resort destination in Thailand.

According to the latest ‘Pattaya Hotel Market Update’ by C9 Hotelworks, Pattaya posted a nine per cent surge in hotel occupancy last year, while the occupancy rate for chain properties in the destination reached 74 per cent – eight per cent more than non-branded hotel inventory.

The sharp upturn was driven by a mix of growing domestic demand and improved access and transport infrastructure, explained Bill Barnett, C9 Hotelworks’ managing director.

He said: “With the geographic shift away from longhaul tourists to the Asian and domestic segments, key demand generators such as large-scale retail, tourist attractions and a rising residential resort market have fuelled positive sentiment.”

Thailand, Russia and China were the top source markets for Pattaya in 2011, with a combined share of 59 per cent. Passenger arrivals at U-Tapao International Airport rose 39 per cent in 2011, an increase for the second consecutive year.

When compared to other Thai destinations such as Phuket, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui, Pattaya “has less pronounced seasonality which results in mitigating volatility,” Barnett noted.

Looking forward, C9 Hotelworks pointed out that major investments in tourist attractions and branded theme parks in the Greater Pattaya area would help to broaden market demographics.

China’s big four lift off

By Sim Kok Chwee

June 15, 2012

TTG Asia’s Sim Kok Chwee navigates readers through the evolving fleet of major Chinese airline groups

Photos by Paul Spijkers

THE AVIATION landscape in China is dominated by four main airline groupings, namely Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines, which have their bases in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Haikou respectively.

However, today their subsidiary companies are sprinkled all over China and have begun operating services from each other’s bases.

A few private airlines have also managed to gain a foothold, such as Sichuan Airlines, which has major stakes in Chengdu Airlines and Hebei Airlines; the budget Spring Airlines; Okay Airways; and Juneyao Airlines.

China’s carriers have also become highly sought after by the world’s airline alliances. Air China is a Star Alliance member while Skyteam has snared China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines. Oneworld alliance is the odd one out without a member airline from China, although the alliance has a hold in Hong Kong.

Not long ago, China was the engine of growth for aviation, travel and tourism in Asia-Pacific and the world. As foreign airlines made a beeline for Chinese coastal cities and second-tier destinations like Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing and Shenyang, Chinese carriers reported sterling financial results.

But by 2011 when the US and European economies softened, Asian economies began to weaken and airlines’ earnings became a barometer of this trend. Asian airlines such as Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines and China’s main airlines faced massive decline in earnings.

Despite a hungry domestic market, China’s industrial production is slowing in 2012, and its economy seems to be headed for a not-so-soft landing.

However, CEO of IATA, Tony Tyler, remains confident of China’s role. He said: “With over a quarter of the world’s travellers expected to be Chinese by 2015, and as China’s airline industry evolves, it could be a driving force in global aviation.”

Yet he warned of issues related to airspace control and congestion in the ‘airport golden triangle’, an area bounded by Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Although the weakening economy is a concern, China’s inbound and outbound tourism remain strong. China has also reported a GDP growth of around seven per cent year-on-year, higher than most major trading nations. When China returns to its high-growth trajectory, one can expect to be dazzled by its sheer numbers again.

The following tables represent a snapshot of where China’s big four are headed.

june15_story3_11

*Aircraft on order

This article was first published in TTG Asia, June 15 issue, on page 14. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

China centric or eccentric?

By Raini Hamdi

June 15, 2012

China’s growth as a world destination and as a visitor source for the world has ignited a feeding frenzy among international hotel chains to localise their brands and even launch new Chinese brands

Hualuxe Hotels & Resorts

A MOVE by a slew of hotel chains to have their brand names and products sing to the tune of Chinese guests, with two well-known players even launching new Chinese brands, raises interesting questions:

Aren’t great brands supposed to be aspirational across geographical boundaries – ever seen the LVMH conglomerate launching Chinese-specific brands?

Do Chinese consumers want a new Chinese hotel brand?

After all, a May 2012 report by CAP Strategic Research shows the top 10 hotel brands – as rated by 300 ‘super-rich’ Chinese consumers (average annual household income of US$136,000) and 330 ‘affluent’ consumers (average annual household income of US$67,000) in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou – are international names such as Shangri-La, Hilton, Ritz-Carlton and Sheraton. None of the homegrowns made it to the list.

Are some hotel chains pandering too much to China that they have to launch Chinese brands? Does it mean then that there is a need for Indian, Indonesian, etc, brands? Will international guests feel comfortable staying with brands specifically designed for Chinese guests?

The race to capture the vast China opportunity has had chains carving out two different strategies.

One camp, which includes Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts and Accor (see box, Who does what), stops at localising the name and product to suit Chinese clientele.

The other, which includes InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and General Hotel Management (GHM), believes China and Chinese hospitality can spawn new hotel brands, with IHG even envisioning its Hualuxe can go outside China and be a global brand one day, the way its Holiday Inn, which originated in the US, has travelled far and wide.

Puzzled
But Giovanni Angelini, former Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts’ CEO who led the chain’s expansion in China, is puzzled by the need to localise one’s brand in China, let alone launch a Chinese brand.

He recalled: “From my experience, we never encountered difficulties with this in the past. In most cases, the local authorities and local developers in China were proud to have a recognised, international brand name in their area and always preferred an international brand versus a local brand name.

“Has the market demand changed so much in the past couple of years? I don’t think so.”

Asked what he’d do today, Angelini said: “I would use the same brand or brands that the company uses all over the world. The location’s potential and the local spending power dictate if it would be a five star product or three or four stars based on the brands I have.”

Similarly, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide president and CEO, Frits van Paasschen, pooh-poohs the need for a Chinese brand, even though he is smittened by Asia, China in particular, which helps Starwood build better hotels.

“I don’t think of our brands as being Western brands, but global brands,” said van Paasschen.

“The key to having a global brand is to appeal to basic human needs that cut across cultures, ages, generations and incomes. So a desire to have a sense of wellness and refuge in a hotel, a desire to be extravagant, to feel like you are in a creative atmosphere – those things cut across cultures.

“The more important thing is not having a Chinese brand, or Japanese or French. It is having global brands that work anywhere in the world,” he said.

Interpret, not replace
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts president and CEO, Jean-Gabriel Pérès, told TTG Asia “there is just one brand – Mövenpick”, despite localising the name to Rui Xiang and adapting the product to Chinese guests.

“We know that to do business effectively in the Chinese market, we need to interpret the brand and provide Chinese guests with the aspirational experience they would expect from a country such as Switzerland,” said Pérès.

The chain is talking to a “growing number” of Chinese guests in its Swiss hotels to understand, for example, what they enjoy about Swiss cuisine – “but more importantly how they would like to see it interpreted at home”.

It expects business at its three upcoming hotels in China to be majority Chinese initially but to “over time encourage our broad mix of international customers to explore some of China’s more interesting destinations”.

Asked if non-Chinese guests would be happy at Rui Xiang, Pérès said: “The Swiss are famous for their ability to work across cultural borders, and we bring this skill to the way in which we operate our hotels. For Western guests visiting Mövenpick properties in China, the traditional Swiss expertise will be evident to help make their stay as pleasurable in the way they have come to expect.”

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts’ president, Jennifer Fox, said sister brands Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel were well-positioned in China. “We (Fairmont) are not currently thinking of any separate brands, especially when we hope to tap the China outbound market to stay in our properties worldwide. But who knows.

“At this stage we hope to maximise our brand’s potential. Compared to other hotel brands, we are a latecomer. The Chinese luxury travel market continues to grow and we have to compete by offering new experiences they can’t get from the domestic market.”

Different positions
IHG, in comparison, is in a different position, already the largest international hotel group in China operating more than 160 hotels across 60 cities with five brands.

With China’s insatiable hotel development, it believes there is room for another brand. With Hualuxe, IHG is the first global chain to seed a brand in Asia, a prospect seen a long time coming, since most international brands had originated from the West and transported to the booming East.

So why China and not, say, India?

Explained Jan Smits, IHG’s CEO for Asia, the Middle East & Africa: “India is a slightly different market. The whole of India has only 150,000 branded rooms today; compare that to 100,000 branded rooms in New York city alone. India has a long way to go yet to get scale. I’m just opening my first Holiday Inn Express in India in September; a lot of my brands are not deployed yet.

“China on the other hand is in a different stage of growth. We honestly see an opportunity for a new upscale brand to service the scale in China, where the domestic market is expected to reach 3.3 billion people in 2015, and to service Chinese consumers wherever they go. Outbound trips from China are projected to grow from 10 million to more than 100 million in the next 10-15 years (citing UNWTO predictions).

“I see a huge opportunity for Hualuxe in South-east Asia, for example, which gets a lot of Chinese visitors. Over time, I believe Hualuxe can become an international brand. Look at Taj or Oberoi – they originated from India but became global brands.”

Added Smits: “We don’t develop brands very often. The last, Indigo, was 10 years ago. When we develop one, it’s for good reason and we do enormous amounts of research and consumer insights before we do it.”

GHM’s Ahn Luh joint venture, meanwhile, is strategic in giving it access to funds and special locations in China, where it can continue to create destinations in themselves rather than hotels, according to observers (GHM’s president Hans R Jenni is not available for comment at press time).

Its partner, Beijing Tourism Group, is China’s first provincial-level, wholly state-owned tourism enterprise. The other, Great Ocean Group is a Beijing-based private holding company which invests in real estate projects in China that are respectful and responsible towards the environment and history.

Ahn Luh banks on UNWTO predictions that China will become the world’s most visited country and caters to both the world’s “most discerning” travellers and Chinese guests.

China makes the world go round.

Who does what

General Hotel Management: Ahn Luh
This is an entirely new brand, created by Beijing Tourism Group chairman Duan Qiang, Great Ocean Group founder Whitney Duan and Amanresorts founder Adrian Zecha, who co-founded GHM with Hans R Jenni.

Positioned as an upscale brand, Ahn Luh will cater “to the world’s most discerning travellers, as well as the growing Chinese tourism market”, said the partners.

The Ahn Luh group’s first project is Ahn Luh Dujiangyan in Chengdu. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, along with Mount Qingcheng, are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Ahn Luh resorts will be a fusion of old-world Chinese hospitality with contemporary elegance while contributing to an eco-friendly environment. Each is “handcrafted” to incorporate the arts and culture of its particular locale.

The resorts typically have 50 to 100 rooms and villas, with room sizes from 60m2 to 120m2. There are private villas and residences.

Features include ‘dian xin’ breakfast, all-day Chinese-style tapas bar, indoor and outdoor pools, a library and cigar lounge, airport concierge and a fleet of Wi-Fi-enabled cars. Each hotel will also house a retail shop selling regional goods and traditional Chinese medicine, a spa, a tai chi centre and meeting facilities for executive retreats.

Future developments are in major cities and tourism destinations throughout China. In the pipeline are hotels in Beijing, the Pearl River Delta and south-west China.

Ahn Luh literally means ‘a peaceful and tranquil forest setting at the foothill of a mountain’.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG): Hualuxe Hotels & Resorts

This is an entirely new brand designed specifically for the Chinese traveller.

Hualuxe means ‘majestic China and luxe’. It will offer what IHG believes, through research, are the four priorities for Chinese guests: tradition (reflected in hotel design, welcome experience, tea culture, F&B, etc); rejuvenation (natural surroundings – think lobby gardens and resort bathrooms even); status (VIP arrival, unique Club Lounge, specialty F&B hosts, etc); and familiar spaces (multi-function suites, rejuvenation centre, tea house, etc that are conducive for social interactions and business meetings).

Hualuxe will launch initially in tier one, two and three cities and resort locations in China. In time, it will open in major cities elsewhere in the world so Chinese travellers can have the same experience abroad.

The first Hualuxe is expected to be open in late 2013/early 2014. IHG expects the brand to be in over 100 cities in China in the next 10-15 years.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts: Rui Xiang
Integrated a Chinese name, Rui Xiang, into the Mövenpick brand, which remains prominent.

Rui Xiang is feng shui-checked and literally means ‘brings you enjoyment and luck with Swiss quality’.

Hotels in China will adapt to Chinese guests’ tastes. Cuisine for example, is a fusion of Chinese, international and specifically, Swiss-inspired touches. Lobbies, public spaces for entertaining and room design will have Chinese sense of place.

The chain’s first opening will be a 380-room resort in Sanya next year, followed by a 300-room hotel in Jiading, a rapidly growing business hub of greater Shanghai. In 2015, it anticipates a unique offering in Chifeng, gateway to Inner Mongolia, where it will operate not only a hotel but a rest state guesthouse with a Chinese restaurant and VIP Club.

Mövenpick has also unveiled a Mandarin website and appointed a vice president development, Sunny Li, based in Shanghai.

Accor: Grand Mercure (Mei Jue)
Tweaked its Grand Mercure logo, incorporating the Chinese name, Mei Jue, and Grand Mercure underneath it.

Sticks to the Grand Mercure proposition as an upscale brand anchored around connection to local area through relationship with local art and culture and walking tours. In China, this is enhanced. The first hotel adapted to the new positioning, Grand Mercure Shanghai Zhongya, has employees conversant in Shanghainese.

Name badges bear Chinese characters, followed by a pinyin translation, enabling staff to use their given names. Guests are welcomed by staff wearing qipao, a traditional evening dress. Signature services include daily tai chi lessons, and free head and shoulder massages for guests staying on premium floors.

Accor’s nine other Grand Mercure hotels in China are due to adopt the new identity. The chain plans to have 65 Mei Jue hotels by 2015.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Launched a Starwood Personalized Travel programme to cater to the unique needs of Chinese guests traveling abroad.

The programme, which has debuted in some 20 Starwood hotels worldwide to date, features teapots for brewing Chinese tea, packets of instant noodles, translated welcome materials and travel guides, on-site translation services, Mandarin-language restaurant menus and familiar favourites such as congee, a staple in Chinese breakfast.

Programme is communicated to guests upon check-in.

Hilton International
Hilton International’s Huanying, which means ‘welcome’, debuting in San Francisco on August 16, will provide have a front desk staff fluent in Mandarin, a dedicated Chinese television channel and an extensive selection of Chinese breakfast dishes. Some 30 Hilton properties have enrolled in the programme.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, June 15 issue, on page 12. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

View from the top: Barney Harford

By Raini Hamdi

June 15, 2012

After transforming the way travel is bought, can online travel companies continue to make huge, not incremental, innovations? Harford, 39, gives a resounding yes, and shows Raini Hamdi how he is breaking ground at Orbitz, which also owns ebookers, CheapTickets, HotelClub, Asia-Hotels, etc

Barney Harford
President & CEO
Orbitz Worldwide, US

Are OTAs making huge leaps in innovation or is what we’re having now pretty much it?
We’ve come so far in the last 15 years with online travel. At the same time, I believe there is so much more we can do to make it even better.

How?
I think personalisation, for example, is going to be a big thing going forward.

We fundamentally believe there is an opportunity to understand the behaviour of consumers on our websites – what their preferences are, what their shopping purchases are – and use that to make personalised recommendations to them.

Did you know, for example, that people shopping on the Mac typically spend US$20 more per night than those shopping on PCs?

Why is that?
It’s a different consumer – Macs are more expensive. So when we see someone shopping on a Mac, we’re going to recommend them a slightly different hotel.

Similarly, we know that people who are travelling with kids prefer different hotels than those travelling without kids, so we actually have developed a kid-friendliness index for every hotel on our web. Also, a kid-avoidance index.

So based on search, we are able to change what we recommend. That’s really important because 90 per cent of what we sell in terms of hotels is one of the hotels on the first- page results. Fifty per cent is one of the first five hotels and 25 per cent is the first hotel on that sort, so being able to nail it with the first five properties in particular is really important.

So if someone tells you there is not much going on with OTA innovation, you’d say…
…rubbish. There’s huge innovation. The innovation that is going on is not a new model but on ground-breaking ways a consumer can book travel, for example, via mobile on the same day, via private email sales or mobile-only sales, via personalised dynamic packaging – finding new ways to work out which hotel and which flight to show to customers – and reworking the packaging display with our global platform.

Let’s talk about that. Since joining Orbitz as CEO in January 2009, a key change is your new global platform.
Yes, we invested US$145 million to basically put all our consumer-facing businesses on one platform; we call it a global platform. We operate 12 businesses across Europe which came together through acquisitions.

When Orbitz acquired that combined entity, they were on a multitude of different platforms. We migrated them to one common global platform. Since then business growth rates have been phenomenal, both topline and bottomline, a testament to how strong and efficient the new platform is.

How does it make a difference?
The speed with which we can innovate. As an example, five years ago, we might have felt excited if we were updating our website six times a year. Last year, we updated our website over 800 times a year – that’s more than once a day. It is continually changing and, within any given period, we may be testing a variety of different treatments, so one set of users will see one thing, another set will see something else, and our statisticians are studying the differences.

It also allows us to launch groundbreaking mobile apps.Today we’re seeing over 12 per cent of hotel searches being executed on mobile devices. For customers, it’s a real value proposition because if you search using a mobile device, we’re actually able to show you exclusive mobile-only rates. We call them Orbitz mobile steals and these are rates that are 20 to 30 per cent off available only on mobile.

“The innovation that is going on is not a new model but on groundbreaking ways a consumer can book travel, for example, via mobile on the same day or personalised dynamic packaging.”

Why do mobile bookings enjoy these steals?
Our supplier partners recognise that 55 per cent of our mobile bookings are for the same day vs typically 15 per cent (on website. They know this inventory is going to expire; they don’t necessarily want to show that discount to every single customer under the sun and recognise we put fences around it.

So we highly encourage customers to get the best possible deal by using, one, our mobile app, especially if they are looking at a same-day booking and have access to a mobile device and, two, by signing up for our emails for Orbitz insider steals, which are 72 hours every week from around mid-day Tuesday to mid-day Friday, where we select six to seven beautiful properties around the world that are being discounted 50 per cent or more from the normal price.

No wonder hotel chains are fed up with OTAs – you’re encouraging the customer to book last-minute and wait for the best deals.
I don’t think we’re educating customers to do that. I think, instead, we are giving them the empowerment. These consumers are going to book same day anyway; we’re empowering them to be better informed.

In the past, these customers might walk in to the hotel and get a walk-in rate, which you know is not the best, the hotel knows it’s got the customer there. Now the customer turns his mobile on, we recognise where he is and in five seconds the app shows him a broad selection of hotels around where he is that are available tonight with the prices.

Our goal is to make the user experience super simple and make sure we have the powerful tools to help consumers slice and dice and make the most of their travel dollars. We think of ourselves as a travel maximiser: we help you get the best possible travel experience for the limited budget that you have.

What do you think of Roomkey, yet another attempt by chains to regain control of customers?
Competition is always good for customers. But it is tough to develop a compelling hotel site. That’s the reason why there aren’t that many players in the space and not many new entrants. It’s a lot of investment – look at how much we’ve spent on our common platform.

I look at Roomkey and they don’t have user reviews – how can you have a hotel site without user reviews!

You’re an avid traveller yourself.
Yes, and I fundamentally believe travel has an incredible role to play in creating friendships between cultures. The opportunity we have is to use technology and data analytics to make travel a more fulfilling experience for consumers.

You were Expedia Asia-Pacific’s president and made inroads for Expedia in China, with the controlling stake in eLong, Japan and Australia. Would you do the same for Orbitz in Asia?
Due to limited resources, no, but there is huge opportunity to expand HotelClub in Asia. It’s been the more challenging part of the business in the last couple of years but we recently put Tamer Tamar, president of ebookers, over that business. He’s now responsible for both, is fully engaged and has interesting ideas.

We feel better about how it is positioned right now. It’s a strong brand in Australia in particular, and we have a decent presence in South-east Asia and Hong Kong, so we’ll be building that up.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, June 15 issue, on page 6. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Qantas’ Joyce is new IATA chairman

By TTG Asia

June 15, 2012

Alan Joyce

QANTAS Airways CEO & managing director, Alan Joyce, has taken over as chairman of the IATA board of governors.

His one-year term will end with the conclusion of IATA’s 69^th AGM and World Air Transport Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa next June.

Joyce succeeds KLM president & CEO, Peter Hartman, whose own one-year term expired at the recent conclusion of IATA’s 68^th AGM in Beijing.

A 24-year veteran of the aviation industry, Joyce has led Qantas since November 2008. He was CEO of Jetstar from 2003 to 2008. Prior to that, he spent over 15 years in leadership positions at Qantas, Ansett, and Aer Lingus.

“The top priorities (for IATA), as always, will be safety, security, and sustainability,” said Joyce. “On top of that, I want to see IATA continue to deliver value to its members by being a strong advocate for the industry.”

He added: “Aviation delivers enormous economic benefits—supporting some 57 million jobs and US$2.2 trillion in economic activity. We need to ensure that governments understand what is at stake when they make key decisions on taxes, regulation, and capacity expansion.”

Meanwhile, IATA has appointed Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines, to succeed Joyce as chairman, following the completion of the latter’s one-year term in June 2013.