Singapore – Travel and leisure booking platform Klook has some good news for both its consumers and operators as it will now be expanding the presence of its partner destination brands with a new integration into Google’s ‘Things to do’. 

‘Things to do’ is Google’s display feature that allows consumers to discover, plan and compare prices across activities and attractions around the world. It also allows for the availability of products to be updated and booked in real-time through a partner’s website. 

The integration will now be part of Klook’s digital suite of offerings for travel operators which will enable them to operate as an official site listing on Google Things to do.

Klook’s CCO Wilfred Fan said that the new integration is part of Klook’s commitment to equip and support travel operators with advanced capabilities and tools to achieve online success.

“With the integration of Google Things to do, we continue to build on our strong momentum of digitizing the travel experiences sector and supporting the digital transformation of operators,” said Fan. 

The platform said that more than anything, the new digital offering is a big boost to online consumer engagement without having to do with sophisticated technological development efforts. Furthermore, Klook said that by leveraging the company’s proprietary digital solutions, operators will be able to manage their prices, ticketing, inventory management, and even marketing, while Klook manages the technology from API integration to payment enablement.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – To show support for the vaccination movement, there has recently been a bandwagon of brands offering attractive discounts to individuals that will be fully vaccinated. This is in hopes of cushioning the level of vaccine hesitancy that is obviously present in different nations. 

On the side of travel brands, booking platform in Asia, Agoda, has today piloted a campaign ‘Vaxxed To Go’ in Malaysia that would see its accommodation partners incentivizing fully vaccinated travelers special travel deals and benefits. 

Through this campaign, Agoda hopes to galvanize others in the travel and hospitality industry to come together and play a part in helping the country return to normalcy. Agoda said that the current campaign is in support of Malaysia’s nationwide immunization drive.

The ‘Vaxxed To Go’ campaign follows the implementation of Malaysia’s National Recovery Plan (NRP), which places vaccination as one of the three key threshold indicators to determine the gradual re-opening of economic and social activities.

With Agoda’s Vaxxed To Go initiative, accommodation providers will be able to get behind the national vaccination effort and benefit from bookings from travelers who are vaccinated and looking for safe ways to travel. 

Hotel partners that will be joining the campaign will be able to benefit from the support of Agoda’s comprehensive marketing efforts for the campaign which expects increased visibility and exposure to participating properties. 

Engagement will span across a range of marketing channels including social media, banner promotions, and pop-ups. One of the benefits as well for brands is that consumers will be able to easily browse through their ideal ‘Vaxxed to Go’ packages through dedicated landing pages. 

Cleland Robertson, Agoda’s country director for Malaysia and Brunei, commented that after months of lockdown and movement restrictions, many Malaysians are no doubt looking forward to traveling again as it becomes safe to do so. Robertson said that Malaysians have always had a healthy appetite for travel, and so with the concept of ‘Vaxxed To Go’, Agoda hopes to encourage more Malaysians to feel safe and confident to travel again, and to get their COVID-19 vaccinations. 

“Aside from safeguarding public health, increased inoculation rates will be crucial in kickstarting the recovery of the nation’s economy as a whole and particularly that of the travel and hospitality sector. Agoda also hopes to inspire other industry players to play their part in helping Malaysia achieve herd immunity as soon as possible,” said Robertson.

Discounts within the campaign will also have value-added perks such as room upgrades, or food and beverage discounts. Properties may also list special packages for on-site experiences, from resort activities to spa and wellness deals.

“Vaxxed To Go’ is an extension of the Agoda Special Offers offering, which was launched in May in several other markets. Malaysia is only its pilot market for the campaign, and Agoda said that it aims to roll out ‘Vaxxed To Go’ in more markets in the coming months.