Qunar Joins Ongoing Open Platform Fight

Chinese online travel company Qunar launched a new cloud-based open platform recently, opening its data, access, resources, supply chain, customers, and capital to the entire travel industry.

In terms of capital support, Qunar announced that it will provide a combined RMB1 billion (around US$161 million) incubation funding for projects under the platform. “We will offer RMB500,000 of funding for teams that are starting with budding ideas, and the investment is higher for teams with more mature products”, according to Qiu Hui, head of platform. (source in Chinese) He added that developers can decide whether they want to receive capital in exchange for equity or as loans with low interest rates.

The new platform will integrate user behavioral data and general industry data from Qunar, helping airline companies to optimize air routes and ticket prices, as well as providing better customer solutions and support to suppliers. Access for transaction management, fare policy management, financial management and other services can be used to improve efficiency.

Qunar will also open its customer service, operational, and technology resources for all users. The open supply chain includes all of Qunar’s operation of air tickets, train tickets, hotels, resorts, taxis, and so on. The opening of Qunar’s customers will enable customers to do directional marketing and client purchasing.

Chinese IT triumvirate Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent have all launched open platforms to share their resources in a bid to attract more developers and to improve their industrial ecosystem.