FEATURES AND ADVICE
Cvent, American Express Global Business Travel | September 06, 2021
In an effort to gather and standardize data related to corporate social responsibility efforts at hotels, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) and Cvent have created new questions for suppliers to answer as a supplement to the Global Business Travel Association’s request for proposals template.
The joint initiative includes 47 questions focused on sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion that are intended to help travel managers evaluate suppliers on these issues. To develop the questions, GBT’s Global Business Consulting team (GBC) and Cvent interviewed corporations, global hotel brands, travel management companies and consultancies.
The companies say along with helping travel managers evaluate hotels, the questions benefit hotels by reducing the time needed to respond to individual requests for information on these topics.
“As we accelerate the return to travel and events, customer requests for supplier data on corporate responsibility issues are soaring,” says Nina Marcello, a principal within GBC who first proposed the initiative.
“Together, GBC and Cvent worked with stakeholders across corporate and meetings travel to deliver a solution that will increase the availability of relevant sustainability and DE&I data. This initiative reflects our own environmental, social and governance commitments and enables suppliers and travel managers around the world to further their corporate responsibility goals.
” Hotel suppliers answer the supplemental questions, related to things such as carbon emissions and leadership demographics, within the Cvent Transient solution. Hotel chains can also work with their properties to collect and import the information to their profiles.
“The speed at which we developed these questions reflects the significance of this work, and they are already being used by our hotel clients. This initiative benefits the entire corporate travel supply chain by facilitating the sharing and reporting of important topics that impact every organization,” says Brian Sullivan, senior director of product management at Cvent.
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AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
Wheels Up | March 31, 2022
Wheels Up announced a new strategic partnership and a minority investment in Tropic Ocean Airways. Tropic Ocean Airways is the world's largest amphibious airline and leading provider of last-mile private charter and scheduled service in Florida, the North-eastern United States, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and beyond.
Wheels Up's multiyear commercial arrangement is the next move in its attempts to grow the addressable market for its product offerings and provide a seamless first- to last-mile travel solution for its members and consumers. Tropic Ocean's charter and select scheduled by-the-seat services will be integrated into Wheels Up's marketplace. Wheels Up members and customers will be able to book and pay for Tropic Ocean flights directly through their standard Wheels Up booking methods.
The parties' initial objective is to increase Wheels Up customers' access to alternatives inside Tropic Ocean's present service region. In addition, the parties hope to expand into new markets throughout the United States and the Caribbean.
Along with the commercial agreement, Wheels Up announced a minority capital investment in Tropic Ocean, a first for the company, to support Tropic Ocean's continued growth and specific shared initiatives under the commercial agreement, such as introducing new flight offerings exclusively for Wheels Up customers.
"Wheels Up is a clear leader in private aviation, and we're excited to partner with them in offering even more seamless travel options to their members and customers. This partnership will also help us extend the reach of our existing products, invest in our operational capabilities, and expand our offerings
-Rob Ceravolo, Tropic Ocean CEO
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
Sabre Corporation | January 11, 2022
Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), a leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, and Aviatur, Colombia's leading travel agency and one of the largest in Latin America, announced a new multi-year preferred GDS agreement to support the agency's growth plans, transform its business, and increase efficiencies.
Throughout the pandemic, Aviatur has been focused on transforming its business with technology to continue innovating in its well-implemented omnichannel retail strategy. Likewise, Sabre accelerated its own tech transformation in the past year to provide the level of personalization today's travelers want, as well as to meet changing demands within the travel industry's dynamic ecosystem.
"Aviatur has shown that it can reinvent itself as the market needs change. We believe our own technology transformation –one of our priorities—and finding the right partners to go along this path will play a key role in the agency's future. We are confident Sabre is the right technology partner to help us transform our business as we look into the future of travel,"
-Samy Bessudo, Chief Executive Officer at Aviatur.
Aviatur has always recognized Colombia as a key travel market in Latin America, and our business transformation as well as investment plans to grow long term are a priority for the board, added Jean Claude Bessudo, President, Aviatur Group.
Bogotá-based Aviatur has been one of Latin America's largest travel agencies for over 60 years, consolidating itself as a group with different business units and leveraging its leadership position in different markets such as leisure, online, corporate, consolidation, and consortia. With 130 travel agencies in 23 Colombian cities and a presence in La Habana (Cuba), Panama City, Paris and Miami, Aviatur enjoys a successful omnichannel retail strategy, specializing in tailor-made programs.
"We are excited to support all of Aviatur's business units with their solid omnichannel retail strategy in a key market like Colombia,"
-Esteban Velásquez, VP Sales & Customer Management – Agencies, Latin America & the Caribbean, Sabre Travel Solutions.
After months of fruitful dialogue that proved Sabre's unparalleled value to the Aviatur Group, we are thrilled to strengthen our relationship and become Aviatur's preferred GDS partner long term. This new strategic agreement is a testament to Sabre's valuable solutions and its commitment to create a new marketplace for personalized travel,"added José Guzmán, Regional Director, Agency Sales, for the region that includes Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, and Venezuela – Sabre Travel Solutions.
This new 11-year GDS agreement with Aviatur Travel Agency will help propel their future in the travel & tourism, technology and hospitality industries. Aviatur Group recently launched Avia Tecnología –its IT solutions business-- and Avia Soluciones Hoteleras, which successfully deployed the Sabre SynXis CRS platform in 2021 to support its growth plans in the hospitality industry.
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 traveler experiences. Through its leading travel marketplace, Sabre connects travel suppliers with buyers from around the globe. Sabre's technology platform managers 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. For more information visit www.sabre.com.
About Acerca de Aviatur
Aviatur Travel Agency, one of the companies of the Aviatur Group, has 65 years in the market. Through its offices throughout the country and its different digital channels, it offers travelers a wide range of tourist plans, cruises, tickets, experiences, car rentals, bus tickets, assistance cards and corporate trips. It also has specialized departments for the management of congresses and events, incentive trips, transport, student tourism, religious tourism, ecological tourism, and luxury tourism.
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