Inntopia, a subsidiary of Northstar Travel Group, acquires DestiMetrics
Inntopia, the SaaS e-commerce subsidiary of Northstar Travel Group, has acquired DestiMetrics, the leading supplier of lodging metrics and market intelligence to the North American mountain travel industry and warm weather US destinations.
Founded in 2004, DestiMetrics provides need-to-know desti [...]
Reflections on 2016 and Predictions for 2017 (Part II)
It’s that time of the year when we ask industry leaders for their thoughts on what happened in 2016 and what they forsee will happen in the new year. Here’s Part 2.
Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic
3 Top Things That Happened and That Mattered in 2016
1. Ctrip acquired Skysca [...]
The Ghost of Years Past Will Come Back To Haunt Us
Usually at the end of each year, I am asked to reflect on what happened in the world of airline and travel technology the previous year and what can be expected for the coming year. The process often drives me to have near term thoughts and see if this fits into a somewhat loose understanding I have [...]
Reflections on 2016 and Predictions for 2017 (Part I)
It’s that time of the year when we ask industry leaders for their thoughts on what happened in 2016 and what they forsee will happen in the new year. Here’s Part 1.
Steve Hafner, CEO & Co-founder, KAYAK
Top 3 Things That Happened and That Mattered in 2016
1. Rise of AI. [...]
How dragons became sharks, and lessons on overcoming fear and rejection from Robert Herjavec
The first thing I learnt from listening to Robert Herjavec of “Shark Tank” fame is that dragons don’t exist in America, or at least they don’t believe in them as we do in Asia.
Speaking at the Expedia Partners Conference in Las Vegas held earlier this month, Herjavec, one of the sharks in [...]
Myanmar, a sleeping beauty being woken up by technology and tourism
Growing up in Myanmar in the 70s, May Myat Mon Win dreamt of a day “when our country could be like our neighbours” in South-east Asia. “We just didn’t know how long it would take,” she said.
Today, as the chairperson of the Myanmar Tourism Marketing Committee (MTMC), she sees that the d [...]
Japan’s Venture Republic partners with Airbnb to offer more accommodation choices
Venture Republic, owner of the biggest online travel site in Japan, has formed a partnership with Airbnb in Japan, making it the first metasearch partner of the peer-to-peer online marketplace and homestay network.
Travel.jp, the travel metasearch engine owned by Venture Republic, has launched it [...]
Tripping.com raises US$35m to expand brand in US and internationally
Tripping.com, a San Francisco-based search engine for vacation homes and short-term rentals, has secured US$35 million in Series C funding.
The company plans to use the fund to expand and build its brand both in the US and internationally, mainly in Asia.
The round was led by Princeville Globa [...]
The present and future of online travel: Thoughts after WIT and Phocuswright
Kei Shibata, CEO of Venture Republic and co-founder of WIT Japan & North Asia, shares his observations on trends in the online travel space and how they might play out in 2017.
Now that the WIT (Web In Travel) conference (Singapore) that's well known in Japan and the world's largest on [...]
Why voice will be big and Barry Diller on Netflix, Tesla and Trump
Voice is the next technology frontier and companies who do not plough resources into it now will be in danger of being disintermediated and disrupted, said Barry Diller, chairman of IAC/InterActive Corp and Expedia Inc, at the Expedia Partners Conference in Las Vegas last week.
Speaking to CE [...]
