Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #32

THE PROFESSIONAL BUYERS’ REFERENCE 

ELITE TRAVEL 

TRENDS 

#13 / IMMERSIVE & ADVENTURE 

TRAVEL DOMINATE 

SPOTLIGHT 

ON THE AMERICAS 

#21 / STRONG DOLLAR – 

A NEW TOURISM DYNAMIC 

INNOVATIONS 

& TECHNOLOGIES 

#35 / DISRUPTIVE 

TECHNOLOGIES – WHAT 

ARE THE STAKES? 

…WE ARE 

BUILDING ON IDEAS 

TO HELP HOTELIERS 

CREATE POINTS OF 

DIFFERENTIATION 

AND RETURN ON 

INVESTMENT… 

Laurence 

Onfroy 

CEO & Founder, 

TemptingPlaces 

#32 - 2016 WINTER EDITION / A CLEVERDIS PUBLICATION

Richard Barnes 

Editor-in-chief 

richard.barnes@cleverdis.com 

Tel: +33 (0) 4 42 77 46 00 

Hotel & Tourism 

SMARTreport #32 

2016 Winter Edition 3 

FOREWORD 

LOCAL FLAVOURS ON A GLOBAL SCALE 

Touching the real thing… Experiences… through sight, sound, 

touch, smell, taste and most importantly, sentiment, are what 

travellers want today. Gone is the epoch of the “global” hotel. 

In this edition of the SMARTreport, we look at a number of 

wonderful examples of hotels that immerse one in the local 

culture and flavour. This differentiation through localisation 

is underlined in our exclusive interview with Laurence Onfroy, 

CEO and founder of TemptingPlaces. Her understanding of the 

evolution of market demand has spawned a vision that is very 

much in line with this trend towards veritable local experiences. 

Catering to sentiment and personal situations of the traveller 

at any particular time in his or her life governs what they want 

to see and do, and this is the subject of our interview with elite 

travel advisor Olivier Glasberg of Succès Voyages in France. 

In this edition, we also spotlight the evolution of travel and 

tourism in the Americas, where the strong Greenback has 

created a new dynamic over the past year. 

And our innovations and technologies section highlights ways 

hoteliers are leveraging “new tech” to not only create a more 

comfortable and interesting stay for the traveller, but also create 

new streams of revenue. 

Enjoy the read! 

CONTENTS 

4 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS 

4 DEFINING A NEW BRAND 

OF UNIQUENESS 

Laurence Onfroy, CEO & Founder, 


6 MALAYSIA, EVEN GREATER VALUE 

FOR MONEY THANKS TO EXCHANGE 

RATE 

Abdul Rahim Haron, Director, Tourism Malaysia 

(France, Spain and Portugal) 

7 EVOLUTION IN CHINESE 

OUTBOUND TOURISM 

Conor Yang, Chief Financial Officer, 

Tuniu Corporation 

8 EVENTS 

8 WORLD TRAVEL MARKET (WTM) 

LONDON 

Discover the world 

10 THE “BIG EVENT” IN SPAIN 

IFEMA prepares staging of the 37th FITUR 

trade show for January 2017 

11 EVENTS CALENDAR 

13 ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS 

13 IMMERSION AND ADVENTURE SHINE 

AS KEY INSPIRATIONS TO TRAVEL 

14 THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS 

IN TRAVEL PLANNING 

Olivier Glasberg, Associate Director, 

Succès Voyage 

15 GOOD THINGS OFTEN COME IN 

SMALL PACKAGES 

Tim Davis, Vice President Brand & Marketing, 

Small Luxury Hotels 

16 STAY DIFFERENT 

Stefan Leser, CEO, Jumeirah Group 

18 THE EPITOME OF EXCELLENCE 

Hamad Abdulla Al-Mulla, CEO, Katara Hospitality 

19 GOLF TOURISM CONTINUES 

TO GROW 

19 SHOPPING TOURISM: KEY FOR 

DESTINATION MARKETING 

20 LUXURY TRAVEL PROS FLOCK 

TO THE CITY OF STARS 

21 AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN 

21 THE AMERICAS – A NEW TOURISM 

DYNAMIC 

22 CARRIERS 

AIR TRANSPORT IN THE AMERICAS 

25 AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN INBOUND 

• TRENDS & FIGURES 

STRONG US DOLLAR BOOSTS 

REGIONAL TOURISM 

26 • TRENDING DESTINATIONS 

BEYOND THE GATEWAYS 

Chris Ellis, Director, Global Trade Development, 

Brand USA 

27 THE (HAPPILY) “WEIRD” SIDE 

OF TEXAS 

Austin grows as meeting and convention 

destination 

28 THE BEACH IS JUST THE BEGINNING 

Jean-Marc Flambert, Vice-President, 

Sales & Marketing, UK & Europe, Antigua 

Barbuda Tourism Authority 

29 TRENDING IN LATIN AMERICA 

Anna Avanesova, General Manager, Ada Tours 

30 • TRENDING HOTELS 

33 AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN OUTBOUND 

GETTING THE WELCOME RIGHT 

Tim Hentschel, CEO at HotelPlanner.com 

and Meetings.com 

34 • TRENDING HOTELS 

35 INNOVATIONS 


35 THE TWO WAYS OF CONSIDERING 

TECHNOLOGY 

37 IN THE FIELD WITH DAVID ESSERYK 

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 

IN HOSPITALITY 

38 THE FUTURE IS OUT OF THE BOX 

Yves Lacheret, Senior Vice President 

Entrepreneurship Advocacy, AccorHotels 

39 LEVERAGING CHANGE 

40 REDEFINING THE HOSPITALITY 

EXPERIENCE 

Samsung introduces six step innovation roadmap 

43 A SOUND DIFFERENTIATOR 

Yamaha brings ideas and solutions to help 

an establishment truly stand out in the crowd 

44 TOTAL CONTROL 

Putting the guest in the driver’s seat!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 

DEFINING 

A NEW BRAND 

OF UNIQUENESS 

Laurence Onfroy - CEO & Founder of TemptingPlaces, 

the World’s Most Unique Boutique Hotels talks about her 

group’s mission and objectives 

Laurence 

Onfroy 

CEO & Founder, 


We put the obvious question 

to Laurence Onfroy… 

“Just what is your brand 

all about?” 

We’re a soft brand for boutique hotels 

that have been conceived and made 

by visionary owners with an aim of 

transforming the hospitality industry. 

They’re a new generation of hoteliers. 

Before, there were those who were into 

“traditional luxury”, with high-class 

service and gastronomy and so on. But 

the new generation is more concerned 

with “experiential” or “immersive” 

travel, and there was a gap in the 

market. 

There was no brand to help them to 

leverage their image, to gain visibility 

and structure themselves. So, with 140 

hotels in 34 countries, we’re really a 

community of independent hoteliers, 

and we’re growing year after year. 

But we try also to retain a human 

dimension. 

When I started the company, I had a 

vision to structure this market, because 

the independent hospitality sector is 

very fragmented. So our mission is both 

to structure and clarify the market. Our 

partners now rely on our selection 

and standards to reference our hotels 

worldwide. I launched TemptingPlaces 

in 2010, and last year, we opened an 

Asia Pacific regional office in Malaysia. 

We saw that some very few of 

your hotels are also part of other 

groupings. What extra value do you 

add to the market? 

Actually, we cater to another segment. 

While we have some hotels that have 

dual affiliation, there are very few. What 

makes us different is that we were 

born digital, and we’ve just released a 

printed guide. The other brands were 

born with printed guides, and they 

are transforming themselves with the 

arrival of digital, which is very difficult 

as they already had a strong inertia in 

the direction they had been taking, 

because they are very big, so it’s not 

easy to face all those changes. As we 

are in the digital world, we bring our 

hoteliers another way to structure their 

sales and marketing aligned with a 

digital approach, giving them access to 

technology. 

What are the selection criteria? 

Important factors include size – they 

should have less than 100 rooms, and 

we audit the hotels for a broad number




Madulkelle Tea Eco-Lodge, 

Kandy, Sri Lanka 

of criteria. Our team goes to the property, 

meets with the owner, and sees if there 

is an interest for them to join, because 

we want to build on the value creation 

we can bring to the hoteliers. Another 

factor is that of technology, where we 

are building on ideas to help hoteliers 

create points of differentiation and 

Return on Investment in this respect. 

Do you have an example of what 

you could term a “perfect example” 

of a “tempting place”? 

Yes. There’s the Madulkelle Tea and 

Eco Lodge in the centre of Sri Lanka. 

It’s a “must see” if you are in Sri 

Lanka. It is unique in that the traveller 

sleeps in a luxury tent perched upon 

a hilltop, facing the green valley and 

the distant knuckle mountains. The 

360° view over the beautiful natural 

surroundings from your room is a 

highly emotional experience, just like 

waking in the morning and finding you 

are in the clouds. The cuisine is local 

and authentic, with a hint of French 

savoir-faire in the service. Evenings are 

spent fireside with jazzy music sipping 

cocktails. 

In France, there is Château Pape 

Clément, which belongs to Bernard 

Magrez. It’s a property in the middle of 

the vineyards, made unique by the fact 

that it’s Mr Magrez’s home. Each room 

has its own decoration with artworks 

from famous artists. Afterwards you 

cannot drink anything but Château 

Pape Clément, because you have 

experienced it. 

How does your relationship work 

with travel advisors? 

It’s so important, because it is often 

difficult to identify great independent 

hotels that are very much sought after 

by their clients. So we help them by 

clarifying the market, and gaining the 

loyalty of their customers. We give 

them training, bring the hoteliers to 

visit them, and the hotels provide extra 

VIP advantages for their customers. 

Just recently we organised an event 

in Paris where 14 hotels were present, 

and we invited travel advisors to come 

and meet them. We also provide them 

with a programme, which includes a 

dedicated portal through which they 

can book directly with net rates and 

advantages, and extensive descriptions 

of the hotels, with articles and a lifestyle 

magazine that serves to inspire them 

when dealing with the end customers • 

AS WE ARE IN 

THE DIGITAL WORLD, 

WE BRING OUR 

HOTELIERS ANOTHER 

WAY TO STRUCTURE 

THEIR SALES AND 

MARKETING ALIGNED 

WITH A DIGITAL 

APPROACH, GIVING 

THEM ACCESS TO 

TECHNOLOGY 

Château Pape Clément, 

Pessac, France


MALAYSIA 

EVEN GREATER VALUE FOR MONEY 

THANKS TO EXCHANGE RATE 

The South East Asian tropical paradise is growing as a “winter 

getaway” destination for European travellers 

SkyCab Langkawi 

We asked Abdul Rahim Haron, Director 

of Tourism Malaysia (France, Spain and 

Portugal), what makes Malaysia such 

a great value for money destination… 

The currency exchange rate against the 

euro offers more value for each euro spent 

against the Malaysian Ringgit. Hence, 

visitors enjoy spending in hotels, restaurant 

shopping, food, rental of private villas, 

boats and visits to various places with the 

attractive exchange rate. Hotel rates are 

also comparatively very low. 

How is event tourism growing in 

importance for Malaysia? 

Sports Tourism in the country is getting 

attention globally from events such 

as international marathons, mountain 

climbing, diving, golfing, biking/cycling, 

motor sports, sailing and regattas. Leisure 

groups and incentives are including sports 

into their activities or programmes. The 

country also hosts world’s best sporting 

events like the Petronas Formula 1 GP and 

the Motorcycle Grand Prix as well as the 

Ironman challenge in Langkawi, which 

will happen on November 12, and the 

Langkawi Regatta. 

While many think increasingly of Sabah 

and the peninsula as destinations, 

Kuala Lumpur is increasingly popular. 

What are its main “USPs”? 

Kuala Lumpur is a diverse capital city, 

full of contrasts. Urban tourism is on the 

rise as new generation travellers seek 

combinations of stay experience including 

city stays. The capital city of Kuala Lumpur 

is gateway to many other destinations in 

the country. It is home to the world’s tallest 

twin towers the iconic structure that places 

Malaysia well in the international map. 

Kuala Lumpur is multi-cultural, the city 

recently introduced the KL Pass that 

allows travellers the convenience to visit 

the multiple attractions in the city; sky 

dining venues like Marini’s on 57, Skybar 

at Traders, Troika, with magnificent views 

of Kuala Lumpur, the hop-on hop-off bus 

that allows visitors to see the many places 

of attractions in the city. KL is connected by 

an express train (ERL) from KL International 

Airport in just 30 minutes, is 1 hour away 

from the historical city of Melaka and Port 

Dickson and 2 hours away to Pangkor 

Island and Taman Negara (National Park) • 

Abdul Rahim 

Haron 

Director, Tourism Malaysia 

(France, Spain and Portugal) 

SMARTreport Commercial Content





Conor Yang 

Chief Financial Officer, 

Tuniu Corporation 

EVOLUTION IN CHINESE 

OUTBOUND TOURISM 

Exclusive interview with the CFO of Tuniu – instrumental 

in package tour growth 

Founded in 2006, today, Tuniu has become the number one player in 

China’s online leisure travel market. In this exclusive interview, we 

first asked Conor Yang, Chief Financial Officer of Tuniu Corporation, 

how the Chinese outbound tourism is evolving… 

The Chinese outbound market has 

grown rapidly in the recent years. 

We expect the market to maintain its 

fast growth in the near future mainly 

due to a few reasons. First, the 

consumption power here in China as 

measured on a GDP per capita basis 

has reached a critical point. Chinese 

people now have enough disposable 

income to spend on new experiences 

such as travelling abroad. Secondly, 

the application process for a visa to 

a foreign country is becoming easier 

for Chinese citizens. This allows more 

Chinese people to have the ability to 

visit new countries where previous 

restrictions limited them. When you 

combine these two factors, we can 

expect the growth momentum of 

Chinese outbound tourism to remain 

very strong. 

How is luxury travel developing for 

Chinese tourists? 

Although luxury travel remains in a 

developmental phase here in China, 

it is growing at an accelerating pace. 

This is due to the fact that China 

has one of the largest populations 

of high-net-worth individuals in 

the world and one of the most 

favourable environments for luxury 

travel. If you couple the Chinese 

demographic with the increasing 

crave for a luxury experience, you’ll 

get a very fast growing market for 

luxury travel in China. 

How could you best describe 

Tuniu’s mid-term roadmap? 

Given our established position in 

packaged tours, we will put increased 

emphasis in self-guided tours. To do 

ALTHOUGH LUXURY 

TRAVEL REMAINS IN 

A DEVELOPMENTAL 

PHASE HERE IN CHINA, 

IT IS GROWING AT AN 

ACCELERATING PACE 

that, we will strengthen our offerings 

in air ticketing and hotel booking 

while also expanding our coverage 

of destination-based products. We 

are confident that we can leverage 

our experience in packaged tour and 

understanding of Chinese travellers 

to rapidly strengthen our presence 

in self-guided tours, and to continue 

increasing our market share in 

China’s attractive online leisure travel 

market.

EVENTS 

FITUR SIGNALS 

THE START 

OF THE 

INTERNATIONAL 

TOURISM FAIR 

CALENDAR 

FITUR IFEMA 

TURISMO 2016 

THE “BIG EVENT” IN SPAIN 

IFEMA prepares staging of the 37 th FITUR trade show 

for January 2017 

It’s the first major appointment of the year 

for travel professionals the world over. 

From January 18 to 22, 2017, the 37 th 

staging of FITUR in Madrid is a major event 

on the calendar, and the leading show for 

the Latin American sphere. 

The show is organised by IFEMA, the 

leading fair organiser in Spain and one of 

the most important in Europe, with over 

three decades’ experience and a portfolio 

of 80 annual fairs that are specialised in the 

main economic and production sectors. In 

recent years, IFEMA has positioned itself 

as a global operator through the presence 

of its fairs in Latin America and Asia and 

through consulting projects on fair grounds 

management and invitations to tender in 

Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. 

FITUR signals the start of the international 

tourism fair calendar, and thus acts as a 

barometer for the sector that is one of 

the most important drivers of the global 

economy. 

The 2017 event kicks off with the highest 

expectations, following a rise in attendee 

figures in 2016; a new record with a total 

of 231,872 visitors, including 124,659 

participating professionals (2% more than 

in 2015) and 9,605 companies present, 

hailing from 165 countries. Each year, the 

FITUR show has a positive repercussion on 

Madrid, generating an economic impact 

estimated at 210 million Euros for the city. 

This year, the organisers have more 

than ever been travelling the world to 

promote the event. One such example 

was a workshop held in Colombia on July 

27, organised by the Bogota chamber 

of commerce, on how to get the most 

from a trade show in both business and 

promotional terms. 

The workshop, given by Santiago Quiroga, 

Director of International Expansion of 

IFEMA, highlighted the importance of a 

professional fair within the foreign trade 

strategy of companies • 

FITUR HEALTH 

A MAJOR 

DRAW CARD 

The specialised FITUR 

HEALTH section will again 

be staged at the show, and 

on this occasion, IFEMA and 

its partner SPAINCARES are 

renewing their collaboration 

agreement for the third 

staging of this section, which 

will again occupy Hall 8 of 

IFEMA’s exhibition venue. 

In 2016, FITUR HEALTH hosted 

25 exhibitors, representing 

more than 150 health centres 

and businesses from within 

this industry, and saw the 

participation of 14 top-level 

international buyers.

11 



2016 Winter Edition 

EVENTS CALENDAR 

6-10 NOVEMBER 2016 

Equip’Hotel Paris 

Porte de Versailles, Paris, France 

www.equiphotel.com 


World Travel Market - WTM 

ExCel London, London, 

United Kingdom 

www.wtmlondon.com 

CLEVERDIS 

PARTNER 

CLEVERDIS 

PARTNER 

10 NOVEMBER 2016 

HOSPACE 2016 

Sofitel T5, Heathrow, United Kingdom 

www.hospace.net 

CLEVERDIS 

PARTNER 

14 NOVEMBER 2016 

American Group Travel Awards 

– AGTA 

Paramount Hotel, New York City, USA 

www.americangrouptravelawards.com/ 

AGTA/ 


The Sleep Event London 

Business Design Centre, London, United 

Kingdom 

www.thesleepevent.com 

28 NOVEMBER, 2016 

Barcelona Seminar – ETOA 

Barcelona, Spain 

www.etoa.org 

CLEVERDIS 

PARTNER 

5 – 8 DECEMBER 2016 

International Luxury Travel Market 

– ILTM 

Palais des festivals et des congrès, 

Cannes, France 

www.iltm.com 

18 – 22 JANUARY 2017 

Fitur Feria de Madrid 

Madrid, Spain 

www.ifema.es 

21 – 25 JANUARY 2017 

Sirha 

Eurexpo, Lyon, France 

www.sirha.com 

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With the participation of: Bettina Badon, Anna Klima, 

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>>To contact them: first name.last name@cleverdis.com 

Printing: Pure Impression, Mauguio, France 

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ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS 

Brought to you by 




IMMERSION AND 

ADVENTURE SHINE 

AS KEY INSPIRATIONS 

TO TRAVEL 

Every day, the importance of “immersive” 

and “adventure” travel – often closely 

linked – becomes increasingly evident in 

the “elite” travel segment. 

Several factors are driving adventure 

travel’s popularity, as cited by respondents 

to a recent Virtuoso “active and speciality 

travel” survey: communing with nature, 

checking experiences off a bucket list, 

spending quality time together on family 

and multigenerational trips, and the ability 

of today’s older travellers to be more active 

due to improved longevity and health. 

Respondents also provided their top tips 

for adventure travel: 

1. Challenge yourself by stepping out of 

your comfort zone and being open to 

new activities; 

2. Familiarise yourself with the culture of 

the destination by meeting interesting 

locals; 

3. Look at the world in a new way: gain 

a fresh perspective and possibly even 

change an opinion; 

4. Travel now, because some of these 

destinations are changing fast and may 

not be in this state in just a few years; 

5. Don’t try to do too much. Keep travel 

distances manageable and build in rest 

days and free time. 

The role of the travel advisor thus takes 

on added importance, as making the 

right choices becomes essential. In this 

section, we hope to give you a little added 

inspiration! 

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge, 

Botswana



Olivier 

Glasberg 

Associate Director, 

Succès Voyage 

THE RECIPE FOR 

SUCCESS IN TRAVEL 

PLANNING 

The role of travel advisor: 

more than ever to listen to the client 

In September 2013, Olivier Glasberg 

moved over from Kuoni travel to 

Succès Voyage in Paris where he took 

on the role of associate director, and 

has since launched the brand “Au 

Fur et à Mesure”. We asked him to 

tell us more… 

Au Fur et à Mesure was created in a 

strategy of differentiation, based on a 

concept of experiential luxury. Rather 

than selling destinations or “styles” 

of travel, we have an entirely different 

approach. You know, the life of a 

client is punctuated by various steps or 

stages, whether they be family-based, 

sentimental or social, and the desire 

travel is directly influenced by that 

“moment” of life. So more important 

than knowing where the client wants 

to go is the knowledge of why he or 

she wants to go, and with whom. Do 

they want to have “sharing” moments 

with their children? To “get away from 

it all”? To get closer to those they don’t 

see enough of during the year? 

So it’s really a case of “adding 

value”… 

Yes. Today, people don’t need our help 

to book a plane ticket or reserve a hotel; 

they need us when it’s a little more 

complicated than that. Add to this the 

fact that travel wants and needs change 

totally depending on the different 

periods of the year. For us, business is 

good, as we are catering for a precise 

need. If we are able to meet the real 

needs of the clients, we win the bet. 

What’s the secret to being a great 

travel advisor? 

It’s being able to adapt to the needs of 

the client. It’s being a veritable travel 

expert, not just in terms of destinations, 

but in terms of understanding the needs 

of a person at any one point in their life. 

If you are capable of finding the right 

combination, you are a very good agent. 

But that’s not all; the value-add also 

comes through optimising the price, so 

as to be similar to what the client might 

have found after several hours’ searching 

on the internet by themselves… but 

with our expertise as an added plus! 

IF WE ARE 

ABLE TO MEET 

THE REAL NEEDS 

OF THE CLIENTS, 

WE WIN THE BET.





GOOD THINGS OFTEN 

COME IN SMALL 

PACKAGES 

Small Luxury Hotels lead the way in “doing those 

little things exceptionally well” 

What is different about 

the philosophy of SLH 

compared to other hotel 

groups? We put the leading 

question to Tim Davis, 

Vice President Brand & 

Marketing, SLH. 

Small Luxury Hotels of the 

World has always existed to 

connect independently minded 

guests with independently 

spirited hotels. In many ways 

SLH was ahead of its time 

when it launched 26 years 

ago, carefully handpicking the 

most character-filled, storied 

and unique hotels for guests 

to experience. Our point of 

difference has always been 

about selecting hotels that 

really pay homage to their 

corner of the globe but also 

those that do all the little 

things exceptionally well. 

This year, you had a 

major restructuring of 

your organisation. What 

did this entail and what 

does it change for travel 

professionals with whom 

you are working? 

In May, SLH and its 

management company 

entered into a new joint 

venture structure, which 

included the incorporation of 

a new SLH operating vehicle 

(SLH Limited). The restructure 

allowed for a £12 million 

investment over the next five 

years into SLH by the owners 

of the management company 

WE OFFER 

NUMEROUS ROAD 

SHOWS AND 

SHOWCASES 

EACH YEAR 

WHERE LUXURY 

TRAVEL AGENTS 

ARE INVITED TO 

MEET WITH AND 

LEARN ABOUT 

OUR HOTELS 

and also made member hotels 

shareholders in Small Luxury 

Hotels of the World Limited. 

The investment has enabled 

CEO Filip Boyen to have more 

flexibility to drive the brand 

forward in today’s increasingly 

competitive landscape to 

execute large scale Initiatives 

laid out in SLH’s ambitious 

five-year plan. It allows SLH 

to further drive our newly 

improved quality assurance 

programme; refresh our 

loyalty offering which is due 

for re-launch in 2017 and 

advance our technology and 

distribution systems. 

Some new hotels have 

recently joined the group… 

Can you please tell us more 

about them? 

This year we’ve welcomed 36 

new hotels into our collection, 

all of which have standout 

quality. A number of them 

have been in unfulfilled 

destinations such as South 

Korea, Ibiza, Norway Anguilla 

and Wales. 

How do you support 

tour operators and travel 

agents? 

We offer numerous road 

shows and showcases each 

year where luxury travel 

agents are invited to meet with 

and learn about our hotels. 

Agents can book via the GDS 

(code LX), the travel agent 

website (agents.slh.com) and 

via the SLH VIP Desk. Any SLH 

booking channel qualifies for 

commission payment. We 

don’t currently work with any 

tour operators • 

Tim Davis 

Vice President Brand & Marketing, 

Small Luxury Hotels



STAY 

DIFFERENT 

Jumeirah Group CEO Stefan Leser explains what 

sets his properties apart 

In February 2016, Stefan Leser took over as the new CEO of Jumeirah Group, 

coming over from Swiss travel services provider Kuoni Travel Holding, the 

international travel Company, where he held executive management 

positions for more than 10 years. We firstly asked Mr Leser what sets Jumeirah 

apart… 

Stefan Leser 

CEO of Jumeirah Group 

From a company perspective, perhaps 

most significant factor is our innovation 

mindset. Jumeirah is a Dubai-born 

business, which truly represents the 

Emirate’s bold and ambitious spirit. Dubai 

is world-renowned for its commitment to 

innovation, and as a member of Dubai 

Holding, we operate in a supportive 

environment for creativity and growth. 

From a brand perspective, an important 

factor to our success is our dedication to 

excellence and continuous improvement. 

We embrace the broader dynamism of 

Dubai, which is considered as one of the 

world’s most imaginative destinations. 

It is within Jumeirah’s DNA to offer the 

highest standards of Arabian hospitality 

and the tradition of welcoming guests 

like no other. At Jumeirah, we simply 

think about things that others do not; this 

is what makes our hotels just that little 

more special. With the STAY DIFFERENT 

brand promise at our core, guests can be 

sure that their experience will be different 

– imaginative and exhilarating, culturally 

connected, thoughtful and generous. 

What new openings or developments 

are you the most proud of and why? 

This year, Jumeirah has continued to 

develop its portfolio, building on the 

success of the brand. Jumeirah continues 

to dominate the luxury hotel market 

in the Middle East and innovation in 

products and marketing strategies have 

formed key components of this activity, 

underpinning Jumeirah’s STAY DIFFERENT 

brand promise. 

NEW LUXURY 

IS ABOUT 

CONNECTION 

– MORE THAN 

CONSUMPTION 

We were immensely proud to launch the 

Burj Al Arab Terrace. A 10,000 square 

metre private luxury terrace, which fans 

out 100 metres into the Arabian Gulf, the 

Burj Terrace reflects our commitment to 

innovation, dedication to excellence and 

offers our guests a remarkable luxurious

and distinctive experience that they can’t 

find anywhere else. It is a world first and 

a new Dubai landmark which pushes 

the boundaries of hospitality innovation, 

reinforcing Dubai as an outstanding 

destination and leader in global hospitality. 

Looking forward, our next milestone is 

the opening at the end of 2016 of our 

beachside hotel, Jumeirah Al Naseem in 

Dubai. This 430-room luxury hotel is the 

fourth and final phase of the acclaimed 

Madinat Jumeirah Resort. What really 

sets this hotel apart are the magnificent 

uninterrupted views of the Arabian Gulf 

and the iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah 

hotel. Jumeirah Al Naseem is a major 

addition to the appeal of Dubai as a 

holiday destination. 

Both of these projects demonstrate 

Jumeirah’s commitment to remaining 

ahead of the curve in innovation while 

significantly enhancing guest experience. 

Product and marketing strategy has 

also been shaped over the last year by 

trends within global tourism and one 

area of increasing popularity is that of 

spa and wellness retreats among tourists, 

which has been central to the brand’s 

development of its Talise Spa offering. 

What, to you, is the «new» definition 

of luxury? 

New luxury is about connection – more 

than consumption. Luxury has moved 

from being an elite experience to being 

a personalised and valued experience. 

Jumeirah is so firmly established as a leader 

in luxury hospitality that it’s hard to believe 

our brand is relatively new, celebrating 

its 20 th year in 2017. The Jumeirah hotel 

and resorts brand was founded at a time 

of evolving social trends and demands in 

luxury. As a highly agile organisation with 

a mandate for constant improvement, 

we’ve been able to adjust our offering to 

appeal to a new generation of travellers, 

who have driven this redefinition of luxury. 

How important is your relationship 

with travel advisors and what does 

your group do to help them in their 

task of advising the public? 

The relationship with travel advisors 

is very important. Although Jumeirah. 

com provides an important window 

to our properties and showcases what 

we have to offer, the endorsement and 

recommendation by travel professionals 

is an important influencer and a service 

we greatly value. We see ourselves very 

much in partnership. We make it easy to 

book directly with Jumeirah.com. In 2015, 

81,000 room-nights were booked online 

but we appreciate that travel professionals 

may have engaged with guests at the 

important consideration stage. We make 

sure we provide the travel industry with 

the information they need to have 

confidence in recommending Jumeirah to 

their clients • 

Etihad Towers, 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

Jumeirah Beach Hotel, 

Dubai, UAE 

Royal Etihad Suite Bedroom, 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

JUMEIRAH GROUP, 

THE GLOBAL 

LUXURY HOTEL 

COMPANY AND A 

MEMBER OF DUBAI 

HOLDING, operates a worldclass 

portfolio of hotels and resorts 

including the flagship Burj Al 

Arab Jumeirah. Jumeirah Hotels 

& Resorts manages properties in 

Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE, and 

Kuwait in the Middle East; Baku, 

Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, and 

Mallorca (Spain) in Europe; the 

Maldives and Shanghai in Asia.



Hamad Abdulla 

Al-Mulla 

CEO, Katara Hospitality 

THE EPITOME 

OF EXCELLENCE 

Katara Group continues in its quest to bring augmented 

quality to iconic properties 

Katara Group recently announced the unveiling of the remodelled Royal Savoy Lausanne, a 

Murwab Hotel. We asked Hamad Abdulla Al-Mulla, CEO of Katara Hospitality, what the key 

elements are that make this a great place to stay… 

Dating from 1909, Royal Savoy 

Lausanne, a Murwab Hotel 

has added to the lustre of 

Lausanne’s fame as a refuge 

for royalty and aristocrats from 

around the world. The legendary 

hotel features 196 rooms and 

suites, business facilities, an 

exclusive terrace restaurant, 

lobby lounge, cigar lounge, a 

Sky Terrace on the roof with its 

unique 360° panoramic view 

and an extensive spa area. The 

historic building in the Grand 

Château style has a 5,000 sqm 

park, situated between the 

new and historical buildings, 

and is an incomparable oasis of 

tranquillity, right in the heart of 

the city. 

There are some other 

extremely interesting projects 

in the pipeline – in Doha and 

in Singapore. Please tell us 

more! 

At an international level, one 

of our most luxurious hotels, 

awarded on countless occasions 

for its legendary levels of service, 

an icon that is an intoxicating 

blend of indulgence, history 

and colonial design, is Raffles 

Hotel Singapore built in 1887. 

This flagship property of Raffles 

Hotels & Resorts will embark 

on a restoration programme, 

starting January 2017. 

Another core area of focus 

for Katara Hospitality is the 

refurbishment and upgrade 

of our existing Doha portfolio. 

Sealine Beach, a Murwab 

Resort will see the addition of 

18 new villas. Further, a phased 

renovation of the rooms, spa, 

lobby and restaurants is well 

underway at The Ritz-Carlton, 

Doha to be completed by 2017. 

What made Katara Hospitality 

make the move to become 

an international company 

and how hard/easy was it to 

achieve this? 

Katara Hospitality is increasingly 

recognised as a leading player 

in the international hospitality 

industry. Our successes over 

the years – in hotel investment, 

development and operations – 

have propelled the organisation 

into the global spotlight and 

the Katara Hospitality brand 

is now increasingly associated 

with excellence in hospitality 

development. Growing the 

business for any company is 

a key priority and the next 

natural step for us was to step 

into key international locations. 

Expanding internationally is no 

easy feat, but throughout the 

process of expansion, we have 

stayed true to our strategy of 

investing in true icons that 

represent heritage and pure 

luxury • 

WE HAVE 

STAYED TRUE TO 

OUR STRATEGY 

OF INVESTING 

IN TRUE ICONS 

THAT REPRESENT 

HERITAGE AND 

PURE LUXURY. 

Royal Savoy Lausanne, 

Switzerland 

– a Murwab Hotel 






GOLF 

TOURISM 

CONTINUES 

TO GROW 

Cœur d’Alene 

Chelsea piers golf 

Golf tourism is indeed a major growth market, 

as a key attraction for many high-end travellers 

looking for ways to relax in beautiful surroundings. 

Virtually every day, IAGTO, the global gold 

tourism association, highlights new campaigns 

and openings, with a plethora of ideas for travel 

professionals seeking inspiration. 

The importance of golf as an attraction is 

underlined by the recent announcement by Golf 

Tourism England that it is to receive Government 

support through the Discover England Fund to 

target the lucrative golf tourism market and drive 

inbound golf tourism. Golf Tourism England was 

set up in 2014 and has made significant inroads, 

developing new product strands and unlocking 

new trade partnerships, providing a clear pathway 

to increased inbound visitor volumes. 

Meanwhile, in the Americas, Hilton Head Golf 

Island in South Carolina has been voted the “ No.1 

Island in the Continental US” by Travel + Leisure 

magazine readers, while the Dominican Republic 

has become known as the “Golf Capital of the 

Caribbean”. Underlining that, it was named Latin 

American & Caribbean Golf Destination of the 

Year for 2016 in the IAGTO Awards – for the third 

time • 

SHOPPING TOURISM 

KEY FOR DESTINATION MARKETING 

“One of the most used tools in the 

promotion of destinations” this is how 

Shopping Tourism was described at the 

opening of the 2 nd Conference on this 

segment, organised by the World Tourism 

Organization (UNWTO) in January 2016. 

Shopping Tourism “is a highly relevant 

component for travellers when choosing 

and preparing their trip” underlined 

Yolanda Perdomo, Director of the Affiliate 

Members Programme at UNWTO. 

The segment is indeed transforming the 

promotion of destinations worldwide. Jörn 

Gieschen, Researcher at the Instituto de 

Empresa and the MasterCard Observatory 

on Premium Markets and Prestige Products 

underlined that small and local shopping 

experiences are much more attractive for 

travellers than the big global brands. One 

of the trends shared was the so-called 

“Bleisure” - the combination of Business 

and Leisure. “58% of business travellers 

add a day or even a weekend to their 

business trip,” he said. 

Michel Durrieu, Director 

of Tourism at the Ministry 

of Foreign affairs and 

International Development 

in France, states that 

shopping and gastronomy 

are major criteria to 

decide on destinations, 

and therefore should be 

included in any strategy. 

Diversity, price and quality, 

opening hours, customer orientation in 

shops, handicrafts and souvenirs quality 

are, says Durrieu, key aspects to advance in 

shopping tourism • 

© iStock - Rawpixel Ltd



LUXURY TRAVEL PROS FLOCK 

TO THE CITY OF STARS 

The French city of Cannes is the annual Mecca 

for luxury travel professionals - at ILTM 

ILTM Cannes, the global flagship event 

of the ILTM portfolio of trade-only events 

returns to Cannes, 5 – 8 December 2016. 

ILTM is truly a not-to-be-missed global 

event for the luxury travel industry, 

introducing global travel buyers to an 

incredible collection of international travel 

experiences. The organisers indeed describe 

themselves as “the relationship brokers that 

provide a platform for you to do business 

and build relationships”. 

Last year, the show generated over 60,000 

business appointments, resulting in business 

estimated in the hundreds of millions 

of Euros. With around 100 countries 

represented, the 3,000 attendees (both 

buyers and suppliers) at the show are 100% 

international. 

While ILTM is largely based on face-to-face 

meetings, a number of networking events 

enable attendees to build even stronger 

relationships. 

The strength of the show echoes the solid 

growth in the luxury travel segment. Indeed, 

an exclusive report released at ILTM in 2015 

underlined the fact that luxury travel is 

expected to see more buoyant growth 

across the globe with highest growth seen 

in the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle 

East and Africa, thanks to increasing income 

and a growing middle class. Germany and 

the UK were found to be the top source 

markets from Western Europe. Europe 

will remain a popular destination, with a 

weaker euro currently providing good value 

for money for US tourists. Worldwide, the 

report reveals that the number of affluent 

households is expected to grow between 

2015 and 2030. North America will 

continue to have the wealthiest number 

of households, but despite the economic 

slowdown Asia Pacific is still expected to 

see the fastest increase, posting a predicted 

113% growth between 2015 and 2030. 

ILTM is also an annual media showcase 

for luxury travel brands that increasingly 

leverage the event to announce new 

openings, strategies and campaigns. This 

THE RELATIONSHIP 

BROKERS THAT 

PROVIDE A PLATFORM 

FOR YOU TO DO 

BUSINESS AND BUILD 

RELATIONSHIPS 

year will no doubt see even more news 

coming from the Palais des Festivals in 

Cannes. 

Last year’s edition of ILTM was also a 

platform for US-based Virtuoso to increase 

its footprint in Europe, having launched 

in this territory only in 2014. “Virtuoso, in 

partnership with our global agency members, 

is co-creating this network to position each 

region for success while simultaneously 

building a powerful international brand,” 

said Virtuoso Chairman and Chief Executive 

Officer, Matthew D. Upchurch •

AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN 




© Alanbritom 

THE AMERICAS – 

A NEW TOURISM 

DYNAMIC 

The face of tourism in the 

Americas is rapidly changing due 

to a number of factors. The most 

important is the rise in the value 

of the “Greenback” meaning 

US citizens are finding it much 

cheaper to travel than before. 

Travel therefore to the Caribbean, 

Canada, Central and South 

America has thus become much 

more affordable and attractive. 

The Olympic games in Rio added 

to the promotion for the star 

South American destination, and 

new infrastructure will have a 

prolonged flow-on effect for the 

region. At the same time, however, 

the facilitation of visa processing, 

and strong campaigning by Brand 

USA outside the USA, along with 

fabulous new developments in 

some of North America’s key 

tourist destinations have meant 

that the strong dollar has not 

resulted in a consequent drop in 

tourists arriving in the USA. To the 

contrary, figures are still on the 

rise, and business is excellent. 

Tongariki, Easter Island, 

Chile


CARRIERS 

AIR TRANSPORT IN 

Strong performance for most markets and good profits 

Air transport in America continues to grow, with North American carriers being 

again among the most profitable in the world after a decade of restructuring and 

consolidation. Today, the continent is dominated by 15 large airlines of which eight 

are home-based in the United States. 

North America is currently enjoying a boom 

in passenger traffic not seen for at least 15 

years. The consolidation move since the early 

2000s saw the bankruptcy of important 

carriers such as Canadian Airlines, Mexicana 

and Varig (Brazil) and many mergers such 

as Delta with Northwest, US Air with 

American Airlines, Continental with United, 

TAM with LAN Group and Avianca with 

TACA. The rationalisation movement was 

however not followed by a sharp increase in 

fares. Competition remains strong not only 

between large carriers but also due to the 

ongoing development of budget airlines. 

According to Airlines of America (an 

association grouping most US carriers), US 

domestic airfares were multiplied by 2.5 

between 1971 and 2015, compared to 5.9 

times for USA CPI (Consumer Price Index). In 

the past 25 years, the Fare Index for an air 

ticket was up by 34% compared to 87% 

for food and 88% for public transport. Last 

year the US air transport industry reached a 

historical record of 796 million of passengers 

travelling on scheduled services while the 

average load factor reached 83.7%, another 

record! Consequently, the net income of US 

carriers cumulated US$55.8 billion in net 

revenues between 2010 and the first half 

of 2016 compared to a loss of US$65 billion 

between 2001 and 2009 • 

NORTH AMERICA 

IS CURRENTLY 

ENJOYING A BOOM IN 

PASSENGER TRAFFIC 

NOT SEEN FOR AT 

LEAST 15 YEARS. 

Delta 

- supporting Breast 

Cancer Research 

Foundation




THE AMERICAS 

for US carriers after restructuring 

CONSUMERS 

GAIN FROM 

AMERICAN 

CARRIERS’ 

RECORD 

PROFITS 

The return of financial benefits for 

North American carriers translates 

into benefits for the consumer. All 

large airlines are nowadays purchasing 

latest generation aircraft (Airbus 

A350, Boeing 777-300LR and Boeing 

787 Dreamliner). This helps not only in 

reducing fuel consumption, but also in 

providing more comfort for passengers 

in all classes of services. 

With fuel-savvy aircraft, airlines are also 

thinking expansion, including longhaul 

routes to secondary destinations. 

In Europe for example, Air Canada 

recently launched a daily flight to Lyon, 

American will launch Amsterdam- 

Dallas next March, Delta will fly in 

May from New York to Berlin while 

LATAM is planning to serve Lima out of 

Barcelona. 

Mexico also is benefiting from 

strengthening ties with the United 

States and of a more liberal open sky 

agreement with the USA. Most large 

US cities are now linked by air to their 

southern neighbour with new routes 

opening almost every month. 

SOUTH AMERICA 

A BRIGHT FUTURE 

Despite ongoing weakness in Brazil 

and Venezuela – both countries 

are currently affected by economic 

recession – South America remains 

one of the world’s fastest growing 

continents for air transport. 

Passenger traffic on locally registered 

airlines grew between 2010 and 

2015 by 54%, reaching a total of 

over 242 million passengers. 

Two of the US’s largest global 

airlines, American and Delta, 

believe that Brazil in particular has 

reached an inflection point, and 

they sense a slight improvement 

occurring on routes to Brazil due to 

a rationalisation of capacity in those 

markets. 

After steep revenue declines in 

its Brazilian markets, American 

expects it could post positive unit 

revenue results in those markets 

during 3Q2016, while Delta is citing 

LATAM livery is rolling out 

across entire range of aircraft 

positive trends for its Latin American 

entity that should continue into 

2017. 

Of course, it will take some time for 

airlines to reach the levels of revenue 

performance they enjoyed before 

Latin America’s economy began to 

contract, but the start of the slow 

climb out of the revenue doldrums 

is a welcome sign for a region that 

remains one of the most promising 

over the long term. 

Chile meanwhile recorded a 

solid 9.7% increase in passenger 

growth for the first seven months 

of 2016, with domestic passengers 

growing 9% and international 

passenger growth reaching nearly 

11%. Although Chile has not 

been immune to the economic 

degradation in Latin America, its 

economy is more stable than in 

other countries in the region •


CARRIERS 

TWO MEGA- 

AIRLINES 

The South American market is now 

dominated by two mega-airlines: 

LATAM (a merger between Chile/Peru 

LAN Group and Brazil TAM) and Avianca 

Holdings (Colombia which merged 

with TACA in El Salvador and expanded 

with subsidiaries in Costa Rica, Ecuador, 

Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and 

Peru). Other important international 

carriers are Aerolineas Argentina and 

COPA (Panama). 

LATAM is now South America’s most 

international airline with flights across 

all continents and the biggest network 

in Europe (Barcelona, Frankfurt, London, 

Madrid, Milan and Paris CDG). Following 

the successful LAN/TAM merger, the 

group unveiled last May its revamped 

brand, helping to create a unified brand 

all across the world and enhance the 

airline’s recognition internationally. 

Last but not least, there is one market 

to be watched out carefully: Cuba. The 

end of the US embargo will translate 

this winter into a dozen of new routes 

by all large US carriers. And it is just a 

beginning! 

NEWS 

Aeromexico is taking 

delivery of its Boeing Dreamliner 

787-9 which will be put into service 

in three important markets from 

November: New York and Paris will 

be served from December while 

Madrid will see the new aircraft in 

January. Aeromexico plans to boost 

frequencies to Amsterdam and 

London in summer 2017 • 

Air Canada Rouge will 

add two summer routes to Europe 

in 2017. Berlin Tegel-Toronto 

will be served four times weekly 

and Marseille-Montreal three 

times weekly from June through 

September. Boeing 767 aircraft will 

be used for both routes • 

Delta Airlines is further 

growing in Latin America. The 

carrier will launch three new routes 

to Mexico in December, including 

Kansas City-Cancun, Los Angeles- 

Los Cabos/San Jose and New York 

JFK-Cancun. It will also fly daily from 

Atlanta, Miami and New York JFK to 

Havana • 

© Aeromexico 

Aeromexico’s new Boeing 

787-9 “Quetzalcoatl” 

Lima is becoming increasingly 

popular, with LATAM planning to 

launch a new route between Barcelona- 

Lima. Spain’s Air Europa will open from 

July a daily Madrid-Lima in a Boeing 787 

and will also launch three weekly flights 

between Madrid and Montevideo • 

United Airlines is putting 

into service its newest Boeing 787- 

8 on flights to Paris. The aircraft will 

serve Paris CDG - San Francisco and 

Paris CDG - Washington Dulles, in both 

cases replacing ageing Boeing 767- 

300ER aircraft. London Heathrow - Los 

Angeles will also be served by a Boeing 

B787 starting next February • 

PASSENGERS 

TRAFFIC 

IN 2015 PER 

COUNTRY 

IN LATIN 

AMERICA 

(air passengers carried 

include both domestic 

and international 

aircraft passengers of 

air carriers registered in 

the country) 

Airline Country 2015 Fleet 

(in million passengers) 

Destinations 

American Airlines USA 201.3 964 339 

Delta Air Lines USA 179.4 801 322 

Southwest Airlines USA 144.6 714 98 

United Airlines USA 140.4 714 342 

LATAM Chile-Brazil 67.8 313 160 

Air Canada Canada 41.1 374 182 

GOL Brazil 38.8 130 64 

JetBlue Airways USA 35.1 213 97 

Alaska Airlines USA 31.9 147 112 

Avianca Holdings Colombia-Salvador 28.3 189 109 

WestJet Canada 20.3 145 91 

Aeromexico Mexico 18.8 124 84 

Spirit Airlines USA 17.9 79 57 

Volaris Mexico 12.0 54 57 

Hawaiian Air USA 10.7 52 28 

Aerolineas Argentina Argentina 38.8 189 109 

Source: US Department of Transportation, Civil Aviation Statistics and ICAO estimates

AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN INBOUND 

TRENDS & FIGURES 




STRONG US DOLLAR BOOSTS 

REGIONAL TOURISM 

4% rise in international visitor numbers in Americas 

in first half of 2016 

The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer reports 

that international arrivals in the Americas 

increased by 4% in the first half of 2016, 

led by Central America and South America. 

Europe (+3%) showed mixed results, with solid 

growth in many destinations offset by weaker 

performance in others. 

“Tourism has proven to be one of the most 

resilient economic sectors worldwide,” said 

UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “It 

is creating jobs for millions, at a time when 

providing perspectives for a better future to 

people of all regions is one of our biggest 

challenges. But tourism is also creating bonds 

among people of all nations and backgrounds, 

bringing down stereotypes and fighting fear and 

distrust.” 

“Safety and security are key pillars of tourism 

development and we need to strengthen our 

common action to build a safe, secure and 

seamless travel framework. This is no time to 

build walls or point fingers; it is time to build 

an alliance based on a shared vision and a joint 

responsibility.” he added. 

The United States, the world’s second largest 

market, increased expenditure on outbound travel 

by 8% through July, thanks to a strong currency. 

This strong US outbound flow continued to benefit 

many destinations across the Americas in general. 

Central America and South America (both +6%) 

led growth, while arrivals in both the Caribbean 

and North America grew by 4%. 

In Brazil, the summer Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro of 

course upwardly impacted tourism figures, and in 

the longer term, boded well for the city’s tourism 

thanks to a number of new hotels being built for the 

event, as well as upgrading of transport facilities. 

The 541,000 international tourists who entered the 

country from July 1 to August 15 represented an 

increase of 157,000 visitors over the same period 

in 2015. Part of this was due to the visa waiver for 

visitors from the United States, Canada, Japan and 

Australia that was implemented specifically for the 

Games. The waiver impacted 74.7% of foreigners 

who travelled to Brazil to attend Olympic sporting 

events. The waiver applied only for tourist visits 

between June 1 and Sept. 18, with visitors allowed 

to stay for up to 90 days • 

© Julienne Schaer 

Dumbo Brooklyn Bridge 

Park, New York, USA 

THE AMERICAS 

Tourist Arrivals 

Growth 

in 2015 (mil) 2015/2014 (%) 

Americas 190.7 4.9 

North America 126.2 4.4 

Caribbean 23.8 7.4 

Central America 10.3 7.1 

South America 30.3 4.3 

(Source: UNWTO)


TRENDING DESTINATIONS 

Chris Ellis 

Director, Global Trade Development, 

Brand USA 

USA 

BEYOND THE GATEWAYS 

Exclusive Interview - Chris Ellis - Director, 

Global Trade Development at Brand USA 

Moving to Brand USA in September 2016, Chris Ellis, the new Director of Global Trade Development 

for the American DMO may speak with a British accent, but has a very broad background in the 

business. Indeed, over the past 16 years, he has worked for Universal Orlando, Kennedy Space 

Center, and until just a few months ago, Visit Orlando, where he was Senior Manager of Travel 

Industry Sales. We asked Chris what Brand USA’s main focus is for the coming months. 

We are concentrating even more 

on promoting the proximity of U.S. 

travel destinations through our 

new digital campaign “All Within 

Your Reach”. The campaign helps 

travelers understand exactly how 

many unique destinations and 

attractions they can experience 

with even on visit to a gateway 

city. Everyone flies into New York 

and does Manhattan or flies into 

LA and does Hollywood. What we 

are saying is “Continue to do that 

but branch out a bit more”. 

For example, fly into Washington 

DC, see all the sights there are 

to see there, but then maybe 

look into Virginia, and look at 

the vineyards or micro-breweries 

there. It’s all within a five-hour 

drive of the gateway. We have 

a trip-kit that suggests a lot of 

places people may not have 

thought about. But we are even 

taking that a step further, because 

if you can imagine a smaller hotel 

in one of these places that has 

never done any international 

business at all, we will educate 

the hotelier how to do business, 

and introduce concepts like 

voucher systems, room blocks, 

pre-bought allocations, black-out 

periods, what to expect when you 

are working with an international 

tour operator or travel agent. 

What are the prospects with 

Europe at the moment since 

the rise of the dollar? 

We are obviously watching Europe 

at the moment with Brexit, and 

it’s true the US Dollar is very, very 

strong. One of the challenges we 

have is explaining to people that 

while it may appear at the outset 

to be more expensive than before, 

when you are in the US, it’s still 

excellent value when it comes to 

eating, sightseeing and shopping. 

That’s the message we are trying 

to get across. 

How is travel agent training 

progressing? 

We have an online travel agent 

training module that does various 

destinations and regions. Teams at 

our offices in the UK and Germany 

are very much into training. Our 

major objective is Fam Trips. If you 

can get agents to experience how 

much there is to see and do in 

the USA, and they feel confident, 

then they will sell it • 

WE HAVE A 

TRIP-KIT THAT 

SUGGESTS A 

LOT OF PLACES 

PEOPLE MAY NOT 

HAVE THOUGHT 

ABOUT




THE (HAPPILY) “WEIRD” SIDE OF TEXAS 

Austin grows as meeting and convention destination 

Austin, Texas is a city that manages to be both rowdy and refined, 

and is happy to “stay weird”. In any case, city officials are doing 

everything they can to make the city a great place for meetings 

and conventions. 

NEW HOTELS ABOUND 

The Archer at the Domain opened 

in September, joining several other 

high-end hotels in the area. Archer 

Hotel is a “Texas chic” property, 

located in northwest Austin at 

Domain Northside, the exciting final 

phase of this fashion, dining, and 

nightlife destination. 

In March, IHG opened a joint project 

in Austin with the new Indigo hotel 

on Red River Street on one side and 

the Holiday Inn Express on the other. 

“The entire area around the hotels 

is being transformed into what 

we are calling the innovation zone 

downtown”, says Julie Chase, VP & 

CMO of the Austin Convention & 

Visitors Bureau. 

On the corner of 7 th street and 

Congress Avenue, White Lodging 

has also just completed its Aloft/ 

Element project, and the Fairmont, 

opening in September 2017 will be 

the biggest hotel in Austin, with a 

bridge connecting the property to 

the convention center. 

The Hilton will also have a direct 

connection via bridge. Furthermore, 

Marriott will be opening a new hotel 

in the same zone. The Four Seasons 

Hotel for its part is going through 

a full refit, and another notable 

property that opened recently is the 

Kimpton Hotel Van Zandt, which 

is in an interesting spot, right next 

to the Rainey Street entertainment 

area • 

HOTEL ROOMS 

IN AUSTIN 

(ESTIMATED PROJECTIONS) 

2016 2017 2018 2019 

Downtown 8,568 10,359 10,763 11,725 

Citywide 37,041 37,041 37,445 38,407 

CONDOR 

EXTENDS 

2017 SEASON 

FLIGHTS 

TO AUSTIN 

Real Texas barbecue served 

at the legendary Ironworks 

IHG opens Indigo Hotel in 

historic Red River Street district 

After a successful first 

season, Condor have 

announced they will 

renew flights direct 

from Frankfurt to Austin 

in 2017, extending 

by two months – this 

time beginning in May, 

as opposed to June 

this year, and ending 

October rather than 

September. A new 

terminal – terminal two – 

is due to open at Austin 

Bergstrom airport. “The 

airport itself is very 

different from others in 

the US, as live music has 

been a distinguishing 

feature there ever 

since the ‘Music in 

the Air’ programme 

was launched in 1999, 

just after the airport 

opened,” says Julie 

Chase, adding that 

what started as two 

performances per week 

has grown to 23 shows 

weekly in six different 

venues throughout the 

airport •


TRENDING DESTINATIONS 

Hermitage bay Antigua 

Mingling with the locals as the 

sun sets at Shirley’s Heights 

THE BEACH IS JUST 

THE BEGINNING 

Antigua Barbuda offers a wide diversity of attractions 

and authentic experiences 

Celebrating 35 years of independence after British rule, 

the Antigua Barbuda Tourism Authority is promoting 

“authentic experiences”. We asked Jean-Marc 

Flambert, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, UK & Europe to 

tell us more… 

Antigua and Barbuda are gems 

in the Caribbean and possibly 

not known enough. Being a 

former British colony, the British 

know the islands rather well, but 

we are really trying to share this 

message globally. We have 365 

beaches in Antigua – as we say, 

one for every day of the year, and 

we talk about Barbuda as our 

twin island. 

We are only seven and a half 

hours from Europe, and we are 

very well connected, with BA 

and Virgin, Thomas Cook from 

Manchester and Condor from 

and we also of course have 

American and regional carriers. 

Our regional strength comes 

from the fact that Antigua is 

really a hub for the Caribbean, 

and our airport is very modern 

and efficient. 

People predominantly come 

to relax, for the warmth and 

guaranteed sunshine, and for the 

twin island experience. A lot of 

people dream of island hopping, 

and if that means crossing 

international borders, the process 

can be cumbersome and lengthy. 

But travellers can take a fifteenminute 

flight from Antigua to 

Barbuda as a domestic flight 

and spend the day there, and 

we have other islands within our 

territorial waters. 

What are some of the key 

attractions? 

The area around English Harbour 

has just been given UNESCO 

World Heritage status, as it is the 

longest running naval dockyard 

in the world, so that is a good 

reason to visit, and there are 

many ‘different’ sea-based 

activities, such as swimming with 

the stingrays. 

On land, there’s hiking & cycling 

– in fact you can cycle around the 

whole island in a day. Importantly, 

at Shirley’s Heights lookout point, 

every Sunday, the place comes 

alive with a steel band, barbecue 

and sunset drinks – an activity 

that the Antiguans do – and you 

are invited to join… it’s not an 

artificial thing just for tourists. 

You get to meet the people of 

the island and live as they do • 

Jean-Marc 

Flambert 

Vice-President, 

Sales & Marketing, 

UK & Europe, Antigua 

Barbuda Tourism Authority




Ada Tours, based in Rio de Janeiro, have come up with a new “guide” 

on the top trending places to go in Latin America. Their general 

manager Anna Avanesova gave us the “run down”… 

TRENDING IN LATIN AMERICA 

The 2016/17 bucket-list of top places to go in South and Central America 

Anna 

Avanesova 

General Manager, 

Ada Tours 

1 / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Rio 

is the happiest city on earth and 

holds one of the seven wonders 

– the Christ statue. It also has 

beautiful beaches, great food, 

warm and welcoming people. 

2 / Iguazu Falls, Argentina/ 

Brazil 

The world’s widest – Iguazu 

falls – is one of the great natural 

wonders of the world and one 

of the most breath-taking sights 

on earth, featuring more than 

250 waterfalls surrounded by 

tropical jungle. 

3 / Machu Picchu, Peru – 

Hidden high within Peru’s green 

Andes Mountains, this mythical 

city remained a secret for ages. 

Today it’s South America’s bestknown 

archaeological site. 

4 / Perito Moreno Glacier, 

Argentina 

The huge wall of ice is spectacular 

in the spring and summer, when 

huge chunks melt off the glacier 

and crash down into the water. 

5 / Galapagos Islands, Ecuador 

See giant turtles and species you 

won’t find anywhere else in the 

world on he beautiful volcanic 

island surrounded by the deep 

blue sea. 

6 / Easter Island, Chile 

Around 1000 mythical ancient 

Moai statues are scattered 

throughout the island. Locals 

welcome visitors with a flower 

necklace “Polynesian style”. 

7 / Chichen Itza, Mexico 

The most famous Mayan 

temple near Cancun, built on 

a strong energetic spot of the 

earth served as the political and 

economic centre of the Mayan 

civilisation. 

8 / Torres del Paine National 

Park, Patagonia, Chile 

The beautiful mountains of 

Torres del Paine dominate the 

scenery of what’s often been 

called South America’s finest 

national park. 

9 / Angel Falls, Venezuela 

Nestled within the adventurous 

land of Canaima there are 

dozens of Tepuis – huge flattopped 

mountains where 

animals and plants were found 

that don’t exist anywhere else 

on earth. From one of the 

Tepuis, the great Angel Falls, 

the world’s highest waterfalls, 

tumble down. This astonishing 

cascade is 19 times higher than 

Niagara Falls. 

10 / Uyuni Salt Desert, Bolivia 

Drive your 4x4 over the 200 km 

white salt desert. When it rains, 

the clouds are reflected on the 

water-filled salt, creating out-ofearth 

landscapes • 

Perito Moreno, 

Santa Cruz, Argentina 

Salto Angel (Angel Falls), 

Venezuela 

Tortuga Bay, 

Galápagos islands, Ecuador 

© Cinir 

© Benedict Adam 

© Diego Delso


TRENDING HOTELS 

TOTAL ESCAPE… 

INTO A PARADISE 

WORLD 

ENHANCED 

WITH ARTISTIC 

IMAGES 

Insolito - lounge 

STAY IN A WORK 

OF ART AND 

PAY TRIBUTE 

TO BRAZILIAN 

CULTURE 

On the tiny Island of Holbox, north of Cancun, 

lies a fantasy for those who get caught up in the 

great art of nature, who believe in the power of 

dreaming, romance and intimate connections with 

loved ones. The owner, Sandra Pérez, a full-time 

artist, went to Holbox looking for solitude, a place 

to create art and a way to renew her childhood 

fascination with nature. 

In 2003 Sandra opened the doors of her home 

to guests as a way to share the blessing and 

rejuvenation of this special destination. By joining 

a unique sensibility and attention to detail she has 

created a sense of place to refresh and escape the 

routine: the hotel is her authentic work of art! 

The Casa Sandra is filled with dreams and decorated 

with original works of art made by her and other 

Cuban artists such as Roberto Fabelo and Noel 

Morera and is appointed with handmade Mexican 

furniture and Cuban antiques. 

This artistic and charming boutique hotel, member 

of TemptingPlaces boutique hotels collection is a 

must for couples looking for a romantic stay full of 

surprises around every corner • 

The Insolito Boutique Hotel is an 

art gallery boutique hotel with 

sophisticated luxury. A member 

of TemptingPlaces boutique 

hotels collection, it is located 

on Ferradura beach, one of the 

most beautiful beaches of Búzios, 

and offers a beautiful natural 

setting and a real immersion in 

the artistic culture of Brazil. With 

only 24 rooms, all individually 

decorated and true works of 

art, this boutique hotel is a 

rare and authentic address that 

was spawned from a hugely 

successful design project. The 

rooms’ decoration and themes all 

promote a local artist and exhibit 

unique design features linked to 

music, photography, literature, 

art, nature, history, architecture, 

fashion and culture. A premium 

service, excellent French-Brazilian 

cuisine, a charming decor, and 

luxury offering make the Insolito 

an outstanding hotel for a 

fashionable seaside experience 

and stay • 

Casa Sandra




TRENDING IN CHICAGO 

VIRGIN 

In 2015, the Virgin brand made history in the hospitality 

industry with Virgin Hotels opening the doors to its first 

property, Virgin Hotels Chicago. 

Since the brand’s inception, eliminating fees and surcharges 

have been top priority, along with creating an experience that 

allows guests to feel that Virgin Hotels is their place in the city. 

The hotel brand offers free Wi-Fi (at unlimited bandwidth) 

and has eliminated early check-in fees, late check-out fees, 

room service delivery charges, business center transactions, 

and other services that have caused frustration for travellers. 

Virgin Hotels Chicago is located in the heart of Chicago’s Loop 

district in the historic Old Dearborn Bank Building at 

203 N. Wabash Ave. The 26-story Art Deco building, 

Virgin Hotels 

Chicago 

a Chicago landmark, offers 250 guest rooms, including 40 

one-bedroom suites and two Penthouse Suites. 

At the heart of Virgin Hotels Chicago is The Commons Club 

(pictured), a dynamic space where guests can dine, drink, 

work and mingle, as well as attend the nightly hosted Social 

Hour • 

Illustration of Resorts 

World Las Vegas 

ARTISTRY - NEW US 

BOUTIQUE HOTEL 

BRAND SET TO 

“RE-DEFINE THE 

GUEST EXPERIENCE 

FOR TODAY’S 

TRAVELLER” 

MORE THAN 50 HOTEL 

GIANTS PLANNED FOR USA 

According to TOPHOTELPROJECTS, currently 1189 hotels projects with 

more than 230,000 rooms are currently in the pipeline in the United 

States. Especially the favoured tourism states Florida (168 projects), 

California (134 projects) and New York (112 projects) are looking 

forward to the rising numbers of tourists. Interesting in the USA is – 

among others – the development of large hotels and resorts with more 

than 500 rooms. Currently 57 of those projects are in the pipeline in the 

USA. Las Vegas is especially famous for its superlative hotels. Besides the 

Venetian Resort Hotel (7128 rooms) and the MGM Grand (6852 rooms), 

the Resort World Las Vegas hotel is planned to open its four hotel towers 

with more than 6,500 rooms early 2019 • 

Artistry Hotels, a new, full-service, 

independent boutique hotel brand in 

the “new luxury” segment will deliver 

“distinctively artful and imaginative 

experiences reflective of each property’s 

location”. 

Based in Orlando, Florida, Artistry Hotels is led 

by a seasoned team of hospitality executives 

who are experts in all phases of hospitality 

development and operation. Artistry Hotels 

has also tapped veteran hospitality design 

firm, WATG and their new Chicago-based 

Urban Architecture Studio practice to shape 

its “art as architecture” brand concept, 

based on its expertise and focus on high-rise 

and urban mixed use projects •

AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN OUTBOUND 




© Grand Elysée Hotel, Hambourg 

GETTING THE WELCOME RIGHT 

Key factors in making North Americans feel at home 

when they stay in your hotel 

US-born Tim Hentschel, CEO at HotelPlanner.com and Meetings.com, knows what 

it takes to make North American travellers happy – or upset – when they stay at a 

hotel. Following are his “top three”: 

1. REAL HOSPITALITY 

Americans come from a culture where 

the customer is always right. Since we 

are used to true capitalism and consumer 

choice, if your company doesn’t give 

good customer service, then someone 

else will. It always surprises me how 

many European Hotels fight with the 

customer at any chance they can find, 

only to eventually come to a conclusion 

that every problems needs a solution. 

My advice is to skip the uncomfortable 

conflict, identify a solution, and offer it to 

the client without accusing them of doing 

something wrong. 

2. BIGGER ROOMS 

Most Americans will be disappointed 

when they see the size of a room, especially 

compared to the price of the room in 

most major European cities. If you have 

a bigger room available, even it means 

the customer needs to pay a few dollars 

more, it’s better to offer it to them. If you 

have them go all the way up to a room, 

and then come down disappointed to ask 

for a room upgrade, they will not consider 

that a good customer experience. At least 

if you offer a upgrade option at the desk, 

you are setting reasonable expectations, 

so they don’t feel as disappointed when 

they see the small room for the first time. 

3. SETTING LUXURY 

STANDARDS 

If you run a 4 star hotel or greater, 

Americans will expect room service, bell 

desk, a gym, concierge, etc. If you don’t 

have any of these things, expect a bad 

review online from an American Traveller. 

My suggestion, if you are a 4 star or higher 

with little to no amenities, is to partner 

up with a local restaurant to get food 

delivered to the rooms, have your front 

desk offer concierge services, and get a 

local gym to offer free daily access to your 

guest, the monthly fee from the gym back 

to the hotel should be reasonable since 

95% of guests will not use the gym, but 

they will appreciate the option • 

Tim 

Hentschel 

CEO at HotelPlanner.com 

and Meetings.com

AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN OUTBOUND 

TRENDING HOTELS 

Jo&Joe Beach Shack 

DESIGN, FOOD, UX 

ACCORHOTELS 

REVOLUTIONISES 

HOSPITALITY 

WITH NEW BRAND: 

JO&JOE 

The AccorHotels group has announced a new brand 

that was co-constructed with its future guests 

and disrupts traditional codes: Jo&Joe. The brand 

aims to blend the best of private-rental, hostel and 

hotel formats in a totally reinvented and disruptive 

experience in terms of design approach, catering, 

service and customer journey. 

The “excubation” project has been supported at every 

step by AccorHotels’ shadow executive committee 

and a total of 50 venues are set to open by 2020 in 

destinations popular with Millennials. 

“Break with tradition, forget old habits, be surprising, 

authentic, unexpected, bring a breath of fresh air to 

AccorHotels”, insisted Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and 

Chief Executive Officer of AccorHotels. “Do it quickly 

and do it well. It wasn’t an easy brief to put into 

practice, particularly when you’re primarily targeting 

Millennials, who can be very difficult to win over. But 

with the launch of our new brand, Jo&Joe, we have 

now more than met that challenge. Jo&Joe represents 

the very essence of hospitality: welcoming, exciting 

and beyond our guests’ expectations.” 

At the heart of Virgin Hotels Chicago is The Commons 

Club (pictured), a dynamic space where guests can 

dine, drink, work and mingle, as well as attend the 

nightly hosted Social Hour • 

MARRIOTT’S MOXY 

ARRIVES IN BERLIN 

Moxy Hotels, Marriott 

International’s experiential 

hotel brand, launches the new 

Moxy Berlin into the heart of 

the modern capital known for 

culture; cutting-edge museums, 

galleries, and nightlife. Moxy 

Berlin shakes-up the traditional 

hotel experience by offering Next 

Generation travellers a spirited 

and stylish hotel experience at 

a surprisingly affordable price 

point. Moxy Berlin joins Moxy 

Frankfurt Eschborn and Moxy 

Munich Airport as the Moxy’s 

MID-CENTURY MODERN 

MEETS PARISIAN CHIC 

AT LE MÉRIDIEN ETOILE 

third experiential hotel in 

Germany, and the brand’s sixth 

hotel globally. 

Located in the prime location 

of Ostbahnhof, the 210 

contemporary guest rooms, 

ranging from Standard to 

Family size, are outfitted with 

sound-reducing walls, 42“ LCD 

flat screen televisions, free 

Wi-Fi, abundant USB ports, 

comfortable bedding and deepseated 

armchairs in calming, 

neutral fabrics. • 

Le Meridien Etoile, 

Paris, France 

From the birthplace of the brand, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts recently 

marked a milestone, as its first-ever hotel and celebrated flagship in Paris 

revealed the completion of its multi-million euro renovation. Following 

the hotel’s transformation, Le Méridien Etoile now boasts reimagined 

guestrooms, suites and the transformation of the hotel’s public spaces, 

including the legendary Jazz Club Etoile and brand’s signature lobby 

concept: Le Méridien Hub. •

INNOVATIONS 





© Jumeirah 

THE TWO WAYS 

OF CONSIDERING 

TECHNOLOGY 

Technology – especially in the 

hospitality sector – is a doublesided 

coin. The purchase of new 

guest-facing technologies is 

considered by many as a cost, 

and by others as an investment. 

One has a “total cost of 

ownership”, the other has a 

“return on investment”. 

While in many cases, the first 

scenario is true, purchasing 

new low-power lighting, 

HVAC systems, HMS, inroom 

automation and control 

systems, TVs, etc., is a cost and 

each element has to be weighed 

up with regard to its overall 

importance in the success of 

the business. Then there are 

cases when technology can be 

purchased as an investment 

through which extra revenue can 

be driven. Today, the television 

can again be considered in 

this way: not like in the past, 

with Pay per View, but by 

using the screen as a powerful 

promotional tool and a way of 

interacting with the guest. This 

will increasingly be a strategy 

employed by major hotel chains, 

and will become democratised 

as the years pass. Being among 

the first to deploy new systems 

puts a hotel at the forefront in 

this respect. The following pages 

examine this and other ways to 

differentiate and increase profits 

and/or RevPAR. 

Jumeirah at Etihad Towers 

LED Flat Screen TV

In The Field 

with David Esseryk 

THE "INSIDE LINE" ON WHAT'S HOT IN HOSPITALITY TECHNOLOGIES 

37 



2016 Winter Edition 

PART 15 

TIPS IN DEVELOPING 

MARKETING MESSAGES 

TOWARDS HOTELIERS 

DISRUPTIVE 

TECHNOLOGIES 

IN HOSPITALITY 

Over the recent few years, 

consumer behaviour has 

changed dramatically. 

Easily available information 

coupled with the continued 

economic turmoil has made 

today’s consumers extremely 

discerning in their choices 

around travel. Hoteliers in 

turn, with access to the same 

data, have to fight harder to 

win customers’ loyalty. It is 

clear that this is a disrupted 

marketplace for hoteliers – 

the key question is “how does 

the hospitality industry adapt 

its go-to-market strategies to 

remain profitable?” 

The emerging technology 

trends in this industry provide 

an answer… 

INVESTING IN MOBILITY 

Knowing that the traveler of today 

is constantly connected, hotels are 

figuring out ways to harness technology 

to provide the ultimate customer 

experience. Smart phone apps allow 

customers to search, book and 

check into a hotel, and provide 

a key pass (much like 

mobile boarding passes) 

to enter their room. 

Imagine giving 

customers the 

ability to request 

additional services 

such as room service 

from their smart phone 

while still en route to the 

hotel. Or if you wanted feedback 

on their stay, you could send a push 

notification via smart phone as their taxi 

pulls away from the hotel – TripAdvisorlike 

ratings can be yours in quick order! 

Hotels have just begun to scratch the 

surface on mobility and this disruptive 

technology can harness significant 

customer goodwill and profitability in 

the years to come. 

EMBRACING A SMARTER 

APPROACH TO PRICING 

In order to become more competitive 

in today’s rollercoaster market, hotels 

must be smarter about pricing. It’s 

Business 101: when demand is robust, 

price aggressively; when demand is 

IN 

A DISRUPTED 

MARKETPLACE, 

HOTELIERS WILL DO 

WELL BY GOING 

BACK TO 

BASICS. 

low, you need competitive pricing. 

This back-to-the-basics approach is 

what defines a rational pricing strategy, 

which involves understanding demand, 

customers’ willingness to pay, available 

inventory and overall market conditions. 

While disruptive technologies like 

social media and online travel 

agencies (OTAs) are here to 

stay, hoteliers would be 

remiss to lose sight of 

how important it is 

to make intelligent 

pricing decisions. 

And yes, augmenting 

these pricing decisions by 

leveraging social media Big 

Data is the next analytical step 

hotels should take. 

RACE TO THE TOP 

In a disrupted marketplace, hoteliers will 

do well by going back to basics. Know 

your customer better by harnessing 

Social Media data. Invest in Mobility 

and direct contact to connect better 

with your customer. Use dynamic 

pricing to keep up with the shifts in the 

market. The face of a hotel customer 

has changed and the industry has had 

a structural shift due to technology. 

Adapting to this new reality will mean 

the difference between success and 

failure and those agile enough to 

capitalize on these emerging trends will 

survive the race to the top. 

SEE YOU AGAIN IN THE NEXT EDITION

INNOVATIONS & TECHNOLOGIES 

Yves 

Lacheret 

Senior Vice President Entrepreneurship 

Advocacy, AccorHotels 

THE FUTURE IS OUT OF THE BOX 

When disruptive technologies are much more than constructive chaos… 

In March 2014, AccorHotels appointed a Senior Vice President - Entrepreneurship 

Advocacy in the shape of Yves Lacheret – former CEO of Novotel France (among 

other senior roles). We asked him to explain his new job… 

OUR 

OBSESSION 

IS THE END 

CUSTOMER, 

TRYING TO 

UNDERSTAND 

HOW THEY 

BEHAVE NOW 

AND HOW THEY 

WILL BEHAVE IN 

5 OR 10 YEARS. 

Hoteliers and tourism market in general are 

facing two concurrent phenomena. Firstly 

the customer profile has changed and is still 

changing. And secondly, the industry has 

experienced a structural shift due to changes 

in technology (often supported by start-ups). 

Success or failure will depend on the ability 

of the hotelier to adapt to this new situation. 

AccorHotels’ strategy is particularly visionary 

with regard to these themes. 

We are looking for ideas at a number of 

trade shows: not necessarily those related to 

hospitality, but also major trade and consumer 

events in other industries, where we can 

consider a much broader range of ecosystems. 

Our obsession is the end customer, trying to 

understand how they behave now and how 

they will behave in 5 or 10 years. 

How is the Group adapting? What other 

disruptive technologies and ideas are you 

looking at? 

The approach consisted in concretely helping 

start-ups (so they can take off and become 

profitable) and establishing a win-win 

relationship, taking advantage of the strengths 

and expertise of both. 

AccorHotels already has a great deal of 

experience in the field through the Innovation 

Factory and the hackathons organised on 

this occasion. A hackathon allows us to work 

intensively with a group of students alongside 

employees of the Group during 36 hours on a 

given topic. In some cases, the Group entrusted 

them with several projects. One such example 

is TRI-O to which AccorHotels has given the 

waste management of several of its hotels 

as well as our corporate headquarters. Then 

there’s Tripndrive, which offers an original 

sharing economy concept, allowing customers 

who leave their cars in the parking lot of the 

hotel to make a profit during their absence by 

renting them out. 

In summary, what are the main benefits 

expected by AccorHotels from these 

initiatives? 

These initiatives are part of the 2020/2025 

vision of AccorHotels. They allow us to work 

for the future of the group by creating a new 

dynamic. They’re sources of new revenue 

streams, and of course, allow us to gain a pole 

position in digital expertise.




LEVERAGING 

CHANGE 

Don’t just adapt to it; use it to your advantage 

Only one thing is sure: 

everything changes. Adapting 

to change is evident if one 

wants to stay in the game, but 

leveraging change to ones 

advantage – using disruptive 

technologies – will be the 

secret to future success. Here 

are just a few examples… 

MARKETING TO THE 

HYPER-CONNECTED 

TRAVELLER 

The increased use of social media has 

created both challenges and opportunities 

for hoteliers, as they determine how to 

participate and respond to the ever-growing 

buzz online. Quantifying and incorporating 

insights from various social media sources 

can have a measurable impact on a hotel’s 

performance and on its ability to captivate 

this hyper-connected traveller. 

IS 

“COLLABORATIVE” 

A DIRTY WORD? 

Not if you know how to leverage it right. 

An example is the expanded partnership 

between Hilton Worldwide and Uber to 

further bring together their respective 

mobile apps. In a first for the hospitality 

© iStockPhoto 

industry, Hilton HHonors members can now 

order an Uber straight from the HHonors 

app, and Uber riders can now view their 

hotel stay information and check-in, all 

accessed via the Uber app en route to their 

hotel. 

“The success of our Uber partnership is 

rooted in a shared passion for finding 

new ways to take friction out of travel,» 

said Rich DiStefano, senior director of 

Mobile Products at Hilton Worldwide. «By 

further integrating our mobile apps, we’re 

simplifying the steps it takes for our Hilton 

HHonors members to obtain the quick 

information they seek, ultimately providing 

them with a better experience.” 

WHEN DOUBLE-BOOKING 

MAKES SENSE 

The French start-up – Dayuse.fr – recently 

was awarded the “start-up of the year” 

prize by the daily “Les Echos” newspaper. 

Entrepreneur David Lébée came up with 

the concept in 2010, and with 4,000 Euros 

capital created a platform for hotels to sell 

rooms for day use for a set number of hours. 

The clientele has skyrocketed, and consists 

of a broad section of users, including 

couples, families, business people and 

travellers in transit. With €10m turnover in 

2015 and an injection of an extra €15m in 

capital the same year, the company is now 

adding an extra five to ten employees per 

month. 

It’s just another case of “leveraging 

the possibilities of communication 

technologies” – growing the pie for the 

entire hotel industry.


REDEFINING 

THE HOSPITALITY 

EXPERIENCE 

Samsung introduces six step innovation roadmap 

Through a six-step innovation road map, 

Samsung is redefining the hospitality 

experience and helping hotel customers 

identify and implement the best display 

solutions for their brand, business 

model and customer base. 

Today’s tech-savvy hotel guests expect 

cutting-edge in-room enhancements as 

part of their stay. These customers seek a 

differentiated environment that still provides 

a comfortable, at-home feel through access 

to a variety of professional and personal 

content, applications and programs. 

Samsung’s innovative hospitality displays 

offer new and exciting avenues for hotels to 

delight and engage guests while improving 

their own operational efficiency. An intuitive 

interface gives guests complete control 

of their in-room settings while unlocking 

unlimited opportunities to stay informed and 

entertained through a range of customised 

content. Hotels likewise benefit from more 

efficient communication and personalised 

customer service delivery without requiring 

a significant infrastructure overhaul. 

ENHANCED GUEST DATA 

PROTECTION 

To further maintain guests’ privacy 

and protect their potentially sensitive 

information, Samsung’s smart grade 

hospitality displays automatically delete 

use histories, cookies and customised 

application settings when guests check out. 

ALL-IN-ONE CONTENT 

NAVIGATION 

Samsung’s hospitality displays include a 

dedicated home menu for seamless content 

delivery without requiring external devices 

or network infrastructure installation. As 

guests arrive, hotels can create and share a 

brief welcome message and other relevant 

stay information before switching to live 

programming. This convenient offering not 

only allows hotels to reinforce their brand, 

but also enables guests to quickly view and 

navigate through frequently used display 

features. 

COAX-BASED IPTV 

DELIVERY 

As an all-IP solution equipped with a CMTS 

server*, HE694 Series displays are able to 

receive internet without rewiring the hotel. 

Your hotel can thus offer high-quality IPTV 

without significant equipment investment, 

while simultaneously providing a more 

complete and premium guest experience. 

BYOC (BRING YOUR OWN CONTENT) 

To further extend guests’ content viewing 

possibilities, smart grade displays’ 

integrated Software Access Point (Soft AP) 

and Screen Mirroring technology allow 

guests to enjoy their mobile content on a 

larger screen with secure, private wireless 

connections between the central display 

and the mobile devices. As a result, guests 

can showcase mobile content on the larger 

screen without interruption or distortion. 

By the same token, through integrated 

Bluetooth connectivity, guests can stream 

music from their personal devices through 

the smart grade displays’ speakers. 

This compatibility offers guests a common 

at-home amenity while serving as a costeffective 

alternative that keeps luxury hotels 

from frequently replacing stolen or broken 

docking stations • 

*Samsung’s hospitality displays do not include a CMTS server. 





TOP OF THE LINE TV SOLUTION 

HE 890U / 890W 

Samsung’s HE890U and HE890W displays offer luxury hotel guests 

a high-end, immersive and flexible in-room experience. Featuring 

curved design (HE890W) and Ultra-High Definition (UHD) resolution, 

these upscale displays provide detailed, life-like picture quality for a 

memorable viewing environment. 

LIFE-LIKE UHD PICTURE QUALITY 

Featuring ultra-sharp UHD resolution (3840 x 2160) and a pixel 

quality nearly four times greater than that of comparable Full HD 

displays, Samsung’s HE890 Series wows guests through clear and 

vivid picture quality that emphasises even the smallest details. 

A SLIM, SOPHISTICATED DESIGN 

Equipped with a sleek real metal narrow bezel frame, the HE890 

Series displays are a natural complement to luxury hospitality 

environments. The displays offer an elegant viewing hub for modern 

travellers who expect high-quality technology as part of their stay. 

SEAMLESS PERSONAL CONTENT 

STREAMING 

To further extend guests’ content viewing possibilities, the HE890 

displays’ integrated Software Access Point (Soft AP) technology 

generates secure, private wireless connections between the central 

display and up to four tablets or mobile devices. As a result, 

guests can showcase mobile content on the larger screen without 

interruption or distortion. 

POWERFUL PERFORMANCE 

Backed by a powerful quad-core processor, the HE890 series 

displays enable guests to access content faster. The quad-core 

processor reduces boot-up times to less than two seconds and 

enhances performance and usability for app, web browser and 

hospitality solution • 

LYNK HMS 

LYNK REACH 4.0 

Samsung’s LYNK Hospitality 

Management Solution (LYNK 

HMS) elevates in-room displays 

into single-source content control 

and management hubs capable 

of communicating with multiple 

on-site platforms and servers. This 

integrated management platform 

fosters more efficient hospitality 

operations by granting guests 

complete control over all aspects 

of the in-room environment, 

ranging from lighting and energy 

use to equipment performance. 

By consolidating a variety of 

services and communication 

needs to a single system, LYNK 

HMS helps hotels remedy guests’ 

needs faster and promote a more 

enjoyable stay. 

Samsung’s LYNK REACH 4.0 solution 

gives hotels greater visibility into 

and control over hundreds of onsite 

displays through a central 

remote server. This all-in-one access 

elevates hospitality displays into 

full-service hubs – compatible with 

new or existing LAN, WIFI and Coax 

infrastructures – for access to a range 

of custom content, applications and 

channels. By eliminating laborious 

maintenance tasks and promoting 

effective two-way communication, 

LYNK REACH 4.0 enhances guests’ 

stays at reduced cost for hotels. 





A SOUND 

DIFFERENTIATOR 

Yamaha brings ideas and solutions to help 

an establishment truly stand out in the crowd 

The savvy use of audio to create an 

atmosphere in fitting with the “look and 

feel” of a hotel lobby, bar or restaurant 

is becoming increasingly important as 

competition grows. This distinct way of 

adding value to the guest experience 

is one of the most important ways of 

making one hotel stand out from the 

others. 

SOUND INTEGRATION 

Utilising the vast depth of experience and 

knowledge accrued during the development 

of a huge range of professional audio 

sound systems over the years, Yamaha 

has developed a truly comprehensive 

approach to installed sound applications 

that are ubiquitous in sound reinforcement 

applications of virtually any scale around the 

globe. 

Yamaha is constantly working to ensure 

that its products and technologies reflect 

the ever-evolving trends and demands 

of the installation market— giving the 

manufacturer a significant advantage in 

creating innovative new products that 

continue to redefine the market. 

A great deal of their success is also due 

to a design ethic that maximises the 

performance and longevity of the sound 

system’s component parts, while improving 

overall system management. 

CABLING TOO DIFFICULT? 

NO PROBLEM… 

MusicCast is the multi-room system more 

flexible and innovative in the world. 

Especially dedicated to places where you 

can’t install cables – MusicCast provides 

infinite use of networked devices separately 

or together through a mobile application 

that’s intuitive, fluid and easy to use. 

The system allows you to play the same 

song in multiple rooms, or different songs 

in each room, via streaming service, PC 

or NAS, and having compatibility with all 

Bluetooth products. You can even transform 

your existing system simply by adding the 

WXC50 module to your speakers. 

“TINKLING THE IVORIES” 

In the hotel or resort lobby, greeting 

travellers with piano music as they arrive 

adds beautifully to the guest experience. 

Yamaha’s Piano Disklavier is the most 

innovative piano in the world. Thanks to 

the Disklavier, customers can enjoy music 

when a pianist is programmed to play in 

your facility. When he or she is not there, 

the Disklavier can precisely play back what 

the pianists have recorded on the Piano. 

Rather than the music being recorded, it is 

actually played by the piano itself – giving 

the true sound of the instrument. Audio 

outputs also allow the instrument’s sound 

to be channelled through an installed sound 

reinforcement system throughout the lobby 

area or wherever you wish. 



TOTAL CONTROL 

Putting the guest in the driver’s seat! 

Today, customers’ expectations are 

much higher than before. Guests want 

to use a single remote to control curtains 

and shades, lights, temperature, TV 

and music. They expect to be able to 

activate preset scenes such as “Good 

Morning”, “Work”, “Movie”, “Dinner” 

or “Bedtime” also with a simple buttonpress 

from the same remote control. 

They look forward to ordering room 

service, making reservations, checking 

hotel and area information, all from the 

comfort of their room. Furthermore, 

they highly value the possibility of 

connecting their own personal media 

device to their hotel room television to 

view their content. 

WHEN EXPERTISE 

MEETS LUXURY AND 

COMFORT 

Thanks to Crestron’s historical expertise 

in the field of monitoring and control, 

the technology that has been developed 

for meeting rooms and luxury homes 

is ideally tailored to meeting the 

requirements of today’s expectations 

in the hotel industry. Crestron brings its 

savoir-faire to guest rooms, placing the 

TV as the central control point. 

Crestron’s new easy to deploy digital 

graphics engine supports 4K TV and 

enhances the luxury lifestyle experience 

by displaying an onscreen menu that 

can be controlled by the same remote 

that provides control of the TV and 

media sources. 

While Crestron technology is 

some of the most advanced of its 

kind, implementing extraordinary 

engineering to simplify and enhance 

their customers’ lives, despite all this 

technical complexity, the company 

always focuses on the simplicity of the 

user experience. 

Crestron is designed to naturally blend 

into high-standard environments, 

making the guest’s user experience as 

simple, comfortable and personal as 

possible. 

More than ever, Crestron adds 

intelligence to transform an integrated 

hotel to a smart hotel. 

Crestron showcases a 

complete integrated 

hospitality solution 

helping hoteliers 

deliver unmatched 

customer service. 

Since 1992, Crestron has been 

delivering the only fully integrated 

control solution for the hospitality 

industry. As the world’s leader in 

automation, Crestron is able to tie 

together all of the technology in 

lobbies, guest rooms, common areas 

and meeting rooms for centralised 

monitoring and control. The most 

prestigious hotels across the world 

trust Crestron’s expertise to facilitate 

their day-to-day management 

and provide the ultimate client 

experience to their guests, making 

their stay unique and their room a 

home away from home.

Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #32

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