Rise in early and cautious bookers

September 29, 2020

• Expatriates are driving staycation bookings as they seek replacements for holidays back home
• Relaxing resorts and inclusive packages most in demand
• Cautious travellers are also resulting in a late-booking trend

ONYX Hospitality Group is seeing an uptick in bookings at its properties like Amari Vogue Krabi (above) for the year-end holidays

Holiday bookings for the year-end are streaming in earlier than expected for some Asian hoteliers, as consumers look to confirm domestic vacations and staycations as stand-ins for their usual Christmas and New Year’s Day trips amid continuing international travel suppression.

Avani Hotels and Resorts is already getting bookings for the holiday season even though the Asian domestic markets typically book one or two months ahead. The lack of festive packages at this moment has not stopped couples and families from confirming their accommodation bookings, according to Avani spokesperson Adhiyanto Goen.

A spokesperson for The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur and JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur told TTG Asia that enquiries on festive stays were coming in much earlier than the previous years, largely from expatriates planning to celebrate their Christmas and New Year in town instead of back home.

Early interest could have been driven by special offers for the festive season at both hotels, opined the spokesperson, adding that new F&B outlets opening at The Starhill luxury retail complex, which the hotels are part of, this year-end would bring additional gastronomic variety to the guest experience.

Long-term foreign residents or expatriates based in Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka are also credited for driving early bookings with ONYX Hospitality Group, according to president and CEO, Douglas Martell.

The early forward booking trend for the year-end has been picked up by SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index, published on September 21. Hotel bookings for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve period have spiked in multiple countries, including Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam in Asia; and Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific, noted the study.

“It seems the world is keen to end 2020 on a high note, and usher in a fresh new year,” said Mike Ford, managing director at SiteMinder.

Bookings are likely to further improve over the three months leading up to Christmas.

Adhiyanto is pinning his hopes on Thailand and Vietnam’s recent decision to facilitate long-haul arrivals soon, which could lead to a stronger festive period performance.

Cautious bookings
Early birds are, however, not flocking everywhere. Fluctuating state of infections are causing some travellers to approach their holiday plans with caution, leading to short booking lead times, a contrasting trend to the rise in early bookers.

Kristel Joseph, director of sales with The Majestic Hotel and Hotel Stripes, both in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, expects year-end bookings to be strong but dominated by late bookings.

“A key observation for 2020 is that travel bookings are made with even shorter lead times than the years before, with many consumers taking a wait-and-see approach with hopes that more borders might reopen,” said Martell.

Martell added that consumers are also investing in “more detailed research and asking more specific questions before they commit”. Those questions are streaming in via social media direct messaging platforms and phone lines – and at a higher volume than usual.

“It is important that we are ready to answer questions not just about our hotels, but the real picture of the area around us, such as whether a popular local cafe or restaurant is still open and whether their full menu is still being offered,” Martell told TTG Asia.

Among secured bookings, resort options and packages with F&B and activity inclusions are clear winners.

Joseph said a preference for room and dining deals are high as locals prefer to make full use of their time in the hotel.

Martell observed that there has been stronger interest in resort and coastal properties than city hotels, with up to 70 per cent of year-end bookings in Thailand going to resort destinations like Pattaya and Hua Hin. Inclusive offers as well as new and refurbished hotels are deemed most appealing too.

Offers everywhere
To stimulate greater domestic interest and bookings, hoteliers have had to take a different commercial tack.

Describing 2020 as a “year like no other”, Martell said ONYX Hospitality Group had to alter its commercial strategy to “balance the short-term opportunities from domestic bookings and staycation market in countries like Thailand, China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, with (continued engagement of) the medium- and long-haul markets in hopes for an eventual reintroduction of international travel”.

Expats and long-term foreign residents driving early bookings for ONYX Hospitality Group’s properties in Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka: Martell

Martell said: “While many of our travellers from the Western hemisphere have cancelled their bookings for the winter season, there are still a handful of optimistic consumers who continue to hold onto their bookings in the hope that travel restrictions will be lifted before Christmas.”

The Majestic Hotel and Hotel Stripes would be launching festive deals through digital marketing earlier than usual to score advance bookings.

YTL Hotels, which has never offered domestic deals for Pangkor Laut Resort during peak season, has bucked tradition to roll out residents package for a minimum stay of three nights this time round.

“Crafting strategic room and dining offers to cater to the domestic traveller is key in securing the business during the festive season, and a powerful marketing campaign is essential in ensuring success,” the spokesperson of The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur and JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur said.

Unfortunately, with offers aplenty and rates depressed to drive demand, hoteliers do not think that a strong performance this year-end would yield as beautifully as pre-Covid times.

STA Travel shuts down

By TTG Asia

September 29, 2020

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Tour agency STA Travel, which has three retail outlets in different universities across Singapore, has ceased operations, after its parent company in Switzerland filed for insolvency last month.

Its closure will affect as many as 682 customers who are listed as creditors, according to a report by The Straits Times.

STA Travel is the latest tour agency to close down as the pandemic continues to impact travel demand; STA Travel store at Chatswood Westfield Center in Sydney, Australia pictured

On behalf of STA Travel, audit firm Deloitte and Touche issued a notice last week that listed the potential creditors, with the biggest sum of S$84,088 (US$61,342) said to be owed to an individual.

The notice also lists organisations, including the National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University, Nanyang Technological University, and Republic Polytechnic. Other named creditors are the CPF Board, the Esplanade, the Singapore Scouts Association and Singtel.

According to the report, many university students who had booked flights with the travel agency, such as for exchange programmes, were affected. Some were given travel vouchers after their flights were cancelled amid the pandemic.

STA Travel offices in other countries such as Australia and New Zealand have also been placed in liquidation.

Hygiene front of mind for travellers

By TTG Asia

September 29, 2020

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Disinfectant — Deep cleaning for Covid-19 (corona virus) disease prevention. For safety, spray alcohol, disinfectant on the cleaning cloth wipes in places that are frequently touched at the hotel.

Daily room disinfection tops the list of hygiene and safety measures that travellers are looking out for when booking hotels and other types of accommodations, according to a recent Agoda survey.

Travellers are raring to travel again, but needs the reassurance of the implementation of hygiene and safety measures at accommodations, found the Agoda Hygiene Survey, which was conducted in June 2020 and surveyed more than 2300 people across eight markets.

Daily room disinfection is key component to get travellers moving again: survey

Globally, “daily room disinfection” followed by “daily disinfection (of general areas)” rank as the most important hygiene measures travellers expect to be implemented by hotels and other accommodation providers.

Other measures in the top five include “providing hygiene standard listings”, “providing personal hygiene kit (masks, gloves, etc.)” and “hygiene certification from the government”.

The study comes as Agoda launches HygienePlus, a new verification feature that shows travellers the health and hygiene measures taken by accommodation providers on its travel platform.

The tool is designed to give travellers peace of mind by identifying hotels or homes that meet a checklist of standardised measures, including contactless check-in/out, temperature checks for staff and guests, daily disinfection at property and room level, provision of face masks, sterilising equipment and hand sanitiser for guests, safe dining set up and signs to ensure physical distancing, among others.

For travellers from South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, “daily room disinfection” tops the priority list, while travellers from Taiwan, the US, Thailand, Australia and Saudi Arabia prioritise “daily disinfection (of general areas)” as the most important measure to get them booking again.

Younger travellers in the 18- to 24-years-old category are more inclined to prioritise “daily room disinfection”, while “daily disinfection (of general areas)” are the most important measure for global respondents in the 35- to 44-years-old age group.

“Hygiene standard listings” is a priority for Thai and Taiwanese travellers, and the most important hygiene measure for travellers aged 18- to 24-years-old globally. Hotels that provide “personal hygiene kits (masks and gloves, etc.)” are valued most by Indonesians, Saudi Arabians and Vietnamese travellers. Bucking the global trend, only Indonesians value “hygiene certification from government” as one of the top three measures to start travelling again.

Marching on with marketing amid Covid-19

By S Puvaneswary

September 29, 2020

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Digital-Marketing — Digital Marketing Technology Solution for Online Business Concept - Graphic interface showing analytic diagram of online market promotion strategy on digital advertising platform via social media.

With hopes pinned on domestic tourism to lead the travel rebound, industry stakeholders need to sharpen their understanding of the local market and retune their offerings in order to market to the domestic audience more effectively.

That was the common refrain among travel players during a group chat session entitled Marketing During Covid-19: Should And How Do You Do It? held during the recently-concluded Virtual PATA Travel Mart.

Brands need to reposition their strategies to better target a domestic clientele, say travel players

A successful marketing strategy need not always involve fancy tech tools or deep pockets, opined the session’s moderator, Hannah Pearson, who cited email marketing as an example of low-budget marketing tactic which she has personally found to be effective.

Hoteliers should also think twice about engaging in price wars to bump up occupancy rates. PATA CEO Mario Hardy cited examples of boutique resorts in Thailand which had not resorted to price lures to elbow out the competition, but had instead rolled out value add-ons – a marketing strategy that has successfully helped to fill rooms amid the pandemic.

Marketing to senior tourists was also discussed, as this is a lucrative segment with time on their hands and money to spend on holidays.

Stirring up their interest in visiting a new destination would be best approached through direct email marketing and phone calls, as silver tourists are typically not a digitally-savvy bunch, shared Federico Gigena Sobrero, owner of Wedell Travel based in Argentina.

Akansha Dariyani, membership relations associate at PATA, agreed that traditional marketing tactics still worked best when it comes to seniors with limited digital savviness. But at the same time, she stressed, it is important to include a company website address and an email address to increase company visibility with senior travellers.

Malaysia aims to resume leisure travel with neighbours by 1Q2021

By S Puvaneswary

September 29, 2020

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Causeway — Johor Bahru is one of the biggest city in South Malaysia nearest to Singapore.

Tourism Malaysia is hopeful that cross-border tourism for leisure will reopen in stages sometime in the first quarter of 2021.

Its director-general, Musa Yusof, said in a local television programme recently that the tourism board was keen on resuming cross-border leisure travel with neighbouring Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Indonesia.

Malaysia aims to get travel bubbles with neighbours like Singapore and Thailand up and running by 1Q2021; causeway linking Johor Bahru in Malaysia to Singapore pictured

“What we mean by cross-border tourism is situations where one doesn’t necessarily have to get on a plane to travel here. We are looking at countries such as Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, and even, Indonesia. These are the four nations that we are examining and reviewing as to whether travel can be allowed,” he was quoted by the Malay Mail as saying.

Malaysian outbound agents whom TTG Asia contacted said they were getting packages ready in anticipation of the reopening of borders to outbound leisure travellers. Those interviewed opined that neighbouring countries will be the first to allow reciprocal leisure travel with Malaysia and predicted it would take place sometime next year.

Adam Kamal, head of procurement and domestic market at ICE Holidays, believes that Thailand and Singapore will be among the first to establish leisure travel bubbles with Malaysia, and is forging plans for that.

“We are in the midst of researching what packages will be sellable, and we think it will be to destinations where Malaysians can self-drive or travel by land such as Phuket, Krabi and Hat Yai in Thailand, or Singapore,” he shared, adding that family and nature-based packages are likely to do well.

An agent from the southern state of Johor, Raaj Navaratnaa, general manager, New Asia Holiday Tours & Travel, shared that he is repackaging existing tours to Singapore with accommodation at major hotel brands.

He explained: “International hotel chains have the marketing advantage to showcase what additional measures are in place in terms of hygiene and cleanliness protocols. Personal safety concerns during this pandemic is of utmost importance to guests.”

Looking ahead, he believes that Malaysian travellers will favour nature-based and soft adventure tourism, over shopping in malls, given the lower risk of Covid transmission associated with outdoor activities.

Tokyo to be added to Japan’s Go To Travel campaign

By Kathryn Wortley

September 29, 2020

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Tourism suppliers in Tokyo are brimming with optimism that the upcoming addition of the capital city to Japan’s Go To Travel domestic travel campaign will inject a much-needed boost to local businesses.

From October 1, residents in Tokyo will be eligible for the campaign, and Tokyo will be included in travel packages and accommodation plans under the Japan Tourism Agency scheme.

Tokyo will be included in Japan’s domestic tourism campaign as the capital sees falling transmission rate of Covid-19; a *rickshaw driver* carrying two passengers in the Asakusa district of Tokyo pictured

The addition of Tokyo to the campaign is part of the Japanese government’s bid to shore up its flagging economy, and comes on the back of falling number of new coronavirus cases in the capital.

Hopes are high that Tokyo’s population of 14 million people and GDP of US$1 million will give the campaign a much-needed boost. Due to mixed messaging from local governments and customer reluctance, response to the campaign has been lukewarm, attracting only 13.4 million people to stay overnight during the period of the campaign’s launch on July 22 through end-August, according to a report by the tourism ministry.

Hans Heijligers, head of Japan IHG and CEO of IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan, expressed optimism that “people are ready to start travelling more and explore Japan”. He said the addition of Tokyo will “hopefully provide a much-needed additional boost to our markets,” citing four new hotel launches in Japan under the brand, including Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora, near Tokyo; and Kimpton Shinjuku Tokyo.

Steve Dewire, general manager of Grand Hyatt Tokyo, said the hotel is enjoying an increase in October and November reservations under the campaign.

“We started to offer a staycation package over the summer and saw a gradual increase of domestic bookings, but we can already see that this new campaign will give us an even bigger boost in business,” he said. He added that, combined with the campaign, Hyatt’s package offers 51 per cent off the standard room rate, which would be “very appealing to the domestic market and will help the hospitality industry as a whole”.

Suppliers near Tokyo are also expecting an uptick in visitors, as Tokyoites seek a countryside destination.

Mike Harris, chief refreshing officer at adventure activity and glamping provider Canyons Ltd in Nagano Prefecture, said: “With the inclusion of Tokyo, we are expecting our autumn to be even busier than normal, as 60 per cent of our summer clients are from the Tokyo region. For this reason, and the fact that temperatures are forecast to be high this autumn, we have extended our summer season of activities to mid-November.”

Sabre names new president hospitality solutions

By TTG Asia

September 29, 2020

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Sabre Corporation has welcomed Scott Wilson as president of Sabre Hospitality Solutions.

Wilson joins Sabre from Great Wolf Resorts where he served as its chief commercial officer.

He brings 25 years of experience leading strategic planning and key commercial activities for large global organisations in both the hospitality and airline industries, having spent several years at Marriott International and United Airlines.

Young Skål Singapore grows in numbers; wins accolades from Skål International Asia

By TTG

September 29, 2020

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A toast to the Young Skålleagues - with Director Young Skål Singapore, Ron Sathianathan (4th from left)

Brought to you by Skal International Singapore

Young Skål Singapore was first launched by Skål International Singapore (henceforth, Skål Singapore) in 2018. As a category of Skål International for students and young professionals in the travel and tourism industry under 35 years old, the objective of Young Skål is to ensure that clubs around the world attract new and young professionals training for or working in the industry who, when qualified, will automatically graduate to active membership, thus ensuring a continuous supply of new and younger members.

Following an inaugural Young Skål Singapore networking and mentoring event in December 2018, Young Skål Singapore started with 3 members at the beginning of 2019. and the plan was to expand the membership base, allowing young professional millennials and students the opportunity to network and be mentored by the seniors in the tourism industry.

Skål Singapore Honorary Secretary, Ronald Sathianathan, former Hotelier, Hyatt Hotels, and with a close connection with youths, undertook the role of Director of Young Skål Singapore in 2019.

Induction of the new Young Skålleagues at Skål Singapore Christmas Dinner 2019

Skål Singapore actively organised Young Skål networking and mentoring networking and recruitment drive events which included participation in the Future Leaders Seminar and the Skål Singapore booth at ITB Asia in October 2019. The Young Skål Singapore President and Secretary were appointed in November 2019 and the Young Skål team was officially recognised at the Annual Skål International Singapore Christmas Dinner 2019.

A more recent event was held in February 2020 at Lyf Funan Singapore, which boosted the Young Skål Singapore membership to 15, a 400% increase from a year ago. 7 months on, Young Skål Singapore now comprises 23 Young Skålleagues.

Although Covid-19 thwarted some of the initial plans, Young Skål Singapore members continued to engage with their mentors and senior Skål Singapore members over virtual platforms.

Young Skål Singapore President Dragon Chua and member Swe Hao Yi, together with fellow Young Skålleagues, participated as panellists in a Young Skål Asia Webinar in June 2020, to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on the industry. A subsequent report by Swe Hao Yi was also published in the Skål International magazine.

Young Skål Singapore was recognised for its launch and growth by Skål International Asia (henceforth, Skål Asia). The Young Skål Club of the Year 2020 award was presented to Singapore by Skål Asia last month during the Skål Asian Area Annual General Meeting (AGM).

In addition, Skål Singapore was acknowledged for the launch of New Young Skål Arm 2019- 2020 by the Director of Young Skål Asia too.

(Left-Right) Young Skål President Dragon Chua, Director Young Skål Ronald Sathianathan, President Michelle Sandhu, lyf by The Ascott General Manager Norman Cross (host), Young Skål Secretary Jocelyn Sean, Member Patrick Fiat and Executive Committee Member Andrew Chan @ lyf Funan Singapore, February 2020

“Skål Singapore will continue to grow Young Skål and groom Young Skålleagues. While Covid- 19 has impacted some of the planned activities, we are optimistic that the tourism industry will thrive once again. We are glad to have a resounding growth in our Young Skål membership despite these challenging times. We continue to engage our Young Skålleagues via small group meetings or over virtual platforms, helping them stay resilient, motivated and connected, not just in Singapore, but across Asia and the rest of the world. Young Skål Singapore members will also be attending the virtual ITB Asia in October 2020,” shared Ron Sathianathan.

“Skål opens up the opportunity for members to an international network of professionals from the tourism industry. We will continue to work on retaining our existing members and recruiting new ones, for both Young Skål and Skål Singapore. A ‘member-gets-member’ plan to encourage existing members to invite their industry colleagues or friends to join the association is underway,” added Michelle Sandhu, President of Skål Singapore.

About SKÅL International
Founded in 1934, Skål International is a professional organisation of tourism leaders around the world, promoting global tourism and friendship. It is the only international group uniting all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Its members, the industry’s managers and executives meet at local, national, regional and international levels to discuss and pursue topics of common interest. Skål International today has approximately 15,000 members in 400 Clubs throughout 80 nations.

About Skål Asia
With over 2,500 members in 43 Clubs, 25 grouped in 5 national committees and 15 affiliated, the Skål Asian Area is the most diverse Area in the world of Skål, spanning from Guam in the Pacific Ocean over more than 10,000 km to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean with clubs in 17 fascinating countries in between.

About Skål International Singapore
Skål International Singapore was founded on 17 April 1952 as Club No. 102 of Skål International and is multi-national, non-political, non-racial, non-sectarian and non-commercial, where business links between members are encouraged.

About Young Skål
Young Skål is a division of the Skål International organisation, specially created for students and young professionals in the field of tourism.

Merger of five state-owned firms with aim of becoming biggest hotel chain in Indonesia

By Tiara Maharani

September 28, 2020

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A quartet of state-owned companies have signed an agreement to consolidate their hotel subsidiaries to form a holding company, with the long-term goal of transforming into the largest hotel chain in Indonesia.

Those five companies are Garuda Indonesia (airlines) as the holding company of Aero Wisata Hotels, Hotel Indonesia Natour (HIN), Pertamina (oil and gas) as the holding company of Patra Jasa, Wijaya Karya (contractor) as the shareholder of Wijaya Karya Realty, and Pegadaian (pawn shop) as the holding company of Pesonna Hotels.

Five Indonesian state-owned companies, including Hotel Indonesia Natour (HIN), have merged their hotel subsidiaries to form a holding company; Inaya Putri Bali, a HIN-operated hotel, pictured

Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, deputy minister of State-owned Enterprises (BUMN), said that BUMN should focus on their respective core businesses, while their unrelated subsidiary businesses needed to be consolidated under one holding company.

“Hotels owned by BUMN have a very strategic location, so if we can focus on providing good service, it is very possible that these state-owned hotels will be the pride of Indonesia,” he said.

In addition to sharpening business focus, this industry consolidation is expected to optimise business operations and help the companies gain a competitive edge, with the goal of becoming a market leader in the hospitality industry in Indonesia, according to Kartika.

Currently, the MoU has consolidated 22 hotel units, with Wika Realty appointed as the holding company for state-owned hotels.

Prata Kadir, director of technics and development of Wijaya Karya (Wika) Realty, explained that the holding consolidation scheme uses a share swap or inbreng shares system. Meanwhile, the share ownership value to be taken by Wika Realty will only be determined after the company has finished assessing the investment feasibility analysis.

“We are still conducting investment and assets feasibility analysis, while simultaneously preparing new subsidiaries for hotel holding and operator. The target is that by the end of the year, it will be completed so that by early 2021, we can start doing business development, including renovating hotels,” Prata explained.

In the master plan prepared by the company, in the third or fourth year of its conception, it will create a flagship hotel brand with international quality standards.

He shared: “We cannot yet decide whether to form a new brand or use an existing hotel name. However, it is certain that the value proposition, brand and market valuation will follow the (new) business plan that is currently being drafted.”

Although BUMN minister Erick Thohir has instructed a total of 104 state-owned hotels to join the BUMN holding company, Parta said the company could not guarantee that it could fulfill this wish.

“It all depends on the results of investment and assets feasibility analysis. If the results of the study are negative, why force takeover shares that have the potential to make the company’s performance worse?” Prata said.

Echoing this sentiment is Iswandi Said, president director of Hotel Indonesia Natour, who said the creation of a world-class flagship hotel needed to be economically feasible.

However, a greater challenge is the reskilling of the company’s workforce, he added. “State-owned hotel staff are mostly complacent about the status of state-owned companies so they are reluctant to upgrade their skills. In order for the holding company to become internationally competitive, the first job to be done is to restart the hotel staff’s mindset and upgrade their skills,” Iswandi said.

Meanwhile, Budijanto Ardiansjah, president director of My Duta Tour, said that this hotel company merger could be beneficial for business development and networking purposes.

“Merging state-owned hotels will not only be able to restore the glory of Hotel Indonesia’s flagship, but will give tourists more choices of international standard accommodation in Indonesia,” he said.

Expectant that the merger of the hotels does not lead to monopolistic conduct, Budi stressed that the new holding company should collaborate with industry players. He said: “Hopefully, after the holding company is formed, they will not sell their own products on their own platform but will collaborate with agents to market their products.”

TTG Conversations: Five questions with Michael Yates and Mark Simmons, The Delivering Group

By Karen Yue

September 28, 2020

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Hospitality companies are restarting their business activities but a real recovery will require the right framework, which comprises fast and reliable testing pre- and post-travel to eliminate the need for quarantines as well as a universally-recognised health certification, says Michael Yates, co-founder of The Delivering Group.

In this new episode of TTG Conversations: Five questions video series, Yates and his fellow co-founder Mark Simmons highlight the growing trend towards direct distribution during this pandemic, greater reliance on market intelligence now to ensure the right target markets are targeted, and how a relaunch strategy and campaign should look.

Rise in early and cautious bookers

STA Travel shuts down

Hygiene front of mind for travellers

Marching on with marketing amid Covid-19

Malaysia aims to resume leisure travel with neighbours by 1Q2021

Tokyo to be added to Japan’s Go To Travel campaign

Sabre names new president hospitality solutions

Young Skål Singapore grows in numbers; wins accolades from Skål International Asia

Merger of five state-owned firms with aim of becoming biggest hotel chain in Indonesia

TTG Conversations: Five questions with Michael Yates and Mark Simmons, The Delivering Group

Tried and Tested

Knai Bang Chatt by Kep West

What to Buy Now

Chasing dark skies at sea with Silolona Sojourns