Generative AI in Marketing: How Can Hotels Leverage It Without Losing the Human Touch
Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, has advanced significantly in recent years. Gone are the days when AI was only associated with robots and science fiction. Nowadays, businesses across various industries are using AI to improve their processes and enhance customer experience.
One area where AI is making a significant impact is marketing. Businesses are persistently seeking innovative methods to differentiate themselves and engage with their customers in more meaningful ways. And generative AI is helping them achieve just that, enabling a level of personalization that was once unimaginable.
The key challenge, however, lies in blending these advanced capabilities with the genuine human touch, which is what truly defines hospitality.
From Confusion to Clarity: Avoid Greenwashing and Turn Sustainable Travel Intentions into Action
Reports after reports show that travelers increasingly want sustainable travel options. Yet they are confused by the information they see on social media, causing them not to take the actions they should.
Kantar's 2022 Sustainability Sector Index reveals a striking contradiction in the Asia Pacific region. Despite 98% of consumers expressing readiness for a more sustainable lifestyle, only 17% actively change their behavior to align with it.
Additionally, a significant 58% struggle to differentiate between environmentally friendly products and those that are not.
The report highlights this intention-action gap arises from lack of information, transparency, and concerns about higher costs.
In our view, travel marketers and hoteliers have a powerful opportunity: not only align their business goals with responsible operation but also promote their business authentically.
Should Hotels Collaborate with OTAs or Move Away from Them?
With the rise of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), hotels are enjoying increased bookings and exposure. However, high commission fees and limited control over pricing present significant challenges.
OTAs offer benefits such as increased visibility and advanced marketing tools. However, the costs can be steep, impacting profit margins. Additionally, the increase in mass tourism can dilute brand uniqueness and strain local environments.
But here's the million-dollar question—should hotels continue to partner with OTAs, or should they focus on direct bookings and sustainable practices?
This article dives deep into strategies that align with sustainability while maximizing revenue potential.
From Awe to Overload: How Asia’s Popular Destinations Are Handling Overtourism
Asian countries, reopening for tourism later than Europe post-COVID-19, have seen overtourism in popular destinations like Bali, Phuket, and key tourist hotspots in Japan.
However, experts advise defining overtourism beyond physical carrying capacity, which means a maximum number of visitors a site can accommodate without significant deterioration, to include environmental and social carrying capacities, considering the long-term ecological damage and community tolerance levels.
Solution to Plastic Pollution: Make Plastics Obsolete
Is it 1,000 tons of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or 2,000 tons? Does it matter anymore at this point? Plastics and microplastics permeate every aspect of all life on earth.
Some may ask: what’s the harm of plastics anyway? Are we living with them already?
This issue is not just about unsightly litter; it's a major contributor to the broader climate and health crises that we all face.
For an industry that depends on the beauty and health of our planet, the travel sector has a special responsibility and opportunity to take the lead in tackling this problem.
Travel and hospitality companies play a vital role as guardians of our planet's landscapes and ecosystems. Taking decisive action to reduce plastic dependency is essential for preserving the beauty and health of our planet.
Indigenous Design Leading The Way in Sustainable Innovation
One innovator leading the way in sustainable innovation at 3500m above sea level is Norboo Wangchuk, Managing Director and owner of Ladakh Eco Resort in the Himalayan region of India.
Nestled in the heart of a 100-year-old village, Spurka, Ladakh Eco Resort is a sustainable luxury resort surrounded by one of the world's highest motorable roads, Khardung-La Pass on one side and the mighty Stok Kangri on the other. Spread across 2 acres and surrounded by the vibrant colors of hollyhocks, wild lilies, and liliums, the resort has only 14 cabins, each looking raw and spectacular under the clear blue sky.
But what gives these cabins such rugged beauty?
Can Family Vacations Teach Children to Save Our Oceans?
Our oceans, covering over 70% of the planet's surface and housing 80% of Earth's biodiversity, are in crisis due to human activities like overfishing, offshore drilling, pollution, and carbon emissions, threatening marine life and coral reefs.
Alarming statistics from UNESCO indicate that more than half of the world's marine species could face extinction by 2100, underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts.
Family vacations offer a unique opportunity to instill marine conservation values in children. Resorts such as Six Senses Laamu’s Junior Marine Biology Program, Soneva’s comprehensive courses for young ocean enthusiasts, AYANA Komodo Waecicu Beach’s coral conservation initiatives, and Hyatt Regency Phuket's marine conservation workshops engage and empower young minds to become future ocean stewards.
Five Proven Ways to Elevate Family Travel Experiences through Immersive Cultural Tourism
This article discusses how some hotels in Asia are enhancing family travel experiences through sustainable cultural tourism. It explores the increasing demand for meaningful, culture-rich journeys and highlights how some properties integrate and effectively blend local traditions, arts and crafts, and immersive experiences for their guests.
Advanced Design Strategies for Climate-Conscious Hotels
Sustainable design is changing the game for what hotels can be, and it's so much more than just switching to energy-saving bulbs or eliminating single-use plastics. It's about a whole new way of thinking—how hotels and their environment can work together in harmony, from choosing local materials that are tough and resilient yet kind to the planet to smarter ways of handling waste, water, and energy, all the way to how they collaborate with local communities. It's a fresh take on hospitality that's all about respecting Mother Earth.
Feeding Innovation: Inside Hospitality's Fight Against Food Waste
On a global scale, approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste, yet hunger afflicts one in ten, according to the United Nations agencies.
This paradox is even more pronounced in Asia, where 375 million people grappled with hunger in 2020, a number larger than the entire population of the United States. The COVID-19 crisis has only worsened the crisis.
Moral reasons aside, food waste emits methane upon decomposition, contributing to global warming. If quantified as a nation, food waste would rank third in carbon emissions, trailing only the US and China, per the World Food Programme.
Four Takeaways From Bali’s Sustainability-Led Hotels Visit
Bali’s natural beauty and unique cultural assets, together with a creative and entrepreneurial tourism community that is open to experimentation and collaboration, have created a multitude of exciting products that cater to different traveler preferences.
This magical formula has made Bali one of Asia’s most popular tourist destinations.
At the same time, Bali has always been Asia’s breeding ground for novel tourism practices.
Sustainable tourism practices tested in Bali have the potential to attract attention and be implemented in other destinations across Asia and beyond.
What Hospitality Businesses Must Know To Support Sustainable Food Systems, in 3 Charts.
Hospitality businesses have a superpower: they can choose where they get their food from, and what kind of food and experience they serve to people.
The Travel & Tourism sector generated 7 trillion USD, representing 7.6% of the global GDP, according to the recent figures published by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
In 2019, the tourism sector was responsible for 1 out of every 4 newly created jobs, as reported by the International Labor Organization.
Asia accounts for half of the global food market, and the growing appetite for beef in many of its emerging middle-income countries has resulted in deforestation of the Amazon.
When a hotel or restaurant decides to prioritize locally sourced, sustainably produced ingredients, it sends a message to suppliers and farmers that there is demand for such products.
At the same time, it plays a key role in informing consumers of conscious consumption.
Can Thailand Celebrate Songkran Water Festival and Still Be Eco-Friendly?
As global festivals face increasing scrutiny for their environmental impact, Thailand's Songkran festival is at a pivotal moment between preserving cultural heritage and promoting sustainability. This year, as the festival draws global attention for its extended observance, efforts to balance traditional celebrations with eco-friendly practices take center stage. Through interviews with key figures in the tourism and hospitality sectors, we explore innovative approaches to reducing water wastage while keeping the festival's spirit alive.
Turning Trash to Treasure: 5 Strategies to Revolutionize Waste Management in Hospitality
Effective and sustainable waste management in the travel and hospitality industry is a vital issue that requires attention.
Hotels and resorts, in their pursuit of providing exceptional guest experiences, generate significant amounts of waste, contributing to an escalating global problem.
But what if we could change this narrative? What if hotels become part of the solution instead of contributing to the problem?
By implementing innovative waste management strategies, hotels can minimize their carbon footprint and unlock new avenues for cost savings and even revenue generation through the sale of recycled products.
This approach can also help hotels increase their appeal to the growing number of eco-conscious travelers seeking more sustainable travel options. Ultimately, it leads to building a positive brand reputation, spreading word–of–mouth, and increasing customer satisfaction.
Sustainable Travel in Urban vs. Rural Areas: A Comparative Analysis
As the world continues to urbanize rapidly, it is crucial to examine the impact of travel and tourism on both urban and rural environments. Sustainable travel is gaining momentum, and understanding the differences in priorities between urban and rural communities can help the industry develop tailored strategies.
This article will explore sustainable travel in these two different environments and provide a comparative analysis of their respective challenges and opportunities.
Navigating Sustainability in Vietnam's Hospitality & Travel Industry: Key Takeaways from AST Forum in Ho Chi Minh City
As the sun dipped below the bustling skyline of Ho Chi Minh City, the tranquil elegance of Bach Suites Saigon cast a warm glow upon the eager faces of travel and hospitality professionals who had gathered for the ASTB Mixer.
The event was no ordinary mixer, but a confluence of ideas on sustainable travel. The excitement was palpable as industry experts and enthusiastic newcomers came together, each carrying an air of curiosity and a shared commitment toward sustainability.
This article unfolds the enlightening encounters and key takeaways from an evening that proved to be more than just a casual meet-up but a harbinger of a sustainable future in Vietnam travel.