American Express GBT adds investors to fuel further growth

PhocusWire | December 18, 2019

American Express Global Business Travel has secured undisclosed investment from Carlyle Global Partners. Carlyle joins the Certares-led investment group, which holds 50% of the business, with credit card and loyalty brand American Express holding the remaining half. GIC, an institutional investor, is also now part of the group, alongside the University of California Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents and Kaiser Permanente.

Spotlight

Explore cutting-edge revenue strategies in the hospitality industry. Adopt the latest hospitality management trends to optimize the revenue stream.

Spotlight

Explore cutting-edge revenue strategies in the hospitality industry. Adopt the latest hospitality management trends to optimize the revenue stream.

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Hospitality Trends, Hospitality Management

Sojern and Profitroom Join Forces to Drive Direct Hotel Bookings

PRNewswire | August 08, 2023

Sojern, the leading travel marketing platform, and Profitroom, a globally renowned award-winning booking and technology platform, announced a new collaboration. In today's era, where hotels closely monitor their budgets, the collaboration aims to equip hotels worldwide with a powerful combination of advanced booking technology and data-driven marketing solutions. This will enable hoteliers to effortlessly reach travellers searching for a place to stay and drive direct bookings on their website, ultimately leading to increased revenue. "With travellers increasingly relying on multiple digital channels to discover, plan and book their trips, the hospitality industry is undergoing a profound shift," said Josh Beckwith, Managing Director, Global Strategic Accounts and Partnerships, Sojern. "This collaboration between Sojern and Profitroom is perfectly timed to address the evolving needs of hoteliers of all sizes, helping them navigate the complex landscape of digital marketing and guest acquisition, and ultimately drive measurable results while boosting profitability. In an exciting year for Sojern, we are thrilled to partner with Profitroom to empower hotels with the tools and insights they need to succeed in today's competitive market." As a leading provider of hospitality technology solutions, Profitroom boasts one of the highest-converting booking engines on the market, complemented by powerful marketing automation tools, an advanced channel manager, and a website builder. By integrating these offerings with Sojern's digital marketing capabilities, hoteliers can optimise their online presence, attract high-value guests, and streamline operations. Furthermore, Sojern recently introduced its suite of Guest Experience Solutions through the acquisition of VenueLytics. Sojern's enhanced Travel Marketing Platform now enables hotels to engage with guests throughout their entire journey. "We are excited to join forces with Sojern and help hoteliers accelerate growth while increasing direct online revenue," said Samantha Williams, Commercial Director, Profitroom. "By leveraging each other's strengths, we will equip hotels with a winning combination of innovative technology and data-driven marketing solutions. This partnership will enable hotels to stand out in a crowded marketplace, increase direct bookings, and boost revenue. Profitroom has already made significant progress in the Polish, South African, LATAM, UK and Nordic markets with among 3,500 hotels and resorts worldwide. This new partnership with Sojern will further enhance our global reach amongst hoteliers." Sojern recently announced the latest version of its Sojern Travel Marketing Platform, featuring enhanced AI-powered audiences, showcasing the company's commitment to leveraging its deep technological expertise on a global scale. By continuously advancing its platform and investing in partnerships like the one with Profitroom, Sojern demonstrates dedication to innovation and delivering exceptional results to its 10,000 customers annually around the world. Profitroom, at the forefront of hotel technology solutions, assists hotels in adapting to evolving technology landscapes by introducing innovative ways to engage with customers while saving them time. Notably, Profitroom recently introduced an AI-based automatic copywriter, simplifying the process of creating compelling email campaigns. This cutting-edge technology enables hotels to generate tailored messages for guests with just a few clicks. Sojern is set to join Profitroom at their On Tour event in Johannesburg on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. The series of events, which will be hosted in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Hoedspruit and Nelspruit, aims to equip hoteliers with the best hospitality booking technology, offering discussions on the latest trends and highlighting strategies to increase revenue. Providing hoteliers with a networking platform and opportunities to develop industry relationships, the event also offers tools to keep them updated with the latest insights and trends, positioning them at the forefront of the industry. Sojern is among an esteemed group of partners joining Profitroom throughout the tour. About Sojern Sojern is a leading digital marketing platform built for travel marketers. Powered by artificial intelligence and traveller intent data, Sojern provides multichannel marketing solutions to drive direct demand. More than 10,000 hotels, attractions, tourism boards, and travel marketers rely on Sojern annually to engage and convert travellers around the world. About Profitroom Profitroom powers more than 3,500 outstanding leisure hotels and resorts across the world. The award-winning Profitroom Suite exposes hotels' full business potential with the complete set of e-commerce tools and industry-leading experience personalisation. Profitroom reservation platform supports all channels and yields direct bookings performance. It's built on the guest-centric foundations to strengthen guest loyalty and retention.

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Travel Technology, Hospitality Trends

Collinson Announces Partnership with Blue Sky Group to Enhance Lounge Access for Priority Pass Members in Indonesia

PR Newswire | July 05, 2023

Today, Collinson, a global leader in the provision of airport experiences, loyalty and customer engagement solutions, and owner and operator of Priority Pass, announces a new partnership with Blue Sky Group, a hospitality provider in Indonesia that manages premium executive lounges in airports across Indonesia, alongside hotels and restaurants. This partnership will allow Priority Pass Members to access 13 airport lounges, eight of which are exclusive to Priority Pass Members, in Indonesian airports. This includes Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport (BPN), and Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (PLM). Blue Sky Group's airport lounges offer comfortable spaces for travellers to relax pre-flight, as well as VIP rooms for informal meetings. Lounges at Balikpapan (BPN) and terminal 2 of Soekarno-Hatta (CGK) airports provide complimentary buggy services that transport guests from the lounge to immigration. In addition to curated lounge spaces, members will be able to enjoy Ippolito coffee – Blue Sky's in-house brand, roasted locally – as well as sample Indonesian cuisine, such as Pisang Goreng and varieties of Jajanan Pasar. "This is an exciting time for the travel industry in Indonesia, as the country has set a goal of attracting nearly 7.4 million international arrivals in 2023; almost double the number of arrivals when compared to last year," said Todd Handcock, Global Chief Commercial Officer and Asia Pacific President at Collinson. "We are delighted to partner with Blue Sky Group, one of the top hospitality providers in Southeast Asia, to vastly enhance our Priority Pass Members' experience when visiting Indonesia, through inventory that both provides a taste of the local culture, and a memorable airport experience." Linan Kurniahu, CEO of Blue Sky Group said, "We are thrilled to partner with Priority Pass to provide their members with access to our premium airport lounges in Indonesia. Our airport lounges combine the best of local culture and cuisine with the highest levels of international travel service. This partnership represents a significant milestone for us as we continue to expand our footprint across Asia Pacific's travel industry." Indonesia has a rapidly growing economy and is fast becoming a major international business and leisure travel destination. Recognising the importance of this market to Priority Pass Members, together, both partners will make travel to and within the Indonesian archipelago more comfortable and relaxing than ever before. About Collinson Collinson is the global, privately-owned company dedicated to helping the world to travel with ease and confidence. We work with the world's leading payment networks, over 1,400 banks, 90 airlines and 20 hotel groups worldwide. We deliver market-leading airport experiences, loyalty and customer engagement, and insurance solutions for over 400 million end consumers. About Priority Pass Priority Pass is the world's original and market-leading airport experiences programme. We provide travellers with access to 1,300 airport lounges and travel experiences in over 650 airports in 148 countries. Members can access an ever-growing range of premium experiences – from spas to sleeping pods to dining – that help elevate every journey into something special. By building partnerships with other leading brands, we help to bring a better travel experience to the world. About Blue Sky Group A nationwide company focusing on hospitality, property services and restaurant management, Blue Sky Group started in 1973 as one of the few hotels in Balikpapan, Indonesia. Since 2003, Blue Sky Lounges serve in major cities in Indonesia, such as Balikpapan, Jakarta, Pekanbaru, Pontianak, etc. We are the sole privately owned brand with multiple outlets that have partnership with major banks and corporate & government entities in Indonesia. Our aim is to continue to be the destination for travellers before their journey, with the goal of going to international market in the future.

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Hospitality Management

Hospitality Giant Accor Partners With Phrasee to Create High-Performing Content to Supercharge Campaign Outcomes and Maximize ROI

businesswire | August 02, 2023

Phrasee, the complete AI content platform for enterprise marketers, and Accor, the largest hospitality company in Europe and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide, are partnering to optimize the hotel group's marketing copy to accelerate engagement and revenue. "The hospitality industry is extremely competitive, and we are matching the innovation we bring to our hotels to delight customers with enhanced marketing efforts, enabled by Phrasee's generative AI technology," said Marc Lantrok, Accor's vice president of customer engagement, Europe & North Africa. "We are excited to move forward with our partnership with Phrasee as we work toward becoming more data-driven and increasing revenue and engagement for our Accor loyalty program in the UK and French markets, as well as ibis in the UK.” Accor is using Phrasee to optimize subject lines, tested to drive open and click rates for higher engagement, traffic, and revenue for the specified hotels. The optimized copy will help ensure that Accor brands are at the forefront of customers' minds when they are ready to book. In addition, Phrasee’s platform will guarantee messaging consistency across multiple marketing channels, further boosting customer loyalty with the right messaging at the right time, delivered via the right vehicle. “Marketers are jumping on the AI bandwagon to create content, but too many are unable to generate content that delivers,” said Parry Malm, Phrasee CEO. “This is not a case of the more, the merrier. The content must be good, meaning it must be on-brand, optimized for performance, and provide the level of safety that enterprise marketers need at scale. Accor’s partnership with Phrasee ensures the hospitality group’s marketing program is backed by a content engine that delivers smarter, data-driven high-performing content to drive customer engagement and ROI and continues to improve as it gleans insights for even greater engagement.” Looking ahead, Accor will leverage Phrasee technology to ensure the maximum number of campaigns are optimized, driving impact and ROI. Accor will use Phrasee's Language Insights and AI platform to gain customer insights, inform data-driven decisions, and create high-performing, on-brand marketing messages optimized for new and returning hotel guests. About Accor Accor is a world-leading hospitality group offering experiences across more than 110 countries in 5,400 properties, 10,000 food & beverage venues, wellness facilities and flexible workspaces. The Group has one of the industry’s most diverse hospitality ecosystems, encompassing more than 40 hotel brands from luxury to economy, as well as Lifestyle with Ennismore. Accor is committed to taking positive action in terms of business ethics & integrity, responsible tourism, sustainable development, community outreach, and diversity & inclusion. Founded in 1967, Accor SA is headquartered in France and publicly listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0000120404) and on the OTC Market (Ticker: ACCYY) in the United States. For more information, please visit group.accor.com. About Phrasee Phrasee believes in a future where enterprise marketers drive unprecedented results using AI. Phrasee’s AI-powered platform generates the best-performing content at scale and with enterprise-grade controls across digital channels to realize those results and enable customers to compete effectively in this always-on, digital world. Its platform creates, optimizes, and analyzes on-brand marketing content in real-time, proven to drive more clicks, conversions, and revenue across the digital customer journey. Phrasee boosts customer engagement and increases lifetime value for the world’s leading brands, including Sephora, Sainsbury’s, Currys, Pet Supplies Plus, Novo Nordisk, and Williams Sonoma, all while maintaining their unique brand standards and voice.

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