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Tag: traveloka

  • Travel App Sets Sights on Financial Services

    Travel App Sets Sights on Financial Services

    Indonesian online travel unicorn Traveloka is targeting Thailand and Vietnam for launching financial services ahead of a possible IPO.

    Undaunted by Covid-19 related disruptions, Southeast Asia’s biggest online travel startup is eyeing moves into the financial services space as the company diversifies its offerings in a region ripe for disruption in the space.

    The plan is to invest in fintech in a big way to allow more consumers to travel in the region,» Caesar Indra, Traveloka president said in an interview published Thursday.

    The travel app, which previously branched out into lifestyle services such as food delivery, launched offerings in insurance and wealth management, and is currently developing buy-now-pay-later services in Vietnam and Thailand, where it recently launched a joint venture for fintech development with one of the country’s biggest banks.

    The company, which counts 40 million monthly users, has seen a strong rebound in business, driven by domestic travel, Indra said.

    Its business has surpassed pre-Covid levels in Vietnam, is nearly back to normal levels in Thailand, and is at half of pre-Covid levels in Indonesia, he said.

    Traveloka is reportedly in discussions with special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, for a U.S. listing.

    Reuters quoted a source saying that Bridgetown Holdings, backed by Asian tycoon Richard Li, Provident Acquisition and Cova Acquisition are also contenders for the startup, which has a potential valuation of up to $5 billion.

    Founded in 2012, Traveloka has raised more than $750 million to date from investors including Expedia, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, East Ventures, as well as JD.com.

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  • Expedia, Booking.com warn AirAsia of turbulence in online travel plan

    Expedia, Booking.com warn AirAsia of turbulence in online travel plan

    Online travel giants Expedia and Booking.com are warning that budget airline pioneer, AirAsia Group, risks being destabilized by ambitious plans to become the “Amazon of travel”.

    AirAsia, which already offers limited travel plans on its website, plans to expand the online service to include booking flights with rival airlines and ecommerce. As profits tumble in the face of rising fuel costs and intensifying competition, CEO Tony Fernandes is seeking alternative sources of revenue and earlier this year told the Nikkei Asian Review he intended to invest 100 million Malaysian ringgit ($24.6 million) a year to become a technology-led company.

    The carrier’s future competitors in the wider online travel sector dismissed the threat posed by the company which brought low cost flight to Asia.

    Booking.com’s head of China, Marsha Ma, suggested the online travel giants would rally their vast networks of flights, hotels and services in the fight against any attempts by AirAsia to take market share. “The online travel agency business, especially accommodation, is a pretty heavy business model in terms of its supply chain management,” said Ma. “It takes years… We have offices at 190 locations and [they] have built up our supply chain capability, with width and depth.”

    “We will keep fighting on that,” the Booking.com executive said, speaking at an event held in Singapore last week by Skift, an U.S.-based travel industry information provider.

    Expedia, once a partner of AirAsia’s existing travel platform, indicated the carrier might not have the necessary skills to succeed. “What makes you great to run an airline” is not the same as being a great online travel agency, said Greg Schulze, head of commercial strategy & services at Expedia. Worse, the carrier risked being distracted from selling its own flights, which could exacerbate its current troubles, he suggested. “I am happy to see [AirAsia] negotiating with other airlines.”

    However, Aireen Omar, AirAsia’s deputy CEO for technology, was confident AirAsia could manage the risks. It was “ambitious, but I think it’s very doable,” Omar said.

    The aviation business model was changing, Omar said. “The key essence for us is no longer the aircraft but data.” AirAsia transported close to 100 million passengers this year alone in Southeast Asia, and was seeing six to eight million visitors come to its website every month. “A lot of new business opportunity is around there,” she said. This included enhancing its digital travel platform with itinerary suggestions, hotels or shopping, using technologies such as artificial intelligence to improve the offering.

    When asked if becoming the Amazon of travel is overly ambitious, Aireen Omar, AirAsia’s deputy CEO for technology and digital, said it’s “ambitious, but I think it’s very doable.” (Photo by Eri Sugiura)

    “I think online travel agencies are very cautious,” Omar said. She insisted that the company already has a “big platform” for AirAsia.com, the carrier’s BigPay, a mobile wallet which was launched in Malaysia last year tracking consumers’ credit and debit card payments, and combining this with its own loyalty program. “It is an opportunity for [other airlines] to have an access of the network and the data we have,” she added.

    AirAsia entered the flight and hotel package business in 2015 through a joint venture with Expedia. However last August it announced it would sell its 25% stake to Expedia for $60 million. This freed the carrier to build its own accommodation and other inventories. The airline in 2017 acquired 50% in travel tours and attractions provider startup Vidi, in a deal worth $2.6 million.

    Omar said the company’s data would be uploaded in the cloud by the end of the year, in preparation for the launch of its new service.

    AirAsia’s rush to build an enriched travel platform can be explained by headwinds the company faces in its core business. The carrier’s net income slipped to 96.1 million ringgit, a 92%-drop in the three months through March from a year earlier, as it was hit by high fuel costs and lower average fares.

    While the company remains profitable in Malaysia, where it is based, its operations in Indonesia, Thailand and elsewhere are either losing money or earning less.

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  • AirAsia withdraws flight tickets from Traveloka

    AirAsia withdraws flight tickets from Traveloka

    AirAsia has withdrawn its tickets from Traveloka. The move follows an incident in which the low-cost airline’s flights were unavailable on the sites of several online travel agents, namely Traveloka and Tiket.com.

    “As a group, AirAsia has discontinued the sales of all of our tickets on Traveloka. It’s based on our disappointment with them,” Dendy Kurniawan, president director of AirAsia Indonesia, said in a press conference on March 4 in South Jakarta. In the meantime, AirAsia is still waiting for official clarification from Tiket.com.

    AirAsia flights were missing from Traveloka and Tiket.com from Feb. 14 to 17. At the time, Traveloka told that it was due to the airline’s system upgrades, while Tiket.com had remained silent on the matter. However, Rifai Taberi, AirAsia Indonesia commercial director, wrote on his Facebook account that it was not caused by AirAsia’s system.

    The flights then reappeared on Feb. 18, but have been missing for the second time since March 2 on both sites.

    “We’ve been patient enough waiting for Traveloka’s official explanation – despite rumors that were spread at that time,” said Dendy. “If [they said] it’s because of the system – come on, they should’ve anticipated it. They could’ve contacted us directly.”

    Dendy said he had received reports that Traveloka had not provided a clear explanation about the unavailability to their customers and that the online travel agent had not directed AirAsia customers to the airline’s official website or app to book tickets. “But they suggested that people choose other airlines that were available on their website. We perceive this as something that hurts our good business relations with them,” said Dendy.

    Dendy added that the withdrawal could have a short-term impact on the airlines. “Perhaps [for] less than a month,” he said. “I believe our customers [will] check our website directly.”

    Also present at the press conference, Rifai agreed with Dendy’s statement. “Our sales in February were not affected by it at all,” said Rifai, adding that his side had emailed Traveloka five times since Saturday afternoon but had not received a response.

    Rifai confirmed the statement, but said Traveloka had contacted AirAsia through phone communication. “What we didn’t get was professional communication […] but we already responded to them,” he said.

    In a statement on Monday, Sufinitri Rahayu, public relations director for Traveloka, said the travel site highly prioritized continuous collaboration with all stakeholders and partners. “Since last weekend, we’ve asked for time to talk with AirAsia to come up with the best solutions for both parties,” Sufinitri said.

    Additionally, in February, Rifai once indicated an instruction forcing online travel agents to stop selling AirAsia tickets on his Facebook account, but Dendy said he did not want to make any speculation. “Just let the relevant agencies investigate it. We’re not going to cooperate with parties with the intention of unhealthy competition. That’s none of our business,” Dendy said.

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  • Indonesia’s Traveloka Co-Founder Resigns

    Indonesia’s Traveloka Co-Founder Resigns

    Indonesian unicorn startup Traveloka announced the resignation of its co-founder, Derianto Kusuma, from his position as chief technology officer on Tuesday. Derianto was one of three persons involved in the establishment in February 2012 of the online ticketing and hotel booking service, which has since become one of the leading tech companies in Southeast Asia.

    “Deri has played an unparalleled role in Traveloka’s development and success by building, scaling, and making not only sustainable technology capability and systems but also a sustainable organization,” said Ferry Unardi, chief executive and co-founder of Traveloka.

    Following his exit from the company, Derianto took to online publishing platform Medium to write about his journey. In his post, he wrote about what drove him to start the company and the actual implementation of different business models throughout the nearly seven years since Traveloka was founded.

    He also touched on why he decided it was best for him to leave.

    “A few years ago, the battle started to show trends towards being more commercially than innovation-driven, predatory than productive, perception-oriented than fundamentals-oriented,” Derianto wrote.

    With these new trends, Derianto felt that his duty – building the technological foundation – had been fulfilled.

    “Two years ago, I ensured Traveloka had strong technological, organizational foundations built for scale and sustainability, and put in place a solid senior team that can take them forward,” Derianto wrote.

    Though Derianto wrote that he would be spending more time with family and friends after resigning, he said he “yearns” to develop a new venture in a noncompeting category, a technology that would “fundamentally transform society.”

    “I’m glad that we have finally reached this milestone where I believe it’s a win-win for everyone involved,” Derianto wrote.

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  • Indonesia’s online travel startup Traveloka in talks to raise US$400M

    Indonesia’s online travel startup Traveloka in talks to raise US$400M

    Jakarta-based online travel startup Traveloka is in talks with existing and new investors to raise about US$400 million in funding, citing multiple people privy to the development.

    The company intends to use the capital to “push beyond traditional airline tickets and hotel bookings into activities for travellers like concerts or amusement parks”, according to this report.

    When contacted, a Traveloka spokesperson said: “At this moment we cannot make a confirmation because as part of our corporate policy, we do not comment on rumor or speculation in the market. We will give updates at the soonest if we have new information.”

    Over a year ago, global online travel agency Expedia infused US$350 million primary minority investment into Traveloka. Its other investors are East Ventures and Global Founders Capital.

    Traveloka provides services including flights, hotels and trains booking services, besides tour packages for attractions and activities, connectivity products, airport transports, and buses.

    It has established partnerships with more than 100 domestic and international airlines, serving more than 200,000 routes worldwide, according to its website. It also has a direct accommodation inventory, varying from hotels, apartments, guest houses, homestays, to villas and resorts.

    Traveloka provides more than 40 payment options for customers in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Its app has registered over 30 million downloads so far.

    Last May, the startup launched several new features, including car rental services. It already provides Traveloka Eats, and lending service PayLater.

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  • Indonesian Conglomerates-Backed Tech Fund to Be Launched in 6 Months

    Indonesian Conglomerates-Backed Tech Fund to Be Launched in 6 Months

    An Indonesian tech venture capital fund backed by the country’s largest conglomerates will be launched within the next six months, Communications Minister Rudiantara said.

    “We, Indonesian investors, must immediately enter the tech market,” the minister said on Thursday (05/07).

    He said the fund, which would be pooled from Indonesian conglomerates, was supported by his ministry, with its structure being discussed with the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

    The size of the fund has not been disclosed.

    Rudiantara said he held discussions with local conglomerates on how they should unite and support “series A, B and C” as well as “unicorns,” a term used for startups worth at least $1 billion.

    The Sinar Mas Group, one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates, previously said that it would invest in a pooled venture fund supported by the government.

    The country’s startup sector has witnessed a boom as investors are lured by the youthful demographic in the nation of more than 250 million people, who resort to online shopping for everything from tickets to electronic gadgets.

    “While two national conglomerates such as Djarum and Astra became investors in a ‘unicorn’ such as Go-Jek, it is not enough,” the minister said.

    The country has four “unicorns,” including ride-hailing service Go-Jek, travel site Traveloka and market places Bukalapak and Tokopedia.

     

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