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Travix sees strong growth in the Philippines as it expands CheapTickets,...
As travellers in the Philippines get smarter and savvier about online travel, they are starting to shift from direct to indirect, said Richard Kua, regional director Asia Pacific for Amsterdam-based...
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Excuse me, is that champagne real? Designing with VR and accelerating...
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...
View ArticleIs Agoda’s “Mix and Save” clever or risky or could it create operational...
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...
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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...
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Here comes IVI to liberate revenue managers: Infinito launches a virtual...
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...
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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,...
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Mark Okerstrom on who’s got the best moves in travel and why Expedia is...
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...
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From the mouths of youths: We just Google everything and what, travel as a...
In preparation for the fourth edition of Tern, Travel Careers this Saturday, August 17, I’ve been spending time with Singaporean schoolkids in their mid-teens to find out what they think of travel,...
View ArticleTink Labs and Honest Bee offer cautionary lessons to tech startups, even...
I used to be a fan of the Handy smartphone service. Mainly I used it for its wifi hotspot, even though it meant carrying two phones around. I fiddled with the content but never found it compelling...
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Armed with $2.5m, OpenSparkz goes from startup to scale to help consumers in...
The Australian fintech startup’s mission is to “make every loyalty programme in the world a good experience for customers and merchants, and to be the go-to global platform for loyalty and offers”....
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Focus and fearlessness pay off for RedDoorz as it badgers its way to becoming...
When you look at the investors who are involved in the latest Series C funding of $70m for “affordable accommodation provider” RedDoorz, you see a clear pattern – every single one brings a different...
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After growing roots in Sri Lanka, Findmyfare wants to fan out to “similar”...
Returning to Sri Lanka in 2012 after having studied and worked in London for most of their adult life, university mates Thushan Shanmugarajah and Abishek Sithampalam looked around for something to do....
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From Morse Code to 4G, from Yangon to Loikaw, welcome to a new yet old Myanmar
About 20 years ago, I crossed the Burmese border through the Chinese frontier town of Muse. At one of the checkpoints along the route, I heard the tap-tap-tap of a Morse code machine. This time,...
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From betel to kale, Oway founder Nay Aung on quest to build Next Gen “pagoda”
There we were in Parami Pizza, a popular pizza joint in Yangon. Nay Aung, CEO and founder of Oway, Myanmar’s first OTA, had ordered kale juice and I, a coffee. The impression wasn’t lost on me – kale...
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How Foo broke the glass ceiling by switching lanes, and how Luxe Nomad wants...
After 10 years working in private equity, Foo Lee Lian decided she needed a break. “PE’s an aspirational career when you’re starting out but it can be very stressful and intense. It’s also very...
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From “Yarikuri” to “Omoroi”: The Peach way of doing things, all in a book
Peach CEO Shinichi Inoue has the reputation of being different, doing things in a creative and smart way, yet always coming across as someone who just uses plain old common sense a lot. At least...
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Our time has come, says Splitty Travel, eyeing Asia and a new B2B split...
In many ways, Israeli-based startup Splitty Travel feels its time has finally come, both for its “split reservations” model to be accepted into the mainstream and for its entry into Asia. “It’s...
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The smart money is banking on new ways to pay, hands down
I was having coffee at the airport last week and when I wanted to pay, the “Uncle” asked me, “Do you want to pay by Alipay? Wave? Grab?” At the cashier, I was again asked the same question – only this...
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Luxury Escapes to roll out flights and experiences as it scales up in Asia
Australian boutique travel brand, Luxury Escapes, has suddenly become very visible across Asia. In fact, it’s hard to escape its emails or its social ads if you’re living in Asia and that’s because...
View ArticleMarriott, Expedia team up on wholesale rates, marking a big step in the...
The deal between Marriott International and Expedia Group which makes the OTA the exclusive global optimised distributor of Marriott’s wholesale rates, availability and content to a network of global...
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