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Tujia’s new partnership to cut “disputed orders by at least 90%”
Tujia, pioneer of the Chinese homestay market, has announced a new partnership with SiteMinder to streamline its back-end stock management and pricing system. This deal will enable Tujia hosts, outside of China, to manage bookings with a simple all-in-one lodging management platform, featuring synchronised back-end inventory data, incorporating the capabilities of both Tujia - who raised a whopping USD 300 million in funding last year - and SiteMinder. “Synergy and mutual benefits to both companies” “We are delighted to announce this new partnership with SiteMinder,” said Xunzhang Huang (below), head of Tujia's overseas division. “This co-operation will bring synergy and mutual benefits to both companies. The new system will be sure to integrate the best prices with the most optimized inventory, reducing the chance of refused or disputed orders by at least 90%. "Tujia is committed to guaranteeing the satisfaction of our customers, as well as offering an enjoyable on-line booking experience and the announcement of this new initiative provides a fantastic new contribution to our efforts in these areas.” Huang Xunzhang The new WAKA overseas booking platform, expected to roll out by the end of July 2018, is currently undergoing closed beta testing with one user exclaiming their approval of the reworked functionality: "In the past, I had to use two systems to manage inventory and price, but now one system fits the bill. "Orders can be confirmed in real-time. It saves at least half of my time and the system’s back-end synchronization prevents the overselling of rooms. This really feels like a huge step forward for all of us within the homestay management industry.” After the service goes online, Tujia will have an accurate real-time inventory of up to 50,000 room nights each day with the potential of real-time connections in the fields of order information, available listings and pricing.
Tujia.com grows fivefold since 2016
Tujia.com founder and CEO, Luo Jun, announced via an internal message that following the separation of Tujia’s online and offline departments, the online platform has successfully completed its ‘E’ round of funding. “For this round, our online platform business raised 300 million USD, at a valuation of over 1.5 billion USD. The lead investors were Ctrip and All-Stars Investment, with China Renaissance’s New Economy Fund, Glade Brook Capital, and G Street Capital also participating in the round,” said Luo Jun. Following the company’s D and D+ rounds of financing completed in August of 2015, the capital market has once again showed its continued support in Tujia.com as it remains the most funded player and maintains its reputation as a ‘unicorn’ in the accommodation sharing industry. This round of financing – the first independent round since the separation of Tujia’s online and offline departments – reflected the great confidence and optimism that the capital markets have toward Tujia’s online platform. Leading China’s alternative accommodation industry Tujia has achieved exponential gains in the domestic market, with transaction volumes growing over 300 percent year-on-year. Internationally, especially in Asia, Tujia has grown exceptionally, increasing fivefold this year. On the eve of the 2017 National Holiday or “Golden Week,” Tujia released its “Tujia Mansion” product, which received unprecedented positive responses and saw transaction volumes during the Golden Week exceed the previous year’s by 400%. With an average nightly price for a single room exceeding 3,000 RMB and the most expensive room at 45,000 RMB, “Tujia Mansion” demonstrates the growing demand for luxury offerings by high-end customers. Following the introduction of the “two-child policy,” Tujia is best positioned to capitalize on the increase in demand for family-friendly accommodation options. In his internal message, Mr. Luo revealed that Tujia has maintained steady growth in its business since the D and D+ rounds of financing. He said the funds raised from this round would be used both to “work towards optimizing the user experience by standardizing aspects of our alternative travel accommodations such as linen washing, cleanliness, and smart capabilities,” and to “further invest in the domestic high-end real estate market and in foreign markets.” Luo Jun also emphasized: “As technology and creativity are the industry’s foremost sources of productivity, Tujia will continue as always to constantly make breakthroughs in the areas of innovative technology and business, leading the way for China’s alternative accommodation industry.”
Tujia, Rakuten join forces for Japanese homestays
Japan's homestay market is expected to surge in the coming years Tujia, the Chinese home-sharing company, has formed a new partnership with Rakuten, Japan's e-commerce giant, to encourage more Chinese visitors to stay in Japanese homes. Details of the tie-up were unveiled this week at an event in Beijing, which followed a joint news conference in Tokyo. Under the terms of the agreement, Tujia will partner with Rakuten Lifull Stay, the company's recently-launched home-sharing unit. Luo Jun, co-founder & CEO of Tujia, and Munekatsu Ota, president of Rakuten Lifull Stay, both attended the signing ceremony. The two companies will now focus on meeting the demand for Chinese travel to Japan, providing vacation rentals and other services, including marketing and distribution. Based on the partnership, it is expected that Tujia's housing portfolio in Japan will increase to 100,000 units by 2020 and 200,000 units by 2025. Tujia's inventory is distributed via several key channels including Ctrip, Qunar, eLong and WeChat Hotel. This will make the two companies' Japanese properties readily accessible to the six million Chinese travellers (and rising) who now visit Japan annually. Japan's homestay market is expected to expand significantly in the coming years, following the recent implementation of the Japanese government’s "Homestay Business Act", which allows international tourists to rent private homes in the country. Some consulting firms have forecast that the value of the sector will more than double between 2017 and 2020, to approximately JPY200 billion (US$1.8bn). This encouraged Rakuten to enter the market, and the latest collaboration with Tujia follows a similar arrangement with Expedia's vacation rental unit, HomeAway, last month.
Here’s why you shouldn’t miss ITB Asia 2019
ITB Asia 2019, the biggest gathering of travel trade professionals, is back in Singapore for its twelfth year. The event will take place in Marina Bay Sands on 16-18 October. ITB Asia is the premier meeting place for the travel trade industry. Here are some of the reasons why you should attend this year’s event. Stellar line-up This year’s event will feature keynote sessions from noted players in the travel industry such as Bedbank, Hotelbeds Group, Booking.com, Expedia, IBM, KAYAK, OYO Hotels & Homes, TripAdvisor, Tujia and more. The sessions will focus on sharing innovative ideas, where attendees can expect to gain knowledge of practical applications to keep pace with industry changes. Recognising the revolutionary impact of technology on the travel industry, speakers from leading online travel agencies (OTA), travel-related partners and technology companies will share their perspectives on how businesses can innovate and leverage on technology as they tackle the challenges of this era. Aside from the keynote sessions, ITB Asia 2019’s conference will also deliver a series of themed sessions, including Corporate Travel, Destination Marketing, Muslim Travel and Travel Technology where attendees will have the opportunity to experience over 200 sessions led by more than 260 speakers. Alongside this event, attendees will get to hear about forecasts for the global meeting and events industries in 2020, and how the industry is transforming at MICE Show Asia. Focus on new trends ITB Asia is always at the forefront of the issues in the travel industry. It has been the goal of ITB to inform companies of the latest trends in the space to future-proof their businesses. “As the largest travel trade show in the Asia Pacific, ITB Asia will cover major themes and trends shaping the future of travel, including pressing and pertinent issues such as geopolitics and corporate development. More importantly, attendees can expect to walk away from the show with added knowledge on the practical applications the need to keep pace with these rapid changes affecting the industry,” Katrina Leung, managing director of Messe Berlin (Singapore). First-ever MICE Show Asia For the first time this year, ITB Asia will be organizing the inaugural MICE Show Asia 2019, which will focus on Asia Pacific’s burgeoning MICE sector. Highlight topics that will be discussed during MICE Show Asia include 2020 forecasts for the global meeting and events and the digital transformation of the meeting and events industries. The MICE Show Asia’s conferences will feature a stellar line-up of speakers from top-tier brands including American Express Meetings & Events, Group GmbH and Cvent. Some of the topics that will be discussed at the travel trade show include 2020 forecasts for the global meeting and events industries, the digital transformation of the meeting and events industries, and the innovative use of technology to captivate event-attendees. Buyers Elite Partner Programme (BEPP) ITB Asia has also introduced a new Buyers Elite Partner Programme (BEPP) this year. Under this new initiative, every partner that recommends 15 successful buyers to attend the show will be able to receive complimentary hosting by ITB Asia. By building on the success of past years' connections as well as the launch of the BEPP, ITB Asia 2019 has already seen a 35% increase in approved buyers. This includes a boost in MICE buyers, as well as an increase in buyers from high-growth markets such as Southeast Asia, China and India. “As the largest travel trade show in the Asia Pacific, ITB Asia endeavours to provide a platform for which they can gather to establish high-quality contacts and conduct business. With the industry showing strong signs of growth, delegates can expect to hear from experts on how to capitalise on this growth to make informed decisions for their businesses. Not forgetting, with our expanded show floors and the launch of MICE Show Asia this year, participants can expect to leave with tangible takeaways and expert insights gleaned, as well as establish high-quality contacts and conduct business with more buyers and exhibitors across the full spectrum of the travel industry,” Leung said.
The big league: Stellar line up of industry giants will headline ITB Asia 2019 keynote sessions
ITB Asia is set to deliver a series of keynote presentations over the event’s 16-18 October dates, in line with 2019’s conference theme, ‘Bold Thoughts, Bold Moves.’ The keynote sessions will focus on sharing innovative ideas, where attendees can expect to gain knowledge on practical applications to keep pace with industry changes. Recognising the revolutionary impact of technology on the travel industry, speakers from leading online travel agencies (OTA), travel-related partners and technology companies will share their perspectives on how businesses can innovate and leverage on technology as they tackle the challenges of this era. Prominent keynoters include senior representatives from the likes of Bedbank, Hotelbeds Group, Booking.com, Expedia, IBM, KAYAK, OYO Hotels & Homes, TripAdvisor, Tujia and more. “As the industry continues to evolve, attendees want to gain more than just insights of what leading businesses do to remain at the top. Through our sessions, they will be equipped with actionable steps on how to drive their business forward,” said Katrina Leung, managing director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia. ITB Asia 2019 will also feature a keynote panel on 18 October focused on the new Chinese traveller, of which their overseas consumption is predicted to grow as large as USD 120 billion as preferences evolve. Titled, ‘The New Chinese Travellers,’ industry leaders will examine the growing significance of this market.
Cozystay surpasses 2018 bookings by 600% in 2019
Cozystay, a technology-first, accommodation group with a growing portfolio of hotels, vacation rentals, and resorts under management, announced that it surpassed its total number of 2018 booking by 600% within just the first half of 2019. “2019 is becoming a breakout year for Cozystay. We officially launched our Vacation Rental Service Standard (VRSS) and are rolling it out to all properties, regardless of whether the property is a vacation rental, hotel or resort,” said Galen Cheng, CEO of Cozystay. “Our vision is to offer our guests the feeling of home, wherever they choose to stay, and provide guests at each of these different categories of accommodation with the same, consistent high level of service. When you visit a Cozystay property - no matter what type, you will know what you can expect.” The Vancouver-based company leverages technology at every opportunity to streamline the management of its properties, this includes smart-locks, multi-channel customer service and property management. All properties offer safety certification and insurance coverage, professionally furnished properties, a bonded and insured cleaning team, highly trained account managers, as well as high-quality towels, linens and premium luxury mattresses. The company is also launching an integration with Tujia, China’s biggest short-term property rental company. Chinese travellers seeking rental properties on Tujia will now gain direct booking access to Cozystay branded properties. “This integration will help to increase the number of reservations that these properties receive,” added Cheng.
How a golf trip started a vacation rental platform
Pointe Beach Villas Like an ember starting a fire, Galen Cheng didn’t know that a simple golf trip to North Nicolas would lead to the creation of a new vacation rental platform. Cozystay is a fast-growing vacation rental platform, which recently took over two properties, showing strong potential in an underserved market. In this interview, CEO and founder Galen Cheng shares with us how it all began, the biggest challenges for Chinese travellers, and the bright future ahead of Cozystay. TD: First off, could you tell us more about Cozystay? GC: Cozystay is a vacation rental platform that provides vacationers with the highest-quality booking and rental experience. Our unique Vacation Rental Service Standard (VRSS) protocol provides strict guidelines that ensure a top-quality rental experience. We partner with major global property developers to manage operations and booking of vacation rental properties. Select properties that offer some of the most unique experiences are branded as Cozystay Signature properties. Cozystay also runs a subsidiary property management company, Cozy Living Suites Inc, that manages vacation rental properties in Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Toronto. What made you start the business? How did it all come about? I came to Canada in 1999, and since then I helped a lot of friends come here from China. While I did have some friends that were doing homestay businesses — I didn’t immediately enter the industry. It was actually a golfing experience that prompted me to do so. “Why couldn’t we just stay in these houses?” I love to golf, and my friends and I enjoy travelling to other cities to golf. However, hotel rooms are usually fairly small and a large golf bag makes the room feel crowded instantly. When I was golfing in North Nicolas, I noticed that there were houses surrounding the golf course and I thought — why couldn’t we just stay in these houses? We could play golf during the day and cook at the home at night, giving us the feeling of home wherever we went. This sparked my initial business idea, which was around combining accommodation and leisure activities. But I began to do more market research, it was about 2014 and I began talking to as many people as I could who have first-hand experience with vacation rentals. The more I learned, the more I saw that while there are services like Airbnb, Tujia and Xiaozhu, it didn’t seem that they were quite meeting the needs of the market that I had zeroed in on. There was just no platform really specialised for Chinese tourists. CEO and founder Galen Cheng, Cozystay What are the challenges for Chinese travellers and how do you solve them? Before founding Cozystay, I helped many of my friends come to Canada to visit and of course, they all needed a place to stay. Many people felt that Airbnb was too general and that the payment methods were too general. Some of the specialised services that they were looking for include: Chinese customer service, WeChat customer service, Payment options in RMB and additional service options such as trash removal; Chinese travellers tend to have different expectations than western travellers, including a desire for an increased level of service, to them, cost is far less important than the experience. Cozystay Signature properties are all professionally furnished, insured, professionally cleaned, and offer automated check-in as well as high-quality linens, towels and sheets. Kokanee Inn Comparing the company from 2015 to present-day — how far have you gone? Cozystay has grown tremendously since its founding in 2015 and the company recently started taking over entire properties in order to better manage them. The group has now taken over the exclusive management of two full properties including Lake Okanagan Resort and Abercorn Airport Hotel in Richmond, BC, which are now called 'Cozystay Signature' properties. What are your plans for the future? We plan to open 1,000 virtual stores and 10,000 units in the next three years and five years, and hope to reach a market value of one billion. After North America, the next step will be for us to expand further into the European and Asian markets.
Ascott celebrates 20th year in China with new properties
CapitaLand’s The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has opened its first property in Nantong and fourth property in Suzhou, increasing its operating portfolio to more than 33 cities across China. Nantong and Suzhou are two fast-growing cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt – a key region in China, which accounts for more than 40% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For thousands of years, the belt has been an important part of the country and its surging economy. Ascott Harmony City Nantong In the belt's financial hub is Ascott Harmony City Nantong, the first international-class serviced residence in the city. The property is well-positioned near the Nantong Railway Station and has direct access to the metro interchange station that is scheduled to be completed by 2020. Meanwhile, the Somerset Baitang Suzhou is located in the heart of Suzhou Industrial Park, one of the country’s biggest high-tech parks with more than 2,000 multinational corporations. Tan Tze Shang, managing director for China and head of business development, said: “Ascott Harmony City Nantong and Somerset Baitang Suzhou will enjoy a ready pool of expatriates as well as business and leisure travellers, given their proximity to business parks, commercial buildings, retail and dining outlets, and popular tourist destinations.” Somerset Baitang Suzhou Securing a bright future in China “This year marks Ascott’s 20th anniversary in China, our fastest-growing and largest market, with over 20,000 units in more than 110 properties across 33 Chinese cities,” said Tan. The company has more in store for the coming months ahead. It has already secured contracts to manage nine properties with an offering of over 1,600 units. In addition, it has also opened four new properties with close to 800 units in Nantong, Suzhou, Xiamen and Xi’an. "Ascott plans to open over 50 properties in more than 20 Chinese cities" Tan concluded: “With the opening of these two serviced residences, guests can now choose from our 56 operational properties in China. Within the next six years, Ascott plans to open over 50 properties in more than 20 Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Guangzhou. These will be tailored for different customer segments across our varied brands such as Ascott, Citadines, Somerset, Tujia Somerset and our latest co-living brand for the millennials, lyf.”
Ascott makes ‘most significant and game-changing move to date’
Delegates go hand-in-hand at the signing ceremony of the joint venture between Ascott, Huazhu and CJIA Ascott Limited (Ascott) of CapitaLand is accelerating the expansion of its Citadines brand in China through a RMB100 million joint venture with Huazhu Hotels Group and CJIA Apartments Group. Targeting to sign 16,000 units under Citadines in China by 2025, Ascott signed an agreement with two of China’s leading hotel and apartment operators – Huazhu, with a market cap of US$10.4 billion and a portfolio of over 380,000 hotel rooms, and CJIA, which has expanded quickly in a span of over two years with 10,000 apartments. With an initial registered capital of RMB100 million, Ascott, Huazhu and CJIA will hold 50%, 10% and 40% respective stakes in the partnership. Signing ceremony of Ascott’s joint venture with Huazhu and CJIA at Ascott Hengshan Shanghai. “Our partnership with Huazhu and CJIA marks Ascott’s most significant and game-changing move in the asset-light manachise business to date." “Huazhu is one of China’s biggest hospitality players with significant local capabilities. CJIA has scaled up rapidly in the apartment rental space with more than 90% of its revenue from long-term rentals, which complements Ascott’s strong position in the long-stay business. Ascott will be able to tap on Huazhu and CJIA’s vast expertise in operating properties through manachise [management franchise] and their over 100 million-member database of domestic corporate and leisure travellers,” commented Kevin Goh, Ascott’s CEO. Kevin Goh, Ascott's CEO, at the signing ceremony In a statement, Goh mentioned that China remains the company’s ‘top source market’ globally and the joint venture will speed up Ascott’s growing Citadines brand in China in first-tier cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen in the initial years. Goh added: “We will also continue to grow our other award-winning brands including Ascott, Somerset, Tujia Somerset as well as the millennial-targeted, co-living brand lyf. We are confident of surpassing Ascott’s global target of 80,000 units this year, and doubling our portfolio to 160,000 units by 2023.” Ascott will continue to expand through investments, strategic alliances, management contracts, leases and franchises. Citadines Gaoxin Xian, one of the 30 Citadines properties that Ascott currently has in China China was the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI), receiving a total of US$134 million in 2017. In addition, the World Tourism Organization predicted that China will become the world’s top tourist destination and fourth largest source country by 2020.
2018 shaping up as the critical year in China’s home-sharing sector
The sharing economy is again under spotlight in Asia. During the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), an Asian equivalent of the World Economic Forum, top entrepreneurs in the Chinese sharing sector gathered in a panel to discuss the industry's future. Chen Chi, co-founder and CEO of Xiaozhu.com, the country's leading and fastest growing house-sharing platform, was invited to speak in the session named "The Sharing Economy: Getting Down to Business". "An example of how foreign companies are learning from Chinese companies" According to report by China's State Information Center, the Chinese house-sharing market grew by 70.6% in 2017, an accelerated growth on last year. "After more than five years of development, house sharing has taken deep root in China, while it is also penetrating rapidly to lower tier cities and the countryside", Chen Chi commented. On Xiaozhu's platform, as Chen pointed out, tier two cities like Tianjin, Chongqing and Changsha were among the fastest expanding markets. When speaking about the profitability of sharing economy platforms in China, Chen revealed that Xiaozhu has developed a healthy and profitable business model. When asked about Airbnb's recent active movements in China, Chen said this is an example of how foreign companies are learning from Chinese companies, in terms of localization and business innovation. Xiaozhu's competitiveness, as Chen Xiaozhu's competitiveness, as Chen emphasized, lies in strong offline service capability, which imposes high requirements for the teams' philosophy and execution. Chen Chi, co-founder and CEO of Xiaozhu.com Founded in 2012, Xiaozhu.com is among China's largest house-sharing platforms. In November 2017, the company announced it had raised $120 million in its latest financing round, led by the Jack Ma-backed Yunfeng Capital. Airbnb China is important to Airbnb and they have made a big push to grow their business in the market including adopting a Chinese name Aibiying that translates to ‘welcome each other with love’ and has attracted attention and criticism due to its sexual innuendos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhYHGPAXk_Y Quartz reported Chinese users hated the new name so much that user were already brainstorming on a new name for them. Airbnb has also hired a Chinese leader, Ge Hong, a top-flight talent boasting a Yale education and stints at Google and Facebook. It also appointed Nathan Blecharczyk (Airbnb co-founder) as the chairman of Airbnb China. In a recent GGV996 podcast Nathan updated that Airbnb is happy with the name change and it has been positively received by the market. He also updated that Airbnb now has 150 people in the market. About 60 of those are working on the product; 40 in host community operations and the remainder spread across marketing, public policy, and standard corporate functions. Tujia The market has another strong competitor in local player Tujia. Tujia initially focused on more of a vacation rental market but its model has expanded to now be a strong competitor in the home-sharing space. It has been aggressive not only in the domestic market but expanding into regional large inbound markets for Chinese millennials. In 2017 it announced a partnership with Rakuten in the Japan market. The company's investor CV includes Ctrip, Homeaway, and GGV (also a Airbnb investor). What to expect Xiaozhu will remain laser focused on the domestic product and building out a uniquely chinese user experience. Airbnb will also work hard on dialing in a China specific product but will do so within the context of their larger global offering and tech platforms. They will leverage their global scale and coverage for advantage. Tuija will work to to cover the domestic market while continuing to selectively expand and built out their footprint in high volume China outbound markets regionally. 2018 is shaping up as the critical year in determining the future leaders in China's home-sharing sector. Pricing will come under pressure, and levels of service will increase for both hosts and travelers.
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