Here's our roundup of the people, product and partner news from the global travel industry this week.
Cendyn integrates AI
Hotel technology provider Cendyn has enhanced its business intelligence solutions with AI-driven analysis to offer hotels actionable insights and smarter data.
By integrating AI into its CRM and Knowland platform, Cendyn simplifies data management, helping hotel sales and marketing teams reduce manual tasks. The new CRM Analytics feature delivers real-time guest behavior insights, optimizing marketing efforts.
Additionally, Knowland’s new AI search capability allows hoteliers to input long-form queries for faster access to business intelligence. Cendyn’s AI advancements aim to boost direct bookings and streamline hotel operations, improving competitiveness in key markets.
TUI, Oman Air
Oman Air and TUI have launched a new digital platform offering customizable holiday packages, allowing travelers to combine flights, hotels, ground transportation, tours and more.
The platform covers Oman Air's network, including destinations in Oman, Europe and the Far East.
The collaboration aims to provide a streamlined booking experience, catering to various traveler segments. Both companies expect to reach new customer bases, enhance revenue and offer a more convenient, affordable way to book complete holiday packages, while highlighting Oman’s appeal as a travel destination.
Mindtrip, Visit California
Mindtrip has integrated its AI-powered B2B platform into Visit California’s Road Trips Hub, enabling visitors to create personalized driving itineraries from over 74 curated road trips.
The partnership, part of the California Active Inspiration initiative, uses Mindtrip’s AI to offer tailored, real-time travel recommendations, including route planning and updates on closures.
The platform allows travelers to plan multi-stop trips, automatically plot routes and access content in nine languages.
The partnership enhances the travel experience by delivering customized itineraries, demonstrating how AI can transform travel planning with personalized, technology-driven insights.
Phocuswright, Travel Again Advisory
Travel Again Advisory has entered into a strategic partnership with Phocuswright, enhancing its consulting services with Phocuswright’s industry-leading research, data and event access.
The collaboration will allow Travel Again Advisory to offer clients tailored strategies addressing operational, technological and consumer-driven changes in the travel sector.
The partnership includes joint thought leadership initiatives, enriched market insights and access to Phocuswright events, providing networking opportunities and the latest industry innovations. The alliance strengthens Travel Again Advisory's position as a trusted partner in navigating the evolving travel landscape and driving sustainable travel innovation.
Rome2Rio advertising business expansion
Trip and route planning specialist Rome2Rio is expanding its advertising business to enhance connections between travelers, destinations and partners.
With more than 600 million annual visitors, the Omio-owned company is shifting from programmatic to integrated advertising, aiming to triple ad revenue by 2026.
Rome2Rio is modernizing its travel product, offering native ads to destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and travel suppliers.
“Connecting people to new places and experiences has never been more important, and Rome2Rio is the only travel company that can help a broad and diverse range of travelers and travel companies discover each other,” said Wendy Olson Killion, CEO of Rome2Rio. “DMOs and travel suppliers across the globe can benefit from reaching our travelers on both well-traveled and remote routes during discovery, through in-trip.”
Sunrate, Atlas
Sunrate has announced a strategic partnership with Atlas at ITB Berlin 2025, integrating its travel payment solutions with Atlas's ATRIP platform. Sunrate aims to tackle global travel distribution challenges, offering virtual and physical commercial cards that allow customers to settle payments in over 15 currencies.
The cards also enable tailored financial control with custom limits and real-time transaction monitoring. Sunrate's solutions are meant to enhance efficiency in travel payments.
"This partnership highlights our commitment to innovation and helping travel businesses navigate complex payment landscapes," said Shawn Qin, head of card business at Sunrate.
Way, Auberge Resorts Collection
Way has announced an expanded partnership with Auberge Resorts Collection, extending its experiential platform to the brand’s broader portfolio.
Following implementations at several United States locations, this rollout aims to boost ancillary revenue and streamline operations.
Guests can now discover and book experiences directly through each property's page on Auberge’s website. Way’s interface is meant to improve the guest journey by simplifying the booking process before arrival and during their stay, while optimizing hotel operations. Way allows Auberge to offer digital itinerary building as an option. It’s also meant to reduce friction for the property management teams.
Expedia Group, Emirates
Expedia Group and Emirates have expanded their partnership by fully integrating Emirates' New Distribution Capability (NDC) API with Expedia’s platforms, offering a direct connection to the airline's full range of fares and services.
The enhancement enables travelers to access a broader selection of options and streamlined booking features. The collaboration also explores deeper integration of loyalty programs, personalized travel experiences and end-to-end bookings, including tailored air and hotel packages. The partnership aims to offer more customization, improved flexibility and expanded rewards, enhancing travel experiences for customers globally.
Separately, Expedia has partnered with Upgrade to offer Flex Pay, its flexible payment option, for cruise bookings across five of its brands, including Expedia Cruises and Travelocity.
This partnership aims to make travel more accessible by allowing customers to spread payments over 3 to 24 months, supporting over 20 cruise lines. Flex Pay’s no-interest financing increases booking volume and boosts revenue.
HolidayHero Supplier Connections
HolidayHero has launched Supplier Connections, a feature allowing hospitality businesses to directly link suppliers to upsells and guest experiences.
The move streamlines communication by providing suppliers, such as bike rental companies or private chefs, with their own portal to manage guest inquiries, accept or decline bookings and communicate directly with guests.
The feature automates payments and commission handling, removing the need for manual tracking and ensuring faster responses.
The tool empowers suppliers while simplifying operations for properties, said Hjalte Niehorster, CEO of HolidayHero.
Shiji rebrand
Shiji, a global leader in hospitality technology, has announced a full rebrand, uniting its solutions under a cohesive brand identity. The rebrand simplifies Shiji's offerings and underscores its 24/7 commitment to the hospitality industry.
Key solutions include Daylight PMS, Infrasys POS and Reviewpro Reputation, among others, all rebranded for clarity and integration.
The company’s new “Day and Night” concept reflects the non-stop nature of hospitality, aiming for seamless operations for hotels worldwide. “This rebrand strengthens our mission to deliver world-class technology,” said Kevin King, CEO of Shiji.
Daytrip expands offering
Daytrip, a travel platform offering private car transfers in more than 130 countries, has launched its new "day trips," expanding beyond its existing one-way and return transfer services.
Travelers can book from March, with more than 1,000 day trips available across 200+ locations, mainly in Europe. This new offering allows customers to explore local sights and return to their starting point within a day. Daytrip also updated its app and localized its website into seven languages.
“Our goal is to connect travelers with authentic local culture,” said Valeriia Pshenychna, co-founder of Daytrip.
Avantio pricing tool
Property management technology specialist Avantio has launched its native dynamic pricing tool to help property managers boost revenue and optimize occupancy.
The tool uses historical trends, real-time market data and insights from platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo to recommend optimal rates, factoring in seasonality and guest behavior. It offers flexibility with custom discounts and minimum stay rules while automating rate updates across all booking channels.
The tool aims to level the playing field for property managers of all sizes, making pricing optimization accessible and integrated into daily operations.
Sojern's email marketing
Hospitality marketing specialist Sojern has launched a fully managed email marketing service as part of its multichannel Commission offering.
Now available in the U.S. and Canada, the service helps hotels drive direct bookings, build guest loyalty and reduce reliance on OTAs, all within Sojern’s pay-for-performance model. Powered by AI, the service connects with property management systems to deliver targeted email campaigns and automate operations.
As direct bookings are projected to surpass OTAs by 2030, Sojern’s solution offers hoteliers a streamlined way to engage guests and boost revenue without upfront costs.
Yanolja, OpenAI Operator
Travel technology company Yanolja has joined OpenAI's global launch of the Operator research preview, which launched in January, advancing its mission to revolutionize travel with AI-driven services.
Yanolja will leverage insights from the research preview to enhance its travel-specific AI capabilities, delivering personalized experiences and streamlining operations for travel enterprises.
With its AI-driven services, Yanolja said it continues to grow rapidly, achieving $19.8 billion in transactions in 2024 and expanding its global presence across 206 countries.
* Editor’s note: This roundup was created with the help of ChatGPT.