Why empathy, not argument, is Airbnb’s approach to short-term rental regulation
Mich Goh on listening her way through hostile hearings, and what governments across APAC actually want when they talk about short-term rentals
Every APAC market wants something different from tourism, and that's the challenge Mich Goh (Director of Public Policy, APAC, Airbnb) has built her career a [...]
The next transformation: Inside Ascott’s agentic AI leap of faith
Chief Commercial Officer Tan Bee Leng on the mindset shift that took the company from owner to operator – and the one she says is even bigger
Ask Tan Bee Leng, chief commercial officer of Ascott, what her immediate challenge is and her answer was not what I had expected.
“Parity,” she says [...]
Expedia Group acquires Layla to bolster its AI-powered trip planning and booking strategy
Acquisition accelerates Expedia Group’s AI-native trip planning offerings spanning the full journey – from inspiration, to planning, booking, and support for travelers worldwide
Expedia Group announced that it has acquired Layla, an AI-native trip planning and booking platform that helps tr [...]
Intrepid’s James Thornton: “If everyone goes right, we’ll often be going left”
WiT Queenstown was James Thornton’s first day back at work, fresh off three weeks in Greece, where, he stressed to the audience, he was fully, deliberately offline.
“I think some CEOs find it really bizarre that I wouldn’t do emails and calls on holiday,” he said. “But great companies h [...]
The different faces of indie hospitality: Hopeless romantics who can read P&Ls to entrepreneurial general managers
At WiT Indie, three very different hospitality models – a UNESCO heritage boutique, a globally scaled brand with its roots in serviced residence, and a 140-year-old colonial grand dame – sat on the same panel to address a key question – what does it mean to serve the independent traveller in s [...]
From bin centre to boardroom: Rayner Loi’s ten-year war on food waste
Lumitics acquired by Winnow to strengthen APAC’s foothold
Ten years ago, Rayner Loi stood in a hotel bin centre in Singapore, staring at 20 to 30 green 120-litre bins waiting for the waste collector. It was his first time in a hotel’s back-of-house. He had no hospitality, no culinary experience [...]
APAC hotel distribution sees slower growth, rising regional OTAs, and direct channels under pressure
D-EDGE's 2022–Q1 2026 analysis shows booking growth cooling to 2.7%, Agoda pulling ahead of Booking.com, and wholesalers more than tripling their market share in three years.
According to a new report from hospitality technology provider D-EDGE, Asia-Pacific's hotel distribution landscape is shif [...]
The next generation of hospitality: When the room is no longer the point
A ryokan owner, a global brand VP, a lifestyle acquirer and a boutique operator debate what will actually make a guest choose you in the next 20 years.
A panel at WiT Japan on “The Next Generation of Hospitality” brought together four voices with sharply different stakes in the answer.
Kyohe [...]
A global OTA view on the next frontier: AI, India and the battle for independent hotels
Booking.com’s Nuno Guerreiro on closing the trust gap, the India boom and how alternative accommodation is now mainstream
The conversation with Nuno Guerreiro, regional director for North and South Asia Pacific at Booking.com, covered three key questions – whether AI will actually change how pe [...]
An Agoda case study: What it takes to combine flights, hotels, and activities into a single transaction
Agoda has rolled out a multi-product booking engine that lets travelers bundle hotels, flights, and activities into a single transaction — no separate checkouts, no juggling multiple confirmation emails. The feature, called One Checkout, went live on May 13 and is accessible via Agoda.com and its [...]
