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.
Expedia Group B2B, Tiqets
Expedia Group B2B is adding activities and experiences to its Rapid API ecosystem, with its Rapid Activities API launching in beta for select partners. The API includes Expedia Group inventory enhanced by content from Tiqets, which Expedia acquired earlier this year. General availability is planned for early 2027.
Separately, select United Kingdom travel agencies using Expedia's Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) now have access to curated Tiqets activities as part of a beta program. The additions expand Expedia Group B2B's activities offering across both its API and travel agency distribution platforms.
Mindtrip's personal travel assistant
Mindtrip has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) travel assistant that learns and retains traveler preferences across trips and uses that information to personalize recommendations.
The AI can activate agents that monitor flight and hotel prices, suggest itineraries and surface local recommendations during a trip. More than 18,000 travelers set up the assistant during beta testing, and recent users were 3x more likely to create a trip than those who didn't.
Bonafide names Sullivan chief growth officer
Bonafide has appointed Tim Sullivan as chief growth officer to lead sales, marketing, customer growth and strategic partnerships for its AI alignment platform.
Sullivan previously served as CEO of Kognitiv and CEO and president of Cendyn, and has been a member of Bonafide's advisory board since 2024. Bonafide provides technology designed to help brands make their product, pricing, availability and other business information available accurately to AI platforms and agents.
Business Travel Show America survey
More than a third of U.S.-based corporate travel buyers (35%) said forecast and predictive insights are missing from the data provided by their travel management companies (TMCs), according to research from Business Travel Show America.
The survey of 204 buyers across North and South America also identified data gaps in the areas of traveler behavior and preferences (33%), compliance and leakage data (29%) and supplier performance (28%). Nearly half of buyers said they are not fully satisfied with the data their TMC provides. Business Travel Show America, a Northstar Travel Group event, takes place Oct. 14-15 at the Javits Center in New York and will include sessions on AI and travel program decision-making.
Yanolja, Swosti Group
Yanolja Cloud Solution (YCS), the hospitality technology unit of Yanolja, will deploy its platform across all properties of Swosti Group, a hotel operator based in Odisha, India.
One YCS system will handle reservations, check-in, online booking channel connectivity and automated rate adjustments. Both companies expect shorter guest handling times and more consistent service. The deal follows YCS's acquisition of Indian provider InnKey and a partnership with Marriott. YCS treats India as a priority growth market.
Cloudbeds, Preferred Hotels & Resorts
Cloudbeds joined Preferred Hotels & Resorts' Alliance Partner Program as a recommended technology vendor. Preferred's more than 625 member properties in over 80 countries can now adopt Cloudbeds' platform, which combines property management, distribution, guest messaging and revenue tools in one system. The platform integrates with Preferred's own booking engine and supports multi-property groups.
Smoobu Smart Devices
Smoobu, the Berlin-based property management platform owned by HomeToGo, launched Smoobu Smart Devices, a paid add-on built on Seam's smart home API. It lets hosts manage smart locks from more than 15 brands, including Nuki, Yale, Salto KS and Igloohome, through one Smoobu dashboard.
Access codes generate and expire automatically based on booking dates, replacing physical key handovers. Hosts can mix lock brands across properties without switching apps. Smoobu plans to add more lock brands and eventually thermostats.
Bedsonline+ rebrand
B2B travel marketplace HBX Group has rebranded its travel advisor booking platform Bedsonline as Bedsonline+. The platform bundles accommodation (including premium and luxury), experiences, mobility and packaging with itinerary-building tools, AI destination search and travel trend data.
In selected markets it also includes a loyalty program recently extended to new countries. HBX says existing partner relationships and service stay the same.
Sojo adds strategic advisor
Vacation rental amenity automation platform Sojo has named Jason Sprenkle a strategic advisor. Sprenkle co-founded luxury vacation rental manager 360 Blue, hospitality tech company Glad to Have You and short-term rental data provider Key Data, where he served as CEO. He stepped down from that role this year and remains on Key Data's board.
Point.me launches bank points platform
Points redemption service Point.me has launched Gateway, a white-label platform that lets financial institutions offer award search, points-and-cash comparison, point transfers and booking inside their own apps under their own brands. Launch partners include Australian business payments platform B2Bpay and Flying Blue, the Air France-KLM loyalty program. Gateway builds on a partnership Point.me launched with American Express in 2024.
Traxo, Otonoma
Corporate travel data company Traxo has partnered with Otonoma, which is building a coordination network for travel and hospitality. Traxo will stream booking data, including reservations made directly with suppliers, into Otonoma's network, which monitors itineraries for disruptions and coordinates fixes through supplier APIs, human advisors and AI agents. The companies are piloting the integration with select corporate travel programs ahead of general availability in the fourth quarter through the Traxo Marketplace.
Naboo's APAC expansion
French corporate event management company Naboo has launched operations in Singapore and Australia, its first markets in Asia-Pacific. The expansion follows its U.S. launch earlier this year and was driven in part by existing clients, including Arkema, Veolia and AXA, seeking event support in the region. Naboo said it will tailor its offering to each market while using the same AI-driven platform, which automates event sourcing, booking and management.
Atlas, Centrum Air
Flight API provider Atlas has signed a direct distribution deal with Uzbek private airline Centrum Air, marking its expansion into Central Asia. Travel sellers connected to Atlas, including online travel agencies and TMCs, can access Centrum Air's real-time fares, ancillaries and servicing through a single API. The carrier flies to destinations in Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East, South Asia and Europe.