It being such a pivotal year, we asked industry leaders to reflect on the 12 months past and share their top three lessons with which to enter 2020. What are yours?
Stephan Ekbergh, CEO, Travelstart
1. No Guts No Glory
Barry Diller fired Mark Okerstrom due to different views on the future. Diller knows better than most that a defensive attitude is a cancer that will eventually kill a business. He smelled defeat. Now is not a time for more of the same but rather new bold thinking and swift action. Gutsy leadership with actions that rock the boat is needed for mature companies in this day. This goes for most industries. What can be disintermediated will be crushed. The coming wave of change will be brutal to most of us if we don’t act. Mark being fired got me to sit up and rewrite my thoughts for 2020.
2.The Future is Now
As I prepared for my speech at WIT in Singapore earlier this year, Siew Hoon had inspired me to look at previous turn of decades and see how they almost always served as a launchpad for what’s to come. Moon landing in 1969, Berlin Wall, WWW 1989, Y2K & .com craze 1999 etc. All these events and many more served as supporting acts for the coming times and the events that later took shape. What’s going to define the 2020’s is already here but it’s in its infancy. After all, It’s still just a baby. And just like any baby, it’s hard to first understand his or her future potential. It’s cute but … will it grow up to be a menace, a pauper or a ruler? But never underestimate the days of humble beginnings.
3. Where your treasure is there is also your heart
Platforms are the new malls. And at the centre of the mall are the ATMs. The new ATMs are the wallets. Wallets in India, China and elsewhere are gobbling up market share in various types of low service transactions, travel being one of them. And no wonder, it’s easier, quicker, more efficient than using Google then going to a preferred supplier of sorts. Payment is a bitch and when you figure out how to decommodify that into becoming the centre of a customer relationship, then you have a winner. We gravitate to where we have our money and making a purchase easier to pay makes a service stickier. We all need stickier services, loyalty doesn’t exist, only convenience.
Maybe I’m the last to realise the above, but 2019 was a big aha for me.
Timothy Hughes, vice president, corporate development, Agoda
1. Being good at raising money does not mean you are good at running a business. 2019 was the year in which start – up funding valuations did not translate into public company valuations. We watched the post IPO values of Lyft and Uber fall and then shook our heads at the attempted IPO dumpster fire of WeWork. First lesson – those valuation that we thought were crazy, actually turned out to be crazy. Second lesson – just because an entrepreneur is good at raising money, does not mean they are good at spending it and good at building a sustainable, reliable, profitable business. Companies may spend money to disrupt and industry but it takes more than spending and disrupting to build a viable business. I suspect we will see more of this in 2020.
2. Google is an OTA. I think I am on record for raising this as a lesson or theme a number of years in a row. But it deserves repeating. The lesson for us all is that as powerful as Google is, and as important as it is to have a plan/strategy/budget for working with Google, it is equally important to know that they are a competitor. That they are spending a lot of time, energy and money to build a travel product that competes up and down the funnel with most of us. Everyone in travel needs a “how to grow my business beyond google” plan.
3. Travel is still a lot of fun. Take time to enjoy it. Travel is a tough industry. We have all had to work hard in 2019 to stay on top of our jobs and ahead of our rivals. But this is also a great industry to work in. Because of the people we get to interact with, the business we get to do and the sheer joy of being able to get out there and see the world. A big lesson for all of us is to take time in this mammoth and (at times) over-whelming industry to enjoy the unforgettable moments travel gives you to do something different and enriching. For me this year it was to visit Petra in Jordan after one travel event and then Kanazawa in Japan after another.
Mieke De Schepper, executive vice president, online travel and managing director, Asia Pacific, Amadeus
Business lessons
- (The) Air is hot & happening; after hotels, vacation rentals and activities, the buzz is on ‘air’, driven by the connected trip and NDC. The result will be an additional $40B a year for the industry according to a recent McKinsey report.
- Mega or Niche; know who you are and how you can win, focus is everything.
- Asia is leading the way, driving innovation in tech and paving the way with platforms and payments.
Personal lessons
- Only do what you can do (Ariane Gorin); this is a great principle both as a business but also as a person and leader, key is in partnering, outsourcing and empowering other.
- Trust is built in the little moments (Brene Brown); We often think trust is built by grand gestures at crucial moments in our lives, but trust is typically built with simplicity and small actions.
- No Guts No Glory (my motto); be brave, bold and stick your neck out, you’ll learn from the falls (which are bound to happen) and combine data with gut-feeling to point you in the right direction.
Fritz Demopoulos, CEO, Queen’s Road Capital
1. Things seem amazing until they don’t, i.e. the WeWork disaster, Uber’s IPO, etc.
2. Roy Batty’s line in “Blade Runner”, “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe.”, encapsulates the prominence of the experience economy and all their catalysts, i.e. GetYourGuide, Airbnb, FareHarbor, Peek, Klook, MaFengWo.
3. Brilliant opportunities are popping up away from the traditional power centres of China & the US, such as in Indonesia, Korea, Germany, Brasil …
Steve Hafner, CEO & co-founder, KAYAK
1. Don’t invest in entrepreneurs who believe their own BS, especially if they’re in commercial real estate.
2. Don’t expect the Astros to win home games during the World Series.
3. Don’t prioritise work over family for too long.
Peter Harbison, chairman emeritus, CAPA
1. The environment has arrived as a – the most – serious issue for aviation (and travel).
2. And most airlines still don’t get it.
3. Downturns don’t always come when you’re expecting them.
The 2020s are going to be a decade of incomparable change. We ain’t seen nothing yet. If you see challenges as opportunities it will be a great period. If you see challenges as threats, find a nice safe cosy corner and entrench yourself there. That’s another way of saying, your future is in your hands alone.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, curmudgeon and principal at 777 Partners LLC
1. The first lesson has to be about telling the truth. Never has a year gone by so fast that the decline of the veracity in truth has become so epidemic. For the world of aviation and travel, there has to be the simple case of Boeing being caught out in its failure to provide full and complete answers. The case of the 737 Max just shows how far corporations will go to achieve their goals – and this includes obfuscating the truth. We have other cases across the industry of people telling… fibs. Look to Uber and its banishment from London. I am sure we can see many other instances. Just look at the collapse of the grand old man of Travel – Thomas Cook. Even that company’s name was mostly a lie. As a clear sinner myself, I am just amazed that the politics of the day have now spilled into the day to day vernacular of our industry.
2. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings. With no disrespect to opera singers or anyone else. The continued survival of some players who are teetering on the edge or those who make very long bets with investors’ money at the expense of other players in the industry. (Read Uber and Lyft). Travel is a long game and the days of get rich quick are long gone.
3. Google uber alles. I rest my case.
Jennifer Cronin, president, Wharf Hotels, Hong Kong
1. Always expect the unexpected and be prepared.
2. Sharing economy can also encompass sharing knowledge.
3. Your people are your best asset, learn from them at every opportunity.
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