OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT
- To know more about a particular e-business model, namely, e-commerce transaction broker
- How it operates, and its main features that separates it from other e-business models
- E.g. Online retail stores (Amazon) and services (PayPal, Nets, Sistic), compared with transaction broker (in our case study here, AsiaWebDirect.com)
INTRODUCTION
- What is a transaction broker?
- "The Transaction Broker crafts a transaction by bringing a willing buyer and a willing seller together and assists with the closing of details. The Transaction Broker is not a fiduciary of any party, but must abide by law as well as professional and ethical standards." -- Wikipedia.com
- About AsiaWebDirect.com
- Links consumers (i.e. potential travelers) with business partners (i.e. hotels)
- Since February 2008, part of Australia-based Wotif Group which operates leading online travel brands within Asia Pacific region
- Some statistics:
1) Hotels and resorts available on site: 55,000 (mainly in Asia)
2) Visitor count per month: 2.4 million
3) Total room nights booked per month: 29,000I. Purpose of AsiaWebDirect.com
II. Features
III. Designs
IV. Security and Privacy
V. StrengthsVI. Weaknesses
VII. Evaluation
- Provide local valuable and reliable links to travelers
- Excellent deals and promotions made available -- through user-friendly yet secure website
- B2B (business-to-business) platform
- Easy-to-use extranet facilities: hotels have full control of rates and room allocations
- No set-up costs
- Receive booking details online and via email immediately
a) Hotels: Best accommodation deals selected by AWD's own PR team to be promoted to media (i.e. it is a PR and marketing exposure for companies)
b) Tour companies: professional team recommend tours directly to consumers who make enquiries
- B2C (business-to-consumer) platform
- Easy and secured online payment via credit card
- Hotel Quickfinder:
- Online travel recommendations categorized into different areas of interests:
- E.g. Recommended tourist attractions, nightlife, restaurants, leisure activities and, family and kids
- General useful information provided:
- Last minute deals in sister website, latestays.com
- Only hotel rooms and rates for the next twenty eight days are up for reservations
- Travelers seeking urgent stay can secure a room at an attractive price
- Tour/ SuperSaver packages:
- Private tour packages upon request
- Broad variety to choose from: city, nature, health and fitness, cruise, adrenaline-rush
- Extra features:
- Currency converter: simple and convenient usage as there is no need for an extenal website reference
- Forum: allows discussion and interaction between fellow travelers instead of just relying on AWD's website for enquiries
- Help and Support:
- Free email of AWD's newsletter on new promotions and deals
- Option for Japanese language in selected countries, e.g. Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, which have a substantial amount of Japanese tourists per month
III. Designs
- Main colours are pleasant to the eyes:
- Pink headers
- Black font against white back drop
- Flash pictures and advertisements at side bars
- Segmented areas facilitating search according to categories
IV. Security And Privacy
- Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS):
- Combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with the SSL protocol to provide encryption and
secure identification of the server
- Often used for payment transactions on the World Wide Web and for sensitive transactions in
corporate information systems
- Personal details are being encrypted before any transmissions
- SSL Security Certificate: issued by Thawte Server CA, a Verisign Company
- AWD does NOT pass on credit card details to any parties, including hotels:
- This minimizes any Man-In-The-Middle attacks, sometimes known as Janus Attacks
- This is aligned with AWD's business philosophy on work ethics and responsibilty
V. Strengths
- Comprehensive search:
- FAQ
- Advertorials
- Guest ratings, popularity, hotel information (facilities/amenities, rates, images)
- Specialisation in Asia:
- Ideal for travelers keen to visit Asia
- Extensive details with over 55,000 hotels to choose from
- Focused scope in Asia leads to more knowledge of the region, thus, having a higher reliability and more competitive deals (unlike a "Jack of all trades, master of none" company)
- Free online travel guide and maps: Hassle-free as there is no need to buy/borrow a travel guide
- Clear and concise policies on reservations (i.e. booking policy and how it works)
- Stringent hotel selections protects consumer rights (credibility of hotels are in checks):
- Should a hotel or services are not available, AWD will endeavor to remedy the case by offering alternative services
VI. Weaknesses
- Limited alternative language provided (i.e. only in English and Japanese)
- Only hotels promotions: Does not include airfares or insurance services (unlike Zuji)
- AWD's "outside Asia" options are almost redundant as search functions are disabled
- This clogs apt information and can be misleading to the web users
- Limited form of payments: only VISA and Mastercard are accepted
- Disorganised information: Too many advertorials and promotions can be messy
VII. Evaluation
- How to overcome weaknesses:
- Offer more languages (e.g. German, French which are widely used in the West and Chinese) and throughout the entire website
- Just specialise in Asia and remove "outside Asia" options
- Offer PayPal as another mode of payment
- Suggested further improvements:
-Tie up with air tickets broker(e.g.Zuji
) to provide airfares, and insurance web such as WorldNomads.com
)
) to provide airfares, and insurance web such as WorldNomads.com
) - Consumer loyalty programme such as special rates for regular customers who make reservations via AWD
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