A tale of funding and branding from four start-ups
One of the critical issues facing a new start-up and vital for its growth is funding. And it is no easy task getting investors. Four start-ups which provide P2P services took to the stage at the WIT Bootcamp to share their experiences in getting funding.Karl Loo, CEO & founder Malaysia-based Ser [...]
Blood moons, baristas and rebooting your world
The idea of “Reboot” came to me while I was on Samui island, relaxing in a private villa by the beach. It was the weekend after WIT 2014 had just ended and this was my annual retreat to unwind.We had just marked “Little Big 10”, the first WIT after the acquisition by Northstar Travel Media. [...]
The Wrap: Business travel taking off for Booking.com
In the news: Booking.com’s business reservations on the rise, SITA’s survey on Australian air passengers, new country director for FASTBOOKING in Thailand, Trisara Phuket’s virtual reality tour, Business travel taking off for Booking.comBooking.com reveals that more and more of its leisure tra [...]
Stick to your “loyalty machines”, it’s a shark-eat-shark world out there
Amadeus’ distribution chief Holger Taubmann speaks to WIT about “loyalty machines”, Lufthansa’s Direct Connect strategy, RyanAir’s Amazonian ambitions, Accor Marketplace’s aspirations and swimming with the big sharks.For all the talk about direct distribution, and suppliers wanting to go [...]
Brand Karma “reboots” to VR, TrustYou expands in Asia with new deal
The takeover of Brand Karma’s Online Reputation Management services by TrustYou is part of the Taiwan-based company’s “reboot” to become a leader in virtual reality content, said Morris Sim, CEO & co-founder.Under the agreement – terms were not disclosed – TrustYou will take over al [...]
“Mission critical” Amadeus wins in Asia, OTA customers are “top priority”
It is “mission critical” that Amadeus wins in Asia and one key plank of its distribution strategy is giving Asian OTA customers top priority, declared Holger Taubmann, senior vice president, distribution.Speaking to WIT during a visit to Bangkok, he said that globally, online growth has been phe [...]
Online travel, like rugby, is a game of inches, says Agoda’s Hughes
When I caught up with Tim Hughes, vice president marketing of Agoda in Bangkok, the unexpected had just happened in the Rugby World Cup currently taking place in the UK. Japan had snatched victory from the jaws of what seemed to be sure defeat by the South Africans – with a score of 34 to 32 – t [...]
The Wrap: Lufthansa’s mobile boarding pass lands in Bangkok
In the news: Airlines are in the limelight this week - Lufthansa’s mobile boarding pass in Bangkok, Amadeus' flight management solution for Virgin Australia, Japan Airlines' AXESS and Travelport's new agency desktopLufthansa's mobile boarding pass lands in BangkokThe Lufthansa Group of airlines � [...]
RedDoorz aims to crack budget hotel market, gets backing from Jungle Ventures
RedDoorz has received an undisclosed amount of pre Series A funding led by Jungle Ventures, whose fund has seen good exits from its early stage investments in two travel start-ups, Travelmob and Voyagin, which were acquired by HomeAway and Rakuten respectively. Described as South-east Asia's first a [...]
Building the ‘Amadeus Empire’: Expect intensity in M&A activity and investments
With its vision of becoming the focal point in the travel eco-system, expect Amadeus to continue with its intense pace of Mergers & Acquisitions activity as well as drive innovation within the group by investing in start-ups through its Amadeus Venture Fund.Visiting Bangkok last week, Alex Luzar [...]
