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" On the one hand, you have markets such as Singapore and Thailand, with an extremely strong inbound booker market and a well-developed tourism industry. You also have markets that are just opening up to tourists, like Myanmar, that have massive growth potential and then markets that are extremely fragmented within themselves such as Indonesia. "

Gillian Tans

You

Growth

" Whether you are checking luggage or bringing a carry-on, always weigh and measure your bags to make sure they are below the airline's size and weight restrictions. Excess baggage fees can be costly. Avoid all baggage fees by only bringing a carry-on. "

" In the beginning of Booking.com, we were travelling around Europe a lot. Sometimes we'd do five cities in a week. "

" There are a lot of threats out there. Amazon can enter the travel market. Google could enter the accommodation space. But that is not something that we actively focus on. "

" With any previous transition we made with technology, it hasn't been the case that we need less people. "

" My mother was from an entrepreneurial family and very creative. She always pushed me to take risks, to do things I wouldn't have thought of. "

" There is a misperception among job seekers that opportunities for women in tech exist only for those with coding or engineering experience. To be sure, technology firms do need women with these skills, but they also need women with expertise in other areas, like marketing and finance. "

" Not only do we need more women in the technology sector, we also clearly need to refocus energy on improving gender equality in the global economy. "

" I think companies need to take more ownership over the gender gap themselves because if everybody does that, then overall, it will improve. "

" Booking.com started with just a website, but we've always thought of our company as being more than just a website. "

Gillian Tans

Thought

Website

" From the early days, Booking.com has been disruptive. Our aim is to create the best product for our customers, and we do that through constant innovation and testing. "

" An American customer can book in English all over the world, but also, somebody from Japan or China can book in their own language everywhere. We translate all of our content into these languages, and that's quite unique. We service our direct customers - the innkeepers - as well in their own language. "

" We want to make sure that we have the right products for Chinese people. "

" India has a sizeable chunk of the Asian travel market - both inbound and outbound travel. "

" The culture of Booking.com has been very good for me because it's a culture where you're allowed to fail. When you think about taking risks, if it's OK to fail, you actually do a lot more. And you learn a lot quicker. "

Gillian Tans

Think

You

" India is a fast-growth market and is developing a lot. We continue to increase our partners here and make investments. "

" Education is crucial in determining which profession women will choose, so it's important to spark interest in technologies at an early age. "

" People always travel no matter what. "

" We found we were able to create better, customer-centric product features more quickly with a more diverse product team. "

Gillian Tans

Create

Better

" Things like chatbots, machine learning tools, natural language processing, or sentiment analysis are applications of artificial intelligence that may one day profoundly change how we think about and transact in travel and local experiences. "

" We have many accommodation owners - people who own small hotels, villas and bungalows - and the digital economy has opened up a world of possibility for these business owners. Now, they can sell to and communicate with people around the world, and where Booking.com comes in is to help these accommodation owners adapt to the digital world. "

" Many people think we are a technology company, but we are totally customer-led. "

" Instead of traveling on a weekend, begin your trip on a Tuesday or Wednesday, which are often the cheapest days to fly. Being flexible with timing can help with savings. "

" One in five of our customers books for business. But it's scaling very fast. As a result, we have tools for medium or small-sized companies to allow them set their price and give basic reporting functionality. "

" I am a woman, and I am proud to say that I work in technology. But I also recognise that the combination of those two facts puts me in the minority. "

Gillian Tans

Work

Woman

" We will invest more into China to make sure that our brand gets more known to Chinese customers. "

" Starting a business and building a product are not for the faint of heart. You have to learn to not let little disappointments get you down and to stay focused on the big picture. "

" And as a woman, you need to take risks. Don't stay too long in your own swim lane. "

" The mission of Booking is to empower people to experience the world. Whatever people want to do, wherever they want to go, they can book it with us. "

" Understand tipping culture. Whereas Americans tip 15-20% when dining out, most European countries don't tip, as a service charge is typically included in the bill. Make sure you're not over-tipping by doing research before traveling. "