US OTAs form Asian lobby group with no Asian members, Emirates covers customers COVID-19 expenses, post hotel architecture challenges and fragrant memories in the making.

US OTAs form Asian lobby group with no Asian members
Wednesday, 29th July 2020

Booking Holdings, Airbnb and the Expedia Group have formed a regional lobby group called the Asia Travel Technology Industry Association, but it would appear there is something missing.

No Asian-owned companies are listed as members on the ATTIA website, while the entire association executive is drawn from the most senior public affairs ranks of Booking.com. Airbnb, Agoda and Expedia >>

Emirates covers customers from COVID-19 expenses, to boost travel confidence
29 Jul 2020 : World’s first airline to offer its passengers free cover for COVID-19 medical expenses and quarantine costs, in a unique assurance when they fly to any destination, in any class of travel >>

News from around the APAC region
29 Jul 2020 : Hotel industry and travel news from around the Asia Pacific region: India forms ‘Air Bubbles’ with the US, France and Germany, Thailand & Myanmar reveals plans to boost domestic tourism and more >>

Six Senses marks the brand’s second opening in Italy
29 Jul 2020 : Umbria is the green heart of Italy, and it is with an open heart that Six Senses Antognolla will welcome guests to a rural escape against the backdrop of olive groves, vineyards and cypress-topped hills >>

Global hotel performance remains stagnant
27 Jul 2020 : As the second quarter of 2020 closed, global regions continued to struggle with the effects of the coronavirus, with some areas jumping the gun on reopening (others better) and worry over further spikes that could thwart the hotel industry’s ability to get back to some semblance of normalcy >>

HIGHLIGHT ARTICLE

Post COVID-19 Hotel Architecture Challenges – Restoring Consumer Confidence
Wednesday, 29th July 2020

With the Covid-19 pandemic leaving each of us in socially distanced isolation with offices abandoned, shops shuttered, and cities reduced to ghost towns, it’s hard not to wonder about the lasting effects it might have on architecture as a whole.

And while that would make for a very interesting discourse, for the purposes of this article, we will be focusing only on the impact that Covid-19 is likely to have on hotel architecture >>

O’ Restless Warriors, Find Your Solace at Home
The STB did a Brand Health survey in April, which showed that only 24 percent of travellers across 14 key markets felt confident to travel internationally and only 33 percent of them felt confident to visit Singapore. I’m sure the numbers will be even lower now >>

Fragrant Memories in the Making
Hotels that use scent aim to capitalise on its ability to 'cue memories and conjure up emotions', yet little is known about how guests respond to the diffusion of various scents throughout hotels.

The researchers thus explored customers’ responses to scent and how hotels can best make use of it to create positive experiences and build brand loyalty. They found that scent was indeed conducive to guest enjoyment, but only when not overused >>

In case you've missed it: Global eNews of July 28, 2020
Royal Caribbean reinvents safety drills, Europe’s largest Holiday Inn Express opens, our own iron curtain and how to gracefully leave your job for a new opportunity >>