What else is going on in the world of travel tech? A round-up of other stories from across the industry.
- Talk about private sales .... More than 10,000 people have booked Mauiva AirCruises from Travel Holdings since the tour's inception in April 2011. The tours on the East or West coasts of the US occur in private planes through private airports. The milestone was announced as private company Travel Holdings, the result of the 2004 merger of Tourico Holidays, LastMinute Travel and Travel Global Systems, released fourth quarter financial results. Without releasing dollar figures, Travel Holdings says its nearing earnings rose 130% year-over year, driven by a 38% jump in hotel room bookings.
- Preferred Hotel Group, with its 600 independent and luxury hotels in 70 countries, joined Room Key, a hotel retail and distribution effort created by six major hotel companies. The commercial partnership bolsters the efforts of Room Key founding hotels Choice Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group, which plan on opening Room Key sites in Canada, the UK and Australia this Spring.
- Accor has chosen TrustYou for social media monitoring and reputation management. With its more than 3,300 properties, Accor can keep tabs on their inclusion in the social media conversation and can use TrustYou analytics to benchmark against competitors, the companies say.
- ezRez Software, which provides technology tools for ancillary services, loyalty programs and payment solutions, rebranded as Switchfly. “The Switchfly brand embodies the growing range of products and services our company offers across several channels,” says Daniel Farrar, CEO of Switchfly. “Switchfly offers our clients the unique ability to enhance their brand and create loyalty with technology solutions that go beyond customer expectations while at the same time decreasing costs.”