Jetsetting with TripAdvisor’s Cindy Tan

SINGAPORE — You know you’re working in an office to die for when it not only boasts a great view of the city and a pantry complete with barista-standard espresso machine, but it also has London phone booth-themed meeting rooms and travel photos of its staffers proudly displayed on its wall.

“Travel is our business and there are elements of it incorporated within our office,” said Cindy Tan, TripAdvisor’s Vice President of Display Advertising Sales for Asia Pacific.

To keep up with demand, the world’s largest travel website moved to its new Singapore regional headquarters in late September.

“More people in Asia now understand the relevance of TripAdvisor,” said Tan. “It’s not just (a website) for reading hotel reviews. It’s a passionate community of travellers who genuinely want to help and share their knowledge with other travellers.” SERENE LIM

Q: Do you always depend on TripAdvisor when you travel?

A: Yes. Once, I was in Florence in a mall and my three-year-old was shouting that she wanted food. I checked TripAdvisor, which said there was a great restaurant 500 metres away, but I thought it was too far so I decided to get something simple from the café downstairs. The moment we sat down and ordered, I checked TripAdvisor again and saw it had some of the worst reviews. I learnt my lesson.

Q: Are you the sort to strictly plan your holidays?

A: It depends. If I’m travelling with the little one, then a lot of planning is required. You need to work out the sights, what’s going to interest her. On a recent trip to Melbourne, I learnt more about animals than I ever did in my whole life. We went to zoo after zoo and farm after farm.

Q: How can families on a holiday best use TripAdvisor?

A: Prior to the Melbourne trip, the mother and shopper in me wanted to go to Italy. I went online to do some research and found a forum which had a lot of feedback that had nothing to do with kids — so that was a sign. After considering Australia, I went on TripAdvisor again and saw many attractions listed under Family Fun. I then selected my itinerary based on the reviews of these attractions.

Q: So have you ever had a bad experience using TripAdvisor?

A: Not really. Maybe one time in Beijing when I was staying in a service apartment. By no means was the service apartment bad. It just wasn’t as good as what the reviews said. I didn’t pay attention to when they were written and it turned out they were six to 12 months old.

Q: What are your travel essentials?

A: Medication. If you opened up my suitcase, you would think I’m a drug addict. My philosophy is prevention is better than cure. Anything could happen. Sometimes you aren’t always in the most convenient or cosmopolitan cities, where you can just walk to a pharmacy. I have all kinds: Panadol, cough syrup, medicines for back aches and antihistamine. I’d really recommend antihistamine for travellers because that helps with sinuses and allergies. And candy as well. I make sure I have chocolates and sweets with me.

Q: You travel at least once a month. What are some of your most memorable experiences?

A: Seeing Jose Carreras at Angkor Wat in 2002. This was part of three-course dinner in the open and there were flies all over the food! My other memorable trip would have to be Morocco. It’s so colourful, even though when you first land in Marrakesh, all the buildings are orange and brown in colour and of a similar height. But when you enter any of them — be it a restaurant, a gallery or a riad (traditional house with a courtyard) — the colours, the interior design, the motifs are just mind-blowing. I was also chased by the police in Marrakesh after one of our cars broke down and twelve adults had to squeeze into a BMW X5. On that same trip, we also took a city tour bus in Paris, which got into an accident 15 minutes after we boarded it.