Beijing, – Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) today announced that its online travel business, Taobao Travel (trip.taobao.com) will become an independent business and brand named “Alitrip” (去啊). Like Taobao Marketplace, Tmall.com and Juhuasuan, “Alitrip” will be another marketplace platform under Alibaba Group with a new independent web domain www.alitrip.com.
“This initiative is part of our Group’s ‘Live @ Alibaba’ vision to diversify the company’s products and services and become central to the everyday lives of consumers. This independent online travel platform is a logical extension of Alibaba Group’s strategy and we are excited for the opportunity to build Alitrip into a leading platform for China’s online travel sector. Alitrip will enrich our ecosystem and create value for users by providing them with high-quality service and an array of new functions,” said Li Shaohua, general manager of Alitrip.
Alitrip currently has over 10,000 merchants on its platform providing airplane tickets, vacation packages, hotel booking services, visa application services and tour guide services. This, in combination with Alitrip’s online payment infrastructure and customer protection scheme, differentiates Alitrip from other online travel sites.
Mr. Li also commented, “Traditionally, online travel businesses have always focused on the sales of travel products, while a large unmet demand for travel services remains. We aim to elevate the online travel sector to a higher level through Alitrip’s service offerings.”
Going forward, Alitrip will focus on four strategic areas, among which mobile and service offerings are its top priorities.
Mobile services – The Alitrip mobile app will combine all service functionalities that can be useful while traveling. Apart from easy cancellation of previous bookings, Alitrip customers can also book taxis, as well as set up flight seat preferences, which will automatically choose their preferred seats once tickets are purchased. Additionally, in order to attract and capture more mobile traffic, Alitrip will offer mobile promotions after this year’s Singles Day (November 11), including certain flight tickets for just one RMB.
Product and service innovation – Alitrip will continually seek opportunities to enhance its service and product offerings through technology and innovation. For example, Alitrip customers can utilize a feature to pre-order and reserve travel products through their Yu’e Bao account, a money market product. The money they use for purchases will remain in their Yu’e Bao account and continue to generate interest until the confirmation of the transactions. Alitrip customers can also check into hotels without using credit cards for payment guarantee, by providing their Alipay account information for automatic fee deduction at the end of their stay.
Platform expansion – Hong Kong’s flagship air carrier Cathay Pacific Airlines and Asia’s leading hotel-booking site Agoda.com have signed agreements to join Alitrip ahead of the popular annual Singles Day shopping festival on November 11. Alitrip will work towards bringing additional leading airlines, travel agents and third-party service providers to join the thousands of merchants already operating on the platform.
Consumer protection – In order to provide customers with security and convenience, Alitrip will offer no-questions-asked refunds to consumers for tickets or hotel reservations within one hour. In order to protect consumers’ interests, Alitrip will also operate a RMB100 million consumer protection fund through which refunds can be allocated back to its customers right away.
Alitrip will be an integral part of Alibaba Group’s ecosystem, offering a wide range of vacation travel products and services from leading travel service providers.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.
Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:
Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination
Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest online third-party platform for brands and retailers
Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel booking platform
AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
Alibaba Cloud Computing (www.aliyun.com), a leading provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs
Alibaba Group also provides payment and/or escrow services on its marketplaces through its contractual arrangements with Ant Financial Services Group, a related company of Alibaba Group which operates Alipay (www.alipay.com).
Through China Smart Logistics (or Zhejiang Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd.), a 48%-owned affiliate, Alibaba Group operates a central logistics information system that connects a network of express delivery companies in China.
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