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The Week, That Was – Oct 2020 Week 2

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

Saudi Arabia Shows A Positive Year for Travel

The online travel market in Saudi Arabia has been making significant moves to open up its borders to international tourists. As domestic travel reopened this summer, Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) launched the Kingdom’s largest domestic tourism campaign which gives a big boost to domestic travel. In August, the advance bookings in Saudi Arabia exceeded pre-Covid level reaching 110%. Read how Saudi tourism playing a vital role leading the travel recovery in Middle East-

https://www.erevmax.com/blog/index.php/2020/10/saudi-arabia-shows-a-positive-year-for-travel/

Business travel will remain extraordinarily week through end of 2021, and likely beyond

Even if vaccines proliferate and governments begin relaxing or lifting entirely their heavy Covid-19-derived restrictions on cross-border travel, business travel will be particularly slow to rebound vis-à-vis the rate of leisure travel recovery.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielreed/2020/10/07/down-70-from-last-year-business-travel-demand-wont-bounce-back-in-2021-and-maybe-not-for-years/#48ea10211849

Agoda pins hopes on Asia’s domestic tourism to drive revenue

Asia-focused online travel agency Agoda is counting on a revival of domestic tourism in parts of the region to help it weather the coronavirus pandemic. Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan among top markets where domestic tourism activity is returning.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-tourism-agoda-bookings-idUSKBN26Q1FB

How Booking.com is optimizing search for local travel

Consumer appetite for nearby getaways is growing in parallel with last-minute bookings. Here’s how Booking.com is optimizing its search function to cater to this new traveler behaviour.

https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/click-magazine/how-bookingcom-optimising-search-local-travel

Chinese travelers are resorting to a new kind of holiday

An increasing number of China’s travelers are looking to visit one nice place for a few days instead of trying to hit several tourist spots during the National Day holiday.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-10-02/Chinese-travelers-are-resorting-to-a-new-kind-of-holiday-UgydDnwLQs/index.html

Hotelbeds and Thomas Cook sign strategic partnership

The 180,000 hotels that work with Hotelbeds worldwide – many under exclusive terms & conditions – will be available to Thomas Cook’s travelers.https://press.hotelbeds.com/news-room/press-release/hotelbeds-and-thomas-cook-sign-strategic-partnership

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

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Saudi Arabia Shows A Positive Year for Travel

Hospitality in Saudi Arabia is showing the strongest recovery from the Covid-19 shutdown in Middle East, with advance hotel bookings steadily rising. The Kingdom is developing several new projects to enhance tourism as part of the country’s strategy to diversify its oil-dependent economy. Tourism and hospitality sectors are expecting a big push with new opportunities through government grants and aids.  The Kingdom has been easing travel restrictions and started welcoming tourists and issued more than 400,000 tourism visas, as per Saudi Tourism Authority’s Hamidaddin, which is making the Kingdom the fastest growing destination in the world. In addition, travel restrictions are expected to be lifted in Saudi Arabia for citizens at the beginning of 2021.

The Government has announced its plans to reopen the two holiest sites in Islam to pilgrims in October. Local and foreign residents of Saudi Arabia will be permitted to enter the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina for the year-round umrah pilgrimage seven months after visits were suspended.

Recently Saudi Tourism Authority started a campaign “Saudi Summer” which is encouraging their native travelers and expats to enjoy 10 destinations from Red Sea, beaches and forests to mountain peaks and historic areas. The authority is working with 90 travel trade and hospitality partners to create more than 100 packages across the 10 destinations. In August, the advance bookings in Saudi Arabia exceeded pre-Covid level reaching 110%, as per eRevMax, an award winning travel technology company. The country is already starting to welcome a limited number of pilgrims following months of tight restrictions. The total number of inbound and outbound tourist trips in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach 62 million trips by the end of 2020.

Over time, domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia has received a major boost, which is helping the Kingdom’s economic recovery. The Saudi Authority are looking to reopen the Umrah market in a phased manner and are expected to announce new measures and protocols to boost travel confidence. Further, OTAs like our partners Seera, Halal Booking and other sales channels have been offering promotions and discounts on online bookings, which is proving to be attractive for traveller and pilgrims. This has led to a rise in domestic tourists who are now making a beeline for Saudi Arabia to experience its ancient trade centers and unexplored places within the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has the second highest number of Covid-19 cases in the region. However, with patient recovery rate higher than the global average, the Kingdom has been easing restrictions since June.

With increasing competition and price sensitive guests, hoteliers need to ensure they are visible on multiple OTAs and metasearch channels as well as keep their brand website updated to be able to achieve maximum occupancy and meet revenue targets. Hence, knowing the right channels that bring business to your city is a key and being connected to them is very important for your online sales strategy. To find out how you can improve online revenue, contact us today and speak to our connectivity advisor – https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

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The Week, That Was – Oct 2020 Week 1

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

Saudi Arabia leads hospitality recovery in Middle East, as per eRevMax Report

Saudi Arabia reports strong travel sentiment with growth in advance hotel bookings, as per hotel reservation data processed by eRevMax. The Kingdom has been easing restrictions since June, and August saw a huge jump in advance hotel bookings which exceeded pre-Covid level reaching 110%, for eRevMax partner hotels in Saudi Arabia.

Click the link to read the full report – https://lnkd.in/g4APuKP

Ski resorts across Europe, the US and Canada plan for a busy season

Most countries have a strong domestic market and many Alpine resorts experienced a bumper summer season as their nationals holidayed closer to home.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/sep/29/how-to-go-skiing-this-winter-ski-resorts-covid-19-restrictions

eRevMax introduces Promotions for Booking.com through RateTiger CRS

Create and manage various promotions on Booking.com directly from your RateTiger and LiveOS platforms. Reduce one more step in your daily operations – no need to go to the channel extranet for updating promotions. RateTiger lets you manage everything from a single window! Promote exciting deals and boost your hotel occupancy today – capture the available demand and increase online revenue.

Read further to see how it works – https://lnkd.in/geEyVnX

The Hotel of Tomorrow Project: Five big ideas and the trends that drove them

A group of 325 hotel industry executives have been meeting since June to brainstorm hotel innovation. The global think tank called The Hotel of Tomorrow Project released its findings culled from 79 suggested ideas from 16 teams globally that were then shopped to 1000 industry executives for their input.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauriewerner/2020/09/24/you-may-soon-be-staying-in-this-futuristic-hotel/#5d37497c7eca

Hotel profitability up in most regions, except the US

Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East all reported increasingly positive GOPPAR during the month of August, according to the latest HotStats data.

https://www.hotelmanagement.net/operate/hotstats-profitability-up-europe-middle-east-and-apac

Brand USA and Airbnb launch collection of online experiences

A new landing page highlights a collection of Airbnb Online Experiences that showcase the possibilities of the United States.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/09/29/2100674/0/en/Brand-USA-and-Airbnb-Launch-USA-Country-Collection-of-Online-Experiences.html

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Introducing Promotions for Booking.com through RateTiger CRS

RateTiger Central Reservation System has been enhanced allowing users to create and manage promotions for Booking.com directly from their RateTiger dashboard. Promotions are special prices that a property can offer during a certain time window, or to a certain type of booker. In RateTiger Settings, they appear under the Promotions tab in the Inventory Module.

On booking.com, hotels can create three types of Promotions from their RateTiger dashboard – Basic Deal, Mobile Rate and Profile Rate.

Basic Deal Promotion:

  • Easy and fully customizable promotion, which will give the guest a discount on selected rooms and rates.
  • Customize the promotion for everyone or members only
  • Control on MLOS, Dates and Room Type
  • Hotels can run the promotion for various Rateplan and Payment options

Mobile Rate Promotion: Options for-

  • an app only rate- i.e, guests booking (only) through Booking.com mobile app would get this discount
  • dot rate and t.dot rate- i.e, guests booking through the Booking.com website on their mobile browser

Profile Rate Promotion:

  • Target the promotion to a certain set of guests
  • Discount can be displayed only to verified, logged-in business travelers, and will apply to all your room types, rates and dates except excluded.

Monitor your Promotions:

  • On your RateTiger dashboard, the View and Apply Promotion widget provides a detailed report of all the existing promotions and allow users to modify / deactivate a campaign.

RateTiger CRS, powered by LiveOS, is the next-generation reservation management platform for hotel revenue managers to manage multiple distribution channels including web, mobile, voice, travel agent and online travel agent (OTA) channels.

This is a very exciting opportunity as this marks the start of a series of upcoming releases, to give hotels different ways to create and sell Promotions on multiple platforms through RateTiger.

Get connected to RateTiger today and start selling promotions. Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

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The Week, That Was – Sep 2020 Week 4

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

Luxury Tanzanian hotel improves online business performance with eRevMax

White Sands Resort & Conference Centre, a 4-star luxury property in Tanzania, strongly recommends RateTiger for its highly effective online distribution and business performance management solutions. The property has been using RateTiger product suite, including RTConnect for channel management, Google Hotel Ads, metasearch management, Booking Engine as well as Reputation Management tool, all centrally managed from the RateTiger platform.

https://www.erevmax.com/ratetiger-news/ratetiger-news-archive/sep2020-erevmax-luxury-tanzanian-hotel-improves-online-business-performance.html

STR: Europe hotel performance for August 2020.

Europe’s hotel industry reported its best performance levels since February, according to August 2020 data from STR.

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4100751.html

Airbnb’s City Portal promises better relationship with cities

Airbnb is piloting an information-sharing platform in 15 cities that it says will help local leaders monitor the effects of the home-sharing giant.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-23/why-airbnb-launched-a-data-sharing-tool-for-cities

UK: Travel companies flogging super cheap holidays for 2021

Desperate tour operators in the UK have slashed prices for next year not only to allow travelers to book ahead or to change their current bookings but also to recoup lost earnings for this year.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/12729058/cheap-holidays-benidorm-majorca-2021-deals/

Booking.com introducing longer-stay rates

In response to surging demand for longer-term stays, hotels can now offer weekly and monthly rates. Under the new feature, a weekly rate plan requires a minimum stay of seven nights, while the monthly rate plan requires a minimum stay of 28 nights.

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Bookingcom-introducing-longer-stay-rates?

Co-working: How hotels are reinventing themselves

How Accor is adapting to new ways of working in a post-Covid world by reimagining spaces and services. Faced with new societal behaviors and other challenges arising from the pandemic, the classic hotel industry is evolving by launching new initiatives.

https://group.accor.com/en/Actualites/2020/09/coworking-hotel-pop-up-offices

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

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The Week, That Was – Sep 2020 Week 3

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

Selected focus receptionist with face shield giving envelope to guest in hotel. Premium Photo

eRevMax partners with HS LATAM to host TRAVEL TECH APAC

Inviting hoteliers to participate in the week-long virtual conference. The event will take place from 21 – 25 September 2020, through a series of online webinars comprising of 25 speakers from different companies representing the travel technology spectrum.

Register today – https://www.erevmax.com/ratetiger-news/ratetiger-news-archive/sep2020-erevmax-partners-hslatam-host-traveltech-apac.html

Holiday travel bookings lag, but trend toward last-minute trips might help

A trend toward last-minute trips could help spur some bookings closer in to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/14/holiday-travel-bookings-lag-but-trend-in-last-minute-trips-might-help.html

How the COVID-10 vaccine will impact international travel in 2021

If a vaccine does become available, vaccinating over 7 billion people is going to take time and there are strong indicators a large amount of the population won’t even be willing to get it

https://www.traveloffpath.com/how-the-vaccine-will-impact-international-travel-in-2021/

TrustYou: Some hotel brands recovering faster than expected

While a full and steady recovery still seems to lie far ahead in the future, there are signs that some hotel brands are getting back on their feet faster than expected.

https://www.trustyou.com/blog/covid-19/in-the-midst-of-adversity-some-hotel-brands-are-recovering-faster-than-expected

Who will benefit from Saudi Arabia’s easing of coronavirus flight restrictions

Kingdom to end all restrictions on air, land and sea transport for Saudi citizens ‘after January 1’ next year

https://www.arabianbusiness.com/transport/451780-saudi-to-ease-international-coronavirus-flight-restrictions-from-tuesday

Occupancy Rates for China’s Hotels Show First Year-Over-Year Growth Since Pandemic’s Start

Hotels in China for the week ending September 12 had occupancy rates nearly 9 percent higher than they were for the same week in 2019, the first sign of year-over-year growth since the global pandemic.

https://skift.com/2020/09/17/occupancy-rates-for-chinas-hotels-show-first-year-over-year-growth-since-pandemics-start/

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

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The Week, That Was – Sep 2020 Week 2

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

TRAVEL TECH launches APAC Online Forum from 21 – 25 Sep 2020

Travel Tech introduces its virtual educational conference for APAC hoteliers and travel trade professionals. Through a series of webinars, TRAVEL TECH APAC brings together regional and global players to discuss evolving trends, changing guest expectations and new ways for travel businesses to strategize and cope with the market dynamics. Come and explore new business frontiers and discover innovative technologies.

Join our expert speakers who will talk about various topics affecting hospitality business – the sessions are scheduled from 21 – 25 September 2020 at 9:00 CET/ 15:00 SGT. RGEISTER NOW – https://lnkd.in/eGxeGuE

US travel trends for 2021

American travelers are turning their gaze towards summer 2021, with search volumes steadily increasing, including a 25% increase during the last month alone, according to new Skyscanner data.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skyscanner-reveals-us-travel-trends-for-2021-301126441.html

Where is hotel-tech headed in post-pandemic era?

With more businesses opting for cloud-based solutions and self-serve offerings, low-contact technologies will be the preferred choice for hoteliers. Hotels will look at AI, data security, platform, and integrations as must-haves.

https://in.mashable.com/tech/16901/where-is-travel-tech-headed-in-the-post-pandemic-era

Why travel should be considered an essential human activity

Go ahead and plan that trip. It’s good for you, scientists say. Plotting a trip is nearly as enjoyable as actually taking one. Merely thinking about a pleasurable experience is itself pleasurable. Anticipation is its own reward.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/09/why-travel-should-be-considered-an-essential-human-activity/

Italy: Hotel market sentiment survey.

Horwath HTL Italy conducted a survey to evaluate the current and medium-term impacts of Covid-19 on the Italian hospitality industry.

Download the report –https://horwathhtl.com/publication/italian-hotel-market/

German hotel operators confident about future.

Almost 95 percent expect the German hotel market to recover to its 2019 record level by 2022 or 2023 latest, according to a new survey.

https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/germany/news/2020/06/survey-hotel-operator-beat

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

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Finbat.ma and Fiesta PMS join the eRevMax Partner Ecosystem

Agoda promotes its GoLocal program to RateTiger hotel users

As travel reopens across different geographies, domestic travel is on the rise. At present hotel occupancy is driven by staycations, drive-in and local travelers. This is the time for hoteliers to evaluate their online distribution mix and capitalize on the local channels. The ground rule of working with any distribution/sales channel is to ensure that you keep your hotel listing up-to-date to give a true picture to the guests. Knowing the right channels that bring business to your city is a key and being connected to them is very important to increase your hotel’s presence online.

Here are some of our newly connected channel and tech partners leading in their specific markets. Get in touch if you are looking to expand your distribution connectivity and wish to connect to any of our 400+ OTA and PMS channel network.


Finbat.ma

If you are looking to connect to a regional OTA in Morocco, Finbat.ma can be a good bet. Offering a variety of accommodation across Morocco, this channel attracts bookings both from native and international travellers and is focused on providing high-quality service and a great travel experience. If you have a hotel in Morocco, get your property listed with Finbat.ma to attract domestic bookings in your city.

Agoda GoLocal

With domestic bookings becoming the key revenue generator, Agoda GoLocal program could be beneficial for your property. Through a multi-platform marketing campaign, Agoda aims to generate more demand and bookings for your property from travellers in your country. Simply offer domestic customers an additional 10% discount on top of existing channel discount. Contact us today for more details.

FiestaPMS

Our newest PMS partner, Fiesta Technologies, is a popular technology provider in Philippines. It offers a wide range of features and functionalities for full-service hotels and chains, as well as independent properties. Known for its user-friendly interface and quick support response time, Fiesta can be a great partner for your property. If you are looking for a PMS provider, get in touch with us today.

Are you looking to manage any new channel from your RateTiger platform? CONTACT US TODAY – https://www.erevmax.com/erevmax-contact.html

 

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The Week, That Was – August 2020 Week 4

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

eRevMax reports strong recovery signals for Malaysian hotel sector

Advance bookings reach almost 95% in August, compared to January, showing extremely positive sentiment among bookers. With partial reopening of medical tourism and travel bubble with Singapore, Malaysia might witness further growth in the coming days. Read the full report.

https://www.erevmax.com/ratetiger-news/ratetiger-news-archive/aug2020-erevmax-reports-strong-recovery-signals-malaysian-hotel.html

126,000 tourists visit Egypt since early July amid COVID-19 downward trend

Egypt has received 126,000 tourists since it reopened its seaside resorts to international flights and foreign tourists on July 1, after a three-month halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. As hoteliers, are you connected to the right channels? Manage your online distribution through RateTiger and know the key channels that bring maximum business to your city. Contact us on – marketing@erevmax.com

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1198896.shtml

Webinar – Plan, Execute, Recover – Hospitality Strategies for the APAC Hotels

Industry experts join hands to talk about reopening of travel in Asia Pacific and how hotels can capture demand through better channel connectivity and cater to evolving guest expectations. The session will have speakers from Maritim Hotels, Chroma Hospitality, Alorie Hospitality, eRevMax, Winsar Group and KAI Hotel Solutions. Register today to join the session on 3rd September, 16:00 SGT – https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIkcumgrDwtHNyud2MBXVriZKYna2EFuc-J

Frequent travelers cite priorities for hotel stays

Face coverings for employees and guests, suspending daily housekeeping of rooms, and utilizing technology to reduce direct contact have a considerable impact on guests’ comfort levels.

https://www.ahla.com/press-release/survey-frequent-travelers-cite-priorities-hotel-stays

Despegar gets $200M in investments, sees “positive trend” in bookings

Latin America-based online travel agency and eRevMax partner Despegar has raised $200 million in two transactions. In tandem with the report of its financial results for the second quarter of 2020, Despegar says it has a private placement with L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused private equity fund in the world, to issue and sell preferred stock plus warrants to purchase ordinary shares for an aggregate price of $150 million.

https://www.phocuswire.com/despegar-q2-2020-financial-report

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ Thanks and have a good day!      

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The Week, That Was – August 2020 Week 3

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

Airbnb declares all parties over indefinitely at its listings

Airbnb has been implementing measures to help limit hosting of unauthorized parties booked through its platform, and today implemented the strictest of all: a global ban on all parties and events.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/20/airbnb-declares-all-parties-over-indefinitely-at-its-listings/

Agoda launched a beta version of its day-use feature

Agoda, one of the big-name online travel agencies, has introduced a beta version of its day-use feature available across 7,000 hotels in Korea, providing people with the flexibility to book a room for just a few hours.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2020/08/141_294590.html

Hotels are offering COVID-19 tests during check-out to reassure guests

Some hotels in Dubai and the Maldives are now providing the option for guests to take a COVID-19 test before their departure.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/hotels-covid-19-tests

China’s tourism sector eyeing gradual rebound post-epidemic

As of mid-August, the number of tourists booking package tours through Trip.com skyrocketed 150 percent month on month.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-08/19/c_139302853.htm

UK staycation boom looks set to continue into 2021, new research finds

New research has found that 83% of tourists would prefer to holiday in the UK than travel abroad this year, with this trend set to continue into next year bringing a boost to the country’s hospitality sector.

https://www.boutiquehotelier.com/uk-staycation-boom-looks-set-to-continue-into-2021-new-research-finds/

New travel warnings push European tourists toward Turkey

Tourists from Europe are left with very limited options for traveling abroad, and Turkey’s Mediterranean coastline emerges as the safest and closest destination

https://www.dailysabah.com/business/tourism/new-travel-warnings-push-european-tourists-toward-turkey

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!