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Spanish Congress of Hoteliers, 2012

Spanish Hoteliers’ Congress, one of the most important travel trade event in Spain, is held every two years and took place from 21st to 24th  November 2012 in Las Arenas hotel, Valencia. It is a professional four-day event  to discuss the trends and issues concerning Spanish tourism and hospitality industry.

The event was very well organized, thanks to the Spanish Confederation of hotels and tourist accommodations (CEHAT), the Union of hotels in the province of Valencia, the hotel association of Benidorm and the Costa Blanca (Hosbec). The attendees included a good mix of hoteliers, entrepreneurs, hospitality operators and technology providers and the event offered a great platform for professional networking.


Cristina Hernandez, Regional Sales Manager – Spain, Portugal, Germany & Austria, represented eRevMax and pushed forward the discussions on innovative hotel technology and online distribution trends. Other topics at the event revolved around the economic crisis in Spain and ways to tackle it. The attendees discussed the various issues involving the tourism sector and were critical of the government in respect to the measures taken to deal with the problems in the hospitality industry.

The event was attended by over 300 participants and it presented a great opportunity to meet fellow industry members to discuss trends and business. 
Domenico Defina is Sales & Marketing Intern at eRevMax and is based out of London. He can be reached at domenicod@erevmax.com
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ITE 2012

The upcoming International Travel Expo in Hong Kong has an impressive profile of international exhibitors, buyers and regional trade visitors. I will be attending the event on behalf of RateTiger and I look forward to the opportunity of meeting hoteliers from the region especially from Macau, Taiwan, Philippines and Indonesia.

These markets have experienced significant growth in tourism and corporate travel over the past decade as the media looks in detail and the countries develop their economies. There is substantial online sales growth for Asia and it is essential hotels act now to build exposure across the internet sales market, especially for Chinese, European and North American traveler markets. Hotels in the region are beginning to experience greater competition that will only grow as the Asia market matures. Therefore channel management tools to handle multiple sales channels will be essential.

The event attracts more than 650 exhibitors from 55 countries and regions and offers a great platform to buyers and sellers to meet under the same roof in a professional setting. The Travel Expo covers both leisure and MICE/Corporate travel, and highlights trendy themes such as Cruise, Wellness & Medical Tourism, and Honeymooning etc. Apart from the exhibition, the event also features seminars and panel discussions targeting different sections where various travel related companies are invited to present.

I am eagerly looking forward to the 14 -15 June when I will be in Hong Kong for this event. I personally feel that ITE truly justifies its slogan ‘We bring World Travel to Asia and Asians to the World’.

Post event updates to follow in June.

Michael Atienza is Sales Manager for APAC at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. He can be reached at Michaela@ratetiger.com

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Tianguis Turistico 2012

I had the pleasure of attending Tianguis Turístico this year which is considered Mexico’s largest tourism trade show. Previously held in Acapulco for the last 36 years, this year the Mexican Ministry of Tourism decided to organize the event in Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta in order to promote different regions of the country.

Tianguis Turístico is an ideal platform to promote Mexico’s vacation destinations to a very specific local and international market, with the purpose of developing destination tourism and related products and services for the tourism sector.
With over 300 hotels participating, it was good to see discussions revolving around pricing trends and revenue management. With Mexico seeing an increase of 5.5% in inbound tourism, hoteliers are targeting more OTAs and have started realizing the importance of using a channel manager.

Kudos to the organizing committee at Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta for their excellent teamwork in successfully promoting and executing Tianguis Turístico. It was a well organized event which provided terrific exposure to the region as well as great value to attendees and exhibitors alike. 

I look forward to Tianguis Turistico Mexico 2013 at a new destination.

Sheila Martinez Sotelo is Sales Manager – Mexico & USA at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. She can be reached at sheilas@ratetiger.com
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ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012

I was at the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) last month. It was the first time I attended the event which was a good experience.

ATF is a cooperative regional effort to promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as one tourist destination. This annual event involves all the tourism industry sectors of the 10 member nations of ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Each year ATF is rotated among the member countries. ATF 2012 marked the 31st anniversary since its inauguration in Malaysia in 1981. Indonesia hosted ATF 2012 and I had the pleasure of meeting up with over 300 hoteliers who attended the event along with others from the tourism industry.

The event was dominated by hoteliers from Indonesia; and it was great to meet with them. Topics of conversation revolved around new hotel openings in the region, growth of online distribution as well as new technologies catering to it. The next edition will take place in Laos and we look forward to being there next year.

Michael Atienza is Sales Manager for APAC at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. He can be reached at michaela@ratetiger.com

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FITUR 2012

The thirty-second edition of FITUR was inaugurated by Prince Philip and Princess Letizia of Spain. The official opening by the Royal Family once again shows its unconditional support for the tradeshow and, in general, the Spanish tourism sector.

I attended the event along with my colleague Cristina Hernandez. We found that the exhibition this year was comparatively smaller due to the ongoing recession and various country representations were missing. However, FITUR made their commitment clear to the online sector, web 2.0, technology, social networking and video marketing among others during FITURTECH conferences.

The discussions at the event revolved around topics like new revenue trends such as Flash sales (Groupon), Social Media booking engines, online distribution, direct xml connectivity, online reputation management and affect of the recession on Southern European domestic travel scenarios, etc.

We had a stand which kept us constantly busy. Overall it was a good show with lot of networking opportunities. Look forward to the next edition.

Pilar Sanchez Aita is Sales Manager for Spain & Portugal at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She can be reached at pilara@ratetiger.com

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ÖHV-Hotelierkongress 2012

I attended the ÖHV-Hotelierkongress 2012 in Schladming last month and was pleasantly surprised in my first week taking over the region by the warmth and friendliness of Austrians. It turned out to be a well organized event with over 600 attendees comprising hoteliers, representatives from tourism boards, business and economy.

The focus for this year’s congress was to gauge current changes in society resulting from the recession and political shifts and its impact on the hospitality & tourism. The conference covered topics like impact of crisis and austerity on tourism, dealing within a changing world, the role of tourism in integration, the Family Hotel 2020 and the change in e-tourism.

For me, it was a great opportunity to meet with local hoteliers and discuss channel management and the potential it offers. The hospitality scenario in Austria is dominated by family run leisure hotels and small establishments. The awareness about online distribution has started to seep through though it will take some time to gain momentum. The event provided a good networking platform and it was a valuable learning experience for all present.

I look forward to the next edition and other such events in the region.

Cristina Hernandez is Sales Manager for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Spain at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She can be reached at cristinas@ratetiger.com

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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution

Six hotel giants team up to launch hotel search engine Roomkey.com

Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group teamed up to start Roomkey.com to, in their own words, “provide travelers a search and book experience tailored for ease of hotel shopping through an uncluttered and trustworthy site”. In an unexpected move, six of the largest hotel companies in the world have partnered to launch a hotel search engine of their own, dubbed Roomkey.com. The hotel companies hope that offering a ‘personalized experience’ and ‘accurate information’ will make travelers choose for them when they search for accommodation.

Technology will take the strain out of travel

‘From Chaos to Collaboration’, a new research study commissioned by Amadeus, challenges the travel industry to overcome the uncertainty and stress of modern-day travel, through the application of new technologies and innovations. 

Brands work to simplify revenue management

As revenue management becomes increasingly sophisticated and complex, many major hotel companies are rolling out new platforms and tools to help managers at the property level. Phoenix-based Best Western International, for example, recently introduced a two-pronged support structure that offers for-hire services, as well as simplified rate “buckets.”
 

Optimising revenues via apt integration of revenue management and marketing

The ultimate goal for hotels should not be about just filling the rooms, or to charge the “best rate” but to incentivise exactly the right amount of demand to fill the hotel every night, such that profitability across the property is achieved. When it comes to optimising revenues from CRM, for long it has been mentioned that CRM must establish similar credibility within organisations that its evaluation methodologies can incrementally improve the incumbent RM practices.
 

International tourism to reach one billion in 2012

International tourist arrivals grew by over 4% in 2011 to 980 million, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. With growth expected to continue in 2012, at a somewhat slower rate, international tourist arrivals are on track to reach the milestone one billion mark later this year.