MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2023

12:30 – 21:00 | POTATO HEAD BEACH CLUB

Welcome to Open House by Further East, where many worlds meet. It’s where free spirits meet free thinkers. Big ideas meet small moments of magic. A festival of creativity, curiosity and celebration, designed to unlock your potential and prepare you for days of inspired connection on the shores of the Indian Ocean at Potato Head Beach Club.

As the eyes of the world return to Asia Pacific, this year’s Open House will explore how to seize this moment and channel it towards a more vibrant, sustainable future. You’ll journey into the visions of high-end APAC travel’s most inspiring minds through impactful talks and intimate masterclasses. Share your challenges, secrets and successes with your fellow innovators. And leave strengthened, energised and ready to rock Further East and beyond.

Join us as the sun sets, the beat builds, and your time arrives. This wave is rising, and we’ll surf it together. Right Here. Right Now.

WHAT’S THE FORMAT?

BE INSPIRED

Learn directly from the most insightful figures in high-end APAC travel on trending topics in technology, wellness, sustainability, design and beyond. You’ll leave not only with creative conversation starters for the following days and nights, but also practical ideas to refresh how you do business forever.

BE CONNECTED

The Further East community is a spirited gathering of people dedicated to celebrating the region’s heritage, while encouraging evolution and promising to make a positive impact. Whether it’s meeting your match in a curated discussion or vibing to a live performance over sunset drinks, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to spark conversations and connections.

BE SURPRISED

This isn’t traditional thought leadership. Immerse yourself in an eclectic range of experiences, designed to provoke new perspectives, or get involved in one of our interactive workshops.

2022 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Watch this space for our 2023 speaker lineup…and in the meantime, take a look at who took to stage in 2022.

ANITA KAPOOR

Master of Ceremonies

ANITA KAPOOR

Master of Ceremonies

Anita Kapoor works across corporate, lifestyle, wellness, human development and advocacy as a moderator, host, emcee, spokesperson and podcaster, and uses her platform to engage, co regulate, question and evolve human reasoning, emotional capability and true aliiance.

PATRICK VANHOEBROUCK

Resident Anthropologist, Aman

PATRICK VANHOEBROUCK

Resident Anthropologist, Aman

Moving Mindfully: Using Local Heritage to Foster Deep Connections

As a highly qualified Anthropologist, Patrick has an incurable passion for Javanese and Balinese culture and spirituality. Explore the eastern wisdom of Bali and Java with him in a 30 minute session. You’ll be invited to step back and look at your connection to different cultures, nature and people – the key elements of thriving in travel and hospitality. Finish with a ten minute meditation guided by Frendy Agung; Balian (Balinese shaman), to re-energise and clear the mind before a full-on Further East.

DOMINIQUE BACKHOUSE

Managing Director, Companion Communications

DOMINIQUE BACKHOUSE

Managing Director, Companion Communications

The Art of Storytelling: The PR Journey from Sales Pitch to Brand Building

If all the world's a stage – how do you tell a story that translates across borders and cultures? Brand Communications and PR specialists, Dominique Backhouse of Companion Communications and Samantha Strawford of Pepper & Seed share insights on how to turn your sales pitch into authentic storytelling and explain how to better tell it during a time of huge global shifts and changes.

A practice that helps create a powerful connection with your audiences by tapping into their emotional desires for travel. Dominique and Samantha will discuss how to get your ‘brand house in order’ to help you build the foundations for creative storytelling and how to disseminate the stories in key markets including APAC, UK and Europe.

Originally from Hong Kong, Dominique has spent the last 15 years working in communications in Asia-Pacific and Greater China. Prior to launching Companion Communications as Asia's only senior-led hospitality PR agency, Dominique led the Asia-Pacific and Greater China communications strategy for COMO Hotels and Resorts, where her focus was on raising the profile of its 9 regional properties in Australia, Thailand, Bali, Bhutan and Maldives as well as elevating Asian outbound travel to its European and US properties. She spent many years agency-side where she led the Asian communication strategies for Belmond, Oetker Collection, Qantas, One&Only Resorts, Leading Hotels of the World, CE LA VI, Champagne Barons de Rothschild, Longines Horse Masters and many more.

SAMANTHA STRAWFORD

Managing Director, Pepper & Seed

SAMANTHA STRAWFORD

Managing Director, Pepper & Seed

ZAG ASGHAR

Managing Partner & Joint-CEO, Predixa

ZAG ASGHAR

Managing Partner & Joint-CEO, Predixa

Business Strategy 101: The Road to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Luxury travel has always been about providing exceptional experiences and about making human connections. Learn how to face the new, post-pandemic reality of the luxury travel industry and understand why DE&I within the APAC region should be an integral part of your business strategy. Sit tight and buckle up for this engaging learning journey to a destination every business leader should know more about!

You’ll discover:
-Why you should care about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)
-The impact of DE&I in the Luxury Travel Market
-Regional considerations in the APAC region
-How regional organisations who have implemented DE&I have benefitted
-The seven steps you need to take to get on the DE&I journey
-How financial, social and competitive value is typically achieved and measured as a result from the seven steps
-Key takeaways to set you on track

With 30 years of experience in strategic business change and digital transformation, Zag’s background in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advisory services has been key in formulating Predixa’s development of unique AI-based diagnostics. He's passionate to help organisations achieve a level of social excellence whereby employees at all levels are heard, engaged and valued, whilst at the same time, benefiting financially and positioning themselves stronger competitively.

PAULA NEWBY

Joint-CEO, Predixa

PAULA NEWBY

Joint-CEO, Predixa

Business Strategy 101: The Road to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Luxury travel has always been about providing exceptional experiences and about making human connections. Learn how to face the new, post-pandemic reality of the luxury travel industry and understand why DE&I within the APAC region should be an integral part of your business strategy. Sit tight and buckle up for this engaging learning journey to a destination every business leader should know more about!

You’ll discover:
-Why you should care about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)
-The impact of DE&I in the Luxury Travel Market
-Regional considerations in the APAC region
-How regional organisations who have implemented DE&I have benefitted
-The seven steps you need to take to get on the DE&I journey
-How financial, social and competitive value is typically achieved and measured as a result from the seven steps
-Key takeaways to set you on track

Paula also draws on a wealth of experience from over 30 years in industry, globally. Throughout her career Paula has been passionate about Sustainable Business Growth and believes creativity and originality are the cornerstones to bringing tangible business benefits to the bottom line, to create sustainable, profitable organisations.

JINOU PARK

Founder, Normal

JINOU PARK

Founder, Normal

Igniting Your Brand’s Purpose Post-Pandemic

The turmoil of the last few years has hugely influenced all our lives. The future is always uncertain and navigating the industry post-pandemic can seem daunting as we know things will never again be as they were. So, how do we move forward? Will people maintain crisis-time behaviours or actively rebel against them? This presentation brings to life two opposing sets of social realities and explores two mindsets regarding social conduct, consumption, work, and travel.

What is your brand’s purpose as you embark on a new journey towards the post-pandemic future?

Normal is a hospitality and lifestyle branding firm that creates brands and experiences that shake us out of the routine, raise consciousness of the moment and deliver belonging to the greater purpose. Founder Jinou Park brings over twenty years of experience in leading global brands such as Disney, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels. Immediately prior to founding Normal in 2020, Jinou was the Asia Pacific leader of Design Hotels curated collection of 300 plus privately owned and independently minded hotels globally.

2022 KITCHEN TABLE SESSIONS

Kitchen Table is where we encourage open dialogue and engagement in a group discussion format. It’s all about sharing ideas, inspiring one another and championing the topics that matter most to you.

Got a burning question or innovative idea you’d like to discuss with fellow Further Easters? Send your suggestions to isabella@thisisbeyond.com and we’ll be in touch. If you need a little inspiration first, take a look at who facilitated the Kitchen Table discussions last year…

POLLY PURSER

Director of Heritage, John Hardy

POLLY PURSER

Director of Heritage, John Hardy

Learning from Gotong Royong: How to Make a Difference in the Communities We All Work In

In Bali “Gotong Royong" captures the essence of working together to make a difference. A session aligned with Further East's purpose of doing good while doing business. How can we learn from this philosophy and use our collective power and responsibility in tourism to create a meaningful, positive impact on the communities we work in? Discuss the key principles of “Gotong Royong” and examples of how it is used to make changes for the better in Bali.

Polly has been working at John Hardy for over 18 years. Her career has spanned everything from Director of Design, Director of Merchandising, Marketing, and the lead on key Corporate, Social Engagement Programs for John Hardy.
She is trained in jewellery design and community development and has experience in helping develop communities in Australia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, with focus on women’s empowerment, health and policy.

SILVINA MIGUEL

Sustainability Consultant & Permaculture Designer

SILVINA MIGUEL

Sustainability Consultant & Permaculture Designer

Is Permaculture the New Way Forward for A Sustainable and Luxury Hospitality Experience?

We all want passion and purpose to be the driving force behind our business, but learning how the two can lead to success and sustainability is often unclear. Learn how Alila villas did it through their sustainability lab; integrating passion and purpose with permaculture to create a sustainable ecosystem.

In this session we will discuss:
- The steps we can take to make regenerative tourism the standard in the future
- Redefining cost in relation to environmental impact
- Incorporating sustainable practices such as waste management into the luxury traveller’s experience
- The right thing to do versus a marketing tool or tactic

Silvina is a permaculture designer, practising since 2016. Now a member of the Alila Villas Uluwatu team, she is working as Regenerative Tourism consultant, with the aim to implement a zero waste to landfill program through the creation of a Sustainability Lab.

HEMAL JAIN

General Manager, Alila Villas Uluwatu

HEMAL JAIN

General Manager, Alila Villas Uluwatu

Is Permaculture the New Way Forward for A Sustainable and Luxury Hospitality Experience?

We all want passion and purpose to be the driving force behind our business, but learning how the two can lead to success and sustainability is often unclear. Learn how Alila villas did it through their sustainability lab; integrating passion and purpose with permaculture to create a sustainable ecosystem.

In this session we will discuss:
- The steps we can take to make regenerative tourism the standard in the future
- Redefining cost in relation to environmental impact
- Incorporating sustainable practices such as waste management into the luxury traveller’s experience
- The right thing to do versus a marketing tool or tactic

Hemal is currently leading the team at Alila Villas Uluwatu which has received many prestigious awards and accolades. He believes that the modern-day luxury traveller is looking for sustainability in travel and to contribute to the environment and community. “Nothing unites the world like travel, and nothing more so than #travelwithpurpose – taking the opportunity to experience cultures and interact with communities on a more meaningful and positively impactful level."

MATT BRACE

Travel Writer & Journalist

MATT BRACE

Travel Writer & Journalist

Max Your Media: How To Capitalise Your Time With Visiting Journalists, Media and PR

In this session you will:
-Take away tips on how to help better manage travel writers and hotel reviewers
-Discuss the difference between hosting media and influencers, and how to select the right person for your company’s objectives
-Learn how to work with different media budgets to suit your PR needs

Matt has reported travel and news from 60 countries in his 30-year career, for publications including The Guardian, The Independent and The Times. He has reviewed hundreds of luxury hotels for scores of magazines and websites, and has written five published books, including Hotel Heaven: Confessions of a Luxury Hotel Addict.

WHO’S AT OPEN HOUSE

The whole Further East community. Open House is the first official day of Further East – the perfect opportunity to get to know everyone you’ll be spending the next few days with.

WHERE IS IT?

Further East Open House will take place from 12:30 – 21:00pm on
Monday 6 November at Potato Head Beach Club.

WHY HEAD TO OPEN HOUSE?

01/ PLAN YOUR NEXT MOVE

We know that in business there’s no place for abstract ideas. Open House is your opportunity to come together to learn, feel inspired and define tangible goals – for your business and our industry, too.

02/ REDISCOVER YOUR COMMUNITY

Missing your Further East friends? Open House will give you the chance to reconnect with last year’s connections and meet new members of the community in a chilled-out poolside setting.

03/ DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Here, things are breezy. This is the place for informal networking and reminding yourselves that, although you’re in Bali for business, fun is very much on the agenda at Open House.