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Asia/Singapore Monday, 15th December 2025
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Grab offers ride-hailing services through Booking.com app

By Rachel AJ Lee
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In a move that is part of a broader strategic partnership between two travel giants, users of accommodation booking platform Booking.com can now book Grab’s ride-hailing services in Singapore through the former’s app.

Booking Holdings is an investor in Grab, and Grab introduced hotel bookings directly through its app, in partnership with Agoda and Booking.com, earlier this year.

From left: Booking.com’s Angel Llull Mancas and David Adamczyk; and Grab’s Shawn Heng sharing more about the partnership at the press conference yesterday

Grab’s latest cross-app effort follows its recent investment in ride-hailing aggregator Splyt, which enables Ctrip and AliPay customers visiting South-east Asia to book Grab rides through their own apps.

Besides Singapore, this Grab-Booking.com partnership will also connect international travellers visiting seven other South-east Asian countries. The roll-out will be completed by year-end in Indonesia and Thailand; and early 2020 for Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Shawn Heng, Grab’s regional head of business development and Grab for Business, said: “There is no need (for these travellers) to rely on curbside hailing, haggle with the driver, deal with a language barrier, or download another app. International travellers heading to South-east Asia can use – and trust – a platform they are already familiar with.”

While Booking.com already has existing partnerships with transport providers such as car rental companies and taxis, this marks its first partnership with a ride-hailing service in South-east Asia, a region that receives around 130 million international inbound travellers annually.

David Adamczyk, director of transport strategy, Booking.com, added: “As a European, it wouldn’t be natural for me to have Grab already installed on my phone. This app is for that type of traveller who isn’t already using the product, is a resident here, knows that it exists, or may not be interested in downloading a new app for the trip.”

He added that North or South Americans visiting South-east Asia, for instance, are unlikely to be familiar with Grab, hence the Grab functionality within the Booking.com app would come in handy. Travellers are able to access to Grab services in-app, cashless payments in the user’s currency, and customer services in the user’s language.

Angel Llull Mancas, vice president and managing director Asia-Pacific, Booking.com, reasoned: “Asia is one of the agents of growth for Booking.com. Online penetration in this part of the world is at 54 per cent, so there’s still a lot of room to grow.

“While our business has been focused on delivering the best accommodation for our customers – and this will always be our core business – we want to have connected trips; which is making sure we deliver a seamless experience from the beginning of the journey until the end,” Mancas noted.

Booking.com’s ultimate ambition is to become an end-to-end travel service provider, giving travellers a single platform to book, pay for and manage every step of the journey, from accommodation and transport to experiences and attractions.

When asked what else is in the pipeline for Booking.com, Mancas said: “We’re also looking at a partnership (ground transportation options) in China with Didi Chuxing, which is also a challenging (destination) for international travellers.”

Adamczky added: “In Europe, we’re in the test phase for the booking of trains and buses (public transportation) in five cities, and we’re looking to roll that out to more cities over the course of next year.”

As for whether Grab’s other services such as GrabFood, as well as loyalty points, will eventually be integrated into the app, Adamczky said that they will “get the basics right first, and will figure out how to join the schemes (if possible) later”.

HKTB names new executive director

By TTG Asia
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Travel industry veteran Dane Cheng will take up the executive director mantle at Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) from November 1, 2019, replacing previous chief Anthony Lau who stepped down from the role in end July.

HKTB chairman Pang Yiu-kai said that Cheng was chosen for the role because he had considerable experience of marketing and management in the tourism industry.

Dane Cheng

“I am very pleased to have Mr Cheng joining the HKTB at this moment in time when the tourism industry faces huge challenges. I am certain that Mr Cheng will lead the team to overcome the current difficulties. Later, when the time is right, he will join forces with the travel trade and other sectors to launch a far-reaching global promotion, attracting visitors from every continent back to Hong Kong and rebuilding Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the world’s leading travel destinations,” he said.

With over 30 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry, Cheng has held senior positions in general management, marketing, communications and international affairs in various regions during his time with Cathay Pacific Airways. He was also the executive director of Hang Lung Properties from 2017 to 2019.

Indonesian bedbank eyes 40% domestic market share by 2020

By Mimi Hudoyo
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KlikNBook.com, an Indonesia-based B2B bedbank founded in 2012, has pumped heavy investments in technology and human capital as it targets to achieve 40 per cent share of the domestic market a year from now.

Peggy Lee, the company’s founder and director of operations, said: “The hospitality distribution landscape is changing, and competition from international brands is fierce. We had some modest success, but ran into challenges when negotiating with big brands as they want to see numbers. We knew that we needed investment, so we had to upgrade our technology and recruit people who understand the business.

KlikNBook.com invests heavily in technology and human capital as it aims to achieve 40 per cent domestic market share in a year’s time

“We are lucky that we have found investors who are looking to develop this business,” she said, declining to name the investors and the amount of funds injected into the company.
 She added that the company would target domestic travellers who are travelling within Indonesia or overseas.

The bedbank’s president director Riyo Wisaksono said that with hotel developments spreading from major destinations to secondary and third-tier cities, the company is looking to tap on these potential markets by bringing in fresh blood to support the organisation’s growth.

“We have (recruited) 25 team members who have years of experience developing and managing (domestic) bedbanks. They have developed good relationships with hotel suppliers and buyers (travel companies),” he said.

The domestic market presents “huge” opportunities, said Riyo. According to data from Statistics Indonesia, there were 303.4 million trips in 2018, a growth of 12.4 per cent from 2017.

In addition, improved accessibility across the country, on the back of construction of toll roads across Java, alongside airport developments, have also encouraged domestic travel.

“It is interesting to learn that the opening of the toll road (between Surabaya in East Java and Solo in Central Java) have boosted room occupancy rates,” Riyo shared.

Hoteliers in Solo used to grapple with an oversupply of rooms, but they are now seeing between 70 to 80 per cent occupancy rates since the opening of the toll road last year, according to Riyo. Travelling between Surabaya and Solo has been slashed by half to less than three hours.

“This (toll road) seems to have attracted people in both provinces (Central and East Java) to visit each other. The places of interests in East Java are full of travellers from Central Java and the other way around,” he said.

Meanwhile, KlikNBook.com has its sights trained on local travellers heading overseas too, Lee revealed. “Indonesian outbound travel continues to grow and these travellers need accommodation overseas, so our content will have to cater to their needs too,” she noted.

Quizzed on the strategy to reach the target, Riyo said: “We work with both big and small hotels with policies that allow them all to profit and for the small to grow.

“Our offices will be in Bandung, Bali, Surabaya and Jakarta, but we will work with small, local bedbanks in other cities to develop content. This way, our content will grow without killing small businesses in the secondary markets,” he added.

Myanmar to get first Westin hotel come 2021

By TTG Asia
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Marriott International has signed an agreement with Myanmar’s property developer, Yoma Land, to bring the Westin brand into the country in late 2021.

Under the agreement, the new-build Westin Yangon which will feature 281 rooms and suites alongside 90 premium serviced apartments, will make up part of the Yoma Central integrated real estate development.

Westin Yangon
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Upon completion in 2021, Yoma Central expects to be anchored by the restored former headquarters of the Burma Railway Company, one of Yangon’s oldest colonial-era buildings. Yoma Central plans to also feature two Grade A office towers and a collection of luxury private homes, all of which will be connected by a retail podium.

The hotel will also feature Westin’s signature services and amenities such as the fully equipped WestinWorkout Fitness Studio, the RunWestin programme, and The Heavenly Spa By Westin. Guests can also pack light and stay fit while travelling with the Westin Gear Lending programme, featuring New Balance clothing and shoes delivered to their rooms.

F&B establishments include an all-day dining outlet, two specialty restaurants, as well as the lobby lounge, pool bar and rooftop bar. The business community can avail themselves of the four meeting rooms, a board room and 2,470m² of conference and event space.

Hertz appoints GSAs for four Asian countries

By TTG Asia
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A Hertz customer service centre in Malaysia

Hertz Asia-Pacific has appointed Discover the World (DTW), a global travel industry sales and marketing specialist, as its general sales agent (GSA) for Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Hong Kong company First Marketing has also been appointed as the GSA for Macau.

DTW and First Marketing will manage the outbound sales of products and services of Hertz and its additional car rental brands Dollar, Thrifty, Ace and Firefly to domestic travel trade partners, corporate customers and leisure travellers, said the company in a statement.

A Hertz customer service centre in Malaysia

Hertz Asia Pacific’s vice president Eoin MacNeill said: “Both GSAs have the expertise, capabilities and knowledge of the Hertz brands to ensure business growth, while adapting to the evolving mobility landscape.”

DTW has held a long-term partnership with Hertz, having operated as the Hertz GSA across many Asian countries as well as Ukraine and Guatemala, for more than 26 years.

First Marketing has worked with Hertz since 2009, when they were first appointed GSA for Hong Kong.

Dream Cruises sails beyond Asia waters into Australia

By TTG Asia
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Genting Cruise Lines’ Michael Goh (left) presenting a ship model of Explorer Dream to CLIA’s Joel Katz to commemorate the inaugural arrival of Explorer Dream in Sydney

Dream Cruises last weekend celebrated the inaugural arrival of Explorer Dream in Sydney at the White Bay Cruise Terminal, heralding the start of the cruise line’s first sailing beyond Asia.

“Dream Cruises is excited to begin a new chapter as we chart new waters beyond Asia to homeport in Australia starting this year for the very first time, creating new milestones as Dream Cruises evolve into ‘Asia’s Global Cruise Line’,” said Michael Goh, president of Dream Cruises and head of international sales, Genting Cruise Lines. “Explorer Dream will provide an additional unique vacation experience for local Australian travellers and in bound international tourists with the growing fly-cruise opportunities, which will pave the way for the return of Explorer Dream to Australia again in 4Q2020.”

Dream Cruises celebrates sailing of Explorer Dream into Sydney
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Genting Cruise Lines’ Michael Goh (left) presenting a ship model of Explorer Dream to CLIA’s Joel Katz to commemorate the inaugural arrival of Explorer Dream in Sydney
Dream Cruises sails into Sydney
Dream Cruises held a special celebration with the inaugural arrival of Explorer Dream in Sydney at the White Bay Cruise Terminal

During Explorer Dream’s seasonal homeport deployment in Australia, travellers can explore a variety of round-trip cruise itineraries departing from Sydney and Brisbane between now and December 1, 2019 and also from February 9-23, 2020.

Travellers can choose to embark on a series of round-trip cruises from Sydney with a variety of 7N cruise itineraries or, alternatively, from Brisbane on 6N, 7N and 8N cruises to various Australian destinations including Newcastle, Gladstone, Sunshine Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, and Burnie. Travellers embarking from Brisbane can also opt for one-way 2N Sydney cruises or the 3N Sunshine Coast/Sydney cruises on selected departure dates.

In addition, travellers can also experience two special cruises aboard Explorer Dream from Sydney that will take guests on a one-way journey across New Zealand to Auckland on a 7N New Zealand Adventure (departing December 8, 2019) or enjoy a 21N Wonders cruise across Australia and Asia (departing March, 1 2020 from Sydney) with ports of call in Bali, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu, Puerto Princesa and other destinations.

Thai sanctuary takes ‘hands-off’ approach to elephant interaction

By TTG Asia
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Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, which is a final home to elephants who have worked their entire lives in the logging and tourism industries, has launched a hands-off programme for elephant enthusiasts to just observe the elephants in their natural habitat.

The Hands-Off Experience at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary starts with a scenic drive to the Tree Top Lounge, where visitors are shown an educational documentary to prepare them for their visit and to understand why Asian elephants need to be protected. They then meet Kannika and Madee, the sanctuary’s first two elephants, before helping the team to prepare supplementary elephant food – khao tom mat, which consists of sticky rice, mashed bananas, coconut meat, salt and sugar, all wrapped in a large banana leaf.

Tourists giving the elephants the freedom and space they deserve after decades of hard work

While the nutritious snacks are being steamed, visitors explore the sanctuary with an experienced tour guide and observe the elephants as they roam around, forage and bathe freely. The sticky rice packets are then delivered into the jungle, where visitors can sit quietly and observe the elephants as they devour their food. The visit ends with a Thai vegetarian dinner buffet for visitors back at the Tree Top Lounge.

The sanctuary also offers a short, non-intrusive feeding interaction as part of its existing half-day and full-day programmes.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary’s founder Montri Todtane said: “My ultimate dream is for our rescued elephants to live together as a herd in an environment that truly resembles their natural habitat and way of life – an environment where visitors are merely observers and learn about the elephants’ history and important role within our ecosystem. While we will continue to offer programmes that include a short, non-intrusive feeding interaction for the time being, the new hands-off experience gets us one step closer to realising this dream.”

Since its opening in late 2016, the sanctuary has rescued and rehabilitated 12 elephants back into a tropical 12ha jungle where they can roam around, socialise and bathe freely in fresh water lagoons, while visitors observe them from a respectful distance and learn about the elephants’ stories from tour guides.

Fusion welcomes new GM in Danang

By TTG Asia
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Fusion Suites Da Nang has appointed Jérôme Taillard as general manager.

With nearly two decades of industry experience, Taillard started his career in his home country of France with F&B positions, before taking on operational roles in China and then Vietnam where he further developed his skills in pre-opening and opening of hotels. More recently, he has held the general manager position at five-star hotels in Indonesia.

Taillard has also managed hotels in Phu Quoc and Saigon, where he was in charge of overseeing multiple hotel departments, implementing new brand standards, and developing and monitoring growth strategies.

JNTO rolls out strategies to combat tourist arrivals dip before Olympics boost

By Pamela Chow
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As Japan gears up for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics approaching next May, the incoming wave of activities is raising concerns of a potential dip in general tourism numbers, as tourists may be deterred by resulting high hotel prices and overcrowding.

Speaking at the Visit Japan Travel Mart last Thursday, Tadashi Kaneko, executive vice president, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), said: “The number of visitors we are expecting for the Olympics and Paralympics (period) will create a crowding-out effect. There will be a visitor spike in a concentrated area during this period, and hotel prices will rise. People will hesitate to visit Japan – we have already observed such an impact on long-distance travellers, who tend to plan early.”

JNTO strategises to combat fall in tourist numbers in lead up to the Tokyo Olympics; tourists taking pictures of the Olympic rings on construction site of New National Stadium

He expressed concerns that tourists may continue to shun Japan for other destinations even after the Tokyo Olympics.

To mitigate these effects, JNTO will be rolling out a slate of measures over the coming months, focusing on three areas: lodging, location and period of travel. To promote a shift in lodging away from Tokyo, JNTO is working to raise awareness of available accommodation options in the suburbs which are about an hour from the city centre.

Additionally, JNTO will focus on promoting local gems in outlying regions, which are expected to be even less crowded as local tourists flock to Tokyo for the Games. Kaneko expressed confidence that this option will be “especially attractive for repeat visitors”, which comprises 60 per cent of total tourist arrivals in Japan, of which 80 per cent originate from Asia.

To promote lesser-known attractions and activities in the country, JNTO has worked with local prefectural governments and suppliers to launch a “100 Experiences in Japan” book.

Kaneko added that the organisation will “strongly suggest travellers avoid the period of the Tokyo Olympics and visit Japan in a different season”.

JNTO will also launch a “strong final push” next year to encourage tourists to visit Japan during the rest of the year beyond the Olympics. This “special promotion campaign” will be crafted in collaboration with local governments and tourism industry players, and will be announced by the end of this year, shared Kaneko.

Personalisation key to capturing millennial travellers as APAC’s travel activities market heats up

By TTG Asia
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As competition in the travel activities space is expected to grow in tandem with the market size, players in this increasingly hot sector will need to understand their customers better, in terms of what experiences they seek while on holiday, and appeal to their emotions when designing in-destination programmes and activities to build customer loyalty and retention, a key message shared at last week’s Markethub Asia conference by Hotelbeds in Bali.

Sascha Stange, deputy director, liaison department, World Tourism Cities Federation, described millennials as digital natives where mobile usage played a key role in the research and booking stages of travel planning. He shared that millennials craved for unique experiences to make their stay memorable and would share them on their social media platforms.

Personalisation is key to building brand stickiness among millennial travellers, who crave unique experiences to share on their social media

Stange stressed that travel providers who excel at personalising their products and services by first getting to know their customers would build a relationship of trust with them.

Larry Yu, master of tourism administration programme director at George Washington University, shared with the audience that 51 per cent of travellers in China had no idea where they wanted to go for a holiday and were open to ideas from a travel provider, according to research findings of Phocuswright’s Destination Decision: How Travellers Choose Where To Go. The same survey also found that 45 per cent of those Chinese travellers had a few places in mind while only four per cent had a specific destination.

Guangzhou-based Haiyou Voyage’s CEO Gilbert Xu, a participant at the conference, told TTG Asia that travel providers in China played an influential role in travellers’ decisions. He shared: “Millennial travellers are more open to suggestions. They will tell you their budget for a holiday and leave it to the the travel consultant to decide on the destination and activities. To make it a memorable holiday, you’ve got to take into account the client’s likes and dislikes.”

He said tours and activities revolving around local cultures, local cuisines and self-drive programmes were gaining in popularity among the Chinese.

Indonesia-based OTA Tiket.com’s vice president of accommodation Cisyelya Bunyamin said millennials were the company’s main market but to convert online browsers into buyers, there must be a variety of payment options available as some are not comfortable paying by credit card, she said.

To build loyalty and brand stickiness, the company offers instant gratification for buyers as well as exclusive deals with its many partners that are available only for Tiket.com’s members.

Australia-based Helloworld Travel’s general manager land contracting Joe McCormack shared that with the deluge of information available on travel experiences, time-poor travellers were turning to travel agencies for advice and suggestions.

Global travel bookings valued at US$1.4 trillion are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of five per cent over the next two years, while travel bookings in the Asia-Pacific region, pegged at US$420 billion in 2018, is expected to continue growing at 6 per cent over the next two years, according to Phocuswright’s travel research report, Global Online Travel Overview 2019.

The report also revealed that online travel bookings are growing twice as fast as the overall market, and Asia-Pacific is now the world’s largest regional travel market.

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Sister Publications
TTG Asia TTGmice TTG India TTGssociations TTG Asia Luxury
TTG Asia | Le Méridien Putrajaya welcomes new GM
TTG Asia | Salter Brothers Hospitality names Chris Curran as COO
TTG Asia | Building a new world