Business Traveler, February 2015

Visit businesstravelerusa com 8 n February 2015 n Upfront BT Vancouver is in a unique place both as a destination in its own right and as a transit point between three very hot economic regions What impact is that having on YVR RICHMOND You know the motto of Vancouver is By air land and sea we prosper So for example were tied with San Francisco for the number of flights to China a week A lot of them were new last year And this year theyre full The economy of Canada and the US is generally good and thats another 500000 passengers Weve grown by about a million passengers a year BT As an international transit point between other countries what changes are you working on to make life easier for the global traveler RICHMOND Its kind of an obscure phrase transit without visa You could fly from Santiago Chile to Vancouver disembark you dont have to have a visa for Canada and then get on your flight to Shanghai Its just way more convenient for a business traveler or even for leisure Who wants to get two visas BT Good for the traveler whats in it for Vancouver RICHMOND This would really take us to the next level to become a real hub for business and leisure travel between Asia and the Global Crossroads Vancouver Airport president and CEO Craig Richmond lifts the veil on future technologies and policies set to change air travelAmericas I think weve finally got our federal government to understand this is a good idea And theres very very low risk BT The global nature of travel at Vancouver has led you to pioneer Automated Passport Control technology How did you get into that RICHMOND In 1996 when we opened the new terminal we were one of the first airports in North America to have common use check in So instead of having three banks youve got one bank of reusable counters which then led to the self service kiosks Then we took that technology and built these for Canadian citizens arriving back in Canada And they worked pretty well So three years ago our team started working with US Customs and Border Protection BT What about concerns that automation will compromise security RICHMOND Were about safety I dont want to have bad people in our country I definitely want our customs US Customs Canadian Customs all the agencies do your jobs And I think theyre to a point now where they realize it doesnt have to be either or I dont think theres a dichotomy between speed and security They can work together BT Are you surprised at how quickly these kiosks are being adopted RICHMOND For the last year weve been selling like the iPad of the airport world Everybody wants one If somebody had said to me two years ago Theres going to be this kiosk that gets people through US Customs four times as fast naturally I wouldve said I need to see that Now that its happened you couldnt take these machines out of these airports Theyve changed the experience BT If APCs have changed the experience today what does that bode for future airports RICHMOND That just gives you an example of what you can do with current technology Ive seen technology where you walk down the tunnel and theyre actually checking your iris from 60 feet away By the time you get to the end of the tunnel youre all identified and everything I really think that security will almost become science fiction I think thats going to be the future ONE N E on Personal service healthy lifestyles and convenience were the top trends in hospitality for 2014 according to a new industry survey released by the American Hotel Lodging Association The survey which has been conducted every two years since 1988 is one of the longest running in the industry Among the results of the 2014 edition Mobile apps for hotel service continue to grow in popularity with 33 percent of respondents offering an app for their guests Only 11 percent of respondents charge for in room Internet service This figure is down from 23 percent in 2012 82 percent of hotels offer complimentary breakfast and nearly three quarters 74 percent stated that they provide healthy menu choices Conversely fewer hotels are offering newspaper delivery in room DVD players and mini bars Jacuzzis are also on the decline The survey of more than 9600 participants was funded by the AHLAs Educational Foundation and conducted by Smith Travel Research NEW STUDY REVEALS TOP TRENDS IN LODGING