Yo! Travelstart offers location-based deals on demand
The South African-based Travelstart has launched a service for location-based special deals on demand on the social app platform Yo, making it the first OTA to allow users to book directly within the Yo app.Launched in 2014, Yo, the social app for iOS, Android and Windows phones, hit one million dow [...]
Expedia purchases Travelocity for US$280 million in cash
Expedia Inc. has purchased online travel agency Travelocity from technology company, Sabre, for US$280 million in cash.Expedia and Sabre announced in a joint statement that the acquisition follows a 2013 marketing agreement between Expedia, Inc. and Travelocity under which Expedia powered the techno [...]
Why people abandon their travel bookings online (Infographic)
This is a blog by Joanne Liu, marketing manager APJ at SaleCycleThe travel industry spends billions of dollars every year driving traffic to their websites, yet 81% of visitors leave before completing their booking. SaleCycle decided to find out why.As consumers, we’re all familiar with the idea o [...]
Looking back on 2014 and predictions for 2015, Part 3
As we kick off the new year, here are more reflections on the year that was and the one that lies ahead.Timothy Hughes, Vice President Marketing, Agoda1. The thing you will remember most about 2014 (personally)As 2014 came to a close the news sites once again filled with images of distraught relativ [...]
Looking back on 2014 and predictions for 2015, Part 2
Airbnb acquires HomeAway and consolidation in meta-search are among some of the predictions for 2015. Philip Wolf, Founder, Phocuswright1. The thing you will remember most about 2014 (personally)The contents and news of one global tragedy after another, and a personal inadequacy to digest them.2. Th [...]
Looking back on 2014 and predictions for 2015, Part 1
As 2014 draws to a close, WIT asked a few of our regular contributors for their review of the year and predictions for 2015.Fritz Demopoulos, CEO, Queen’s Road Capital1. The thing you will remember most about 2014 (personally)• Skiing with my daughter in Lech, Austria.• Cooked a 5-course meal [...]
No alarm bells here, Huston wants to stay humble with more heart
It’s hard to feel sorry for Darren Huston. After all, he runs the world’s biggest travel company which shows no signs of stopping and which has been gobbling up almost everything in its path.Let’s do the numbers first before we get to the sorry part. According to its latest financial results, [...]
Monsters, copycats and start-ups – “siege mentality” needed in 2015, says Agoda’s Rosenstein
The year may be winding down but not for Rob Rosenstein, CEO & co-founder of Agoda. It was a public holiday in Thailand but the entrepreneur behind Asia’s top hotel booking brand was jam-packed with meetings, with people popping in and out of his office, all wanting time with him, including me [...]
ZUJI goes after hearts and well, wallets too with launch of Passport and Exclusives
Being an OTA does not mean it’s all about numbers and transactions.“To a traveller, going on holiday and planning a trip is about creating new, personal experiences,” say ZUJI’s CEO, Chua Hui-Wan (pictured above). “Delivering value at lowest price can only be effective if we target custome [...]
Ryanair’s O’Leary, Emirates’ Clark Predict Radical Distribution Disruption
Some CEO interviews at industry conferences are bland affairs with evasive, nondescript answers to anemic questioning. Not this one. Interrogated here at last month's GBTA Europe conference by Global Business Travel Association senior vice president for global development Paul Tilstone, Ryanair boss [...]
