Tourism Australia has announced a major restructure which Managing Director Andrew McEvoy says is aimed at boosting consumer marketing, improving online strategy and execution while giving TA a role in finding new investment for Australian tourism infrastructure. The restructure sees the departure of key executive Richard Beere and strengthens the role of marketing under Nick […]
Tag: TravelTrends
Viator smashes it: big profit after years of losses
No pain no gain. That could be the mantra at tours and activities business Viator, which has staged an incredible turnaround over the past 12 months due primarily to the hard-headed vision of Dermot Halpin, who has shaken the company up and made it profitable – literally tens of million of dollars in the black – […]
Vail Now Resorts dominates Australian skiing with latest buy
Vail Resorts now owns three out of the five major Australian ski fields following its acquisition of Mount Hotham and Falls Creek for $174 million from Merlin Entertainments last week. Both resorts are located in Victoria about a five hour drive from Melbourne. Vail has owned Perisher, Australia’s largest and most popular resort, since 2015. […]
Sydney Airport to raise $2bn as business struggles with COVID
Sydney Airport is raising $2 billion to pay down debt and increase liquidity during the toughest period in its history. The company revealed that passenger numbers during the second quarter were down 96.6% over the previous corresponding period, contributing to a $53.5 million loss for the half year to June 30. Total passenger numbers for […]
Rachel Wiseman, Chief Investment Officer, NRMA Group
Rachel Wiseman was appointed Chief Investment Officer in November 2016. Rachel is responsible for the NRMA Group’s commercial interests, including corporate development, investments, partnerships and growth, public policy and research, community investment as well as the corporate legal and company secretariat functions. Before joining the NRMA, Rachel held the role of General Manager Corporate Development […]
New short term rental laws in NSW include guest and host bans
The NSW Government says unruly guests and bad hosts will be banned from the short term rental (STR) industry for five years under a new mandatory Code of Conduct it announced yesterday. It’s part of a legislative initiative which also requires that all STR properties are registered with Fair Trading NSW by June 1, 2021. […]
Highly profi table Stayz.com.au finally reveals financials
Stayz.com.au has revealed its financials for the first time. Australia’s most popular holiday house site made a profit of A$13 million before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation on revenue of A$23.1 million in the 2012 financial year. This makes it Australia’s #2 accommodation booking site behind Wotif.com and gives Stayz a whopping gross margin of 56.3%, […]
Global marketing refresh for HotelsCombined
Meet Max, the somewhat cynical, not so cuddly bear that meta-search company HotelsCombined has chosen to unify its site branding and also help consumers through the booking process. Max now appears on all HotelsCombined owned properties, including several newish market-specific sites – DetectaHotel.com (Latin America), Biyi.cn (China) and RoomGuru.com (Russia). It’s another step in the evolution of HotelsCombined, which is now […]
Coronavirus hits Australian hotel performance
Australian hotels have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and related bans on Chinese travellers. STR data shows Melbourne and Brisbane were the only two major Australian markets to report year on year RevPAR growth between 24 Jan and 9 Feb, 2020, a two week stretch encompassing Chinese New Year. All other markets were […]
Changes ahead for GDS business model
President and CEO of Abacus, Robert Bailey, admits that the rise and rise of low cost carriers will inevitably lead to changes in the 40-year-old business model of Global Distribution Systems. “Low cost carriers will be a catalyst for change,” Mr Bailey said. “What the change will be I don’t know.” Mr Bailey said low […]
Resort Reviews – Treble Cone and The Remarkables
This is a tale of two South Island NZ ski resorts: Treble Cone and The Remarkables. They are very different but each does their job well with a recent trip confirming that neither actually conforms to their popular stereotype. For example, Treble Cone has a rep that it’s an experts-only mountain, while The Remarkables is […]
Rachel Argaman, CEO, Toga Hotels
A visionary leader who believes in “encouraging the heart,” Rachel is currently the CEO of Toga Hotels. With over 20 years international experience at senior management level in the travel and hospitality industry, Rachel has a passion for creating a results-oriented, responsive and market-driven culture within companies. This is backed by a driving belief that the […]
Booking.com launches new cleanliness standards for short term rentals
Booking.com has decreed that short term or holiday rentals will have to meet a minimum cleanliness standard by May 4, 2021, or have their properties delisted from the world’s biggest online travel agent. “We’re asking partners to commit to a Minimal Cleanliness Score of 6 out of 10,” Booking.com has advised properties. “A property that’s […]
Will Deague, CEO Art Series Hotel Group
William Hunter Deague is the Chief Executive Officer of Asian Pacific Group (APG), the parent company of Australia’s hottest hotel group – Art Series Hotel Group. Educated at Melbourne Grammar, Will holds a Domestic Builders Licence (unlimited) and a private fixed wing and helicopter licence. Joining APBC in 1996, Will worked on a range of […]
Sue Badyari, Chief Executive Officer, World Expeditions
Sue Badyari, is CEO of the World Expeditions Travel Group, operator of small group adventure tours all over the world. World Expeditions is Australia’s longest established adventure travel company and offers more than 500 stand-alone itineraries, escorted by expert leaders and meticulously designed for those travellers who want to take the ‘paths less travelled’. Under […]
AFTA left hanging after Prime Minister promises
Australian Federation of Travel Agents CEO Darren Rudd appears to have awkwardly misjudged the political climate by prematurely announcing a funding package that has yet to eventuate following a conversation with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Rudd, pictured, who had asked the Federal Government for $250 million emergency funding over 18 months for travel agents, wholesalers […]