RateHawk builds its nest in Singapore
RateHawk, a B2B online system for booking hotels, air tickets, and transfers for travel professionals, is launching operations in the Asian region, from its Asian headquarters in Singapore.
Dubai-based RateHawk is entering the region with a platform localised in Thai, Chinese, and Korean, dedicated language support lines, a seamless payment infrastructure and a local commercial team of more thane 30 people overseeing South-east, South and East Asia.
RateHawk offers more than 2.5 million accommodations worldwide with strong coverage in Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, as well as flights from over 400 airlines, transfers in 150 countries, car rental, FIT bookings, group reservations and other travel-related services.
Asian travel agents, operators, travel management companies (TMCs), and other industry professionals will have access to a full range of travel services on RateHawk’s platform.
Oldies in a digital daze
McKinsey recently sought the opinion of 5,000 travellers globally to have a better understanding of the differences in behaviours, motivations and expectations among a diverse set of tourists. McKinsey says the survey will “help travel, and tourism companies tailor their offerings and realise more bookings, higher satisfaction, and ultimately, repeat visitors”.
The survey found one of the differences between tech-smart younger travellers and tech-wary older generations is “quite a bit of fatigue with technology in the travel process and a feeling that if you’re not a digital native, the steps of traveling have become quite challenging”.
Mckinsey’s Margaux Constantin added, “This may or may not be correlated with the fact that they [older generations] tend to visit destinations they’re more familiar with, that they have been to already, rather than explore new destinations. So, they can rely a bit less on those tools.
“What that means is that travellers still like to have a digital and analytics-informed travel journey and travel process, but that doesn’t have to get in the way of human interaction.
“What we see with older generations is frustration that every site or attraction you try to go to now [involves] a machine that they’re struggling to interact with or to get the right information from. And that’s where some of the disconnect can happen.”
Bags of good news from SITA
There’s good news for those who worry their baggage marked for Doha will end up in Dhaka.
SITA, which provides technology solutions for the air transport industry, has revealed an improvement in the air transport industry’s rate of mishandled baggage.
SITA Baggage IT Insights 2024 reports the number of bags mishandled by the industry fell from 7.6 to 6.9 per 1,000 passengers in 2023. This is despite passenger numbers rising above 2019 levels for the first time in five years, growing to 5.2 billion.
SITA says the industry still faces challenges, particularly managing surges in baggage volumes. Pushing ahead with the industry’s digitalisation agenda is vital, argues the survey, focusing on AI for data analysis and computer vision tech in automated baggage handling.
That push must include full automation, good communication, and full visibility of each bag’s journey, SITA recommends.
Today, 32% of passengers rely on bag collection information sent straight to their mobile. Better communication and visibility for passengers will encourage more use of digital self-service and give passengers control over their journey, SITA suggested.
Hebrew or Hindi? Learn it with Memrise
Heading to Bangkok on business? North India for leisure? Or maybe you want to ask Volodymyr Zelenskyy how the war in Ukraine is progressing.
Memrise, the AI-powered language-learning app with more than 73 million global users, had added four new languages to its portfolio of 25 languages: Thai, Hebrew, Ukrainian and Hindi.
Memrise says it believes in ensuring that its users have a wide variety of options to help them achieve whatever language learning goals they have in mind.
“Memrise is committed to making language learning more accessible, efficient, and enjoyable for our users across the globe – which is why we’re excited to be adding a total of nine new languages in the first half of 2024,” said Steve Toy, CEO of Memrise.
The Memrise app combines a chat GPT-powered “MemBot” chat tool and an extensive library of over 48,000 scenario-based lessons, including videos featuring real native speakers.
TravelPay on the money with Pelikin
Payment-solution provider, TravelPay, has signed a strategic partnership with Australian foreign-currency-card, fintech company, Pelikin, to launch TravelPay Money.
TravelPay Money, powered by Pelikin, is a digital-focused alternative to travel cards that promises to unlock a range of benefits for Australian travel agents and their clients.
Key benefits include free sign-up, 22-currency wallet functionality, long-term commission-earning potential, flexible marketing options for agents, and regular tracking and reporting.
Safety and security are handled by 3D Secure (3DS) technology, providing an extra layer of protection.
With TravelPay Money, travellers can spend their money wherever VISA is accepted, swap between multiple currencies at the tap of a screen, load money free of charge with no account fees, and get cash out while travelling with ATM withdrawals.
Families and friends can also transfer funds to each other free of charge through the app while travelling.
