“The emails and phone calls suddenly stopped” but MyRealTrip persevered and raised US$36m. Here’s how it did it
MyRealTrip, South Korea’s online travel platform, which had its roots in tours and activities, made headlines on July 29 when it raised US$36m in a funding round led by existing investor Altos Ventures along with IMM Investment and Smilegate Investment. New investors including Korea Development B [...]
Ixigo reinstates salaries, sells Travenues to SpiceJet, weans off Google
“The longterm net gainers are OTAs and airline direct,” says Aloke Bajpai
From the outside looking in, it would seem that the Covid-19 situation is getting worse in India which it is from the rate of infections but somehow one travel company, Ixigo, the Indian e-commerce website for flights, [...]
Markets stumble, Traveloka raises, Ctrip’s private plans: Keep your eye on the horizon
One moment, I am speaking to Tien Thuy Tien, managing director of Asian Trails Vietnam, who’s at the Lak Tented Camp in the Central Highlands and she’s waxing lyrical about the scenic beauty and the elephant by the lake, and how locals like her were out travelling, and the next, Vietnam goes in [...]
Meet the unsung heroes of Raffles City hotels, Singapore
While most of us were hiding at home during Circuit Breaker in Singapore there were those working in hospitality who had to show up for work to keep their hotels running, and caring for Stay-Home-Notice and Quarantine Control Facility guests in Singapore.
Curious to find out more about these wor [...]
What is it like to manage a “Hotel California”? Behind the scenes of Raffles City hotels with Marcus Hanna
In all his years of hotel-keeping, Marcus Hanna never imagined he’d be running a “Hotel California” type operation where guests “can never leave” their rooms but so it has been for the past months with his hotels, Swissôtel The Stamford (1,252 rooms) and now one tower of the Fairmont Sin [...]
O’ restless warriors, find your solace at home
One of the earliest literary pieces I read and that left a big impression on me was “Lady Precious Stream”, written by S.I. Hsing.
To cut a long play short – it was a Chinese play written in
English circa 1933 – it’s about the adventures of a restless warrior who, in
the end, after all [...]
Trust the new currency for loyalty, says Sabre
When travel resumes, the new currency for loyalty will be trust, says Frank Trampert, managing director & chief commercial officer, EMEA & APAC for Sabre Hospitality Solutions.
“The new currency for loyalty is more around trust. In the past, people would collect points. Now, people wan [...]
Lessons from French philosophers applied
Tasked with finding applications for the WiT community from French philosophy, D’EDGE’s CEO Pierre Charles Grob brought up the importance of education, team work and collaboration at WiT’s Virtual Around the World Summit.
You can or create experience. You must undergo it. – Albert Camus [...]
Excuse me, did I see you on Zoom or was it for real? Re-learning the rituals of socialising again
Many, many years ago, I tore my calf muscle, had to have surgery, my right leg wrapped in a cast for almost six to eight weeks and after it was removed, I had to learn to walk all over again. Something I had taken for granted my entire life, the ability to put one foot after the other, I had to re [...]
Online champion, ATTIA, emerges to revive travel and spur recovery
Formed in 2019 to address regulations around short-term rentals and digital marketing, the body has found new purpose with Covid-19 as it seeks to lobby governments in APAC to establish common protocol for safe travel such as a two-swap process for opening of travel corridors and safety and hygiene [...]
