Heads heard: Andrew Cosslett.

 

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 September 16

 

Heads heard: Andrew Cosslett.

 

Paraphrased and unsynchronised comments from Andrew Cosslett, CEO of InterContinental Hotels:

 

-We have a big system to drive all the demand there is. The downturn will last at least through most of this year if not into 2010. There will be many more brands. We have been removing 25,000 hotel rooms a year in Holiday Inn, mainly in the US, and so with the number of new HIs opening we will have a new group in a few years’ time.

 

-[On why InterContinental is selling most of its hotels.] Well, for example, Singapore Airlines does not build its own planes. [Yes, but it does own them...]

 

-[On why so many hotel brands.] Look at the car industry. They have so many brands and many provide facilities we did not even know we needed. And all packaged in a way to make it attractive to us. [Mixing the troubled car business into something that sounds similar to the sub-prime financial packaging, and saying this is a good example, seems untimely at best.]

 

-We think we need to know more about sleep – because these days the business traveller gets has less downtime. [Although we do not agree with much of what Cosslett says, this is smart thinking. A hotel room needs to have more facilities which support the 'travel lifestyle' of a key market segment. This could be, for instance, an easy chair with facilities for working on a laptop (a movable rest for the computer) and facing the television, so that the guest can work, relax and watch TV screen at the same time.]

 

 

The Fox

Gabriele Burgio. Head of NH Hoteles.

 

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 September 14

 

Gabriele Burgio. Head of NH Hoteles.

 

Paraphrased:

 

-60% of our growth comes from acquisitions. In theory, hotels are cheap as a result of the crisis, but this is not reflected in the prices currently asked – except in the stock price of companies that are quoted in the stock market. We have not seen opportunities; maybe some will come.

 

-We bought a hotel company in Italy [Jolly], but in general Italy is not doing well. There has been a severe drop in tourists in Rome, and there have been a lot of special problems. Like for like, Italy is losing at least 5%. We are relaunching in Italy – we had stopped marketing.

 

-We have abandoned the ‘EdeNH’ [sic] brandname because there were too many ‘Eden’ hotels in the world; not EdeNH, but it was causing complications nevertheless. What speaks is the resort itself, so our top hotels will have a name, not necessarily NH. [When EdeNH was introduced, we said it would not last because it could not be pronounced, in Spanish or English.]

 

-We have a special hotel in Milan, with which we will launch our new brandname, ‘NHow’. And we plan to open a NHow in Berlin in the second part of this year. [I think the NHow brandname is particularly good - as good as EdeNH was bad.]

 

-There are plenty of expansion opportunities in Latin America. We have five new hotels in Mexico, plus Colombia and Panama. For instance, Buenos Aires has huge potential. We could have 50 hotels there; after all, we have 42 in Madrid. But we are not interested in new regions such as Asia Pacific, because we don’t have enough resources.

 

-Our focus is on corporate clients. Our main markets are Spain, Germany, then Italy. We do surprisingly well in Germany. One survey showed that we are the second brand of choice for German travellers in Germany, and the 7th for German travellers in the world.

 

-Distribution – travel agencies, intermediaries, companies – is complex. There is no solution; you just have to understand it, and have the right management; it is like mixing hot and cold water in a shower.

 

 

The Fox

Hire education. Geoffrey Lipman.

 

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 September 12

 

Hire education. Geoffrey Lipman.

 

He is no longer Mr Geoffrey Lipman, but Professor Lipman. By custom, the recipient of an honorary degree – this one was awarded by the Griffith University in Queensland – does not use the title in this way. But Lipman is, well, Lipman.

 

He founded and headed WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council), now widely accepted as the top-level link between the travel business and governments. He could even be credited with creating the (admittedly superfluous) multiple-noun ‘travel and tourism’. We suspect T&T because he could hardly call his WTTC merely WTC – too close to rival WTO.

 

After leaving WTTC, Lipman busied himself with other activities and associations, but did not achieve the success he had with WTTC. He then moved into (you could say “moved onto”) the World Tourism Organization.

 

He has never been a success in business; only with associations.

 

He is now assistant secretary-general at the WTO, and has built this (new; his creation) position into an important one. In many ways, he has been the leader, leaving WTO’s head Francesco Frangialli to be what he was best at – administration.

 

But with headmaster-Frangialli going, formally, end of last month, could the professor get expelled? Or will he try to stay on as deputy headmaster, or even try to become headmaster?

 

(In one sense he must hurry. He is a UK national, and the WTO has an archaic rule that its staff must be nationals of a WTO member. Visit Britain is a member but – to WTO’s embarrassment – is resigning only two years after rejoining.)

 

Discuss.

 

The Fox

PAGPFT (pronounced PAG-puffed); People Are Getting Paid For This.

 

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 September 09

 

PAGPFT (pronounced PAG-puffed); People Are Getting Paid For This.

 

-This story is a little complex, so I have omitted certain parts. I was travelling Melbourne-Rome on Qantas with a day-long stopover in Hong Kong. Leaving Hong Kong on British Airways I had a single-bag allowance.

 

But ex-Australia, one of my two bags missed a connection, and was to be delivered hours before my departure from Hong Kong. BA would not relent; I could not check in the 2nd bag (which normally fits into the first suitcase). The supervisor even suggested that I could take the second bag as cabin baggage. If I would get past first controls in HK, I would not get past others.

 

This is another example of ‘empowerment’ gone wrong – empowerment to make bad decisions.

 

 

-For health control in Hong Kong, we had been asked to complete a form – for identification for swine flu. The form asked me for ‘Flight Number’, so I prepared that document. When my turn came at the desk, the agent asked “Seat Number Please”. I now realise that the words “Flight Number” really mean “Flight Number and Seat Number”. I should have guessed.

 

 

-Am I spoiling the fun to point out that sealing bags for duty-free goods is not really safe? It would be rather simple for terrorists to make their own sealed bags – or simply buy them from a rogue employee.

 

 

-Finally, I hear that Qantas has changed its safety announcement. Before it said about aircraft seating, that “every aircraft is different”. In an earlier column, The Fox pointed out that this was wrong. Qantas has now changed it to “every aircraft type is different”, as I suggested. I won’t be a curmudgeon to point out that although this is now technically correct, isn’t it sort-of silly? It is simply a more sophisticated way of saying “different aircraft are different”.

 

 

The Fox

London PAGPFT (pronounced PAG-puffed); People Are Getting Paid For This.

 

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

 

2009 September 07

 

London PAGPFT (pronounced PAG-puffed); People Are Getting Paid For This.

 

-Transferring at London Heathrow, international-to-international, I passed four signs asking me to ‘Show Boarding Pass’, so I prepared that document. When my turn came at the desk, the agent asked “Passport Please”. I now realise that the words “Show Boarding Pass” really mean “Show Passport and Boarding Pass”. I should have guessed.

 

 

-Some authorities need an Editor. Who was the person who got paid for a decision to change the word ‘Immigration’ to ‘Border Control’? I accept that BC is well understood by say 75% of people who arrive in the UK, but that compares with 95% that I reckon understand ‘Immigration’.

 

 

-Someone else who needs an Editor – A British Airways on-board announcement talks of “dedicated coaches” for transfer passengers to other terminals. Are “dedicated coaches” actually “enthusiastic helpers”, or would using the word “buses” be understood by more people?

 

 

-French-language translation of security warning at London Heathrow is wrong. It advises that ‘baggage abandonee’ will be destroyed, but the warning is not for baggage abandoned, it is actually for ‘baggage non-supervisee’.

 

 

-The aviation industry has security problems with passengers making direct transfers, particularly when they have bought duty-free liquor – which is cleared at the departure airport, but not at a transfer airport. But I came across something odd the other day. I was not allowed to buy liquor in a sealed bag from Hong Kong airport if I was making a transfer at London. But I found I was allowed if I bought liquor in a sealed bag on board British Airways. If there is a difference in security, it is minor. This sounds more like a commercial arrangement; BA has made an agreement with security for special clearance. I propose this loophole is closed – in the interests of security.

 

 

 

The Fox

WTO. A STEP too far?

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 July 16

 

WTO. A STEP too far?

 

A report in eTurbo News, which concentrates on the travel business despite its name, has run a report on WTO’s STEP* program. I have copied this in its entirety, making only light sub-editing changes.

 

World Tourism Organization affiliated offices (Osaka and Korea) were recently audited with regards to the various programs that are using the WTO logo. In the words, of Taleb Rifai, WTO’s incoming secretary general, “A lot of controversy was centred on the STEP Foundation.” Find out why and what he intends to do to rectify the situation in the exclusive chat with eTN.

 

 

eTN: The audit highlights that STEP hasn’t really fulfilled its promise.

Rifai: I believe this is a little bit unfair to the STEP foundation. I think what the report outlined is that decisions were taken by the foundation that were not completely clear or in line or consistent with what the secretariat was doing. Or, the other side of the story is that the secretariat was not completely aware or the STEP Foundation did not get from the secretariat what it really needed. To conclude that the foundation was not able to fulfil its role when it’s only less than two and a half years old with a mandate such as eliminating poverty is a little bit unfair. I think they did a lot, they were able to raise money, and they were able to produce very significant, small, but impactful projects. It’s not the output that is at question here, it is the management of the governance model that is at question.

 

 

eTN: How much influence does Korea have currently on the management of STEP, in that they donated US$5mn?

Rifai: That is exactly the point: Is STEP a Korean foundation or a UNWTO* foundation? It’s neither. This is where the confusion is. From the principle point of view, it is not a Korean foundation; it’s a UNWTO foundation. From a practical and realistic point of view, the kind of relationship that has developed throughput the last two years was not one that enabled us at UNWTO or the foundation to clearly say who is running the show. It’s a management challenge, not a challenge of substance.

 

 

eTN: How do you meet the challenge of transparency?

Rifai: By clearly defining where we stand. And I am more in favour of saying of going one of two clear paths: either we say that absolutely and completely a part and partial of UNWTO and we manage it, we direct it, we appoint the people in charge, we audit it, and we make sure all programs are consistent with our programs or we say no, let’s respect the integrity of each one of these organisations. This is a Korean organisation and they have absolutely every right to utilise their money or other people’s money. It’s a foundation registered in Korea, and we operate as a secretariat with them in accordance to a memorandum of understanding that defines the roles of each and every one of them.

 

 

eTN: So which one is it?

Rifai: Which one are we going to put in place? Well, I am simply saying as the person in-charge of the secretariat I am ready to live with either of those options depending what the Korean government would prefer. What I am not ready to live with is anything in between.

 

 

eTN: I am still confused. So, who then decides?

Rifai: We definitely have to decide on this, but we cannot decide alone. We have to sit down with the people from Korea, with the foundation people and we say this is one model and this is the other model. I, from the secretariat perspective, am ready to live with either model. I am ready to live with a model that says this is yours, you take care of it. If we take care of it, then have to completely direct it and completely control it. If the Korean partners wish a different level of autonomy or a different level of operation, then I would respect the fact that this would remain an independent organization.

 

 

eTN: Then STEP would not be a WTO initiative.

Rifai: Absolutely. It would be a STEP Foundation without neither using our name nor our logo, but absolutely one that works with us on joint projects and can very easily say that they are a foundation that is working in association with the UNWTO whichever the formula is. But, not this confused model, of neither part of us, nor independent from us.

 

 

eTN: Why was this not defined from day one?

Rifai: You know, you start with good intentions and you try to move along to see how things develop. Many issues that are on the table now were probably not anticipated. And this is just not with the STEP Foundation, you know. With the Center of Excellence in Montreal we faced the same issue and we settled it in one very clear direction. This is a center that is based in Montreal, funded by the government of Canada, it is an independent center, has its own program. We have absolutely no control or any desire to control its budget and management team, but we are engaged with them on a three years memorandum of understanding which defines the interface between us. Once the three years is over, we either re-new or modify this understanding or we don’t. So, the model is clear.

 

 

eTN: There’s talk within media circles that former WTO secretary general Frangialli is going to head STEP, can you confirm this?

Rifai: Well, the current board of directors of the STEP Foundation did recommend naming Francesco Frangialli as president of the foundation. They did take such a decision. This decision has not become active yet. So in that sense, yes, I confirm, they took this decision. The board of the foundation took the decision, but I think all of this will have to be seen in the light of how we decide on the relationship with STEP. That has to be done before the general assembly in October. If we go to the option of STEP is an independent foundation that is free to decide who are the members of its board, who is its president, how to run their accounting, their budgets, their programs and their plans, they are free to choose whoever they want to be president or head of this foundation. If, on the other hand, the model is different, this whole realm of this decision will have to come back to the secretariat and will have to be reviewed in that light.

 

 

eTN: Is it a bit unfair to those who have donated to STEP who did so under the premise that it is under the WTO umbrella? Now you’re saying that you’re ready to relinquish the control to Korea if it becomes an independent organization. How would you justify this to those who have donated?

Rifai: I have to clarify one thing – the STEP Foundation is a part of the STEP Initiative. People that have donated to the STEP Initiatives have donated in majority of donations outside of the STEP Foundations, directly with us. Organizations like SNV, Italian government, French government. All of these initiatives were operated under our direct management, not the management of the STEP Foundation. The fact is, the funds and donation of the foundation continue to remain primarily those of Korea. So, no funds from other donors have gone into the budget of the foundation as such. So there is absolutely no effect on our relationship with the foundation and how it develops. There’s no effect on any other projects and other donations. We have a department within UNWTO that is working with other partners other than the foundation on STEP Initiatives. STEP is a concept. It is not just a foundation.

 

 

eTN: So what’s STEP as a foundation, what has it done? Its achievements?

Rifai: It has done two very important things. First, it has raised the most substantial amount of money by the Korean government, which has encouraged others, in principle, to buy into this idea, and, of course, through the funds raised in the foundation we were able to execute the largest number of projects. The foundation commissioned us as secretariat to be executors of this project, just like UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) or the World Bank. In that regard, they have contributed. The second most important part that the foundation has contributed to is raising the awareness of the potential impact and the potential of tourism vis-a-vis poverty alleviation on the level of awareness and consciousness they have done a great deal and I must give them credit for that.

 

 

eTN: So the US$5mn was used to raise awareness?

Rifai: And implement projects. We have over US$2.5-$3mn that went directly into projects.

 

 

 

eTN: Can you name some of those projects?

Rifai: Oh, absolutely. We have 54 projects in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. I can provide you with complete lists of those. Ethiopia, Senegal, Mali, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Vietnam.

*STEP = Sustaining Tourism, Eliminating Poverty. UNWTO = WTO abbreviates its fullname, World Tourism Organization, as UNWTO.

 

 

 

China; new hotels, new style

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 June 08

 

China; new hotels, new style

 

As the hotel sector in Beijing matures, three newly-opened hotels mark a change in style:

 

 

[] The 43-room Aman at Summer Palace (Aman Resorts’ first in China) is a conversion of a 19th-century palace just outside the wall of the Summer Palace’s Garden of Harmonious Interests in the northern tip of the park.

 

The Summer Palace is a Unesco heritage site, and until recently Beijing authorities would have been wary of allowing a hotel development – however sensitive the design may be – in the vicinity.

 

 

[] The 99-room Opposite House (of the Swire Hotels group) is a modern design by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, in Sanlitun, Beijing’s popular bar and restaurant area.

 

With an exterior covered in emerald-coloured glass, and restaurants and bars by top international chefs, the hotel is targeting the top end market with rack rates starting at US$472 (Y3220).

 

 

[] The minimalist 55-room boutique hotel, The Emperor, is the first urban hotel in China with membership of Design Hotels (a representation and marketing group). 

 

Close to Tiananmen Square and surrounded by traditional Chinese low-rise houses and courtyards, the hotel has a classic Chinese-style exterior, but contemporary orange and white interiors, and a glass-floored restaurant serving so-called fusion food.

 

 

The Fox

PAGPFT. Air Asia; UK (Birmingham/Stansted airports, King’s X/St Pancras stations); Francesco Frangialli, ex-WTO; casino in Lao.

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 May 25

 

PAGPFT. Air Asia; UK (Birmingham/Stansted airports, King’s X/St Pancras stations); Francesco Frangialli, ex-WTO; casino in Lao.

 

PAGPFT (pronounced PAG-puffed); People Are Getting Paid For This:

 

-Air Asia. Special Offer on its menu: ‘Buy 1; Get 1”. Times must be hard if that counts as a special offer.

 

-From the south via the M6, Birmingham airport has no road access signs – none – until the airport is in sight. There has been new road directions to the airport for three years so this is not ignorance, but simply nobody in power with commonsense to make the change. I estimate 100 people daily are asking directions of others.

 

-Stansted airport has introduced a passenger-punishing scheme – for those collecting passengers at the airport. Drivers are forbidden – on pain of a fine – to pick up passengers where they might drop them off. Drivers must – note, must; there is no other option – go into an area that costs US$3 to enter, and stay, for 15 minutes. How many can time to 15 minutes the availability of an arriving passenger? Worse, if drivers exceed the 15 minutes, they pay a fine – not just the extra time. This is clearly a trick to raise money – to hell with passenger service. On this alone, we think BAA should be booted out of Stansted. We agree with devising ways of increasing revenue, but not with trickery such as this.

 

-St Pancras railway station – the ticket-office is not included on the new information board, where you press a button to locate facilities and services. But the platforms are shown…

 

-King’s Cross railway station is probably heading the same passenger-punishing way. It has an internal dispute among the professionals redesigning the place about where lifts should be placed for passengers. Answer; lifts are almost worse than hopeless in big traveller centres such as airports and railway stations; an escalator is needed if level-changing cannot easily be avoided. And those professionals wanted to preserve an iron bridge with clock (because it was a fine example of an iron bridge with clock). It could not be incorporated into the new design, so it was painstakingly removed (over three days) to be placed in…er…nobody wanted it. Everybody wanted to preserve it, but nobody wanted it; welcome to the world. Anyone interested in a fine example of an iron bridge with clock?

 

-A hagiography on Francesco Frangialli, ex-head of World Tourism Organisation, in one of WTO’s publications was headed “Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General (1998-2008)”. This means FF was born in 1998 and died in 2008. I can offer free (well, almost) lessons on English-language presentations should the WTO be interested.

 

-And finally, someone who deserves to get paid. A casino just across the border with Thailand in Lao is called…Lao Vegas.

 

 

The Fox

Air Asia. Fly away – on another airline.

 

FOXTROTS

 

Fox – sly.  Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning. 

Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

 

2009 May 14

 

Air Asia. Fly away – on another airline.

 

AA needs to get back control of its Thai associate, Thai Air Asia. When times were going well, the problems were not there. I doubt AA has the corporate power to control TAA, but it should be working on damage control.

 

Here are some experiences which lead me to believe this story will have an unhappy ending:

 

1. On a recent trip, both my booked flights were cancelled, and I was rebooked on a flight later in the day. This practice enables it to avoid paying any compensation, even for those insured.

 

2. Even the combined flights were not full, maybe 70% loads.

 

3. The airline advised me in a “reconfirmation” email – in which the new flight and timing was given. Nowhere did TAA say my flight had been cancelled. That is fraud.

 

4. The first time this happened, I did not read all the email (because it said ‘reconfirmation’), so I turned up for my originally-booked flight and had to wait at the airport for the new flight.

 

5. Some TAA planes are visibly tired – to the extent of peeled paint around the engines, rough finger-marked filler around windows etc inside the plane. Making one wonder about the bits not visible – are the engines held together by string? One plane looked like an accident waiting to happen – not a comfortable thing to say about a plane.

 

6. One hour before scheduled departure time, on both flights, the departure board read ‘Final Call. When I went to the gate for my first flight – in case timing had been changed again – boarding had not even started. Staff just wanted to get people to the gate early. I was a quick learner; on my second flight, I simply waited until they called for me to board. I questioned the ground crew and they affirmed that the idea was to get people to the gate early to help an on-time departure.

 

7. Overall, TAA relives the old image where cheap flights were operated by airlines offering basic services in old much-used planes – sunken seats, non-working lights, peeled faded signs in the toilets from their other lives, and grubby appearance. Welcome on board TAA!

 

 

The Fox

Breaking China. Travel numbers.

FOXTROTS

Fox – sly. Trots – left-leaning (Trotsky) plus its more insalubrious meaning.
Foxtrots – leading the industry in a dance.

2009 April 25

Breaking China. Travel numbers.

We have become used to fast growth for China – both inbound and outbound travel. Well, not everything goes up for ever.

China’s inbound travel in 2008 fell – totals have not yet been finalised but around 7%. In fact, much of this decline was self-inflicted. Before the Summer Olympic games in August, China formally tightened its visa policies – partly as a result of the Tibet disturbances, and partly to avoid problems during the Games.

We know of perhaps the most-extreme case, when the (foreign) person responsible for security during the Games was refused entry! (This happened about two months before August; we presume he was eventually accepted.)

Meanwhile, outbound travel by Chinese citizens appears to be still growing fast, even if less fast than before. In 2007, the total increased 19% to 41mn. And according to our calculations, it increased 9% in 2008.

But don’t get too excited about those big numbers; most of them are heading just across the border to Hong Kong and Macau.

The Fox