BEIJING — “Contactless” is the new buzzword in consumer-focused businesses due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. In China, products and services ranging from robotic waiters, to driverless disinfection and sanitation vehicles, to unmanned smart hotels are proliferating. At unmanned smart hotels, guests can do everything from reserving a room and […]
Hotels
Thailand’s restaurants and hotels cleared to serve alcohol
BANGKOK — Diners in Thailand will again be able to enjoy traditional grilled chicken and papaya salad with a glass of cold beer at eateries as the government has decided to allow the serving of alcoholic beverages beginning Monday. Restrictions on alcohol were part of the kingdom’s anti-coronavirus measures that […]
Airlines, hotels and travel firms could solve their cash woes by introducing fully flexible booking
Last week I wrote about the “win-win” of reducing stamp duty rates, which would encourage more property sales and boost the Treasury’s depleted coffers despite the lower tax revenue per purchase. This week I bring you another mutually beneficial suggestion that might sound counter-intuitive from a corporate perspective but will […]
Coronavirus latest: Marriott reopens all hotels in China
The Nikkei Asian Review is tracking the spread of the new coronavirus that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Global cases have reached 6,131,531, according to Johns Hopkins University. The worldwide death toll has hit 371,154. To see how the disease has spread, view our virus tracker charts: […]
Marriott says millennial guests can spur Asia hotels recovery
TOKYO — Marriott International expects East Asia to lead the recovery from the coronavirus crisis, but a full rebound will not happen until next year, with millennial customers leading the way, a regional executive with the hotel operator has told the Nikkei Asian Review. Craig Smith, Marriott’s group president for Asia-Pacific, […]
Coronavirus presents existential threat to Japan’s hotels
TOKYO — In what would have been a windfall year had the Olympic Games proceeded as planned, Japan’s hotel chains are instead facing an existential threat after the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the travel industry. Just before Japan’s annual Golden Week holiday began, Osaka-based WBF Hotels & Resorts, filed […]
Asian hotels press ahead with expansions despite pandemic
SINGAPORE/TOKYO — As flagship hotels go, the 190-room Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi sparkles like any other in the luxury hotel chain’s collection. But instead of a cavalcade of guests swarming the five-star property on the scheduled July 1 opening day — three weeks ahead of the intended start of […]
Hotels open doors to health care workers and coronavirus patients
TOKYO — As hotels and home rental businesses face huge hits to their business from travel restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, some hotel operators and homeowners in the Asia-Pacific region are helping to battle the outbreak by offering rooms to medical workers or patients with mild […]