Touristology’s glasses! Do you want to wear them?

I love to see the face of future Touristologists every time that I begin a class, a seminar or an in-company training session, with this Touristologistly sentence … If you want to provide services before, during and after a trip, it’s compulsory to make all departments and members of the chain of value work as a single organization. 

This is not a point of view… it’s the vision of everybody with the right glasses on. What glasses? Touristology’ones.

It’s more or less easy to hire a bunch of people, to make agreements with popular intermediaries, the biggest Search Engine, the biggest Social Networking Site, then with some services suppliers… The only thing that you need is some money and the capacity to say “YES, SIR!” every time that they ask you to mark down the price or pay greater commissions!

On the other hand, if you want to create a team able to execute any kind of servuction connecting departments and chain of value members… you will need experts in servuction design , able to make the deals, able to select (Buy or Make) the right technology, able to make both, the people and the software, work as smoothly as if they were a single entity… able to make both, the business model and the technological scheme, a part of the same structure… able to exemplify how the web 3.0 will be in a near future! Showing that integrated and synchronized servuction inside any department and any member of the chain of value is the way to go… If you really want these… then you will need a Touristologists!!!!

Maybe theses videos from siteminder can help you to visualize the idea:

Do you see? You have a Web Booking Engine (WBE) connected to your Property Management System (PMS) and to your favorite Social Networking Sites (SnS)… breaking silos between departments, unifying chain of value members!

Do you see? You have a channel manager that connect your Web Booking Engine (WBE) and your Property Management System (PMS) to your intermediaries and infomediaries (Data Agregrators, Metasearch engines… you name it!). It would be better if these products work together? Is it possible? 

Now put your Touristology glasses ON! Will it be better if instead of ONLY members of a generic chain of value, it ALSO offer the possibility to do the same with specialized chains of value? I bet my intellectual life on it! I put all my effort into creating this kind of professionals. Will I succeed? The answer my friend is blowing in… Touristology’s environments!!!

Does Touristology reflect the reality of the Tourism sector?

The other day, I was enjoying an in-company training session that I was lucky enough to give. I love in-company training, it’s always fun to mix my ideas with people involved in day-to-day real Tourism!

 I discussed my favorite topics:  Touristology framework, 1,2,3 theory, Servuction… at the end of the session, I proposed the two study cases related to the Da Vinci Code. As you remember, one of them deals with an international community of architects and the other one with and international community of game developers.

Most of the assistants enjoy the session; some of them even become Touristologists. All with only one session… As I always say: The sky is the limit!

BUT it wasn’t all good news… when I was packing, smiling and whistling my favorite song (which you can enjoy at the end of this post) one of the attendees came to me and shouted “Does Touristology reflect the reality of the Tourism sector? I mean, I don’t see the connection with, my day-to-day activity and all this B.S of international communities and chain of value”

I appreciate your honesty - I calmly reply, forcing my mind to forget the B.S classification!!!- It’s supposed that Touristology represents the future of our beloved sector. I believe that in the next years we will see a Cambrian revolution in Tourism drive by web-engineering and real-and-not-only-economical globalization. It wouldn’t be a Cambrian revolution if it was the same as we have today, right?

Do you remember the example that I gave about RFID utilization for a ski resort?

Do you think that their vision of creating a mobile app and a virtual community represents the future of the best sector ever?

Do you believe that their idea of creating an incoming travel agency and to make contacts around almost all the countries of the world, allowing tourists to buy their products in travel agencies with, at least, some degree of specialization in skiing, it is a good example of chain of value and trying to control it using My Own 1,2,3 principles?

If you think that it is not. I’m fine with that!

If you agree, I will be here ready to welcome you in the best international community ever: Touristology one!!!! 

Meanwhile… what better than listen to the eternal music of Puccini!!!!!

I convinced the naysayer? I don’t know! The only thing that I’m sure about, is… 

All'alba Touristology …vincerò!

Enjoy your holydays Touristologists! Learn, improve and love Touristology!

Going deeper in Holistic Hotel Management: Example 2

If you remember, a few posts ago we proposed a kind of study case based on The Da Vinci Code, where we deal with specialized tourism related to architects. Some of you make an effort and send me your solutions. I appreciate your intellectual work Touristologists! Maybe someday we have the opportunity to meet face to face and talk about the future of Touristology! Meanwhile… what about a second example from the best minds working in the best sector ever!
Remember, we are managing a hotel created from an old Abbey. This hotel is situated in an isolated place. 

 So, if we want to bring tourists we have to transform the facility into a magnet. To achieve this, there’s nothing better than specialized tourism.
I like to play video games - said a young Touristologists- but above all else I like to create my own games. As a matter of fact, right now I’m working in a simulator about tourist destination management… We can use this idea and create an international virtual community for people who like to play games, people that want to be a developer and professionals already earning a living with this activity. We can also attract people /organization willing to do marketing research or hiring the members of this community. Sooner or later the members of this community will desire to meet each other. What better place than the facility owned by the creators of the community?!?
What? I don’t want to do all that! -Said a student that was a former Hotel Manager, nowadays loking for new opportunities - I just want to serve my customers at my hotel!
International community? I think it is better to focus on local tourism or, at most, to countries of origin that we already know - said the former expert of our tourism sector!
Well - reply the wise voice of Touristology- I don’t know about you BUT We are Touristologists!!! No excuses, no stagnation, no limitations over our actions for lack of experience, knowledge or contacts… If we don’t know, we learn.  If we don’t have, we will! We are Touristologists, We will do whatever it takes to bring tourists here!.
After a few seconds of silence, the ideas continued flowing…
Sounds like the matrix of segmentation, that we saw here, could be the right tool - Added another Touristologist. 

We also can use segments accountancy- Said another.
Yes - replied another Touristologist - but remember that, in this case, we need to add the cost of a classroom with powerful computers and then compare the margin with the one we assessed the other day, the one dealing with architects, remember?
It sounds like a good idea to me! BUT we have to think twice about the classroom of powerful computers- I replied based on my own experience- 10 years ago , when I wanted to teach my Touristologists how to code /program I had to ask for special permissions and deal with system administrators (always an easy task!!!) but nowadays thanks to:
1) Virtual machines
2) Cloud computing. Have you ever try codenvy.com? or Firefox simulator and Firefox OS…
3) and BYOD trend this is absolutely unnecessary.
So, the idea is to give a dual formation related both with the business model and the technological scheme? Do you really think that people willing to learn how to code want to learn about business model and strategy??? I AM ABSOLUTELY SURE ABOUT THAT!

I, strongly, believe in Consilience. In the same way, that an expert in Business Model must know about coding, the best programmers have to learn about how to apply their skills to a specific sector. What better sector than the best sector ever?!?!?!
Do you agree with this statement? If so,… I will be here waiting for you! Ready for mixing sciences.  Looking to making it possible that the XXI century will be Consilience’s Kingdom!
Meanwhile… can you apply matrix segmentation and segments accountancy to propose a solution to this study case?
By the way, in the solution My Touristologists gave in appears… github. Can you find the meaning of that? Can you integrate it in a chain of value?
Can we count on you? You, definitely, can count on me!!!

Going deeper into Holistic Hotel Management: Example 1

The other day, I made a summary about how Hotels can make the most of Internet. If you remember, we highlighted some points that Touristology proposes in order to make this possible. In a nutshell:
A) Avoid fighting Economies of scale battle
B) Instead focus on the most profitable segments
C) Find the relevant people/organizations inside each segment/chain of value and…help them to help you!
Let’s illustrate these points with a couple examples, one in this post and the other in the near future. Shall, we?
We can use as a base to build a Touristology’s study case, the story of The Da Vinci Code that we reviewed here. If you remember, in 1946 Noel Corbu purchased the former estate of the Abbey Berenger Sauniere, from the former priest of Rennes-le-Chateau between 1885-1909, and during Easter 1955 he opened a restaurant in the Villa Bethania, later also turned into a Hotel.
The hotel itself faced some difficulties due to its fairly isolated location, until He managed to transform a commodity into a magnet of attraction for customers around the world (passing a simple 2 in a Super2 in Touristology’s terms).
You can learn about how He did that in the same post. You can also see that I asked My Touristologist for more growth strategies. Can we create our own 1,2,3? Can we develop a S3?  As I always said, We are the best minds in the best sector ever… So, the following are some of their brilliant ideas (which make me both happy and proud!).
FIRST EXAMPLE:
As the hotel was previously an Abbey - began to explain one of the most intelligent Touristologists I have ever had the honor to teach - I’m sure that some reforms and improvements were necessary over the physical support, in order to execute a good servuction. If you add the fact that nowadays it is a trend to transform Military and Religious places into lodging facilities, as we can see here and in this video…

…It’s clear that somebody has to plan, design and implement these reforms - Of course- continuous the Touristologists- We will do the design of the servuction and the creation, communication and commercialization throughout the chain of value that we will also build!
BUT… obviously, it’s much better to leave the physical transformation in the capable hands of one architect. A normal one? Much better a specialist in this field!
So, as appear the opportunity to learn, as it’s proving that travelling increases the learning experience, because it provides different perspective from experts and cultures around the world… We, as a Touristologists, have a golden ticket to sharpen our skills! We can organize and sell a tourism product focused on architects around the world!
Automatically, the Touristologist set up a team share/assign Touristology tools to them and in a few days they show me the final result.
Can you do the same? Here are the tools My Touristologists use…
A) Segmentation Matrix: In order to build a community that, as you know, is one of the ways to get a competitive advantage in Tourism. 

B) Segments accountancy: In order to know the margin and the Break Even Point. Two key elements for anyone willing to create new Tourism products
They also use the concept of Super 3 and send me e-mails with the following information that I wasn’t unable to link with this project ;-) . Can you?

architour    architours    archtours....

I love Touristology’s games! What about you?

Holistic Hotel Management

I’m in the process of writing a chapter in a book about hotel management. They asked me for a summary of the main ideas that I wish to convey… AND I decided to use this blueprint to make this post, share it with My Touristologists and, if I’m lucky (I always am!!!) get some insights from their experience.

As I always say….

My Touristologists are the best audience in the entire world AND I love to learn from them. I was their mentor; nowadays… well they mentor me back!!!

So, in a nutshell these are my ideas…

1) Tourists have always wanted to get backup/support and manage the trip from the beginning to the end.

2) New internet orientated technology allows these features in a personalized, syndicated and pro-amized way (Does Web 2.0 business model ring a bell for you?)

3) Using these new technologies, some members of the trip’s phases (Touristologists like to call them members of the chain of value!) help the tourist to manage the trip, gaining their trust giving the 3 C’S when and how the tourists need them. Let’s see some examples, shall we?

We can talk about booking or kayak and in the picture below we can see their influence in most of the members of the chain of value and, therefore, in all the servuction inside it.

They appear above most of the hotels in google and they have fancy facebook’s pages with thousands of followers. You go to kayak and see in a single website or mobile app the 3C’s from different members of the chain of value… other Central Reservations Systems, On-Line Travel Agencies, the Property Management System of the hotel… you name it!!!

They can do that using the techniques (Web Services, Web Scraping…) that we talked about here and that you, so much, enjoyed in OUR class!

We also can talk about AirBnB and how using the same techniques, can share content, commerce and community across the chain of value. We saw this in this post where I strongly recommended this article which highlights the necessity of a new job title “Growth hackers”… people with both technological and business model skills. By the way, it sounds like a Touristologist managing the chain of value, to me!!!

We talked about WorldMate here and its features that allow the tourist to get the 3C’s (content, commerce and community) in the way we describe in Web 2.0 business model. One mobile application is all I need! Far from perfect BUT as you know I see things not for what they are today BUT for what they can be! This allows me to see the brilliant future of Touristology when I see My Touristologists… This allows me to see what worldmate or other mobile app (maybe one created for My Touristologists!!!!!) can end up being!

4) Hoteliers don’t make the most of this new technology and the desire of their customers to manage the whole chain of value. They are still focus on providing a good service at home (I mean at the hotel!) leaving the job of bringing customers to infomediaries and intermediaries. Forgetting, that if you don’t control the chain of value others will!

5) Hoteliers! The Internet can be both a blessing and a curse. You experience firsthand the curse (that forces you to mark down the price, to use intermediaries with higher commissions and ever tighter conditions) Are you ready to experience the blessing?

 I think is time to recover the control over our prices and the loyalty and trust of our customers! Embrace long tail theory and remember some Touristology’s rules:

            A) If you want to serve everyone you are competing against the big 500kg gorilla in new economy jungle, using the strategy they are masters of… Economies of scale. It sounds an unequal battle to me!

B) Instead you’d better focus on the most profitable segments of your business (Does Segments Accountancy ring a bell for you?)

C) Find the relevant people inside this segment (Does The Tipping Point ideas ring a bell for you?) and Help them to help you!

D) Then deliver excellent servuction from the beginning to the end of the trip throughout the chain of value!

So, this is my blueprint, Touristologists! What do you think? As you know I, strongly, appreciate your opinion. Do you have any ideas? Can you help me to improve this blueprint? Can the future of the best sector ever, help an old chap?

Is there anybody out there? I know you are! You can use this post or send a direct message to share your ideas!!! I Love Touristology’s games!!!

Forever young Touristologists! Or adapt or die!

Life and Entrepreneurship 3
In this post I talked about how my Touristologists believe that their generation is so, different from the rest. If you remember I claimed that they are different but still the same. Today, I want to talk about the benefits of having a flexible mind. Apart from learning how to better serve new tourist segments customizing the way you execute servuction, being flexible is also a way to keep your mind young.
When I was young (not so long time ago, Touristologists!!! ) it was easy to identify old people... they talk about reales (an ancient coin in Spain) and wear black berets. Nowadays, My young Touristologists make fun of old Touristologists because they don’t carry and know how to use the last model of SmartPhone. Be aware Touristologists... in 10 years (this is my prediction today!!!) wearable technologies will overcome mobiles and YOU will be seen as the generation always carrying a mobile and flipping your finger over it.

               

In life as in entrepreneurship…adapt or die!

So, remember Touristologists, keep an open mind, talk with everybody, learn from everywhere, then (and only then) make you selection and be focused from the beginning to the end and when necessary… adapt!

Are you ready? So am I!!!

Sooner or later you will realize… You are Touristologists!!!

The last year I wrote down this post. In it I made a promise to My Touristologists: “You will learn how to create, or at least how to deal with a team which will create, the best mobile application for the tourism sector”.
I keep delivering my promise! This year it will easier to do thanks to cloud computing, virtual machines and the open source movement!
As you know, in mobile ecosystem you have to make up your mind about having a mobile web app or a native app. With native apps you get all the power BUT you have to create an app for each OS ( IOS by Apple, Android by Google…you name it). On the other hand, with mobile web apps you write once, run everywhere BUT some functionalities are missed.
 By the way, “write once, run everywhere!” reminds me of old times, old promises, great expectations… we have to trust that this time it will be true BUT we also have to be cautious….
You also can use phonegap or apache cordova in order to create hybrid solutions that aim to get the best of both worlds. Apps for everyone and access to the software and hardware of your smartphone (or ANY WEREABLE COMPUTER remember I’m biased)
I like the definition apache-cordova provides…
“Apache Cordova is a set of device APIs that allow a mobile app developer to access native device function such as the camera or accelerometer from JavaScript. Combined with a UI framework such as jQuery Mobile or Dojo Mobile or Sencha Touch, this allows a smartphone app to be developed with just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.”
Nowadays, you have another option that is easy to use and install. So, I will use in my classes. I’m talking about Firefox OS that allow through webapis to do things usually only reserved to native applications. Here you have an interesting introduction and next a motivating one!

I also will use other frameworks and tools as I tweeted here…

As you know, until now I was undecided about the paradigm mobile web or native application. Right now, I make up my mind… and, even though I’m an entrepreneur, a consultant and a teacher… I only have one mind. So, the same thing that I’m building up for my pirate ship, the same thing that I recommend to my customers… I explain and practice with My Touristologists!
How far will My Touristologists go?  It’s up to them!!!
But Jordi! Some of your students don’t like that you teach them how to program, nor that you force them to read, write, speak…think in English!
Well, they like… BUT they don’t know it yet! They are in the process of becoming Touristologists! Some of them decide to be a Touristologists, the first year of their grade, others the last one… others when they get a High-Paying job or set up a tourism enterprise.. Others when they retire and review their professional life!!!
Sooner or later, they will realize that all my effort, all my passion, all my will, has only a single objective: That they feel that they are the best minds working in the best sector ever!
Will I win this battle? I'll put everything I've got into it! As sure as Touristology is a science!!!