{"id":12998,"date":"2018-08-28T09:24:33","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T09:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=12998"},"modified":"2018-08-28T09:24:33","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T09:24:33","slug":"meet-the-26-year-old-behind-those-free-phones-in-hotel-rooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=12998","title":{"rendered":"Meet the 26-year-old behind those free phones in hotel rooms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"03
Tink Labs’ Handy smartphones offer voice calls and internet, as well as local travel guides and in-room controls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

When Terence Kwok went traveling to\u00a0Europe\u00a0as a student in 2011, he returned home to a $900\u00a0phone bill.<\/h2>\n

For the frequent traveler, who was then 20 years old and studying at the University of Chicago, that incident turned into a money-making opportunity. <\/p>\n

“It made me realize that, even with smartphones, staying connected while traveling abroad was highly costly and inconvenient,” Kwok said. <\/p>\n

To solve travelers’ internet woes, Kwok created Handy<\/a>, a cell-phone designed for guests staying in hotels overseas. <\/p>\n

Handy allows guests to use 3G internet and make unlimited calls. It features local travel guides and controls for things like lighting and curtains in the hotel room <\/strong>\u2014 but it can also be taken out and about like a regular phone. <\/p>\n

Today, the devices are available in more than 2,000 hotel companies in 82 countries. And Kwok’s backers include Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank<\/span> (SFTBF<\/a><\/span>)<\/span>. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Starting out in Hong Kong<\/h2>\n

<\/strong> <\/p>\n

In 2012, Kwok dropped out of his studies in Chicago to pursue his idea for Handy in Hong Kong, his hometown. He founded a startup, Tink Labs, that year. <\/p>\n

Kwok secured initial funding for his cell-phone idea from a friend who had also been unpleasantly surprised by a huge roaming bill after traveling overseas. He hired two employees and rented a small office in Hong Kong. <\/p>\n

\"02
Terence Kwok founded Tink Labs in 2012.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kwok said Hong Kong appealed as a place to start the business because it’s “where my roots lie” and one of the world’s top travel destinations, providing a great opportunity to start trying to reach Handy’s target audience. <\/p>\n

At first, the phone was available to rent at airports. It later became a device exclusively for hotel guests. <\/p>\n

Handy runs on a customized version of Google’s<\/span> (GOOGL<\/a><\/span>)<\/span> Android operating system, which Tink Labs modifies for hotel guests’ use. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

‘A product that guests really wanted’<\/h2>\n

<\/strong> <\/p>\n

It took nine months for the startup to secure its first hotel partner in Hong Kong, according to Kwok. <\/p>\n

“Hotels are very traditional, but we had created a product that guests really wanted,” he said. “The idea was to provide everything they need \u2014 connectivity, recommendations, coupons, attraction tickets.” <\/p>\n

After Tink Labs signed its first five-star hotel partner in 2014, the company raised multiple rounds of funding. The turning point came two years later, when Kwok raised $125 million from investors including Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn and investment firm Sinovation Ventures, which was founded by the former president of Google China. <\/p>\n

This summer, SoftBank invested<\/a> in Tink Labs’ Japanese business. The companies are aiming to add features like keyless room entry and express checkout to Handy devices.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Tink Labs now has around 400 employees in 52 countries. Building the business has enabled Kwok to pursue his passion for travel. <\/p>\n

“I am working in a field that I absolutely enjoy,” he said. “It has taken me to many different cities and countries.” <\/p>\n

CNNMoney (Hong Kong) <\/span> First published August 26, 2018: 9:40 PM ET<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tink Labs’ Handy smartphones offer voice calls and internet, as well as local travel guides and in-room controls. When Terence Kwok went traveling to\u00a0Europe\u00a0as a student in 2011, he returned home to a $900\u00a0phone bill. For the frequent traveler, who was then 20 years old and studying at the University of Chicago, that incident turned…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":12999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}