How Nida is “uberising” hotel rooms: Funding the next stage of growth
Kaneswaran Avili’s name card says he’s the “disruptor” and co-founder of Nida Rooms, which he claims to be the first and largest "Virtual Hotel Operator" (VHO) in South-east Asia.
Asked what he’s disrupting, he said “my divisions” and “my staff” and not the hotel industry as [...]
Travel Startups Incubator buys stake in Korean adventure OTA Yana Trip
Travel Startups Incubator (TSI) has acquired an equity stake in Korean adventure startup Yana Trip for an undisclosed amount and round.
Founded in April 2015 and based in Seoul, South Korea, Yana Trip offers personalised online tours and activities to the growing number of independent Korean t [...]
Out of Expedia into Zuzu, a virtual brand and partner for budget hotels
Two former employees of Expedia have launched their own startup, Zuzu Hotels, to help consumers find good quality budget hotels in Asia as well as help hotels in the 2 to 3-star category get better at branding, distribution and revenue management.
Vikram Malhi, who worked with Expedia for eight y [...]
Five qualities of superior leadership and what makes effective digital talent
It’s all very well to say you want to embark on a “digital transformation” – as every company and his dog seems to be doing today – but it’s another thing to have the leaders and team who can deliver it.
In a global survey of views on leadership development, done in July and August 20 [...]
Travel Startups Incubator acquires stake in B2B communications app Tineri
Travel Startups Incubator (TSI) has added B2B mobile communications app Tineri as it’s newest portfolio company with the acquisiton of an equity stake for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in July this year, Tineri is headquartered in Bangkok and incorporated in Singapore. It describes itself as [...]
GuestReady takes the guesswork out of property management
As the ‘sharing economy’ continues to gain momentum, systems are being put into place to regulate and standardise how the sharing economy is run. One company that is paving the way is GuestReady.
GuestReady aims to professionalise hosting on home-sharing platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway by [...]
US$30,000 seed funding from Travelport Labs awaits WIT Startup Pitch 2016 winner this October
The winner of the WIT Startup Pitch competition, held in conjunction with the WIT 2016 Conference in Singapore this October, will win a place in the Travelport Labs Accelerator programme, which comes with seed funding of US$30,000.
Travelport Labs Accelerator, which is sponsoring this year’ [...]
The Wrap: Travel platform Touristly scores investment from Tune Labs
The weekly news roundup: Tune Labs’ investment in Touristly, Amadeus and Zingle partners in messaging technology, Mantra’s Pokémon Go-friendly hotels in Australia
STARTUP: Travel platform Touristly scores investment from Tune Labs
Kuala Lumpur-based startup incubator and accelerator T [...]
WIT Startup: Seatfrog joins Amadeus Next to offer mobile-only ancillary technology
Australian travel startup Seatfrog has joined Amadeus Next, as it aims to revolutionise mobile airline ancillaries by allowing travellers to upgrade their seat in the 48-hour window prior to take-off and right up until the time of departure.
Seatfrog’s mobile platform allows travellers to trans [...]
Letter from Australia: Pokemon On The Go
Pokemon Go, the augmented reality game where players collect in-game items and catch Pokemon characters or monsters, could either be the best thing to happen to gamers and travellers or the biggest social disaster waiting to happen.
I found myself having near collisions with people in Melbourne. [...]
