Exclusive: Ctrip CEO on Global Ambitions, Skyscanner Buy and the Priceline Relationship
Skift Take
In its short history, Skift has talked about the balance of power in travel heading East, whether it is the influence of Chinese travelers, the rise of Ctrip and Alibaba, or the emergence of the Gulf carriers with their luxury long-haul flights. Ctrip's acquisition of Skyscanner is one of those moments that mattered in 2016 and Ctrip's global ambitions are a manifestation of what we have been talking about.
It's been a busy week for Ctrip CEO Jane Jie Sun.
Just a week after Ctrip appointed Sun as its new CEO, the first woman to head a publicly traded online travel agency, Ctrip announced an agreement to acquire UK-based flight-metasearch engine Skyscanner for $1.74 billion.
Skift spoke with Sun via phone a day after the Skyscanner announcement and she discussed how Ctrip got the opportunity to get involved in the talks and why it sees such synergies between the giant Chinese online travel agency and the evolving flight-search and booking site.
We published some of the highlights of the interview as it pertains to Skyscanner a few days ago, but there is more below about Ctrip's thinking about the acquisition.
In addition, Sun discusses how Ctrip plans on focusing on China and Asia for the time being but has plans to become a force in English-speaking countries, as well.
One of the more interesting perspectives Sun offers is about Ctrip's relationship with the Priceline Group, which has about a 9 percent stake in Ctrip. While some Internet companies -- she didn't name Expedia, but we will -- got involved in China by burning money and taking part in price wars, the Priceline Group invested in China in a peaceful way and was smart about it, Sun says.
"So, in a way, they [the Priceline Group] didn't waste any money fighting price wars or as the other Internet company in China, but on the other hand they are one of the largest shareholders of the number one, number two, number three OTAs [online travel agecies] in China. So, that tells a lot about how practical and how forward-looking Darren [former Priceline Group CEO Darren Huston] and his team were. So, we have lots of respect for them."
Priceline's only direct stake is in Ctrip, which controls or is among the largest shareholders in online travel agencies Qunar and eLong, respectively.
Read more about Sun's views about Ctrip, Skyscanner, and the online travel space below. The interview has been slightly edited.
Skift: You're the new CEO. You made history and right away you don't catch a break because now you've got a big job in having to integrate Skyscanner.
Jane Jie Sun: Correct. That's correct.
Skift: There's no rest for you. No time to get acclimated.
Sun: No time for rest. That's right, but I enjoy it. The company grows fast because we are moving very rapidly towards that level ...
Skift: Right. Can you tell me a little of the back story about how the Skyscanner acq
