Korean Air has become the latest airline to implement a back-to-front zone boarding system for economy passengers on all its domestic and international routes.
Under the system, the airline will board passengers seated at the back of the aircraft first, as part of social distancing measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by reducing contact between passengers.
Korean Air rolls out reverse zone boarding system on its economy flights as part of social-distancing measures
Each aircraft is subdivided into three to four zones depending on its size, and the zone number is printed on passengers’ boarding passes so that travellers can easily check their boarding order.
However, passengers with infants or children, the elderly and those needing special assistance will be permitted to pre-board, regardless of their zone number.
Korean Air has been actively implementing social distancing and hygiene protocols at all stages of travel. For instance, there are floor markers at the gate for international flights to remind passengers to maintain distance while waiting to board the flight.
The airline requires all passengers and employees to wear face masks, regularly disinfects all its aircraft and provides hygiene products, including hand sanitisers for travellers and staff on both aircraft and at airports. In addition, Korean Air conducts temperature checks on passengers on all flights and provides protective gowns and goggles to all cabin crew members.
JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group has made several new appointments to its Asia-Pacific leadership team.
Mike Batchelor will take on the role of CEO, JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group, Asia-Pacific. He will divide his time between Asia and Australia, overseeing a team of 80 across seven countries and territories.
Mike Batchelor will take on the role of CEO, JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group, Asia-Pacific
In his new role, he will provide Asian clients with access to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands hospitality markets. Batchelor was previously CEO, JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group for the Asian region.
Meanwhile, Craig Collins will be stepping down from his role as CEO, Australasia. Peter Harper will assume the roles of managing director, head of investment sales, Australasia.
Nihat Ercan’s current role as head, investment sales, JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group, Asia, will be expanded to comprise Asia-Pacific. He will be working closely with the Australasia investment sales team to help Asian capital sources expand their investment portfolios worldwide.
Currently head, advisory and asset management, Asia, Xander Nijens’ role will expand to involve asset management across the Asia-Pacific region.
Hyatt is restarting the Bonus Journeys promotion, allowing members of its World of Hyatt loyalty programme to expedite point earning and reward redemption, as travel begins to pick up worldwide.
To participate, existing World of Hyatt members must first register for the free Bonus Journeys membership online by August 31, 2020.
World of Hyatt members can earn triple points on each eligible spend at Hyatt properties worldwide
They would then need to make a qualifying booking for a stay at a participating property between June 15 and September 15, 2020, and provide their World of Hyatt membership number during the booking and check-in. The points will be credited to their accounts in two to three weeks after their stay.
All members will earn triple points on each eligible spend, starting with their second qualifying stay during the offer period.
Participating Hyatt hotels and resorts span across 17 brands worldwide, such as Thompson Hotels, Hyatt Regency, Andaz, Hyatt Place and Hyatt House. Other participating brands include MGM Resorts, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and cruise operator Lindblad Expedition.
Elite World of Hyatt members will also receive 2,500 bonus points on their first qualifying stay between June 15 and September 15, 2020.
Destinations across the globe are pinning hopes on China leading travel recovery, as a recent survey reveals 45 per cent are willing to travel overseas this year.
At last week’s inaugural Arabian Travel Market Virtual, panel members discussed a joint survey by Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting, China Comfort Travel Group, and PATA, which revealed 60 per cent of Chinese intend to travel in 2020, with more than 45 per cent wanting to go abroad.
A recent survey showed Chinese travellers are keen to travel abroad, with more preferring to tour in small groups
Adam Wu, CEO of CBN Travel & Mice and World Travel Online, regarded the results as “very good news for foreign destinations (that) need to start planning for this”.
Tropical island and cultural destinations topped the choices, with a shift in travel trends to favour smaller group travel. Almost half of the respondents said they prefer group tours, however, the wake of coronavirus has led to a surge in demand for small group tours and FIT.
Tony Ong, chief business officer and vice president of HCG International Travel Group, said: “Groups will be smaller, reduced to 10-50 people, which will probably happen one to two months after borders have opened.”
Japan was the number one desired destination, followed by Thailand, Europe, the Maldives and Singapore.
Helen Shapovalova, founder and director of Pan Ukraine, predicts ecotourism will be a major trend with Chinese travellers once restrictions are lifted. She said: “Natural settings with green open spaces, mountains, rivers and fresh air will play a big part post-Covid-19.”
While shopping has always been a major drawcard for Chinese tourists, especially luxury goods, it is expected this may change as travellers balance risk management with the customer experience.
Destinations around the world need to start preparing for the rebound in China outbound tourism: Wu
Lisa Dinh, tourism director at VIA Outlets, said: “Trust is the new currency. The demand is still there, but health and safety and relationship-building will be key. Training will be essential to changing mindsets.”
Agreeing, Taleb Rifai, chairman of the International Institute of Peace for Tourism, said that destinations need to have solid health and safety measures in place if they want to capture the market.
He added global governments need to work together by signing bilateral agreements. An internationally-recognised certification programme would also help standardise levels of sanitisation and build consumer confidence.
Banyan Tree’s Laguna Phuket, Asia’s first integrated resort, will be pushing forward with its annual Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon (SLPM) – in virtual form – this weekend.
Held over the original event dates on June 13-14, the inaugural SLPM Virtual Weekend will be an interactive experience to remain connected with its keen runners and guests worldwide amid the Covid-19 pandemic, while encouraging them to keep fit.
Meanwhile, the resort still plans to hold a physical marathon year-end, with the 15th Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon now set to take place from December 5-6, 2020.
Race organiser Go Adventure Asia welcomes participants to choose any preferred distance – the 2K Kids Run, 5K, 10.5K, Half or Marathon.
Entry is free to all existing SLPM registered runners. For new runners who have not yet registered for the SLPM in December, the exclusive entry fee is US$3 per person. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Kao Kon La Kao Foundation.
Participants stand to win prizes, donated by the luxury hotels, spas, golf and lifestyle facilities within Laguna Phuket. Runners are to complete their individual races anywhere worldwide on June 13-14, 2020, while following local public health regulations, and submit online from June 13-19, 2020.
Registration can be made here, and is now open until June 12, 2020.
As countries emerge from lockdowns, Accor projects that 70 per cent of its global properties will reopen by July
As destinations across the world ease travel curbs, Accor predicts that more than 70 per cent of its global network will reopen by the start of July.
To leverage on the recovery in travel demand, the group said in a press statement that it will extend the flexible cancellation policy and other benefits for members of its loyalty programme, ALL – Accor Live Limitless.
Accor has reopened more than 50 per cent of its properties, including the Sofitel Paris Baltimore Tour Eiffel (above) in France, and anticipates that more than 70 per cent of its global network will reopen by July
Accor said that it has seen hotel reservations doubling in the past few weeks. To provide added flexibility, the group will continue to allow members to cancel bookings made at flexible rates at no charge, up till the day of arrival.
For stays ending June 30 or earlier booked on non-flexible rates, the flexible cancellation policy has also been extended. Members can either shift their booking to another date within next 18 months at the same hotel, or receive a voucher with the full value of their stay.
In terms of status and points validity, Accor will extend the status that members achieved in 2019 till December 31, 2021. Expiry of reward points will be pushed to December 15, 2020, for guests with classic status; and to April 30, 2021, for guests with silver, gold or platinum status. Suite night upgrades left unused by end-2020 will be valid for another 12 months.
While China’s borders remain closed to non-essential travel, Shanghai-based REST Collections is ready to restart its sales and marketing engines for its hotel clients to get the Chinese outbound market to spend – this time by relying on live-stream shopping.
Calvin Tay, senior vice president of strategic partnerships (global travel & hotels) with the Shanghai-headquartered company, told TTG Asia that live-stream shopping – zhibo in Chinese language – has been a popular and effective channel for retailing a wide range of products, from food and fashion to property.
REST Collections leverages live-streaming to help hotels worldwide attract Chinese outbound travellers
“Some major OTAs in China have turned to live-stream channels to promote and sell tour packages to the Chinese market, but the products are for domestic travellers. We may well be the first to use live-stream to promote and market overseas hotels in China,” remarked Tay.
REST Collections, through its main office in Shanghai and branch offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, helps regional hotel chains and independent properties to target the China outbound market as well as provide consultancy and design work around IT systems for reservations, housekeeping and more. It counts Thailand’s Cape & Kantary Hotels as well as individual properties such as Star Suites KL, Liu Men Hotel Melaka and The Pines Melaka in Malaysia; Rest Bugis and Hotel 1888 Collection in Singapore; and others among its clients.
His hotel clients are ready to shave 30 to 50 per cent off room rates and throw in complimentary meals for limited-time pay-now-stay-later deals that will be promoted and sold on the live-stream sessions from mid-June.
To bring a fresh angle to his clients’ live-stream sessions, Tay is working on partnerships with commercial organisations from outside of the travel and tourism industry.
“We are talking to a Chinese jewellery chain for cross-promotions. For example, our session could focus on weddings and honeymoon, where the audience could purchase engagement bands from the jeweller and get a special price for our honeymoon resort package,” he shared, adding that popular Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat, Xiaohongshu and Bilibili will be used to raise awareness of the sessions.
“China is a very competitive and tech-driven marketplace. Non-Chinese hotels wanting to succeed here must be ready to invest in digital channels and digital content. At the same time, they must be able to leverage all possible channels to get visibility. Our recent partnerships with Spring Airlines and China Southern Airlines will grant our hotel clients an additional platform to attract Chinese outbound travellers,” added Tay.
Hotels should work to sell rooms with attractive deals, ahead of the opening up of international borders: Tay
Tay is not discouraged by the existing travel barriers, saying that consumers emerging from the lockdown are all the more hungry for travel and consumption. “Most people are spending time at home and in their country for a good six months of 2020, and that desire to resume travels and to spend is growing in intensity, especially among those who are so used to frequent travels,” he said.
“It makes no business sense to sit and wait (for the barriers to be lifted), and to not stimulate market demand. The Chinese are starting to plan for their overseas vacations, for when it is safe to do so. Now is the time for us to introduce travel ideas to the market, to inspire them towards their next holiday.
“There is even an opportunity for transactions. If hotels are able to come up with very attractive buy-now-stay-later deals, travellers will grab,” he opined.
He predicts that the traditional outbound travel peak this July and August, when Chinese schools break for summer, will likely fall flat for overseas businesses looking to welcome again the Chinese. Instead, he is pinning his hopes on the October peak season, and is confident that the Chinese will snap up early bird travel deals in the next two months “when offers are at their best”.
The Covid-19 pandemic has awoken many hotel players to the importance of digital solutions, and this new openness to innovation may reshape the entire hospitality experience in the post-Covid world.
Joseph Ling, founder and CEO of digital concierge operator Vouch SG, said: “Before Covid-19, the hotel industry as a whole was relatively resistant to technology disruptions, and lagged behind in digital transformation. But through this crisis, hotels have become more open to exploring contactless and bring-your-own-device solutions.”
More hotels are adopting new technologies to cater to changing demands in the post-Covid world; The Pavilions Phuket provides in-room customised smartphones (above) operated by Portier Technologies
Vouch SG – which counts Andaz Singapore, Capri by Fraser and Pan Pacific Singapore among its clients – has developed a standalone F&B takeaway and delivery ordering system geared towards hotels, as well as a temperature recording and health monitoring feature on its digital concierge platform.
As more hotels open up to digital innovations, interest in other solutions have come to the fore. Ling shared that one rising solution with high adoption rates is contactless ordering for dine-in customers. He said: “As customers return to dining in, they are going to have greater sensitivity to hygiene. Physical menus are surfaces constantly touched by customers and staff, and are therefore becoming less desirable. We foresee that customers will increasingly prefer to order from their own mobile phones to minimise unnecessary contact.”
He opined that when travel resumes, hotels should also challenge and review “outdated features of the modern hotel room”, such as in-room telephones and room service menus, which are common culprits of cross-contamination among guests.
Another tool that hotels are now “increasingly keen” on is mobile self check-in, of which there is still a lack as many are seeded in a hotel or brand app, a condition that introduces “high friction” to guest adoption.
Deniz Tekerek, CEO of Portier Technologies, concurred. He expressed: “The key focus when investing in technology is to determine its actual impact and ability to engage. Having technology that does many things is useless if guests fail to use (it). In that respect, I’d say that applications, for example, have no real place in the hotel industry, as they deliver undesirable engagement levels.”
An alternative would be the use of web-based services that guests can easily access on their phones, or a dedicated concierge device altogether.
Tekerek shared that the pandemic is serving “as an accelerator” for the adoption of such solutions with a “strong focus on reducing touchpoints, digitally educating guests about new measures, keeping guests safe when they explore the destination, and more”.
Portier Technologies operates a browser-based chat portal and customised smartphones, which are currently placed in Accor, Banyan Tree, Hyatt, and Marriott properties, as well as The Siam in Bangkok and Swiss Luxury Apartments in Geneva.
“The hottest topic in our sector is contactless engagement. The general sense for hotels seems to be the need to find different ways of staying engaged with guests, given that physical proximity might be a no-go, at least initially,” said Tekerek.
He revealed that the company is currently speaking with more than 300 hotels and resorts about the adoption of Portier Technologies solutions.
Hoteliers in India are looking to the local travel market for a business revival as the government lifts restrictions on hotel operations in safe zones from this week.
While some Indian states like Delhi have decided that hotels will remain shut, those that are moving ahead with business resumption are confident that local demand will ensure good occupancy rates.
As India lifts lockdown restrictions, hotels like Cygnett Hotels & Resorts are looking to tap the domestic market in their initial recovery phase; Cygnett Resort Mountain Breeze Nainital pictured
Gaurav Taneja, corporate general manager, Amatra Hotels & Resorts, opined that local tourists who have not been able to travel overseas will turn to holidaying at home.
Sarbendra Sarkar, founder and managing director of Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, said: “To begin with, we will be targeting our existing guest database through e-marketing efforts. Our sales force will reestablish connections with domestic travel agents, and we are actively updating our travel agent network on the safety protocol put in place (at our hotels).”
Health and safety measures at hotels are of global concern now, as travellers return to activity in a world without a Covid-19 vaccine.
“The world around us has changed fundamentally and it has become imperative that we take even more stringent measures to ensure our guests and associates feel safe as we prepare to welcome them back again” remarked Anuraag Bhatnagar, chief operating officer of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts.
According to Indian credit rating agency, ICRA, hotels in the country have been operating at 10 to 15% per cent occupancy and losses are mounting. It has predicted that the hotel industry recovery may only begin after three to four quarters and contingent on a vaccine, while the normal state of business may only be seen in two to three years’ time.
As it readies to welcome back international tourists in 3Q2020, Taiwan has launched a three-phase reopening plan, which includes the budgeting of NT$2 billion (US$67.6 million) for tourism re-introduction.
Phase one, currently underway, includes the drawing up of a pandemic prevention tourism plan, comprising various tourism-related guidelines including quick action plans in the event of a fresh outbreak. Travel and tourism players have also undergone training courses schooling them on how to bolster confidence among tourists.
Covid-19 prevention plan, training courses for players in travel form part of Taiwan’s tourism recovery plan; Taiwan’s highest peak Yushan Mountain pictured
In the second phase, an estimated NT$2 billion has been budgeted for tourism re-introduction. As part of the training, up to 300,000 tourism players will partake in local FAM tours to be eligible for additional relief subsidies. Designed to familiarise agents with the health and safety measures established at tourist spots, the itineraries will cover local specialty outlets, homestays, attractions, shopping, and more.
These efforts will build up towards the restart of international tourism under the third phase, following Taiwan’s implementation and successful testing of the measures adopted at the domestic level.
