Hello monopolies, goodbye independents – it’s getting hard to stand alone in a world of giants
I was at a blockchain event last night when a Beijing-based investor let loose a rant on how this Internet world of centralisation was creating monopolies especially in travel where OTAs were completely dominating the market and there was now no room for new startups in travel that could scale well [...]
John Brown on succession, startup culture and how AI is part of everything Agoda does
Some might argue that John Brown, the new CEO of Agoda, has a harder job today than Rob Rosenstein, the man whom he recently succeeded and who founded the Thailand-based hotel portal with Michael Kenny in 1998.
After all, back then, it was the early heady days of the Internet, there wasn’t [...]
Booking Holdings to buy HotelsCombined, which will become part of KAYAK
Booking Holdings announced on July 9 it has entered into an agreement to purchase accommodation metasearch site, HotelsCombined.
The acquisition has been approved by HotelsCombined's board of directors and stockholders and is expected to close later this year, subject to regulatory approval. Term [...]
Surprise and delight or frighten: Hoteliers search for the line between connecting with and creeping out their customers
So what are hoteliers overwhelmed by when it comes to leveraging consumer data and what are their priorities in an increasingly digitalised world?
Some answers emerged during the Facebook APAC Hotels Summit held in Singapore in June during a panel discussion of three hoteliers – Emilie Couton ( [...]
Through the Looking Glass: How technology has given 83-year-old Masako Wakamiya wings
If there is one person who has proven that technology transcends age, it is Masako Wakamiya.
In this first of the series of articles around our WIT Singapore 2018 Conference theme of “Through The Looking Glass”, where we look outside travel in search of different stories and lessons, we meet [...]
Game on as LINE enters travel: Key lessons from WIT Japan & North Asia
There we were at WiT Japan & North Asia speaking of the disruption taking place in travel and the day after we wrap up our two-day event comes the news that LINE, Japan’s main messaging app, is getting into travel.
The news release said that LINE Travel “would be a comprehensive travel se [...]
Shoot My Travel victorious at WIT Japan & North Asia 2018 Startup Pitch Grand Finals
Shoot My Travel are this year’s victors of the WIT Japan & North Asia 2018 Startup Pitch, powered by Amadeus.
Shoot My Travel – a global online marketplace that pairs travellers with local photographers – beat two other finalists during the Grand Finals at the Main Stage conference of [...]
Razzle. Dazzle. Frazzle. A robot’s welcome to Tokyo
It’s probably not what the doctor would have ordered – catching the Robot Show in Tokyo right after two days of intense conferencing and sleep deprivation. But maybe it was exactly what I needed to take me completely over the adrenalin meter.
After all, we had spent two days at WIT Japan & [...]
WIT Japan & North Asia 2018 Startup Pitch Grand Finalists announced
The results are in and the top three Grand Finalists for this year’s WIT Japan & North Asia Startup Pitch 2018 (powered by Amadeus) have been declared.
Competing for this year’s grand prize of a place at Phocuswright's APAC Innovators of the Year programme at the Phocuswright Conference i [...]
As funding consolidates and channels fragment, small startups will face challenges
One message was clear at the WIT Japan & North Asia Bootcamp which took place in Tokyo today – small startups, especially in the B2C space, will face massive challenges going forward in the battle for user acquisition and funding.
Masahiko Honma, general partner of Incubate Fund, was first [...]
