Tag: Australia

Tapping into LATAM: Europe’s Strategic Move

→ Subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly curation of the top travel news, straight to your inbox. Here is your weekly overview of the top news on travel innovation, trends and startups: Europe’s gateway to growth? Air France-KLM is interested in a possible deal with TAP Air Portugal, taking advantage of TAP’s strong position and connections […]

COVID-19 makes Australian skiing even more expensive in 2020

Thredbo has become the first Australian ski resort to reveal its pricing for season 2020, increasing the cost of a daily lift ticket by 20 per cent to $159 a day. Sounds outrageous at a time of hardship and unemployment for many, however the steep price hike is no doubt down to the fact that […]

Hotel tech company ReZme launches $800,000 crowd funding capital raise

Hospitality tech startup ReZme has launched an $800,000 capital raise to build out its website design, management and online marketing platform, which the founders claim will help operators increase direct bookings. reZme was founded by Matt Taylor, former GM of Marketing at Choice Hotels Asia-Pacific, and and digital marketer Luke Young late last year. It’s aiming to […]

Booking.com softens rate parity stance in Australia

Booking.com has made major concessions to its controversial rate parity policy in Australia following negotiations with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission but will still not allow hoteliers to offer cheaper rates on their own websites. In an email this week, Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans advised Australian hoteliers that from September 1 the world’s largest […]

Big changes as Qantas restructures business and staff

In major news, the Qantas Group will split Qantas Airlines into separate domestic and international businesses from July 1, while there have been numerous staff changes, including the resignation of Jetstar boss Bruce Buchanan after nine years with the low cost carrier he helped create. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “Qantas Domestic is strong […]

Anton Stanish, Regional Director Australia and NZ, HomeAway

Anton is HomeAway’s Director for Australia and NZ, responsible for all of their businesses in the region, which include the Stayz, Bookabach, YesBookit and HomeAway brands. He led the Stayz team through the sale of the business by Fairfax Media to HomeAway in 2013, and is excited to now be part of the leading online vacation rental marketplace […]

Tourism Australia Marketing goes walkabout

By Julian Lee, Media and Marketing Editor, Sydney Morning Herald IMAGINE if Baz Luhrmann had cast Paul Hogan in the Come Walkabout tourism campaign. If the stressed-out executive played by Sybilla Budd was depicted cavorting in a billabong as Crocodile Dundee looked on. As she emerges, transformed by the calming experience of the cool waters, […]

Stefan Cordiner, Regional Director, HotelTonight

Stefan Cordiner, a Sydney-born serial tech entrepreneur, claims to be revolutionising the way people travel as the Regional Director for the leading hotel booking app HotelTonight. Stefan has a strong background in creating and growing technology ventures, most recently as co-Founder of  a global digital concierge app called “Lime&Tonic” which he successfully built out across five countries. He […]

Ryan Tuckerman, Group Director Sales & Marketing, Art Series Hotels

Ryan Tuckerman is the Director of Sales & Marketing for Art Series Hotels in Melbourne (The Olsen, The Blackman & The Cullen). Ryan has also held senior sales roles at Sofitel Melbourne and Stamford Plaza Melbourne including Reservations & Yield Manager and Sales Manager – International. Ryan has a strong background in all market segments, […]

Rezdy raises another $3m and there’s more on the way

Sydney company Rezdy has raised a further $3m to fuel growth in North America, opening a second US office in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The company said: “This was an interim round to fund acceleration in the international growth of Rezdy ahead of a larger equity round later next year.” Grand Prix Capital, which first invested […]

Ray Stone, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia

Ray Stone commenced his career in hospitality in London. Ray’s career in hospitality, sales and marketing spans more than 35 years with Hilton, Westin, Shangri-La and Accor, where he held Director of Sales and Marketing and Vice President Corporate Marketing roles with Westin Hotels in the United States. Ray worked for Accor, for six years […]

Randall Deer, Managing Director, Ignite Travel Group

Randall Deer – Managing Director of Ignite Travel Group – is a multiple award-winning entrepreneur who has yielded exceptional success and growth for his innovative travel and tourism marketing company as he continues to challenge traditional travel practices. After completing a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance & Accounting) at the University of Adelaide at the age […]

Outdoorsy expands to Australia

Jeff Cavins is something of an anomoly – a person who runs a ‘sharing economy’ business, Outdoorsy, and promotes the fact that  some people using his Recreational Vehicle and caravan marketplace are ‘power sellers’ he says can turn over millions of dollars a year through the site. “Just like Airbnb, we’ve seen the emergence of power […]

Most leading Australian accommodation websites are US owned

Most of Australia’s best-selling accommodation websites are owned by US corporations, according to research from SiteMinder.  Online channel analyst Duncan Waterman said: “The rapid rise of international sites like Expedia, Booking.com and Agoda in the Australian market really stood out. Some of the local online players unfortunately haven’t capitalised effectively on their early entrance into the market.”  The top 10 […]