Google is now top site for hotel reviews, overtaking Booking.com
In Revinate’s Hotel Reputation Benchmark Report 2019 which analysed reviews for more than 140,000 hotels in over 200 countries, key findings like the continued growth of reviews on review sites and OTAs, albeit at a slower rate, were not surprising.
Perhaps what was more surprising and would [...]
How to thrive amid disruption in a globalised world: Lessons from tech and travel giants
At
the STB Tourism Industry Conference earlier this week, a cast of tech giants
from Expedia, Alibaba and Google, moderated by WiT’s Yeoh Siew Hoon, discussed
a burning topic in travel and beyond: how to thrive in the face of disruption.
Arguably each of the companies present on
stage has bee [...]
Startup Spotlight: Traveknowledgy is out to make TMCs and OTAs even more profitable
This week, WiT chatted with Maxim Sevastianov, CEO of Traveknowledgy – a "post-booking process automation and fare optimisation" startup. It's a bit of mouthful, but read on to find out how this travel technology company is out to boost the profitability of TMCs and OTAs.
Describe the business [...]
The Wrap: Firefly is back in Singapore after end of airspace dispute
In the news: Firefly’s return to Singapore, OTA rehlat's partnership with PayPal, Canadian technology startup Betterez’s move to New Zealand
Airlines: Firefly is back in Singapore after end of airspace dispute
The upgraded Seletar Airport where Firefly now lands (Image credit: Seletar Air [...]
STB joins forces with Traveloka, Alibaba in move to deepen its digital strategy
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced two strategic partnerships with Alibaba Group and Traveloka in a move that signals its intent to develop a more comprehensive digital strategy as more travellers move online.
Announcing the two agreements at Tourism
Industry Conference 2019, CEO K [...]
Will Malaysia’s departure levy hurt the country’s tourism industry? Opinions divided
Is paying RM20 to RM40 as departure levy flying out of Malaysian airports a deterrent to your travel? A question I put to a few friends who fly frequently for both work and play. All answered in the negative, as the amount is too small to affect their travel budget or stop them from taking holiday [...]
Online payment solutions crucial to travel, as Middle East travellers book later and more often
At
WiT Middle East this week, Checkout.com’s Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo (VP Business
Development, MENA) presented a comprehensive report on the state of online
payments in the Middle East travel industry.
During his exclusive presentation,
Abbondandolo gave an in-depth view on the purchasing b [...]
Startup Spotlight: Davinci TS wants to make an art of group hotel reservations
Meet Davinci TS, a startup that plans to remedy a big business travel pain point: group hotel reservations. It aims to help hotels save time and money while boosting occupation rates... not least, make group bookings a far more seamless process for travel organisers. WiT spoke to founder & CEO, [...]
Northstar Travel Group acquires London-based Centaur Media’s travel and meetings business
Northstar Travel Group, WiT's parent company, has entered into an agreement to acquire Centaur Media Travel and Meetings (CTM) from Centaur Media, one of the UK's leading specialist and business publishing information companies.
The transaction is expected
to close at the end of April. The terms [...]
The Wrap: Agoda gives Amadeus agents access to its pre-paid hotel content
In the news: Amadeus and Agoda partner in sharing hotel content, Cloud solution for The Ascott in managing rapid growth, artificial intelligence to fight jet lag,
Corporate Travel: Agoda gives Amadeus agents access to its pre-paid hotel content
More accommodation options for business travelle [...]
