on the Go with Bo!

Final Debate: what conquers all, Love or Money?

Martin Symes (CEO, Wego) defending cash battled it out with John Northern (VP South-East Asia, Marriott International) defending l'amour.

Gotta give it to them … they were both great … but my mind had already been made-up before they even started.  Romanticism any day!

So what were the roses for on all the tables?  They were used for the voting in this grand debate.  Lift up your rose to show your love … or pull out a wad of cash if $$$ is all you think about.

The roses were flying high!

And that's it … THE END

Just remember: Internet years are like dog years … don't wait 5 years to do something … for that is actually 35 long years of inaction!

Thanks Siew Hoon and team … there was no shortage of great content, interactive sessions (love how you use SMS and twitter to ask questions which takes the spotlight off participants who would not necessarily lift their hand up in a room of 150 people), loud music, putting speakers in the spotlight with questions such as 'what's the first thing that comes to mind when I say xyz?' and full-on energy.

And now … I'm WaITing for 2010!

folloWIT - Web in Travel

No Events, No Money

How has the business event sector faired with the recent financial meltdown?

Panel debate:

(Robin Lokerman, MD, MCI Asia Pacific; Jill Henry, Sarawak Convention Bureau; Sandra Chipchase, CEO, Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau … moderated by Elizabeth Rich, Executive Director, Business Events Council of Australia)

> investing in new software to drive delegate numbers

> improving number of foreign languages on a given website

> don't forget on PR during these difficult times

> interactivity between staff - bringing global offices together through technology

> conference delegates/clients: new IT platforms

> conference capture: capture content, repackage and sell information from events

> virtual meetings: you can never beat face-to-face, video conferencing complements face-to-face, important to build interactivity into the system

> destination brands are once again very important

> to go face-to-face you need to get good value, on time delivery and on budget … and a value add

> in destination marketing it's the experience and people that are important

> key drivers are technology and procurement (selecting which suppliers clients work with)

> at events before, you could be controversial and challenging because it was assumed to be between 4 walls.  Nowadays … what happens in the room goes global instantaneously

folloWIT - Web in Travel

Is content really King or is it all about Price

Panel debate:

(Frank Trampert, Executive VP - Revenue Generation, Asia Pacific, Carlson Hotels Worldwide; Maria Taylor, VP - Distribution, Accor Asia Pacific; Giles Longhurst, Head of Business Development, EMEA & APAC, Frommer's Unlimited; Jens Thraenhart, CEO, Chameleon Strategies; Takanobu Yamamoto, Trip Advisor Japan … moderated by Morris Sim, CEO, Circos.com)

> marketing money is only released if you can demonstrate the value of social media in respect to marketing push

> some hotels are obsessed with Trip Advisor rankings for it's purely user-generated

> hotels should not be worried about having negative reviews … use it as a tool to improve your product/service

> Frommers / Lonely Planet assists you to decide where you're going to stay … Trip Advisor and the likes help you review the sites … and then price comes into the decision making process

> some people always doubt the authenticity of user generated sites (such as Trip Advisor) for they are perceived to be easy to manipulate

> consumers are smart enough to see through fake reviews!

> it's short-sighted for hotels, for e.g., to fake positive reviews about their properties

> consumers shop around a lot before making the buying decision

> now context is King and content is queen

folloWIT - Web in Travel

Coffee with Michael Peschardt

the host of BBC's TV documentary Peschardt's People and the former BBC foreign correspondent in Australia:

> the more you travel, it's so easy to take it all for granted

> he became a journalist … with the naive idea that 'he could change the world'.  That was then ...

> today's journalism:  chase google hits to see who is most searched on a given day, then write an article on those people using recycled stories … and voila, you've got a successful story!

> established media has a role to make sense of everything there is out there

> twitters are like TV reporters … there is absolutely no filter, like there is with traditional press where you have editors, sub-editors, etc

> Asia is massively under-reported on international TV networks

> although Asian countries have to also learn to engage with Western media

> young people don't watch TV anymore … thus they receive news from other sources and not the traditional ones

> you don't want to get an opportunity when you're not ready for it

> the world is not enough organized for there to be a massive conspiracy

> there is a pre-disposition to not trust the traditional media … which is a challenge

folloWIT - Web in Travel

Today roses with thorns?

As I get to my table ... There it is ... A reminder of tough love ... Glaring at me with blood read petals

ITB Asia opening ceremony

Prior to WIT moving into day 2, we went to the opening ceremony of ITB Asia ... WIT and ITB Asia are collaborating, since both cover different aspects of the travel industry.  But now ... Siew Hoon is ready to take over the world with her fabulousness ...

It's not rockn-rolla ...

OK, so I couldn't make it to the Worldhotels WIT party last night.  I have no doubt it was fantastic.  Instead, we had tickets to the sold out performance of the NY Philharmonic at the Esplanade featuring the conductor Alan Gilbert and the pianist Emanuel Ax.  Unbelievable is an understatement for what they achieved last night.  Both got a standing ovation ... which naturally obligated them to do an encore.

So my evening ... different ... But equally wit-tylicious :-)

The only conundrum ... who can explain to me the difference between a symphony and a philharmonic???

And this is what takes me home tonight

Out of the freezing aircon room I've been sitting in all day ... And into the wonderfully warm Singapore evening ...

Tough love Hotel

Wow … Siew Hoon has made a wardrobe change … new silky red chinese jacket :-) Nice ...

And me ... freezing in the highly aircon-ed room!

so what is happening to the hospitality distribution mix?

panel debate:

(Erik Munoz, VP Sales, Asia Pacific & Middle East, Hospitality, Softbrands; Frank Trampert, Executive VP, Revenue Generation APAC, Carlson Hotels; Patrick Andres, Managing Director, SynXis Asia Pacific; Romain Roulleau, Senior VP Ecommerce, Accor Worldwide; Roland Jegge, VP Asia, Worldhotels; Grant Colquhoun, Director of Hotels, Travelocity Asia/Pacific)

> technology allows dynamic packaging

> everyone is excited about social media … we just don't know why yet

> social media is great platform for independent/boutique hotels

> low cost airlines in Asia are changing the market

> the difference between the airline and hotel industry … you don't take your clothes off on a plane

> with discount airlines you save on the flight and that allows you to enjoy more on the ground

> star rating of hotels is becoming outdated … people look for location, feel, etc

> CRM and booking engine are key … know your customer, don't keep asking the same questions over and over again

> power of social media is at brand level perhaps not at hotel level (especially for large chains)

> once the information is out there … it's out there.  Damage control harder to do with social media

> consumers shop around online to search for content and best price

folloWIT - Web in Travel

Taming the social media beast

Is it all about Twitter, and What about Search?

Morris Sim, CEO, Circos.com

> Facebook 2nd most popular website worldwide … is #1 site in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, etc

> 8 of the top 20 websites globally are powered solely by social media

> incredible amount of information out there

> it all happened in the last 12 months

> traditional media (human model) vs search model (machine) … guess what, the machine won!  for now ...

> google, with focusing on search engines, started the trend

> sharing is key (photos, videos, articles, status updates, etc) within a context in a trustworthy way

> 70% of consumers trust peer recommendations

> search vs social media:  friends and family give you 4 answers (social media) vs google giving you 10 million (search model)

> use social media as focus group, build brand awareness, extension of CRM, let it become a platform to distribute information about you

Panel discussion:

(Fritz Demopoulos, CEO, Qunar; Sajith Sivanandan, Head of Travel, Automotive, Vertical Retail Sales, Google Southeast Asia; Robbie Hills, CEO, GroupM Search Asia Pacific; Vikas Gulati, VP Asia Pacific, Sprice)

> make sure you measure social media results

> search engines drive revenue to the travel industry (more than social media ever will)

folloWIT - Web in Travel