Letter from Berlin: The hard, hard world of online travel
First stop, KaDaWe, the store that once was the beacon of capitalism when the Berlin Wall was still a Wall. It’s been upgraded and refreshed but essentially the layout’s still the same.The sixth floor is where, during ITB week, you will run into the world’s travel industry professionals who co [...]
THE LIST: Hotels hand-picked for the time-poor and impatient jetsetter
How often are you asked by your friends for hotel recommendations? Too often, if you are frequent travellers like Trey Shores and Kei Shibata, which is why the two have teamed up to launch THE LIST, a collection of hand-picked hotels that they believe will suit the tastes of like-minded travellers.T [...]
WIT Start-Up Pitch: TraveDoc wants to be the Uber of doctors
Q: Describe the business, core products and services in one paragraphTraveDoc is the online doctor appointment scheduling service for people living and traveling in a new country. Fast, easy and free, TraveDoc lets you choose and schedule an appointment with a great physician, dentist, or specialist [...]
Letter from Penang: Meet the new digital hippies out to create the island’s future
In my interview with the Straits Times of Singapore last month, I told the reporter that it was the hippies who first inspired me to get into travel. I would see them wandering round the streets with a certain smile on their face, and I wanted to be like them.I thought the smile was from happiness, [...]
Cultural shift needed in hotel pricing and booking and Duetto wants to lead the movement
Duetto’s concept of “open pricing” is but the first step in a long journey towards helping hotels extend the trust they’ve already built with “customers who sleep in their beds ” to the booking process.Said Patrick Bosworth, CEO and co-founder of Duetto, “According to Google and Comsco [...]
Singapore debates pros and cons of short-term rentals as sharing models lobby to stave off ban
Like everywhere else, Singapore is trying to figure out what to do with the sharing economy or, more specifically, short-term rentals.This week, Airbnb and travelmob sent out emails to their members, encouraging them to take part in a survey being conducted by the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) [...]
HotelQuickly enters South Korea with redesigned app
In launching its app in South Korea today, its 15th country, last minute booking app HotelQuickly took its time to make sure it got it right in Asia’s most mobile market.CEO Tomas Laboutka said, “We didn’t want to rush to Korea just to be there. We wanted to really learn as much as possible ab [...]
Taking Travel Massive from fun project to serious business
Travel Massive started off as a fun project by serial entrepreneur Ian Cumming who wanted to connect people in travel. Over the years, it’s grown into a global community, powered by local chapters. Now, backed by a personal investment from Stephan Ekbergh of Travelstart, Cumming wants to turn Trav [...]
The power of NOW – in that instant, loyalty is strengthened or broken
I like to think I am somewhat of a loyal person. I have friends for life. And I think most of them will show up at my funeral. I try and learn from my dogs everyday what true loyalty means.As a customer, I am also generally loyal. I am loyal not per se to the brands but to my friends working in thos [...]
Data challenges abound for hoteliers – TravelClick rolls out new data tool Demand360
It's not the lack of data or tools, it's the talent lag and mindset that needs changing if Asia's hotel industry is to embrace the new dawn in hotel distribution, sales and marketing. In this interview, TravelClick's Maverick Mak talks about their new product, Demand360, and the challenges facing ho [...]
