Here's our roundup of the people, product and partner news from the global travel industry this week.
This roundup was created with the assistance of Claude.
Emburse launches AI agent
Emburse has launched Emburse AI agent, an artificial intelligence (AI) agent designed to proactively automate expense reporting. Emburse AI analyzes transactions, receipts and itineraries to generate expense reports in under five minutes—down from an industry average of 30.
The agent handles categorization, itemization and policy compliance automatically, prompting users only when information is missing. Emburse AI will be available as part of Emburse Enterprise Expense starting fall 2026.
Agoda launches booking engine
Agoda has launched a multi-product booking engine that lets travelers book hotels, flights and activities in a single transaction.
All confirmed bookings are consolidated in the platform's My Trips section, where users can view and organize their itineraries. Behind the scenes, the system handles payment processing, fraud checks and inventory confirmation in one workflow.
NextTrip names CTO
NextTrip has appointed Brad Buice as CTO. Buice brings more than 30 years of experience in travel technology, including senior roles at Trisept Solutions, Apple Leisure Group and Hyatt Corporation.
NextTrip said his background in booking platform development and travel advisor ecosystems will support the company's NXT2.0 booking platform and its advisor-focused Travel Magazine Pro initiative.
HolidayHero names commercial co-founder
HolidayHero has appointed Robert de Groot as commercial co-founder.
De Groot brings 15 years of hospitality and commercial experience, including roles at Nestlé Nespresso SA and Tiqets, where he helped scale the experience platform to more than 50 million travelers. He will lead commercial strategy, partnerships and growth at HolidayHero.
Byway, Exodus Adventure Travels
Byway and Exodus Adventure Travels have expanded their partnership to make flight-free adventure travel more accessible via a two-way referral model.
Byway will refer customers to Exodus for small group tours while serving as the lead provider for overland travel to Exodus departure points. The move comes as 65% of Exodus's U.K. customers report greater interest in train travel than five years ago and 54% say they would replace a flight with a train journey of up to 24 hours.
Journey, The Leading Hotels of the World
Journey has been named a preferred provider of digital marketing, website and gift voucher solutions for The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) through its Leading Strategic Sourcing program.
The agreement gives LHW's 425-plus member properties access to Journey's direct revenue tools, including web development, digital marketing and conversion optimization. Journey already works with a number of LHW properties, including The Landmark London and Beaverbrook Surrey Hills.
Travel Forward launches community
Travel Forward has launched Travel Forward Connect, a membership community aimed at bringing tourism destinations and travel businesses together to address shared challenges including climate risk, visitor pressure and local economic benefit.
The community is open to destination management organizations, national tourism authorities, hotel groups and travel platforms. An introductory webinar is scheduled for May 27.
Yanolja acquires InnKey
Yanolja has acquired InnKey, an India-based enterprise hospitality platform, through its Yanolja Cloud Solution subsidiary.
InnKey's platform integrates front office, food and beverage, procurement, financial accounting and guest engagement across more than 500 hotels in India, with deployments at groups including The Fern, Pride and Orchid, as well as an integration with Marriott International.
The deal builds on a partnership the two companies announced in 2022 and is expected to support InnKey's expansion into the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Lufthansa City Center International, Acai Travel
Lufthansa City Center International (LCCI) has partnered with Acai Travel to expand its technology portfolio with AI-powered automation tools for agency operations.
The companies said the platform can automate tasks including itinerary searches, rebookings, cancellations and schedule changes through integrations with GDS and customer experience systems. LCCI said the partnership is aimed at reducing handling times and easing operational pressure across its global agency network.
Lodgify launches AI tools for hosts
Lodgify has introduced a set of AI-powered tools aimed at helping independent vacation rental hosts increase direct bookings and automate operational tasks.
The updates include an AI co-host assistant, tools designed to improve visibility in AI-driven travel search and new automation capabilities through model context protocol integrations. Lodgify also launched new pricing plans and a redesigned brand identity as it looks to support hosts managing smaller property portfolios.
Apaleo, Cocoon Hotels
Apaleo has developed an AI-powered room allocation agent with Cocoon Hotels and Eckelmann Hotels aimed at automating a largely manual hotel operations task.
The companies said the tool reduces room assignment time from up to 45 minutes per property to about one minute by analyzing booking details, guest preferences and operational requirements. Following an initial deployment at Cocoon Hotel Munich Hauptbahnhof, the AI agent is expected to roll out across 10 properties by the end of May.
Promperu launches AI travel assistant
Promperu has launched an AI-powered virtual assistant within its Peru.travel platform to support trip planning and destination discovery.
The tool, developed with technology from Mindtrip, provides personalized travel recommendations and conversational planning support based on traveler interests. Promperu said the assistant is also designed to promote lesser-known destinations and tourism experiences across Peru.
Thomas Cook names marketing head
Thomas Cook has appointed Kate Staniforth as head of marketing, a newly created role overseeing brand, social media, PR and content strategy.
Staniforth joins from Travel Republic, where she served as marketing director. Thomas Cook said she will focus on growing market share and brand visibility.
Perk partners with CLEAR
Perk has partnered with CLEAR to offer business travelers preferred pricing on airport security and concierge services in the United States. The companies said Perk customers will have access to discounted CLEAR+, TSA PreCheck and CLEAR Concierge services aimed at speeding airport processing and reducing travel friction.
CLEAR+ provides access to dedicated airport security lanes, while TSA PreCheck simplifies security screening. CLEAR Concierge is a premium airport concierge service guiding travelers from curb to gate or lounge. The partnership marks CLEAR’s first agreement with a travel and spend management platform, according to the companies.