The Wrap: Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel loyalty platforms integrate with Le Club AccorHotels programme
In the news: Of loyalty programmes, partnership and NDC - this week’s focus featuring AccorHotels, Malaysia Airlines, Livin and Travello, and Sabre.
Hotels: Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel loyalty platforms integrate with Le Club AccorHotels programme
AccorHotels Group’s loyalty pro [...]
Through the Looking Glass: Dig deeper into your customer base before hunting in new pools
In this second of the series of articles around our WIT Singapore 2018 Conference theme of “Through The Looking Glass”, where we look outside travel in search of different stories and lessons, we turn to Japan’s third largest convenience store chain, Lawson, on how it is evolving its tradition [...]
Hello monopolies, goodbye independents – it’s getting hard to stand alone in a world of giants
I was at a blockchain event last night when a Beijing-based investor let loose a rant on how this Internet world of centralisation was creating monopolies especially in travel where OTAs were completely dominating the market and there was now no room for new startups in travel that could scale well [...]
John Brown on succession, startup culture and how AI is part of everything Agoda does
Some might argue that John Brown, the new CEO of Agoda, has a harder job today than Rob Rosenstein, the man whom he recently succeeded and who founded the Thailand-based hotel portal with Michael Kenny in 1998.
After all, back then, it was the early heady days of the Internet, there wasn’t [...]
Booking Holdings to buy HotelsCombined, which will become part of KAYAK
Booking Holdings announced on July 9 it has entered into an agreement to purchase accommodation metasearch site, HotelsCombined.
The acquisition has been approved by HotelsCombined's board of directors and stockholders and is expected to close later this year, subject to regulatory approval. Term [...]
The Wrap: Lufthansa expands its innovation hub digitisation unit to Singapore and Shenzhen
In the news: Lufthansa launches innovation hub in two Asian cities, Softbank invests in handy, FCM and Sabre have new executives
Travel Technology: Lufthansa expands its innovation hub digitisation unit to Singapore and Shenzhen
Strong growth in Lufthansa’s business in Asia has prompted [...]
Game on as LINE enters travel: Key lessons from WIT Japan & North Asia
There we were at WiT Japan & North Asia speaking of the disruption taking place in travel and the day after we wrap up our two-day event comes the news that LINE, Japan’s main messaging app, is getting into travel.
The news release said that LINE Travel “would be a comprehensive travel se [...]
AccorHotels to buy half of lifestyle hospitality company sbe for US$319m
The song “Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now” by Jefferson Starship comes to mind when receiving news of yet another acquisition by AccorHotels - this time purchasing a 50% stake in New York-based luxury lifestyle operator, sbe Entertainment Group (sbe).
This investment will see AccorHotels expanding [...]
Razzle. Dazzle. Frazzle. A robot’s welcome to Tokyo
It’s probably not what the doctor would have ordered – catching the Robot Show in Tokyo right after two days of intense conferencing and sleep deprivation. But maybe it was exactly what I needed to take me completely over the adrenalin meter.
After all, we had spent two days at WIT Japan & [...]
New tech jazzing up destination marketing
When Singapore wanted to showcase its new brand campaign “Passion Made Possible” and change travellers’ perceptions of it as a stopover destination in the British and German markets, it turned to Expedia Media Solutions to deliver a multi-faceted digital marketing campaign.
“Destination m [...]
