Meet Nina, your virtual travel agent
Nina, described as a robot that empowers business travellers and a virtual travel agent, was the winner at the recent IATA NDC Hackathon in Berlin.
She was developed and delivered by Caravelo, a Barcelona based travel technology company, as a white-label travel concierge service.
The hackathon [...]
New Sage Hotel in Perth heralds “move away from commoditisation”
A new Sage Hotel in West Perth was officially unveiled in Singapore this Tuesday by its parent company, SilverNeedle, a Singapore-based hotel group.
The A$35 million hotel was developed in partnership with a local property developer, the Australian Development Capital (ADC), and is the first Sage [...]
Now you can book an Uber ride on Hotels.com app
Hotels.com is the latest OTA to integrate Uber, the ride-sharing service, into its mobile app to enable travellers to hail a ride to their hotel with just a tap on a button.
Customers of Hotels.com who make a reservation wil see an Uber button appear on the booking site’s mobile app on the day [...]
WIT Japan champion startup THERE helps South Koreans find and book tours & activities
South Korea’s THERE, which won this year’s WIT Japan and North Asia Startup Pitch competition, aspires to be the country’s first ‘things to do’ booking platform offering curated tours, activities, dining, attractions, shows and local transport, at the lowest available price.
It was THER [...]
Making work so fun you never want to leave and how not to kill creativity
Even though it was just 8am, the canteen at Facebook’s Singapore office was pretty packed with employees having breakfast. I was a bit surprised – I had this idea that kids working at these new tech companies were not early risers and preferred working late at night.
“Hey, maybe they never [...]
South Korea rising star for Hostelworld as it embarks on campaign to correct perceptions about hostel stays
Where previously Asia was more of an inbound destination for Hostelworld Group, today it has become a strong source market for travellers and South Korea, in particular, is taking the Dublin-based company by surprise.
The global marketplace for hostels now counts South Korea as its seventh la [...]
The Wrap: Study reveals booking patterns of travellers worldwide
In the news: Agoda’s study on traveller booking patterns, Malaysia’s Rayani Air grounded, disagreement over name of Malaysia’s budget terminal
Study reveals booking patterns of travellers worldwide
Hong Kong travellers like to plan their trips well in advance, booking their accommod [...]
Oasis Collections expands to Asia on the back of AccorHotels’ investment
Parker Stanberry, co-founder of Oasis Collections, is the first to admit he was a bit surprised when approached by AccorHotels, the French-based hotel group that is aggressively making acquisitions in the technology and private accommodation spaces.
“They seemed an unlikely investor. At fir [...]
Want to invest in travel startups? A tip sheet from Fritz Demopoulos
Fritz Demopoulos (CEO of Queen’s Road Capital) laid his cards on the table at the WIT Japan & North Asia Bootcamp, with a crash course on what any successful investor needs to think about when stepping into the marketplace.
Take your time to do your research
Before making any decisions o [...]
Kathleen Tan returns to AirAsia: North Asia, here she comes
There’s a Chinese saying, ‘A good rest will enable you to take on a longer journey’. Today, Kathleen Tan returns to AirAsia as CEO North Asia, saying, “I feel fully rested, physically and mentally ready, for this next journey.” In this interview with Yeoh Siew Hoon, she talks about her new [...]
