Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) today announced that its online travel business, Taobao Travel (trip.taobao.com) will become an independent business and brand named "Alitrip" (去啊). Like Taobao Marketplace, Tmall.com and Juhuasuan, "Alitrip" will be another marketplace platform under Alibaba Group with a new independent web domain www.alitrip.com.
Online customer reviews can provide crucial aid to hotel managers in understanding the drivers of customer satisfaction, argue Professor Rob Law of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and co-authors. In an article published recently, the researchers examine the content of online hotel reviews, identify the hotel features to which customers attach most importance, and highlight those features with which customers are most and least satisfied. The analysis, suggest the researchers, reveals a number of areas that hotel managers may wish to consider in the drive to "improve their hotels and satisfy more customers".
The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Asia Pacific's 10th Annual AsiaConnect Conference was held in Singapore on September 3, 2014 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Conference Center. At the conference, two panels discussed how technology is impacting the role of the Sales Manager, and that of the Revenue Manager in hotels.
HSMAI's 10th Annual AsiaConnect Conference was held in Singapore on September 3, 2014. Ani Bhalekar, mobility solutions expert at Accenture Digital who delivered a keynote on 'Tapping the Growth of the Mobility Marketplace' to help hospitality professionals stay ahead of the curve and be profitable. He walked delegates through the following journey.
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore has become the first hotel in Singapore to engage with guests in Asia via WeChat, the world's fastest growing social application that changed the way people connect and communicate with each other. To celebrate this new partnership, the hotel has launched a "Share and Win" campaign to encourage users to share the news of this initiative.
Supranational Hotels, one of the world's largest hotel companies and leading provider of hotel distribution technologies, is actively targeting emerging markets to expand its current 700 strong portfolio of 3, 4 and 5 star hotels. The group is looking to build its portfolio of destinations within South America, India and Japan where business and leisure travel continues to grow.
Leading up to the second Digital Innovation Asia Awards, DIA is recognizing the most innovative, creative, and performance-driven e-tourism initiatives in Asia. These awards were created in recognition of the growth and marketing power of Social Media and Mobile, adding a unique spin to the Awards competition as a whole. In addition to showcasing great mobile apps, campaigns, and innovations, as well as social media efforts in China, DIA also awards bloggers for great story-telling with the Blogger Matchup Award. The Digital Aid Award recognizes the most socially responsible digital initiative in an effort to drive sustainable tourism practices by leveraging digital, social, and mobile. For the first time this year, we are honoring the Top 5 Digital Innovators in Asia.
The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Asia Pacific's 10th Annual AsiaConnect Conference will be held in Singapore on September 3, 2014 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Conference Center.
Fresh, friendly and fuss-free. That's the genre of Hotel Jen, the new brand revealed today by Hong Kong-based Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Catering to a new 'Jeneration' of independently minded business and leisure travellers, the brand will launch quickly with ten Hotel Jens opening in major cities in Asia Pacific by March 2015.
Convention attendees value opportunities for education and social networking more highly than features relating to the convention site itself, according to Dr Jinsoo Lee of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-author. In a recently published article, the researchers identify the sensitivity of attendees to a multidimensional conceptualisation of value. The ultimate objective, they note, is to provide suggestions for convention planners on how best to cultivate attendees who are sensitive to not only functional value but also emotional and social value, thus generating loyalty and additional profit.
AsiaConnect, HSMAI Asia Pacific's annual learning and networking event for hospitality sales, marketing and revenue management professionals will focus on the dynamics of 'The New Sales Professional', Game Changing Consumer Trends, Real-time Marketing Solutions and Digital Customer Engagement.
Nine families with kids aged between three and nine were invited to join a fun-filled "Treasure Hunt - Family FUN" event organised by Cosmopolitan Hotel Hong Kong on July 20. This exciting yet enlightening 'kids Amazing Race' was held in line with the launch of the hotel's Beyond Thoughtful - Family & Us campaign, in which during the event, parents and kids were able to experience firsthand the incredibly warm service and a series of newly introduced kid-friendly rooms and amenities specially designed with kids' needs in mind.
Purposes for meetings and gatherings are becoming bolder, more defined and necessary than ever as we are all faced with new challenges, new destinations, higher expectations, and greater competition all in all to succeed. Embracing this enduring and dynamic industry and city for the future of business, JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok is ecstatic to announce an exciting transformation of its grand ballroom and function spaces. The new ballroom will introduce a new sophisticated look and dynamic feel aiming to be a compelling venue, for business meetings and social functions to be taken to the next level. A complete radical modification of the ballroom enhances the aspirations of the urban achiever and shape Bangkok's MICE Venue for Thailand's next chapter.
The Priceline Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) andCtrip.com International, Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTRP) today announced that the two companies have expanded an existing commercial agreement to strengthen their global partnership. In addition,The Priceline Group agreed to invest$500 million through a convertible bond and Ctrip has grantedThe Priceline Group permission to acquire Ctrip shares in the open market over the next twelve months, so that combined with shares convertible under the bond,The Priceline Group may hold up to 10% of Ctrip's outstanding shares. Upon purchase of the convertible bond,The Priceline Group will acquire the right to appoint an observer to the Ctrip board of directors.
The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today released a report on the PolyU Tourist Satisfaction Index (PolyU TSI) and the Tourism Service Quality Index (PolyU TSQI), presenting the PolyU TSI for Hong Kong from 2009 to 2013 and the PolyU TSQI from 2012 to 2013.
Virtual worlds are ideal places for co-branding case studies, write Dr Basak Denizci Guillet of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-author in a published research paper. The researchers chose the popular online space Second Life to investigate the co-branding preferences of a diverse range of participants in a hotel environment, something that would have been prohibitively expensive and time consuming in the real world. Their immersive approach could not only help hotels to gain competitive advantage through determining an optimal co-branding mix, but should also provide a model for future hospitality research.
Experts believe there has already been a shift in attitudes and foreigners are more likely to travel to Thai destinations now than when the current political unrest began. However, tourism companies in Thailand still see the need for active publicity of the country and say they'll need to work together more cooperatively to increase visitor numbers in the current political climate.
An estimate of 97 million Chinese citizens travelled abroad in 2013, according to data from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), 14 million more than the previous year. The market of outbound Chinese Travellers is already massive and growing. So how should hospitality businesses capitalise on this growing market? HotelREZ has put together a quick list of the dos and don'ts, amenities and services hotels should consider in order to please their Chinese guests.
Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality is launching a new upscale brand Sage Hotel with the first in Brisbane, Australia. Situated in Fortitude Valley, northeast of Brisbane's Central Business District (CBD), the first Sage Hotel will comprise 111 rooms when it is refurbished from two storeys of the heritage building known as TCB.
Didier Le Calvez, CEO of luxury Paris hotel Hôtel Le Bristol, discusses catering to Chinese tastes with Angie Lau on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)