HOSPITALITY TRENDS
Plusgrade | February 01, 2023
On January 31, 2023, Plusgrade announced the acquisition of UpStay, a fast-expanding provider of upgrade and auxiliary revenue solutions for the hospitality industry.
UpStay helps hundreds of hotels in 17 different countries make more money by giving their guests more value. Meanwhile, this integration strengthens its five global travel ventures, adding hotel upgrades and other innovative ancillaries to its ancillary revenue and loyalty products. As a result, it expects to generate about $5 billion in new revenue opportunities for its partners in 2023.
Ken Harris, CEO of Plusgrade, said, "The acquisition of UpStay is another step forward for our vision and mission of becoming the Global Ancillary Revenue Powerhouse. We have been accelerating this mission through a series of innovations, launches and acquisitions, and have come into 2023 as a powerhouse for the global travel industry. We are thrilled to have the UpStay team join us, and look forward to tapping into their expertise and innovative technology to bring even more value to our now 200+ airline, hospitality, cruise, rail and financial services partners around the world."
(Source - Cision PR Newswire)
Tzafrir Blonder, CEO of UpStay, expressed, "This is an exciting day for UpStay. After 4 years of incredible growth and success, we are thrilled to be joining forces with Plusgrade to invest further in our product offerings and enhance our ability to drive ancillary revenue for our partners through upselling additional on-property amenities and services. I look forward to continuing to lead the hospitality ancillaries vertical in the company, as we grow with Plusgrade in 2023 and beyond."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About Plusgrade
Plusgrade, one of the leading technology companies providing ancillary revenue solutions in the global travel industry, has partnered with about 140 airlines, hotels, cruise lines, financial services companies, and passenger rails worldwide since 2009. Headquartered in Montreal, it assists companies in creating new revenue streams and travel experiences for their guests and passengers. It maximizes the return on unsold premium inventory through the customer journey. The company provides travel partners with incremental ancillary revenue and merchandising strategies by introducing new products, loyal branding, and customer satisfaction.
Read More
AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
OAG | February 09, 2023
On February 8, 2023, OAG, a leading provider of travel data and analysis in the world, informed that it is launching its new Flight Status Alerts, which offer a unique perspective on rapid flight changes.
OAG's Flight Info Platform currently offers a constant stream of flight schedule changes, while Flight Status Alerts integrate seamlessly into that system. As a result, OAG's clients, which include booking engines, travel and hospitality apps, airline apps, OTAs, metasearch, search engines, and flight tracking applications, may now benefit from the broadest possible coverage of flight information thanks to Flight Status Data and Flight Schedules.
This powerful combination provides a flight window into crucial scheduling and status data – from the minute a flight is scheduled to the moment luggage hits the baggage belt and everything in between – in a way that has never been done before, making it a first of its type.
This cutting-edge technology, powered by Microsoft's Azure Event Hub, enables OAG's Flight Info Platform to provide notifications with increased speed and scalability. It processes an average of forty updates per second and offers millions of real-time updates regarding various schedule changes and statuses.
Some advantages of the flying window include - enhanced scalability and adaptability, new and better traveler experiences, and more customer loyalty.
Phil Callow, CEO of OAG, expressed, "Data and insights are useless unless they can be seamlessly integrated with a business. Our platform solves this need by unlocking richer data to meet evolving travelers' experiences by giving our customers instant alerts across the entire flight lifecycle, from changes to flight numbers, departing and arrival times, carrier information and more."
"As the future of travel continues to evolve, the market requires quick and easy access to what's happening on the ground and in the air to plan, inform and drive better customer experiences and operational outcomes," he concluded.
(Source – Business Wire)
About OAG
OAG's data platform has driven aviation since 1929. Its travel data helps companies improve customer service and decision-making. Travel planning is better with its flight information network. Organizations can access data via the company's flexible platform. Its data helps companies increase income, expand operations, and improve client relations. It serves metasearch, IT startups, travel booking sites, international governments, global financial institutions, airlines, airports, and travel operators. UK-based OAG operates in the US, Singapore, Japan, China, and Lithuania.
Read More
FEATURES AND ADVICE
BrainHQ | March 10, 2023
BrainHQ, a brain training system, has recently announced the conclusion of its pilot study, showing that brain training can help space travel. The research was conducted with computerized brain training and Posit Science marketed it.
The researchers found that space travel has a hazardous impact on the brain because of the gravitational forces involved in liftoff and landing, radiation, microgravity, and isolation. These impacts resulted in effects like intracranial pressure, impaired vision, vestibular dysfunction, altered fluid levels in veins and arteries, white matter changes, and premature aging. They grouped the astronauts having qualities like age, education and discipline who are employees from the Johnson Space Center for the Increasing Cognitive Ability/Reserve Using Software (ICARUS) pilot study. It tested their cognitive performance through its assessments and Cognition Test Battery, a software-based test dedicated to NASA.
It trained five of these participants for about 15 hours of training, 18 sessions and over the 90 days. They improved on internal measures of its exercises with a 71% increase on average in primary performance metrics. On the NASA Cognition Test Battery, they showed 19% gains on average. With preliminary findings, the pilot study provided data and feasibility for further research.
CEO of Posit Science, Dr. Henry Mahncke said, “These are exciting results in a new area, which is literally about the New Frontier.” He added, “Whether it’s returning to the moon or colonizing Mars, we know that addressing the cognitive challenges of long-term space flight is essential. These results fit nicely with what we’ve seen in building cognitive reserve in older adults and people recovering from brain injury and brain fog, as well as improving peak performers — such as special forces, law enforcement, or athletes — expected to perform at superhuman levels under extreme time and performance pressures.”
(Source – Globe Newswire)
About BrainHQ
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, BrainHQ, a wellness and fitness services provider, has improved mental ability and performance since 2002. The international team of neuroscientists and brain experts tested its brain training system. Its exercise is scientific-based, and researchers validated its real benefits in their published papers. The experts design, test and redefine its online exercises for cognitive issues, healthy aging and mental conditions. It uses a special algorithm to adapt difficulty in each exercise at the optimum level. Its exercises are divided into different levels for a flexible period, depending on the personal training goals, on any computer or mobile device.
Read More