TravelgateX makes strides towards global expansion with Fliggy deal

The Spanish accommodation digital marketplace will provide its hotel inventory to the Alibaba-owned Chinese OTA

by Aidan Poole

B2B accommodation digital marketplace TravelgateX has reached a deal with Chinese OTA Fliggy as the firm expands globally.

The tie-up allows Alibaba-owned Fliggy access to TravelgateX’s worldwide hotel inventory using a real-time connection, providing the OTA’s users with accommodation options between the hotel portfolios of both companies.

The agreement makes Fliggy’s customer base accessible to hospitality industry players across the globe.

TravelgateX uses a single connection to link buyers and sellers of hotel inventory, meaning that any company in its network can seamlessly interact regardless of size or technology.

The Spanish firm’s platform has grown to include over one thousand partners to simplify B2B connectivity and integrate API connection to search, compare and book travel products since it was founded in 2012.

Pedro Camara, founder and chief executive of TravelgateX, said: “We are on a mission to democratize the travel industry globally.

“We are excited to work with Fliggy, which operates on a platform model to serve both merchants and consumers, to help expand its accommodation offerings for travelers looking for value and a seamless hotel booking experience while also enhancing the consumer reach of sellers in our network.”

Foong, Hak Ming, head of overseas hotel business of Fliggy, said: “We hope to contribute to the recovery of the global travel industry by leveraging the power of digital platforms to connect consumers, global partners and travel services.

“Through our collaboration with TravelgateX, Fliggy now has greater access to hotel supplies to serve the future travel needs of consumers on our platform.

“We believe this will be a fruitful collaboration for years to come.”

Fliggy operates under the Alibaba Group to provide reservation and fulfilment for travel products and services including transportation, accommodation and tourist attractions to meet diverse consumer needs.

More than 35 million users bought outbound travel services from Fliggy prior to COVID during 2019.

The company now provides users with access to services from over 400 airlines and over 200,000 hotels worldwide that support its Post Pay service, allowing participating consumers to reserve hotel rooms without a deposit and receive express check-out service.