JJ Dispatches

Jan and Jon compare notes on a week of public speaking: an AI workshop where Jan realised he was losing the room, and an awards speech Jon couldn't read under the stage lights. They talk about taking opportunities before you feel ready, knowing when to ask for help, and why saying yes means owning what happens next. Then Tesla's flying-car spectacle takes them into Thailand's EV market, Chinese brands becoming part of everyday life, and what a broken hotel oven can teach you about choosing a brand.

In this episode

• 00:00 When your AI workshop gets too technical: reading the room and remembering that not everyone lives in your bubble
• 03:23 Jon's awards speech, bright stage lights and the trouble with preparing notes you can't read
• 05:02 “Dinner's ready”: an early public-speaking panic and being the GM guests thought was too young
• 06:28 Saying yes before you feel ready, leaving your comfort zone and explaining your choices to your family
• 09:43 Hiring for cultural fit, taking a chance on people and why accepting an opportunity means owning the follow-through
• 11:23 Humility, unofficial mentors and having people who will tell you when your message isn't landing
• 12:48 Tesla's flying-car spectacle: does grabbing attention actually persuade someone in Thailand to buy?
• 13:56 Tesla, BYD and the changing mix of cars on Thailand's roads
• 16:59 From early adopters to family buyers: price, charging convenience and the ownership experience
• 18:24 When a Chinese brand starts to feel local: BYD factories, Grab rides and dealerships
• 20:32 Spare parts, an Italian bakery oven and Jan's office coffee machine: why local support matters
• 22:26 New brands, more choice and a car that floats: keeping up with what the market wants
• 24:32 Packed restaurants, disappearing queues and why a successful launch doesn't guarantee staying power
• 25:36 Next time: Jon checks in from Vietnam

Mentioned in this episode

• Inspiring Women in Travel Asia Awards, part of the Travel Daily Media awards conversation
• Tesla's Roadster demonstration, the jumping and flying prototype that prompted the EV discussion
• BYD's Yangwang U8, the vehicle with an emergency flotation function

EV facts and sources

• Thailand's electric-car market is growing: 122,128 battery-electric vehicles were registered in 2025, up 74.1% from 2024. Source: Autolife Thailand / Department of Land Transport
• Tesla's share fell even as its registrations recovered: approximately 8,200 registrations in 2023, 4,100 in 2024 and 4,949 in 2025. Its share of battery-electric registrations fell from around 11% to 6% to 4%. These are shares of the battery-electric market, not all cars. 2023 figures · 2024 figures · 2025 figures
• Local manufacturing is part of the story: BYD opened its Rayong factory in July 2024, with annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. Source: BYD

Corrections and clarifications

The 2025 Tesla share mentioned in the conversation should be approximately 4%, not 6%. The reference to a 60% share in Thailand in 2021 was not substantiated and should not be relied on.

The “swimming car” is BYD's Yangwang U8. Its ability to float for up to 30 minutes is intended for emergencies, not routine driving through floods. Servicing experiences discussed are anecdotes, not a verified comparison of manufacturers' policies.

About the hosts

Jan Rohweder works in marketing, technology and AI. He works with clients and builds smaller businesses and products.

Jon Cannon works in hospitality: assets, owners, operators and investment. He is often travelling between Thailand and Vietnam.

About JJ Dispatches

Every week, Jan and Jon compare notes on what they're seeing in their work, their industries and wherever they happen to be. No scripts, no trend reports. Just what we've noticed, from wherever work has taken us.

Episode page

Jan and Jon kick off JJ Dispatches from Bangkok, with Jon just back from a hotel visit on Koh Samui. They talk about what low season really means for island resorts, why Chinese travellers are now found on Little Red Book rather than through tour agents, how Korean and Indian travel is moving towards Vietnam, and why everyone at a stadium concert seems to be filming everyone else.

In this episode

• 00:00 Where are you? Jon's back in Bangkok during IMF week, after a few days on Koh Samui
• 01:00 Is October and November a good time to visit the Thai islands? Warm rain, warm water, a cold beer and far fewer people
• 02:00 The boom-and-bust cycle of resort markets, and why the quiet season is when hotels do budgets, capex and system upgrades
• 04:40 Chinese travellers are back, and Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) is where they plan their trips
• 06:30 Picking the right channels: why a resort probably doesn't need LinkedIn, and how to work out who your guests actually are
• 09:30 A hotel near Pattaya whose Chinese guests had been promoting it on Little Red Book for months, without the hotel knowing
• 11:50 Thailand vs Vietnam: Korean travellers moving to Phu Quoc, India growing fast, and a construction boom on the island
• 14:30 Which should your friends visit? It depends on what kind of adventure they want
• 17:00 A stadium concert in Bangkok as a content engine: micro-influencers, live streams and watch-alongs of watch-alongs
• 23:20 Coming up: how concerts and live events are marketed in Southeast Asia compared with Europe and North America

Mentioned in this episode

• 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Bangkok (12 to 18 October)
• Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote), the Chinese social and search platform where many Chinese travellers research their trips
• Phu Quoc's hotel building programme ahead of APEC 2027

Correction

Jon said the building work on Phu Quoc is for an ASEAN summit. It is for APEC 2027, which Vietnam is hosting on the island. The cluster he describes is Sun Group's beachfront "hotel city" project: 15 hotels with around 6,500 five-star rooms, plus an expanded airport.

About the hosts

Jan Rohweder works in marketing, technology and AI. He works with clients and builds smaller businesses and products.

Jon Cannon works in hospitality: assets, owners, operators and investment. He is often travelling between Thailand and Vietnam.

About JJ Dispatches

Every week, Jan and Jon compare notes on what they're seeing in their work, their industries and wherever they happen to be. No scripts, no trend reports. Just what we've noticed, from wherever work has taken us.

Episode page