NEWS CONFERENCE REPORT
Connections Luxury Rio: Eighty senior buyers and suppliers met at the Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro for Connections Luxury’s first event in South America. Rose Dykins reports
Ground-handler partner: CJ Executive
Sharing data is key to easing travel disruption
Travel companies throughout the booking process have been urged to share detailed passenger information to minimise the impact on luxury travellers when their journeys are disrupted.
Delegates attending discussions
at Connections Luxury in Brazil agreed that better communication and more-sophisticated information sharing could help companies along the booking chain mitigate earlier disruptions. The discussions were inspired by
issues explored in a recent report by technology firm Amadeus, called Shaping the Future of Airline Disruption Management.
The issue of information sharing
was felt particularly keenly for bookings made via online travel agents, where little personal infor- mation is provided upon booking. One delegate said: “As a hotelier,
when all you have is a guest’s flight number and a phone number, it’s really frustrating.” Strategies discussed for dealing
with disruption included using WhatsApp groups to share real‑time information about a traveller’s journey progress, having a constant point of contact for the traveller, and hosting workshops where agents, suppliers and airlines met to create travel disruption protocols.
ABOUT: Connections Luxury
Launched in 2014, Connections delivers networking events for senior industry executives that aim to inspire, educate and help build long-lasting business relationships. Held in inspiring locations and featuring creative agendas, Connections fuses one-to-one appointments with cultural, energetic and adrenaline-fuelled activities that create shared memories to last a lifetime. weareconnections. com
Delegates also talked about
the value of good communication between buyers and suppliers to enhance customers’ experience. Useful information could include
knowing a customer’s favourite drink, how much interaction they’d prefer from staff, and even what music they like, before they travel. One hotelier said: “We knew one
guest was an Andrea Bocelli fan, so we made sure a Bocelli song was
playing when she arrived.” lAmadeus is Connections’ global technology partner. To read its recent report, Shaping the Future of Airline Disruption Management, visit
amadeus.com.
Luxury sector must cater for family trips
Travel providers must respond to demand for family-friendly facilities and experiences as larger groups of relatives increasingly travel together for top-end holidays, Connections Luxury delegates were told. Estela Farina, general director of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said: “It has become common for grandparents to organise cruises for the whole family, even for luxury trips. The group size ranges from eight to 80. It’s something that’s been happening more frequently in the past two to three years.” She added: “Taking the opportunity to get the whole family together to celebrate a special occasion is a privilege.” Satish Jaidev, group head of sales of Emaar Hospitality Group, agreed. He said: “Luxury travel is no longer just about a person or a couple. It’s becoming much more of a family experience. “Nowadays, we see that when someone is booking a top-end suite, there are kids staying there. So we need to be careful about how we include experiences for children. “They are influencers in the decision-making of bookings.”
16
travelweekly.co.uk 17 November 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
