The murky world of e-commerce and what happens when credit card fraud strikes you
Last month, I noticed a transaction on my Citibank Visa credit card that I didn’t recall making. It was for an event software solution so it was probable I could have made it, but on checking out the vendor’s website, I knew I hadn’t. I had never heard of it. I then went over my statements mo [...]
Corporate travel in disruption: Concur’s news at GBTA part of change sweeping the sector
From a partnership with Lufthansa that will enable business travelers to book direct on LH.com to one with services like Lfyt and HotelTonight, Concur's announcements made at this week's Global Business Travel Associatoon (GBTA) Convention in Orlando are all part of changes sweeping the lucrative co [...]
Our future depends on being relevant in Asia, say Expedia’s new leaders
Under new leadership and housed in plush new offices, Expedia Inc has moved to underscore its commitment to the region with industry gatherings in Bangkok and last week, in Singapore.At the Singapore event, attended by close to 100 hoteliers, the leadership team, led by interim CEO Jonty Neal and Mi [...]
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 [...]
WIT Warrior Spotlight: Kei Shibata wants to use content and price to change the way travellers make decisions
At the WIT Conference last year in Singapore, we recognised 11 individuals whom we felt have had the most influence on the development of online travel in Asia Pacific. This is the seventh article in a series of interviews profiling the WIT Warriors.Kei Shibata is a pioneer of travel meta-search in [...]
MakeMyTrip to invest $15 million in HolidayIQ
MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel company, has acquired a minority stake in HolidayIQ, a popular Indian travel community and holidays-planning recommendation engine. The company will pick up around 28% stake in HolidayIQ for $15 million. The transaction is scheduled to complete in July 201 [...]
Armed with first funding, Allstay sets sights on dominating South Korea’s travel meta-search space
Allstay, the Korean travel start-up which was one of the finalists in the WIT Japan Start-Up Pitch, is gunning to become the first and largest mobile travel meta-search in South Korea.The company has just raised its first round of financing – 500 million KRW (approx. US$430,000) – led by Venture [...]
Sabre study paints a future of hotel booking that is contextual, intimate and instant
Okay so my survey was not scientific in any way. I merely asked the question on my Facebook status, “If I were to say the words “future of hotel booking”, what words come to mind?”I wanted to get feel of what my network, biased towards frequent travellers, thought about the subject – and w [...]
Here’s grabbing your attention. Are you suffering from LFS? List Fatigue Syndrome
I got into a GrabCar Economy for the first time this week. The driver, a 60-something, is a senior executive working in manufacturing full-time but bought a car for his son and now wants some income to pay off his road tax and insurance.This is the more affordable version of GrabCar, the private car [...]
