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Singapore and Frankfurt, Germany � November 3, 2008 � Trust International early on recognized the growing importance of the Asian travel market and developed a business strategy to meet those needs, resulting in steady growth in many areas for Trust in Asia. Over the past year, use of Trust�s services by Asian hotel groups has soared, with numerous new customer contracts and existing customers expanding their services contracts. For example New Otani Hotels recently expanded its agreement with the use of Trust´s Internet booking engine � Trust|Booker 2.0 -- and voice services to six additional countries, and Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts extended their service contract to include professional voice services by Trust International. Trust�s voice services enable hotels to provide 24/7 access to native speakers with extensive reservation experience in Trust´s own call centers which are managed and quality controlled by Trust employees. There is an increasing demand for global distribution services, including professional voice services, in Asia in a large part because many consumers in the burgeoning Asian travel market feel more comfortable booking their reservations via phone in their native language and luxury brands rely on Trust´s expertise. Trust International continues to experience tremendous growth in the Asia Pacific (APAC) market despite the economic turmoil occurring worldwide. During the third quarter of 2008, Trust bookings from APAC grew approximately 250% over the comparable 2007 period. Bookings from January through September 2008 were approximately 300% higher than the comparable period in 2007. During the 12 months from June 2007 through June 2008, numerous new hotel clients signed and APAC hotel bookings increasing more than 365% during the first half of 2008 compared to the first six months of 2007. During the same six month time span, total room revenue increased 400% and the average daily rate increased from USD $208 to USD $255 among Trust�s APAC users of its Voyager|CRS (centralized reservation system) distribution services, who include numerous major hotel groups, such as Okura Hotels & Resorts, the Oberoi Group, Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts and New Otani. According to an October 17th Wall Street Journal article, �Audit and consulting firm Deloitte, in a study on regional tourism released Wednesday, said the coming months might prove challenging for hoteliers across the Asia-Pacific region. A measure called revenue per available room was increasing by double digits across the Asia-Pacific region each month until May, Deloitte said. But in June and July, revenue growth dropped to the single digits, it said.� �We�re very pleased with the expansion of our customer base in the Asia Pacific region as more hotel groups embrace our services to streamline the entire booking process and reduce costs,� Anthony Ku, Trust International�s Regional VP Sales, APAC, commented, �With the international economy in turmoil and hotel bookings declining in nearly every market for the industry as a whole, we believe that the Asia Pacific market�s moderate continued bookings and revenue increases illuminate the growing strength of this powerful marketplace and demonstrate a measure of independence from the broader economic marketplace. There is pent up demand for travel among consumers in the Asia-Pacific region and this presents a tremendous opportunity for Trust. We�re focusing on enhancing our service to the APAC market and anticipating its future needs � from incorporating graphical user interfaces with additional languages and voice services with native speakers, to reaching out to hotel groups in the market to tap into their wants and needs.� Since its inception, Trust International has hosted customer advisory board meetings twice annually in locations around the world to gather customer feedback on its products and services as well as valuable feedback on customer needs and wants. In early October, Trust hosted its 20th customer advisory meeting in Bangkok in recognition of the growing stature of the Asian market and to enable more of its Asian customers to participate. Asian hotel groups made use of this occasion, with many of the APAC customers represented, some of them for the first time. The conference included keynote addresses by international journalist, pundit and entrepreneur Yeoh Siew Hoon on characteristics of future customers in Asia and how to stay connected to them and by Dave Berkus, an early stage venture capitalist and technology industry leader, who detailed the latest technology trends. To further underline Trust International�s strong presence and commitment in the Asia/Pacific market, Trust was an exhibitor at the first ITB B2B travel trade show and conference in Asia, which took place in Singapore last week. �ITB Asia was a very productive event for us,� Ku noted. �We gained exposure to many potential clients and were able to arrange meetings with dozens who are keenly interested in learning more about how our products work to enhance the APAC booking experience.� About Trust International
Via Trust�s own communication centers located in North America, Europe and The Far East customers in 47 countries are served with private label telephone reservation, concierge and telemarketing services. Established in 1989 Trust International is renowned for its highly reliable reservation platform, continuous investment in system software & hardware and delivery of superior customer value. (www.trustinternational.com) |
