This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel SYSTEMS in tourism and hospitality for August 2014.
Friday 28 August:
Amadeus integrates UnionPay into payment platform
- Amadeus is enabling travel agents and airlines to offer UnionPay, China's preferred card as an online payment option for customers . The agreement sees UnionPay integrated with the Amadeus Payment Platform so that Chinese travellers will be able to use the payment option to pay for their overseas travel.
Multicom signs
Sunvil and
Ski Weekends for virtual payments
- Sunvil and Ski Weekends are the latest travel companies to sign up for MultiCommerce, the virtual card payment scheme from Multicom. The system has a number of benefits including reduced transaction costs and complexity. It also ensures the appropriate card type is chosen for each suppliers.
Thursday 27 August:Wex virtual credit solution for Zibrant
- Corporate payment specialist Wex is to provide its virtual credit card to Zibrant, the events specialist. The agreement will enable Zibrant to reduce the complexity of paying its global suppliers by automating the process and improving efficiency.
Wednesday 27 August:Travelport debuts the first e-ticketing solution for Deutsche Bahn (DB)
- Travelport is the first global distribution system to offer the mobile ticket service for Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state railway operator. Travelport now issues tickets directly to passengers’ smartphones via a newly designed mobile ticketing solution.All Deutsche Bahn national and international agencies in 23 countries that work with Travelport’s DB RailMaster can access the service, which has now gone live, at no additional cost. Agents can reserve passenger-specific seats on Deutsche Bahn trains.
Wednesday 20 August:Ryanair increases payment options via PayPal
- Ryanair has teamed up with PayPal to enable travellers and travel consultants to pay for flights via the online mechanism. The move comes on top of a raft of customer experience improvements from the low-cost carrier including a new mobile application and website.
Amadeus unveils new e-Power features in the US
- Amadeus is enhancing its e-Power online booking system with a starter pack for small and medium sized travel agencies in the US and Canada. A premium package for larger agencies which provides customisable options is already available as well as a functionality designed for consolidators.
Busy Rooms, Sabre and Worldhotels get the meta thumbs up - Busy Rooms has been certified by Trivago meaning customers of the central reservation system can now list their rates on the metasearch engine. Meanwhile, TripAdvisor has certified more partners for its TripConnect platform meaning rates and availability from Sabre's Guest Connect booking engine and Worldhotels will now be displayed on the metasearch platform.
Travelport partners with TripAdvisor for Instant Booking
- Travelport has partnered with TripAdvisor to expand the range of hotels available via the new Instant Booking capability currently available in the US. TripAdvisor is also using Travelport's API to enable travellers to book its content via the reviews giant's mobile applications.
NB: Send links or releases for travel systems direct to Tnooz
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NB2: Travel systems image via Shutterstock.