Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com 4 | ITB ASIA OFFICIAL DAILIES news highlights Buy a revenue management system, take data, download into Excel and create a bar chart. Traditionally, this is what hotel owners and revenue managers have to do to make pricing decisions. "The approach is manual and dated. It hasn't really changed from the 20th century," said Fabian Bartnick, vice president, Asia Pacific, of New York- based startup LodgIQ (pronounced 'logic'). "We want to change that." After securing US$5 million in seed funding led by Highgate Ventures, LodgIQ made its debut at ITB Berlin in March with its first revenue optimisation platform for the hospitality industry: LodgIQ RM. Combining both revenue management and business intelligence, LodgIQ RM enables revenue managers to "visualise and analyse". The platform features user-friendly 'drag and drop' icons that lets you do a 'Market Forecast', check out what is 'On the Books', and evaluate other crucial data points like flights, guest shopping behaviour, real-time news, and relative positioning to competitors. LodgIQ RM also boasts advanced learning, or artificial intelligence, which "remembers" your habits. Less than five months after its launch, LodgIQ has already welcomed over 500 hotels – branded and non- branded – that have expressed or confirmed interest in LodgIQ RM. Yet the founders of LodgIQ realised there was a need for a more straightforward solution – one that catered to the "mum and pop hotels". Enter LodgIQ One – a newly- launched platform that uses the same Fabian Bartnick, vice president, Asia Pacific, LodgIQ. SIMPLE LOGIC BY LEE XIN HUI millennials. Locations include Paris and Bordeaux (2018), Warsaw, Budapest, Rio and São Paulo. The locations will be in bustling city centres that are close to public transport and less than 15 minutes away from the points of interest. Asked if the co-sharing concept works in Asia, Issenberg said it would work particularly well in a region where sharing is acceptable and increasing among the young. On Accor's grand plan for Asia he said, "Asia Pacific is unbelievable. I see myself fortunate to be here in this part of the world. Our plans are limitless." Issenberg revealed that Accor opens two hotels every three days somewhere in the world. "This year, we will open closer to two hotels per week, with 90 opening in Asia Pacific this year. We may see the plan decelerating this year." With fears of downtrend in the economy and uncertainty in business, which is happening in Singapore, how does it affect Accor? "The global economy is not fantastic, and Singapore follows the global trends. In Asia, which is mostly about China, the growth is coming off." However, what is important is the travel market in the region is growing faster than the GDP – at least four points higher. In China, the travel market is growing by at least four percent, based on an increase in wealth. "Besides China, there is India and ASEAN where people are acquiring wealth. We are in a growth industry," Issenberg added. "Today, when people travel, they want to have experiences. They don't just want to go to a waterfall; they want to experience the community." – MICHAEL ISSENBERG, CHAIRMAN AND COO OF ACCOR ASIA PACIFIC. approach as LodgIQ RM, but with a simplified user interface. LodgIQ One targets independent boutique hotels that may not need the complexities offered by its predecessor. The product features several industry firsts: from a self on-boarding process, which allows a hotelier to self- launch in any market within minutes, to single pricing, allowing users to terminate the service at any time, without the need for connectivity to an existing Property Management System (PMS) or Central Reservation System (CRS). "It's my job to take care of the complexity; yours is to confirm the best rate for your hotel," explained Bartnick. The essential difference between the two products? "They're different lids covering the same pot," declared Bartnick. "If you're a bit more geeky, and you like to touch, play and do stuff – LodgIQ RM's for you. Otherwise, for those who say 'I really don't have time and don't want to be part of the journey'? LodgIQ One's your answer." A ccor Asia Pacific is not only on an expansion path but is also changing the way we sleep. With its recent acquisition of Raffles, Swissôtel and Fairmont and the introduction of a new brand JO&JOE, Accor is offering travellers a wide choice. The addition of Raffles and Swissôtel hotels means Accor has grown its luxury offerings in Asia. Its new brand, JO&JOE is a departure from what Accor is currently offering. It plays into the co-sharing space and disrupts traditional codes, blending the best of private-rental, hostel and hotel formats. Explaining the concept at WIT 2016 Conference in Singapore, Michael Issenberg, chairman and COO of Accor Asia Pacific, said JO&JOE is about bringing the community in. "Today when people travel, they want to have experiences. They don't want to just go to a waterfall; they want to experience the community. If we can bring the community into our hotels, it will better for our guests, and there will be opportunities for us to make more money." The concept of the new brand is to bring in the townsters (the locals) and the hipsters (savvy, younger experienced travellers) together to experience sharing, Issenberg said. JO&JOE offers various styles of accommodation to suit different types of travellers including those travelling solo, with families or as couples. Plans are to open 50 hotels by 2020 in destinations popular with Accor reimagines the way they serve customers today.

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