What Baolau does

Baolau is a Singapore-headquartered online travel aggregation platform founded in 2013 that enables travelers to search, compare, and book multi-modal ground and air transportation across 11 Asian countries: Japan, China (incl. Hong Kong), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. Its core product is a rail ticketing platform integrating national operators such as JR Japan, China Railway, Vietnam Railways, State Railway of Thailand, and KTM Malaysia, supplemented by flight (100+ airlines), bus, ferry, and city transport/activities modules (e.g., Narita Express, Tokyo Subway Ticket, Shanghai Maglev, Singapore Tourist Pass). The platform operates in six languages and supports 18+ currencies, and is accessible without registration, signaling a self-serve product-led growth motion.

The company monetizes through per-ticket service fees — approximately 3.5% on flights and 5% on trains, buses, and ferries — with country-specific flat fee equivalents (e.g., 200 JPY in Japan, 10 CNY in China, 100,000 VND in Vietnam, 30–50 THB in Thailand, $1 USD in Malaysia). Distribution is direct-to-consumer via baolau.com, layered with SEO and content marketing through destination and route guides, an affiliate/referral program, and social/community channels on X, Bluesky, and Discord. The company is structured through four regional legal entities (Singapore as HQ, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan as "Boeki Up Co Ltd"), with a management team of co-founders Alberto Moreno Tablado (CEO) and Miguel Garcia Dominguez (CTO). Notably, Baolau has operated for 12+ years without disclosed institutional venture capital or private equity investment — the only recorded funding activity is approximately $390,000 across three small rounds between 2015 and 2018, the most recent led by DesignOne Japan.

Name

Baolau

Legal name

Baolau Pte Ltd

Website

https://baolau.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Baolau is a Singapore-based online aggregation platform founded in 2013 that lets travelers search, compare, and book train, bus, ferry, and flight tickets across 11 Asian countries, monetizing via per-ticket service fees (~3.5–5%) with multilingual, multi-currency support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Travel Ticketing

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Rail/Bus/Multimodal Booking OTAs (THAKAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rail Content Aggregators & Connectivity APIs (THALAJAE), Rail & Intercity Bus Booking Engines (THALADAD)

Keywords

• Online train booking
• Asia transport aggregator
• Rail ticket platform
• Multi-modal travel booking
• Flight and bus reservations

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ticket Service Fees: Baolau charges a per-ticket service fee when processing reservations and booking tickets with transport providers. Service fees vary by country and transport type: Flights approximately 3.5%, Trains approximately 5%, Buses approximately 5%, Ferries approximately 5%. Fees are not refunded on cancellation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Baolau operates a self-serve online platform that aggregates and books transportation across Asia, covering trains, flights, buses, ferries, and city transportation/activities. Users search, compare, and reserve tickets from multiple national and private operators in 11+ Asian countries through a single multilingual (6 languages) and multi-currency interface, with e-ticket delivery by email.

Product overview

Baolau operates as a unified multi-modal transportation booking platform for Asia, combining train, flight, bus, ferry, and activity bookings into a single service. The core product is the train ticket booking platform, which serves as the primary differentiator and market positioning, offering access to national railway operators across 11 Asian countries. Additional modules include flight booking (covering 100+ airlines), bus booking, ferry booking, and city transportation/activities such as airport express tickets and tourist passes. The platform provides e-ticket delivery via email in PDF format with QR codes for train boarding in Japan, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. The company structure includes four regional entities (Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan) serving as the operational and regulatory backbone.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Baolau Train Ticket Booking Platform Core platform enabling travelers to search, compare, and book train tickets across Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, and Myanmar, with e-ticket delivery by email.
• Flight Booking Service Online flight booking service integrated into the platform, offering domestic and international flights with access to over 100 airlines including Singapore Airlines, AirAsia, Vietnam Airlines, and Thai Airways.
• Bus Ticket Booking Bus ticket booking service covering routes across Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and other Asian countries, with access to various bus operators offering standard seats to luxury cabin sleepers.
• Ferry Booking Ferry booking service covering ferry routes across Asian destinations including Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
• Activities and City Transportation City transportation and sightseeing booking service including airport trains, metro passes, tourist trains, and sightseeing buses, featuring Narita Express Ticket, Keisei Skyliner, Tokyo Subway Ticket, Shanghai Maglev, Hong Kong Airport Express, and Singapore Tourist Pass.
• Japan Rail Passes Rail passes for unlimited travel in Japan including JR East Pass, JR West All Area Pass, Kansai Pass, Hokkaido Pass, Kyushu Pass, Hokuriku Arch Pass, Tokyo WIDE Pass, and regional passes, with station exchange order and e-ticket options.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Klook: Asia-headquartered OTA focused on activities, attractions and local transport (including airport transfers and train tickets) across Asia. Comparable because it competes for the same in-destination travel budget, with strong brand recognition in markets Baolau also serves.
• Booking.com: Global OTA leader that has expanded into ground transport (including train tickets) across Europe and parts of Asia. A broad incumbent whose transport offering overlaps Baolau's flight and rail search, though Booking is primarily known for accommodation.
• Trainline: UK-listed specialist rail and bus ticket aggregator dominating the European market and expanding into longer-distance and Asian routes. Comparable as a specialist rail OTA, though its core footprint is Europe rather than Asia.
• Trip.com: Large publicly listed OTA (part of Trip.com Group) selling flights, hotels, trains and ground transport across Asia. Competes for the same Asian traveler wallet but as a broad incumbent with much larger inventory, mobile apps and marketing spend than Baolau.

Regional players

• Traveloka: Leading Southeast Asian OTA offering flights, hotels and ground transport across Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Regional OTA peer whose ground-transport ambitions directly overlap Baolau's SEA coverage.
• Wanderu: North American bus and train ticket aggregator (Greyhound, Amtrak, Megabus etc.). Same OTA-style aggregation model as Baolau across ground transport, but confined to the US/Canada/Mexico geography.
• Tiket.com: Indonesian-focused OTA selling flights, hotels and trains, including Kereta Api Indonesia rail bookings. Comparable as an Asia-based travel aggregator with a significant rail segment, although primarily serving the Indonesian domestic market.

Direct peers

• Rome2Rio: Global door-to-door multimodal search and booking platform that aggregates train, bus, ferry, flight and driving options. Comparable to Baolau in product mechanics (search, compare, deep-link book), though globally distributed rather than Asia-only.
• 12Go.asia: Multi-modal ground and sea transport aggregator covering buses, trains, ferries and flights across Southeast Asia. Most direct competitor to Baolau given identical booking mechanics, geographic overlap (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia) and self-serve OTA model.
• Omnio (formerly GoEuro): European multimodal transport booking platform aggregating trains, buses and flights across Europe. Highly comparable product model and technology stack to Baolau but operating exclusively in Europe, making it a regional peer rather than direct Asia competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/baolau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Baolau