As WiT Singapore 2018 took its first steps Through the Looking Glass at Marina Bay Sands this morning, Robert Rosenstein (co-founder & chairman, Agoda) sat in the hot seat to reflect upon how the travel industry has evolved in his years running Agoda.

In a past interview, Rosenstein described travel as a “market of monsters, copycats and startups”. Fast forward to today and Rosenstein stands by what he said, arguing that he still believes it is a fair assessment of the industry today.

The key difference being that many of the companies that were just starting out in the travel space have stayed long enough to become the monsters themselves. Agoda being its own example.

“Everybody is interested in the travel space and the big story we’re all following is… it all started with disruption by adding inventory to the mix that didn’t exist before… and then it became about disrupting the technology itself,” said Rosenstein.

Out of that technological disruption came the emergence of “super apps” or ‘single ecosystem’ apps that are working to bundle multiple experiences and services into a single platform. Grab and Gojek are key examples of this – offering food delivery, ride hailing and more through their app.

But Rosenstein took a critical view of this by asking, “Are we really changing behaviour or putting everything together to make the most of already addressable markets?”

Perhaps the move is less innovative than it is opportunistic, when considering this view. Though seeing how these businesses develop from this stage will be what truly marks their success.

Read the full article here.