Travel distributor DidaTravel has inked a deal with Visit Oman to help boost inbound tourist arrivals to the Gulf state. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed at ITB Berlin. The partnership outlines areas of collaboration which include DidaTravel offering Visit Oman's contracted hotels, transfers, and experiences to China based travel partners via API integration. It will give Visit Oman access to DidaTravel's portfolio of Chinese travel trade customers. They will embark on joint marketing initiatives to increase brand awareness and drive travel demand from China to Oman. Jinyan Li, VP Global Account Management at DidaTravel said "This collaboration holds immense potential to foster cultural exchange and strengthen ties between our nations". DidaTravel works with over 30,000 travel buying clients around the world, including travel agencies, tour operators, wholesalers, OTAs and TMCs.

Related News Stories:  DidaTravel - TravelMole     Ethiopian Airlines' Vision 2035 and Sustainable Aviation ...     Malaysia Airlines offering air-rail connectivity from London, Seoul     Mabrian Technologies     Partner News - TravelMole

 

• DidaTravel, the global B2B travel distributor, has achieved rapid growth rates in its European source markets with Europe now representing over 20% of its total business.
• DidaTravel’s sales acquisition team, including Frank Wöller, Patrice Vales, Paul Riches, and Jessica Cifuentes provide Dida with a breadth of experience in this market and have been instrumental in driving DidaTravel's growth across Europe.
• DidaTravel's Flight business is also rapidly growing, serving 500+ global airlines and 20,000+ routes, with substantial growth across Asia, Europe, Americas and the UK.

  DidaTravel – a tech-driven global travel distribution company, is pleased to announce remarkable sales growth across key European source markets as part of its highly effective global expansion strategy first launched in 2018.   DidaTravel, a leader in China and Asia Pacific source markets embarked on its global expansion strategy in 2018, and the results since have been exceptional with year-to-date 2023 sales significantly outperforming the same period comparing both 2019 and 2022. This growth highlights Europe's increasing significance in the companies’ business which now represents over 20% of its total revenue and continues to grow in significance. The top four European source markets for the company are Spain, UK, Italy, and France.  

• Spain: In the Spanish market, DidaTravel has witnessed an extraordinary surge in growth. Comparing year-to-date (YTD) 2023 sales figures with YTD 2019, the growth rate stands at an astounding 358%. Even comparing the same period of the previous year (2022), the growth rate is still a remarkable 182%. The top five destinations for the Spanish market booked via DidaTravel’s platform are the USA, Japan, Thailand, Italy and UAE.

 

• United Kingdom: The UK is another source market where DidaTravel is making a big impact. Its YTD 2023 sales growth rate versus 2019 stands at an impressive 341%, indicating a steady ascent in its influence in this important market. Even comparing to the year prior (2022), Dida has achieved a remarkable growth rate of 224%. The top five destinations for the UK market, include the USA, Italy, UK, Thailand and Turkey, highlighting the global appeal of DidaTravel's

 

• Italy: Italy has also witnessed a steady upward trajectory within DidaTravel's portfolio. YTD 2023, the growth rate versus 2019 hit 312%. And comparing 2022, DidaTravel posted a sales growth rate of 97%. The top five destinations for the Italian market, include Italy itself, USA, France, Spain and UK.

 

• France: DidaTravel's entry into the French market (which commenced after 2019), has been nothing short of remarkable with the growth rate comparing YTD 2022 standing at an impressive 356%. This rapid rise highlights the company's ability to establish a strong presence in new markets quickly. The top five destinations for French travellers are: France, USA, Italy, Spain and the UK.

  DidaTravel's growth rates across top European markets reflects not only the quality of Dida’s technology and product portfolio but also its client acquisition team which includes the following industry veterans:  

• Frank Wöller, VP of Business Development, EMEA leads the EMEA client acquisition team. Frank joined DidaTravel in April, focusing on new API client acquisition, with a special emphasis on the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.
• Patrice Vales, Sales Director South Europe. With over 30 years of experience in the tourism and tech industries, Patrice brings a wealth of knowledge to DidaTravel, having held key roles in various prestigious industry companies.
• Paul Riches: Serving as a sales consultant, Paul’s experience is helping to develop DidaTravel's client acquisition efforts across the UK and Ireland.
• Jessica Cifuentes: Jessica plays a key role as a Sales Development Representative for EMEA, contributing to the company's new client acquisition approach across the region.

  DidaTravel's flight business is also experiencing rapid growth. The company's product portfolio includes 500+ global airlines and 20,000+ routes. In the first nine months of 2023, the airline ticketing business saw remarkable growth, especially in its Asia, Europe, North America, and the UK markets with growth rates respectively of 388%, 195%, 188% and 174% quarter-on-quarter in Q3.   DidaTravel is thrilled to showcase this outstanding growth at WTM, underscoring its commitment to be a leading B2B travel distributor across Europe and worldwide. The company's dedication to leading technology, global expansion and customer satisfaction continues to drive its success.   Visit DidaTravel at WTM London, stand N10-311, from November 6th to November 9th, hosted at the ExCeL centre in London.

 

• DidaTravel announces hotel bookings surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 volumes by 93% this summer season.^*
• Global ADR (Average Daily Rate) has also increased by 35% YOY and surpassed 2019 level by 7% when comparing the same period.^*
• Return of traveller confidence with increasing booking lead times across all outbound markets globally.

  DidaTravel – a tech-driven global travel distribution company – reveals that their global hotel bookings for the summer season (June 1 - August 31) have already surpassed 2019 levels by an impressive 93% increase compared to the same period in 2019.   This surge in bookings signals Dida’s expansion and growth globally as well as the strong recovery of the wider hotel sector, including most recently the APAC region.   Summer Bookings Reach New Heights   When looking at reservations made for the August period through DidaTravel’s platform they have skyrocketed by 214% year-on-year, indicating a strong rebound in travel demand.   Meanwhile hotel bookings in European destinations have witnessed a remarkable 123% increase in reservations year-on-year for the June, July and August arrival period. While hotel bookings for the same period in destinations in the APAC, Middle East & Africa, and Americas have seen growth rates of 68%, 65%, and 16% respectively, contributing to the global recovery.   Average Daily Accommodation Rate (ADR) on the Rise   As a global average, the ADR has increased by 35% year-on-year for the period, surpassing 2019 levels by 7%.   However, APAC and Americas are trailing just below 2019 levels, with ADR year-on-year increases of 55% and 14% respectively.   Nonetheless Europe and the Middle East & Africa have exceeded 2019 levels, with ADR increases of 29% and 23% respectively year-on-year, showcasing a strong recovery in these regions.   Extended Advance Booking Window   With the relaxation of travel restrictions in APAC, travelers are displaying increased confidence to book hotels further in advance – rising to an average of 23 days from just 10 during the same period last year, and even surpassing the average of 21 days in 2019.   However, for other markets whilst the booking window has increased significantly it has still not returned to 2019 levels yet. For example Europe is at 31 days, up from 24 last year but below the 2019’s level of 41 days. Meanwhile Americas is at just 19 days, up from 12 last year but well below the 37 days of 2019. Finally, the Middle East & Africa is at 12 days, up from 8 last year but also below 2019’s level of 18.   Top Summer Destinations   Ranked by accommodation bookings.     Rikin Wu, CEO DidaTravel commented, “As the summer season progresses, the hospitality industry across APAC and worldwide has undergone a remarkable recovery. We are excited to witness such incredible growth numbers, even compared to pre-pandemic. This is testament to the success of Dida’s international expansion strategy as well as the wider rebound in both short-haul and intercontinental travel this summer.   “With the increasing confidence of travelers and the relaxation of travel restrictions in APAC we expect the positive trend in hotel bookings to continue."   *All figures quoted in this press release are based on DidaTravel's accommodation booking data for reservations made for the 2023 summer season of June, July and August.  

 

• Frank joins as VP of Business Development to further grow DidaTravel’s client base of travel distribution companies across the EMEA region.
• Over 50% of DidaTravel’s sales are now generated outside of APAC, offering hotel partners access to high-value incremental bookings from around the world.
• With almost 30 years of industry experience, Frank joins from Nezasa and has held senior commercial roles at Hotelbeds, GTA, Kuoni Destination Management and TUI.

  DidaTravel – a tech-driven global travel distribution company – has announced today that Frank Wöller has joined as VP of Business Development for EMEA to further strengthen and grow the company’s global position as a leading player in the accommodation distribution market.   In this newly created role Frank will be responsible for new API client acquisition in EMEA to help further grow DidaTravel’s current base of over 23,000 B2B buyers – including travel agents, tour operators, OTAs, TMCs and MICE – that already provide over 50% of all sales globally from outside of the company’s traditional APAC home.   Focusing in particular on the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy (while expanding into many other markets), Frank will ensure that the companies portfolio of over 51,500 competitively sourced direct hotel contracts – as well as 700,000 hotel products provided by 600+ global suppliers – gain access to high-value, hard-to-reach and incremental bookings from Europe’s most important outbound markets.   With almost 30 years of senior level experience in the travel industry, Frank joins from Nezasa where he was VP of Sales and has previously held senior commercial positions at industry leaders such as Hotelbeds, GTA, Kuoni Destination Management and TUI.   Rikin Wu, DidaTravel’s Founder & CEO comments: “We have had a long and very productive industry relationship with Frank over the years and we are very excited to now have him join the team. His relationships with the whole of the travel community across the EMEA region is first class and he is well known for his industry experience and expertise”   Whilst Frank Wöller, VP of Business Development for EMEA added: “Speaking as both a former partner and competitor, I have been a huge admirer of the company for many years and it gives me enormous pride to take on this important role just as travel looks set to outperform 2019 volumes. Leaving aside the unparalleled portfolio of directly contracted hotels around the world, the real differentiating factor for me here is the unbeatable technology and innovation that DidaTravel offers to all partners.”    This news follows the announcement late last year by DidaTravel of the launch of a B2B flight booking multi-GDS portal – including access to full-service carriers, low-cost carriers (LCCs), and new distribution capability (NDC) content – featuring 500+ airlines flying to more than 20,000 destinations around the world.

Global hotel wholesaler DidaTravel announced its latest senior appointment. Gareth Matthews joins as Chief Marketing Officer with responsibility for developing the company’s brand positioning, digital marketing and PR worldwide. Effective April 3 2023, it is a key role in scaling DidaTravel’s growth and global reach. Matthews is a marketing executive with over 22 years of experience in the travel and technology sectors. He held senior marketing leadership roles in both TUI Group and Hotelbeds, where he led international marketing teams. Rikin Wu, DidaTravel's founder and CEO said: "We are really pleased to have Gareth at this pivotal moment in our success story.” "I’m really excited to be joining a really dynamic, ambitious and fast-growing company,” Matthews said.  

 

• DidaTravel develops multi-GDS flight booking portal giving access to 500 plus airlines offering 20,000 destinations globally, including both legacy and low-cost carriers.
• Launch provides DidaTravel’s 23,000 B2B customers with the added option of combining flights and accommodation to boost their ancillary revenues using dynamic packaging.
• Jason Guan joins the company as Flight Business Unit General Manager, reporting directly to Rikin Wu, DidaTravel Founder & CEO.

  DidaTravel – A tech-driven integrated travel service provider – has today launched its B2B flight booking multi-GDS portal, including access to full-service carriers, low-cost carriers (LCCs), and new distribution capability (NDC) content.   DidaTravel’s 23,000 B2B buyers around the world – such as travel agents, tour operators, OTAs, TMCs and MICE – can now access flights from 500 plus airlines to fly to more than 20,000 destinations around the world.   Going forward clients will have the added option of combining flights with accommodation to boost their ancillary revenue thanks to dynamic packaging technology that also includes in-path and post-booking cross-selling tools.   Packaging of flights with accommodation is already available through the company’s new flight booking engine or as an XML / API integration, with dynamic packaging to be integrated at the end of 2022. In addition, currently there is an option for clients to query flight prices manually.   To lead this new area, Jason Guan – who joined DidaTravel last year – has now been appointed as Flight Business Unit General Manager, reporting directly to Rikin Wu, DidaTravel Founder & CEO. This new team consists of specialists with expertise in the area of system analysis and design, system architecture and modelling, development and coding, testing and implementation.   Rikin Wu, DidaTravel’s Founder & CEO comments: “Following years of partners asking for flight products, during COVID we put aside the time and resources to prepare for this properly and I´m excited that we are now ready to launch. Given our network of 23,000 B2B travel sellers globally and our unique dynamic packaging capabilities I feel confident that we will be able to grow and scale our flight business under the leadership of Jason.”   Jason Guan, DidaTravel’s Flight Business Unit General Manager added: “I am so pleased to join DidaTravel. We have put together a team of top-notch professionals to provide our 23,000 B2B travel selling clients with the best booking technology and customer support available. We have an ambitious expansion plan that adds value to all tourism stakeholders.”  

Global hotel wholesaler DidaTravel has expanded its partnership with Thailand based Centara Hotels & Resorts As part of the agreement, 48 of Centara Hotels & Resorts properties globally are now available to DidaTravel’s B2B buyers at preferred rates. Thirty-nine of these properties are in Thailand with the other 9 in Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. DidaTravel’s B2B buyers around the world will continue to gain access to real-time inventory from all of Centara Hotels & Resorts’ brands, including: Centara Reserve, Centara Grand, Centara, Centara Boutique Collection, Centra by Centara and COSI. The the expanded agreement will include closer cooperation on marketing campaigns such as online promotions and roadshows to help reach more offline travel sellers in China. Additionally, the hotel chain will now benefit from DidaTravel’s business intelligence (BI) reports to provide in-depth market data and insights. Through the partnering, the hotel chain expands its global B2B reach by 23,000 B2B buyers, including travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and TMCs. Rikin Wu, DidaTravel Founder & CEO said, “Through these special discount rates we´ll now be able to deliver Centara Hotels & Resorts even more incremental bookings from international travellers that are now starting to venture abroad again.” This deal forms part of DidaTravel’s plan to increase the number of directly contracted hotels by the end of 2022 to 74,000, with over 30 hotel chains already in the pipeline. DidaTravel’s B2B buyers are based in more than 50 source markets worldwide.

 

• DidaTravel’s travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and TMCs access special rates at 48 of Centara Hotels & Resorts’ properties globally.
• Centara Hotels & Resorts accesses DidaTravel’s 23,000 B2B buyers in 50 source markets globally, half of whom are now non-APAC.
• Deal also includes closer marketing cooperation and supply of business intelligence (BI) services.

  DidaTravel – a leading global hotel wholesaler – has today announced an expansion of a long-standing partnership with Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator who delivers gracious Thai service and family values.   As part of the agreement 48 of Centara Hotels & Resorts properties globally are now available to DidaTravel’s B2B buyers at special rates – with 39 of those properties in Thailand and the other 9 in Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.   Meanwhile DidaTravel’s B2B buyers around the world will continue to gain access to real-time inventory from all of Centara Hotels & Resorts’ brands, including: Centara Reserve, Centara Grand, Centara, Centara Boutique Collection, Centra by Centara and COSI.   Other important aspects of the expanded agreement will include closer cooperation on marketing campaigns such as online promotions and roadshows to help the hotel chain reach more offline travel sellers in China. Plus the hotel chain will now benefit from DidaTravel’s business intelligence (BI) reports to provide in-depth market data and insights on sales channels to target, along with accurate pricing suggestions.   Through partnering with DidaTravel, the hotel chain significantly expands its global B2B reach by accessing 23,000 B2B buyers, including travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and TMCs – who all together have helped DidaTravel become one of the top 12 suppliers of hotel bookings for the destination of Thailand, based on recent data from Siteminder.   Rikin Wu, DidaTravel Founder & CEO said, “Through these special discount rates we´ll now be able to deliver Centara Hotels & Resorts even more incremental bookings from the international travellers that are now starting to venture abroad again. A big part of the value we add at DidaTravel though also comes in the form of data and insights based on our BI services and we’re really excited that Centara Hotels & Resorts will be using these too.”   Tabatha Ramsay, Executive Vice President - Corporate Commercial of Centara Hotels & Resorts said, “We have gained great value out of partnership with DidaTravel since 2019 and recognize its significant ability to put heads on beds in Thailand (and other destinations) that might not otherwise have come. We are excited to start benefiting from DidaTravel’s BI technology to help us gain even more incremental sales and raise yields higher still.”   This deal forms part of DidaTravel’s recently announced plan to increase the number of directly contracted hotels by the end of 2022 to reach 74,000, with over 30 hotel chains already in pipeline.   DidaTravel’s B2B buyers are based in more than 50 source markets worldwide and over half of them are now based outside of APAC.   Such B2B buyers typically offer hotels incremental bookings from long-haul guests who often stay for longer, book further in advance, cancel less and spend more at the property.

  But is this because travellers are becoming more confident they can fulfill their journeys? Or are hoteliers just getting better at marketing non-refundable rooms for advanced booking? Data and anecdotal evidence from a range of companies in the accommodation distribution eco-system shows that perhaps both are true – but that there are some challenges, including on the technical side.   Rikin Wu, Founder and CEO of DidaTravel, a global bedbank with over 23,000 B2B clients such as travel agents and tour operators buying hotel accommodation, comments:   “We are seeing two very important trends emerge this year that might have seen unthinkable until only recently: firstly, non-refundable rates are making a come-back and secondly travellers are starting to book further in advance again.   “In the January to May 2019 period non-refundable was making up around 59% of our sales but that fell to just 26% in 2021. This year so far we’re seeing that figure at 32% and expect to see it steadily grow.   “Meanwhile advanced bookings in the 8-30 and 30+ days range in the January to April 2019 period were around 32% and 23% respectively, falling to just 10% and 2% in 2021. This year during those dates we’re seeing those figures back up to 14% and 7% respectively, with 20% and 7% in May – so still well below 2019, but massively up on last year.   “All of this is a strong reflection of the desire to travel from consumers and their confidence that they can fulfill a journey, based on conversations with our B2B buying clients such as travel agents and tour operators.   “But to a smaller extent credit must go to hoteliers for putting together compelling deals and pricing to entice the traveller back again – they are keen to see non-refundable rates return to pre-COVID levels and are we are seeing them pushing hard for this in our conversations with them.”   Ernesto Sigg, founder and partner at Fitbooktravel, a consultancy specialized in the hotel accommodation distribution space, adds that:   “Evidently there has always been demand on the hotelier side to return to non-refundable rates ASAP, but from the B2B distribution side of things – the bedbanks, wholesalers, business to agent platforms, re-sellers, channel managers and connectivity tech suppliers that make up the whole ecosystem of how the vast majority of hotel rooms are sold – there is a certain level of reluctance to do this.   “Why? Firstly as many still have unresolved disputes as to who will foot the bill for the 2020 no-shows on non-refundable rates – the OTAs and tour operators are claiming force majeure. So they don’t want to risk getting back into further disputes and potential liabilities, taking on that risk is definitely not in their model really.   “But from a tech perspective there’s also some challenges too. Switching off non-refundable wasn’t so easy, but they eventually worked out how to do it. Two years of software patches, upgrades, mergers and acquisitions resulting in transferring to new systems, integrations of new partners, new CIOs and so on later…well switching this back on isn’t so easy.   “Slowly but surely though non-refundable is creeping back as buyers such as travel agents and OTAs are open to that conversation again, but not least as hoteliers are pushing for it very hard. Generally speaking we’re seeing this crop up more and more in conversations with people asking us ‘how do I get the mix right and not miss out?’.”   Spencer Hanlon, Head of Travel at Nium, a payments technology provider helping OTAs, airlines and hotels with B2B payments, adds:   “We are now seeing the lowest levels of cancellations since COVID started. There were months in 2021 when that rate went over 40%, but this year it has been steadily declining and is now at just 1.74% – that is comparable to 2019.   “Let’s keep in mind that cancellations aren’t just a problem for a hotel because they don’t get paid or have to find another guest at short notice. In fact the whole refunding and updating their inventory challenge is a back-office pain that one-way-or-another costs them money and reduces certainty.   “So it’s no surprise really that now stability in cancellations has returned many want to go back to a model they’d been using for decades and they are finding ways to incentivize travellers to non-refundable rates via great deals and prices. We are likely to see more of this assuming there’s not more volatility from COVID or anything else rocking consumer desire to travel.”   Fabian Gonzalez, the founder and organizer of Forward_MAD, a luxury tourism conference that takes place in Madrid each year, comments that:   “Luxury hoteliers everywhere are definitely starting to push non-refundable rates again via deals and promotions as they would like to see the percentage return to pre-COVID levels – not least as in the luxury space travellers really can change plans quickly, leaving full-booked hotels suddenly fully empty for no apparent reason.   “The challenge these days is to minimize the impact of free cancellation policies 24h prior to arrival.  This is going to be a difficult challenge however as such luxury travellers have become used to refundable / pay on arrival rates and generally speaking as used to ‘pay on demand’ services for everything nowadays, including for transport.   “We will see an increase in ABS (Attribute Based Selling) strategies, and a mixture of pricing and exclusivity incentives is probably the way to go, for example there’s only one ‘Presidential Suite’ and if you don’t guarantee the hotel you´ll pay, they can’t guarantee you´ll get it! This is going to be a hot topic on the agenda at our upcoming conference for sure.”  

  Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Philippines are DidaTravel’s top five destination countries booked by B2B clients around the world.  

• Company has seen 460% increase in Southeast Asian hotel bookings made from January 1^st to April 30^th compared to last year – surpassing even 2019’s levels. ¹
• Over the last three years DidaTravel has extended its hotel portfolio in Southeast Asia by 44% -- to reach 28,000 properties.

  DidaTravel <https://www.didatravel.com/ ...> – a leading global hotel wholesaler – has today announced Southeast Asia growth and confirms Thailand as its top destination in the region for its B2B travel buying clients based all around the world.   At the country level Thailand leads the Southeast Asia market growth, with bookings up 324 percent in the January 1^st to April 30^th period of 2022 vs the same period last year.   Meanwhile, in descending order, Malaysia (+231% YOY), Singapore (+560% YOY), Indonesia (+378% YOY), Philippines (+965% YOY), and Vietnam (+303% YOY) have also seen a sharp increase in hotel bookings compared to the same period last year.   Overall, data from DidaTravel show that Southeast Asia hotel bookings have increased by 460% YOY, even surpassing the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 by a 15% increase.   At the same time, the top destinations / cities (as opposed to countries) booked by DidaTravel’s B2B buyers – such as travel agents, tour operators, OTAs, TMCs and MICE – are as follows:  

Top 20 Southeast Asian destinations for global travelers 2022 reserved via clients of DidaTravel
Rank	Destination
1	Bangkok, Thailand
2	Singapore
3	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4	Pattaya, Thailand
5	Bali, Indonesia
6	Phuket, Thailand
7	Manila, Philippines
8	Jakarta, Indonesia
9	Boracay Island, Philippines
10	George Town, Malaysia
11	Krabi, Thailand
12	Chiang Mai, Thailand
13	Bandung, Indonesia
14	Ipoh, Malaysia
15	Hua Hin, Thailand
16	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
17	Johor Bahru, Malaysia
18	Koh Samui, Thailand
19	Kuantan, Malaysia
20	Malacca, Malaysia

  As the demand for Southeast Asia hotel product continues to rise, DidaTravel has strategically added local rooms to its inventory. In the past three years, DidaTravel’s hotel numbers in Southeast Asia has kept double-digit growth to reach 44% -- taking the total number of hotels available in the region to 28,000, of which 3,712 hotels are directly contracted.   In part this growth has been driven by DidaTravel’s recently announced plan to increase the number of directly contracted hotels globally by end of 2022 to reach 74,000.   Rikin Wu, DidaTravel Founder & CEO said, “DidaTravel has had a rich local knowledge and strong contracting presence in Southeast Asia for a long time – so it is  very exciting to see growth in Southeast Asia as demand rebounds. I am optimistic about the travel industry in 2022 because we see the good sign that more and more destination countries’ easing travel restrictions across the region to bring back the much needed long-haul travellers who stay longer and spend more. We’ve been working hard hand-in-hand with our Southeast Asian hotelier partners to attract and welcome domestic and international travelers to their hotels and I´m proud to confirm we now have 28,000 hotels in the region, 3,712 of them directly contracted.”   ¹ All figures quoted in this press release refer to bookings made via DidaTravel during January 1^st to April 30^th in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

DidaTravel – a leading global hotel wholesaler – has today announced an entirely new partnership with Leonardo Hotels Central Europe.

  With this agreement, DidaTravel’s B2B buyers around the world gain access to real-time inventory from all of Leonardo Hotels Central Europe’s brands including: Leonardo Hotels, Leonardo Royal Hotels, Leonardo Boutique Hotels and NYX Hotels by Leonardo Hotels.   With over 15,000+ rooms available the company has a total of 88 properties in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Spain and Italy.   This deal will significantly expand the global B2B reach of Leonardo Hotels Central Europe, giving it access to DidaTravel’s 23,000 B2B buyers, including travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and TMCs. These buyers are based in more than 50 source markets worldwide and over half of them are now based outside of APAC.   Such B2B buyers typically offer hotels incremental bookings from long-haul guests who often stay for longer, book further in advance, cancel less and spend more at the property.   This deal forms part of DidaTravel’s recently announced plan to increase the number of directly contracted hotels by end of 2022 to reach 74,000, with over 30 hotel chains already in pipeline.   Rikin Wu, DidaTravel Founder & CEO said, “Leonardo Hotels Central Europe is one of the leading hotel chains in the region and we are very pleased to partner with a chain known for its high quality and service standards. We are confident that DidaTravel’s technology, experience and extensive global B2B network will help them attract incremental high-value, international travellers now that safe travel has returned.”   Sandra Dreher, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Leonardo Hotels Central Europe comments: “Leonardo Hotels Central Europe is looking forward to the new cooperation with DidaTravel and extending our distribution reach across a wider international pool. We are convinced that our portfolio is an attractive new addition for the extensive network of travel buyers and believe that this agreement will produce further synergies for both partners.”

DidaTravel – a leading global hotel wholesaler – has today announced ambitious plans for the continuation of its successful direct contracting strategy.

As part of this the company plans to double the number of directly contracted hotels by the end of the year, reaching 74,000 hotel properties around the world available to its clients – up from around 37,000 hotel properties at the end of 2021.

This plan forms part of a successful pivot to direct contracting over the last few years led by DidaTravel’s Senior Vice President, Abba Lee, who is based in Hong Kong and joined the company in March 2019.

With over 140 global, regional and local hotel chains and more than 3,000 independent hotels in various destinations already in partnership with DidaTravel, Abba and his team is has a pipeline of more than 30 worldwide hotel chains and over 2,000 major hotels ready to connect in 2022.

Under his leadership further direct contracting effort and focus will be deployed in key popular destinations to fulfill targeted growth in the next three years in the UAE, UK, France and Italy – as well as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Korea within the APAC region.

With a strong distribution roadmap in place, hotel partners will benefit from access to not only B2B clients in China and the wider APAC region – which the company is well known for – but also in Europe, the USA and the Middle East, which together now represent 50% of all sales.

Hotels can easily access over 23,000 hard-to-reach B2B clients such as airline websites and loyalty schemes, bank loyalty programs, mobile and social media platforms and applications – plus travel agencies, tour operators, wholesalers, OTAs, and travel management companies (TMCs).

Rikin Wu, DidaTravel Founder & CEO said, “Abba and his team are doing a fantastic job ensuring that our directly contracted hotel partners gain exclusive access to the sales channels and source markets best suited to them. But they are also great at giving hotel partners access to our technical strengths and expertise, such as our network of the best hotel technology connectivity partners and leading content mapping solutions.”

Abba Lee, Senior Vice President, Sourcing at DidaTravel comments: “As the recovery of tourism has begun, more and more hotels are showing interest in the benefits of a direct contract relationship with DidaTravel. This is the best time ever to be connected and prepared for the full recovery, in particular the opening of China outbound when that eventually happens. Apart from promoting their hotel rooms, this year we will be adding value to partners by providing them with more in-depth market data & insights via our upcoming BI reports. By doing so, we can work closely with hotels to come up with the best strategies for targeting the right sales channels and accurate pricing suggestions along with the right marketing tools.