OTAs vs direct hotel bookings: A traveller’s perspective
The rise and rise of monolitic online travel agents (OTAs) are squeezing hotel margins – but is this necessarily bad for the industry? A report by global hotel consultancy HVS, published earlier this month, described how Priceline and Expedia have become “ever-more powerful” following strategi [...]
Ctrip to bank on product and customer service to succeed in South-east Asia
Ctrip, China’s largest OTA, opened its doors in Singapore with the official launch of its brand in Singapore this week. The move signals the company’s regional ambitions with localised websites that went live earlier this year in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.Explaining the company [...]
TripZilla zipping along as it uses content as hook to pull in customers
In start-up years, TripZilla is still an infant. Founded in 2010 by husband and wife team Winnie Tan and Eric Koh, the online portal claims to be South-east Asia’s foremost travel listings site – cornering almost 80% of the Singaporean market alone. I caught up with Winnie to find out how TripZi [...]
How to succeed in online travel: Lessons from WIT Japan
As a first-timer attending WIT Japan & North Asia, it was certainly an eye-opener as I listened to more than 60 speakers and industry experts share their collective wisdom and insights into what it takes for to succeed in the online travel space in the region. Here are some of the lessons gleane [...]
The battle for online travel consumers: Who will win?
Will the Internet – and online travel in particular – end up being dominated by juggernauts? Do online travel agencies (OTAs) stand a chance in a world where search engines offer e-commerce facilities, and giant retailers get into travel?These were the key questions debated at a panel discussion [...]
It was as if I were there: How I embraced virtual reality in travel
Immersive marketing is now a thing. I first heard of it when HBO employed the hottest tech gadget - Oculus Rift - at SXSW last year to market the popular TV show, Game of Thrones.
Don a pair of virtual reality (VR) goggles and conference-goers could get a taste of life as a member of the Night� [...]
