Alibaba is invested $486 million in hotel tech in Giant Shiji, a Beijing based company which provides restaurants and hotels operational software/hardware. They are known for 'information technology'. Shiji has always been good at funding globally.

In 2014, Alibaba had a 12% percent stake ($457 million investment) and will now have 38% stake, which is the largest of any external investor. Some investors feel as though Alibaba should leverage, which other think it's a financial play. As of 2017, Shiji went up nearly a third from the previous year and generated revenue of $560 million.

Their revenue mainly comes from about 50 subsidiaries throughout China. An example of a huge vendor of Shiji is Disney's Shanghai theme park location. A counterpart would be Oracle Hospitality, which was previously known as Micros. In China, Shiji has the largest share of market property amongst management software.

Outside of China, Shiji has wanted to expand to North America and Europe, focusing on hotel technology front. After acquiring a $28 million stake in Reviewpro jumped up in a one year revenue about 50%. Shortly after, Shiji invested in Snapshot, Hetras, StayInTouch, DHISCO, and ChinaOnline.

Shiji is worth more than $2 billion according to Forbes.

During the first quarter, TripAdvisor's hotel search business was under a bit of pressure. There was strong hotel growth throughout the non-hotel areas such as restaurants, tours, and activities thanks to effective marketing. A few investors took a look at some of the positive aspects of TripAdvisors Q1. TripAdvisor's stock rose 19% just a few hours in the same day investors traded on that Tuesday.

Throughout the hotel segment, revenue dropped 5% to $299 million and profits were flat at $88 million in core segment in Q1. There were 800,000 rental listings at the end of March. During the first quarter, TripAdvisor invested $24 million in brand advertising, and used around $100-$130 million in the same area in order to validate their "best-price" message. Investors mentioned that they are happy with the marketing decisions being made throughout the first quarter. TripAdvisors net income fell 61% ($5 million). This was due to a tax adjustment charge, which resulted in total revenue of $378 million (2%).

Currently, TripAdvisor is focusing on non-hotel segments to raise revenue, specifically restaurants and experiences. This is a smart idea for them to do. Right now everyone is focusing on restaurants and experiences, not so much on hotels itself. Millennials will stay in a lower rated hotel versus a luxury one because the mentality is "it's just a place to sleep". The money used on the trip goes towards more modern and popular restaurants as well as experiences.