Airbnb & Uber and how they used technology to build trust between strangers
Listening to two speakers from Airbnb and Uber back-to-back on the same stage at ITB Berlin drummed home the amazing and scary scale the two companies have built in a short time and how disruptive they truly are at all levels. Both were interviewed by Philip Wolf, founder of Phocuswright during the [...]
Emirates Hackathon: Youths want it simple, social and more personal
If there were some recurring themes that came out of last weekend’s Emirates Travel Hackathon, it was youths want to share, meet each other, make friends, play games and make travel fun, cheap and easy for themselves.
They also want it simple, with most saying there was just too much informatio [...]
TripAdvisor study reveals travellers are spending more on vacations this year
Travellers are increasing their travel budget rather than decreasing it this year, according to the results of TripAdvisor’s biannual TripBarometer study.
The study shows that two in five travellers both globally (41%) and in APAC (42%) plan to up their travel budgets in 2015, while 23% globall [...]
Solo travel on the rise among females in Southeast Asia
Female solo travel is on the rise in Southeast Asia, according to the Women’s Travel Survey by TripAdvisor that was launched ahead of before International Women’s Day (March 8).The survey of 9,181 female travellers globally and 431 in Southeast Asia. reveals that 48% of women in Southeast Asia s [...]
Pause the clicks and conversions, time for “magic” in hospitality
In today’s world of performance-based marketing, where everything is measured by clicks and conversions, it is almost sentimental to see a hotel company invest in something as intangible as “entertainment” and “magic”.But this is what Accor Asia Pacific has been doing for well over a decad [...]
The Wrap: Innovative apps from airlines and hotels to keep time with Apple Watch
In the news: Apps for Apple Watch, Travelport’s solution for airport express services, SITA new solution to track airlines’ baggageInnovative apps from airlines and hotels to keep time with Apple Watch At the launch of the much anticipated Apple Watch at the March 9 Apple "Spring Forward" event [...]
Virtual reality, smartwatches and Apple Pay – their implications for travel
The first time I started wearing glasses was when I noticed how many people were wearing them too. It made me less self-conscious to be called “Specky”.So when I put on my first pair of Occulus Rift virtual reality glasses, it made me wonder if in a few years’ time, when this technology become [...]
It’s travel over shopping for the young, wild and free
The majority of young travellers are ready to forgo a year of travelling to go shopping, according to the latest ZUJI-dex travel report.According to the OTA, the report “ goes inside the minds of Singapore-based grad and post-grad travellers, uncovering their likes, dislikes, similarities and tabo [...]
The Wrap: Malaysia and Singapore top destinations in the world for Muslim travel
In the news: Focus on MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index, Golfasian Indonesia, and Hotels.com Hotel Price Index Malaysia and Singapore top destinations in the world for Muslim travel Malaysia is the number one destination across the globe in the Muslim travel market according to th [...]
You got to milk the cow to survive in the OTA farm
So there I was – I had just written my post about how hard it is to build an OTA of any consequence and during the first session I attended at ITB Berlin, Darren Huston, President & CEO of Priceline Group, was talking about “milking the cow”.“Our employees are workhorses, not show ponies [...]
