Qiito, Singapore-based travel inspiration portal has launched its first revenue generating feature - the ability to
book bed and breakfast accommodation.
Qiito calls this accommodation 'Minsu' - the Taiwanese equivalent of bed-and-breakfast.
Quick, Interesting & Interactive Travel Organizer (QIITO) provides an online portal for users to give their recommendations, write reviews, tips and post pictures about destinations.
Qiito is a travel discovery and planning platform by the users for the users.
The company was founded by Chuang Pel-Han in 2011 and it launched its alpha-version in April 2012 after securing $1.75 million in early stage funding from
Lunar Asia Investments.
Since its launch, the company has become a popular portal for travelers seeking information about destinations and it attracts six digit monthly unique visitors.
Qiito has taken the logical step of monetizing its huge website traffic, ~190,000 Facebook fans and 18,500+ destinations in its portal.
The portal lists minsu accommodation from Taiwan and Japan where it has 115 and 19 properties respectively to choose from.
With this move, Qiito is getting into a similar business model of vacation rental providers such as
Travelmob,
TheVillaGuide,
Roomorama, and
Flipkey.
Qiito has also been establishing partnerships with players to promote its brand and attract users to its site,
- Partnership with Singapore's low cost carrier Scoot, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Singapore Office and Taiwan Visitors Association Singapore Office to promote stopover routes between Taiwan and Japan.
As part of this partnership, travelers booking a Scoot flight will be eligible up to 50% discount in booking an accommodation in Qiito.
- Partnership with Nikon, Taiwan Tourism Board and TransAsia in organizing a month-long photography contest (that's concluding today) about Taiwan. Looks like this initiative and Qiito's Taiwan Minsu booking feature on site complement each other.