Qunar.com is a Chinese

online travel agency A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destinati ...

headquartered in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Qunar () means "Where to go" in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

History

The website was founded in May 2005. In 2011,

Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the l ...

acquired a majority interest in the company for $306 million. In November 2013, the company listed its shares on the NASDAQ. In October 2015, Baidu sold its stake in the company to Trip.com Group (formerly Ctrip) for a stake in Trip.com Group. In February 2017, the website was acquired by Ocean Management Holdings Limited (远洋管理有限公司), and underwent privatisation by de-listing from NASDAQ.

Customer Service during COVID-19

The complaint reached its highest point during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

outbreak in China, when the

Civil Aviation Administration of China The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...

(CAAC) issued a statement on its website on January 21, 2020, requiring airlines and travel agencies should handle their refund requests free of charge for passengers who have already purchased flight tickets to or from

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

and wish to cancel their trip. Following the outbreak, many domestic airline and international airline cancelled their flights to/from or within China. Since January 21, the number of customer calls to Qunar has surged and the highest peak is nearly 25 times of a typical day's handling capacity. Recently, the Qunar website has been frequently complained by customers that the refund has not been received for more than 40 days. As of April 4, 2020, the complaints totals 28,713 on Black Cat (黑猫, Hei Mao), a website by

Sina Sina may refer to: Relating to China * Chin (China), or Sina (), old Chinese form of the Sanskrit name Cina () ** Shina (word), or Sina ( ja, 支那, links=no), archaic Japanese word for China ** Sinae, Latin name for China Places * Sina, Al ...

for customers to file complaints, and nearly 9,650 complaint cases remain unsolved. Most of the customers complaints focus on the topic of Qunar is not following the airline's policy and refuse to refund or change the plane tickets. Some customer reported that request to refund are denied without a reason being told, and others reported that even if a refund is granted, Qunar cannot guarantee when the refund will arrive to their bank accounts.

References

{{reflist, 1 2005 establishments in China 2013 initial public offerings 2017 mergers and acquisitions Internet properties established in 2005 Online travel agencies Chinese brands Trip.com Group