Letter from Los Angeles: Globalisation and experiences are the new order in a Trump world
There were several elephants in the room during the Phocuswright conference in Los Angeles this week.
Airbnb launching Trips, taking it into Experiences and Places, with Flights and Services to be added in the future; Google Now being rolled out on top of Google flights now available in 27 co [...]
The Wrap: Rome2rio adds onsite bookings, announces new partnerships
The weekly news roundup: Rome2rio's new booking model and partnerships, Travelport’s merchandising technology for Fly365.com, AirAsia’s enhanced one-click payment
MARKETING: Rome2rio adds onsite bookings, announces new partnerships
Travel search engine Rome2rio is reaching a key mi [...]
Letter from a traveller: What will it be like in the new America?
Two weeks ago, I was in Amsterdam and you couldn’t find a more liberal country than Netherlands where the coffee bars serve more than caffeine and where the people speak several languages just because they have to, situated as they are in the middle of Europe.
Even then, I sensed a growing unea [...]
TUI takes stake in peakwork, software specialist for the travel industry
TUI Ventures, the capital investment company of TUI Group, has acquired 15.4% stake in technology provider peakwork, the first anchor investor for the Düsseldorf-based company.
peakwork is also planning to attract additional investors.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the investment pr [...]
AccorHotels invests in lifestyle brand 25hours Hotels
AccorHotels is acquiring a 30% stake in 25hours Hotels as part of its ‘strategy to be a global leader in lifestyle hotels’, as well as to support 25hours’ long term growth.
The financial terms of the investment are not disclosed
25hours Hotels, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, currentl [...]
Trends that matter in online travel
At WIT 2016 Conference in Singapore last month, Lorraine Sileo, vice president research of Phocuswright, shared the key trends that mattered in online travel with Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WIT.
Q. What are the big global trends that you’ve seen in the past year?
Consolidation, circle of d [...]
The Wrap: SilkAir and Sabre join forces to help Laos grow its tourism market
The weekly news roundup: It’s all about partnership and growth this week – Sabre’s distribution agreement with SilkAir, Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s technology partnership with Amadeus, Travelport’s new deal with Indonesian travel agencies
DESTINATIONS: SilkAir and Sabre join forces to help [...]
Tony Fernandes on retirement, egos and one AirAsia
Last week, Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes was awarded Airline Executive of the Year by CAPA (Centre for Aviation) in Amsterdam. In giving this award, CAPA said, “AirAsia is back at the front of the pack and Tony has once again shown why he is one of the industry’s leading executives. The original sho [...]
Future is in generic apps and WeChat is paving way for Western world, says KLM’s Pieter Elbers
For an airline that’s celebrating its 97th birthday, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has done a pretty good job of innovating in the digital space. It was the first airline to start using Facebook Messenger to communicate with its customers.
It’s been active on social media – its Lost and Found vi [...]
The common leadership traits of Qatar’s Akbar Al Baker and AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes
I had the pleasure of interviewing His Excellency, Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, and Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes, group CEO, AirAsia on stage in Amsterdam last week at the CAPA Aviation Awards of Excellence 2016 and while you couldn’t find more different personalities, I was struck by what t [...]
