Anantara: winning on price, and . . .

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If you line up 20 boxes that Bangkok ticks that places like Singapore, KL and Sydney don’t, it wins on price, food, service, luxury and setting, says this hotelier. And the City of Angels has one other, matchless attribute.

“If you’re bringing eighty or a hundred people to a conference and you tell them it’s in Bangkok or Thailand, they’ll be excited,” says Paul Counihan, Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing for the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort and Spa.

“On the other hand if you say it’s in Bhutan or KL, they might decide to give it a miss. That’s because Thailand has an allure that makes it a wonderful choice for MICE decision-makers.”

Paul Counihan (pictured) should know. The engaging, effervescent 36-year-old is a career hotelier who admits to having started pulling pints when he was 14 years old in his native Ireland.

He’s lived and worked in Bangkok for the past nine years, and in his current post has helped make the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort – a sprawling, leafy resort on the banks of the Chao Phraya River – a five-star property that challenges brands like Peninsula and Shangri-la for luxury and service.

Thanks in part to Bangkok’s growing international appeal, the Anantara Riverside is attracting unprecedented levels of business and enquiries, Paul says. “The number of events we’ve hosted recently or that we have booked in is extraordinary.”

Recently a global pharmaceutical company had their annual conference at the hotel. It’s also hosted a German car manufacturer’s Asia-Pacific team, an airline’s internal meeting and launch, and a clean energy organisation among others.

Another key reason for his property’s – and Thailand’s – success as a MICE destination is price, Paul observes. The feedback he and colleagues are getting from clients in Australia, Singapore and elsewhere is that with the current economic and political uncertainty in the world, organisers are seeking to cut costs, while wanting to reward their people with great incentives at the same time.

‘Cheap as chips’

Room rates at Anantara Riverside Bangkok including all taxes, services and gourmet breakfast served on the hotel’s serene riverside terrace start at 5,000 Thai baht (about USD 140). Day conference rates range from USD 50 per person and delegates can upgrade up to USD 100 per person per day if they want to tailor-make the experience with, for example, additional servies like in-room baristas.

“In a city like Sydney you’d be paying $450 per night at a minimum to get into a place anything like this, with all additions on top of that,” says Paul. “We do fantastic private gala dinners for clients with over 20 live stations and 30 chefs serving, for around USD 50 per head; that’s cheap as chips.

“I’ve been in Bangkok for almost ten years and I want to cry sometimes at the prices I confirm for our premises, because it’s such good value! If I go to a meeting in Singapore and pay three times in a four-star hotel that I’m paying for a five-star suite on the river at Anantara, I’m reminded again that Bangkok is a winner.”

This may all help explain why the Anantara Riverside, a pleasant shuttleboat jaunt away from the centre of Bangkok, is seeing growth in events business that would normally have gone to Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and other such destinations.

“We’re seeing more quoting up against other international cities than ever before,” Paul says.

The hotel is the flagship of the Anantara brand (owned by the Minor International group), which now operates 35 resorts in 11 countries.

With 408 bedrooms, which recently benefited from a USD $20 million upgrade, it’s set on 11 acres with 1,200 trees and 283 plant varieties growing on site. From the walkways of the lavish gardens and rooms, the Chao Phraya River and its teeming boat traffic are invariably visible.

The 12 meeting venues, spanning more than 3,000 square metres, all have natural light and include a grand ballroom that can comfortably seat 600 and which recently also underwent a million-dollar upgrade.

Avani opening next door

These spaces will be complemented by the addition of Avani Riverside, a new hotel, events and shopping precinct (opening scheduled April 2016) located adjacent to Anantara Riverside Bangkok. The $90 million Avani complex has 26 storeys, and when entirely complete will have 68 bars, restaurants and shops, and meeting facilities of 4,500 square metres (the new ballroom is pictured below). Each of the 248 Avani guest rooms and suites will have uninterrupted river and city views, Paul says.

Avani hotels, also owned by the Minor group, are what Paul describes as lifestyle, contemporary and international-style properties while Anantara represents more of a retreat and an experience – “luxury, relaxation and cultural experience of the location”. Avani is the first purpose-built hotel that Minor’s created worldwide.

“Meanwhile we’re developing an Avani in Perth, on Australia’s Gold Coast, and we’ve got 12 in Africa, having taken over half the Sun hotel group last year.”

Paul recognises that, now more than ever in the MICE market, corporate people are making big budgetary decisions when opting where to put their key people together for four or five days for an event. “Corporations see it as an opportunity to get two, a hundred or a thousand people in a room because that helps drive their business for the next year and beyond.

“We take the product we offer seriously, to create the right environment in which to conduct business and reward people, entertaining delegates and giving them a fantastic experience.”

For example at Anantara Riverside Bangkok the outdoor terrace has its own purpose-built stage and a light show, and executives can arrange to have private breakfasts on the river for up to 80 colleagues, he adds. Helping to ensure the success of tailor-made events are 630 staff. “It’s their dedication and service, which comes from the heart, that defines their work and our reputation. Their welcome is authentic and it’s what international guests expect.”

bangkokriverside@anantara.com

To the denizens of Hong Kong, time is money, and a minute lost is a potential step away from fortune. As locals will tell you, that’s the main reason the city never sleeps and its streets are constantly busy.

It’s also why the very upmarket five-star Hyatt Regency in Tsim Sha Tsui, set among the towering skyscrapers of the Kowloon Peninsula, has a strategy to keep its staff happy and motivated. It’s the most effective way to ensure guests get what they need, when they want it.

“Every minute counts in Hong Kong,” explains Mandy Law (left, main picture), the hotel’s Director of Sales. “We know that motivated staff supply the professional, friendly and prompt service that business guests expect and keeps them coming back.”

To help ensure they stay committed, the hotel’s employees enjoy flexibility in many of their working arrangements and managers make support and encourage them at every opportunity. “We have empathy interviews, for example, and really listen to what they want,” says Marketing Communications Manager Karen Ching (pictured right, with General Manager Richard Simmons). “And we make a special effort to treat casuals just as well. The benefits are real. The feedback we always get is ‘I feel like I’m treated as a person when working here’.”

Feedback from MICE guests, similarly, shows that the approach works well, Mandy says. One guest wrote: “The event service [people] did not only work on keeping the organisers happy, they cared for the participants’ wellbeing. They took ownership of our event to do the best for all present, regardless of whether they were VIPs, organisers or just participants . . . which for me personally was very touching.”

Classily furnished

Located in the Tsim Sha Tsui business and tourist district, this is a classic Hyatt establishment, many of whose 381 elegant and understated rooms have a panoramic view of the city’s harbour.

It has four restaurants and occupies levels three to 24 of the mixed-use complex K11, one of the tallest buildings in Kowloon. There’s direct access to two subway (MTR) stations in the complex.

From here it takes 20 minutes to travel to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and 50 minutes to Mainland China via the MTR.

The Regency executive club arrangement, whose guest rooms occupy three floors, gives access to daily complimentary buffet breakfasts, an all-day coffee and tea service, and substantial evening canapés and cocktails in the exclusive lounge.

Pillarless ballroom

The hotel has 590 square metres of meeting space on the lobby level, including a 335-square-metre pillarless ballroom, the Regency, which has a five-metre ceiling. It can accommodate up to 400 guests and be partitioned into two venues. Meanwhile five “salons” can be configured to provide flexibility for planners arranging smaller events. With floor-to-ceiling windows, the pre-function area and most of the salons are flooded with natural light, which Karen Ching says keep attendees fresh during meetings.

In line with what some other upmarket properties are now offering, the Hyatt supplies a free smartphone in each room, giving guests unlimited local and international calls to the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, unlimited 3G Internet access, interactive maps, a city guide as well as a list of offers across Hong Kong.

Green initiatives

The hotel recently won a medal in the “GreenPlus Award 2015” for a variety of initiatives to embrace CSR. “More and more people are asking about our green initiatives,” says Mandy Law.

These include installing LED lights and water-saving devices in rooms, accessing an “aquaponics” food production system that grows fish and herbs together, recycling glass and plastic, and replacing gas steam cabinets with electric versions in kitchens, allowing steam to pre-heat water for dishwashing machines. This Hyatt participates in a sustainable seafood program and no longer serves shark’s fin.

Meeting package: US 112

The Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui offers a variety of packages aimed at the business tourism sector. The recent “Executive Meeting Plan” started from HK$868 (US$112) per person, including lunch, coffee breaks, AV support and equipment. The online rack rate for rooms is around USD 275, but planners are urged to contact the reservations people to discuss options.

Visit hongkong.tsimshatsui.hyatt.com, call +852 3721 1333 or email hongkong.tsimshatsui@hyatt.com.

Hong Kong is overcrowded, often smoggy, clogged with traffic and nobody there gives a damn about the environment. Right?

Wrong actually. As travellers’ enthusiasm for green products and services grows unabated, more and more hotel and meetings facility operators in this beehive of a city are embracing environmental credentials to meet the expectations of MICE visitors – and help give the seven-a-half million inhabitants a vision of a sustainable future.

The autonomous Chinese territory is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Yet, in addition to its other virtues, more local operators are promoting the fact that about three-quarters of it is countryside, with easily accessible walking trails and islands.

“Not far from the commercial district, as close as a five-minute cab ride, visitors can enjoy the silence of a country trail or take in the views of the harbour from a ferry to an outlying island,” says Gregory So Kam-leung, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, writing in the South China Morning Post recently. “Few cities have dense urban and commercial districts within such easy reach of harbour and hillsides.”

Eaton example

One hotel property that’s proud of its sustainability credentials is the four-star Eaton, in the city’s Kowloon area to the north of Victoria Harbour. Last year it won a gold award in the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (and other accolades), in recognition of its efforts to cut waste and source sustainable food.

Why? With 465 guest rooms and ten meetings and events venues, the Eaton has recognised that it makes good business (its occupancy rate is typically 80% to 90%) and environmental sense to make genuine efforts to be sustainable.

One noteworthy achievement is its investment in a drinking water purification system that removes bugs from H2O and allows glass bottles to be sterilised, refilled and reused and sealed in guest bedrooms. It’s already helped the hotel eliminate the use and disposal of 350,000 plastic bottles a year, says Environmental Officer Katrina Cheng (pictured below, right).

“Waste in a small territory like Hong Kong [1,100 square kilometres] is a big concern,” says Katrina. “It’s becoming an issue for hotel guests and MICE clients in particular expect us to acknowledge and do something about it.”

Shark’s fin soup, which represents a growing environmental issue across Asia, has been removed from the Eaton’s menus, which Katrina acknowledges has had some impact on the F&B business, but “it’s an important step for us”.

The hotel gets its seafood from sources that are reliably certified as sustainable and insists on buying Fair Trade products wherever possible. These feature in its “Green Meetings” package, offered standard with no premium, which includes “low-carbon menus,” “Fair Trade coffee breaks,” waste recycling and so on.

The list doesn’t end there. The hotel provides refillable dispensers in bathrooms, LED lighting, acoustic wall panels in bedrooms made from recycled materials and “low-carbon dining options”. Each year 300 staff volunteer for a beach clean-up day and other community service activities. “We all take it very seriously,” says Katrina.

Complimentary enticements

In addition to pushing its green credentials, the hotel seeks to add value to keep customers coming back, says Public Relations and Communications Manager Erica Chan (pictured above, left). Residents can enjoy complimentary walking tours of local shopping precincts like Temple Street and the Jade Market, take a free daily tai chi class and use on-the-house smartphones in every bedroom offering free mobile data, local calls and international calls to selected countries, says Erica.

There’s a roof-top outdoor pool and well-equipped gym, and an executive lounge arrangement, the “E Club,” aimed primarily at the business tourist sector, six restaurants and an alfresco bar. The E-Club guests are served free beers all day, free cocktails and canapes in the evenings, and can take their breakfast at an exclusive buffet in the lounge.

“We’re in a great location three minutes’ walk from the Jordan subway station in Kowloon, which tends to offer a more authentic Hong Kong experience than Hong Kong Island which is more commercialised,” says Erica.

Ten function facilities

The ten function rooms include three ballrooms, one of which can accommodate up to 500. The hotel’s events business is roughly split between local companies and delegates from southeast Asian countries – Singapore in particular – as well as Australia and the UK, says Erica.

“We deal with a lot of pharmaceutical companies. They can be demanding customers but we like that; it’s a challenge and keeps everyone sharp.”

Though some critics of Hong Kong point to higher room rates than those in other southeast Asian nations like Cambodia and Vietnam, there’s much to recommend it, especially for shorter (two- to three-day) events, observe Erica Chan and Katrina Cheng.

As a business, financial and trading centre, Hong Kong is accessible to about half the world’s population via a flight of five hours or less. The public transport system is cheap and one of the best in Asia. Entry is hassle-free, with visa-free access for about 170 countries.

And finding the right venues at the right price is not difficult. Hong Kong has some 74,000 hotel rooms and tourism authorities expect another 10,000 to come on stream by 2017. That may explain why the number of overnight MICE visitors increased from 1.2 million in 2009 to 1.8 million in 2014, even though leisure tourism numbers have declined slightly in recent months.

Another drawcard, according to local journalist Yonden Lhatoo, writing in the South China Morning Post, is that Hong Kong is the safest city in the world, with a good, corruption-free police force. “The can-do spirit is for real,” he says.

Meetings packages from HKD 350 a day

Meetings packages at the Eaton Hotel including coffee breaks, break-out facilities, lunch and AV equipment start from around HKD 350 (USD 45) a day and the rack rate for the rooms is around USD 200.

For more information, go to hongkong.eatonhotels.com.

The air is dense and humid in this green and tranquil place. I pass a glassy lake flanked by lawns and broad-leafed trees. Now I find myself in a garden of vivid orchids, approaching a serene colonial house whose windows are framed by Asian screens and shutters.

Where am I? In the heart of the pristine, 74-hectare Singapore Botanic Gardens. In more than 150 years of existence, this urban oasis has become one of the world’s centres of expertise for breeding hybrid orchids, survived the interference of Japanese wartime occupiers and been listed as a World Heritage spot.

It’s also developed a reputation for being a charming events venue. The structure ahead of me, Burkill Hall (main image, courtesy National Parks Board), named after a former director of the gardens, is becoming hugely popular as a place for corporate functions, product launches and weddings, say marketers.

The only surviving example of an Anglo-Malayan Plantation style house in the city, with high ceilings, wide eaves and broad verandas on the first floor, it overlooks the National Orchid Garden, where new hybrids and clones of orchids and ornamental plants are displayed. Level one can accommodate 80 people, and level two can take 100.

Nearby, with a capacity for up to 180 guests in seminar-style seating, the Function Hall is used mainly for conferences, workshops, exhibitions and retreats.

Each booking here must be made for a minimum of four hours – including time for catering and setup and tear down.

In addition, a function room can host up to 50 seated seminar-style.

Part of the facility’s charm is that it’s a significant spot in the history of Singapore and the region, and the serenity of the gardens belies their tumultuous history. Within a few days of the Japanese occupation, which lasted from 1942 to 1945, Professor Hidezo Tanakadate of Japan’s Tohoku University assumed control of the property and asked some of the senior staff to resume their work. Other staff were not as fortunate, and were sent to work on the Siam-Burma railway. (Image above courtesy National Parks Board)

Orchid obsessions

In addition, a tour of the orchid gardens makes for a genuinely interesting pre- or post-conference activity. Orchids, bred here since 1928, are among the world’s most complex and ubiquitous plants, growing wild on every continent except Antarctica. Some orchid blooms have a perfume-like scent; others stink like rotting meat. One can grow to weigh two tons; another has flowers smaller than a pinhead.

USD 400 an hour

The rate for Burkill Hall and the other venues is extremely reasonable. The hourly cost of hiring the hall, including 7% GST, is just S$560 (USD 400) an hour, for a minimum of four hours, and the other venues are available for less.

Go here for more details:

https://www.sbg.org.sg/images/Venue%20Hire/Venues%20Rental%20Rate.pdf

Visit the gardens’ website at www.sbg.org.sg, or contact NParks_SBG_Venues@nparks.gov.sg.

A spate of reports about people behaving badly on planes and the arrival of a “PassengerShaming” Facebook page serve as timely reminders to business travellers that being rude to flight attendants can have repercussions.

It’s a sad and sobering truth that in the reminiscences of flight crew, business travellers – perhaps because of their imagined self-importance – often feature.

But staff have a variety of methods of getting even.

High wind areas
At the end of a demanding flight, according to David Sedaris, a scribe for The New Yorker, some attendants indulge in the practice of “cropdusting,” silently passing wind as they walk down the aisle. Annoying passengers are prime targets.

Captains’ call

Author Gigi Wolf recalls that flight attendants in the now-defunct airline Pan Am would routinely doctor bullying pilots’ coffee with Visine eye drops, renowned for causing “terrible” diarrhoea.

“If I was a pilot, I’d bring my own thermos and a lunch box from home,” she writes.

Or a captain might have his coffee laced with some of the liquid that flight service staff poured into empty ice buckets. This evil cocktail comprised left-over melted ice water, coffee and other dregs that attendants threw down the toilets – once the ice buckets were full – because the garbage containers leaked.

“The ice bucket had a little of everything in it,” she writes, “like minestrone soup. Getting some of this vile concoction in your coffee makes spitting in a customer’s plate at a restaurant seem innocuous.”

Contaminating drinks is a common theme. Ellen Simonette, author of Diary of a Dysfunctional Flight Attendant: The Queen of Sky Blog, writes about the time a colleague took revenge on an abusive business traveller by making him “a very special drink” in the galley, rubbing the rim of his glass on the plane’s filthy floor before serving it with a smile. “Looks like you’re finally getting what you deserved, sir,” she said.

Another ploy is to place a full bottle of water in the horizontal position with the lid off on the seat of a troublesome passenger when they get up to visit the bathroom. They usually don’t realise their trousers are wet until they’ve sat down again.

Digital dishonour

Bill Haymaker writes online that, years ago, he was evaluating service on a flight between Bahrain and London when a man lifted his thobe – an ankle-length robe – and exposed himself to a young stewardess, who was so distressed she wept.

“We moved down the aisle to where the lone passenger was. I made certain he was looking at us when I gesticulated to the man by pointing to him and then holding up my hand and lifting my ‘pinkie’ finger, wiggling it to signify the diminutive and homuncular nature of …er, um…something.

“My colleague then looked at the man . . . also holding up her hand and wiggling her pinkie finger, so as to acknowledge I was suggesting something involving the passenger was nanoscopic.”

The man appeared to be “stewing” afterwards, and was met by police when the plane landed at Heathrow.

Celebrities are not immune. A steward and fellow crew on a US airliner once took their revenge on actress Faye Dunaway.When Dunaway turned up at JFK airport with a coach ticket to London and her demands for an upgrade were refused she allegedly became enraged.

“She was . . . screaming at everyone and saying, ‘Don’t you know who I am?’,” the stewardess said. As a result Dunaway was seated at the front of the economy section on purpose so she could see that there were seats free in business and first class, making her even more furious.

Infamous meltdown

It’s hardly surprising some attendants blow up, therefore. One famous incident involved Steven Slater, a flight attendant of JetBlue airlines, who in 2010 had an argument with a passenger during boarding at Pittsburgh.

According to witnesses, he grabbed the intercom and said: “To the passenger who called me a ***, *** you . . . I’ve had it. That’s it.” He activated the emergency exit and slid down the inflatable slide onto the tarmac.

He then boarded a train to the terminal, stripping off his tie and discarding it, to the astonishment of onlookers. He was later arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.

Damned by faint praise

On other occasions crew take their frustrations out on their employers. One traveller was flying into Denver some years ago. While the plane was taxiing to the gate the attendant added the following to his normal flight patter: “We know you had the choice of flying on many bankrupt airlines today, but we thank you for choosing [ours], the number-one bankrupt airline in on-time arrivals.”

Airline staff do it tough, and not just in their punishing schedules. According to a Hong Kong-based Equal Opportunities Commission, some 27% of air hostesses said they’d been sexually harassed while on duty in flight over the past 12 months, while nearly half had witnessed or heard about it happening to a colleague.

So the next time you’re tempted to snap at one of these hardworking people, remember that their patience is not endless and there could be unforeseen consequences. You could end up on the PassengerShaming site on Facebook where some of the pictures of passengers are, well, shameful.

Or worse.

Soon after Flavie Thevenet first visited Cambodia from her native France more than 20 years ago, she walked past a family eating lunch outside their home on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh. It was obvious that they were desperately poor, yet the family insisted she share their food, and she accepted.

Flavie, pictured below, reflects on that small act of generosity often. She’s experienced such unconstrained hospitality many times over the years – more than a decade in total – that she’s lived in the southeast Asian nation and in her current role as country manager for the tour operator Khiri Travel.

Though still poor and relatively underdeveloped, Cambodia has moved on and is recovering well from its nightmarish past, says Flavie, who loves the country. “People here want to move forward,” she says enthusiastically over coffee at a Siem Reap café. “So many have started from absolutely nothing, having been through terrible times in their history, and they’re making real progress, as you can see in the standards of many businesses and hotels.”

Flavie is passionate, too, about responsible tourism, which means that Khiri Travel, which is active in supporting local communities (tagline: people, planet, profit) is proving to be an excellent fit for her.

Typical of the company’s embrace of sustainability is its pledge this year to donate to youth development 2.5% of its revenue from new educational travel group bookings visiting southeast Asia. It also supports Khiri Reach, a charity to help disadvantaged people through community development, conservation and other projects.

Established in 1993, Khiri is headquartered in Bangkok and specialises in tailored inbound tours to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Maldives with staff support in each: 14 in the capital Phnom Penh and four in the smaller city of Siem Reap, which is close to the Twelfth-Century Angkor Wat temple complex, below, the largest religious monument in the world.

One of its key offers is incentive experiences – at a wide variety of price points – ranging from community-based tourism and city escapes to country “immersions” throughout Indochina.

Each incentive trip that Khiri people organise is customised, and many are innovative, Flavie says. They can range from a trip on a private jet to a wedding in a preferred hotel, dinner on a private island, afternoon tea in a royal palace and a private caving expedition in the karst mountains of Vietnam.

A great attraction for organisers on strict budgets is that Cambodia is, in the parlance of some experts and enthusiasts, fantastically cheap. As the 1.5 million tourists who visited it last year know, this is reflected in hotel prices. According to the most recent hotels.com index that compares room rates internationally, Cambodia topped the list of cheapest hotel destinations for Aussie travellers in 2014, at an average nightly rate of AUD73, followed by Vietnam at AUD91 and Thailand at AUD113.

“The potential for incentives is wonderful here because as a MICE destination it’s really affordable as well as being authentic,” adds Flavie. “It’s not commercialised, it’s exotic and has great history; what’s more you can feel comfortable in Cambodia, it’s safe and easy to find your way around.”

Day on the lake

To experience a Khiri Cambodia adventure first-hand, I accompany Flavie and her colleague Bunseun You, Khiri’s branch manager based in the provincial capital of Siem Reap, on a day trip to “Komphong Khleang” in August. It’s one of several fishing villages set along the shoreline of Tonle Sap Lake, a freshwater system in the 13,000 square kilometre Cambodian floodplain about an hour’s drive from Siem Reap. It’s a hot, sunny day as we set off in a diesel-powered wooden boat to explore the vast lake, whose tea-coloured waters teem with fish.

As we chug along a narrow canal leading to the main body of the lake, we spy fishermen, their heads bobbing in the water, arranging circular nets at regular intervals. As we watch, one small group hauls a glittering catch of several hundred into a canoe.

“They get a lot here; the lake is very productive,” says Bunseun. “It’s one of the richest ecosystems in Asia.”

Soon we pass a floating community, which consists almost entirely of fishing vessels and home-made houseboats kept afloat by oil drums lashed together, moored close to each other. People in these floating villages are mostly Vietnamese, Flavie says. They’ve been living like this for centuries, since they migrated to Cambodia, and their livelihood depends mostly on their proximity to fish – fresh, smoked or salted – which they also sell at markets.

These villagers seem to do everything on or in the water. Next to one floating home, its deck lined with colourful flowerpots, young kids are diving and swimming. Then we pass by what appears to be a community hall afloat.

In another houseboat, whose sides are open to catch a cooling breeze, a family is gathered round a table having a meal, and a man is asleep in a hammock. Almost all the vessels have antennas, and most people we pass smile and wave, even though tourists must be a common sight here.

“It’s typical,” says Flavie. “Cambodians are so enthusiastic about sharing their food and customs and hosting visitors. It’s contagious.”

Stilt village

This is demonstrated further after we end our lake cruise and arrive at another small village. At this one, which is land-based, Flavie and Bunseun lead me to the foot of an extraordinary timber dwelling, perched on ten-metre-tall stilts. This is a necessity in the wet season when water levels can rise dramatically. Scores of these spindly homes flank a dusty street, resembling a bizarre lakeside forest.

The lady of the stilt house greets us shyly, her eyes curious, as we clamber up a steep flight of steps to the first level. Bunseon introduces her to us as Bun Kimheang, his mother-in-law. Bun, pictured in her home, left, bustles about, serving us a simple but delicious Khmer lunch of braised pork, rice and fresh local vegetables, which include yellow pumpkin-like portions, as well as ice-cold Angkor lager.

In the wet season the water can lap at the floorboards of these houses, says Bunseon, pictured below, and in such times travel is limited to wooden canoes and makeshift craft in which children paddle to and from school. People on some Khiri tours can actually stay overnight here, Bunseon explains. He shows me a curtained-off section of the next floor up, where mattresses line the floor. It’s minimalist and spotlessly clean.

Flavie, Bunseun and their colleagues pride themselves on being able to introduce visitors to experiences like these, and on their local knowledge. “We know the best restaurants, hotels, and transport companies by heart in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, and many of our team possess exceptional training,” she says.

“We choose our clients and agents carefully, because our priorities are to meet customers’ expectations while always protecting the destination; we love being in Asia for the right reasons, not only for profit or because it represents a cheaper option.”

Other Cambodia tour options from Khiri include “Cambodian Island Paradise,” “Exotic Capital, Local Delights,” where visitors can sample Khmer food on a walking tour through the heart of Phnom Penh, and “Banteay Chhmar Tented Camp”.

The latter involves overnight stays at Khiri’s luxury tented camp surrounded by massive temple ruins in the northwest of the country, a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Siem Reap. This one-night, two-day trip starts from USD422 per person. See the video and get more information here:

https://youtu.be/N6DPSi0xhXg.

Many visitors to Siem Reap aiming to see Angkor Wat also take a drive, an hour by tuktuk or 45 minutes by cab, to the landmine museum. This is a facility started by Aki Ra, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who cleared landmines with a stick and at one stage lived in a house full of ordnance. Today the museum cares for poor children who live on the site.

How much?

Khiri packages for hotels, tour guides, transport and lunch start from around USD60 per person per day, says Flavie. Five-star hotels in Cambodia, like Hyatt, Raffles and so on start from USD150 a night in the low season from about March to October, and good four-star hotels, like the Somadevi, whose pool and gardens are pictured below, in Siem Reap, cost around USD40.

Operators’ advice

Flavie Thevenet: “I recommend that travellers to Cambodia do not limit their exploration to Siem Reap and its temples. Angkor Wat and the majesty of the Khmer Empire are mesmerising, a must-see, but many other historical and scenic places are equally appealing on a smaller scale and without the distraction of huge crowds. By spending time in the countryside, travellers have more opportunity to interact with local people. Hearing their stories is equal parts charming and inspiring.”

Tighter budgets and rising costs mean the business events sector is working harder to win work. Marissa Fernandez, managing director of widely respected company Destination Marketing Services (DMS), offers this salutary advice to incentive and events planners.

1. Is it good value – and different? When selecting a destination, consider: does it offer good value for money and quality service, and is there a strong point of difference when you compare it to where the previous conference or incentive event was held?

2. Have they ever done anything like this before? Seek to create an experience that’s superior to what people in the group would have experienced in their own travels. It should obviously serve to encourage and motivate participants to continue working hard so they can enjoy similar rewards again.

3. Don’t sacrifice quality for cost. In the current, increasingly competitive market, many incentive agents are having to tender for business against their competition. With this type of bidding process, a key criterion is the cost of the program. Incentive agents are often judged on bottom-line figures, so we’re seeing more and more programs designed to be as cost-effective as possible, and competition on all levels is becoming more fierce. This is a positive change in many ways, because it keeps businesses sharper and makes them work harder to turn out the best possible program to win business.But it does create challenges when designing the best incentive experience – putting pressure on the MICE agent to cut budgets to the bone while retaining the incentive elements that make a program distinctive.

4. Plan ahead. Pre-planning is key to ensuring you always get the best deal. Timing plays a huge part in pricing. This is one area in which a destination management company (DMC) can play an essential role, thanks to their buying power. Well-established DMCs supply business to venues and hotels around the globe so they’re able to negotiate very competitive pricing via bulk buying.

5. Consider Asia, South Africa and Europe. Look to countries that offer the best value for money for meetings and events. Asia, with its proximity and great service levels, will always be well suited to MICE clients from Australia. And with the Australian dollar strong against the rand, South Africa is now more affordable than ever. Though the Aussie dollar has declined against the US greenback, it remains quite stable against the euro and this is still helping to push business towards Europe.

6. Embrace the ‘unknown’. Organisers and their delegates should remember that while past experiences certainly count, the world is forever evolving so it pays to keep an open mind and explore the unknown. Destinations such as South Korea, Croatia and the Philippines have developed into dynamic destinations for conference and incentive travel. These are often not considered, because of unfamiliarity or experiences from 20 years ago. Good companies will maintain quality while offering value, and have the vision to source and propose new destinations and ideas. They’ll not only adapt to changes in the global marketplace, they’ll respond with innovative offerings.

7. Follow the new airline routes. Airline access and routing are affecting trends in the marketplace and opening up new opportunities. For example the collaboration between Emirates and Qantas has strengthened travel to Europe with stopovers in the Middle East. New direct air services to Sri Lanka start in November and major hotel chains are investing heavily in this destination. This has already sparked a rise in interest in this new incentive location.

MARISSA INSIGHTS

Marissa Fernandez joined Destination Marketing Services in 2005 and became owner of the company on 1 October 2013, taking over from founder and industry veteran Leila Bishara (formerly Fiedler). As managing director, Marissa prioritises high standards of customer service and ethical practice in her team. Her background spans more than 20 years in tourism and hospitality, and she has worked for multinational organisations in Australia and overseas.

Email: marissa@destinationmarketing.com.au

Web: www.destinationmarketing.com.au

As I step into the lobby of the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel in Bali (pictured above), the sound of traffic becomes muted and I find myself in a tranquil oasis, offering sudden respite from the island’s humidity. Smiling staff bustle about the airy space, which abuts a green-lawned courtyard.

A turtle dove is cooing somewhere and a female crooner is singing moodily over the PA system as Stuart Bolwell steps up to greet me, hand extended in welcome. The 47-year-old expatriate New Zealander has been with this hotel for 11 years, and GM for the past three years, and the focus and continuity he’s brought to the role helps explain why ratings for this property continue to head north.

Two-and-a-half years ago, the user-generated website TripAdvisor ranked the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel thirty-fifth in Bali’s busy coastal strip of Sanur on the southeast of the island. Now it’s sixteenth, says Stuart, and the good results are reflected in guests’ comments. Its sister property nearby, the Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites, is now ranked the second-best family accommodation in the country.

The largest four-star hotel in Bali focusing on meetings and events, the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel is half an hour’s drive from Denpasar airport and the busy tourist precinct of Kuta, and a few minutes away from good shopping and its own beach enclave.

One of nine properties strategically located throughout Indonesia and managed by Prime Plaza Hotels and Resorts, the hotel is set next to a verdant nine-hole golf course. It is quintessentially Balinese: everywhere, from the gardens surrounding the 110-metre-long pool to the private courtyards adjoining many of the 329 rooms, foliage sprouts in lush profusion.

Stuart Bolwell, pictured below, is a high-energy manager, as I can attest as I try to keep up with him on a brisk walking tour of the hotel and its 18 meetings and functions spaces, which include a ballroom, the ‘Griya Agung’. When all venues are full, the resort can accommodate 2,000 MICE guests, he says.

People expect more

“People’s expectations are much higher now,” says Stuart. “Those heading off for events or leisure are educated in travelling, and in what they want and expect. That’s why you’ve got to make sure you invest more in resources and energy to maintain standards and service these days. I keep reminding my teams of this.”

The strategy is working, as the hotel has a growing reputation for providing value for money and robust occupancies, he says. This dovetails with Stuart’s philosophy ‘to under-promise and over-deliver’.

“We don’t gouge in our pricing structure, so you’re never charged more than what you’d expect,” he says.

From USD85 per night

The rate for guest rooms, most of which have just been renovated, is USD85 per night for two people, including breakfast and wifi. Conference day rates are equally good value: USD35 per delegate, including lunch and two coffee breaks as well as the latest in AV and other necessary gear. A point-of-contact person is assigned to each event to take care of every request.

Roughly half of the resort’s events business is domestic, and the rest is mostly from Australia and Europe, says Stuart. “Our distinct advantage over competitors is that we’ve been here a long time and do what we do very well. Our staff are incredibly dedicated and we have long-established relationships with local companies and third-party contractors who supply us with their services.”

Recent events hosted here include those of international teachers’ and doctors’ groups and an Indian telco. For a recent Lions club conference, the hotel welcomed delegates from 33 countries. It lasted a week and many guests either arrived beforehand or extended their stay apres-meetings to explore the island, going on day tours to the central upland town of Ubud and to the ancient Tanah Lot temple, located on the coast, which has been part of Balinese mythology for centuries.

The ballroom, which can cater for 1,100 theatre style or 750 in banquet arrangements, is a spacious pillarless 950 square metres in area, together with its pre-function area. It has dedicated vehicle access and a 122 square-metre permanent stage.

The Siteseer was not a guest of the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel.

For more information, email stuart@sanur.pphotels.com or visit www.sanurparadise.com.

Asia’s a better deal than ever. It’s the only region in the world where the prices of hotel rooms dropped for Australian travellers in 2014. Admittedly, some of the falls can likely be attributed to the weakening of the Aussie dollar, which has hit a six-year low, but the results will doubtless be of interest to most organisers seeking to run an event offshore – and not just Australians.

The latest hotels.com index, which compares Asian prices, shows that they were in fact only slightly higher than they were 10 years ago, and fell for a second consecutive year.

In Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka prices paid for hotel accommodation in cities like Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok all fell – some quite substantially – in 2014. These ranked among the best-value cities in the world for hotel stays. The only exceptions to the slump were China, Hong Kong and Japan, where prices rose modestly last year.

Conversely, says Regional Director for hotels.com, Katherine Cole, hotel rooms in Rio, Honolulu, San Francisco, London, Dublin, Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Paris were all subject to double-digit price rises. Prices rose by 15% in New Zealand, 12% in Fiji and 11% in New Caledonia. The city where Australian travellers paid the most for a hotel room in 2014 was New York, where the average price was $317.

In Australia prices increased on average by only 1% in the past year. They rose slightly in Sydney (1%), Brisbane (2%) and Melbourne (1%). They fell in Darwin (-4%) and Perth (-3%).

Best-value hotel destinations for Australian travellers in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)
Cambodia	$73
Vietnam	$91
Thailand	$113
Poland	$116
Egypt	$117

Countries where hotel prices fell the most for Australians:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)
Oman	-18%
Russia	-7%
Sri Lanka	-5%
Croatia	-5%
Taiwan	-4%

Top five international destinations where Australian travellers paid the most for hotels in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)	% change on 2013
New York	$317	7%
Rio de Janeiro	$299	14%
Cancun/Riviera Maya	$282	19%
Honolulu	$281	10%
Boston	$272	10%

Top five international destinations with the highest growth in hotel prices for Australian travellers in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)	% change on 2013
Morocco	$169	41%
Mauritius	$277	25%
Greece	$196	18%
Qatar	$197	17%
New Zealand	$162	15%

Change in Australian hotel prices for domestic travellers in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014(AUD)	% change on 2013
Hobart	$176	6%
Adelaide	$153	6%
Canberra	$185	4%
Brisbane	$172	2%
Sydney	$200	1%
Melbourne	$177	1%
Perth	$184	-3%
Darwin	$200	-4%

It’s a tough, competitive but rewarding business, says Ian Stuart, a 35-year Australian industry veteran. And when you get knocked back, there’s only one thing to do. Try again.

Siteseer: What are the main business-events trends this year?

Ian Stuart: Keeping programs engaging. Coming up with something fresh and interactive that works for attendees and the objectives of the host. It will involve tinkering with formats, using more interactivity, more open space to engage people and departing further from the traditional, didactic plenary classroom format.

It’ll be about recognising that attention spans are short and that you can learn a lot more if you’re taken out of your comfort zone a bit. That way, ultimately, you absorb much more content than might otherwise have been the case.

Another trend will be the drive to attract younger attendees – people who want to engage in different ways. I’m thinking more of the association market when I say this, but these are people who don’t necessarily share the same set of values as the older generation about the need to associate, and who may prefer to get their content in different ways, perhaps pre- or post-event.

The industry must communicate with them that there’s value in coming to events, that we’re changing; come along, experiment, explore and give us a go! It’s facing a cynical younger generation with short attention spans. They believe they can get all the information they need off the Internet and social media, and don’t believe they need to be lectured to. That’s a challenge.

SS: What are events organisers’ top priorities and what are they most interested in?

IS: A major one is obviously to maximise revenue. Another is to stay abreast of new technology and apps, legislation and software. If you’re an in-house meeting manager, you’ll want to prioritise costs and meet your budget and, importantly, keep content fresh. So it’s all about grappling with money, technology and content.

And as a host or organiser you do have a responsibility to ensure that your community is safe. That’s a plus for Australia. Walk through central Sydney and you don’t need to worry too much about being mugged. That’s not the case in many other cities around the world.

SS: What are Australia’s main strengths?

IS: We have qualified independent meeting planners and experienced in-house meeting people, and we do it in a fiscally responsible manner, delivering a high-quality experience. We have conference organisers and professional bodies like Meetings and Events Australia and the Professional Conference Organisers Association, with high standards. We have a range of accommodation from six-star to backpacker. For events coming into capital cities with many thousands of attendees, you can put them up, particularly if they’re paying for themselves, in accommodation to suit all pockets.

Our infrastructure is good, though it must be said that sometimes the attitudes of the people who work in those places could be sharpened. Some of it has to do with the fact that in Asia where they also have good buildings and infrastructure, they can afford more staff. There’s a correlation there.

The touring possibilities in Australia are special. You can say that about Europe or Asia too, but often it’s the opportunity to come to a conference in Australia that’s the springboard. Right now the dollar’s dropping, which is an appealing factor to inbound groups considering Australia.

Our proximity to Asia is important. If you’re an international association seeking to build membership in China or another Asian country and you run your event in Australia, it means you stand a better chance of pulling delegates from those areas – which you can’t say about Europe or the US.

We have a successful track record in this country of hosting prestigious events outside the business world, like the G20, the Olympics and APEC. Every time you have one of those it’s splashed all over the world and it’s great publicity.

SS: What can be done about the service difficulties you mentioned?

IS: It’s incumbent on the properties’ GMs to understand what service needs to be provided and really drill it down to all levels. GMs strive to do that, obviously, but sometimes economic pressures force them to overwork people and compromise.

SS: What kind of additional support for the industry in Australia would you like to see?

IS: A few months ago [Minister for Trade] Andrew Robb said the government would, at federal level, provide more support to the sector. It came about because the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux was lobbying federal departments to point out that the events they host in Australia are significant drivers of business, impacting the economy and the knowledge economy. To win these events is challenging and competitive, and whenever and wherever they happen, they’re good for the country. So instead of relying only on our state systems to support these gigs, we suggested Canberra should be lending more support. Andrew Robb agreed.

SS: Hasn’t the industry been pushing this line for years?

IS: Yes but it needed to get its act together and systematically tabulate the impact, which has started to happen. Many millions of dollars are at stake. If Australia fails to win a big bid, it’s the same as a $50 million export order going off to another country.

So the government has indicated it will get more actively involved. At state level, others are getting to grips with aligning their state’s investment priorities with meetings that support them. For example, if you’re strong in advanced manufacturing or mining technology, you’ll sniff out more business-event opportunities that align with those goals. It’ll give you a stronger case when you pitch and try to get the government involved. We do this in New South Wales quite well.

SS: There’s still endless talk in the business about CSR. What are the opportunities here, do you think?

IS: Business events have a responsibility to conduct their events in ways that minimise their footprint. But the way delegates engage with local communities is equally important and has the potential to leave a lasting legacy. It could be as simple as raising money to support a local need, like buying wheelchairs or supplying sports equipment and teaching local kids the basics of AFL, with executives actually visiting and helping the kids to learn.

It doesn’t cost much, but neither the recipients nor the participants ever forget it. By actively getting involved we all learn and remember more.

SS: Are you seeing more of that?

IS: Yes. At the 2014 international Rotary convention in Sydney, for instance, delegates raised $120,000 for their End Polio Now campaign. Three hundred and forty people gathered on Sydney harbour bridge and with 278 flags broke the world record for the biggest number of flags flying on a bridge at one time. A silly thing but it hit the media. The delegates paid to do the bridge climb, and the bridge climb company also gave a percentage of the fees to the cause. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matched the money raised. It was fun, with a nice CSR spin-off, and the money raised was used to buy polio vaccine for 240,000 children.

SS: What in your view are the other vital issues facing the events and meetings industry?

IS: Gaining recognition for the role meetings and events play in building knowledge, the morale of delegates, and international cooperation. Meetings can be used strategically for example to bring both sides together in the event of a merger, to explain what’s happening, break down barriers.

Other issues include, internationally, the impact of health scares like ebola, SARS, avian flu and so on, and threats of terrorism – think of the mammoth cost of security at G20 – as well as air travel after the AirAsia and Malaysian Airlines disasters.

SS: What will the most successful operators be doing differently in future?

IS: Getting to grips with what their members, audiences, delegates and event owners really want and finding effective ways to communicate with them.

SS: Australian venues are often perceived to be expensive. How do they counter that?

IS: If you’re running a big international convention using one of the convention centres, the rental cost is obviously a significant part of the budget. But increasingly there’s evidence that the city fathers in some places or landlords or operators of venues are willing to forgo the rental, or some of it, in exchange for the economic impact the event will have on the city.

It’s one way to make the Australian proposition more competitive and palatable. As you know accommodation is seasonal. Right now you’d be struggling to get a five-star room in some capital cities; at other times of the year it’s different. But we have initiatives to fill those gaps. Think of the festivals put on by cities to help fill accommodation. Room prices don’t go down if you’re hosting a cricket world cup or arts festival.

SS: If I’m an events organiser and want to find out where city fathers are offering support, where should I seek help?

IS: Contact the convention visitors’ bureau in that city. Every serious city has an agency whose job is to promote its business-events capabilities and credentials as they have the key relationships with the city fathers. You go to them and say you have an inbound group of a certain composition with hundreds, or thousands, of people. It’s economically important, and therefore you strongly recommend they look at the support that can be given. If you can’t put up a good case, save it for another time.

But it’s important to remember price is only a barrier at the initial, decision-making stage, provided you get good value and quality. When you buy expensive leather shoes and they fit like a glove, you tend to forget you paid 400 bucks for them. I’m not saying we’re in the 400-dollar leather-shoe category in Australia, but we do give memorable experiences, professional event management, good variety and a generally hospitable outlook. We hear it all the time. When we’re at trade shows internationally, people say: “I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, tell me more”.

SS: What lessons have you learned in your long and illustrious career?!

IS: Never give up. If you’re representing a convention bureau, don’t give up if you get knocked back, try again. If you’ve got a product you want to sell to an event organiser, keep chipping away. In the association world if you get knocked back by an association executive, remember his or her tenure may be fragile and short-lived! Sometimes your corporate memory outlasts their time in the role, or you know stuff about history that current incumbents don’t. You’ve gained by simply being around.

For me the actual delivery of a business event has a lot to do with theatre. It calls on the same resources as a theatre production. You need to come up with a story, script, cast of actors, set, director, venue, marketing and to weigh up the financial risk. There’s enormous satisfaction when you get it all right and you get the curtain call at the end. It’s often called business theatre for that reason.

That’s part of the deal from my point of view, having been closely involved in so many events and seen it all coming together like a well-cast show. It’s not just creative in an artistic or theatrical sense, it’s creative in a financial way, doing more with less or looking for new sources of income around the product. Exposing the opportunity to people who’ve never been to Australia before. Realising that if I take my people off to a luxury resort I’m creating an uncluttered mini marketplace where I might be able to get some of my expenses defrayed by my key suppliers. Or a supplier might like to shout us dinner . . . but tread carefully if you are in pharmaceuticals or medical devices!

None of this is easy. It’s very competitive, particularly the right to be the host venue destination or country. Competition around the world realises it of course and is sharpening its act. You have to fend off attacks all over the place. Event-management companies come up with keen and creative responses to briefs and the pitches burn up a colossal amount of man hours. It’s frustrating when you don’t make the cut.

You love what you do though?

I’ve been in the business events industry in one form or another for 35 years and I still get a buzz out of it, whether it’s trying to come up with the creative pitch to win the business, or seeing an event unfold successfully, and the smiles of the attendees and the host body afterwards. Especially when they say, “bloody good, you really shone.”

IAN INSIGHTS

Born in England, Ian Stuart came to Australia in 1974. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the management and production of major conferences, exhibitions and special events, giving him special insights into the demands of the industry as well as the challenges of winning bids and bringing events to a successful conclusion.

Since 2006 he’s consulted with Business Events Sydney promoting the city and New South Wales as an international meeting and conference destination.

Previously Ian was Joint Managing Director/owner of ICMS Australasia where he oversaw business development and provided hands-on management for high-profile conferences, some with turnovers exceeding $8 million. In 2012 he received the prestigious Outstanding Contribution Award from Meetings Events Australia acknowledging his many years of honorary service to the industry and in May 2014 he chaired the business program for the MEA national conference held in Kuala Lumpur.