Travel Technology, Hospitality Management
Virgin Voyages | September 08, 2023
Virgin Voyages announced a $550 million funding round led by Ares Management for global expansion.
Founder Tom McAlpin transitions to Chairman of the Board, while Nirmal Saverimuttu takes over as CEO, bringing extensive experience from Virgin Voyages' early days.
Virgin Voyages looks forward to continued success and collaboration with investors, including Ares Management, to drive future growth and innovation.
Virgin Voyages, the award-winning cruise brand backed by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, has announced the completion of a $550 million fundraise led by Ares Management's Private Equity Group. This funding, including contributions from existing investors such as Virgin Group and Bain Capital, is poised to propel Virgin Voyages into international markets while enhancing the overall customer experience.
Partner and Co-Portfolio Manager of Special Opportunities in the Ares Private Equity Group, Aaron Rosen, remarked,
With this new investment alongside our partners at Virgin Group and Bain Capital, we believe the company is on strong footing to capitalize on its differentiated product and value proposition in the growing cruise industry.
[Source - Cision PR Newswire]
Established as a leading player in the industry, Virgin Voyages has swiftly gained recognition and accolades with a fleet serving various destinations and recent wins like topping the mega-ship category in Travel + Leisure's 2023 World's Best Awards and sweeping all five cruise categories in the 2023 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards.
Alongside this development, Tom McAlpin, the founding CEO, is transitioning to the role of Chairman of the Board. Nirmal Saverimuttu is taking the reins as the new Chief Executive Officer, having formerly served as President and Chief Experience Officer. In addition, Nirmal Saverimuttu has been a foundational figure at Virgin Voyages since 2014, when he joined as Chief Commercial Officer after securing initial investments from the Virgin Group. His role expanded in 2021 to President and Chief Experience Officer, making him well-prepared to guide the brand into its next phase of growth and innovation.
Nirmal Saverimuttu, CEO of Virgin Voyages, said,
I want to send our deepest thanks, on behalf of all our Crew and the Board, to Tom for his leadership and passion for the business. We are so grateful for all he has done and are thrilled to continue to partner with him as our Chairman.
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
Virgin Voyages is a trusted brand due to its crew's dedication and passion for offering remarkable experiences for its guests. Nirmal also expressed his anticipation of collaborating with the Ares team and Virgin Voyages' current investors to execute growth and expansion plans as the company contemplates its promising future.
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Hospitality Management
Globenewswire | August 25, 2023
Canary Technologies, the hospitality industry’s leading guest management system, is launching Canary AI, a fully enabled generative AI engine that will be embedded across Canary’s entire Guest Management System. The beta version product is the latest in Canary’s award-winning suite of guest management tools, driven by the latest technology. Generative AI refers to algorithms that are used to create new content using existing context.
The product will assimilate relevant general hotel information from existing resources about the property and surrounding area in order to generate auto-responses using contextual guest information like reservation details and guest profiles. The AI model is trained over time to craft the most relevant answers based on the most common guest responses.
Canary’s new feature will keep customer data safe while helping hoteliers increase staff efficiency, enabling them to save hours in responding to guest inquiries. It also saves guests time, providing answers to their top-of-mind questions directly and instantly. Canary’s AI capabilities will also drive a more personalized guest experience based on their specific customer criteria like loyalty status. Hotels can sign up to be part of the beta launch by contacting Canary.
“AI is reshaping the way we live, travel, and do business. With Canary AI, we’ll be able to help hoteliers transform the guest experience and enable staff to focus more on hospitality,” said Blake VanLandingham, Head of Engineering for Canary. “As AI reshapes the way we live, travel, and do business, we look forward to maintaining the safety of customer data and building this new technology into the guest journey as part of the Canary platform.”
Canary will continue to embed AI into their products to help hoteliers reduce fraud, streamline operations, elevate the guest experience and boost revenue.
About Canary Technologies
Canary Technologies is modernizing the hotel tech stack with its award-winning end-to-end Guest Management System. Digitizing everything from post-booking through checkout, Canary is trusted by more than 20,000 hoteliers in 75 countries, including leading global brands, such as Four Seasons, Choice Hotels, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Ace Hotel Group. Canary is the #1 rated solution on HotelTechReport and was the sole hotel technology company named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2023. Canary’s solutions help hotels eliminate paper processes, boost revenue, increase staff efficiency, improve the guest experience, and reduce chargebacks and payment fraud. Canary’s guest platform includes Contactless Check-In/Checkout, Upsells, Guest Messaging, and Digital Tipping.
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Business Travel
prnewswire | July 17, 2023
Sabre Corporation, a leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, today announced a new agreement with HRS, a leading software as a service (SaaS) provider, to support airlines on their digitalization journey. By integrating HRS Crew & Passenger Solutions technologies with existing Sabre solutions, the two companies can provide airlines with innovative automation that delivers lodging and financial reimbursement services when disruptions impact passengers.
Sabre's intelligent service recovery solutions are used by airlines around the world to support passenger re-booking challenges, including providing self-service options to allow passengers to choose their own flights, designed to help improve the overall traveler experience.
HRS' Crew & Passenger Solutions compliments Sabre's existing expertise by enabling airlines globally to provide passengers with instantly bookable hotel accommodations, local transportation, meals, and monetary compensation directly when disruption strikes. When a passenger's flight is disrupted, options are communicated via SMS, email, or voice call directly to a passenger's mobile device. Additionally, HRS' reimbursement technology allows passengers to simply take photos of their receipts, upload digital images, and be instantly reimbursed for appropriate expenses such as meals and refreshments. This capability eliminates the need for paper vouchers that typically entail lengthy administrative processes.
"When disruption strikes, an airline is tasked not just with getting its network running optimally again, but with passengers who may face hours in an airport, may need overnight accommodation, or may have missed connecting flights. Traditionally, airlines have had to dedicate an array of people and hard-to-secure resources to handle hotel rooms, taxis, shuttles and meal vouchers for stranded passengers," said Yvo van der Tol, CCO of HRS Crew & Passenger Solutions. "It is vital that carriers have the advanced automation needed to make time-process savings and efficiency gains for airline operations, while quickly turning what is usually a negative experience for passengers into a positive one. That's why this collaboration with Sabre, reaching a broader universe of airlines, represents the right solution for modern air travel."
"Today's travelers have higher expectations than ever before," said Corrie DeCamp, Senior Vice President, Product Management for Sabre Travel Solutions. "So, when disruptions happen, it is important that airlines have the technology they need to swiftly deal with the immediate situation, while converting those service recovery moments into opportunities to enhance passenger loyalty in the future. That's why we're thrilled to announce this new partnership with HRS, to help our airline partners protect their reputations, comply with dynamic regulatory compensation requirements, and provide passengers with what they need, all with a solution they can easily integrate into their existing recovery strategy."
"This collaboration helps close one of the biggest operational gaps airlines have today. While some regulations are already in place globally to protect passenger rights when disruption happens, the issue has risen in prominence in recent years," added HRS' van der Tol. "The need for speed of change is clear. Passengers who reflexively use mobile devices in times of disruption also expect digital answers to their travel challenges. Beyond time and resource savings, airlines will thrive on data transparency that helps steer service levels. We look forward to integrating our solutions."
About HRS
HRS is reinventing how businesses and governments work, stay and pay in today's evolving global marketplace. Our technology brings together hotel procurement, booking, payment and reconciliation data to drive newfound transparency and savings for program management while making everyday business travel better for employees. HRS' unique platform approach to corporate lodging elevates hotel automation to new heights, while the company's award-winning Green Stay Initiative technology helps companies achieve their climate targets. HRS' groundbreaking Crew & Passenger Solutions leverages automation to enhance experiences for air and rail operations.
About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is a leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, serving a wide range of travel companies including airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and other suppliers. The company provides retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions that help its customers operate more efficiently, drive revenue and offer personalized traveller experiences. Through its leading travel marketplace, Sabre connects travel suppliers with buyers from around the globe. Sabre's technology platform manages more than $260B worth of global travel spend annually. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world.
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