A late but still long hot Summer in the Desert. It really warmed up this month. Did you get out of Las Vegas for a while?
There has been some great reading over Summer and some interesting industry developments that will likely have long term affects on the travel & hospitality industry.
This month the things that caught our eye were the benefits of travel. the state of the European low cost carrier market, Google Flight’s price guarantee, space travel, new technology coming our way, meeting bookings, some cyber security, the benefit of Las Vegas and after all of that we needed a drink!
Leaving (or coming) to Las Vegas
One of the key drivers for launching Testbed Vegas was our belief that Las Vegas is an ideal location for the production of travel and hospitality technology. Since we started working toward industry creation we’ve seen more tech companies choosing Las Vegas.
We couldn’t be happier about that, but there’s so much more opportunity. David Knight of Terbine recently relocated the company from Silicon Valley to the Bright Light City and in this article he discusses a number of the reasons why Las Vegas makes sense for tech.
Add on that the main industry focus is travel and hospitality and it makes even more sense for our industry!
Happy traveler
Does traveling make you happy? At Testbed Vegas we are very much tied up in the business of travel with a technology lean. Stepping outside the business aspects of things we are also very happy travelers and look forward to everything the experience brings. Well, almost everything. Flying leaves a little to be desired.
AFAR took a look at what makes people happy through travel in this article.
Flying EU style
Speaking of flying, the EU and Europe in general is a great place to be a consumer of airline travel. By comparison to the domestic USA, the region has a remarkable stable of airlines and flight options. You can get to many cities direct and not always from what might be considered major hubs. In a highly competitive market the price of travel is also attractive for the shopper. The EU legislation around airline travel and passenger rights drives a far higher level of customer orientation and penalty for failure to deliver.
Skift reviews the state of the market and some of the broader impacts on travel in this article.
Flight best price guarantee
Google announced in August that they now offer a Best Price Guarantee through Google Flights. That means that if the fare ends up being better they will pay the difference to the traveler. Nothing new about this in hotel world, although flights is a big shift.
With the amount of cross market information Google has access to, this can be a fairly safe bet in terms of potential cost exposure. But the market attention this will bring will be greater. It’s a trial at the moment, but when launched to the full market look for the PR and regulatory battles from the OTA community.
One more step toward being at the center of travel. AFAR reviews the capability in this article.
Mandela inspirations
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
Nelson Mandela
Looking for some inspiration? Who better than a man who overcame great obstacles in his life and found the capacity to change long held views. Some inspiration from Nelson Mandela.
Up, Up, Up, Up, Up and really far away!
If all the talk about flying in this months reading has got you in the mood for a trip, why limit yourself to the atmosphere? Virgin Galactic is getting ready for prime time in New Mexico and we came across an article giving a glimpse of their brand new Space Port. Come fly with me for a cool 250K!
Tech coming to you
Taking the blinkers off our industry focus for a moment, what weird and wonderful tech is coming down the pipe for all of us? Faster flights, body doubles, lot’s of robots, flying cars. All much sooner than we might have anticipated too.
Inkl checks it all out in this article from the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hospitality helping themselves – an industry digital meeting booking experience
Should the industry drive such a platform? We are of the view that no-one looks after your best interests as well as you do. If you have a product to sell and it belongs to you, then you should be doing everything you can to sell it. It’s the most direct and low cost approach to a booking.
In reality the hotel industry has a massive global pool of meeting space and the associated operational functions to deliver the experience. Sure, they are not convention centers on that scale. They don’t need to be. The truth is the majority of meetings are small and medium events.
This inventory can be ‘productized’ and made available electronically. Get on it! With the right approach it can be as straight forward as booking guestrooms. Some attitudes will need to change along the way too!
Cybersecurity as a public good
We are also of the view that Cyber security will migrate from a disjointed discipline approached independently by government and business to a comprehensive multi-party coalition with national and global regulation. In an electronic world it only makes sense that coordinated efforts are put in place to secure the interests of the average citizen.
The World Economic Forum shares their vision of the future of Cyber security.
After all of that you need a drink!
It’s hot! In another hot part of the world they have a drink named after the city called the Singapore Sling. You’ve completed your reading assignment so watch this video and then head to the bar to get your well earned reward!
All work and no play makes Testbed Vegas a dull community. We can’t have that. Cheers!
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