Northstar

TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA O F F I C I A L D A I L I E S www.travelweekly-asia.com 21 27 October 2017 Global business travel spend is expected to grow at 5.8 percent over the next five years till 2020. And Asia remains the shining star. What are the trends that you see having an impact on hotel bookings? What this means for hotel bookings is that demand is increasing in the midst of an optimistic market with mergers and acquisitions, while policies regarding hotel cancellation is a current hot topic. These trends pose both challenges and opportunities, and in order for corporate clients, TMCs and hotel partners to work well together, we need to have the following criteria in place: • Flexibility in considering independent hotels • Consolidate booking for negotiation of rates • Better communication with travellers to avoid last-minute cancellations Hotels, on their part, need to practise flexibility in their policies, especially for large-volume corporate clients; leverage market data to provide flexible rates and room availability; and provide customised service based on client loyalty. Technology and the AI revolution. How do you see this affecting HRS as well as corporate travel planners? AI technology affects everyone and is everywhere in the world. To name an example, the Chinese digital payment economy is massive and growing. The leading digital payment services, Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay, processed a combined $2.9 trillion in 2016, according to reports from the UN- based "Better Than Cash Alliance"— a 20-fold increase in just four years. For corporate travel planners, there will be more online corporate business management instead of the traditional approach; end-to-end solutions such as online-sourcing, online/mobile search and booking and smart data analysis are in demand. As the leading global hotel solution supplier, HRS follows a clear objective: Achieving savings for companies and high traveller satisfaction. To achieve this objective, HRS has continuously been putting efforts on the research and development of AI technology for the hotel management for decades. Whether it's booking, sourcing or data analysis, HRS provides the end-to-end solution for clients by leveraging on future-sighted technology. Backed by our established Innovation Hub for Berlin and Asia Pacific (based in Shanghai), HRS will continually develop intelligent new products; we launched new solutions to facilitate multisourcing and intelligent sourcing this year. In this way, HRS is helping all industry partners to move confidently into the next level in this rapid AI transformation era. With ships getting bigger and heavier, how will Royal Caribbean meet the demand for more unique ports of call while working within the constraints of port development in Asia? As an example, our company is collaborating with Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) in a joint venture to upgrade and improve Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) in Georgetown, Penang, to accommodate berthing of larger cruise ships at its facilities. Plans for the facilities include extension of the existing berths to 688 metres from its current length of 400 metres. This will enable the terminal to berth two mega cruise liners carrying over 4,900 passengers each at any one time. Philippines is one of the destinations that will feature Royal Caribbean's presence in Asia. Do elaborate on your plans. To meet the growing demand from the Asian and international markets, we have identified Subic Bay as one of the new destinations for our itineraries as it has potential to be a conventional cruise ship destination. It will of course complement our popular routes to Manila and Boracay. Our itineraries for year-end and 2018 will feature that in addition to Manila and Boracay. We have sailings for: Celebrity Millennium (2158 guests) on November 12 and 26 this year to Manila and Boracay; Voyager of the Seas (4,269 guests) on July 18, 2018 to Manila; Ovation of the Seas (4,905 guests) on June 6, 2018 to Subic Bay and on October 7, 2018 to Manila and Boracay; Celebrity Constellation Sean Treacy, managing director, Asia Pacific, Royal Caribbean Cruises ROYAL CARIBBEAN SETS THE PACE (2170 guests) on February 10, 2018 to Manila and Boracay; and Azamara Quest (690 guests) on October 4, 2019 to Coron, Palawan, Boracay Island & Manila. Royal Caribbean sailings and capacity in Southeast Asia have been increasing. And with the Quantum Class ships dazzling the market in Asia, how do you see Royal Caribbean churning more waves in the next few years? Our brand Royal Caribbean International is currently in its longest ever Southeast Asian season with 76 sailings offered on three ships (Mariner of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas). The next season will also start in September like this year, with Voyager of the Seas. Come 2019, the new Quantum Ultra class ship Spectrum of the Seas will be arriving in Asia. Spectrum of the Seas will be the next evolution of the cruise line's ground-breaking and high-tech Quantum class of ships placing the ship in a new class of her own. The revolutionary Quantum Ultra ship will feature cutting-edge and unprecedented experiences and amenities. Longer sailings, exotic destinations and ground-breaking ships are in the works to meet strong demand in Asia, shares Sean Treacy, managing director, Asia Pacific, Royal Caribbean Cruises. Kimi Jiang, vice president of APAC, HRS HRS INVESTS IN INNOVATION Staying ahead of the curve means providing practical solutions with a high-tech touch, shares Kimi Jiang, vice president of APAC, HRS NEWS BY BY ESTHER FAITH LEW

• Cover