Digital insurance Hepstar gets US$2m funding
Capetown-based digital insurance distributor Hepstar has received US$2 million in funding from UK-based technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners. With the new funding the company will build on its momentum including expanding its global reach, accelerating technology development and growing its [...]
Predictions and challenges for the hotel industry: an analysis by BookLogic
The hotel industry is consolidating as multi-product businesses incorporate and acquire single-solution based companies; hotel chains continue to merge to grab a wider share of the market, while hoteliers focus on building marketing strategies for customer acquisition and direct bookings.These are a [...]
Skyscanner’s focus on product, APAC and diversification pays off
Global travel search engine Skyscanner’s investments into mobile, Asia Pacific and diversification including a booking platform are paying off, giving a double digit fillip to both revenues and gross bookings for the year ending December 31, 2015.Revenues were £120 million ($183 million), up 28% [...]
A fine line between celebrating tribal culture and “gawking at natives”
The man of undetermined age swings his leg back and forth, then stamps hard against the dusty ground. The air is hot and still but his energetic dance celebrating the harvest season sends his loincloth flapping. His face may be inscrutable, but his motions are practiced and confident.I am seated in [...]
Letter from Phoukhuone, Laos: At last, a chance at a future for girls
If you google “Phoukhuone Laos”, not much information appears. There are a couple of posts by intrepid travellers who have to cross the town on their way somewhere in this landlocked country, bordered by Myanmar and China (north), Vietnam (east), Cambodia (south) and Thailand (west). One post ta [...]
Stop Clicking Around, Hilton tells online bookers
Hilton Worldwide is asking customers to “stop clicking around” in a move to encourage direct bookings through its own channels.Its new “Stop Clicking Around” campaign – the largest ever launched in the company’s 97 year history – emphasises the benefits of booking direct and being an [...]
Amid food & beverage disruption, Accor launches Table Plus
All part of its digital transformation, Accor Hotels launched Accor Marketplace, a platform to distribute not only its own branded hotels but independent properties. It was clearly a move to regain control of its own inventory and to counter the growing power of the global OTAs.This January, it laun [...]
The Wrap: Accor to plant Sofitel So flag in Kuala Lumpur
In the news: A Sofitel So in Kuala Lumpur, Cathay Pacific's partnership with Travelport, Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s 2015 financial resultsAccor to plant Sofitel So flag in Kuala LumpurMalaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, will be the site of AccorHotels’ chic So Sofitel brand with a hotel and [...]
Expedia’s Greg Schulze on dogs, consumer anxiety and “anything that moves”
If Greg Schulze had his way, the entire travel search process should have dog-friendly filters. The global executive of “anything that moves”, as he calls his portfolio at Expedia, moved to Singapore with his family in January and left their two dogs behind. Clearly missing his best friends, Sch [...]
The Wrap: Klook partners WeChat & AirAsia BIG, offers more ways to book activities
In the news: New partners for Klook Travel, Ticketbis launches in the U.S.,more countries for TripAdvisor Instant Booking Klook partners WeChat & AirAsia BIG, offers more ways to book activities Klook Travel (“Klook”), Asia’s leading platform for booking attractions and travel activities, [...]
