A roundup of the week’s biggest talent, product and partner news for the global travel industry.
HRS, Amadeus
Global technology company HRS has announced an extension of its partnership with Amadeus Cytric, a platform that provides end-to-end solutions for corporate travel and expense management.
The announcement reflected highlights of the extended agreement, including optimized property shopping, automatic hotel rebookings, driving more sustainable hotel occupancy, and automated payments and bill collections.
“We work together to make business life better for companies and their travelers by developing new ways to use data to optimize program performance, maximize savings and enhance sustainable travel operations,” said Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS.
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Sabre, Air Canada
Sabre, a software and technology provider powering the global travel industry, and Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline, announced that all Air Canada content will be available through Sabre NDC.
The launch is said to enable travel agents to take advantage of Air Canada’s expanded new distribution capabilities offers and services, allowing them to provide a personalised travel experience to their customers.
“Our robust technology ensures scalability, giving agents seamless access to Air Canada’s latest pricing and bundled services without sacrificing service levels. Additionally, our comprehensive end-to-end booking management streamlines the process and reduces the strain on agent resources,” said Cathy Morgan, vice president, product management distribution experience, Sabre.
Priceline, Covergenius
Online travel innovator Priceline Inc. and CoverGenius Inc., the embedded protection insurance technology company, have announced a partnership to enhance travel protection for flights, hotels, rental cars and packages booked with Priceline.
The new integration will enable Priceline customers to access support, submit claims and receive instant payment for approved claims through XCover, Cover Genius’ global delivery platform.
“We avoid off-the-shelf offerings by building technology-driven solutions that we constantly test and improve to deliver the best insurance experience possible,” said Angus MacDonald, CEO and co-founder of Cover Genius. “This creates more meaningful interactions with customers and drives more revenue for our partners. In fact, Priceline has seen an increase in uptake rates since working with us.”
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Nezasa Update
Nezasa, a leading provider of e-commerce solutions for travel brands, has announced a partnership with Globespan, a leader in the travel management industry.
Globespan will be able to integrate Nezasa’s TripBuilder platform into its channels, curating personalized experiences for members and providing a leisure rewards site with discounted content and products.
In addition to these developments, Nezasa also announced the appointment of Lisa Katsouraki to its Board of Directors, who will continue to strengthen the company’s mission to provide travel agents with the tools to efficiently sell their itineraries, accelerating their growth and streamlining their operations.
LATA, Safer Tourism Foundation
The Latin American Tourism Association (LATA) has partnered with the Safer Tourism Foundation as part of its strategy to promote traveler safety. Through this partnership, LATA will have access to the STF’s expertise and content based on anonymized safety incident data that helps travel professionals understand, raise awareness and minimize risks of preventable harm, injury, illness and death while traveling.
SITA, Heathrow Airport
Aviation technology specialist SITA has extended its partnership with Heathrow Airport for a further five years. As part of the agreement, SITA will provide the airport with network, communications and connectivity services, as well as develop new solutions.
Sergio Corella, SITA’s president for Europe, said: “As air traffic grows at European airports, airports are increasingly prioritising IT to enhance their operations and provide a seamless experience for passengers. By providing a robust IT infrastructure, our goal is to future-proof Heathrow’s network needs, enhancing the experience for passengers whilst enabling effortless operations. This partnership also opens up exciting new avenues for commercial customers, enabling London Airports to offer a host of new opportunities for their customers.”
Confirma, Groundspan
Virtual card provider Conferma is enabling virtual payments for ground transportation through a partnership with GroundSpan, a move aimed at making it easier for businesses to pay for ground transportation fares.
Kelly Cleeton, head of sales and corporate payment solutions at Conferma, said: “We are seeing an increasing number of clients requesting virtual card functionality for ground transportation, so we’re pleased to be able to build on the existing benefits of virtual cards for hotel payments and offer this functionality through our market-leading solution, GroundSpan.”
GetGoing adds expense management feature
BCD’s corporate travel booking platform, GetGoing, has integrated expense management through a partnership with Mobileexpense. Dave Mitchell, president of BCD Travel’s midmarket division, said Go Travel & Expense’s technology is “very easy to manage because it’s one app, one supplier, one contract, all within the GetGoing platform.”
CWT Product Upgrades
CWT, a global business travel and meetings solutions provider, has established an upgraded version of its airfare optimization services powered by technology from Wenrix, a leading travel technology company providing AI and advanced analytics solutions.
The new upgrade will use enhanced AI and machine learning models, as well as extending the time period over which prices can be optimised, helping customers secure cheaper airfares.
“Through our partnership with Wenrix, we’ve combined the experience and expertise of our people with advanced technology to create a market-leading price optimization solution that delivers even greater airfare savings and a seamless travel experience,” said Erica Antony, chief product officer at CWT.
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Pelago/Primer
Primer, a global payments and commerce infrastructure, and Pelago, a travel experience platform, announced a partnership that will enable Pelago to expand its payments strategy and improve the payment experience for travelers around the world.
This integration will enable Pelago to improve customer experience with local payment methods, reduce processing costs, and improve operational efficiency and fraud prevention with third-party integration.
Additionally, Pelago will unlock further growth opportunities by expanding into new markets more quickly and providing travellers access to experiences that connect them to both global and local cultures, particularly in Singapore.
