Qunar
Qunar is a Beijing-based Chinese online travel platform combining travel metasearch, booking, price comparison, and travel-content services.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Qunar, also known as Qunar.com, is a Chinese online travel platform headquartered in Beijing. Its name is derived from the Chinese phrase 去哪儿, meaning “where to go.” The business began in May 2005 as a travel-search service focused on helping Chinese consumers compare airfares and other travel options online. From that initial metasearch proposition, Qunar developed into a broader online travel agency and mobile travel marketplace offering flight tickets, hotels, rail tickets, bus tickets, vacation packages, attraction tickets, car rental, airport transfers, visas, cruises, local activities, travel guides, and related services. Qunar’s early differentiation was its technology-led approach to travel discovery. Rather than relying solely on a traditional agency model, the platform aggregated and compared travel products from airlines, hotels, agencies, and other suppliers. This allowed consumers to search across multiple sources and compare prices, schedules, availability, and booking conditions. Over time, Qunar supplemented comparison functionality with direct transaction and customer-service capabilities. Its transaction technology, including the TTS one-stop transaction system introduced during its early expansion, enabled the company to move from a search engine toward a full booking and fulfillment platform. The company expanded rapidly during the late 2000s and early 2010s. In 2009, Qunar reported that its monthly unique visitors had exceeded 35 million. In 2010, it introduced an airline flagship-store model and launched a Qunar travel application, extending the platform into mobile travel commerce. In 2011, Qunar broadened its offering beyond flights and hotels to include vacation products and attraction tickets. The same year, Baidu acquired a majority interest in the company for approximately US$306 million, giving Qunar access to the resources and traffic of one of China’s largest internet companies. Qunar became a public company in November 2013, when Qunar Cayman Islands Limited completed an initial public offering on NASDAQ under the symbol QUNR. The company continued to emphasize flight and hotel search, while adding rail-ticket services and overseas operations. It opened or supported international operations in markets including Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan, although its primary commercial importance remained within China’s large domestic travel market. In October 2015, Qunar and Ctrip entered into a strategic share-exchange transaction. Baidu exchanged much of its Qunar stake for shares in Ctrip, while Ctrip became Qunar’s largest shareholder and obtained effective control under the relevant accounting framework. The transaction linked two of China’s most important online travel businesses while leaving Qunar as a recognizable consumer-facing brand. Qunar subsequently underwent additional management changes and operational integration with the broader Ctrip organization. In 2016, Ocean Management Holdings Limited proposed to take Qunar private. Shareholders approved the transaction in February 2017, and Qunar ceased to be publicly traded. The delisting changed Qunar from an independently listed internet company into a privately held travel business within the Ctrip ecosystem. Ctrip later changed its corporate name to Trip.com Group, reflecting its portfolio of international and domestic travel brands, including Qunar, Ctrip, Trip.com, and Skyscanner. Qunar remains positioned around value-conscious travel search and booking. Its proposition combines price discovery, broad supplier coverage, mobile convenience, and increasingly automated service. The platform has historically competed through low-price visibility, extensive domestic inventory, airline and hotel partnerships, and technology designed to simplify booking and after-sales processing. Its products serve both experienced travelers seeking price comparisons and first-time or lower-frequency travelers entering the air-travel market.…
History
Qunar was established in Beijing on May 18, 2005, according to the company’s own milestone account. It entered the Chinese market as a travel search engine centered on online flight-price comparison. This model addressed a rapidly expanding consumer need: Chinese travelers could search multiple airline and agency offers in one place rather than contacting providers individually or relying on offline travel agents. Qunar’s brand name comes from 去哪儿, commonly rendered in English as “where to go,” and its identity was built around helping users discover and select travel options. During its first several years, Qunar expanded its audience and broadened its commercial model. The company reports that monthly unique visitors exceeded 35 million in 2009. In 2010, it introduced an airline flagship-store format, beginning with a Hainan Airlines flagship store, and launched its travel application. These initiatives moved Qunar beyond a desktop search product and toward a more integrated platform connecting travelers with transportation providers. The airline flagship-store model also gave carriers a more direct presence within the marketplace. In 2011, Qunar introduced a one-stop transaction system known as TTS and expanded beyond flights and hotels into vacation packages and attraction tickets. The same year marked a major ownership transition: Baidu acquired a majority interest in Qunar in a transaction reported at approximately US$306 million. Baidu’s investment provided strategic support from one of China’s leading internet companies and reinforced Qunar’s role as a technology-oriented travel platform rather than a conventional offline agency. Qunar continued to develop its supply-side and distribution capabilities in 2012. It welcomed flagship stores from numerous domestic airlines and combined direct sales with agency distribution. In the third quarter of 2013, the company reported that its flight-booking volume had become the highest in the industry, while it also launched train-ticket services. On November 1, 2013, Qunar Cayman Islands Limited completed an IPO and concurrent private placement on NASDAQ. The offering raised approximately US$194.2 million in gross proceeds, and the company traded under the symbol QUNR. The period around 2014 and 2015 was marked by product experimentation and international expansion. Qunar promoted a “Lightning Refund” approach for flight tickets and established overseas branches or operations in locations including Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan. In hotels, it developed a prepayment model that the company said helped improve commercial alignment between customers and accommodation suppliers. By 2015, Qunar’s hotel business had become one of its most important growth areas, while its flight marketplace remained central to the brand. Qunar also invested in mobile and service automation. In 2016, it promoted intelligent customer service and automated parts of the after-sales process, including flight changes and itinerary changes. This reflected a broader shift in online travel from simple price comparison toward end-to-end booking management. The company also reported more than one million hotel effective room nights in a single day during that period and introduced student-flight discount functionality in cooperation with several airlines. Ownership changed again in October 2015. Baidu exchanged much of its Qunar stake for shares in Ctrip, and Ctrip became Qunar’s largest shareholder. The transaction connected Qunar with Ctrip, another dominant Chinese online travel company, and led to management and operational changes. Qunar continued to operate as a distinct consumer brand, but its strategic and financial position became increasingly linked to Ctrip. In 2016, Ocean Management Holdings Limited submitted a proposal to acquire the outstanding shares it did not already own. The proposed transaction valued the buyout at US$10.13 per ordinary share, or US$30.39 per ADS, according to the company’s proxy materials. Qunar shareholders approved the merger on February 24, 2017. The transaction converted Qunar into a privately held company and ended its NASDAQ listing. The business continued operating after the delisting, but without the public-company reporting and trading structure that had characterized the 2013–2017 period. After Ctrip later adopted the name Trip.com Group, Qunar became part of a wider portfolio of travel brands that includes Ctrip, Trip.com, Skyscanner, and other travel businesses. The brand retained its strong domestic Chinese identity and continued to offer flights, hotels, rail tickets, vacations, attraction tickets, travel content, and local services. The COVID-19 outbreak produced one of the most difficult operational episodes in Qunar’s history. Beginning in January 2020, flight cancellations and official refund policies caused customer-service contacts to rise sharply. Public complaints described long waits, rejected refund applications, and uncertainty about when approved refunds would reach customers. The episode illustrated the vulnerability of online travel platforms to large-scale disruptions involving airlines, agencies, banks, and government policy. It also made refund processing, supplier coordination, and customer communication central reputational issues for Qunar and its industry peers. Qunar pursued ecosystem and technology initiatives after the pandemic period. In October 2021, it joined Huawei’s Hongmeng ecosystem and introduced online travel atomic services. The company’s milestone account describes 2023 and 2024 as a period of recovery and renewed growth, emphasizing a strategy organized around low price, quality, growth, and reach. In 2025, marking its twentieth anniversary, Qunar announced a new AI-oriented phase. It described an AI Lab and a three-level transformation spanning the app, conversational interfaces, and internal workflows, with applications including itinerary planning, pre-sales flight assistance, and intelligent customer service. These initiatives suggest that Qunar is attempting to combine its original search-and-comparison heritage with automated travel planning and personalized assistance.
- 2025
Qunar launched an AI transformation phase
[2]Qunar announced an AI Lab and AI applications covering itinerary planning, flight assistance, customer service, and internal workflows.
- 2023
Recovery and growth phase
[2]Qunar described a recovery period focused on low price, quality, growth, and reach.
- 2021
Qunar joined the Hongmeng ecosystem
[1]Qunar launched online travel atomic services within Huawei’s Hongmeng ecosystem.
- 2020
Pandemic disruption tested refund and service operations
[1]Flight cancellations and refund requests caused a sharp increase in customer-service demand and widespread public complaints.
- 2017
Qunar was privatized and delisted
[5]Shareholders approved the Ocean Management merger, converting Qunar into a privately held company and ending its NASDAQ listing.
- 2016
Intelligent customer-service initiatives expanded
[2]Qunar introduced automated handling for selected after-sales tasks such as flight changes and itinerary changes.
- 2015
Ctrip became Qunar’s largest shareholder
[3]Baidu exchanged much of its Qunar ownership for Ctrip shares, making Ctrip Qunar’s largest shareholder.
- 2014
International expansion and Lightning Refund
[2]Qunar promoted a faster flight-refund model and expanded overseas operations into several Asian markets.
- 2013
Train-ticket services launched
[2]Qunar launched train-ticket services as it expanded beyond air travel.
- 2013
Qunar completed its NASDAQ IPO
[3]Qunar Cayman Islands Limited completed its IPO and concurrent private placement on November 1, 2013.
Products and positioning
A technology-led Chinese online travel marketplace positioned around price comparison, broad domestic travel inventory, mobile booking convenience, and value-oriented travel discovery.
Air travel · 2005
Flight search and booking
Qunar’s original and most recognizable service is an online flight-search and booking marketplace. Users can compare fares, schedules, routes, airline options, agency offers, and booking conditions. The platform has historically combined metasearch functionality with direct airline stores and agency distribution, allowing Qunar to serve both price-sensitive travelers and suppliers seeking online reach.
Accommodation
Hotel marketplace
Qunar’s hotel business aggregates accommodation inventory and enables users to compare prices, locations, room types, and booking terms. The company developed hotel prepayment and other transaction models as it expanded beyond search. Hotels became one of Qunar’s principal businesses, supporting both domestic travel and selected international destinations.
Mobile travel platform · 2010
Qunar Travel mobile application
Launched in 2010, the Qunar Travel app brought flight, hotel, and other travel-search functions to mobile users. It became a foundation for mobile booking, itinerary management, customer service, personalized recommendations, and later AI-assisted travel functions.
Rail travel · 2013
Train-ticket booking
Qunar added train-ticket booking in 2013, broadening its transportation coverage beyond aviation. Rail services are particularly important in China’s domestic travel market and complement Qunar’s flight-search business by allowing travelers to compare or combine different modes of intercity transportation.
Leisure travel · 2011
Vacation and destination services
Qunar offers packaged and semi-independent travel products, including domestic and outbound vacations, cruises, local activities, attraction tickets, visas, and customized or group travel. These services extend the brand from transportation and accommodation discovery into broader trip planning and destination consumption.
Travel content
Travel guides and itinerary content
Qunar operates travel-guide and destination-content functions that help users research places, build itineraries, read trip reports, and discover attractions. This content layer supports the commercial marketplace by connecting inspiration and planning with later booking activity.
Travel technology · 2025
AI travel assistance
In 2025, Qunar described AI applications for itinerary planning, pre-sales flight assistance, intelligent customer service, app experiences, and internal workflows. The initiative represents an effort to make travel search and booking more conversational, automated, and personalized.
Controversies
2020
COVID-19 flight-refund complaints
During the COVID-19 outbreak, customers widely complained about delayed refunds, rejected refund requests, and uncertainty over reimbursement timing after flight cancellations. The issue followed a sharp increase in service demand and occurred amid complex coordination between Qunar, airlines, agencies, payment institutions, and government refund policies.
2019
Beijing communications regulator summons app companies over data practices
The Beijing communications regulator summoned 17 app companies, including Baidu, 360 Mobile Guard, iQIYI, Sogou Input Method and Qunar, over issues including improper collection and use of user information and forced authorization, and required rectification by a deadline.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023Low Price × Quality × Growth × Reach
China
Qunar described its recovery and growth strategy through the four-part positioning of low price, quality, growth, and reach.
Outcome. The company associated the strategy with recovery above 2019 levels, stronger new-customer acquisition, and continued growth in flight and hotel activity.
- 2020Beijing suburban accommodation voucher distribution
Beijing, China
During the pandemic recovery period, Qunar distributed accommodation vouchers for Beijing’s suburban areas as part of travel-consumption support efforts.
Outcome. The program was intended to stimulate domestic leisure travel and support accommodation demand during a period of severe tourism disruption.
- 2020National tourism consumption voucher support
China
Qunar supported tourism-consumption vouchers in multiple provinces and cities while domestic travel markets were recovering from pandemic restrictions.
Outcome. The activity aligned the brand with domestic tourism recovery and value-focused travel demand.
- 2017Student flight discount program
China
Qunar worked with Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, and other carriers on student certification and discounted flight offers.
Outcome. The program targeted students with exclusive airfares and extended Qunar’s price-oriented positioning into a clearly defined consumer segment.
- 2014Lightning Refund
China
Qunar promoted a faster refund process for flight tickets, using service automation and transaction-system improvements to reduce friction after cancellations.
Outcome. The initiative was presented by Qunar as a service innovation intended to improve the post-purchase customer experience.
Brand decisions
2025
AI transformation and Qunar AI LabStrategyBackground
Qunar marked its twentieth anniversary while travel platforms increasingly adopted generative AI and automated customer-service tools.
Action taken
Qunar announced an AI Lab and described AI deployment across its app, conversational travel interfaces, customer service, itinerary planning, flight assistance, and internal workflows.
Aftermath
The initiative positioned AI as a new layer over Qunar’s established search, booking, and travel-service infrastructure.
2021
Hongmeng ecosystem integrationProduct launchBackground
Mobile operating systems were becoming more important distribution environments for travel services and lightweight service experiences.
Action taken
Qunar joined the Hongmeng ecosystem and launched online travel atomic services.
Aftermath
The initiative extended Qunar’s mobile and platform-integration strategy beyond its standalone app.
2017
Privatization and NASDAQ delistingM&ABackground
After the Ctrip transaction and subsequent management changes, Qunar became the subject of a going-private proposal led by Ocean Management Holdings Limited.
Action taken
Qunar shareholders approved a merger under which Ocean Management would acquire the company and Qunar would become a wholly owned private subsidiary.
Aftermath
Qunar ceased to be publicly traded, its ADSs were delisted, and the company no longer had routine SEC reporting obligations as a public issuer.
Cash consideration per ordinary share. US$10.13 per ordinary share, or US$30.39 per ADS (2016-2017 going-private transaction)
2015
Ctrip share exchange and strategic combinationM&ABackground
Qunar and Ctrip were major competitors in China’s online travel sector, while Baidu was Qunar’s controlling shareholder.
Action taken
Baidu exchanged a substantial portion of its Qunar holdings for Ctrip shares. Ctrip became Qunar’s largest shareholder and was deemed to hold a majority voting interest after related employee share-exchange transactions.
Aftermath
Qunar remained a separate consumer brand but became strategically and financially integrated into the Ctrip group, which later became Trip.com Group.
2013
NASDAQ public offeringOtherBackground
Qunar had expanded its travel-search, booking, mobile, and rail-ticket businesses and sought public-market capital.
Action taken
Qunar Cayman Islands Limited completed an IPO and concurrent private placement on NASDAQ.
Aftermath
Qunar became a publicly traded online travel company under the symbol QUNR and gained access to public equity markets until its 2017 privatization.
Gross offering proceeds. Approximately US$194.2 million (November 1, 2013 IPO and concurrent private placement)
2011
Baidu acquired a majority interest in QunarM&ABackground
Qunar was expanding its travel-search and online booking platform in China and required capital and distribution scale to compete in a rapidly developing internet market.
Action taken
Baidu Holdings Limited subscribed for shares representing a majority interest in Qunar for approximately US$306 million.
Aftermath
Baidu became Qunar’s controlling shareholder and ultimate holding-company parent during the pre-Ctrip period, while Qunar continued developing its travel marketplace.
Acquisition consideration. Approximately US$306 million (July 20, 2011 transaction)
Recent events
- 2025
Qunar announced an AI-centered transformation[2]
Product launch
For its twentieth anniversary, Qunar described a new entrepreneurial phase involving an AI Lab and applications for itinerary planning, flight assistance, intelligent customer service, app experiences, and workflow automation.
- 2021
Qunar joined the Hongmeng ecosystem[1]
Product launch
Qunar announced integration with Huawei’s Hongmeng ecosystem and launched online travel atomic services intended to support distributed operating-system experiences.
- 2017
Qunar completed privatization and left NASDAQ[5]
M&A
Qunar shareholders approved a merger with Ocean Management Holdings Limited, after which Qunar became privately held and its ADSs ceased to be publicly traded on NASDAQ.
- 2015
Qunar and Ctrip entered a strategic share-exchange transaction[3]
M&A
Baidu exchanged much of its Qunar ownership for Ctrip shares, making Ctrip Qunar’s largest shareholder and creating a closer relationship between two major Chinese online travel platforms.
- 2013
Qunar completed its NASDAQ initial public offering[3]
Other
Qunar Cayman Islands Limited completed its IPO and a concurrent private placement on November 1, 2013, raising gross proceeds of approximately US$194.2 million.
- 2011
Baidu acquired a majority interest in Qunar[3]
M&A
Baidu acquired a controlling or majority interest in Qunar in a transaction reported at approximately US$306 million, strengthening Qunar’s access to search traffic, technology, and capital.
Sources15 sources
- 1Qunar - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- 2Qunar Company Milestonesqunar.com
- 3Qunar Cayman Islands Limited 2015 Annual Reportsec.gov
- 4Qunar Privatization Proxy Statementsec.gov
- 5Qunar Announces Completion of Mergersec.gov
- 6Trip.com Group 2024 Annual Reportwww1.hkexnews.hk
- 7Qunar Announces Management and Board Changesmarketscreener.com
- 8Chen Gang is Qunar CEO, Chen Zhenyu presidentchinadaily.com.cn
- 9【去哪儿网】机票查询预订，酒店预订，旅游团购，度假搜索，门票预订-去哪儿网Qunar.comqunar.com
- 10Beijing communications regulator summons app companies over data practicesfinance.sina.com.cn
- 11去哪儿网上线疫情通知系统 查询涉及的航班列车信息finance.sina.com.cn
- 12去哪儿网宣布人事任命：原副总裁勾志鹏晋升总裁 张强卸任- DoNewsdonews.com
- 13去哪儿网宣布人事任命：张强卸任 勾志鹏晋升总裁tech.sina.com.cn
- 14去哪儿网与重庆达成战略合作 第二总部落户重庆tech.sina.com.cn
- 15携程旗下门店推出“8大贴心服务“ 教老年人玩转智能手机finance.sina.com.cn
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