WTTC Spotlights Importance of Women’s Involvement in Travel and Tourism for Global Sector Growth

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) highlighted the importance of women’s participation in travel and tourism at the Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.

According to the global tourism body, women constitute 54 percent of the workforce. And while Travel & Tourism provides accessible opportunities for women, it also faces disparities such as lower pay and job security. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a loss of 62 million jobs in Travel & Tourism, most of these females.

The event served as a platform to address challenges faced by women in the Travel & Tourism sector, explore strategies to overcome them, and ways to inspire change and promote equal opportunities for women. The conference also emphasized the vital importance of mentorship programs for younger women to unlock their potential for economic transformation through networking, opportunity and resources.

Panel discussions focused on challenges faced by women in various aspects of the business, including barriers to entry, operational obstacles, and ecosystem limitations.

In her conference address, Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said “It is proven that companies that have 50% women in their leadership make more money. This makes even more sense in travel and tourism where women make the buying decisions on where to go on holiday. It also makes good sense to employ women in senior roles; why would you exclude access to 50% of global talent.”

She added that “Rwanda has a great track record with a majority of women MPs in the Parliament. President Kagame addressed the Women Deliver for the first time held in Africa, with real passion and a track record of gender equality.  Putting women center stage in Travel & Tourism will ensure a better future for the sector and the global economy. Currently, more than half of the sector is made up of women. By addressing the barriers and inequalities they face, we can unlock immense potential and drive sustainable growth. The ‘Women Deliver’ event serves as a catalyst for change, bringing together sector leaders, policymakers, and advocates to work collectively towards a more diverse and prosperous future.”

WTTC remains committed to advocating for gender equality, working closely with its members, governments, and industry partners to foster an environment where women have equal opportunities to excel, lead, and shape the future of the travel and tourism sector.

The council continues to urge public and private sectors to play their part in promoting women’s participation in the Travel & Tourism sector. In addition, governments should adopt policies promoting women in senior management, such as mandatory quotas for publicly listed companies and state-owned enterprises. The private sector should also offer targeted professional development programs for women and create networking and mentoring opportunities.

Source: travelpulse

Kenyan passport climbs six positions in latest global rankings

The Kenyan passport has improved six places in the global mobility ranking to position 67, up from the 73rd place it ranked in January while moving one step up in the continent to occupy the seventh most powerful position.

The Henley Passport Index Report released on Wednesday further shows that the number of countries that Kenyans can visit without a visa, or obtain one on arrival, increased to 76 from 73 in January.

The mobility score measures the number of countries that a person holding a given country’s passport can visit without possessing a visa or the nations where they can get a visa on arrival.

Mauritius, which has maintained its top position on the continent, improved five places in the global rank to hold position 29, showing that holders can visit 148 countries visa-free.

It was followed by South Africa (51), Botswana (58), Namibia (62), Lesotho (64) and eSwatini, with Kenya toppling Malawi which came 68th position in the globe. Tanzania emerged position 69 while Zambia and Uganda came positions 70 and 72 respectively.

Singapore dislodged Japan from the world’s top rank, allowing visa-free users to access 192 countries, followed by Germany, Italy and Spain, which all came position two at 190 each.

Afghanistan’s passport ranks the lowest, only allowing holders to visit 27 countries visa-free. It comes immediately below Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, among others, in that order.

Kenya’s document’s boost is attributed to a government deal inked with its South African and Eritrean counterparts to remove visa travel restrictions.

The strength is set to improve after the Senegalese government this week agreed to allow Kenyans to tour the country without visa requirements.

In 2015, Kenya first made public the decision to roll out new chip-embedded passports for its citizens in efforts aimed at taming rampant forgery and impersonation of holders.

The electronic passport was initially to be launched in December 2016, but the unveiling was over the years extended several times.

The government, however, finally set last December as the deadline for phasing out the old generation passports, with the move being part of a binding commitment to migrate to the new East African e-passport.

Source: The East African

RwandAir Reveals Plans to Fly Daily to London Heathrow This Winter

RwandAir has announced its plans to almost double the number of flights that it operates between Kigali and London, increasing from four flights a week to a daily rotation. The new schedule will come into operation at the end of October, with the carrier keen to capitalize on extra demand while growing its European footprint.

Daily overnight flights

The services in both directions will operate overnight, with the outbound service departing RwandAir’s Kigali International Airport (KGL) base at 23:35 local time as flight number WB710. This flight will touch down at London Heathrow (LHR) at 06:20 the following morning, after a block time of eight hours and 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, after spending just over 14 hours on the ground, the aircraft will depart London Heathrow as flight number WB711 at 20:30 local time. The return leg is scheduled to be 15 minutes shorter, with its arrival at Kigali International scheduled eight hours and 30 minutes later, at 07:00 local time the following morning.

RwandAir will operate these new daily flights, which commence on October 29th this year, with Airbus A330 aircraft. According to a statement released by the Rwandan flag carrier, these have 30 business class and 244 economy class seats onboard, with the former of these cabins offering passengers lie-flat comfort.

Sub-£600 returns

Perhaps unsurprisingly, RwandAir is the only carrier operating direct flights on the aerial corridor between Kigali and London. Despite this monopoly, passengers will be able to buy return tickets for less than £600, with the airline noting that these “start from £587 [$755] in economy class and £2,199 [$2,827] in business class, including all taxes and charges.” RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo stated that: “London is an incredibly important market for RwandAir, so we are incredibly excited to be adding direct daily flights from our home in Kigali to London Heathrow. We know these new daily direct flights will offer customers the convenience and connectivity which they have long asked for, and look forward to welcoming more visitors to Rwanda.”

RwandAir is mainly targeting point-to-point traffic with these flights, noting that they will be ideal “for those looking to see mountain gorillas, experience Rwanda’s majestic scenery or go on a safari in Akagera National Park.” However, the airline has also identified the potential for them to accommodate connecting traffic, and adds that passengers from the UK can transfer to a myriad of destinations via Kigali.

RwandAir has served London for more than six years

It has now been over six years since RwandAir first flew to the British capital, with flights from Kigali to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) via Brussels having commenced in May 2017. Three years later, the success of the route prompted the carrier to switch from Gatwick to Heathrow, and, late last year, the flights became non-stop.

Source: Simpleflying

Bank of Tanzania (BoT) issues license to new DPO Pay

DPO Pay says it has been operating successfully throughout Africa since 2006 and was recently acquired by Network International.

Dar es Salaam. The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has permitted an African digital payments provider, DPO Pay, to operate as a Payment Service Provider in Tanzania, the company said in a statement yesterday.

The DPO is registered locally under One Payment Tanzania Limited.

The company has been licensed in line with the National Payment System Act, 2015 which requires all Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to undergo a rigorous license application process to provide payment services in Tanzania.

DPO Pay managing director, Judy Waruiru said the license highlight the firm’s commitment to compliance and regulatory standards.

“This milestone demonstrates our dedication to driving financial inclusion and economic growth in Tanzania, empowering businesses of all sizes to thrive in the digital era.

“We will continue to prioritise the security of transactions, adhering to stringent data protection protocols and industry best practices,” Ms Waruiru said in the statement.

DPO Pay says it has been operating successfully throughout Africa since 2006 and was recently acquired by Network International, a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

It has worked closely with regulators across the continent to obtain new licenses as requirements vary in each country to ensure secure and uninterrupted services for its merchants and partners.

DPO Pay has gained significant recognition and trust among prestigious business in various industries including hotels and resorts in Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, where it has extensive experience in the travel and tourism sector.

The company, the statement said, has established itself as the preferred payment solution for major merchants in the region, including industries such as Airlines, Hotels, online retailers and logistic companies.

With a firm focus on expanding its network, DPO Pay continues to seek collaboration with top-tier businesses and brands, and cater to the diverse needs of merchants across various industries.

The company’s robust security systems ensure that merchants and consumers can transact with confidence, safeguarding their sensitive information and maintaining the highest standards of integrity. With the recently updated DPO Pay Mobile app, merchants are able to collect and receive payments anywhere and anytime.

DPO Pay provides efficient payment solutions enabling businesses and individuals across the continent to accept both local and international payment options.

It has developed integrated payments technology to support businesses of all sizes in over 20 countries and accept payments securely and swiftly in multiple currencies and through diverse payment methods including cards, mobile money, bank transfers, USSD, and EFT.

Source: The Citizen

Air travel in Africa: Costly flights hold the continent back

Flying within Africa is more expensive than just about anywhere else in the world. Travellers pay higher ticket prices and more tax.

It is often cheaper to fly to another continent than to another African country.

For a quick comparison, flying from the German capital, Berlin, to Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, will probably set you back around $150 (£120) for a direct flight taking less than three hours.

But flying a similar distance, say between Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, you will be paying anything between $500 and $850, with at least one change, taking up to 20 hours.

This makes doing business within Africa incredibly difficult, and expensive – and it is not just elite travellers that are affected.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the global trade body representing some 300 airlines which make up about 83% of world air traffic – argues that if just 12 key countries in Africa worked together to improve connectivity and opened up their markets, it would create 155,000 jobs and boost those countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by more than $1.3bn.

“Aviation contributes directly to the GDP in every country. It generates work and it activates the economy,” says Kamil al-Awadhi, IATA’s regional vice-president for Africa and the Middle East.

Adefolake Adeyeye, an assistant professor of commercial law at the UK’s Durham University, agrees that Africa as a whole is missing out because of its poor air service.

“It’s been shown that air transport does boost the economy. As we’ve seen in other continents, budget airlines can improve connectivity and cost, which boosts tourism, which then creates many more jobs,” she says.

The poor quality of road networks and lack of railways in many African countries often makes air transport the practical choice for cargo too.

The climate emergency, which has severely impacted Africa, means everyone needs to be more careful about their carbon footprint and should aim to fly a lot less.

But even though around 18% of the world’s population lives in Africa, it accounts for less than 2% of global air travel and, according to the UN’s Environment Programme, just 3.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is in contrast to 19% from the US and 23% from China.

Africa may be rich in minerals and natural resources, but of the 46 nations on the UN’s Least Developed Countries list, 33 are on the continent, and poverty continues to be the biggest daily threat for millions of people on the continent.

But there is also a growing middle-class who could potentially travel by air if the tickets were priced at similar levels to Europe or elsewhere.

“Every government in Africa wants to see their flag on the tail of an aircraft at Heathrow or JFK”, Zemedeneh Negatu, Global chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund.

African states have been trying for decades to integrate the aviation sector, but they haven’t been successful, yet.

“There needs to be a coherent strategy by Africa to address the issue of its poor air service if they want to transform Africa’s economies,” says Zemedeneh Negatu, the global chairman of US-based investment firm Fairfax Africa Fund.

He says that flights within Africa are still structured around cumbersome bilateral agreements from one country to the next, and that most flag-carrying state airlines in Africa barely cover their costs, while some even run at a loss.

“Every government in Africa wants to see their flag on the tail of an aircraft at Heathrow or JFK airport, but African governments need to realise that stand alone carriers are not viable.”

Mr Zemedeneh argues that African airlines should take inspiration from Europe and form major partnerships, such as between flag-carriers Air France and KLM of The Netherlands, and the Anglo-Spanish International Airlines Group (IAG) formed between British Airways and Iberia.

He says even in the rich market of Europe, conglomeration is the way forward for airliners to survive, and provide a cheaper more reliable service.

The current system in Africa is very fragmented, and although 35 countries are signed up to the Single African Air Transport Market, an African Union (AU) initiative to free up the skies to African airlines and bring down costs, it could be years before it’s implemented.

IATA’s Mr Awadhi says governments are reluctant to work together.

“There is a hard-headedness where each state thinks they know how to handle it better and will stick to their remedies even when they are not very effective,” he says.

“In the end it’s a business and there is a level of protectionism that starts to hurt the aviation industry. Then there is no benefit to having your own national carrier.”

There is one notable exception in Africa of an airline that is absolutely thriving, and that could provide a blueprint for others to copy – Ethiopian Airlines.

Just over 15 years ago the company employed about 4,000 people. Now that figure is over 17,000.

It is state-owned but run entirely as a commercial venture without government interference.

It has more than doubled the size of its fleet of cargo and passenger planes and has made Addis Ababa a regional hub, driving foreign currency into the Ethiopian capital, and boosting the country’s service industry.

At the turn of the millennium Ethiopia was one of the poorest countries in the world, now it’s one of the fastest growing economies.

Mr Zemedeneh, an Ethiopian-American who played a key role as an adviser to Ethiopian Airlines as it developed its strategy, says Ethiopian Airlines has played a part in that boom.

“Ethiopian Airlines generates millions of dollars in hard currency for the country, and it makes every Ethiopian proud that they have been able to create one of the most successful indigenous African-owned, African-operated, multinational companies,” he adds.

African travellers will be hoping these kinds of commercial successes will ultimately impact their airfares, bringing them down more in line with Europe or Asia – and that they can finally get to where they want to go more quickly and cheaply.

Source: BBC

Nairobi To Become IndiGo’s 27th International Destination

IndiGo has announced non-stop flights to Nairobi, Kenya, as part of its larger international expansion program. After commanding a massive lead in the domestic market, IndiGo has been actively pursuing its goal of overseas expansion. The airline previously announced its intention to expand to several new destinations in Africa and Central Asia, and Nairobi is part of that plan.

Hello, Nairobi!

IndiGo is set to start non-stop flights between Mumbai and Nairobi, which will become the budget carrier’s 27th international and 105th overall destination in the 6E network. The airline has opened the booking for these daily flights on its website, and the new service will begin on August 5th. This will be IndiGo’s first scheduled commercial service to Africa. Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales at IndiGo, commented,

“Kenya is our first destination country in Sub-Saharan Africa and encompasses Savannah, Lakelands, as well as mountain highlands…”

John Chirchir, A.g. CEO Kenya Tourism Board, feels this would be great for the tourism sector of the country and business in general. He added,

“This direct access to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city and a regional hub for business and travel, will provide leisure tourists, business visitors, and investors with a seamless connection to the destination, in addition to our national carrier, Kenya Airways … Through our joint marketing and sales campaigns, we strive to solidify Kenya’s appeal and attract more Indian travelers to explore its wonders.”

Competition

Africa has traditionally not featured heavily on the network maps of Indian carriers. Passenger demand for non-stop flights to the continent is mainly met by African airlines, but things are changing gradually.

Air India did start a non-stop flight between Ahmedabad and Nairobi as part of its repatriation mission during COVID called the Vande Bharat Mission. The airline now has thrice-weekly service to Nairobi from its Delhi hub.

IndiGo’s direct competition from Mumbai will come from Kenya Airways, which operates two daily services to Nairobi. The airline deploys its Boeing 737 aircraft on the route, offering 16 business and 129 economy class seats. It remains to be seen how IndiGo fares on this route eventually and if it enters any partnerships in the future for the markets in Kenya and Africa.

Big plans

Nairobi is part of IndiGo’s larger plan of international expansion. Earlier this month, the carrier announced the addition of six new destinations across Asia and Africa, connecting destinations such as Nairobi, Jakarta, Tashkent, and Baku, among others, in the coming months.

The carrier is also utilizing its codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines to offer its passengers convenient connections to the West. It currently provides connections to more than 30 destinations in Europe that offer access to countries including Scotland, Bulgaria, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Hungary, Denmark, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Malta, France, the Czech Republic, Israel, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal.

IndiGo has even expanded the codeshare agreement to destinations in the US, allowing access to New York, Boston, Chicago, and Washington via Istanbul, effective June 15th. Currently, IndiGo commands a share of more than 60% of the Indian domestic market and is preparing to bolster its international presence with these new services and codeshare connections.

Source: Simple Flying

Asante Rewards To Offer Status Match To Its Existing Air France-KLM Flying Blue Customers

Kenya Airways’ new loyalty program is hoping to attract its existing Flying Blue members.

It’s been exactly a month since Kenya Airways announced its new loyalty program, Asante Rewards. Simple Flying had the chance to speak to Julius Thairu, Chief Commercial & Product Officer at Kenya Airways, about what the future will look like and the first steps in the public rollout. Membership will be key, and Thairu is hoping some of the airline’s most loyal customers will try out, and stick to, Asante.

Existing members welcome

For nearly two decades, Kenya Airways customers were invited to make their loyalty accounts at Air France-KLM‘s Flying Blue, one of the many agreements under their joint venture. However, as that deal wound down, the carrier decided it was time to regionalize its loyalty scheme and reward members closer to home. But there’s no point in creating all this infrastructure if you can’t get the high spenders over.

Thairu noted that the status match is only available to those who joined Flying Blue through Kenya Airways, so Asante is not competing with the program. Alliances avoid trying to poach members from their own ranks, but since Asante is new, Flying Blue customers have the chance to join two programs at the same elite level.

Thairu emphasized that this offer is only for those who joined through Kenya Airways and have a majority of their flying with the carrier in the region. Notably, these members will be status matched instantly and be given a lower tier threshold to renew their status for the next year as well. You also will not lose your Flying Blue status, the same as any match offer.

Details being sketched out

Asante Rewards is very much in its infancy and is slowly building out its core features, including earning and spending miles with partners. On this, Thairu noted that the program is in close contact with Air France, KLM, and Delta to draw out its first distance-based award charts. This can be a major factor in influencing members to join, with cheaper reward tickets being the best to generate interest.

However, for those living in Kenya or flying with Kenya Airways primarily, Asante promises to provide more regional benefits as one of Africa’s only major loyalty programs. Expect partnerships with local retailers, online portals, and other avenues to increase your mileage balance on a daily basis. While it will be a long road to becoming a full-fledged program, it is promising to see work done toward developing Asante.

To earn status, members can also just fly with Kenya Airways (KQ), with no minimum points needed. Here are the requirements:

  • Silver Elite: 15,000 points or 12 flights on KQ or partners
  • Gold Elite Plus: 30,000 points or 25 flights
  • Platinum Elite Plus: 60,000 points or 50 flights

Asante hasn’t listed out the definition of partners, but it’s likely only flights carrying KQ’s code. While 50 sectors is ambitious, 12 or 25 flights for frequent flyers is quite achievable and perhaps an easy path to unlocking SkyTeam Elite Plus benefits.

Source: Simple Flying

#DubaiDestinations campaign launched to showcase city’s top summer attractions

Campaign seeks to showcase the city’s unique charm as a summer destination to audiences across the world through engaging storiesDubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) held its first ‘City Briefing’ of the year on June 15.

DUBAI: Under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council, the #DubaiDestinations campaign has rolled out its latest phase inviting residents and tourists to embark on a new journey to discover Dubai’s offerings in the warmer months of the year.

The collaborative campaign, implemented by Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), seeks to showcase the city’s unique charm as a summer destination to audiences across the world through engaging stories.

The current season of the #DubaiDestinations campaign, running until the end of August, will showcase the city’s top-rated experiences in the summer and its distinctive attractions ranging from serene beach destinations and exciting indoor activities to thrilling waterparks and picturesque hotels.

Mona Al Marri, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dubai Media Council and Director-General of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), said, “Aligned with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to transform the emirate into the world’s best city to live and visit, the campaign continues to open new windows into the unrivalled diversity, memorable experiences and creative urban vibe that define Dubai’s character as one of the globe’s greatest destinations.

“By harnessing the power of storytelling, the campaign seeks to highlight the city’s offerings during the warmer months, with an emphasis on the unique experiences that set Dubai apart as one of the world’s most captivating destinations. This season of the campaign extends a fresh invitation to both the local and global community to explore Dubai’s diverse attractions and share their memorable moments.”

Shaima Al Suwaidi, Director of Brand Dubai, said, “The latest season of the #DubaiDestinations campaign invites residents and visitors to embark on an exhilarating journey to explore the unique and enriching treasures that Dubai offers in the summer months. As with every season, we join hands with government entities, industry stakeholders from the public and private sectors, and the vibrant creative media community to raise the profile of Dubai’s diverse array of summer attractions. Through interactive guides, engaging media content and other immersive activations, we aim to weave compelling narratives that showcase the essence of the Dubai experience, enticing people from the UAE and all over the world to set out on their own extraordinary adventures in Dubai.”

As part of the campaign, Brand Dubai will introduce a collection of interactive guides, offering valuable insights into Dubai’s premier summer experiences. From top-rated summer camps for children to thrilling water activities, enchanting staycations and indoor hotspots, these guides serve as indispensable resources for exploring the best of Dubai during the summer season.

The #DubaiDestinations campaign will also put the spotlight on indoor destinations, such as malls, restaurants with play areas, indoor sports activities and theme parks, as well as Dubai’s most-loved homegrown food outlets from the “Proudly from Dubai” network, an initiative launched by Brand Dubai to highlight the success stories of businesses born and initiated in Dubai.

Brand Dubai will be partnering with some of the emirate’s most accomplished creatives including influencers, photographers, digital media content creators, visual artists, animators and videographers to create compelling content about Dubai’s destination offerings.

The campaign is being rolled out over digital, broadcast, print and outdoor media to ensure it reaches large sections of local and international audiences.

Source: Zawya

Hotel Experts Say AI Will Make Room Pricing More Profitable

Most talk about generative AI is bombastic. Yes, today’s tech has accuracy and security issues. But that will be resolved within a few years. The tech will then transform hotel revenue management.

Hotel companies hope artificial intelligence (AI) will improve their skill at pricing rooms. Known as revenue management, the field relies on forecasting and is ripe for disruption.

The changes won’t happen overnight. Hotel revenue managers have worries about the security and reliability of today’s generative AI. But within a few years, software makers will likely overcome the flaws and hotels will reap efficiency gains.

“A lot of proposed applications of generative AI feel like solutions in search of a problem, but revenue management is a perfect use case for it,” said Jeff Edwards, a consultant and former IHG executive. “It’s data-intensive, and it’s too complex for humans to manage in real-time.”

Instilling Trust

A big win would be if AI gave hotel decision-makers more confidence in automated rate recommendations.

Today’s revenue management software typically produces tables or spreadsheets, leaving it up to revenue managers to interpret them.

“With all due respect to the vendors, at too many hotels today, people turn off the computer’s rate recommendations because they’re skeptical — especially as a date approaches,” Edwards said.

AI could let managers ask questions via a chat interface, clarifying the assumptions behind any particular rate suggestion in plain English. That could build trust in the recommendations.

Generative AI could push insight into revenue management up the organizational hierarchy, said Darren Koch, chief product officer at Duetto, whose pricing and related tools are used by more than 4,000 hotel and casino resort properties.

“Today you have asset managers and owners who have perceptions of what the value of their asset is … of what the market will pay,” Koch said. “Sometimes those perceptions are vastly wrong.”

“They may think ‘the team is just not executing properly — get me the €1,000 a night that I deserve,’” Koch said. “But in the future, a computer might tell them that they need to renovate their guest rooms because an analysis of guest reviews, scores, and comments show that the average review score is negatively interacting with the rate.”

Rate Forecasts From Social Media Images?

Generative AI will likely uncover signals about travel demand from sources of information humans barely consider, said Ryan King, senior vice president at Shiji Americas, a hotel software services firm.

“The recent advances in AI have shown how much data it can process and structure,” King said. “They’re now able to pull in more data and analyze it and see the impact on pricing.”

Exhibit A: Images posted on social media might someday reveal trending preferences among travelers.

Today’s hotel systems typically assign rates generically to groups of rooms, such as the same rate for all rooms with queen beds. Tomorrow’s tech might enable dynamic pricing for individual rooms. An extra-spacious corner room that’s often appeared on social media could, at least in theory, command higher rates.

“Think of how shared images of specific rooms, or more pictures posted from a specific room type, could make that room more valuable,” King said. “It might even be possible for RMS [revenue management software] platforms to assign specific rates for specific rooms based on how those rooms are perceived.”

In short, the ability of AI models to analyze so-called unstructured data could be a game changer for hotel pricing.

“Generative AI, in particular, really excels with content — text, images, video,” said Jason Pinto, co-founder and chief operating officer of Pace Revenue, part of travel tech startup Flyr.

Better Hotel Pricing

Today’s revenue management often struggles to handle ancillaries and other non-room revenue.

“Generative AI could move us from a more generic view to a more surgical view of revenue management,” Edwards said. “This individual buys a lot of extras and eats at our restaurants and has X-tier status in our loyalty program, so let’s offer them this more relevant rate instead.”

Too often software analyzes if demand for a particular night is increasing and whether rates should rise in response. But the software struggles with questions such as how long to hold aside inventory for a last-minute business traveler who might be willing to pay a high price — or for a wedding party that might spend a lot on non-room services.

Artificial intelligence broadly speaking is pushing revenue management from a rules-based approach to a “probabilistic” one, said Pinto of Pace Revenue. The field is essentially becoming more dynamic and responsive in near-real time, which can help hotels capture the most profitable guests rather than just put heads in beds.

GAIO as the New SEO?

A key part of revenue management is the cost of acquiring guests from different sources. The traditional thinking is that if you need to fill rooms because vacancies are high, you can turn to online travel agencies that appeal to leisure travelers. Your revenue may go up, but the commissions may eat into the profitability of these guests.

Generative AI may help hotels to stop blindly chasing demand.

It may also reshape how hotels acquire guests. Today, online travel agencies and global hotel groups have their marketing efforts set up for a world where Google search dominates. What will happen if new types of chat-based search using large-language models significantly displace today’s online search?

“It’s premature because we don’t know how it’ll be monetized, but it will change search,” said Cindy Estis Green, co-founder and CEO of Kalibri Labs, a hotel data analytics firm. “There will be new practices with new costs that will potentially displace search engine optimization and paid digital.”

It seems possible that if travel buyers change how they search for travel, that might lead to the equivalent of generative AI optimization (GAIO).

“Today, listing on Booking.com, etc., is essentially a cost-effective proxy for appearing high in Google search, especially for smaller hotel companies and independent hotels,” Pinto said. “These players will want to know how to become the property that is the answer to the kind of questions travelers pose to generative AI-based booking systems. Will some ways of generating marketing content about your hotel prove more effective?”

Hotel Revenue Management Upheaval

Generative AI’s large promise will take years to fulfill. Yet early signs are promising.

Cloudbeds, a hotel software system, already uses some tools with generative AI components for its operations as a company. It uses GitHub Copilot, which is generative AI for coding, and Jasper, which is generative AI for copywriting. It also taps generative AI for analyzing customer service requests.

“The practical lift of what we gain from each of those three areas is anywhere from 10% to 20% productivity, which as a CEO I consider really good,” said Cloudbeds founder and CEO Adam Harris. “That shows the potential as the technology is applied in the future to other areas, like revenue management.”

Some analysts doubt there will be a sudden widespread adoption of generative AI in revenue management.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a big bang like OpenAI had with ChatGPT 3,” Koch said. “I’d be surprised if it happened in this industry because of the fragmented nature of the data and technology.”

In other words, revenue management systems are only as good as the data fed into them. Too many hotel companies provide their systems with incomplete pictures because their data is siloed in a mix of systems. Some are physically still on-premise at hotels, rather than in the cloud, and don’t share data well.

There’s an implication to this reality, however. The first hotel companies to unify their data and apply generative AI-based technology have an opportunity to leap ahead of rivals in snatching up more-profitable sources of demand.

In the meantime, there are concerns about “hallucinations” – when AI returns inaccurate information – and security.

“To commercially use it, we need to make sure we can securely use it,” said Brian Kirkland, chief information officer at Choice Hotels, in a Bloomberg TV interview. “How do we get private data sets in there? How do we curate the answers?”

“It’s the thing that everybody’s looking at for it to become commercially viable,” Kirkland said. “It’ll be something that really transforms how we do business.”

Koch at the vendor Duetto echoed the sentiment.

“There’s a lot of information asymmetry today, and I expect that to go away,” he said. “There’s also a lot of emotion, and these enhancements will bring more facts into the conversation.”

Source: Skift

Kenyans Urged to Embrace Local Tourism to Boost Revenue

Nairobi — The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is urging Kenyans to embrace domestic travel, explore new experiences, and contribute to the growth of the local tourism industry.

The call comes as the “You Deserve A Holiday” campaign has so far sold 108,963 bed nights, generating Sh1.1 billion since it was launched a year ago.

Speaking during the domestic activation drive held at Sigona Golf Club, KTB Chairperson Francis Gichaba emphasized the importance of domestic tourism in supporting local communities and economies.

He noted that while the campaign has already achieved significant milestones, there is still much potential to explore.

“We have seen communities and towns which have come up because of domestic tourism,” said Gichaba.

“This is indeed a transformative phenomenon and speaks of the potential for further growth. We are creating new destinations through the ‘You Deserve A Holiday’ campaign as we encourage Kenyans to explore their own backyard.”

Since its launch in June 2022, the “You Deserve A Holiday” campaign has successfully partnered with over 20 industry stakeholders, including tour operators, airlines, and hoteliers.

These collaborations have resulted in comprehensive travel packages designed to offer seamless experiences for domestic travellers.

The campaign aims to penetrate potential areas within the domestic market and sustain long-term demand for domestic travel through joint marketing initiatives, such as golf tour series, mall activations, corporate visits, church activations, and media promotions.

The campaign has been to various destinations in the country including Nairobi, Machakos, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret through the Magical Kenya golf Tour.

On their part, travel trade partners have shown their commitment to promoting domestic travel and enhancing the overall tourism experience.

Jambojet Ag. Head of Sales and Marketing, Cynthia Otoro expressed enthusiasm about the growing trend of local travel stating:

“It is encouraging to see that people are embracing more local travel more and more. Through this campaign, we’ve uncovered places that people have never known existed,” she said.

“We are proud to be part of the tourism and travel ecosystem as we are able to provide and give access to the hotels, tour operators, and other stakeholders involved in creating memorable travel experiences.”

The campaign is set to continue its activation drives, with upcoming events in Nyeri and Mombasa.

Source: Capital Business