The Wrap: Meet KATE, the intelligent check-in kiosk
In the news: Robots, interactive guestroom assistants and smart gates grab the headlines this week as airports (Kansai and Dubai) and the hospitality industry leverage new technologies to boost efficiency while enhancing user experience at the same time.
ROBOTICS: Meet KATE, the intelligent check [...]
SIA launches loyalty digital wallet: Travel retailers are clearly hoping blockchain is their Internet 3.0 moment
The hottest word on the block these days is blockchain. Even though it’s been on the periphery for a few years, it’s been in the shadow of the other hotter word, cryptocurrency.
But as the technology underpinning cryptocurrency, it’s been getting more attention of late.
Like everyone els [...]
Startup Inside A Non-Startup, Part 1: 12 Differences Between Entrepreneurial v. Corporate Thinking
A year ago, Next Story Group acquired the company I co-founded, Brand Karma, and I joined the team to start a new venture, Kafnu. Since Kafnu’s second opening in Taipei, I’ve had time to think about why it’s difficult to merge the best of startup and corporate worlds to foster innovation. [...]
Now you can use your face to check-in with AirAsia in Malaysia
Everyone can now literally use their face to board an AirAsia flight at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru, the low cost airline’s southern hub in Malaysia, with the launch of the Fast Airport Clearance Experience System (FACES).
The airline, which owns and operates FACES, proudly touts [...]
How Aaron Sarma ventured into Touristly and a 50% deal with AirAsia
Other than a little exposure to travel during his stint as country manager at Street Deal, a group buying company in Malaysia, Aaron Sarma knew very little about the vertical.
But when he was looking to do his own thing after leaving the daily deals company, the first industry he looked to was tr [...]
More hotel choices for travel buyers with Sabre’s new lodging aggregator content
Sabre Corporation, which announced last September it was developing a new solution that integrates multiple sources of content, will launch the Sabre Content Services for Lodging later this year.
The travel technology company has inked agreements with Bedsonline, TravelBound and the Expedia Affi [...]
The Wrap: Alipay rolls out tax refund service in Singapore, a first for Southeast Asia
In the news: Alipay tax refund scheme launches in Singapore; Asian airlines uses technology in international expansion; BCD Travel in new deal with Amadeus
FINANCIAL SERVICES: Alipay rolls out tax refund service in Singapore, a first for Southeast Asia
Singapore is the first country in [...]
Demand for holidays at sea makes 2018 the ‘year of the cruise’, Traveltek says
Expectation of an increase in demand for holidays on the ocean and on rivers in the coming 12 months has led to travel technology specialist Traveltek Group calling 2018 the ‘year of the cruise’.
According to statistics from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), eight out of 10 agent [...]
Only One Thing Will Disrupt OTAs (and It Ain’t Blockchain)
OTA bashing is about as old as OTAs themselves. It's been bountiful fodder for media hype and conference roundtable hysterics for decades. We've heard it all before, from airlines, hotels and the myriad technology companies, startups and consultants that seek to serve them: OTAs are expensive, innov [...]
SnapShot launches Marketplace to solve hotels’ data and tech woes
One of the biggest pain points in hospitality is fragmentation of data points, and hence too many data silos. One company that is trying to solve that problem, as well as solve the industry’s access to “a properly integrated data platform which would dramatically accelerate the hotel technology [...]
