Skift Tech Forum: Shiji Helps Hotels Crack China Market With À La Carte Approach
Photo Credit: Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme is shown here. Hyatt has chosen Shiji Group's Infrasys Cloud service to power many of its food and beverage outlets. Park Hyatt
Skift Take
Shiji is one of the world's most fascinating hospitality tech companies. In this interview Kevin King, its chief operating officer, explains the company's distinctive approach to the market.
Shiji is a little more than 20 years old. It began in China as a network solutions provider. Now the tech company has dozens of subsidiaries, including 20 foreign subsidiaries. For example, Shiji provides an array of operational software and services to more than 47,000 hotels outside of China.
The company's growth sped up last year after a $486 million investment from e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group. In the past year Shiji acquired or took majority control of several companies, including StayNTouch, a hotel tech services provider, Concept Software Systems, a retail tech provider for golf, spa, and other activities, and IcePortal, an imagery management service for hotels.
Many Western brands use Shiji to help sell their inventory in the China market. Last year, the company overhauled its portal and rebranded it as Shiji Distribution Systems. Earlier this year Wyndham successfully launched its international properties on China's largest online travel agency, Ctrip, by leveragi
