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.
How to Empower Your Team to Champion Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry
A simple yet powerful shift towards sustainability can transform your business into an eco-friendly powerhouse. But this isn't just about swapping plastic straws for paper or reducing water usage. It's about building a team that understands and embraces the core principles of sustainability — a team that is ready to lead a sustainability revolution in hospitality and tourism.
And this journey begins with effective sustainability training for your employees — equipping your staff with the necessary knowledge and tools to drive this change.
But how can you cultivate this holistic mindset within your team to meet the growing demand of eco-conscious guests, stand out from the crowd, and put your business on the right track to a sustainable future?
We interviewed hospitality industry leaders, educators, and practitioners to shed light on this topic.
A Former Banker Bought an Island in Indonesia to Build a Retreat. What Happened Next Had Ripples of Positive Impact.
Initially seeking an island getaway from Singapore for his weekends, Andrew fortuitously stumbled upon the serene east coast of Bintan.
In 2004, Andrew embarked on an audacious adventure, joined by a handful of daring friends, as they set their sights on acquiring Nikoi Island.
Their shared aspiration was to create an idyllic sanctuary, a respite from the frenetic pace of Singapore, where individuals could reconnect with nature and embrace simplicity.
Although not formally trained in hospitality, Andrew possessed a deep understanding of what he desired as a discerning customer. He assumed the role of an empathetic guest to meticulously create an experience that resonated with his own heart.
What Andrew started has had a ripple of positive impact on the lives of so many including his 200-strong staff and the communities around the two islands.
Today, Nikoi Island is a Global Ecosphere Retreats®, the highest level of membership in The Long Run community, and Cempedak Island is a Fellow Member. Andrew and his team continue using The 4C Framework, centered on Community, Culture, Conservation, and Commerce as their guiding sustainability approach.