Asia leads in flight bookings to Mecca for this year’s Hajj
Every year millions of Muslims from around the world make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims, to perform Hajj. A report in Arab News said more than 1.8 million Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia amid final preparations for the most sacred week in th [...]
Mark Okerstrom on who’s got the best moves in travel and why Expedia is ultimately the future
Before he put on a suit and ran a multi-billion dollar company, Mark Okerstrom was a backpacker, travelling through Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, with his wife. Both spent six weeks each time exploring South-east Asia in two trips.
Today, the
closest the president and chief executive [...]
The Wrap: Accor expands Singapore network in franchise deal with Global Premium Hotels
News Roundup: Of hotels and airlines - Accor increasing its hotel count in Singapore through a franchise deal; an “all new” mobile app from Singapore Airlines; Qantas distribution channel goes live; more fare options in Malaysia’s Malindo Air’s business class
Hotels: Accor expands Singa [...]
How Hank Marvin got Dylan out of the shadows to launch Split
As a kid growing up in Penang, Dylan Tan liked sitting next to his father as they listened to music. His father’s of course. Cliff Richard was a favourite and one day the tune “Apache” by the Shadows, Richard’s backing group, came on.
Now for
guitar aficiandos, “Apache” is the stuff [...]
Travellers flying out from Malaysia must pay departure tax when September comes
If you can afford to fly you can afford to pay. This seems to be the rationale behind the Malaysia's government move to impose the controversial departure levy for all travellers departing from the country’s airports from September 1 despite protests and calls to postpone its implementation.
T [...]
The Wrap: Caesars Entertainment unveils flagship store on Alibaba’s Fliggy
News Roundup: Easier access for Chinese tourists to Caesars Entertainment hotels and services through partnership with Alibaba’s Fliggy; more flight options for travellers with Travelport’s new ‘storefront’; an alternative accommodations solution for hoteliers from Travelclick; a travel gui [...]
Here comes IVI to liberate revenue managers: Infinito launches a virtual assistant
After nearly a decade working with revenue management companies including IDeaS and most recently, LodgIQ, Fabian Bartnick (pictured above) has decided to launch his first startup to “liberate revenue managers”.
Infinito aims to do this via IVI, a virtual RM analyst and assistant “who will [...]
Welcome back, Raffles Hotel. We’ve missed you for two years
As my Grab driver pulls up to the entrance of the Raffles Hotel, the unmistakable figure of Naranjan comes up to the white barricades to let me in. It’s a few days before its much-delayed re-opening and Singapore’s grand old dame is still under wraps from the public eye.
For the last two yea [...]
Is Agoda’s “Mix and Save” clever or risky or could it create operational nightmares for hoteliers?
While Agoda is hailing its new feature “Mix and Save” as a breakthrough for extra budget-conscious travellers, hoteliers are still coming to grips with what it really means for them down the line.
The Thailand-based travel platform announced the new feature which it said would allow customer [...]
Excuse me, is that champagne real? Designing with VR and accelerating startups all part of KrisLab’s new playbook
The first thing I reached out for in the
cabin was the champagne. Even though it wasn’t real, it felt like the thing to
do when one is flying in a space that’s decked out to look more like a Japanese
onsen with soft steam billowing all around than the kind of prosaic cabin I am
more used to.
[...]
