Ctrip signs deal with MHR

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Dubai: Ctrip.com International, one of China’s largest integrated travel services companies (Ctrip), has signed an agreement with upscale global hoteliers Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) to develop a global distribution strategy promoting MHR properties to Ctrip’s 300 million strong customer base.

The agreement was announced jointly at ITB Berlin by David Zhou, Chief Business Officer for Accommodation Business Unit of Ctrip and Nayan Peshkar, MHR Senior Vice President - Digital, Distribution & Revenue Strategy.

It marks the start of an alliance enabling Ctrip to offer MHR’s iconic portfolio of hotels in the USA, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia to its China-based business and leisure travel clients. Through the aegis of a strategic collaboration agreement, MHR will partner with Ctrip’s membership programme, which will certify its properties as “Chinese Friendly Hotels” and enable them to benefit from Ctrip’s influential ranking system. MHR and Ctrip will also work towards customer initiatives such as the launching of a flagship store on Ctrip’s digital platforms, joint marketing campaigns as well as knowledge sharing and cross exposure programmes for team members.

Ctrip is the number one platform for Chinese nationals travelling overseas. About one in four Chinese citizens use Ctrip to book and search for outbound flight tickets, making it the world’s largest outbound travel platform. According to Ctrip’s 2018 Travel Report, its customers’ top destinations are England, France, Germany, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, and USA, all of which are home to hotels owned or operated by MHR and its associates.