Malaysia-based Vendfun introduces Hybrid Kiosk for budget hotels, homestays
Vendfun, a hospitality kiosk solutions provider based in Melaka, has launched an innovative 2-in-1 kiosk that combines self-service check-in and check-out features with vending capabilities, which will assist hotel operators to manage resources and reduce operating costs.
Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk is equipped with a 50-inch touch-screen panel that allows guests to check-in and check-out, as well as redeem promo vouchers and purchase products such as food and drinks. The patent-pending Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk is marketed to budget hotels and homestays in Malaysia and available on rental and rent-to-own bases directly from Vendfun.
Key features of Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk are a cashless payment facility, a passport scanner, a receipt printer, a room card dispenser, and built-in vending capabilities. The Hybrid Kiosk is also compatible with any hotel property management system (PMS) software to allow hotels to customise features of their preference.
Benny Wee, founder and CEO of Vendfun, said in a press statement that the launch of Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk comes as “many hotel operators are dealing with persistent human resources issues while scrambling to cut costs to weather the Covid-19 pandemic, and beyond”.
By automating check-in and check-out services, hotels can “increase operational efficiency and provide convenience to hotel guests”, he added.
Additionally, Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk has been touted as the first-of-it-kind product that provides a return on investment opportunity whereby hotels can create a new income stream by selling products through the kiosk.
Three units of Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk have been installed in hotels in Peninsular Malaysia, namely, Fenix Inn Hotel in Melaka, Sky View Hotel in Dengkil, Selangor; and GM Hotel Sunway Metro in Selangor.
Vendfun has been getting orders from other hotels in Selangor and they expect to install more Vendfun Hybrid Kiosks in the coming months.
The company plans to add new solutions to its kiosks soon, including memberships and e-concierge services to provide a complete elevated staying experience to guests.
As part of its roadmap, Vendfun plans to add an artificial intelligence component to the kiosks by year-end so that hotels can offer “more personalised services” and enhanced security through the use of facial recognition technology, said Wee.
Qatar Airways aims to transform retail experience for trade with new platform
Qatar Airways is introducing a new platform for trade partners that will enable them to build tailored travel experiences for their customers.
Called Oryx Connect, it has been developed based on the New Distribution Capability (NDC) data transmission standard developed by IATA in partnership with the travel industry.
Oryx Connect will benefit travel agents through improved functionality, intuitive user experience, access to rich content and the ability to tailor travel experiences for their customers.
It provides various options to consume Qatar Airways’ NDC content. In addition to an existing web-based portal powered by Accelya Farelogix SPRK tool, agents can now access NDC content with a range of aggregators including Aarongroup, Duffel, Travelfusion, Travvise and Verteil. The Amadeus Travel Platform will be added in early 2022.
Qatar Airways Group CEO, Akbar Al-Baker, said: “Working collaboratively with trade partners is pivotal to our business success, so we are pleased to stand truly in partnership with our agents, rather than introduce artificial barriers, restrict content, add surcharges or apply complex administrative changes to the booking process.
“Oryx Connect will provide best-in-class booking and servicing capability to our agents and their customers at all levels of technological integration, and through multiple modes of connectivity, from the most familiar existing booking environments to the leading edge of flight retailing solutions.”
Travel agents will benefit from full offer and order management capabilities from booking, servicing, ticketing and payment. This includes intuitive display of Qatar Airways’ Classic, Convenience, Comfort and Elite fares, helping them deliver the most suitable product offering to customers.
They will also have access to a variety of ancillary products and service offerings. Payment options include industry-standard settlement methods, such as ARC and BSP cash and card, and IATA EasyPay.
UNWTO launches hospitality recruitment platform
As part of efforts to kickstart tourism jobs recovery, the UNWTO has launched the Jobs Factory, an innovative platform designed to connect hospitality talent with employers across the sector.
The Jobs Factory harnesses global hospitality network Hosco’s power of machine learning, algorithms, and deep learning to match candidates with suitable positions, both locally and internationally.
Job-seekers are able to create a profile, search for positions that match their experience and skills, and set up job alerts to be informed of the latest opportunities. The platform also helps tourism businesses and organisations to find and recruit the best talent.
All of UNWTO’s 159 member states will be invited to use the Jobs Factory as their national tourism recruitment platform, as will its more than 500 affiliate members, ranging from businesses to universities and think tanks.
Additionally, through the Jobs of the Future Observatory, member states can also monitor current and future skills development to analyse trends. This will allow them to forecast and identify gaps and mismatches and make data-driven decisions.
UNWTO secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said: “The pandemic has hit global tourism hard. Up to 120 million jobs are at risk. However, tourism has a long history of adapting and embracing innovation. The Jobs Factory will be a great help to the millions of people who depend on tourism. It connects employers with the very best talent our sector has to offer. And it will help our member states make important decisions based on the latest, trusted data.”
Rosewood heads to Chongqing
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has been appointed by Chongqing Sunac Huacheng Real Estate Development Co. to manage Rosewood Chongqing, set to open in the city’s CBD come 2030.
Situated in the Jiangbeizui International Financial Center, Rosewood Chongqing will be housed in a new-build, mixed-use development that will also feature deluxe offices, apartments, residences, retail shops and public green spaces. The hotel will occupy four towers within the project, which spans 470m and 103 floors and is the tallest building in the city.
Upon completion, Rosewood Chongqing will offer 183 accommodations, including 25 suites. Apart from four dining outlets – a bistro, living room, Chinese restaurant and specialty bar, the hotel will also feature a spa, fitness centre and an indoor swimming pool. For gatherings, the hotel will also offer 945m² of meeting and event space, including a grand ballroom.
Rosewood Chongqing will mark the brand’s tenth project in Greater China and its eighteenth in Asia.
Hong Kong green-lights plan to cut quarantine for vaccinated travellers
Fully vaccinated travellers from most places to Hong Kong will need only serve a seven-day quarantine at a designated hotel as long as they pass an antibody test, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the plan will not include travellers coming from high-risk locations like Japan, the UK and the US. Currently, travel from some countries like India deemed extremely high-risk is still barred.
The timeline for the policy has not been determined and will hinge on when the testing facilities are ready, said the sources.
The report further quoted the sources as saying that authorities are now trialling various antibody tests which will detect if a person has been vaccinated or has recovered from Covid-19.
Currently, Hong Kong has one of the world’s strictest border policies. Travellers entering Hong Kong are required to quarantine in a designated hotel for up to 21 days, even if they’re fully vaccinated.
Macau’s great comeback
Macau’s strict Covid-19 monitoring system at her borders and across her land has resulted in zero local infections for over a year, earning the confidence of travellers from Mainland China.
Travel from the mainland was allowed to resume in mid-August 2020. Between then and April, provisional visitor arrivals have recorded month-on-month increments.
Macau welcomed 191,828 Chinese arrivals over the week of April 9 to 15, with an average daily volume of 27,404 visitors. The recent five-day Labour Day holidays also brought forth outstanding arrival numbers – Macau welcomed 167,000 visitors, of which 156,000 came from the mainland. Average daily visitor arrivals hit 33,000 during this peak period, which rose by 158.2 per cent over the Spring Festival Golden Week in 2021, and increased by 25.4 per cent compared with the figure in April.
In line with the resumption of tourism exchange, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) tuned up its destination marketing efforts in China. Its messages are clear: Macau is safe and welcoming, and no quarantine is needed for the majority of Mainland Chinese visitors entering Macau.
The assurances are joined by attractively-priced packages and discounts for flight, lodging and other forms of consumption in Macau, so as to encourage Mainland visitors to visit, stay on longer and spend more.
“When conditions allow for travel restrictions to be lifted with our regional and international markets, we hope to extend similar marketing efforts to encourage visitors to come to Macau,” an MGTO spokesperson said.
For now, MGTO does not expect a strong tourism rebound. Between six and 10 million visitors are expected this year, with the majority coming from Mainland China.
Working alongside MGTO’s efforts to court returning Mainland Chinese visitors is the private sector, which has also rolled out its own health and safety promises as well as new experiences.
Sands Resorts Macao, for example, has introduced the Sands SafeStay, a comprehensive programme of cleanliness and disinfection measures to ensure the safety of guests.
Sands China, senior vice president of resort operations, Kris Kaminsky, told TTG Asia that Sands SafeStay has “provided the confidence and assurance visitors need in order to return”.
The integrated resort is enjoying weekly increments in visitorship, and its performance mirrors MGTO’s figures.
“Demand for our offerings from customers able to visit remains robust and we are confident in the eventual recovery in travel and tourism spending,” remarked Kaminsky, who revealed that business events have returned in March along with a gradual upward trend in tourist numbers, particularly leading up to the Labour Day Golden Week holidays in May.
Elsewhere, new facilities have emerged to guarantee something new and attractive for repeat visitors.
The Londoner Macao unveiled its first phase in February while the 300-room Nüwa debuted in the City of Dreams in March. Studio City Water Park opens this month.
Coming up next is Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, which is slated to open in 1H2021. The luxury property in the Cotai district, developed by SJM Holdings, will reflect Macau’s long history of Sino-Western cultural exchange through its architecture, facilities and services.
MGTO’s vision is not limited to bringing back leisure tourists, as it has joined forces with the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute as well as private sector business events suppliers to conduct a series of seminars aimed at luring Chinese corporate activities. After seminars in Guangzhou, Dongguan and Zhongshan in March, two more were held in Zhaoqing and Huizhou in April. More are scheduled to take place this year in thriving Greater Bay Area cities.
MGTO’s multi-layered approach to rebuilding Macau’s tourism industry includes a revamped Travel Simulation Program, with new assistance aimed at supporting sports travel. This is driven by MGTO’s larger endeavour to focus on deepening “tourism-plus” cross-sector integration and promoting products that answer the tourism-plus-MICE, tourism-plus-culture-and-creativity, and tourism-plus-sports needs. MGTO believes that taking this stance will steer the tourism industry towards recovery and generate greater momentum to move other industries forward.
While Macau’s tourism figures are promising, Pun Cheng Man, travel department sales and marketing manager with CTS (Macao) told TTG Asia that most of the Mainland Chinese arrivals to-date are leisure FITs, which mostly benefits hotels.
For Macau DMCs to see a return in tourism business, inbound tour groups are needed, opined Pun, who said fellow agencies are still holding their breath for this to be allowed by the authorities.
She added that MGTO also needed to step up communications on Macau’s border crossing policies to more Chinese residents. “(Many Chinese citizens) think that both Macau and Hong Kong have the same policy (for tourists),” she said.
Presently, Chinese travellers are required to serve mandatory quarantine upon their return from Hong Kong; this is not needed for Chinese returnees from Macau.
Despite her concerns, Pun expressed “cautious optimism” for Macau’s inbound tourism performance this year.
HK tourism businesses fund perks to promote vaccination
Perks and prizes are up for grabs this summer for Hong Kong residents that choose to get vaccinated against Covid-19, courtesy of several local tourism businesses that have pledged their support for the government’s inoculation drive.
This month, Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland have respectively prepared US$26 cash coupons and US$32 gift bags for eligible residents, while Cathay Pacific is hosting a lottery that dangles a ‘flycation’ onboard an A321neo as the ultimate prize plus a total of 20 million Asia Miles mileage for 110 residents.
Genting Cruise Lines is running the Go! Super Seacation Sweepstakes for Hong Kong residents that agree to a jab. Five prizes are offered, including the grand prize of an All-You-Can-Cruise Annual Pass that comes with accommodation in a Deluxe Balcony Stateroom for up to four guests, worth about US$500,000 million.
Genting Cruise Lines, president, Kent Zhu, said the move was to thank Hong Kong residents for their enthusiastic support towards the company’s cruise resumption as well as their continued efforts in the fight against the pandemic.
Hotel companies have jumped behind the territory-wide vaccination drive too. Chinachem Group, which owns Nina Hospitality, has set aside US$2.6 million worth of accommodation vouchers across its properties, cash vouchers and dining passes.
Real estate firm Great Eagle Group has also introduced the Stay Safe and Save package that offers 1,000 room nights every month from June 1 to August 31, 2021 at 50 per cent off. The incentive, available at participating hotels such as The Langham, Hong Kong, Cordis, Hong Kong, and Eaton HK, is reserved for guests who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Langham Hospitality Group, CEO, Stefan Leser, told TTG Asia: “We need to play our part in helping with the vaccination effort, as we want Hong Kong to reach herd immunity at a quicker pace. Getting vaccinated is a step in the right direction and will bring us much closer to the long-awaited recovery of the hospitality sector. We hope that by offering these very attractive enticements, we can encourage more residents to get vaccinated so that our borders may open and travel will resume safely for everyone.”
In addition, Hong Kong Tourism Board is now considering a new round of Free Tours and Staycation Delights redemption programmes as well as ‘seacation’ offers to residents who have been vaccinated. Details on the redemption programmes are expected to be released later this month.
Hong Kong’s tourism businesses are not the only ones financing pro-vaccination campaigns. As of June 14, HK$160 million (US$20.6 million) worth of offers have been rolled out by businesses from various industries. Vaccinated residents can potentially earn dining and shopping vouchers and gold bars, set up fixed interest rate savings accounts with a local bank, or enter lotteries that could win them Mercedes-Benz cars, a flat in Kwun Tong worth US$1.4 million, and cash coupons redeemable for first-hand property purchases.
These perks appear to be paying off, as Hong Kong’s daily vaccination rate has surged substantially. At press time, 3,006,207 doses have been administered. Daily vaccination rate is nearly hitting 46,000 compared to an average of 7,000 at the start of the vaccination programme in late-February.
Star Alliance makes touchless journeys a reality with SITA, NEC agreement
Frequent flyer programme customers of Star Alliance member airlines will soon be able to use their biometric identity at any participating airport following a new agreement between the alliance, NEC Corporation and SITA.
Connecting to SITA‘s Smart Path solution, the Star Alliance biometrics platform will be able to use SITA’s shared airport infrastructure already available in more than 460 airports.
Together with SITA and NEC’s global presence, which was strengthened through a July 2021 partnership, multiple biometric projects can be delivered in parallel, speeding up the availability of biometric passenger processing to Star Alliance’s member airlines globally.
A further advantage is the integration of NEC I:Delight platform, which allows passengers who have opted to use the service to be identified quickly and with a high degree of accuracy, even on the move. The I:Delight platform is also able to recognise passengers even when wearing a mask, an increasingly important feature for travel during the current pandemic. The platform is already in use by Star Alliance member airlines at several airports in Europe.
Uniquely, passengers using Star Alliance’s biometrics platform enroll only once. Passengers can pass through biometrically enabled touchpoints across multiple member airlines and participating airports using just their face as their boarding pass. This speeds up the passage through the airport while making each step completely touchless, supporting important health and hygiene safety measures in times of Covid-19 and delivering on Star Alliance’s vision of a seamless customer experience.
Jeffrey Goh, CEO, Star Alliance, said: “This agreement is instrumental in bringing further scale to our biometrics service, with the inherent benefits of speed and meeting customer expectations for a more touchless and hygienically safer experience across all of our member airlines. Biometrics is a key element of that experience and our strategy of leading the way in digitalising the passenger journey.”
Barbara Dalibard, CEO, SITA, said: “Passengers have long welcomed the advantages of control and speed automation brings to the passenger journey; a trend that has been accelerated by Covid-19. With this agreement the benefits of biometric identity will be extended from a single airline or journey to a vast network of airlines. That is truly unique and demonstrates the benefits digital identity can bring to the passenger.”
Hilton signs on fourth Maldives resort
Hilton will bring its fourth property to the Maldives by the end of this year through a management agreement with Amingiri Holdings.
The 109 all-villa Hilton Maldives Amingiri will mark the entry of Hilton’s flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand into the Maldives, joining the company’s portfolio of brands already in the destination – Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton.
Hilton Maldives Amingiri is located on Amingiri Island in the Male Atoll, directly accessible from Velana International Airport via a 15-minute speedboat ride.
Every villa will come with a private pool, and guests can choose to enjoy a range of facilities across the resort, such as six restaurants and bars, a teens-only play zone, pool, spa, fitness centre and salon.
There will also be an exclusive six-bedroom villa ideal for travellers looking to reunite with loved ones.
Guy Phillips, senior vice president, development, Asia Australasia, Hilton, said: “The Maldives remains one of the world’s most highly sought-after destinations and the signing of Hilton Maldives Amingiri reflects the excellent growth potential we see in the market.
“We are delighted to be embarking on this partnership with Amingiri Holdings to launch our Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand in the country. We are confident their experience in developing world-class resorts in the Maldives, combined with Hilton’s strong commercial engine, will place us at the top of mind for leisure travelers when it is safe to travel again.”
Alexandra Jaritz, senior vice president, brand management, Asia Pacific, Hilton, said: “We are thrilled to be seeing our flagship brand represented in the Maldives and look forward to providing the perfect setting for families and friends to reconnect and make new travel memories when the resort debuts in the coming months.”
A fresh video series released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) as part of its summer campaign captures and bottles the city’s auditory essence into highly immersive and pleasurable viewing experiences.
The Great Outdoors Summer Video Series is a series of uniquely soothing sensory videos created under the HKTB’s 360 Hong Kong Moments initiative, as part of efforts to continue engaging with travellers.
Four distinctly themed Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos will each feature 30-second snapshots of dreamy environmental acoustics heard in far-flung corners of the city. The videos are designed to stimulate the senses and to heighten one’s sensitivity to the harmonic countryside symphonies just a stone’s throw from the city.
The video series stars curious individuals exploring the outskirts of Hong Kong, namely, Peng Chau, Shing Mun Reservoir, Stanley, and Sai Kung.
The ASMR videos form part of the broader Great Outdoors Hong Kong (GOHK) 2021-2022 summer campaign, which will also showcase 13 seasonal routes, covering hiking and sightseeing destinations, island-hopping itineraries and water sports experiences such as kayaking and snorkelling.
The entire GOHK 2021-2022 campaign is hosted on its own dedicated campaign website, and is packed with insider tips, dining recommendations and transportation suggestions.