TODAY: Travel tech is driving consumer change, Mobile Payments among Travel Buyers and Suppliers Still in Early Adoption Phase and Celebrity Chefs: Are They Worth It?.

Travel tech is driving consumer change
Wednesday, 7th November 2018

Travel technology is not only responding to some of the changes in traveller behaviour but also driving some of those changes, according to experts speaking on the opening day of WTM London's Travel Forward.

One trend which Expedia is particularly attuned to is the impatience of the modern-day traveller. Hari Nair, Global Senior Vice President at Expedia Group Media Solutions, said that the business was 'pivoting to an infrastructure' which loads a page within two seconds. The reason, quite simply, is that if a web page takes longer to load, conversion rates drop immediately. >>

Hotelbeds confirms UK as its main source market globally
7 Nov 2018 : Domestic market is the most booked destination for British travellers and Orlando top international destination for bookings via the Hotelbeds’ platform, with Rome and Paris as the top city break destinations >>

Rotana highlights six upcoming hotels at WTM London
7 Nov 2018 : New properties set to open in Bosnia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab of Emirates will add a total of 1,482 keys to company’s portfolio >>

LHW introduces 14 new members
8 Nov 2018 : From notable, culinary-focused hotspots in France and Brazil, to off-the-beaten path beach retreats along the coast of Colombia and Montenegro, the new members share a passion for remarkably uncommon hospitality in their desirable locales >>

Meliá Hotels International signs three new hotels in APAC
7 Nov 2018 : Meliá Hotels International signs three new hotels in APAC, and now has over 50 properties under operation or due-to-open in Asia Pacific, proving its commitment to growth in the region >>

Mandarin Oriental’s first hotel in Beijing to open early 2019
7 Nov 2018 : Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, located in the heart of historic Beijing, with spectacular roof-terrace views of the Forbidden City, will open its doors in early 2019, the first Mandarin Oriental property in China’s capital >>

HIGHLIGHT ARTICLE

Celebrity Chefs: Are They Worth It?
Wednesday, 7th November 2018

Also on the sidelines of the IHIF, Puccini told Hospitality Insights that although it may make sense to bring in a celebrity chef initially to attract customers on the strength of their personal branding, investors pay a premium for their personal branding and the extra costs in terms of labor to maintain their reputation can be high.

Find chefs that have personality and promote them because, within a small trade area, it’s relatively easy to create a reputation around a chef if he’s willing to be out there in front of the public and become a personality himself. >>

Businesses Must Prepare for a New Career Structure
Life expectancies are increasing across the globe and as a result people’s careers are set to last longer AD Businesses must adapt to accommodate the multistage career of employees in order to retain skilled workers >>

Ways to Drive More Direct Bookings for Your Hotel
It’s no secret that online travel agencies (OTAs) hold a vast market share and are instrumental in increasing your hotel’s exposure to a wide travel audience, however hoteliers still have many other opportunities to increase direct bookings through their websites >>

Mobile Payments among Travel Buyers and Suppliers Still in Early Adoption Phase
Most travel buyers and suppliers are familiar with both mobile wallet and contactless payment solutions, however, 49% of travel buyers are still unclear on the benefits. More work needs to be done to grow adoption of these payment methods in the business travel community >>

Blockchain: The Possibilities For Innovation Are Endless
Strategic alliances director at BlockX Labs, a product-development lab, takes us through the blockchain basics and he explains what this technology actually is as well as looking at opportunities for the hotel industry, in terms of distribution, reporting and transactions.

So what is a blockchain again…? Blockchains are a method to resolve the long-standing issue of different entities (things like organizations, people, and/or banks) co-ordinating their transactions in an accurate, trustless way >>