Going Solo From My Family

I've earnestly reported on the scourge of those My Family Stickers applied to car windows. Regrettably, these masterbatery stick figures continue to regularly show up in my motel carpark.

I'm noticing that a few cars are are now turning up sporting "solo" "My Family" stickers...and that's kinda sad. 

Unsatisfied Motel Guest

Last week, I checked-in a lovely lady into my motel that was celebrating her 60th birthday and I could tell she was a bit lonely. For the purposes of this post, I'll call her Ethel.

Ethel strode over to our reception the next morning and checked-out without looking me in the eye or saying a word. Judging by her demeanor, she didn't enjoy her stay and won't be back again.

I guess you can't satisfy every customer, but I've recounted the events of her stay the best I could to try and figure out what upset her so much...

After she checked in to her motel room Ethel thought, "I'll call one of those men you see advertised in phone books for escorts and sensual massages." She looked through the phone book, found a full page ad for a guy calling himself Tender Tony: A very handsome man with assorted physical skills flexing in the photo. He had all the right muscles in all the right places, thick wavy hair, long powerful legs, dazzling smile, six pack abs and she felt quite certain she could bounce a sixpence off his well oiled buns..

She figured, what the heck, nobody will ever know. I'll give him a call.

"Good evening, ma'am, how may I help you? Oh my, he sounded sooo sexy!

Afraid she would lose her nerve if she hesitated, she rushed right in, I hear you give a great massage. I'd like you to come to my motel room and give me one. No, wait, I should be straight with you. I'm in town all alone and what I really want is sex. I want it hot, and I want it now.

Bring implements, toys, rubber, leather, whips, everything you've got in your bag of tricks. We'll go hot and heavy all night: Tie me up, cover me in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, anything and everything, I'm ready!! Now how does that sound?"

I said, "That sounds absolutely fantastic, but you need to press "9" for an outside line."

I guess we won't see that lovely old lady again...

Major Event Accommodation

It is interesting to contemplate the long term benefits that a one-off a major event has on accommodation businesses. The multiplier effect that is used to predetermine economic benefits (usually to qualify public spending) is often biased and far from reality.

Guests nights will always suffer well before a major event as usual demand is diverted or simply vanishes as non event participants avoid the hype and perceived bottlenecks in supply. The end of a major event gives a predetermined exit date for guests occupying accommodation to pack-up and leave en masse. This leaves a huge surplus of supply for some time as usual demand that has been blown-off during the event regathers momentum.

Major events are good...as long as they are privately funded - this will ensure efficiencies, and appropriate scale according to demand and the economic environment.

It has been interesting to follow the build-up to the London Olympics this year and observing the media following the same play-book as used in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup by bemoaning hotel tariff rising over peak periods of demand. 

Much like in New Zealand, there's also been a few stories about savvy members of the public trying to cash-in upon the supposed shortage of accommodation - including Poms commoditizing and renting out tents pitched in the their back yards - a hot new trend in travel accommodation: Garden Camping!

Probably my favourite story about alternative accommodation is about a London taxi driver attempting to change his fortunes due to the prediction that trade will suffer over the games period. 

The taxi driver is maximising his black cab by turning it into a hotel room during his  down-time period at night. The cab's fit-out is optimistically described as "luxury" with a foam mattress, duvet, pillow with official Olympic pillow case and bedside lamp, but also a Paddington Bear teddy, solar-powered fridge, a radio and an iPad. 

The taxi hotel is all yours for £50 a night, and you can visit the Wimdu website to book online.

Unfortunately the cab is in use during the day, so gusts will need to check-out when the cabbie starts his shift in the morning.

Source: Click HERE

Peak Oil and Tourism

I'm a big fan of oil.

So it was good to see another nail has been driven into the media driven eco hysteria that has promoted the fallacy that Peak Oil is just around the corner.

Environmentalists love to promote the world in a state of chaos and eagerly await for the time of Peak Oil - the point in time when the maximum rate of petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production is expected to enter terminal decline. 

I see that non-pinko blogs are celebrating the late-life realisation of a leading hand-wringing environmentalist, George Monbiot that now claims: "We were wrong on peak oil."

Blogger, Libery Scott sums it up:

"In other words, the arguments against consumption of fossil fuels on the basis that they are "running out" are absurd.  The claims that aviation is going to collapse, that private motoring is going to evaporate, that export and tourism driven economies dependent on goods and people travelling long distances need to become autarkic "green economies" are nonsense."

And that's brilliant news! It looks like travel and tourism will continue for some time yet...  

eTourism NZ Conference

We are in the grips of conference season.

Trade associations, marketing groups and other travel/tourism groupings are gathering to perform AGM duties and/or network after a tough trading year.

Non-producers that are aligned to government funded tourism agencies will always be attracted to conferences, however due to the uncertain economic climate it is unfortunate that front-line tourism business operators seem to be shying away this year. This trend reflects travel consumers at the moment - those that are spending their own money are tending to be very cautious.

There is value for operators to get away from the day-to-day pressures of their business, look for inspiration from other industry folk and selfishly focus on their own business from a different perspective.

If you are a tourism operator and are in the process of picking and choosing ONE conference to attend this year, the eTourism NZ Conference is worth putting a circle around. They've got a great programme this year that should add value to those that attend.

I may see you there...

Former Jasons Chief Executive to head mobile start-up

I see that a familiar face to many moteliers, Matthew Mayne announced today that he is heading the company behind a Kiwi last-minute accommodation booking app, Stay Today.

Previously called Get A Room, the Stay Today iPhone app takes the concept of last minute booking to the extreme by allowing customers to book rooms from noon until 2am only for that night.

Stay Today's consumer positioning is simple: "Book late. Save more"

• "Out with friends and the thought of forking out for a taxi doesn’t appeal? Maybe a date’s going pretty well.
• With Stay Today you can now lock in a last minute stay in a CBD hotel at a great rate while on the go! 
• And because we’re truly a last minute booking service we’ve able to secure some amazing deals."

Accommodation providers that are willing to drop tariff below parity with OTAs and offer a late-night check-in service can provide distressed same day inventory to Stay Today. Although this would appeal to hotels that traditionally offer 24-hour service, I see that motels are also part of the accommodation mix on offer.

When considering Stay Today as a marketing channel, accommodation providers need to get their head around some differences compared to mainstream OTAs. The app does not appear to be hooked up to mainstream channel management software and loading of inventory is done by the team at Stay Today. Some accommodation providers may also be put off by the necessity to provide a late night check-in service and sensitive to the possibility of dealing with low-quality guests that may have spent a night out on the town - hopefully the vast majority of guests with a $1,000 iPhone and a credit card dictate that they are of a reasonable caliber?

Is there a consumer market for this type of booking channel? We know that consumers are increasingly making last-minute booking decisions and mobile is driving this trend. Overseas OTAs with mobile apps or mobilised websites are finding that the majority of bookings via mobile devices are made on the same day.

The idea of an app exclusively for same-day reservations is not new, as there are similar apps on offer by overseas providers. These apps are commonly operated by large scale OTAs with established brands as an add-on to their core business. Probably the most high profile is Booking.com's "Tonight" that squeezes their existing accommodation inventory into a same-day booking app.

As a stand-alone, one-trick pony, Stay Today presents a clean consumer offer without the clutter by offering only a limited amount of accommodation choice in selected main centres. From a consumer perspective, the "less is more" accommodation choice isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as there is a sufficient number of rooms available in key locations.

The 12-month development in Slovenia seems to have paid off with the app looking reasonably slick and the user interface easy to use. Once the user sets up an account (a process that takes less than a minute), Stay Today's claim that you are able to "book in less than 10 seconds" is achievable. 

The voice of Stay Today's marketing appears to be targeting Gen-Y upwardly mobile hipsters that are wielding iPhones. This tone may also appeal to wannabe older generations that like to keep up with trends and tend to book accommodation more often. 

It's great that a Kiwi company is taking a risk and providing an alternative accommodation booking channel. Their success will be dependent upon building mass brand loyalty and it will be interesting to follow their progress...

News release

4th July 2012 – Under Embargo

Former Jasons Chief Executive to head mobile start-up

The former CEO of Jasons Travel Media has today been appointed Managing Director of technology start-up Stay Today. 

Stay Today is a same-day hotel booking service, accessible via smart-phone app.  The service is aimed at people who need to book a hotel while on the go, such as business travellers and late night revelers who need to book a hotel while on the go. The rates offered are cheaper than online prices, and are discounted further as the day progresses.

The firm is the first mobile-only hotel booking company in Australasia.  Mayne believes this gives Stay Today an edge over traditional hotel booking companies.  “Although hotel websites are slowly moving into mobile, their apps are difficult to use because these companies weren’t built with mobile in mind” he says.  “Stay Today was built from the ground up for mobile.  The result is you can book on the go in less than 10 seconds, and for a better price than on the web”. 

Mayne believes in the disruptive power of Stay Today’s model.  The company is projecting revenues of over ten million in its third year, largely from international markets.   “From my years in tourism, I have never seen a model as disruptive as this” says Mayne.  “With the trend toward same-day booking and the explosive penetration of smartphones, this business is poised to be a huge kiwi success story”.  

Mayne joins an experienced management team of three.  His appointment is timely. After a full year’s development in Slovenia, the Stay Today app launches commercially this week with over 60 hotel partners across Australia and New Zealand.  It can be downloaded from the Apple app store or from the Stay Today website at www.staytoday.co.nz. 

Matthew Mayne has over twelve years’ experience in digital.  Prior to his role as CEO at Jasons Travel Media Ltd, he spent seven years in the United Kingdom where he held a variety of senior digital positions including roles at British Telecom, Racing UK and Channel 4.  Matthew holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and is a Marketing Honours graduate from Victoria University.

ENDS

For further enquiries:

Matthew Mayne, Managing Director Stay Today - 022 122 8924

http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmayne

The Impact Of Social Media

We love those clever infographics that gives us an instant pictorial snapshot of data.

The infographic below illustrates the impact of social media within the hospitality industry.

This covers a lot of the info we've seen before, however the standout for me is that:

"In most major cities the search volume on Google for "Hotels in (city)" has lost over 70% in just the last 6 years - instead they use the likes of Kayak, TripAdvisor, and Expedia."

This is a telling statistic that means that the travelling consumer is increasingly looking at TripAdvisor and major branded OTAs to influence their travel decisions. Wading through the scramble of options after performing a Google search is no longer cutting it - Consumers are increasingly turning to trusted websites that aggregate information to give recommendations and lay out options in a logical, orderly manner.

While Google rankings are still important, accommodation providers need to actively be where consumers are browsing and understand the influence of the The Billboard Effect.
 

Air NZ's Sketchy Safety Vid

Air New Zealand is the undisputed king of Kiwi promotion across all media channels. One of their many successes is making their pre-flight safety videos a must-see.

Not only do passengers stop what they're doing and watch, the quirky videos are widely viewed outside the planes and help build brand awareness.

The new safety video is gaining views at a stratospheric rate on YouTube before it's pressed into service. It stars Ed O'Neill (Modern Family, Married with Children) and Kiwi, Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men, Up in the Air).

Maybe not their best work, but still worth viewing...

A motelier's nightmare

A motelier's nightmare is recorded in gory detail in yesterday's Sunday Star Times Business section. 

Moteliers endured five years of burst water pipes and other plumbing problems soon after they took over the lease of the Lakewood Motel in 2003. A long-winded legal stouch ensued with a landlord that defended liability for the extent of the damages claimed.

Inevitably, the landlord put up the rent, lease payments were unable to be maintained and receivers became involved before the motelier walked away from the property in 2008. The motel was abandoned and became a conspicuous eye soar on Rotorua's Lake Road. It was set on fire by vandals the following year, became a home for squatters and regularly visited by police after doors and fittings were stolen, windows smashed and buildings tagged.

The landlord's two companies were liquidated before it is claimed that the motel's ownership was sold to another inter-related company.

Last December the High Court ordered the two original motel ownership companies to pay the moteliers $1.8m for loss of income, loss of capital, legal fees, penalty interest, receivership and court costs, all plus interest.

No money has been forthcoming from the two companies that have no assets and had elected not to continue defending their positions, on the grounds of cost.

Read the full details HERE.

After sitting derelict for four years, the motel was bought by the Accor Hotel chain and has been operating again as The Mercure Rotorua Hotel since early March 2012 after a $3.5 million facelift.

AA Tourism Chief Executive, Peter Blackwell Resigns

In the tourism industry, people come and go, but there are always a few folk that have "been there for ever" and provide a much needed anchor. 

AA Tourism Chief Executive, Peter Blackwell was someone that earned the distinction of sticking around for long enough to become a trusted and stable part of the fabric that forms the dynamic tourism industry.

After a while you start taking industry leaders like Peter for granted and it was only when I started hearing rumours several weeks ago that he was resigning from the AA that I started thinking about the huge void that he would leave behind.

A quick search of Google reveals a pithy 2-liner in a Tourism Industry Association newsletter that confirms that:

"TIA Board member Peter Blackwell announced this week he had resigned as AA Tourism Chief Executive, effective 28 September."

From a motel industry perspective, Peter was known as a regular inspirational speaker at motel gatherings and the head of an organisation that the majority of motels still choose to advertise with. Due to a quirk that dictates that the majority of moteliers don't tend to get out much, only a small percentage would have personally connected with Peter. And that's a shame.

Those that were fortunate to meet Peter were impressed with his drive and passion. A large man with shy persona would transform into an inspiring and gifted communicator behind a lectern. Peter will be best remembered for committing AA Tourism into promoting domestic tourism in recent years and this provided a great emotional story of "the little guy" single-handedly filling the void of promoting domestic tourism.

The motel industry have been calling for "someone" to take up the challenge of a domestic tourism campaign for many years and gave enthusiastic lip-service when the AA took up the mantle. By their actions, probably too few individual motels supported AA Tourism's domestic campaigns and this year, domestic tourism is off the menu. I sense that Peter may have been somewhat perplexed with this?

So after what has probably been the hardest year of trading for AA NZ Tourism operations - where to now? We hear that the grocery business is beckoning...