CapitaLand’s wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), will make available its global network of serviced residences on Alitrip, an online travel service platform under Chinese e-commerce giant the Alibaba Group.
Claiming it is a first for any serviced residence company, the partnership will allow Ascott to deepen access to more than 100 million Chinese travellers currently served by Alitrip.
Ascott already has 24 of its China properties with 4,300 apartment units available for booking by Alitrip users through a directly operated online flagship store.
It will list its global network of more than 26,000 apartment units operating in over 60 cities on the online travel platform by June this year.
Ascott CEO Lee Chee Koon said: "Ascott is delighted to be the world’s first serviced residence company to form this global partnership with Alitrip. Chinese travellers can look forward to even more travel options on our Alitrip store, when Ascott doubles our portfolio to 80,000 units globally by 2020."
Saying that the Chinese market is already contributing to Ascott’s business worldwide, Koon added that the Chinese tourists are amongst Ascott’s top customers at its properties globally with revenue surging by 36% year-on-year.
He added: "Our serviced residences are ideal for Chinese families who enjoy the privacy of individual bedrooms and the convenience of a kitchen within a spacious apartment."
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This partnership follows the company's investment in Tujia.com International, China’s largest online apartment sharing platform where Ascott properties outside of China will also be available for booking by first quarter of this year.
Koon said as Chinese travellers become increasingly tech-savvy and independent, "they prefer to customise their travel itineraries, with more than 70% of outbound travellers in 2014 booking trips on their own rather than joining tour groups, we foresee further growth in independent travellers".
Ascott managing director for North Asia Kevin Goh added: "Since opening Ascott’s online store on Alitrip with our properties in China in August 2015, we have seen high traffic and strong sales. By directly managing Ascott’s online store on Alitrip we are able to be nimble in running promotions such as special offers to drive Ascott Online Advantage member sign-ups and the sale of cash vouchers for subsequent reservations. We are positive that the partnership will allow Ascott to tap on the growing segment of tech-savvy, independent travellers.”
Goh said that customers who book their stays with Ascott through Alitrip can use the “Post Post Pay” service at the China properties, to be followed by global properties this year.
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