myALN fuses Jetsetter and Tablet models to go after luxury travel in China
Trying to carve out a slice of the luxury travel market in China is private sale site myALN (Affordable Luxury Network) started by four former college room-mates from Harvard.“Online players in the luxury travel space are non-existent in China,” said CEO & co-founder Frank Lin. “Yet it� [...]
New direct marketing service for hotels that leverages on Twitter traffic
European startup Reach.ly has launched its first product, a unique service that delivers a highly filtered, real-time Twitter stream and conversation tool for hotels to convert potential guests into hotel rooms.As Reach.ly puts it simply on its website: “Someone tweets about their trip to your c [...]
WITNext: Pigeonhole Live to make debut on June 1 event
In the spirit of nurturing start-ups, WITNext on June 1 will be trying out a new conference service started by two National University of Singapore graduates.Pigeonhole Live, described as “the world’s simplest real-time conference Q&A tool on the mobile, enables questions and comments to be [...]
NileGuide.com buys 10Best.com
Following its recent acquisition of travel Q & A site Localyte.com, global travel content publisher NileGuide.com today announced the acquisition of travel recommendation site 10Best.com for an undisclosed amount.The 10best.com acquisition from Enveritas Group, Inc. solidifies NileGuide as [...]
Now you can book within the KAYAK iPhone app
In a move clearly aimed at strengthening its brand engagement with users, KAYAK has introduced the option for users to complete hotel bookings directly within the KAYAK iPhone app.The updated version of the app is now available in the iTunes App Store and is available for download.Before the release [...]
OK, one more time: Your own website or a Facebook Fan Page?
A couple of months ago I was at the Singapore Tourism Board conference here in Singapore.Siew Hoon (of Web In Travel) was hosting a panel and I asked the panelists a question:“If you had finite funds and you were a small hotel owner, would you invest your precious cash in your own website or (y [...]
Online shopping a fad among Internet users in Asia Pacific
A love for the latest clothes and beauty products is driving internet users in six emerging eCommerce markets in Asia Pacific to seek their fashion fixes on overseas shopping websites, according to the 2010 Visa eCommerce Consumer Monitor.Most popular among shoppers in six emerging eCommerce markets [...]
Gong launches Impulse Flyer, membership flash sale site for luxury, boutique hotels
Steven Gong, formerly of Wego and Circos Brand Karma, has pre-launched his own startup, Impulse Flyer.Billed as an exclusive, luxury & boutique hotel-specific flash sale site for the Asia Pacific region, the site aims to help members in three easy steps – “exclusively notify, stunningly ins [...]
GuideGecko creates publishing app for travel writers
Good news for travel writers – GuideGecko, a publishing portal for travel guides, has launched its iPhone, Kindle and Web publishing platforms.Writers only have to compose their guides once on www.GuideGecko.com, and may write on any destination. Then GuideGecko will create the apps and eBooks a [...]
HED Flocations maps a new approach to flight booking
When Singapore Airlines relaunched its website in May, it unveiled a slick, Web 2.0-inspired user interface. Users almost immediately revolted against the new interface, its attendant bugs and various crashes, culminating in a public apology for the new website by the airlines' chief executive i [...]
