Powered by smartphone, and how it all came unstuck
“So which restaurant shall I go to tonight,” I asked my friend when I was in Sydney. “Ask Google,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal at a question she obviously thinks shouldn’t be asked by any traveler with a smartphone.We were at a Japanese restaurant somewhere on the Rocks, which w [...]
Pre- and post-trips is where action is right now
Thus far, most of the innovation has taken in the booking space but now the most exciting things are happening in research and pre- and post-trips, said Gregg Brockway, president and co-founder of TripIt, the itinerary management and sharing service aimed at the corporate travel market.Speaking at t [...]
Rembrandt Bangkok and local deals – lessons learnt
One hotel that has experimented with deals is the Rembrandt Hotel in Bangkok.General manager Eric Hallin (left), who said he first heard of the Groupon phenomenon at the Web In Travel conference two years ago, has so far initiated two deals.One, a brunch with a local site in January which yielded on [...]
Report reveals HTML5 capabilities of top mobile devices in Malaysia
The Mobile Web Device Report just released by Netbiscuits, a leading cloud software service for cross-platform development, publishing and monetisation of mobile sites and apps, provides up-to-date information on the HTML5 capabilities of top devices in Malaysia, Australia, the USA, the UK, and G [...]
A RM6bil recovery plan to save ailing Malaysia Airlines
After much speculations on the fate of Malaysia Airlines whose fortunes have plummeted following the twin tragedies of MH370 and MH17, state sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd has unveiled a 12-point plan to return the airlline to profitability within three years.While the restructuring is not a � [...]
APAC travel in shift mode, one-quarter was booked online in 2013
The Asia Pacific (APAC) travel market is in the midst of a huge and rapid shift from offline to online and mobile channels. Although online travel penetration is increasing at a slower pace than in prior years, a new PhoCusWright study shows that APAC's online bookings are skyrocketing – increasin [...]
If it weren’t for emails and asset managers, it’d be a perfect world
For someone who’s been in the business for 300 years, Franz Donhauser sure looks in great shape.The day I met him at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, he was bouncing like a kid who’s just found a candy store . Something good had happened – a difficult “people” issue had been resolved – and [...]
Imagine, World’s Most Romantic Proposal was also Profitable
You could call it the right campaign for the right moment for the right market. With the world agog over the recent Royal Wedding in England, Langham Hospitality Group took the opportunity to launch the “World’s Most Romantic Proposal” competition on Facebook.Over a few months, couples submi [...]
In a world of UGC, own content is still king at CNNGo
Social media may have given the power of content generation to the people but for a brand like CNNGo, creating quality content is what the company does and what it will remain focused on.Vice president and general manager at CNNGo, Bikram Sohal told WIT that even though social media and mobile had [...]
Increasing number of Indians turn to the web for their travel needs.
A recent study of the online travel industry in India by comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, found that the number of visitors to travel sites increased 32% in the past year to 18.5 million as more Indians went online to purchase holidays and travel-related services. These fin [...]
