Raini Hamdi

Grab’s $100 million investment in Oyo is just the start of a strategy to have a tag-team under the same major investor, which is leveraging the strengths of each member of its portfolio. Expect to see more "teams of unicorns" attacking incumbents in the next year or so.

Hotel chains and airlines have formed alliances, why not bedbanks? The first bedbank alliance by four Asian players may be the first of its kind, but what’s more important is whether it can work. After all, if it looks so logical and easy, why didn’t anyone do it sooner?

All is not well with Zuji, a pioneer in the online travel space in Asia-Pacific. An ownership that is more adept at aviation than running an OTA may be an issue, but it’s clear the entry of global OTAs flush with marketing wherewithal and expertise is making it difficult for the pioneers to compete.

Hotel chains and tours and activities are converging again as Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts and Klook strike a partnership. The deal, following Marriott International’s stake in PlacePass last year, has its potential pitfalls but the upside could be huge for both parties if they can make it go smoothly.

Boutique American and European hotel brands aim to expand in Asia, but will soon realize it’s more difficult than they imagined, and it’s only going to get harder. Here’s why, and how they can make a go of it.

Trivago has reportedly admitted to misleading consumers about its hotel comparisons and will have to appear in court later this month to defend its actions. This comes as Australians are being whipped up to boycott foreign-owned hotel aggregators that are accused of ripping off local hotel owners and operators.

In what appears to be a clash of ideals and aspirations, the brains behind Traveloka’s technology, Derianto Kusuma, is leaving the company he co-founded in early 2012. It is telling how a startup that has reached unicorn status is changing. But is it for the better?

Holidayme has scooped up $16 million in new investment from Gobi. But can the UAE eagle soar in Asian skies where Tripfez, Gobi’s first investment in the Muslim travel space, had barely tapped the potential of the market?

Japan turned out to be the lifeboat for Thomas Cook China when Thailand turned disastrous, as the tour operator appears to be sailing away blithely with four new initiatives to scale up its China market.

Grab’s partnership with Indonesia’s tourism ministry, the first of its kind between a national tourism body and a ridehailing platform, reveals one of the initial ways it is trying to become Southeast Asia’s super app for a plethora of travel services.