The subscription economy and the travel industry

Right now some of the fastest growing companies are now membership based. Danish company Zendesk 0 to 30,000 companies in 6 years, Box 0 to 10,000,000 in 8.

In deed this trend has been recognised by analysts Gartner “By 2015, 35% of Global 2000 companies with non-media digital products will generate incremental revenue of 5% to 10% through subscription¬based services and revenue models.”

Certainly we have had some impressive travel resultsi in this space.  AirBnB, a membership accommodation provider has been around since 2008 and has arranged over 10 million nights booked.

Of course we have had membership elements in our industry for years.  Travel media companies have subscribers and loyalty schemes for hotels and airlines are a recognised business model. But reading the comments of Zuora CEO the subscription SAAS provider for Zen desk and Box you would think it’s a complete new way to drive your busisness

They say that they enable membership organisations to be flexible and to test products, pricing and marketing deals and build a long term relationship with the industry.

Right now I am looking for travel companies that are doing this utilising these new subscripotion services. Personally  I think that the annual rather than more frequent buying pattern for a lot of our products may limit the impact of the subscription economy. But it is a interesting trend.

TDS Asia 2013 beats records for gathering biggest and best travel experts in APAC

The 9th Annual Travel Distribution Summit, Asia (28-29th May, 2013, Singapore) broke record numbers in attracting APAC’s biggest and most influential travel executives to speak, network and learn over two days of industry packed insights and strategies.

Held at the prestigious Raffles Convention Centre, Singapore, the travel industry experienced globally renowned travel brands discuss insights on how to roll out successful strategies for their own organisations.  Speakers included Starwood, Marco Polo Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Malaysia Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines – to more internet and online focussed brands including Booking.com, Expedia, Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Global Senior Director - Social Media - OTA Partnerships & Innovation Projects, Worldhotels said on this year’s event, “EyeforTravel is one of the premier digital conferences in the hospitality space. It's a must-attend for anyone responsible for enhancing their company's digital footprint.”

On top of this, perhaps an equally as valuable opportunity was the networking, as Lawrence Kuok, Manager - Social Media and Mobile Strategy AP, Starwood Hotels, Asia Pacific pointed out, “I think these conferences are always great and you can meet so many people. The panels allow for you to re-examine yourself - for better or for worse. The networking is also quite helpful. In just two days, I already met two people that I have immediate future business opportunities with and three that have potential.”

Judged by a number of the EyeforTravel team and based on the amount of fantastic feedback, EyeforTravel also awarded the winner of this year’s ‘Best Speaker in Show’ to Duncan Bureau, Senior Vice President Distribution, Malaysia Airlines.   Duncan Bureau was the winner of the 2 night’s stay at ‘L Hotels’ - a luxury boutique hotel in Bali.

Conference Director, Emily Assender commented on the event this year, “The reason this event keeps getting stronger and stronger is due to the need for information on the rapidly evolving online travel space, coupled with the ever-increasing market share of online global sales, which the travel industry owns.  The opportunity to network with the biggest brands in APAC’s travel industry and learn how to be ahead of the game is paramount, and this event facilitates that perfectly.”
If you’d like more information on any of EyeforTravel’s upcoming events, click here: http://www.eyefortravel.com/events