Online Travel Update: Kakao Expands Transportation Offerings; Agoda offers a new payment alternative; Airbnb enables new split-stay feature | Foster Garvey PC

Agoda offers a new payment alternative
(“Agoda partners with Visa to offer interest-free credit card installments on all of its property bookings”, May 11, 2022 via Booking Holdings)
Last week, Agoda announced a new partnership with Visa to offer cardholders in Asia Pacific the option to pay for their reservations using interest-free credit card installments. Initially, only HSBC Bank Malaysia credit card holders will be eligible to participate in the installment program, but Agoda and Visa plan to expand the offer across Asia through a number of banks. additional transmitters. Travelers using eligible cards will be presented with this new payout option at checkout with a variety of payout periods available – all at no cost or additional charge. It will be interesting to see if Visa’s trial with Agoda leads to a much broader relationship with Booking.com once (if ever) Booking’s payment platform gains traction.

Airbnb enables new split-stay feature
(“Airbnb Allows Split Stays” to Ease Inventory Issues”, May 11, 2022 via Phocus Wire)
While we all know the havoc that the split-stay practices of many large online platforms can wreak on traditional accommodation providers (both for length-of-stay pricing), Airbnb is publicly adopting this practice as part of its recent platform update. The new feature will allow users to split stays of at least one week and up to six months. According to Airbnb, the new feature is being launched to help resolve supply issues in key markets (which we’ve covered in several previous updates) for travelers looking for longer stays (according to the recent release of results of Airbnb, travelers looking for stays of a month or more is its fastest growing category of travel). It remains to be seen how this new feature might affect the pricing practices of short-term rental hosts and management companies.

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Other news:

Expedia Group on the “deconstruction” of online travel
May 13, 2022 via Phocus Wire
As part of its effort to unify disparate brands and technology under the Expedia Group umbrella, the online travel giant has introduced a new technology platform called Open World. Announced at Expedia Group’s Explore partner event, the platform is designed for partners to operate and configure products and services and contains a comprehensive e-commerce suite, with components such as payments, fraud, conversations and service.

Katanox raises $5.7 million and adds Expedia chief Rob Torres to its board
May 13, 2022 via Phocus Wire
Katanox, an Amsterdam-based startup that facilitates direct B2B distribution of accommodation and travel payments, raised $5.7 million in a seed round. Investors in the round include Rappi and Yuno co-founder Juan Pablo Ortega; Jan Joost Kalff, co-founder of fintech Dimebox and current co-founder and CEO of Found; and Bas Blommaart, founder of iTesso hotel technology.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi partners with the world’s leading travel services provider Trip.com Group
May 11, 2022 via PR Newswire – UK
The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has signed a strategic partnership with Trip.com Group, one of the world’s leading travel service providers, during an online ceremony at Arabian Travel Market. The social and economic initiatives of the partnership will encourage and inspire visitors from around the world to visit Abu Dhabi, promoting the capital of the United Arab Emirates as a leading travel destination in 13 markets in Asia and Europe, including in India, China, South Korea, Japan, USA and UK. , Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Airbnb is launching its biggest overhaul in a decade. Travel may never be the same again
May 11, 2022 via Fast Company
Tripadvisor. Expedia. Booking.com. Google. No matter where you start the process of booking your next vacation, it’s always the same: you type where you want to go into a search bar, then choose your rental from the available options. And that’s even been true for Airbnb, the gargantuan home-sharing platform that’s booked 10 million years of stays to date.