f jwt travel changing-course 04.29.131

7/29/2019 F JWT Travel Changing-Course 04.29.131

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April 2013

CHANGING COURSETRAVEL

Image credit: Jeanette Kr
http://jeanettekramer.com/http://jeanettekramer.com/


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WHAT WELL COVER (contd.)TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................3

Peer-Powered Travel ..................................................................................................................4

Hyper-Personalized Travel ......................................................................................................... 17

Millennials on the Road ............................................................................................................ 23

Things to Watch ......................................................................................................................25

Appendix..............................................................................................................................31

More About Our Experts/Inuencers .......................................................................................... 31

Additional Charts .................................................................................................................33

A note to readers: To make the report easy to navigate, weve added hyperlinks to this page, so you can jump immediately to

the items that most interest you (or, alternatively, you can read the material straight through).

This is a report from JWTIntelligence. Go to JWTIntelligence.com to download this and other trend research.
http://www.jwtintelligence.com/http://www.jwtintelligence.com/


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WHAT WELL COVER (contd.)

The world is on the move: 2012 saw a record-breaking 1 billion international travelers, according to the U.N. World

Tourism Organization. But while international travel continues to grow at a steady pacewith 4% growth worldwide last

year and a slightly lower forecast for this yearthe category is in ux.

One disruptive force will be the peer-to-peer marketplace. While P2P companies may be expanding the market for travel,

services like Airbnb are also putting the squeeze on traditional service providers. For an overview of this new sector, we spotlight

20-plus services focused on P2P hospitality, experiences and transportation. And with the peer-powered economy about to reach

critical mass, we look at how established brands can maintain their ground or even nd new opportunities.

Another macro trend starting to reshape the travel sector is the rise of hyper-personalization: Todays travelers expect

highly personalized experiences and customer servicethanks in part to the rise of customization and personalized

suggestions onlineand the industry is starting to deliver on this expectation, armed with Big Data and insights gleaned

from social media. We look at some ways in which brands are ne-tuning offerings around individual customers, and what

this development means for marketers.

We also take a look at Millennial travelers, whose adventurous and social approach to travel is already inuencingthe travel industry in a number of ways. Plus: a wide-ranging rundown of Things to Watch in travel, from Holographic

Concierges to Transient Hotels.

Note: This report builds on our Rebooting Travel report from 2011, which focuses on the tech-enabled traveler. That

report examines how the smartphone is coming to replace guidebooks and maps, serving as a one-stop shop that connects

travelers with their surroundings, each other and travel brands; how todays hyper-connected and mobile-enabled

vacationers are sharing in real time, which amplies the experience and enables easy bragging; and how vacationers

are increasingly seeking to de-tech, putting aside technology as part of their break from day-to-day life. Find it via the

trend reports page at JWTIntelligence.com.

Methodology

This report is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year.

It includes data from a survey we conducted in the U.S. and the U.K. from Nov. 919, 2012, in which we polled 1,016

adults aged 18-plus (519 Americans and 497 Britons). Data are weighted by age and gender (in some cases, calculation of

averages based off reported frequencies may not add up due to this weighting). It also includes input from three experts

and inuencers in the travel, investment and marketing sectors.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CHRIS FRALIC,

partner, First Round Capital

LISA GANSKY,

author, The Mesh: Why the Future of

Business Is Sharing, and chief instigator,

Mesh Labs

VIPIN GOYAL,

co-founder and CEO, SideTour

EXPERTS AND INFLUENCERS*

*See Appendix to learn more about these experts and inuencers
http://www.jwtintelligence.com/trendletters2/http://www.jwtintelligence.com/http://www.jwtintelligence.com/http://www.jwtintelligence.com/trendletters2/


4/39Image credit: Vladimir Yaitskiy

PEER-POWEREDTRAVEL

As the peer-to-peer marketplace expands in size and scopemoving

beyond goods to a wide range of servicesit will increasingly upend

the hospitality, tourism and transportation industries.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kronny/8011274458http://www.flickr.com/photos/kronny/8011274458


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Cooperative Consumption: A trend we highlighted in our 2008 forecast, in which we wrote: Thanks to the rise of online

social networking, people are sharing just about everything, from carpooling duties to their living rooms. This informal

social mediafueled sharing economy has readied us for more formalized peer-to-peer marketplaces.

Social media: With 1 billion-plus active users on

Facebook, more than 200 million on Twitter, 100 million

on Instagram and millions more on Pinterest and others,

social media platforms have become a global exchange

of ideas, recommendations and more. Increasingly,

theyll fuel a P2P marketplace for goods and services.

In addition, the one-upmanship that social media

encourages is driving travelers to seek out the unique

stories and experiences that P2P travel often provides.

The Trust Economy: Before the advent of eBay, Etsyand the like, the idea of staying in a strangers home or

getting a home-cooked meal from a stranger would likely

have seemed far too risky and off-putting. But todays consumers, primed to trust peers for the buying and selling of goods,

are more open to engaging peers for services as well.

In addition, taking a cue from forerunners like eBay, many P2P services have put mechanisms in place to determine whether

participants are trustworthy, qualied, etc., based on a variety of factors (e.g., track record, reviews and social circle). And

third-party services such as Repify.com are stepping in to assign unbiased trust ratings. With consumers already warmed up to

the idea of doing business with strangers, this increasingly elaborate system

of checks and balances is helping them get over the bump.

Economics: Given the continued economic uncertainty, people are

looking for new ways to save and/or make money. Often, peer-to-peer

marketplaces offer cheaper alternatives compared with established

services, or at least more bang for the buck. Their business models

are often more efcient than traditional ones, as they tend to cut out

distribution, real estate and other overhead expenses; nd new ways to

match supply with demand; and leverage idle assets (e.g., cars not being

used, empty rooms, etc.). As a result, many of these upstarts offer quality,

appealing services at equally appealing price points.

On the ip side, economically strained consumers are drawn to become

micro entrepreneurs, as Fast Companyput it, nding new sources ofincome by renting out rooms or cars, sharing their skills, etc.

Just over 1 in 5 American and British respondents to a survey we conducted

last November said theyve recently used online P2P services to save

money; this was more likely for Americans (26%), men (29%) and Millennials

(33%). Nearly a quarter of our survey population said they recently found

new sources of income by selling a service or skill on a peer-to-peer

platform; this was truer for men (28%) and Millennials (39%). (See Figure

1A; for country breakdowns, see Appendix, Figures 1D-E.)

PEER-POWERED TRAVEL

DRIVERS

FIGURE 1A:

P2P engagement

47

Percentage of American and British adults who agree

Millennials (18-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67

Recently, I have usedonline peer-to-peer

services to savemoney

22%

33

30

11

Ive learned anew skill or

receiveda service from

strangers on peer-to-peer platforms

26%

40

33

11

I would be therst of my friendsto try new thingslike peer-to-peer

services

34%

54

39

20

Recently, I havefound new sources

of income byselling a service

or skill on a peer-to-peer platform

23%

39

28

11

Back in 99, we [at Half.com] were

trying to start up an easier way for

people to buy and sell used books,

music, movies and games to each

other. No one thought it would ever

work. Whats different now is that there are

billions of people online, and theyre organizing

and connecting and engaging through social media,

and that changes everything. And it unleashes a lot

of opportunity and a lot of companies.CHRIS FRALIC, partner, First Round Capital


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Millennials: Having grown up using social media tools from a

young age, these digital natives tend not to question peer-to-peer

transactions, nor transactions made online or via mobile. Less

brand loyal than past generations, this cohort is more open todisruptive solutions that challenge the status quo.

According to our survey, Millennials over-index when it comes to

positive attitudes and behaviors tied to the P2P economy.

For instance:

While 26% of our American and British adults told us they have

learned a new skill or received a service from strangers via P2P

platforms, 40% of Millennials have done so.

While 34% of the general population told us they would be the

rst of their friends to try new things like peer-to-peer services,54% of Millennials said as much. (See Figure 1A; for country

breakdowns, see Appendix, Figures 1D-E.)

When asked about their likelihood of using different types

of P2P services (in hospitality, transportation, education

and other sectors), Millennials expressed the most openness

across categories. (See Figure 1B; for country breakdowns, see

Appendix, Figures 1F-G.)

Distrust in institutions: Today, people have less faith than ever

in big institutions, having seen longstanding nancial brands

collapse, corporate scandals and bailouts, and a great deal of

disillusionment with political leaders. While consumers once

regarded established brands as more trustworthy, reliable, high-

quality and/or safer than the rest, thats no longer a given. As

a result, people are becoming just as apt to put their faith in

peers and more open to new ideas (about how to get lodging, for

instance) versus sticking with the tried and true.

Fifty-six percent of our American and British survey respondents

said they think its great that people can avoid traditional

businesses through peer-to-peer platforms to get things done together; 40% said they trust individual people offering

services on peer-to-peer platforms; and 55% said theyd put their trust in an individual over a big corporation any day.(See Figure 1C; for country breakdowns, see Appendix, Figures 1H-I.)

PEER-POWERED TRAVEL

DRIVERS (contd.)

FIGURE 1B:

Likelihood of using P2P services

47

Percentage of American and British adults who would

be likely to use the following services if they wereavailable and within their price range

Millennials (18-34) Gen Xers (35-47) Boomers (48-67)

A service thatallows you to rent a

space (an apartment,a home, a room

in a home)

31%

46

38

17

A carpooling servicethat connects you withdrivers who have extraspace in their cars whocan pick you up and getyou to your destination

28%

39

32

18

FIGURE 1C:

P2P vs. traditional businesses

47

Percentage of American and British adults who agree


I think its great thatpeople can avoid

traditional businessesthrough peer-to-peer

platforms to getthings done together

56%

68

61

46

Id put my trust in anindividual over a bigcorporation any day

55%

59

53

54

I trust individualpeople offering

services on peer-to-peer platforms

40%

52

48

26


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Craving authenticity: Doing business with peers often feels like a more authentic experience to consumers. Whether

interacting with people of similar ages or with similar passions, or with people one would never normally come across, the

world of peer-to-peer commerce offers genuine communal interaction in addition to the commercial transaction.

It might take more work to seek out and participate in experiences that feel more authentic, but this is often part of the

appeal. Says Vipin Goyal, co-founder and CEO of P2P experience company SideTour: P2P travel is not for people who want

to lean back, its a lean-forward experience.

PEER-POWERED TRAVEL

DRIVERS (contd.)

This movement is being driven by an interest in supporting local communities and

artisans, and knowing more about the people behind the things we buy. Its a shift away

from the mass-market efciency, ease and low-cost mindset that has dominated the past

couple of decades. Life came in a more packaged formeverything from food to your

vacation. Increasingly, people want to experience the unique gems [while traveling].

VIPIN GOYAL, co-founder and CEO, SideTour

P2P hospitality: Peer-to-peer lodging companies are challenging traditional hotels by offering a wider variety of

accommodationsfrom a couch to a room to full homesat generally lower prices. Couchsurng, initially run as a nonprot,

launched the idea of strangers hosting travelers nearly a decade ago. Today, P2P accommodation services may be making

the market for travel bigger, says Chris Fralic, a partner at First Round Capital, a venture capital rm that has made

multiple bets on peer-powered companies. [They] may be adding a whole new category that didnt exist before.

Some communities are now tapping in to this model to attract visitors. Villagers in Ghalegaun, Nepal, which is coming to be

known as the homestay village, spruced up their homes so they could rent out rooms to travelers; the towns unofcial

motto: Come as guests, go as friends.

MANIFESTATIONS

COMPANY WHEN WHAT WHERE HOW MANY NEWS OF NOTE

Launchedin 2011

Claims to be the Europeanleader in private short-termrentals, having recentlyacquired Airbnb rivaliStopOver.

Based inBerlin. Listingscover about100 countries.

More than 50,000members and25,000 placeslisted as of May2012.

With iStopOveracquisition, gaineda Toronto hub andraised inventory.

Launchedin 2008

Connects travelers lookingfor accommodations withpeople who have rooms,apartments or homes (andhouseboats and treehouses)to rent.

Based in SanFrancisco.Listingscover morethan 30,000municipalitiesin 192countries.

300,000-pluslistings; over 10million guestnights booked.

Growth has zoomed.Airbnb booked 5million guest nightsin the monthsbetween late Januaryand June 2012equivalent to thenumber it booked inthe years between itslaunch in August 2008and January 2012.


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WHAT WELL COVER (contd.)PEER-POWERED TRAVEL

MANIFESTATIONS (contd.)


P2P hospitality (contd.)

Foundedin 2005 Marketplace for vacationhome rentals, connectingtravelers with homeownersand property managementcompanies.

Based inAustin, Texas.Listings in 171countries.

700,000-plushomes listed. Recently formed apartnership withTravelmob, a leadingP2P lodging sitein the Asia Pacicregion.

Foundedin 2004

The Craigslist of travelconnects hosts with travelerslooking for a free bed or

couch. Members can opt into an identity-vericationservice, and doing so leadsto higher placement inthe sites search results.In addition, members areasked to leave references oneach other after any kindof in-person meeting, anda vouching feature allowsmembers to publicly declaretrust in each other.

Based in SanFrancisco.Listings cover

200-pluscountries.

More than 5million members.

Became a BenetCorporation in 2011.Raised a $7.6 million

round of nancing in2011, and another $15million in 2012.

Launchedin 2011

Enables people to rent theirbackyards as what it callsmicro-campsites.

Based in theU.K. Abouthalf thelistings arein the U.K.and halfinternational.

600-plus listingsas of August2012.

Provided much-needed affordablelodging duringthe 2012 LondonOlympics. Still in thepromotional stageand not yet collectingfees from hosts.

Foundedin 2013

A gay-friendly version ofAirbnb, for hosts who are gayor welcoming of gay visitors.

NA NA A partnership betweengay travel sitesmygaytrip.com andsejourning.com.

Founded

in 2009

Caters to mid- to high-end

business travelers looking foralternatives to traditionalhotels. Properties areprofessionally managed.

Has ofces

in Singapore,New York andthe Philippines.Listings in3,600locations.

60,000 listings. Connects property

renters with localbusinesses that offerrelevant services, suchas culinary tours ora maid service. Aftermerging with Lofty in2012, received $2.1million in funding.


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P2P hospitality (contd.)


P2P experiences: A crop of startups promise travelers a locals-eye-view of a city or an otherwise unique experience. Says

Gidsy: Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to nd stuff to do, whether you are looking for a private guide to

show you around local art spaces or take you mushroom picking in the forest.

The success of these services is driving some P2P lodging companies to provide their own offerings. Onenestay, which focuses

on high-end properties, provides an iPhone lled with the homeowners local recommendations. Plus One Berlin is a loft rental

that comes with a network of 35 locals ready to meet guests and show them around Berlin or simply meet for a conversation.

Founded

in 2011

Focuses on experiences

offered by real people,who are encouraged tomonetize their expertise for areasonable fee and advertisetheir activities through socialnetworks. Offerings haveincluded a hot-air balloon rideover Luxor and a workshop oncreating upcycled accessories.Takes a 10% cut from eachorganizer.

Based in

Berlin. InAugust 2012,expandedfrom 13 cities(includingNew York,Berlin andAmsterdam)to a globalpresence.

NA Received a $1.2 million

investment in early2012 from venturecapital rms andAshton Kutcher.

Foundedin 2011

An Airbnb imitator and one ofthe largest European playersin this space.

Based inBerlin. Listingscover 100countries.

100,000registeredusers. 150,000accommodationslisted.

Raised $90 millionin venture capitalfunding in 2011.During the rst threemonths of 2012,Wimdus globalrevenue quadrupled,to more than 5million per month.

Theres a lot of people who think, Im going to New York, Im an art lover, Im going to visit

the Met or the MoMA. You can walk in yourself; you can hire a docent to take you through

it. Or you could go to SideTour and have a New York artist who has spent the last 30 years

exploring the Met walk you through the museum from his perspective, through his aesthetic

lens. It just changes the nature of the experience.

VIPIN GOYAL, co-founder and CEO, SideTour


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P2P experiences (contd.)

Foundedin 2010

Foundedin 2011

Launched

in 2011

Relies on a network of SoulMates to advise travelers onthe best places to visit, eat,drink, etc. After travelersselect a Soul Mate, based onwho seems most compatiblewith their tastes, theyreceive a physical guidebooklled with customizedrecommendations.

Promises amazingexperiences that cant befound anywhere else: e.g.,hire a former CIA disguisetechnician for a crash course

in creating disguises or sitin on a professional breakdancing practice session.Hosts set their own prices,and SideTour takes a 20% cut.

Founded by a Japan-born

entrepreneur (the namemeans to be a guidein Japanese), Shiroubeconnects anyone interestedin acting as a travel guidewith travelers looking forpersonalized tours.

Based inAustria.Operates in11 cities,includingNew York,Barcelona,Zurich, Parisand Tel Aviv.

Based in NewYork; operatesin New York,Washington,D.C.,

Chicago andPhiladelphia.

Based in Paris

and Tokyo.Operatesin morethan 3,000internationalcities.

NA

NA

NA

NA

Was part of thesummer 2011TechStars startupaccelerator program.Has received $1.5

million in venturecapital funding.

Shiroube is

self-funded by itsco-founders.

Launchedin 2011

Offers offbeat experiencesaround the world: e.g.,members have bookedstays on Alcatraz Island inSan Francisco and toursof the citys Tenderloin

neighborhood guided by ahomeless man; a shing tripin Fiji with a local king; and acupcake crawl in Washington,D.C. Takes a 3% fee from thetraveler and a 15% fee fromthe tour guide.

Based inSan Francisco.

Offers 2,500-plus travelexperiencesto users in 600cities.

Was a summer 2012participant in the YCombinator businessincubator program.Reports revenuegrowth of 30% a week

since May 2012.


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P2P transportation: Shared transport covers everything from cars to boats and planes. In some cases companies are focused on

lling empty seats (in cars, on planes), while in other cases the vehicle or boat itself is shared. While some ride-share-service

drivers are professionals, many are simply seeking to earn extra cash, help the environment or meet new people.


Launchedas a sideproject undera differentname in2006. Firstemployeehired in 2009.

A people-powered transportnetwork that matches payingpassengers with seats in cars;pitched as a new, affordableway to tour Europe. Memberscan post how social they wantto be, from Bla to BlaBla toBlaBlaBla.

Based in Paris.Operates innine Europeancountries.

2.8 millionmembers, with800,000-plusdrivers. Around550,000 passen-gers travel eachmonth.

NA

Launchedin 2011

A P2P version of Zipcar.Members can rent othermembers cars via iPhone orthe Web. For iPhone users,the car doors automaticallyunlock when the designated

phone is near the car (adevice is installed in vehiclesfor this purpose). Those whorent via the Web must meetthe owner to get the keys.The cars are also insured.Getaround claims the averagecar sits idle 22 hours per day.

Based in SanFrancisco.Operatesin the BayArea, SanDiego, Austin,

Portland,Ore., andChicago.

More than 10,000cars available forrent as of August2012.

Raised $13.9million in additionalnancing in August2012. Yahoopresident and CEOMarissa Mayer is an

investor.

Launchingin 2013

One of several boat-sharingP2P services, Boatbound isaccepting requests for earlyinvitations. Differentiatesitself by offering $1 million inLloyds insurance coverage.Says the average boat owneruses the vessel only 14 daysa year.

NA NA Founder AaronHall hired Airbnbsrst employee,Nick Grandy, as anadviser. Aims tochange perceptionsof boating as a richwhite mans sportby borrowing quirkyideas from car-sharing servicessuch as Lyft.

Launched

in 2013

Allows travelers who leave a

vehicle at airport parking torent it to incoming travelers.Renters are screened, and allcars insured up to $1 million.

Based in San

Mateo, Calif.,with carsavailable atSan FranciscoInternationalAirport.

NA Founded by former

Harvard, Princetonand MIT students.


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P2P transportation (contd.)

Launchedin 2012

A P2P ride-sharing servicewhose business model issimilar to SideCars (seebelow). Accepts donations(average amount: $10)rather than fares from riders;takes a 20% fee from thesedonations. Cars are decoratedwith giant mustaches when onLyft duty.

Based inSan Francisco.Operates inSan Francisco,Los Angelesand Seattle.Aims to ex-pand interna-tionally.

As of October2012, four monthsafter launch, 250-plus drivers wereproviding hundredsof rides a day.

Parent company Zim-ride raised $7.5 millionfrom venture funds.After a feud with theCalifornia Public Utili-ties Commission, Lyftreached an interimagreement that enablesits continued legaloperation and set aprecedent for upcom-ing legislation.

Launchedin 2013

Connects yers with privatejet owners, operators andcharters looking to ll unusedseats. In contrast to otherjet-sharing networks, doesnot charge a membershipfee. People looking to joinare vetted by customerservice reps and checkedagainst Homeland SecuritysNo Fly List.

Based inMassachusetts.

NA Founded by JustinSullivan, who hasexperience in thecharter ight businessthrough his servicePrivate Flite. Plans tolaunch an iPhone appsoon, followed by anAndroid app.

Launched

in 2012

This community-based,

real-time ridesharingmarketplace relies on amobile app to match peopleseeking rides with those whohave extra space in their cars.Performs background checkson drivers and says drivershave decent cars.

Based in San

Franciscoand operatesin nine U.S.cities.

500 drivers in

San Francisco.

Raised $10 million

in Series A nancingfrom Google Ven-tures and LightspeedVenture Partners.Has faced regulatorydisputes in Califor-nia and Texas, yetcontinues to expandto new cities.

Foundedin 2011

Spinlister, which brieychanged its name to Liquid,connects riders with bikesfor rent, whether fromindividuals or existing bikerental shops. Members canpost photos of their bikes andoffer them for rent or seekspare wheels.

Launched inSan Franciscoand New York,and recentlyrolled outaround theU.S. Aimsto expandinternationally.

500-plus bikesavailable forrent.

Went ofine fora few months inearly 2013 when thefounders decidedto explore otherinterests. In April,one of the seedfunders, Brazilianentrepreneur MarceloLoureiro, took overwith plans to revampthe service, makingit more social, and tobuild a mobile app.


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P2P social connections: Websites like Meetup.com have established the idea of using online tools to connect like-minded

people in real life. Now, a niche set of travelers is using P2P apps, sites and services to make connections on the go. KLM made

news in late 2011 with Meet & Seat, a program that enables customers of the Dutch airline to check out the social media

proles of other opted-in passengers and select a seatmate they nd interesting, attractive or good for networking. As ofNovember 2012, about 10,000 yers had used the service, per a company spokesman.


Launchedin 2010

Helps users nd travelpartners for long-haul oradventure trips. Travelerslist trip details and rank theexcursion on a 1-5 scale interms of difculty, cultureshock, remoteness and risk.

Based nearSydney.

3,000-plus user-created trips arelisted (many ofwhich have beencompleted).

NA

Launchedin 2012

Enables women travelingalone to meet other women(travelers or locals) fordinner so they dont haveto venture into restaurantsalone.

Based inGlouces-tershire,England.

NA NA

Launched

in 2011

Designed for users to share

a drink with an attractivestranger in the totally safeenvironment of a publicairport. Member prolesresemble dating-siteproles, but the site saysmembers might also meet forcompanionship or simply topass the time.

Based in

Miami.

60,000 members

as of March 2013.

NA

Foundedin 2011

Similar to KLMs Meet & Seat:Lets yers upload itinerariesvia TripIt, then connectsusers to people within

their Facebook or LinkedInnetworks who are on thesame ights.

Based inCopenhagen.

More than 1,500meet-ups as ofMay 2012.

NA


14/39


A culmination of a number of developments weve spotlighted in our Things to Watch over the yearsfrom Couchsurng in

2008 to Crowdfunding in 2009 to Micro-Businesses like Airbnb in 2011 to P2P Experiences in 2012the peer-powered economy

is about to reach critical mass. Forbes estimates the share economy will generate $3.5 billion in revenue in 2013.

As P2P companies begin to disrupt major industries, many established players will turn to existing laws and regulations to

limit their growth. But there are alternative (or parallel) paths that big brands can take that are less knee-jerk and more

forward-thinking. For one, they can use the emergence of this new competitive set as an opportunity to rethink how they

operate or position their B2C businesses in this growing P2P economy. And they can examine what kinds of new behaviors and

expectations the P2P model is creating among consumers and start delivering against those.

History suggests that ghting peer-to-peer models is a awed approach. Look no further than the music industry: A decade-long

war on music-sharing sites mounted by the Recording Industry Association of Americain which the industry lobbying group sued

college students and teenage infringersonly helped turn music fans against the industry, and P2P music sites thrived.

The silver lining for some brands is that P2P services may help to grow a market: Venture capitalist Chris Fralic notes that

Airbnb may be widening the market for travel, with its cheaper, more varied accommodations. Getting more people passionateabout travel is ultimately good for many businesses.

Plus, as SideTours Vipin Goyal points out, the P2P element in itself is not whats drawing customers, who dont make the

distinction, but rather its the nature of the experience and the quality of the experience that matters. Consumers are

looking for something more interesting and more uniqueand any company that can meet this challenge will gain an edge.

Embrace the P2P era: Rather than fear or ght the encroachment of this new competition, established brands can embrace

this development in a variety of ways. Perhaps the easiest is to partner with peer-powered businesses in the same or related

categories. Travel guide publisher Lonely Planet, for instance, partnered with Airbnb to create dual discount offers.

Taking it one step further, brands can add a P2P element to their business or launch a business line that addresses a newly

created demand or challenge to their industry. For instance, hotels could partner with P2P experience or dining companies tooffer guests unique activities or meals. To make the most of underutilized space, Marriott is partnering with LiquidSpace, a

P2P work space-sharing platform, offering conference rooms as well as public spaces in select properties around the U.S.

In partnering with these

upstarts or launching their

own version of a P2P service,

established brands can infuse

freshness or modernity into

their persona, broaden their

appeal and/or get an existing

consumer segment to look atthem in an interesting new

light. Initiatives such as this

also provide the opportunity

to learn more about the

audience, inner workings, and

strengths and weaknesses of

P2P enterprises.

PEER-POWERED TRAVEL

WHAT IT MEANS

Image credit: Marriott
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5okgKTCP9jAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5okgKTCP9jAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5okgKTCP9jA


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Take inspiration from the P2P model: Whether or not brands partner with P2P services or add P2P elements, the P2P model

can suggest new, more innovative approaches: Are there ways to take inspiration from the things consumers like most about

P2P services? And are there ways to leverage digital technologies designed to match supply with demand, consumers rising

trust of strangers and proclivity for sharing, micro-entrepreneurs and so forth in order to better cater to consumers or marketexisting services?

For instance, P2P companies thrive on utilizing idle assets, a supply (of cars, rooms, downtime, etc.) that can be activated at

a low marginal cost and generate signicant marginal revenue. Traditional businesses can employ P2P technology to optimize

existing capacity and become more efcient.

P2P services also strip out the middlemen and/or various overhead costs, often providing more for less. So traditional

businesses will need to nd ways to either do likewise or provide lower-cost options that do away with some amenities or

restrict the offering in some way.

Many businesses are built around models formulated in a pre-digital era when consumers had very different mindsetsmodels

that will need to be tweaked, if not shaken up altogether. The success of Airbnb, for example, just shows that the way wethought of and built and booked and ran hotels has to change, says venture capitalist Chris Fralic. Whether its a good thing

or a bad thing, its so hard to tell.

Build in more authentic experiences: One of the strengths of the P2P economy lies in its ability to deliver authenticity,

local avor and idiosyncrasyattributes that appeal to a growing subset of consumers, especially Millennials, who seek out

one-of-a-kind, share-worthy experiences and shy away from anything that comes across as prepackaged, cookie-cutter or too

standardized. Big brands need to look for unique ways to

build these attributes into their services, without it feeling

forced or too inauthentic.

Hotels have been experimenting with ways to do this.

For its properties in Asia and the Middle East, in 2012

Mvenpick Hotels & Resorts announced a Local Flair

Getaway concept, which connects travellers with

unique local experiences that are light years away from

traditional tourist attractions. Examples cited include

an Arabic cooking experience or visiting a local vineyard

in Jordan. And in February 2012, Hilton Worldwide

announced that Authentically Local packages in

the Caribbean and Latin America would be available

through the end of the year; in addition to various experiences,

Hilton provided a language immersion pin for guests who wanted

employees to speak to them in the local tongue.

Facilitate the impulse to connect and share: Consumers increasingly

are open to trading goods and services with strangers, from lodging

to meals. Brands will need to tailor their selling strategies to

accommodate this high-tech bartering culture. Hall St., for instance,

enables hotel guests to trade reservations, bypassing the hotel itself

in the process (Hall St. takes care of the changes). Hotel brands could

re-insert themselves into the process and facilitate behaviors that are

already taking place, potentially winning brand loyalty.

PEER-POWERED TRAVEL

WHAT IT MEANS (contd.)

Airbnb and similar services allow for their

own native experiences, where youre in

the fabric of the city in a way that youre

not when youre in a hotel. Its kind oflike the difference between taking a

plane and taking a train: The train brings you right into

the heart of the city, and the plane puts you into the

ugliest part of the city, just because they had to put an

airport there.

LISA GANSKY, author, The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing

Image credit: Hall St.
http://www.hallst.com/http://www.hallst.com/http://www.hallst.com/


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THOUGHT STARTERS

Are there benets to partnering with P2P hospitality

platforms such as Airbnb?

Is there a service you can launch that addresses needs

currently being fullled by P2P challengers in travel?

Are there ways to take inspiration from the things

consumers like most about P2P travel services?

Since some consumers buy into P2P services for their

local avor and authenticity, how can you play up those

attributes in your brand experience?

Can you incorporate P2P technology into your model, as

either an alternative or add-on to your current business?

Is there a consumer who would benet from a P2P

service but is currently being overlooked by the market?

What strengths can you play up to differentiate your B2C

brand in a positive way? If P2P companies are directly

challenging your business, what can you offer that is notavailable or guaranteed through these new channels? Can

you highlight existing offerings that help distinguish your

business from P2P services?


Millennials will drive adoption, but dont overlook their elders: As our survey showed, Millennials are most open to and

enthusiastic about the P2P marketplace. But the market will draw in consumers across all segments. Some may be driven by

the affordability, others by the novelty aspect, others by practical concerns. In imagining beyond the P2P early-adopter crowd,

brands (both P2P and B2C) can nd untapped opportunities.

Play to your strengths: For all their appeal, P2P markets have their inherent weaknesses, including inconsistent service or

quality, cloudy value propositions and the need to deal with strangers, an issue that will continue to discomfort a signicant

segment of consumers. Beyond the matter of trust, some people will inevitably feel awkward doing business with peers:

Theres always tension between the person who is the employer and the person who is the employee that could turn users

off, noted Altimeter Group analyst Susan Etlinger in The New York Times, talking about P2P services.

Established brands can leverage these negatives by emphasizing that working with a more traditional, trusted business can be

easier, more convenient, less awkward and even more affordable than choosing a peer-provided service.


17/39Image credit: Porto Bay Trade

HYPER-PERSONALIZEDTRAVEL

Consumers are coming to expect highly personalized services, and the

travel industry is starting to respond by ne-tuning offerings around

individual customers.
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Predictive Personalization: One of our 10 Trends for 2013, this is the idea that brands of all stripes will increasingly be able

to predict customer behavior, needs or wantsand tailor offers and communications very precisely. Companies will leverage

the massive amount of data now available to them, from sources including app usage, loyalty cards, Web-browsing trails

and especially social media. Analysts are beginning to tackle unstructured data streamsFacebook posts, videos, etc.adding ever more information about the habits and preferences of consumers.

Organizations can now explore questions that were previously too costly, urgent or complicated to extract from patterns

within large data streams. They are learning a great deal more about consumers than was ever possible through traditional

market research and focus groups.

Consumers living publicly: Todays wealth of social media postings result not only in massive quantities of data that

companies can analyze but a quality of personal data that was unthinkable just a decade ago. Many consumers have grown

accustomed to living their lives publicly, readily sharing likes or aversions, favorite activities and personal photos with

increasingly broad circles. Information like thissay, a passion for chocolate or a regular yoga habitenables hotels to easily

cater to guests desires.

Me-centric consumers: With information at their ngertips

and an array of social media platforms where they can

broadcast complaints, todays consumers are at the center

of their worldthey call the shots, and their expectations

are sky-high. Consumers have grown accustomed to

customization: seeing personalized suggestions on Netix,

hearing the music they like on Pandora. To some extent,

this expectation has long existed in the travel category

e.g., hotel loyalty program members might expect to be

automatically provided with their customary pillow choice

but its rapidly expanding and heightening.

Impatience with Web tools: It seemed that the Web would

make travel planning easier, but many of todays travelers

have grown weary of scrolling through dozens of user reviews,

consulting myriad sources for suggestions and otherwise

seeing time slip away as they research what to do and where

to go next.

Travel category gets tougher: Travel industry companies are

being forced to ght harder for customer loyalty because

theyre working against several enduring challenges,

notably the ongoing post-recession battle to get consumers

spending, the rising price of commodities such as oil, far more

empowered consumers and stiffer competition (projects that were on hold during the height of the recession have reached

completion, and travel inventory is high and rising).

Companies shift from reactive to proactive information gathering: Increasingly, even rst-time customers will be known

entities as travel companies shift from reactive information gathering (guest preference forms, noting guests comments to

hotel staff) to proactively researching customers before they arrive. Notes a recent Travel + Leisure article, Prying is the

new pampering.

HYPER-PERSONALIZED TRAVEL

DRIVERS

For hotel companies, social media has

essentially become a sanctioned form

of eavesdropping. ... In todays social-

mediated paradigm, wherein everyone lives in public,

all guests can be treated like celebrities.

What Your Hotel Knows About You,Travel + Leisure, February 2013

Image credit: Jonno Witts
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnowitts/2429145049/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnowitts/2429145049/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnowitts/2429145049/


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Hyper-personalized customer service/interaction: Whether through basic research via Google and Facebook or via

sophisticated data mining software, travel brands are going the extra mile to cater to customers on an individual basis.

British Airways, Know Me:

British Airways spent several years

gathering passenger data from

many sources into one database

before launching its personalized-

service program aimed at VIP

and frequent iers in 2012. As

examples, crew might pay extra

attention to a rst-time business-

class customer (demonstrating

how to use the seat, for instance)

or fuss over a frequent businesstraveler who is on a personal trip.

BA conducts Google image searches

of these VIPs, enabling airport ground

staff and ight attendants to readily

spot them (a move that stirred some

controversy). Since 2011, staff have

been equipped with iPads so they can

easily log and share new customer

data, allowing for hyper-personalized

service from start to nish.

Disneys MyMagic+: The Walt Disney

World Resort in Orlando is rolling out

MagicBands, wristbands equipped

with RFID chips. Guests using the

wristbands will be able to personalize their experience by rst inputting their information into a website or app. Then,

for instance, Cinderella might say to a child, Hi, Angie. I hear its your birthday. And as guests queue up for the new

Little Mermaid ride, a robotic Scuttle, the seagull character, may chat directly with MagicBand wearers. The wristbands

will also enable ride reservations, payments and act as keys for guests staying at Disney hotels. The program is part of a

costly effort to make visiting Disney parks less daunting and more amenable to modern consumer behavior, according

to The New York Times.

Fine-tuned dining: With the help of software and Internet companies such as OpenTable

and Urbanspoon, restaurants are logging detailed data on customer preferenceseverything

from food allergies to an afnity for crushed or cubed ice. Patrons can then have their

needs catered to without having to ask; diners may even visit a restaurant for the rst time

yet be treated like a regular, since establishments under the same ownership generally

share data.


MANIFESTATIONS

Image credits: British Airways; Disney; Urbanspoon

We put this programtogether so we can

demonstrate to

frequent customers that we do

know them and can anticipate

their needs and deliver the

service they expect.

SIMON TALLING-SMITH, EVP ofthe Americas, British Airways,

British Airways gets more personal,USA Today, July 8, 2012
http://www.britishairways.com/http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/01/taking-the-disney-guest-experience-to-the-next-level/http://www.urbanspoon.com/http://www.urbanspoon.com/http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/01/taking-the-disney-guest-experience-to-the-next-level/http://www.britishairways.com/http://www.urbanspoon.com/http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/01/taking-the-disney-guest-experience-to-the-next-level/http://www.britishairways.com/


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Luxury hotels researching every guest like a VIP: Its long been an open secret in luxury travel that hotels research VIP

guests online to help staff recognize them and to use relevant personal details to create opportunities to surprise and

delight, as high-end hoteliers are fond of saying. For instance, staff at Accor hotel properties (which include Sotel and

Novotel hotels) check public social media proles of loyalty club members before they arrive, then present customizedgifts when they check in, such as a behind-the-scenes tour of Tru in Chicago for a foodie guest or VIP hockey tickets for

a sports fan.

Increasingly, luxury hotels are performing such research on every guestand bragging to the media about it. Some examples

from a February 2013 Travel + Leisure article:

- Online research revealed that a guest at a high-end Beverly Hills hotel had a dog named Bo. When she arrived, she found

a doggy gift and note reading Bo misses you in her room.

- One&Only Resorts looks at guests Twitter feeds, work-related sites and blogs to compile detailed proles with photos

for managers to review. Similarly, St. Regis Bora Bora Googles every guest two weeks before arrival and writes up a short

prole thats shared with department heads at their next-day arrivals meetings.

- When restaurateur Danny Meyer stayed at the Little Nell in Aspen, hotel staff found a photo of his family online, then

printed and framed it, and placed it in his room on Fathers Day. It was about customizationone-size-ts-one. Thats

true hospitality, he told Travel + Leisure.

Libra OnDemand: This company provides customer relationship

management for hospitality companies, trawling social

media data to create a complete 360-degree view of each

customer. This service provides hotels with intuitive

information for all clients, not just the VIPs previously proled

via manual searches. High-end hotels like the Surrey in New

York and the Viceroy Group have adopted the service, as

well as convention hotels and even Red Roof Inns and Holiday

Innsno longer is this practice the exclusive province of luxury

properties with high staff-to-guest ratios.

Personalized itineraries: Trip planning, once the

primary domain of travel agents, has become arduous

for travelers, who nd themselves sorting through

myriad recommendations across different sites, some

even creating spreadsheets to manage it all. A number

of companies are focused on helping travelers create

itineraries tailored to their interests by aggregatingdata from a pool of varied sources.

Citybot: Citybot collects data from various travel

review sites, such as TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet

and Yelp, and factors in Facebook likes and

Instagram streams to build itineraries. Users can

choose from existing itineraries or create their own by employing lters such as trip start time, start and end points, means

of transportation and desired activities (museums or outdoor, for instance). Its available for Austin, San Diego and San

Francisco, and New Orleans is in the works.



Image credits: Libra OnDemand; Citybot
https://www.facebook.com/LibraOnDemandhttp://www.citybot.com/http://www.citybot.com/https://www.facebook.com/LibraOnDemandhttp://www.citybot.com/https://www.facebook.com/LibraOnDemand


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Utrip: Focused on the European market, Utrip allows users to select the duration of their trip and a trip prole (The

Student, The Luxury Traveler, etc.), and indicate the importance of 13 types of activities on a scale from most to least

important; Utrip then builds a day-by-day travel guide.

Ness: A convenient tool for travelers and locals alike, this iPhone app

serves up personalized recommendations for nearby restaurants after

trolling through social data from sites such as Facebook, Twitter and

Foursquare. As TechCrunch explains,

Thanks to its data-driven technology,

the app serves results on restaurants

that you would probably like (based on

social signals and your input), as well as

provides an element of serendipity with

personalized results.



Image credits: Utrip; Ness

Todays traveler, accustomed to a hyper-personalized digital experience, is coming to expect the same in real life and during

their travels. While some brands have been hyper-personalizing service for the most loyal customers for a while, the advent of

Big Data tools will help enable this to a far more extensive degree.

While Big Data has the potential to transform all industries, some analysts believe the travel sector could feel the greatest

impact, and sooner than others. Travel companies are already armed with an array of data about their users, from VIP and

loyalty programs. Yet many travel brands are just starting to put this information to good use. Given the rise of the me-centric

traveler, companies will need to connect all the dots to create individualized experiences.

The challenge will be to identify not only broad patterns of behavior but individual ones as well. Once armed with these

insights, marketers can then tailor offers, messaging, customer service and more. Savvy brands will be able to address needs

as they arise, perhaps even before travelers seek solutions. This brings an unprecedented level of personal service and

attention to travelers, something they increasingly expectbut theres a line beyond which most will feel spooked. Marketers

will need to assuage privacy concerns and show how their use of data benets the consumer.

Make transactions more personal: As more of our world becomes digitized, anonymous, automated and virtual, consumers are

craving a more human touch. For the travel sector, it will be a matter of balancing technology-based solutions that help save

time when it comes to checkout, ordering, ticketing and the like with the hands-on service that make guests feel pampered

and catered to. Paradoxically, consumers are more apt to nd this onlinewith personalized suggestions on sites such as

Netix and Amazonthan in the real world. Most travelers get the same generic experience as everyone else, even membersof loyalty programs. By amalgamating various data streams, travel brands can start offering the tailored recommendations and

attention that consumers take for granted online.

Using data to build consumer proles can take the anonymity out of interactions with a brand, improving customer service.

New tool sets will help marketers expand personalized treatment beyond loyal customers of one locale or brandas were

seeing with restaurants under common ownership that pool data to offer tailored dining experiences.

WHAT IT MEANS
https://utrip.com/http://www.likeness.com/#http://www.likeness.com/#https://utrip.com/http://www.likeness.com/#https://utrip.com/


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Tread carefully around privacy concerns: While travelers

will come to expect more individualized attentionespecially

the youngest cohort, who already consider personalization

the normthey will nonetheless take some time to adjust tothe idea that marketers know a great deal about their lives

and can predict their needs. After British Airways announced

its Know Me program, for instance, a slew of consumer

critics called it an invasion of privacy, objecting especially to

the companys hunting for online information about users.

In our November survey of American and British consumers,

around two-thirds of respondents said the idea of customized

offerings gleaned through data collection feels like Big

Brother is watching, and that the idea of companies

predicting their needs or customizing offers based onpersonal habits and preferences is anxiety-provoking. (See

Figure 2A; for country breakdowns, see Appendix, Figures

2B-C.) Millennials, who are coming of age in an era of open

sharing, are least likely to feel anxious or violated by the

idea of having their data tracked.

Wary of the idea that their actions are being tracked and

analyzed, some consumers have started demanding the right

to be ignored (not to have their data tracked at all), the

right to be forgotten (after their data has been collected)

and the right to know how their information is being used.

Meanwhile, governments are enacting tighter controls. And

as the privacy and transparency debate heats up, some of

the tech giants are ramping up their self-regulation.

Transparency will become increasingly important for

companies that leverage consumer data. They will need to

explain what digital data they collect and why, then assure

consumers theyre to be trusted with the information.



Its OK with meas long as I getrelevant offers

62%

74

68

50

Its OK with me aslong as I save money 64%

70

71

56

I think this will helpsimplify my life 48%

62

51

37

FIGURE 2A:

Attitudes toward personal data collectionPercentage of American and British adults who agree with thefollowing after learning that, through data analysis, companiescan predict what theyll want or need and create customizedoffers for them as individuals


It feels likeBig Brother iswatching me

65%

57

67

69

This makes mefeel violated

51%

48

54

50

The idea of beingtracked and analyzed

makes me anxious64%

58

67

65

THOUGHT STARTERS

How can you use public information about your

customers to create hyper-personalized experiences?

How can you earn travelers trust so they are open

to opting in to loyalty programs and other means of

collecting behavioral data?

Are there ways to better personalize the online

experience?

What are some unique ways your brand can put data

to use to make the ofine experience better for your

guests?


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WHAT WELL COVER (contd.)MILLENNIALS ON THE ROAD

Millennial travelers, who have grown up in a globally connected world, are eager to explore the globe. Known for their

boundless optimism, todays 18- to 34-year-olds are exceptionally open to new adventures and unique, immersive

experiences, including those that may challenge their often-limited budgets. They view hotels and restaurants as social

destinations, places to meet new people and partners. Millennials look for personalized travel options, especially those

enabled by technology, which allow them to nd deals, make fast travel decisions with a short planning cycle and share

the results in real time via social media.

While many cant afford as much leisure travel as theyd like, Millennials

display remarkable ingenuity in getting what they want by using online deal

sites, recommendations from social networks, travel apps and crowdsourcedreview sites. Amenities-laden hotels, at a value price, appeal to their idea

of enjoying the best of everythingpreferably tailored to their preferences.

They assess their experiences with an especially critical eye, ready to share

opinions with social networks and review sites. When these travelers have

a complaint, theyre more apt to post it on Twitter before, or instead of,

telling the hotel manager. (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, among

others, now employs a team of people to monitor and post responses to

such criticisms.) In turn, they look to social networks and review sites for

guidance. More than 57% of Internet users aged 18 to 34 are motivated

to purchase travel by their friends and followers recommendations,

according to eMarketer.

Millennials dont travel as much for business as older travelers, but they will represent about 50% of spending on

business ights by 2020, according to The Boston Consulting Group. When ying for business, Millennials want to be

comfortable and connected, enabling them to be productive or entertained while en route. They also put a premium on

being in control and are 60% more likely to upgrade airplane seats for more legroom and much more inclined to pay for

in-ight entertainment than other groups, BCG reports. As a result, Millennial business yers typically pay 13% more than

average per ticket.

Image credit: Lauren Manning

6 IN 10Internet users aged

18 to 34 are motivated topurchase travel by theirfriends and followers

recommendations

Close to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenmanning/2254913382/http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenmanning/2254913382/http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenmanning/2254913382/


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WHAT WELL COVER (contd.)MILLENNIALS ON THE ROAD

The decision-making process: Innovation is a big draw for young travelers, and that begins

with deciding where, when and how to travel. Not surprisingly, Millennials are more apt than

older generations to use mobile apps to make travel arrangements, according to BCG. They

are also more likely to use online travel agents and aggregator sites to plug into Travelzoo,

Kayak, TripAdvisor, Expedia and traditional carrier websites. These tools help them book

travel on their own terms, in a way that ts seamlessly into their schedules.

Millennials rely more heavily on user comments and online content when booking travel than

older counterparts. Bad reviews from friends can quickly come to light thanks to the social graph

laid across the Web, and this virtually guarantees Millennials will look elsewhere. Millennials also

have a stronger tendency to plan leisure travel in groups, with friends or family.

What Millennials are looking for: All-inclusive package deals that provide an upscale experience without leaving

travelers feeling nickel-and-dimed for every little extra speak to Millennials sense of value and fairness.

An offbeat place to stay found on Airbnb or unusual activities booked through P2P services like Vayable appeal to

Millennials desire to avoid impersonal service and the standard experience. The story of the unusual trip is a prize

unto itself.

Travel brands that are addressing their needs: Brands are starting to provide

ever more options, catering to the Millennial desire for a more customized

experience. Going beyond the now-established idea of a pillow menu,

Hilton Worldwides luxury Conrad chain now offers three different brands

of toiletries and lets guests choose which they prefer. Guests at the Hyatt

Century City in Los Angeles can select their own owers from a cart in the

lobby to brighten their room.

Evidence of Millennials power in the travel marketplace lies in the growingnumber of new concepts being marketed specically to younger travelers.

New hotel brands such as Moxy, a partnership between Marriott and Ikea,

and Starwoods trendsetting hotel chain Aloft offer style and a scene at an

affordable price. W Hotels W Happenings concert and event series is a way

for the luxury chain to become a social destination as much as a place to stay,

encouraging single travelers to book a hotel room instead of bunking with local

friends or family.

Capitalizing on young travelers retro-cool tastes,

Virgin Atlantic has introduced freshly prepared,

premium mixed drinks on the ground, at its premierClubhouse at Londons Heathrow Airport, and in

the air, where the in-ight bar is bedecked with

Swarovski crystals. Other airlines concocting hip

cocktails include British Airways, Cathay Pacic and

Singapore Airlines.

Image credits: TripAdvisor; Conrad Hotels; Moxy Hotels; Virgin Atlantic
http://www.tripadvisor.com/TripFriendshttp://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/index.html?WT.srch=1http://www.moxyhotels.com/en/http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/travel-information/airport-guides/london-heathrow/clubhouse.htmlhttp://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/travel-information/airport-guides/london-heathrow/clubhouse.htmlhttp://www.moxyhotels.com/en/http://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/index.html?WT.srch=1http://www.tripadvisor.com/TripFriendshttp://www.moxyhotels.com/en/http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/travel-information/airport-guides/london-heathrow/clubhouse.htmlhttp://www.tripadvisor.com/TripFriendshttps://apps.facebook.com/tripadvisor/?fb_source=search&ref=br_tfhttp://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/index.html?WT.srch=1


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Over the following pages, these 20-plus Things to Watch offer a quick rundown of a wide range of developments in travel, from

innovative tech tools and services to new categories of hotels to the next hot vacation theme.

Airports As Destinations

With longer waits for security checks and more ight delays, travelers are

spending more time in airports, and airports are providing money-generating

ways to spend that time. USA Todayreports that Vancouver is planning a

400,000-square-foot luxury outlet mall for its airport, while Dallas/Fort Worth

Internationals Terminal A just expanded its retail and concession space by 50%.

Hong Kongs airport now has an IMAX movie theater. Dusseldorf International

Airport, popular with business travelers, includes a pharmacy, dentist,

hairdresser and postal services at the info desk. More than a dozen North

American airports now offer spa services. Los Angeles International Airport has restaurants run by celebrity chef Masaharu

Morimoto as well as a golf course next door that stays open until 10 p.m. And last year, Ikea installed a temporary family-

friendly lounge in Frances Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport with comfy sofas and even beds to nap on.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

With the mobile device now an Everything Hub and content accessible through the cloud, businesses

must adapt to BYOD culture. Airlines including Virgin America, American Airlines and Lufthansa

are offering audio and video via Wi-Fi for those who eschew the seat-back screen in favor of their

own. Likewise, some hotels are enabling guests to watch pay-per-view movies on their own devices

as well as the rooms TV; network bandwidth that can handle guests streaming video is becoming

increasingly important.

Cheap Chic Hotels and Hostels

Hotel chains are taking a page from Ikea, Target and H&M and delivering contemporary design at a cost-sensitive price.

Starwoods Aloft hotels helped dene the trend with open, club-like lobbies that feature lighting changes throughout the day,free bottled water and fast Wi-Fi. At citizenM hotels in Amsterdam, Glasgow and London, guests check in at self-serve kiosks,

which saves on front-desk staff, engaging the wandering ambassador if

they have problems. The Superbude hotel-hostel in Hamburg incorporates

reused materials in its rooms, such as wallpaper made from newspapers

and beer crates as stools. Ian Schragers no frills Public hotels are

furnished with replicas and ea-market nds.

Hostels are getting hip too: Grupo Habitas Downtown Beds in Mexico City

combines communal rooms with en suite rain showers, according to The

New York Times, and Kex hostel in Reykjavik features an old-fashioned

barbershop, gastropub, and an event space for concerts, open mic nights,comedy routines and other lively happenings as the hostels site explains.

Conscious-Luxe

Eco-hotel once suggested huts on the beach in Costa Rica with no running water or electricity. Now guests might stay at an

eco-hotel without knowing it. Take the LEED Platinum-certied Leela Palace hotel in New Delhibuilt at a reported cost of

nearly $400 million and t for a maharajaor the upcoming Singita Mara River Tented Camp in Tanzania, built largely of natural

and recycled materials and completely off the grid, yet is complete with a swimming pool, other amenities and a custom-

designed solar system for power. Meanwhile, more hotels and tour operators are doubling down on philanthropy, making a

serious effort to support local communities and focus on the triple bottom line.

THINGS TO WATCH

Image credits: Ikea; Virgin America; citizenM
http://www.dezeen.com/2012/07/16/ikea-lounge-at-charles-de-gaulle-airport/http://www.virginamerica.com/vx/booking/wifihttp://www.citizenm.com/glasgow/http://www.citizenm.com/glasgow/http://www.virginamerica.com/vx/booking/wifihttp://www.dezeen.com/2012/07/16/ikea-lounge-at-charles-de-gaulle-airport/http://www.citizenm.com/glasgow/http://www.virginamerica.com/vx/booking/wifihttp://www.dezeen.com/2012/07/16/ikea-lounge-at-charles-de-gaulle-airport/


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Digital-Into-Physical Postcards

Various services allow vacationers and others to turn digital snapshots into snail-mailed

postcards. Tools like Sincerelys Postagram app and Postcard on the Run (Technology

delivered the old-fashioned way) satisfy todays rising appreciation for physical objectsand slower forms of communication.

The Documentary Traveler

As more travelers chart their trips on social sites, travel companies are starting

to make tweeting, Instagramming and posting easier and more automatic.

Sydneys Luna Park was a forerunner, launching My Experience in 2011.

Visitors who buy an Unlimited Rides Pass receive wristbandswhich they register

online using a smartphone or computerthat they scan at ride exits to launch

a Facebook status update (choosing from several options) or use to post ride

photographs in real time. At days end, guests get an emailed summary of their

experience thats also posted to Facebook. Spains Ushuaa Ibiza Beach Hotel letsguests share their clubbing experience on Facebook by scanning RFID-enabled

wristbands at kiosks throughout the venue; the hotel is planning an upgrade that

will rely on ngerprint recognition.

For the 2013 U.S. presidential inauguration, the Loews Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C., got a lot of buzz for offering a

package that included a social media butler to keep guests online proles updated (although the package failed to sell,

according to Politico). More broadly, hotels and theme parks are selling sessions with professional photographers. The Wall

Street Journal recently reported that Jumby Bay, a Rosewood Resort in Antigua, offers a two-hour photo session for couples. Vai

Resorts gives guests digital copies of ski photos expressly for social media (while still charging for high-quality prints), and a chip

embedded in lift tickets lets skiers automatically upload photos to social networks.

Holographic ConciergesAiming to offer memorable (and socially shareable) novelty, high-tech design and attentive

customer service with no manpower cost, travel providers are creating digital avatars to serve as

human assistants. Starwoods hip, affordable Aloft-branded hotels introduced holographic greeters/

concierges in late 2011 to orient guests on hotel features and nearby shopping and dining. Several

airports have added holographic assistants, and Iberia has two holographic virtual agents at its

hub in Madrid to provide information about using check-in kiosks and boarding procedures.

Hopper

This buzzed-about booking site aims to be a one-stop-shop for

all travel planning needs. In development since 2007, Hopper

has raised a total of $22 million in funding and counts anumber of travel industry heavyweights on its executive team,

including a former employee from TripAdvisor and ex-Expedia

engineers. Built on big data and sophisticated algorithms, the

forthcoming service aims to aggregate and catalog fragmented

travel information from across the Web to create a discovery

and recommendation engine. Users will be able to search for

all the information they need based only on a vague idea

like Mediterranean cruise, according to the site.

THINGS TO WATCH

Image credits: Postcard on the Run; Ushuaa Ibiza Beach Hotel; Iberia; Hopper
http://www.postcardontherun.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21I1EveJpHghttp://www.terminalu.com/europe/even-more-virtual-agents-coming-to-airports-next-stop-new-york/26481/http://www.hopper.com/http://www.hopper.com/http://www.terminalu.com/europe/even-more-virtual-agents-coming-to-airports-next-stop-new-york/26481/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21I1EveJpHghttp://www.postcardontherun.com/http://www.hopper.com/http://www.terminalu.com/europe/even-more-virtual-agents-coming-to-airports-next-stop-new-york/26481/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21I1EveJpHghttp://www.postcardontherun.com/


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Hospitality Industry Works to Stay Fit

The hospitality industry is rolling out new and more varied

options for tness on the go. The prime example is Even

Hotels, a middle-market tness-oriented franchise thatInterContinental Hotels Group plans to debut in New York

City in 2014. Amenities will include a large gym, guest rooms

outtted with tness walls and/or exercise balls, and quick-

turnaround laundry service for gym clothes, according to USA

Today. Yoga is becoming a popular amenity: Several hotel

chainsincluding Singapore-based COMO Hotels and Resorts,

Kimpton Hotels and Afnia Hotelsoffer yoga equipment, instructional videos or classes, and more are joining them. Last year

Hilton tested the idea of adding a dedicated yoga room, and Westin created more space for yoga in its tness centers. San

Francisco International Airport built a yoga room for travelers.

Todays consumers are trying to cram a bit of everything into their busy lives, and theyre also blurring work and personal timeattending to business emails while on vacation but also taking some me time on business trips. With new research showing the

downside of sitting for long periods and the benets of even brief workouts, watch for hospitality providers to compete more

keenly when it comes to variety and depth of tness options.

Hotels in Africa

Driven largely by an explosion in business travel to Africa, international hotel

brands are racing to expand their portfolios. Marriott plans to open a property in

Kigali, Rwandas capital, in July, and aims to grow its African properties sixfold by

2020. French hotel group Accor is planning to add almost 5,000 rooms in 30 hotels

by 2016, and Starwood intends to open 10 African hotels in the next three years.

According to W Hospitality Group, planned hotels in Africa have increased by 17%

year-over-year.

Insta-cations

Staycations have been popular since the 2008 recession, but

many of todays consumersever more budget-conscious and

overworkedwill opt for quick, affordable bursts of fun in lieu of

longer excursions or breaks. People looking to inject fun into their

lives will seek the type of unusual one-off experiences and mini-

vacations theyve been nding on some deal sites, the more novel

and adventurous the better.

Live-Streaming LifeMemories will be live-streamed in real time. The newest super-

compact video camera from GoPro is 30% smaller and 25% lighter

than its predecessorsa big selling point for the skiers, divers

and other extreme sports enthusiasts who love to document their

exploitsand includes built-in Wi-Fi, enabling live-streaming

of footage. Users can also control the camera remotely using a

smartphone app.

THINGS TO WATCH

Image credits: Even Hotels; Marriott; GoPro
http://evenhotels.com/galleryhttp://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tcpeg-taba-heights-marriott-red-sea-resort/http://gopro.com/http://gopro.com/http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tcpeg-taba-heights-marriott-red-sea-resort/http://evenhotels.com/galleryhttp://gopro.com/http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tcpeg-taba-heights-marriott-red-sea-resort/http://evenhotels.com/gallery


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Nature As Antidote

With urbanization rising steadilytoday more than half the worlds population lives in cities, compared to less than 40% in

1990more people will retreat to nature to escape the pressures, noise, pollution, trafc and other stressors of the city. Well

also see this urge manifest in other ways too, from an embrace of natural, organic elements in dcor to ever more nature-themed entertainment programming.

Political Vacations

Afuent travelers are seeking new kinds of status trips, as embodied

by Political Tours of the U.K., which offers clients current affairs

at rst hand. This includes a tour of Northern Ireland led by BBC

correspondents and trips to hot spots including Georgia, North Korea,

Libya and Kosovomany curated by political experts with insights into

the region.

Real-Time Translation

App creators are looking for new ways to break through language

barriers with software that translates two-way conversations in near-

real time. Examples include Jibbigo, which translates typed and spoken words; Vocre, which

can handle 36 languages; Sakhr, which translates Arabic; and Word Lens, which translates typed

words into English from Spanish, French, Italian and German or vice versa. Samsungs Galaxy S4

comes with the S Translator, which can translate nine languages from speech to text or text to

speech, as well as email and text messages.

River Cruising

River cruising is slated to make a splash in the travel industry. In 2012, for instance, British cruise brands Voyages of Discovery

and Hebridean Island Cruises both introduced river cruises. Viking River Cruises expects to have 100 ships on rivers around the

world by 2020. Other companies are adding river cruise itineraries worldwide, as well as new ships.

Set Jetting

New Zealand has seen a 50% spike in tourist visits since

The Lord of the Rings debuted in 2001, and The Hobbit

is expected to bring even more travelers to the nation.

Long popular among lm fanatics, set jetting will

become more mainstream, especially as more sites

start to tout their Hollywood connections. As part of the

promotion for 50 years of James Bond lms, the stars

made appearances at set locations around the U.K. in

2012. This year, Life of Pi (lmed in India) and The LoneRanger(the American West) are expected to help draw

visitors to lming locales.

Shopping Hotels

In Middle Eastern countries including the U.A.E., Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and

Bahrain, megamalls with hotels in them are fueling a tourism recovery after the Arab

Spring of 2011 took a toll. In March, a Sheraton opened in Dubais Mall of the Emirates,

and the upcoming Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi will house seven hotels.

THINGS TO WATCH

Image credits: Political Tours; Gizmodo; Hobbiton Movie Set Tours; Pullman
http://www.politicaltours.com/http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/12/the-iphone-app-from-the-future-we-cant-stop-talking-about/http://www.hobbitontours.com/Hobbiton-Movie-Set-and-Farm-Tours/MOVIE-SET-FARM-TOUR_IDL=108_IDT=2014_ID=11970_.htmlhttp://pullman-dubai-malloftheemirates.com/en/http://pullman-dubai-malloftheemirates.com/en/http://www.hobbitontours.com/Hobbiton-Movie-Set-and-Farm-Tours/MOVIE-SET-FARM-TOUR_IDL=108_IDT=2014_ID=11970_.htmlhttp://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/12/the-iphone-app-from-the-future-we-cant-stop-talking-about/http://www.politicaltours.com/http://pullman-dubai-malloftheemirates.com/en/http://www.hobbitontours.com/Hobbiton-Movie-Set-and-Farm-Tours/MOVIE-SET-FARM-TOUR_IDL=108_IDT=2014_ID=11970_.htmlhttp://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/12/the-iphone-app-from-the-future-we-cant-stop-talking-about/http://www.politicaltours.com/


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Smarter Check-Ins

Hotels, airlines and airports are using RFID and NFC, combined with customer phones, to smooth

and speed up the check-in. Frances Toulouse-Blagnac airport is aiming to use NFC to enable

travelers to pass seamlessly through the airport using just their mobile phones. Qantas frequentyers get a RFID-enabled card that functions as a boarding pass; they use it to check in at a kiosk

upon arrival, then ight details are sent to their phone. (Qantas also offers RFID-enabled baggage

tags, linking luggage with the iers ight info to ensure proper handling.) Similarly, hotels

including Starwoods Aloft and Hyatt now issue loyalty cards that can double as room keys. Hotels

are also enabling guests to use NFC-equipped smartphones

as room keys. And Hotel Skypark Central in Seoul provides

guests with smartphones that act as keys and remote

controls for the room.

Transient Hotels

These days, its hotels that are on the move, not theguests. Transient, or pop-up, hotels offer affordable rooms

in prime spots or posh lodging near seasonal events such

as music festivals. Sleeping Around, a Belgian company,

transforms 20-foot shipping containers into luxury rooms

and transports them to cities around Europe. The Pop-Up

Hotel, a British rm, will supply luxury safari tents at Junes Glastonbury Music Festival, as well as a full restaurant and

exclusive use of luxury brand new tented shower and toilet blocks, no doubt a valuable festival perk. Podpads will also

offer rooms at Glastonbury, but theirs look like small plywood cottages. Another business using shipping-like containers as

rooms, Snoozebox, operated at the London Olympics, reportedly achieving 85% occupancy, and became a surprise nancial

success. With travelers increasingly interested in one-of-a-kind adventures, these hotels help provide an experience that

few friends will be able to replicate.

Travel Becomes More Inclusive

All-inclusive resorts where everything is pre-paidactivities, meals, tips,

etc.have existed for decades. But now the concept is expanding to a

wider variety of travel options. The guiding idea is transparency: What

you see is what you get, and its all included. Cruise lines, known for their

pricey extras, are starting to include airfare and before- and after-cruise

hotel stays in their prices, with Regent Seven Seas and Seabourn leading

the charge. The rate at the new Ovolo hotel in Melbourne, for example,

includes minibar items, Wi-Fi, local calls and breakfast. And packages with

Orenda, an Adirondacks retreat, include headlamps, hydration packs,

gators and trekking poles, as well as reside meals plus swimming, shing,

hiking and other classes.

These providers are all attempting to create a feeling of effortless living

(as Ovolos website puts it), alleviating that spike of anxiety every time

travelers open their wallet. A U.K. survey by Jet2.com predicts a 10%

increase in all-inclusive travel bookings for 2013 vs. 2012.

THINGS TO WATCH

Image credits: Qantas; Sleeping Around; Ovolo Group
http://www.qantas.com/http://www.sleepingaround.eu/http://www.ovologroup.com/hotels/19LBS/en/http://www.ovologroup.com/hotels/19LBS/en/http://www.sleepingaround.eu/http://www.qantas.com/http://www.ovologroup.com/hotels/19LBS/en/http://www.sleepingaround.eu/http://www.qantas.com/


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VIP Treatment

As the middle market shrinks in the developed world, more brands will nd ways to provide special service to customers with

the means or the motivation to spend. VIP treatment is becoming common at amusement parks, for example, with special

access passes allowing purchasers to skip long lines. Independent airport lounges provide a little extra comfort to travelers withan extra $15 to $50 to spend.

Women-Only Hotel Floors

With more women traveling solo, many for business, hotels from

Vancouver and Copenhagen to Singapore and London are reviving

women-only oors, an old concept once dismissed as sexist by the

feminist movement. These offer more securitysome hotels even

require a key card to access the oorand add room amenities

like fashion magazines, hair tools (curling irons, at irons)

and additional hangers. Some hotels also provide female room

attendants and offer networking events.

THINGS TO WATCH

Image credit: Naumi Hote
http://www.naumihotel.com/gallery-en.htmlhttp://www.naumihotel.com/gallery-en.htmlhttp://www.naumihotel.com/gallery-en.html


31/39Image credit: Jeanette Kr

APPENDIX:MORE ABOUT OUREXPERTS/INFLUENCERS
http://jeanettekramer.com/http://jeanettekramer.com/


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CHRIS FRALIC, partner, First Round Capital

Fralic joined First Round Capital in 2006 and is based in its New York ofce. He has focused on a

number of the rms investments in areas such as advertising technology, including Invite Media

(acquired by Google) and Demdex (acquired by Adobe); social media, including CoTweet (acquired

by ExactTarget) and myYearbook (acquired by MeetMe, formerly Quepasa); e-commerce, gaming,mobile and more. Fralic has 25 years of technology industry experience, with signicant Internet

business development roles since 1996. He was VP of business development at social bookmarking and tagging

company Delicious through the Yahoo acquisition. Fralic was also one of the early employees and VP of business

development at Half.com starting in 1999, and after the eBay acquisition spent six years with eBay in a variety of

entertainment, business development and media roles. Fralic earned a BS in nance from Villanova University and an

MBA from St. Josephs University.

LISA GANSKY, author, The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing, and chief instigator, Mesh Labs

Gansky focuses on the design of new products, services, partnerships and business models in which

access to goods, services and talent triumphs over the ownership of them. She also invests, advises,

speaks and writes on topics related to the Sharing Economy, including the hidden value in waste, cities

as platforms, shareable business models and the rise of local manufacturing. Her passion and interest

is to create and test n

f jwt travel changing-course 04.29.131

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