Here's our roundup of the people, product and partner news from the global travel industry this week.
HRS, Amadeus
HRS, a global technology company, has announced the extension of its partnership with Amadeus Cytric, a platform that provides
end-to-end solutions for corporate travel and expense.
The announcement reflected on the highlights of the extended agreement, which included optimized property shopping, automated hotel rebooking, driving the
use of more sustainable hotels and automated payment and invoice collection.
Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS said, “By unlocking new
data-infused avenues to optimize program performance, maximize savings and
enhance sustainable travel operations, we’re working together to make business
life better for corporations and their travelers.”
Read more details here.
Sabre, Air Canada
Sabre, a software and technology provider that
powers the global travel industry, and Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline, have
announced that Air Canada’s full content will now be available through Sabre
NDC.
This launch is said to empower travel agencies to consume
Air Canada’s expanded new distribution capability offers and services, which will enable them to provide
personalized travel experiences to their customers.
Kathy Morgan, vice president of product management distribution
experience for Sabre said, “Our robust technology ensures scalability, allowing
agents to seamlessly access Air Canada's latest pricing and bundled offerings
without compromising service levels. Additionally, our comprehensive end-to-end
booking management streamlines the process, reducing the burden on agency
resources.”
Priceline, Cover Genius
Priceline, an innovator of online travel, and Cover Genius,
the insurtech for embedded protection, have announced a partnership to enhance
travel protection for any flights, hotels, rental cars and packages booked with
Priceline.
This new integration allows Priceline’s customers to access support,
file claims and receive instant payments for approved claims through Cover Genius’
global distribution platform, XCover.
Angus McDonald, CEO and co-founder of Cover Genius, said, “We avoid ‘off-the-shelf’ offerings and build
technology-driven solutions that we constantly test and iterate for the best possible
insurance experience. This helps develop meaningful touchpoints with customers
and drives additional revenue for our partners. In fact, after launching with us, Priceline saw an increase in
insurance attach rates.”
Read more details here.
Nezasa updates
Nezasa, a leading provider of e-commerce
solutions for travel brands, has announced a partnership with Globespan, an
industry leader in travel management.
Globespan will integrate Nezasa’s TripBuilder
platform into its channels, which will allow them to curate personalized
experiences for their members and provide a leisure benefit site that offers discounted content
and product offerings.
In addition to their developments, Nezasa
has announced the appointment of Lisa Katsouraki to the board of directors, who
will continue to strengthen the company’s mission to empower travel providers with
tools to sell itineraries efficiently while driving growth and enabling them to
streamline operations.
LATA, Safer Tourism Foundation
The Latin American Tourism Association (LATA) has partnered with the Safer Tourism Foundation as part of a strategy to promote traveler safety. Through the partnership, LATA will access STF's expertise and content, which is based on anonymized safety incident data. The data helps travel specialists understand, boost awareness of and minimize risk around preventable harm, injuries, illnesses and deaths while traveling.
SITA, Heathrow Airport
Aviation technology specialist SITA has extended its partnership with Heathrow Airport for a further five years. SITA will provide network, telecommunications and connectivity services to the airport as well as work on new solutions as part of the agreement.
Sergio Colella, president for Europe at SITA, said, “As air traffic increases across European airports, airports are increasingly prioritizing IT to strengthen their operations and give their passengers a seamless experience. By delivering a robust IT infrastructure, our goal is to make sure Heathrow can future-proof its network needs for effortless operations, all while making the passenger experience more enjoyable. This partnership also opens exciting new avenues for commercial clients enabling the London airport to offer its customers a raft of new opportunities.”
Conferma, GroundSpan
Virtual card provider Conferma is enabling virtual payments for ground transportation through a partnership with GroundSpan. The move aims to enable companies to pay for ground transportation more easily.
Kelly Cleeton, head of sales and corporate payment solutions at Conferma, said, “Our customers have increasingly been asking for a ground transportation virtual card capability, so we’re delighted to have delivered this functionality through the market leading solution - GroundSpan, building on the existing benefits of virtual cards for hotel payments."
GetGoing adds expense management
GetGoing, the corporate travel booking platform from BCD has integrated expense management through a partnership with Mobileexpense. The Go Travel & Expense technology is "a breeze to manage" said Dave Mitchell, president of the BCD Travel mid-market division "because it's one app, one supplier, one contract, all within the GetGoing platform."
CWT product upgrade
CWT, a global business travel and
meetings solutions provider, has established an upgraded version of its airfare
optimization service, which is powered by Wenrix, a leading travel technology company that provides AI and
advanced analytics solutions.
The new upgrade uses enhanced AI and
machine learning models while also extending the window during which prices can
be optimized, allowing customers to secure lower airfares.
"Through our partnership with Wenrix, we have combined the experience and expertise of our people with advanced technology to create a market-leading price optimization solution that delivers even bigger airfare savings and a seamless traveler experience," said Erica Antony, CWT's chief product officer.
Read more details here.
Pelago/Primer
Primer, the infrastructure for global payments and commerce,
and Pelago, a travel experiences platform, have announced a partnership that
will allow Pelago to grow its payments strategy and enhance the payment experience for travelers worldwide.
This integration allows Pelago to enhance the customer experience
with local payment methods, reduce processing costs and improve operational
efficiency and fraud prevention with third-party integrations.
In addition, Pelago will unlock further growth opportunities
by scaling to new markets faster and providing access to experiences that connect
travelers to both global and local cultures, particularly in Singapore.