Bong now leads Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur as general manager. He was last general manager for the Fraser Residence Sudirman Jakarta.
Keeping road-warriors safe in a crazy world
THERE are always risks that travellers need be aware of regardless of their destination. What is important is for travellers and organisations to understand these travel risks and have processes and systems in place to mitigate these risks. Preparation and mitigation of travel risks is paramount to ensure a safer travel.
The risk for a worker travelling or working abroad can cover a wide range of issues in addition to the traditional occupational safety, health and security considerations.
Some of these issues are: health issues such as cardiovascular diseases; quality and accessibility of adequate healthcare; location-specific infection risks; lost medication; lost travel documents; the quality of state security and emergency services; road traffic accidents; political unrest; violent crime, terrorism and conflicts; major accidents; natural disasters; as well as cultural and legal complexities.
A recent Ipsos Global Advisor study found that although 80 per cent of travellers had concerns about safety abroad, less than four in 10 travellers research about the level of crime at a destination, what neighbourhoods they should avoid, the safety standards of public transport, or security features at their accommodation before they travel.
The study also reported that while 71 per cent of senior executive travellers had experienced a medical problem abroad, only 15 per cent assessed the adequacy of local healthcare before travelling. In addition, nearly one in three trips abroad are to countries with higher risk ratings than the traveller’s home country.
For companies, Duty of Care to employees is the expectation – not the exception. International travel is a large component of many organisations to such an extent that the definition of the workplace is evolving, integrating professional travel and assignments.
In order to fulfil its Duty of Care responsibility to employees, organisations need to consider the different needs of the many types of working travellers. They can be a senior executive who is travelling to close an important deal, a consulting technician who is travelling to service a system or a manual labourer working with a large group building a road through a jungle.
When employees feel unwell or unsafe when travelling, it will cause them to feel extremely vulnerable. As such, organisations need to ensure that adequate measures and support are in place for their employees.
A practical framework which organisations can use should include these elements: policy development and implementation; dynamic threat and hazard identification and risk assessment; organising, planning and implementation; evaluation; and action for improvement.
Organisations should ensure that adequate health, safety, security and legal protection measures are in place for their workers on international travel assignments for the following reasons.
First, prevention, timely intervention and mitigation of incidents reduce costly disruption to business activities, help to improve morale and strengthen productivity.
Secondly, an adequate identification of threats and hazards, and the management of risks during an incident may allow for the continuation of activities or the development of new opportunities, which could have otherwise have been lost.
Meeting these responsibilities can mean a positive return on investment. Moreover, this protection is an important part of corporate social responsibility. It is important to ensure that all relevant legal obligations are met, hence reducing risks that an organisation could face with litigation.
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Juliana Gim is the managing director of International SOS Singapore.
This article is writen by Juliana Gim
Bastian Breuer
Marco Polo Hotels has appointed Breuer as group director of restaurants, bars and events. His most recent position was EAM of F&B for The Ritz Carlton Macau, where he was part of the pre-opening team.
Hertz perks now available to Le Club AccorHotels members
AccorHotels and Hertz have entered into a
partnership that will boost the former’s loyalty programme, Le Club AccorHotels, with several special car rental offers available worldwide.
Members of the programme, which covers properties across a multitude of AccorHotels brands such as Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure and ibis, stand to enjoy a 10 per cent discount on prepaid and non-prepaid Hertz Classic retail rates worldwide; one additional driver at no extra cost; complimentary one-car-class upgrades, depending on the Le Club AccorHotels member tier; and access to a delivery and collection service (according to Hertz terms and conditions), among many others.
The partner agreement runs until March 2019.
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport unveils new Jewel Wing
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, part of InterContinental Hotels Group, has added a new 10-storey extension to the property.
The hotel, the only one located outside the transit area of Changi Airport, now has a 563-key inventory, an increase of over 75 per cent from its original 320 rooms. All 243 rooms at the new Jewel Wing are Business Rooms in King (28m2) or Twin (38m2) configuration.
Rooms cater well for business travellers, with amenities such as an ergonomic work station, complimentary Wi-Fi, wireless printing of documents, and a Handy smartphone for free unlimited local and international calls to 11 countries.
General manager Sunshine Wong told TTGmice he hopes to continue reaching out to one essential group – the MNCs.
He said: “There is definitely one segment of the MICE business that we’re looking for, which is all the multinationals based in Singapore. We also believe that this hotel can be positioned as a hub, meaning regional MNCs can have their meeting here for two, three days and off they go. That’s what we’re targeting and we’ve been quite successful in going after that segment.”
Jewel Wing welcomed its first guests on August 1. The new wing is named as such as it will overlook the Jewel Changi Airport retail complex once the building is completed in 2019.
The property expansion is also coming ahead of the airport’s Terminal 4 opening slated for 2017. Crowne Plaza Changi Airport first opened in 2008.
Grand Hyatt lands in China’s province of culinary arts
The first Hyatt-branded property in China’s Sichuan province has opened, offering 390 keys, seven F&B establishments, an advanced fitness centre with a full range of modern gym equipment and an indoor heated swimming pool.
A dream for business event planners, Grand Hyatt Chengdu features over 3,000m2 of event space including a 712m2 ballroom, a 1,350m2 outdoor terrace and Residences, a cluster of private meeting rooms measuring between 81m2 and 311m2.
The hotel is located on floors 10 to 39 of Chicony Square and is a 30-minute drive from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
A princely new addition in Tokyo
The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, has opened The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel, marking Starwood’s first-ever luxury hotel in Japan’s capital. It is part of mixed-use development Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho, which comprises commercial, residential, retail and entertainment spaces. Haneda and Narita airports are 45 and 90 minutes away by road, respectively. The hotel features 250 rooms and suites, four F&B venues, an indoor pool, as well as a spa, gym and business centre.
It is part of mixed-use development Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho, which comprises commercial, residential, retail and entertainment spaces. Haneda and Narita airports are 45 and 90 minutes away by road, respectively. The hotel features 250 rooms and suites, four F&B venues, an indoor pool, as well as a spa, gym and business centre.
New corporate travel tools promise to help cut costs
Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s (CWT) Solutions Group has introduced four new proprietary products to help corporate travel managers cut costs and engage their travellers in new ways.
The new products help companies reduce non-compliant spending, reclaim surcharges on corporate car rentals, analyse traveller data and provide ground transportation options.
According to CWT research, travel managers don’t have visibility over nearly a third of a company’s travel and expense (T&E) spend because it isn’t consolidated in a single data set. With the new solution, CWT hopes to give them better control of expense management.
Christophe Renard, vice president of CWT Solutions Group Worldwide explained: “Our T&E platform automatically consolidates all data sources, including from the travel management company, from credit card spend, and third party suppliers. We use that information to provide an immediate view of all non-compliant spending.
“We can also reconstruct the total cost of each trip. Travel managers can then have an accurate view of all spending, compliant and non-compliant, enabling them to adjust their policy as necessary, or make sure it is better communicated internally.”
He continued: “Our new traveller segmentation platform segments travellers’ behaviour using key data including demographics, seniority and travel frequency information. It means travel managers can tailor their communication to each traveller, encouraging those travellers to comply with the policy. The end result is greater savings and a reduced overall travel spend.”
And on helping corporates save on car rental surcharge, Renard said CWT Solutions Group “shares the recovered costs” with clients and gives them “the bulk of the savings”.
CWT’s new solution also gives travel managers the means to guide their travellers to the most appropriate form of transport.
An arduous ascent to the summit
Event brief
The Mount Mulu National Park, located in the remote northeast of Sarawak, was selected as the venue for the sixth edition of the World Ecotourism Conference. The park is one of Malaysia’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the nature category, the other being the Mount Kinabalu Park in Sabah.
Conference convenor, Lee Choon Loong who is also president/CEO of Discoverymice and regional vice president (Asia-Pacific), UNWTO Affiliates Board, hoped this would spur tourism to Mulu National Park, where arrivals have remained stagnant at 18,000 per annum, and also to Mount Kinabalu Park, which was hit by a major earthquake in June 2015.
Since its inception in 2009, the World Ecotourism Conference has always been jointly held with the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). The aim is to discuss policies and trends that weigh on sustainable tourism development and practices, nature and culture conservation, community development and responsible tourism.
Challenges
The MASWings flight scheduled to connect the organisers and bulk of the participants from Miri to Mulu was cancelled due to an engine fault. The next scheduled flight available was departs the following morning. This was especially disappointing as the participants had been eager to join the Sarawak tourism minister, Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg, at a welcome gala dinner at Mulu Marriott Resort and Spa that evening.
Having no Internet access and limited voice communication services at the venue brought further disruptions. “We could not access our internet-based information systems – only Celcom subscribers could use their mobiles with limited internet and event speakers could not access their presentation videos.
“There were other surprises,” recalled Lee, who said the lack of email access prevented them from finding out about last minute sign-ups or back-outs.
And on the technical tour involving exploring four showcaves at Mount Mulu National Park, he said: “The entire excursion was an arduous 11 hours. The well-being of all participants depended very much on their level of fitness and good weather,” Lee said.
Solutions
As soon as Lee heard about the flight cancellation, he called a state government officer to explain the situation. The civil servant in turn contacted the management of MASwings which then arranged for another aircraft to fly the group to Mulu. The opening ceremony proceeded on schedule.
Luckily, there were no rain showers on the day of the technical visit to Mulu Caves and guests had a wonderful time.
Key takeaways
On hindsight, Lee said it would have been wiser to fly participants to Mulu in batches.
He further opined it is critical to seek the support of the local government when organising a conference in a remote destination, as the government would have the necessary power and “machinery” to address any challenges along the way.
Lee also advises participants with international connections to allow a one-day buffer, so they would not miss their flight connections in the event of any delays or cancellations.
Event: 6th World Ecotourism Conference & 1st Malaysia Ecotourism Summit
Organisers: Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia; Tourism Malaysia; Malaysian Ecotourism Association; Asia Pacific Ecotourism Society; Discoverymice; UNWTO
Venue: Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa and Mt Mulu National Park in Sarawak
Date: January 27-30, 2016
Number of participants: 100 guests
Plaza Premium debuts in Taiwan in a big way
The Plaza Premium Group has made its first foray into Taiwan with the opening of four airport lounges at Taoyuan International Airport.
Located at the departure terminals in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, the new lounges – decked out with a timber and trees theme – span over 2,500m2 and can comfortably seat 600 in total.
Facilities include the brand’s signature honeycomb seating, hot showers, private resting suites, VIP rooms, meeting rooms, along with the availability of electrical outlets, international TV channels, newspapers and magazines, and complimentary Wi-Fi. There will also be hot food available, freshly prepared at live-cooking stations.
The company has also sponsored two Travellers Experience Zones, one in each terminal, to allow travellers to experience various lounge facilities.
At the opening ceremony in July, Song Hoi-see, founder and CEO of the group, said: “Plaza Premium Lounge in Taipei is the first project of our group in Taiwan. We have invested a lot in Taipei by introducing four cutting-edge Plaza Premium Lounges to facilitate travellers departing from, transiting through and arriving at Taipei.”
The basic lounge package in either terminal starts from NT$1,300 (US$40.50) for two hours.
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