This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel DISTRIBUTION in tourism and hospitality for March 2014.
Friday 28 March 2014:
TripScanner taps into a consortium of corporate travel agencies
- TripScanner is a browser-based, "open booking" enterprise tool to help small- and midsized-businesses manage their travel expenses, while allowing their employees to book on any travel website. It has announced a partnership with Hickory Global Partners, a leading consortium of corporate travel agencies.
Says the startup: "Through better data on out-of-program bookings, TMCs can work more effectively with clients to reduce leakage, improve duty-of-care, and deepen their client relationships."
Wednesday 26 March 2014:Accor hits one million bookings via Amadeus
- In 2013, Accor achieved over one million hotel bookings through Amadeus. In addition to the Accor brand, currently more than 100 ibis hotels' inventory are also available in Amadeus, and the plan is to have more than 500 ibis hotel available in Amadeus by 2014.
TravelTripper integrates with
TripConnect- TravelTripper, the web technology solution provider for hotels, has fully integrated with TripAdvisor's TripConnect.
Tuesday 25 March 2014:Air New Zealand renews agreement with Sabre
- With the renewal agreement between the parties, more than 400,000 travel agents worldwide will continue to have real-time access to the airline's fares, schedules and inventory, in addition to ancillary products. The airline's Economy Skycouch seats and pre-paid bags are already available in Sabre in select markets.
Monday 24 March 2014:Travelport renews VIP Service partnership in Russia
- The Moscow-based consolidator has signed a multi-year extension to its existing agreement, also giving it Galileo Web Services and e-Tracker technology from Travelport. The 21-year-old company claims to be the country's largest provider of air and rail bookings and is the main agent for both Aeroflot and Russian Railways brand, RZD. It also operates the Biletix consumer-facing brand.
Thursday 20 March 2014:Travelport shuffles management pack in Asia-Pacific and Africa
- Current managing director for Africa, Mark Meehan, will move to Singapore for a similar role covering the Asia-Pacific region, reporting to managing director for global sales, Jason Clarke. As a result of Meehan's new role, Travelport's operations in Africa be headed by the following: Stuart Laird-Smith (North Africa), Peter Barry (Central, East and West Africa) and George Harb (Southern Africa). Meehan's move to Singapore coincides with the departure of vice president and regional managing director, Patrick Andres, who is leaving for a new role elsewhere in the industry.
CarTrawler retains
Allovoyages- The French price comparison site will use CarTrawler as its sole car rental distribution partner online. The system gives users access to 1,200 rental agents in more than 30,000 airport and city locations in 174 countries around the world.
eRevMax integrates with
Rakuten Travel- The two-way XML integration between the services will enable Rakuten's hotel customers to make real-time ARI (Availability, Rates & Inventory) updates and receive Rakuten bookings directly into their property management system. Rakuten Travel has over 80,000 hotels worldwide including about 30,000 hotels in Japan.
Wednesday 19 March 2014:HotelTonight adds Portugal as a market for hotel inventory
- HotelTonight, a same-day hotel booking app, has arrived in Portugal's domestic market, bringing its global total to more than 19 countries and 300 destinations. The company charges hotels about 15% to 20% per booking, slightly lower than average for online travel booking platforms.
Tuesday 18 March 2014:Triptelligent unveils an API for shore excursions content
Monday 17 March 2014:Abacus debuts IATA agent processes in China
- Abacus has become the first foreign GDS to secure IATA Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) certification for China. Now, authorised travel agents in the country will now be able to fulfill travel products offered by foreign BSP airlines. In January 2014, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) approved the licenses of Abacus and Amadeus to sell overseas airline tickets in the country.
Amadeus captures
Sunvil Group- The tour operator has selected Amadeus to be its main GDS for content. It will also be using the Selling Platform and Web Services tools provided by Amadeus as part of the agreement.
Friday 14 March 2014:Travelport signs with Peruvian Airlines
- The Lima-based airline will distribute content to Travelport's GDS platforms as part of the agreement and also become one of the first carriers in the region to join its merchandising platform, specifically the Rich Content and Branding programme.
Sabre gets seat boost on
Qantas- Advance Seat Selection will be the latest ancillary service streamed into the Sabre GDS for agents to secure on behalf of customers. Sabre says it is selling the service using the standards created by IATA and ATPCO and existing electronic miscellaneous document protocols.
Monday 10 March 2014:Travelport agrees distribution and merchandising deal with Avianca
- The Latin American airline has extended its existing partnership with Travelport for fares and schedules to be available to travel agents so that content will also feature in the Rich Content and Branding element of its merchandising platform. Use of the Travelport Rapid Reprice tool is also included in the agreement.
Sabre signs with
Germania- The Berlin-based airline will make its tickets available to Sabre-connected agents as part of the agreement. The GDS will include all seats and fare classes on the carrier, a specialist to destinations in the east Mediterranean such as Turkey and Lebanon.
Wednesday 5 March 2014:GTA renews Hilton Worldwide distribution agreement
- Accommodation wholesaler GTA has renewed its agreement with Hilton giving businesses access to pricing and availability across the 10 brands in the Hilton portfolio.
Travel.ru integrates with
eRevMax- Russia's Travel.ru (formerly Oktogo) has connected to eRevMax via XML for rate and booking management. The partnership means Oktogo hotel partners will be able to automatically update availability, rates and inventory and receive bookings directly into their property management systems.
Monday 3 March 2014:Tiket.com sells Kidzania attraction tickets
- Indonesia-based OTA Tiket will sell tickets for Jakarta-based amusement park Kidzania. As a promotional offer, Tiket users are given 20% discount for every Kidzania ticket purchase.
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