Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

During the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympics, The Venetian (one of Las Vegas’ luxury resorts) rolled out its new quirky ad campaign titled “Come As You Are”. The commercial played in key markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, and New York. The campaign also includes a few print ads, which will run in publications including Vanity Fair ,   Condé Nast Traveler,   and   Food & Wine. The “Come As You Are” campaign is The Venetian’s first big marketing campaign since the hotel originally opened in 1999. According to the brand, the campaign was designed to “not only celebrate the character of The Venetian Las Vegas’ guests and the excitement of travel, but also to tap into the changing definition of luxury” (Smiley, 2016). The  thirty-second  commercial is quite unusual for a hotel brand. Instead of focusing on the hotel several amenities, the quirky ad shows the unique personalities of guests long before t...

Tipping in restaurants has always  been the norm  in the U.S. It was not until recently that more restaurants adopted a  no-tipping policy . Will there be even more no-tipping restaurants in the future? The 2017 American Express Restaurant Trade Survey may give us some clues. Every year, American Express surveys about 500 restaurateurs and 1,000 restaurant consumers, aiming to reveal the facts and highlight the emerging trends in the industry. Then, what did the 2017 report tell us about the restaurant industry? Fewer restaurants adopt a no-tipping policy in 2017 than in 2016 In 2016, 18 percent of restaurateurs had already adopted a no-tipping policy, and another 29 percent indicated that they would adopt a no-tipping policy soon. In 2017, only 29 percent admitted they have adopted or would consider adopting such a policy. In 2016, 27 percent stated they would not follow the no-tipping trend, but this number has increased to 55 percent in 2017. Among those no-t...

Want to stay active on the road but at the same time, skip the hotel gym?  Now, we can as more hotel chains are incorporating the in-room fitness concept.  The latest update I heard is Hilton Hotels & Resorts just unveiled a new in-room fitness concept —  Five Feet to Fitness . Travelers are now able to do various exercises inside  the newly renovated Hilton guestroom  in select locations: The newly renovated guestroom will be equipped with  TRX , a workout system that leverages gravity and body weights in workouts, as well as a  Gym Rax  storage bay, providing the accessories needed for yoga, meditation, body weight, strength and other exercise programs right inside the guestroom. The storage bay comes with a fitness kiosk that provides 200-plus exercise tutorials and more than 25 workout classes, guiding travelers how to use the equipment inside the guestroom. Wattbike  is also placed inside the guestroom for guided indoor cycli...

Hotels have been working hard to win more travelers to " book direct " on their companies' websites,  but are consumers listening? In fact, hotels are not alone. All service providers in the hospitality and tourism industry want their customers to make purchases directly on their websites, but consumers want to search and compare various options before making a decision. So, to convince customers to purchase directly on the service providers' websites, companies must understand where their customers "hang out" in the cyber marketplace before they make the purchasing decision, as well as where they end up buying their services. The white paper " Understanding the Travel Consumer's Path to Purchase " by Eye for Travel provides some business intelligence in that regard. The report combined a large panel consumer data of online transactions and surveys into the analysis, revealing the following results: The places where customers purchas...

As a substitute for the traditional lodging facilities, including hotels,  hostels  and short-term rentals, the increasing supply of Airbnb properties is no doubt making  an impact on hotels' bottom lines . So, can hotels stop the growth of Airbnb?  Hotels' strategies for fighting against Airbnb #Airbnb #Hotels #Competition - http://bit.ly/kwok051117  Hotels are working hard to fight against the competition from Airbnb, other room-sharing websites and online travel agents (OTAs). For example: H otels are encouraging travelers to search and make reservations directly on the hotels' websites by offering special discounts if they book directly, even though this strategy might possibly push Airbnb and OTAs  to work closely together against hotels . Hotels are  reinventing loyalty programs  to win more new travelers and, at the same time, keep their repeat customers. More hotels are  adding local flavors to lure travelers .  If t...

We have seen more  robots and machines are replacing humans  in the service sector.  This trend is irreversible, but the good news is there are  ways to cope with such changes  at work. What if these changes also take place in the macro level? Then, what can businesses do to embrace this wave of innovations? Indeed, the cities where we live have also become "smarter" than ever.  According to The Wall Street Journal , more cities are now using different types of data to make people's living safer and healthier and the cities' operations more efficient. The rise of smart cities Boston The city works with Waze, a navigation app from Google, to improve traffic conditions. Officials are able to respond to traffic problems, such as a double-parked truck or a fender-bender more quickly. Chicago The Department of Innovation and Technology developed an algorithm to predict the risk of a restaurant for spreading food-borne illnesses. The algo...

I was not exaggerating in my previous article when I discussed how " machines are now replacing humans in service jobs ."  If it is still difficult to convince you, here is an additional example: " Meet Sally, the robot who makes perfect salads ."  This machine specializes in only one menu item — salad  — y et it can do a better job than most chefs. For example: It  can make salads within 60 seconds. It makes salad with perfect proportions, even with accurate calorie counts. It can create more than 1,000 salads from the 21 ingredients stored inside the machine. Those 21 ingredients can be changed over time, making it possible for the machine to create even more salads. It weighs 350 pounds. It has a  price tag of $30,000, but can also be leased for $500 a month. "What? A machine that costs over $10,000? That is too expensive, especially when we consider the high maintenance fees associated with the machines. There is no way that restaurants would us...