32 SPECIAL FEATURE TRAVEL TECHNOLOGIES ADVERTORIAL Getting the message across, loud and clear… with Crystal Sound Charlotte Lamp Davies Principal Consultant, A Bright Approach Technology, Tours & Activities take centre stage Whether for excursions or conferences, it’s vital that participants be able to hear clear commentary or translations, with reliable audio equipment. Since 2013, Crystal Sound has been developing and manufacturing acoustic systems, providing services for the rent, maintenance and sale of equipment. RADIO-GUIDE SYSTEM FOR GROUP TOURS: Radio-guides of acoustic accompaniment of excursions are the transmitter for the guide and receivers for tourists. The signal range of the equipment up to 80 meters, with operating time-up to 100 hours. These devices are used for excursions in museums, in open air, as well as during seminars. GPS AUDIO-GUIDE: a modern system, developed in 2017. It is intended for automatic excursions without participation of a guide. It can be used on river cruises, buses or walking tours. SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION SYSTEM: ideal for use in large conference rooms or congress halls, with a wide choice of language channels, easy use through the application and quick installation Hall 3.1 / Stand 614 Charlotte Lamp Davies is Principal Consultant at A Bright Approach, a consultancy providing local and global companies with expert insight into sales strategy, marketing and events management. We started by asking her to tell use a little more about her, and her company. I founded A Bright Approach in 2018, having worked in several executive roles in sales, marketing and events managements since moving to London from Denmark 26 years ago. From shaping the corporate sales and marketing road map to facilitating your industry events, A Bright Approach will share its experience, energy, network and knowhow. You will be the moderator of a brand-new segment at ITBBerlin this year, the Technology, Tours & Activities (TTA) Forum. Please tell us more about the segment and how you became involved. ITBBerlin recognises that this is one of the fastest and most exciting growing sectors of our industry. Travel companies are making the most of adding and building partnerships with the tours and activity providers and the sector has seen renewed interest from investors. Existing and new players are innovating in the space ensuring new thinking and technologies are brought to the field. Consumer trends are changing and the thirst for turning holidays into experiences is prevalent. From city breaks like guided tours to the more extreme end of the spectrum such as dessert trekking the tours and activities sector is set to boom in coming years. What kind of “best cases” will attendees be able to hear about, and why is it so important? We will hear from speakers from across the sector such as city tours, technology providers, distribution channels etc and we’ll get insights on do’s and don’ts, success stories and challenges which presenters have encountered eTRAVEL WORLD Category: Business Travel Date: Today, March 6, 2019 Time: 2pm-6pm Location: Hall 7.1b, eTravel Lab ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 6 th March 2019 www.itb-berlin-news.com
SPECIAL FEATURE TRAVEL TECHNOLOGIES 33 The nextgeneration retailing opportunity Technology continues to drive innovation in the sector ADVERTORIAL HUMANITY WILL ALWAYS BE ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS IN THE ACCOMMODATION SECTOR Clinton Anderson EVP, Sabre President, Sabre Hospitality Solutions THE ULTIMATE FREEDOM WHEN TRAVELLING Clinton Anderson, EVP of Sabre and President of Sabre Hospitality Solutions, is participating in a keynote panel at the ITBBerlin Convention on the future of hospitality and tourism in times of Artificial Intelligence. We asked him what are the key stakes in the hospitality industry today and heading into the future in this respect. Technology has transformed how all of us connect to everything – to friends and family, businesses, service providers… you name it. Obviously, the hospitality industry is no exception, and consumers are looking for new tools to enhance their travel experiences. As a result, travellers’ expectations are higher and more diverse than ever. This means that an individual and personal approach can be a significant success factor and differentiator for hoteliers. How do you define nextgeneration retailing? We define next-generation retailing as the opportunity for hotels to shift from being room-centric businesses to entities that sell and monetise every aspect of a trip, from meeting spaces to early check-in, to mugs and umbrellas as souvenirs. This transformation is quite radical for hoteliers. It demands enablement through deep retailing technology to sell any item or service, just as easily as selling rooms at different rates today. A pivotal element of these retailing capabilities is to encode every sellable entity— room, spa appointment, dinner package, event ticket—as a merchandising unit, just like any typical retail business. What will AI bring to hotels in the coming decade and how is Sabre working on this? Built-in machine learning algorithms process vast troughs of data from reservations, guest profiles, and purchase history to dynamically determine and rollout best offers to guests via appropriate channels in the right sort order. Through machine learning, hoteliers will be able to dynamically optimise pricing and create packages and offers based on unforeseen events. Further combined with guest personalisation, hoteliers will be able to target and engage guests thoughtfully, at different stages of their travel journey, with the most relevant products and services to meet their unique needs Hall 9 / Stand 207 eTRAVEL WORLD Category: Marketing Date: March 7, 2019 Time: 12:00 - 12:45pm Location: City Cube, Auditorium A4/A5 Global travel is booming: According to the UNWTO, international tourist arrivals worldwide increased 6% in 2018 to 1.4 billion, reached two years ahead of the organisation’s long-term forecast of 2010. The trend is likely to continue in the coming years with further increases of 3% to 4% annually. This will also be reflected in the increased use of travel cash cards and prepaid credit cards to pay conveniently and securely abroad. Wirecard is responding to this global megatrend with a new customisable card product that supports multiple currencies and can be issued by companies to both their customers and employees. The Multi-Currency Travel Card can be used as a traditional or digital means of payment and is set to replace traveller’s cheques. Wirecard says there are no irritating foreign exchange fees when paying or withdrawing money in the destination country, the card is accepted worldwide as a secure means of payment and accounting is much easier thanks to transparent payment processes. Visit the Wirecard stand at ITBBerlin to find out why the practical travel card is also an ideal means of increasing customer or employee retention over the long term using loyalty bonuses or attractive discounts Hall 5.1 / Stand 103 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 6 th March 2019
