We continue our series on top lessons learnt in 2019, a pivotal year as we enter a new decade. What are yours?
Angel Llull Mancas, vice president and managing director, Asia Pacific, Booking.com
1. It’s all about the experience. A trip is more than just where you lay your head. That’s why we’re tirelessly pursuing new options to connect travelers with all the experiences they want, including everything from how to get to the property to the best things to do in destination, as well as how to get around while they’re there. No matter what our customers want to experience, our aim is to be the platform of choice to book it seamlessly. In 2019, we made major progress toward the connected trip – notably with our integration with Grab which brought ride-hailing into the Booking.com app experience and expanding our attractions offerings to more than 250 destinations – but there is so much left to be done to improve the travel experience.
2. Opportunity is upon us. At Booking.com, we have never been shy about relentlessly innovating to better serve our customers, and we see that there’s so much opportunity to learn and grow in Asian markets, particularly in countries like India see a burgeoning number of travelers, or in Japan, which will see millions upon millions of inbound travelers for the Olympics next year. There is so much room to make the travel experience more seamless and we’ll continue to learn and iterate to be able to meet customers’ needs in a way that is relevant to them.
3. Think customer first, always. This certainly isn’t exclusive to 2019, as it has long been a core tenant of our values at Booking.com but putting the customer at the center of everything we do has never been more important. Whether it is exploring additional payment methods, adjusting our app to better display non-Western characters, testing with product options for varying internet speeds, there are so many nuances that emerged as we expanded across this region, and we have to continue to be nimble to adapt as we discover more in the future.
Melissa Maher, vice president, marketing and innovation, Expedia Group
1. Practice self-care. In the digital age of non-stop work and engagement, I’ve learned to put self-care as a priority. It’s hard to do but thinking about walks, yoga, meditation, walking away from your computer, etc. can really help your overall positive thinking.
2. Make every moment count. Life is short and it’s important to not sweat the small stuff and to make everything count. Work hard, play hard and make it count!
3. Create the life you want. Ask for what you want as others can’t read your mind. Ask for what you want as your boss will likely want to give you more responsibility. Ask for what you want as it will make you happy. Ask for what you want as it will help your grow personally and professionally.
Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic
1. “SuperApps” fit in travel. 18 months have passed since our partnership with LINE was made. I see now people buying travel on messaging app with an excitement. 90% of transactions happen within 30 minutes after we sent our push notifications to our 20 million LINE Friends. What a game changer.
2. Power of “Content” reassured. I’ve seen tremendous growth in our Trip101 and LINE Travel jp Guide businesses throughout the year. Trip101 has been growing the number of users at 2x YoY and achieving profitability. Our users are now accessing to our site from 233 different countries. Mafengwo’s impressive 250 million dollar funding led by Tencent has also reassured me of the power of “Content” in travel.
3. “Live with Google, Die with Google” amplified. It’s a wake-up call for almost everyone in the industry including myself when the stock prices of Expedia and Tripadvisor collapsed. Diversifying user acquisition channels and building business with less reliance on Google’s ecosystem will be the key agenda next year and forward.
