This is a roundup for product news and announcements for travel DISTRIBUTION in tourism and hospitality for February 2016.
Monday 29 February 2016:
Trekksoft sails into Fjord Norway
- The tourism board has enlisted Trekksoft to allow tour and activity providers in the region can sell their products online and cross-sell with other services. The partnership will include booking capability on the main Fjord Norway website, as well as access to the Trekksoft Partner Network.
SiteMinder connects
IBC Hotels- The independent hotel consortium will give its members access to SiteMinder's online distribution platform - a switch with 400 connections to global reservation systems. IBC represents around 6,300 hoteliers in 170 countries around the world.
Friday 26 February 2016:EasyJet renews Sabre agreement
- Europe's low-cost carrier giant has extended its existing partnership from the last eight years in a bid to continue its growth strategy in attracting corporate customers. The airline reckons around 20% of its passengers are now travelling for business.
Thursday 25 February 2016:Sabre signs Bangkok Airways
- The Thai carrier will be among the first airlines in the world to receive Sabre’s new revenue management software solution, Revenue Optimizer. The tool is meant to assist airlines in adjusting fares in real-time and offer “advanced decision support for customer segmentation, offer management and pricing optimization.”
Wednesday 24 February 2016:AxisRooms pushes CRS service
- The India-based hotel distribution service has developed the central reservation system so that hotel customers can manage bookings and marketing channel settings. Other features include content management, calendar tools, and tracking of bookings.
BlackLane launches events service
- The online private driver service is targeting organisers of sales meetings, trade shows, conferences and sporting events with the new service. Organisers can book rides in multiple cities for groups travelling to an event, as well as secure buses, shuttles and other vehicles for longer distances.
Monday 22 February 2016:IATA loses VC firm's support for its NDC fund
British Airways and
Iberia select
Travelport branding tool
- The International Airlines Group-operated pair will use the Rich Content and Branding element of the Travelport Merchandising Platform to showcase fares and ancillary services to travel agencies in the same way as they would on their respective websites. Travelport says it now has over 140 airlines participating in the Rich Content and Branding programme.
Thursday 18 February 2016:Skyscanner gets Conde Nast flight deal
- The CNtraveller website will integrate a dedicated flights channel to allow users to find fares and schedules from the main Skyscanner service. Conde Nast brings the total number of third parties using the Skyscanner For Business suite of products to over 600 partners.
Wing On Travel selects
Sabre- The Hong Kong-based travel agency network will use Sabre for GDS services in a bid to grow its online business. Wing On will also use Sabre's low-fare search system, Bargain Finder Max, as well as Ticket Express and the Red Workspace.
Tuesday 16 February 2016:Mobacar lands Travelport agent deal
- The ground transportation platform has sighned a global deal with Travelport so that its car hire, transfers, motorhomes, motorcycles and helicopters are made available for agent bookings. Mobacar has services in 30,000 locations arond the world and has deals with both online and offline travel companies.
WeSwap integrates with
Skyscanner- WeSwap, the money exchange service with-a-social-twist, will feature on the travel search engine's newsletter, giving recipients a £10 currency credit for their account. WeSwap matches people up with other travellers heading in the opposite direction and then swaps the currencies, cutting out the money changers at airports.
Travelport extends
Cathay Pacific agreement
- The new multi-year agreement will put the carrier's fares, schedules and availability on agency desktops, as well as see it use the Rich Content and Branding element of Travelport's Merchandising Platform. The partnership includes subsidiary carrier Dargonair.
Monday 15 February 2016:SilverRail seals train deal with Govia
- The UK rail franchise network is working with SilverRail to power the new On Track Retail booking engine. Govia's route brands include Thameslink, Souther, Southeastern, Gatwick Express and Great Northern, with each having the SilverRail-powered web booking service for passengers.
Travelport lands
East African Air Express- The Kenya-based regional carrier will distribute its fares, schedules and availability to all Travelport-connected agencies around the world. EASAX's network runs fron the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to destinations around the East African region.
Friday 12 February 2016:Kenya Airways bids to make the grade
- Kenya Airways is working with PlusGrade to give its economy passengers the chance to bid for an upgrade to business class. Offers can be made 72 hours before departure with passengers being told if their bid is successful or not 24 hours before departure.
Rewarding time at
Klook- APAC tours and activities start-up Klook has nailed another two distribution partners. Customers in Hong Kong can book its inventory using WeChat Pay. Elsewhere, people booking directly with Klook can earn reward points with Air Asia BIG, while Air Asia BIG members can also redeem points accumulated elsewhere to buy Klook.
Travelport scores a
GOL- Latin American low-cost carrier GOL is the latest airline to go live with Travelport's Rich Content and Branding.
Wednesday 10 February 2016: Wanderu adds inventory from VIA Rail
- Boston-based Wanderu now enables users of its metasearch tool to book train tickets to and from more than 340 locations served by Canada’s national train company. The startup's routing software lets users build itineraries that mix-and-match various bus and train travel options across North America. Having added Amtrak a few months ago, it now has more North American bus and rail inventory than any other metasearch company.
Datalex renews
Philippine Airlines deal
- Ireland-based Datalex will extend its existing nine-year partnership to provide the carrier with pricing and product management tools for sales of tickets and ancillary products. The carrier has recently expanded its ecommerce service to support business travel agency shopping and booking services to more than 200 companies.
Hotelogix agrees
Busy Rooms package
- The Hotelogix property management system will be integrated with the Busy Rooms revenue management and distribution platform. The target group for the partnership is small and mid-sized properties that are looking to increase their online sales.
GoEuro gets
SNCF and launches in France
- The point-to-point search engine will be available to French users, adding to its existing portfolio of ten markets. The move follows the signing of a distribution deal for fares and schedules from SNCF, France's main rail operator.
Monday 8 February 2016:Travelport renews Fly540 agreement
- The multi-year, full-content agreement gives all Travelport-connected agencies the chance to search and book all fares on the East Africa-based low cost carrier. The Nairobi-headquartered airline flies to destinations n Kenya, South Sudan and Tanzania.
Friday 5 February 2016:WAYN tries Skyscanner for flight search
- Travel-dedicated social network WAYN has enlisted the help of Skyscanner to provide a flight search channel for its members. It is the first time that Skyscanner has allowed a network such as WAYN to have use of its API, but it will be the third such metasearch agreement WAYN has had following previous contracts with Kayak and Momondo (the latter ending in 2013).
Distribusion stops for
Postbus integration
- The second largest bus operator in Germany will have its network and tickets made available to Distribusion-connected online travel agencies and offline agents. Postbus rides to 120 destinations in Germany and neighbouring countries.
Thursday 4 February 2016:TripAdvisor expands instant booking to new countries
- Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and South Africa join the launch markets of the UK and US in allowing visitors to the site's metasearch channel to secure bookings without leaving the page. A global roll-out is expected during the first half of 2016.
Wednesday 3 February 2016:eRevMax integrates HotelsByDay
- The day-time hotel rental app will have its inventory available on the eRevMax distribution platform through the deal. The eRexMax Channel Ecosystem connects properties to 150 distribution channels worldwide.
Tuesday 2 February 2016:DHISCO lands Excite Holidays
- The online travel wholesaler will place its accommodation inventory into the DHISCO system has part of an expansion plan for distribution. The company sells accommodation in 150 countries to travel agencies, with offices in New Zealand, Europe and Asia.
Monday 1 February 2016:Tourico Holidays plots car rental expansion
- The US-based travel wholesaler is to add Europcar, Advantage, E-Z and Dollar & Thrifty brands to its car rental distribution network alongside existing deals for Hertz, Avis and Enterprise. Overseeing the division will be Konni Marshall as vice president of business development, who most recently was at Hertz.
NB:Travel distribution image via Shutterstock.