This is a roundup for product news and announcements for travel DISTRIBUTION in tourism and hospitality for October 2015.
Friday 30 October 2015:
WAYN launches hotel search engine
- The travel social network claims it will have one million properties included on the system when it comes fully out of beta. The platform takes feeds from a number of suppliers for the content, with it all managed on the back-end by Travolutionary.
Tuesday 27 October 2015:Sabre picked by Shijie99
- The Chinese travel aggregator will use Sabre as one of its GDS partners for the company's international ambitions (it also uses Amadeus). The company will also use a customised version of the Sabre travel shopping platform.
Monday 26 October 2015:Blue Air nails Amadeus for debut GDS deal
- The deal for full content, schedules and ticketing is a first for the Romania-based carrier as it looks to rapidly expand its services to carry 2.5 million by 2017. The airline flies to destinations in Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain and the UK.
Thursday 22 October 2015:TourRadar opens a community for guides
- The multi-day tour platform launched the social community for tour guides working with operators to give them a chance to connect with each other, expand their portfolios, and meet potential new employers.
Skyscanner joins
ETTSA lobbying group
- The UK-based metasearch engine will work alongside the likes of the three main GDSs and a number of online travel agencies including Expedia, eDreams and Ebookers in the organisation. It is the first travel search brand to have joined the group since its launch in 2009.
Travelport renews
Tripsta distribution package
- The new partnership extends the pair's previous agreement and includes access to air, hotel, rail and car rental content on the Travelport GDS. Greece-based Tripsta runs the Travelplanet24 brand and merged with Airtickets in March this year.
Monday 19 October 2015TripAdvisor has signed Wyndham Hotel Group to instant booking
- More than 668,000 hotel rooms across 71 countries and 15 brands will be added to TripAdvisor's instant booking platform.
Wednesday 14 October 2015:Diversity Travel moves to Travelport
- The UK-based travel management travel company will use Travelport to access inventory from airlines and hotels. The agency will also switch to using the Smartpoint desktop system for its staff, as well as other services such as Express Loader.
Tuesday 13 October 2015:Heathrow Airport gives car hire metasearch to CarRentals
- The ASAP Ventures-run service will be integrated into the London airport's main website, with facilities to search by brand and model type. CarRentals works with 50 car hire websites and has availability in 2.5 million locations around world.
Friday 9 October 2015:Sabre re-signs Virgin Australia
- The airline has agreed a multi-part agreement with Sabre for distribution of fares and availability, merchandising services and use of the Marketplace Analytics platform. The new deal follows the carrier's decision renew its hosting partnership with Sabre for the SabreSonic system.
Tuesday 6 October 2015:Travelport gets Transavia for Rich Content and Branding
- The carrier, part of the Air France-KLM group, will now be able to display its fares and disclose ancillary products on agency desktops in the same way as its existing consumer-facing channels. A new fare from Transavia, known as Max (featuring a fast-track option for boarding), will also be available to connected agencies on the Travelport GDS.
Monday 5 October 2015:Deem and BCD Travel green light car distribution agreement
- The deal will see BCD Travel giving corporate travellers access tto Deem's chauffeured ground transportation network via mobile services. The portfolio cover operators in 80 countries and 700 cities, including Arrow, Gem, Flyte Tyme and Music Express.
Friday 2 October:AxisRooms adds Keys Hotels
- Axis Rooms, a Bangalore-based distribution platform for hotels, has added Keys Hotels to its network. Axis' proprietary "Hotel Exchange" tool allows hotels to upload inventory which is then made available to OTAs such as MakeMyTrip and Expedia as well as wholesalers such as hotelbeds. Keys Hotels has 35 properties in India including those under development.
Travelport renews
SNCF distribution deal
- The latest agreement is a continuation of a 16-year-old partnership to distribute the French rail operator's fares and availability to Travelport-connected travel agencies. The SNCF network has expanded in recent years beyond its French borders to include routes around Europe.
NB: Travel distribution image via Shutterstock.