November 6, 2023, Tokyo – Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced that Rakuten Travel Xchange, the Group’s accommodation wholesale service, has begun offering hotel accommodations to Lion Travel, one of the largest travel agencies in Taiwan. The collaboration enables Lion Travel to sell a wide range of Rakuten Travel Xchange accommodations, including hotels and vacation rental properties registered to Rakuten Travel, one of Japan’s leading online travel agencies (OTA).
Rakuten Travel Xchange is a hotel accommodation wholesale and travel technology service providing travel retailers around the world with easy access to hotel rates and inventories through a single source platform. Through its vast network of partnerships with hotel chains, wholesalers, channel managers and other large OTAs around the world, Rakuten Travel Xchange provides access to some 700,000 unique hotel and vacation rental properties worldwide, including 20,000 directly contracted properties in 200 countries and regions. Travel retailers can manage their entire hotel inventory needs from a single API connection via a tailored web portal or template solutions, or its Travel Agent Portal, without spending valuable resources on integrating multiple supply partners.
Lion Travel was founded in 1977 and has grown to become one of Taiwan’s leading travel agencies. Through this collaboration, Rakuten Travel Xchange aims to increase bookings from customers in Taiwan via access to Lion Travel’s direct users and other Taiwanese travel agents that have distribution partnerships with Lion Travel. Meanwhile, Lion Travel will gain access to a wide range of Japanese accommodations registered to Rakuten Travel and other properties Rakuten Travel Xchange sources from suppliers worldwide.
Munekatsu Ota, CEO of Rakuten Travel Xchange, said “We are excited to partner with Lion Travel, a leading travel agency in Taiwan. With our global footprint deep-rooted in Asia as well as our leadership position in the Japanese travel market, we will actively promote travel from Taiwan to other countries, especially Japan, offering highly preferential rates and properties.”
Lin Shuzhen, General Manager of Lion Travel's FIT Component Products Department, said “Through this collaboration, Lion Travel looks forward to gaining access to various Japanese accommodations listed on Rakuten Travel, as well as other properties procured by Rakuten Travel Xchange from third-party suppliers worldwide. Rakuten Travel Xchange can increase the volume of bookings from Taiwan through Lion Travel's direct customers and other Taiwanese travel agencies that have established distribution partnerships with Lion Travel, creating a mutually beneficial alliance.”
Learn more about Rakuten Travel Xchange here: https://solutions.travel.rakuten.com