Fodor's Travel, Qatar Airways, Deem Ground, Travelzoo, SiteMinder-Micros, WestJet, Farelogix, BCD Travel, Momondo, Wego, Nor1 and Hotebeds are all mentioned in our round-up of travel tech news on February 11.
Fodor's Travel has unveiled its 80 Degrees Beach Finder tool giving consumers a visual questionnaire about their perfect beach holiday before presenting them with suggestions based on their selections. The system brings in hotel and restaurant recommendations and covers destinations across the US, Caribbean and Latin America.
Mobile apps
Deem Ground, a division of Reardon Commerce, has developed a mobile application enabling business travellers to make ground transport reservations via their mobile device.
Travelzoo says its second generation app is easier to use with daily deals and Top 20 offers on the home screen. The service now includes larger images as well as a Deals Near Me feature which automatically brings in location-based offers.
Qatar Airways has developed mobile applications for Android, Blackberry and iPhone devices as well as releasing a website optimised for mobile. The apps enable travellers to search for and book flights as well as check flight status and receive alerts. The apps can be downloaded here.
Hotel distribution
Hotelbeds has acquired US-based JBS, bedbank which specialises in hotel rooms for the Chinese market. Hotelbeds wants to strengthen its presence in China and JBS works with China-based tour operators, agents and destination management companies to bring Chinese travellers to the US.
Wego has opened a regional headquarters in Dubai and appointed Mohamad Ibrahim Masri as managing director of the Middle-East and North Africa. Wego formerly had an agreement with Masri's company BizGate but he joined the metasearch service full time leaving someone else to run the company. Wego launched an Arabic language version of its site almost a year ago.
Nor1 is providing its eStandby Upgrade and FrontDesk Upsell services to Loews Hotels & Resorts. The technology will enable the 19 properties to use predictive analytics to create personalised offers.
Hotel Link Solutions, a subsidiary of WHL Group, is partnering with the South Pacific Tourism Organization to help about 1oo small and medium-sized accommodation suppliers to set up a website with e-commerce capabililties and boost online sales. The initiative follows a pilot phase and is being funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund.
SiteMinder is using its RDX platform to power Micros Channel Manager in the Asian market. The technology provides connectivity between leading online travel agencies and Micros products including myfidelio.net and Opera.
WestJet is partnering with Farelogix to distribute its fares and personalised offers via travel agents.
BCD Travel is partnering with Taxeo to offer customers an automated VAT reclaim solution. The travel management company says that up to 40% of travel and expense related invoices are not compliant with Vat reclaim rules. Taxeo aims to solve this by providing suppliers with an identification number which they use to direct VAT-required data to Taxeo for processing.
And finally...
Metasearch service Momondo is combining one-way tickets from different suppliers so that consumers get the cheapest return option.The Cheapflights-owned site has also extended its partnership with HotelsCombined.