This is a roundup for product news and announcements for travel DISTRIBUTION in tourism and hospitality for June 2016.
Wednesday 29 June 2016:
Navitaire gains NDC certification
- IATA's highest accreditation for the NDC standard will give the Amadeus-owned airline technology provider the ability to use the XML-based technology in its reservation and merchandising tools. Navitaire's new NDC Gateway platform will sit between the XML schema and its existing New Skies system.
Tuesday 28 June 2016:Avantio joins Airbnb marketplace
- The vacation rental management service will connect its customers into the existing Airbnb platform so that users can handle properties and bookings through the sharing economy website. Airbnb hosts can also use the Avantio platform to manage their listings. Avantio also provides distribution into HomeAway, TripAdvisor and others.
Nile Air extends
Amadeus deal
- The Egypt-based scheduled carrier will use the Amadeus ALTEA Suite of services as part of the new agreement. Tools include revenue management, loyalty programme technology and mobile web services.
Thursday 23 June 2016:Busbud hails Voyages-SNCF deal
- The Canada-based bus ticket search site will power the coach and bus channel on the French travel site, replacing the existing service OuiBus. The deal marks the first entry for the company into the busy European market.
Wednesday 22 June 2016:Triptease and Guestcentric unite for direct focus
- The direct-booking widget provided by Triptease will be made available to all Guestcentric's hotel customers. The widget allows consumers to check the prices for a room on online travel agencies within the booking flow of a hotel's website.
Tuesday 21 June 2016:SunExpress picks RentalCars
- The European airline, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, will use RentalCars to power car hire channel on its consumer-facing website. Visitors will be able to secure rental services in any of the destinations that the airline serves, as well as other cities on the existing Priceline Group-owned brand's network.
Air Cairo signs with
Amadeus- The airline, which has recently shifted to the Amadeus ALTEA reservation and inventory management, has now also signed a full content agreement. Air Cairo was previously a low cost/charter operator but has ambitions to evolve to a full-service provider. It currently flies to destinations including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany, Norway, Serbia and Denmark.
Monday 20 June 2016:DHISCO waltzes with Zumata
- The Singapore-based hotel technology company will use DHISCO to expand its network of properties to North American and European travel agencies. Similarly, DHISCO's portfolio will reach Zumata's client base in Asia-Pacific.
Thursday 16 June 2016:Skyscanner lands Liverpool John Lennon Airport deal
- The British airport will use Skyscanner to power a flight search channel within its consumer-facing website. Developed by the Skyscanner For Business division, visitors to the site will be able to search for airlines, routes and ticket prices for each of the destinations that the airport serves.
Wednesday 15 June 2016:Air Tahiti Nui signs Amadeus partnership
- The Tahitian islands carrier will use Amadeus for a number of technology services including the ALTEA Suite for reservations, check-in and inventory management, as well as the revenue, loyalty and payment management platforms. The airline flies to destinations such as New Zealand, France, Japan and the US.
Monday 13 June 2016:SilverRail and Egencia extend deal
- The Expedia Inc-owned corporate travel agency will use the SilverRail platform to give business customers the ability to book Amtrak rail tickets in the US. The extended partnership includes access to Amtrak negotiated rates, e-ticketing and online ticket cancellation.
Via.com finds room
- India's online travel agency via.com will start selling inventory from Nida Rooms. Nida is a virtual hotel chain and has 3,500 branded properties in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Friday 10 June 2016:Cyprus Premier taps Multicom
- The specialist tour operator for North Cyprus will use Multicom's FindAndBook to expand its distribution into travel agencies for accommodation and package trips. The operator has almost 30 properties on its portfolio and organises trips from UK airports.
Thursday 9 June 2016:Etihad brands fares through Sabre
- The UAE-based carrier will allow Sabre-connected agencies around the world to search and book its Fare Choices product. This includes the ability to secure different classes of travel with a combination of ancillary products such as seat types and bags.
Wednesday 8 June 2016:Cheapflights adds car rental search
- Ireland-based CarTrawler will provide the platform for metasearch site Cheapflights to begin offering car rental from 30,000 locations in 174 countries. Cheapflights sister site Momondo also has rental services powered by CarTrawler.
Tuesday 7 June:DHISCO boogies with FastPayHotels
- The new travel agency sales channel for hotels (TLabs here) will use DHISCO's network to expand its portfolio of properties available to third parties for exclusive rates. The deal will bolster the existing FPH portfolio of 4,000 hotels in 21 countries.
Sabre points the way for
Akbar- India's Akbar Travels has renewed its multi-year content and technology agreement with Sabre, continuing a relationship which spans more than two decades. Akbar has nearly 100 shops in India, 15 in the Gulf region and a full-service OTA and plans to expand globally.
Monday 6 June 2016:United starts to deploy Amadeus's massive search technology
- The instant-pricing tool enables the airline's website users to see the lowest airfares for their desired city pair with minimal search criteria. United.com's new front page search feature works today for select US domestic city pairs in economy class, but will be expanded over time. Site users can see it by hovering their cursor over the return date calendar.
Etihad picks
Rentalcars for car hire brief
- The UAE-based airline will use the Priceline Group-owned car rental provider to give loyalty members access to discounted hire rates. Members of the Etihad Guest programme include those from its flagship Etihad brand alongside Air Serbia, Air Seychelles and Etihad Regional.
Travolutionary upgrades
Ostrovok partnership
- The Russian online travel agency will become a hotel supplier on the Travolutionary platform. Ostrovok has 500,000 hotels worldwide, including 20,000 which are directly contracted.
Friday 3 June 2016:SilverRail Technologies gets Stagecoach deal
- The UK rail operator will use SilverRail's platform to power the website for South West Trains. Customers can plan rail journeys based on route, price and availability. The website functionality will also be replicated on the operator's mobile application.
Wednesday 1 June 2016:TrekkSoft gets Musement distribution
- Musement will allow TrekkSoft customers to obtain exposure to consumers via its marketplace for tours and activities. Operators will be able to manage bookings, capacity and offer last-minute discounts through their existing TrekkSoft account, which will then be fed into the Musement platform.
Air Namibia brands with
Travelport- The Namibian flag carrier will distribute its ancillary services via the Rich Content and Branding element of Travelport's Merchandising Platform. RC&B allows carriers to showcase products in the same format and functionality to agents as they would on their own websites.
Jovago books in with
SiteMinder- The African hotel booking website will be included within the existing Channel Manager service by SiteMinder, giving global hotels access to the website's growing consumer base. Owners can update their inventory and rates within SiteMinder.
NB: Send links or releases for travel distribution direct to Tnooz
via email.
NB2: Travel image via Shutterstock.