Global top OTA fires China director
>> ChinaTravelNews learned that Booking.com, the world's biggest online travel agency, has ousted its head of China unit. Marsha Ma, Vice President of Booking.com and Managing Director of Booking.com China, has stepped down.
A source told ChinaTravelNews that the independent business unit in China will be restructured and report to the company Asia-Pacific and global heads.
OYO is cutting 60% of its China staff
>> Indian hotel chain OYO is planning to lay off 60% of its workforce in China as it struggles to contend with a number of setbacks including the covid-19 virus which has immobilized the country for weeks.
The layoff scale will vary by business division, from 70%-80% of the tech team to 60%-70% of business development teams, the source told TechNode.
Airbnb’s plan for 2020 stock listing imperiled
>> Airbnb has been working toward a stock market debut this year and was looking to start the process around March or April, according to a Bloomberg report. That kickoff could get pushed back. With consumers and businesses canceling travel plans around the globe, Airbnb’s plan is at risk of slipping into 2021.
China's ski industry to take a $1.1B hit
>> China's short-term ski industry losses amid the coronavirus outbreak could exceed RMB 8 billion, or USD 1.1 billion, according to a China Daily report. The country has been gearing up in a big way to host to 2022 Winter Olympics.
The number of people who will go skiing in China this season is forecast to fall by 47% to around 11 million, according to an industry report.
Australian hotels face ruin if virus impact worsens
>> Australian tourism bosses have warned that hotels could be forced out of business if the coronavirus outbreak continues to severely restrict visitor numbers. Hotels in Cairns and the Gold Coast – both destinations supported by large numbers of visitors from China, South Korea and Japan – are advertising rooms at half the normal tariff this week.
US to see 6% fewer international visitors
>> The US Travel Association forecasted that the nation will see a 6% year on year drop in international inbound travelers over the next three months. The drop is the sharpest in the index’s five year history, and would be the biggest drop in such arrivals since the 2008 financial crisis.
HotelPlanner expects Asia bookings to fall 80%
>> Group booking site HotelPlanner.com, which has seen bookings in Asia fall 60% so far this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, could see a further 20% fall in business, a top executive and co-owner of the website said. HotelPlanner provides group booking tools for companies such as Expedia Group and gets about 20% of revenue from Asia. The company said business to China has "essentially stopped".
State-controlled airline unit in ownership reform
>> A wholly-owned unit of China Southern Airlines, the first of the country's state-owned carriers to unveil mixed-ownership reform plans in 2016, intends to transfer half of its shares to bring in two to four strategic investors.
TUI will cut budgets, freeze hiring
>> European travel giant TUI Group has outlined a series of measures it intends to take to cope with the potential disruption to its holiday business from the coronavirus outbreak, including keeping control of costs through budget cuts, hiring freezes, and the postponement of non-critical projects.
