SINGAPORE — As president and chief operating officer of hotel website Booking.com, what’s surprising about Tans’ hectic schedule is that she spends only about 50 per cent of her time travelling to visit Booking.com’s 155 offices around the world.

“I plan my schedules very tightly; I keep things efficient — I take overnight flights, I start my meetings when I reach and I try to avoid checking in any luggage,” she explained.

The mother of three, who was in town this week, said the company is “growing very fast in Asia”. Although Tans declined to reveal numbers specifically for the region, she added that the company now has 670,000 properties under its belt. “We’re one of the largest providers of accommodation and offer everything from chain hotels to bed and breakfast. We also have properties of our sister website Villa.com on Booking, so there’s a lot of choice for consumers.”

Q: How can travellers make better use of Booking.com?

A: There are many things you can find on the site. We have a lot of content, like a Destination Finder function that helps travellers find where they want to go based on their interests or what they can do so they can make the right choice of properties. We started Destination Guide about five, six months ago. We now have guides for 60 cities and it’s increasing. We write these guides ourselves (by local staffers).

Q: What sort of accommodation do you tend to go for when you travel?

A: I use Booking.com as it’s important for us to be users of our website and experience as many of our offerings as possible. I really stay in all kinds of accommodation — from three-star properties to more unique, independent ones. The most unusual place I’ve stayed in is a wooden house on the beach in Holland with my family. There was only one room, four beds and one couch; (it was) pretty much a shack.

Q: How do you pack light to avoid checking in luggage?

A: Yes, waiting for luggage can take up a lot of time. I pack mainly dresses for work. And for shoes, I bring only three pairs—one pair of heels, one pair of flats and a pair of sneakers to be comfortable when I check in for a flight.

Q: What are your favourite places in Amsterdam to take visitors to?

A: I really recommend riding a bike — Amsterdam is very bike-friendly. Go down the Jordaan district by the canal and ride through Vondelpark. My favourite restaurants are Bo Cinq in Prinsengracht. That’s a very nice area too. Another restaurant I like is Izakaya at Sir Albert Hotel. The standard of food there is very high. Serene Lim