Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 9 COVER STORY Hotel Innovation A faster, easier way to pay, the implementation of WeChat Pay is squarely aimed at Chinese travellers. calling hotel staff on the telephone, these AI devices have voice recognition built right in. Guests will be able to adjust everything from temperatures to lighting just by speaking out loud — similar to consumer smart speakers like Apple Hyatt Hotels has some mixed news for martini lovers. Those who like their favourite cocktail to come with an olive on a plastic pick will have to get used to swirling their drink with something other than plastic. Hyatt is eliminating single-use plastic straws and drink picks after September 1 and eco-friendly alternatives will be provided where available. The war on plastic is backing up Hyatt's 2020 Environmental Sustainability Vision, which has already achieved results beyond expectations four years after launching. Nearly 100% of suppliers and distributors for Hyatt's procurement specialist Avendra now have sustainability policies in place. In 2017, Hyatt surpassed its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per square metre by 25% in all regions when compared to 2006. Fitness centres at Hyatt hotels across North America now offer earbuds that are recyclable rather than single-use. In 2017, more than 80 participating Hyatt Last month, Centara Hotels & Resorts announced that it would begin accepting WeChat Pay transactions on its websites for all online room reservations — that's in addition to the 15 hotels that already have nearly 100 EDC devices for QR code scanning on WeChat Pay. For the uninitiated, it is easy to discount WeChat Pay as just Left: Users of existing smart speakers from the likes of Google and Amazon will feel right at home with IHG's AI-powered devices. to be Thailand's biggest source of inbound tourists. In 2018, for example, Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports is expecting more than 10 million Chinese tourists to travel to Thailand — that's nearly 15% of Thailand's entire population. With that many expected Chinese tourists in the coming years, most of them with WeChat Pay no less, integrating the payment platform onto their website is not only a smart move HomePod or Amazon Echo. And because nearly everything in the room is connected to the AI device, there are preset modes that guests can summon as well. For example, if you're ready for bed, tell it to the device and the lights will be dimmed, the curtains will be drawn and the temperature adjusted to just to level — all fully automatic. This initiative is more than just bells and whistles, too. For IHG, this means fewer personnel manning requests and inquiries around the clock. Information is also disseminated to respective departments, so that the kitchen would know exactly what the guests ordered, or the housekeeper team would know exactly what amenities need to be replenished. For now, only guests staying at InterContinental Beijing Sanlitun and InterContinental Guangzhou Exhibition Center will get to try out these nifty AI tricks. However, IHG has plans to integrate the system in a total of 100 Club InterContinental suites at InterContinental hotels in gateway cities and key destinations across China within the year. Hyatt Hotels A Toast to Planet Earth Hyatt has introduced a cocktail of eco-friendly initiatives in its bars and restaurants. PHOTO CREDIT: IGORR1/GETTYIMAGES hotels contributed to nearly 65,000 pairs of recycled earbuds. "Eliminating plastic straws and drink picks builds on the environmental sustainability programmes we have in place and further drives our global efforts to reduce environmental impact," said Frank Lavey, senior vice president, global operations for Hyatt. "Our commitment doesn't stop with straws and drink picks. We will continue exploring viable alternatives everywhere we can." This move away from single-use plastics builds on efforts already underway across Hyatt's global portfolio. Other initiatives include minimising and diverting food waste, sourcing responsibly, and reducing water and energy consumption. Additionally, 2018 marks 10 years of Hyatt's collaboration with Clean the World, a non-profit that collects used soap and shampoo products from hotels, recycles them, and then donates them to communities in need. for Centara, it is future-proof. Thirayuth Chirathivat, Centara's CEO, said, "A seamless payment experience for consumers using any channel is an element of our platform for expansion, which should see us double both revenue and the number of our properties over the next five years. As consumer behavior evolves, Centara has adopted an omni- channel strategy to stay relevant and to provide a great customer experience. We embrace these types of disruptive opportunities to better serve our guests and stay on top of the industry." Centara Hotels & Resorts A New Way to Pay another mode of payment. However, consider the size of WeChat's user base and it quickly becomes evident just how big the move is for Centara. As of Q1 of 2018, WeChat had one billion active monthly users worldwide, with 900 million of them checking the app on a day-to-day basis. In fact, of the one billion active monthly users, 90% of them are from China, which also happens

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