Ctrip

Ctrip

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Ctrip
Type Public (NASDAQCTRP)
Industry Travel agency
Founded 1999 (IPO December 9, 2003)
Headquarters Shanghai, China
Website www.ctrip.com

Ctrip (Chinese: 携程; pinyin: Xié chéng) is a mainland China-focused travel agency, which runs the eponymous Ctrip.com travel website.

Contents

History

Shanghai-based Ctrip was founded by James Liang, Neil Shen, Min Fan, and Ji Qi in 1999.[1][2] It listed on NASDAQ in 2003 in a Merrill Lynch-led offering, raising US$75 million (4.2 million ADRs at $18 each) and then further appreciated by 86% to close at $33.94 in its first day of trading. Ctrip traded at a peak of $37.35, making it the first company since the November 2000 IPO of Transmeta to double its price in the first day of trading.[2]

In 2006, about 70% of Ctrip's sales came from just four cities in China: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.[3]

Associated companies

In 2006, Liang spoke to Bloomberg about the possibility of Ctrip buying travel companies in other Asian markets such as Hong Kong and South Korea. Ctrip already had an agreement with Taiwan-based ezTravel to cooperate in offering air tickets and hotel rooms to mainland Chinese tourists in Taiwan once tourists from the mainland became able to travel to Taiwan.[3] As of November 2011, Ctrip holds an 8.4% stake in NASDAQ-listed Home Inns as well as a minority stake in the privately-held BTC-Jianguo Hotels and Resorts. Ctrip also holds a 1.3% stake in the NASDAQ-listed China Lodging (owner of the Hanting brand).[1]

Payment methods

Ctrip accepts foreign credit cards and PayPal (with a 3% service charge), as well as domestic credit cards (issued in mainland China, not Macau or Hong Kong) of certain banks (see footnote for full list). Non-credit card payment methods include Alipay, Tenpay (Tencent Holdings Ltd.) , China UnionPay Mobile Payment, and cash on delivery in selected cities in mainland China as well as cash payment by showing up in person at a Ctrip office.[4] Most hotels in large cities accept foreign credit cards but some domestic hotels and domestic chain hotels do not. Payment is on check out unless guaranteed booking is required for very late check-ins.

References

External links

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