TODAY: Creating smart cities for innovative tourism experiences, Agoda's Rosenstein says Travel is Still a Market of Monsters, Copycats and Startups and Important Truths About Guest Messaging in Hospitality.

Creating smart cities for innovative tourism experiences
Thursday, 18th October 2018

The growth of high-speed, low-cost transportation links that provide more and more visitors with access to city breaks, city destinations must respond by prioritizing investments that benefit residents and tourists alike.

The UNWTO Conference on City Breaks: Creating Innovative Tourism Experiences concluded in Valladolid, Spain, with a call for cities to become smart tourism destinations, where tourism governance and the digital economy mesh together to offer travellers diverse and authentic experiences >>

Langham adds beach resort in Phuket to its portfolio
18 Oct 2018 : Langham Hospitality Group adds Splash Beach Resort, Mai Khao Phuket to its growing portfolio of hotels and resorts. Located in the heart of Mai Khao beach, the longest beach on Phuket, the resort is at the northwest coast of the island and part of Sirinart National Park >>

Leaders and emerging entrepreneurs in wellness
18 Oct 2018 : The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the foremost gathering of international leaders in the $4 trillion global wellness economy, celebrated recipients of its 5th-annual Global Wellness Awards and the winners of its Shark Tank of Wellness student competition >>

AccorHotels teams up with Luneng Group
18 Oct 2018 : AccorHotels and Luneng Group signed a MoU forming a strategic partnership in China, outlining cooperation between the two leading companies to create a solid platform combining the management of hotels, luxury and upscale serviced apartments and timeshares in unique destinations in China >>

HIGHLIGHT ARTICLE

Agoda's Rosenstein says Travel is Still a Market of Monsters, Copycats and Startups
Thursday, 18th October 2018

In a past interview, Rosenstein described travel as a “market of monsters, copycats and startups”. Fast forward to today and Rosenstein stands by what he said, arguing that he still believes it is a fair assessment of the industry today.

The key difference being that many of the companies that were just starting out in the travel space have stayed long enough to become the monsters themselves. Agoda being its own example >>

Important Truths About Guest Messaging in Hospitality
The adoption of guest messaging in the hospitality industry is no longer a matter of if, but when. In an industry built on providing great guest experiences, it’s only logical that SMS and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger and WeChat will soon be adopted at scale >>

Dress the Part and Walk the Talk
Let’s not name names, but the minute the ego becomes larger than the lobby you are no longer doing the best job for your owner or employer. If the photoshoot comes before the budget review or employee appreciation event, bad things will eventually happen >>

8 Steps to Change the Issues Around Plastic – Part 1
What companies can learn from the success of the plastics campaigns: The campaigns against non-recyclable, single use plastic have been incredibly successful, and their momentum continues.

Governments and companies are now embracing ambitious commitments. This movement offers lessons for all companies, whether they have plastics in their value chain or not >>