New Sage Hotel in Perth heralds “move away from commoditisation”
A new Sage Hotel in West Perth was officially unveiled in Singapore this Tuesday by its parent company, SilverNeedle, a Singapore-based hotel group.
The A$35 million hotel was developed in partnership with a local property developer, the Australian Development Capital (ADC), and is the first Sage [...]
Silent revolution taking place as villa bookings become more accessible to travel agents
Private accommodation has become the norm in travel, catering to travellers who demand a personalised service. One might even argue that in some respects, villas surpass hotels in comfort and in privacy. But there is one gaping difference between the hotel industry and villas: its technology.This is [...]
How Contiki keeps itself fresh for today’s millennials
Contiki has been specialising in the business of group travel for 18 to 35 year olds since 1962, well before the advent of the current generation of young travellers. This travel company may be 54 years old, but it still knows how to get down with the kids.The firm does more than dabble in social me [...]
Who calls the shots in travel? Asian women, of course
For anyone with a social media account, the annual flood of stories about feminist role models is almost unavoidable on March 8. This day marks International Women’s Day, a global date that celebrates the achievements of women while drawing attention to the gender parity that still exists, over 10 [...]
Shut up and travel with TripHobo
India-based trip-planning platform TripHobo has joined Amadeus Next, the Asia Pacific startup community powered by Amadeus. The aim of the partnership, according to a press statement, is to enable TripHobo to create a “full stack, dynamic packaging solution” for its users.TripHobo currently cove [...]
Focus and personal touch rule at Villa Finder
Almost exactly three years since WIT first featured villa-bali.com, I met with David Chambat, managing director and founder, to find out how his business has evolved. For a start, the villa bookings site has expanded its footprint to cover Phuket, Ko Samui and Sri Lanka. Mauritius, I learnt, is on t [...]
A fine line between celebrating tribal culture and “gawking at natives”
The man of undetermined age swings his leg back and forth, then stamps hard against the dusty ground. The air is hot and still but his energetic dance celebrating the harvest season sends his loincloth flapping. His face may be inscrutable, but his motions are practiced and confident.I am seated in [...]
Silence of the web at ASEAN travel leaders level
For all the chatter and plans unveiled at the ASEAN Tourism Forum held in Manila earlier this month, nowhere did the Internet feature, or any discussion on the impact of the web on travel.The silence on the topic was staggering – aside from the Malaysian national tourist office (NTO) press briefin [...]
Deals for agents on BeMyGuest’s B2B marketplace
Travel agencies can now tap into Asia’s largest database of tours and activities and secure industry rates. BeMyGuest, Asia’s leading aggregator of local tours and activities, has launched a new B2B platform for travel agencies – ‘Agents Marketplace’ – in its bid to meet the needs of the [...]
Travelstart makes inroads in Middle East
Depending on which part of the world you’re in, Travelstart is either a household name or an unknown entity. This is not unusual: most businesses begin by building a platform to cater to local markets and remain most recognisable within their native region.But things might be changing for one OTA. [...]
