Hospitality Management
prnewswire | July 18, 2023
AirDNA, a leading short-term rental (STR) data provider, announced today the acquisition of the pioneering location intelligence platform Arrivalist. This strategic acquisition marks an important milestone in AirDNA's commitment to elevating the standard of data-driven decision-making within the hospitality industry. AirDNA and Arrivalist will sit within predictis, a family of leading software-enabled data businesses. predictis is a portfolio company of Alpine Investors, a people-driven private equity firm that invests in software and services businesses.
"By welcoming Arrivalist to AirDNA, we're accelerating our growth trajectory and reinforcing our commitment to delivering industry-leading insights to our customers. The union of our powerful data platforms will provide businesses with unrivaled intelligence, empowering them to strategize with increased precision," said Demi Horvat, AirDNA's CEO.
AirDNA's acquisition of Arrivalist also marks a key next step in predictis' journey to build a world-class investment and operating platform for data founders and entrepreneurs. "AirDNA's acquisition of Arrivalist represents a blueprint for continued add-on acquisitions to supplement organic growth and capitalize on derived data opportunities from adjacent data sets," said Jean-Marc Levy, CEO of predictis.
Arrivalist pioneered the use of location data in the travel industry, using its patented technology to create bold insights into the way travelers interact with destinations. The company's Calibrated Data, Arrival Lift, and other proprietary technologies have won the trust of 200+ travel marketers in 46 of the 50 states since its inception in 2011.
In addition to the expanded insights gained, the acquisition unites two highly talented teams. AirDNA and Arrivalist both possess exceptional technical talent, including data scientists, data engineers, and account managers with deep industry expertise. The integration of these teams will propel the development of state-of-the-art solutions that meet the evolving needs of the industry.
"We're delighted to join with AirDNA to bring customers even more insights, resources, and innovative products. Bringing together these two powerhouses creates tremendous opportunities for future growth and continued innovation," commented Cree Lawson, CEO of Arrivalist. "This partnership with AirDNA and predictis will create unprecedented new value for our customers."
AirDNA and Arrivalist have already established themselves as integral players in guiding decisions for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), hotels, and other customers. The acquisition is expected to bring customers access to a broader range of products and services, improved support and expertise, and enhanced innovation. Customers of both companies can expect a seamless transition during the integration process.
Cosine Group served as the financial advisor to Arrivalist.
About AirDNA
AirDNA is a global authority in short-term rental data, offering comprehensive insights and analytics to empower businesses in the short-term rental industry. AirDNA helps vacation rental hosts, managers, and investors make smarter decisions in any market or economic climate. For every short-term rental question, AirDNA has the answer.
About Arrivalist
Arrivalist is a leading location intelligence platform in the travel industry. The company uses mobile location datasets to provide actionable insights on consumer behavior, competitive share, media effectiveness, and market trends. Over 200 travel marketers, including 100 cities, 40 US states, and 4 of the top 10 US theme parks, use these insights to inform media strategy, operations, and destination development.
About predictis
predictis is Alpine Investors' data software business platform. It is the home for data founders and entrepreneurs who seek to scale their businesses as they set out to democratize data and unlock its transformative power. predictis is founded on the thesis that aggregating vertical software-enabled data businesses will unlock significant value for acquired businesses and generate above-average business results. predictis seeks to acquire, operate, and grow leading data software businesses across multiple industry verticals. Founders and data companies interested in learning more about partnering with predictis should contact James Reaney or Pat Eble at jreaney@alpineinvestors.com or peble@alpineinvestors.com. For more information, visit www.predictisdata.com.
About Alpine Investors
Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm committed to building enduring companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine specializes in investments in the software and services industries. Alpine's PeopleFirst strategy includes a talent program that allows Alpine to bring leadership to situations where additional or new management is needed post-transaction. Alpine has over $15 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023 and has three offices in San Francisco, New York, and Salt Lake City. For more information, visit www.alpineinvestors.com and https://www.alpineinvestors.com/terms-of-use/ for full disclaimers including, but not limited to, third-party reviews and Alpine Operations Group.
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Travel Technology
prnewswire | August 14, 2023
ALTOUR, one of the world's largest travel management companies and a division of Internova Travel Group, is launching an innovative new product, ALTOUR Capture, that will help corporate clients keep better track of their employee travel.
Even the most well-managed business travel programs experience some leakage — with employees booking trips outside the TMC of record. That can lead to a loss of savings acquired through negotiations with preferred suppliers and a breakdown in duty of care obligations.
ALTOUR Capture solves the leakage problem by allowing travel managers at companies that are ALTOUR clients to view all travel bookings made by employees, whether or not they go through the TMC of record. Travel managers can then leverage that information for use in negotiations, conduct a price comparison and wrap duty of care to ensure travel notifications and traveller safety. This real-customer data will help drive change in one of business travel's thorniest issues.
"Capturing all travel bookings is crucial for providing proper duty of care to employees," said Dr. John Rose, Chief Risk & Security Officer for ALTOUR. "It enables the company to proactively manage risks, respond to emergencies effectively, comply with legal requirements, and foster a culture of safety and employee well-being."
With customer data driving change, ALTOUR Capture is the result of a partnership with three leading technology companies in the travel industry: CapTrav, capturing and aggregating off-channel booking data to populate ALTOUR's reporting environment; Prime Numbers Technology, providing best-in-class travel management reporting; and Oversee (formerly Fairfly), providing re-shopping for off-channel bookings when it makes sense for the client. Under the direction of Dr. John Rose, ALTOUR is committed to ensuring a more holistic duty of care program, no matter where the traveller books.
Brandon Strauss, CapTrav President and a partner and cofounder of KesselRun Corporate Travel Solutions, says KesselRun has been studying the problem of off-booking for more than 20 years across clients of all sizes and industries. He estimates airline leakage at 15 percent or more and hotel leakage at 40 percent or more.
"Even with world-class best efforts, there will always be off-channel bookings for a travel manager to deal with," said Lee Thomas, ALTOUR's Chief Operating Officer and President, Business Travel. "Road warrior preferences, loyalty incentives, supplier encouragement, travel disruptions, last-minute changes and moderate travel policies all contribute to off-channel booking. By connecting the travel manager to this off-channel world, ALTOUR Capture closes the loop on managed travel."
"We are thrilled to announce the seamless integration of CapTrav's data into the Prime Analytics platform," said Mark Bresnahan, President, Prime Numbers Technology. "This partnership empowers ALTOUR clients with an unparalleled wellspring of travel data reporting. By combining off-channel booking data, GDS itinerary information, TMC data, and post-trip expense details, we offer a comprehensive solution. Clients can effortlessly oversee their travel program, accessing real-time reports, dynamic dashboards, and automated stakeholder presentations directly to their inbox."
"Oversee is proud to partner with ALTOUR on launching ALTOUR Capture," said Aviel Siman-Tov, cofounder and CEO. "Our partnership expands upon our mission of leveraging technology to deliver cost and operational efficiencies for our partners and customers. We have consistently achieved significant savings for our clients that allow budgets to be stretched while optimizing their overall travel program."
About ALTOUR
With sales of more than $3 billion, ALTOUR is one of the largest travel management companies in the United States and around the world. Serving the corporate and leisure luxury and mid-markets and entertainment community, ALTOUR has over 43 offices and nearly 700 travel professionals worldwide. In addition to travel management services, ALTOUR companies include ALTOUR Air, ALTOUR Leisure, ALTOUR Entertainment, ALTOUR Meetings and Incentives and ALTOUR Global Network.
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Travel Technology
PRNewswire | August 24, 2023
BeCause, a startup enterprise software company that is transforming how companies in the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries manage their sustainability data, has announced a new partnership with easyJet holidays to help the tour operator more efficiently collect and communicate hotel sustainability data.
BeCause will collect data on hotels certified according to 33 recognized Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standards and integrate that data into the easyJet holidays system. That sustainability data will help inform the tour operator's "eco-certified" hotel collection.
Efficient and scalable sustainability data management
BeCause's sustainability data management solution replaces easyJet holidays' current manual update processes. Under the new partnership, hotel sustainability data will be automatically updated in the easyJet holidays database, ensuring that users and travelers always have up-to-date sustainability information about eco-certified accommodation options.
"Through our shared involvement with GSTC, we quickly recognized both easyJet holidays' need for a scalable sustainability data solution and their genuine commitment to industry transformation," said Frederik Rubens Steensgaard, CEO and co-founder of BeCause. "We look forward to a long and productive relationship and helping to make real headway on reducing travel's impact on the environment."
Supporting easyJet holidays' eco-friendly goals
Part of the easyJet group, easyJet holidays is the UK's fastest-growing tour operator, projected to grow by 60% year-on-year this summer. The company, who were the winners of The Globes' Sustainable Future Award, is committed to making sustainable holidays mainstream and, in addition to the GSTC, partners with the University of Oxford and the UNWTO to help drive forward the development of sustainable travel.
"We're committed to our holidays being a force for good and making a positive impact on the environment and local communities in the destinations our customers visit," said Matt Callaghan, Director of Customer & Operations for easyJet holidays. "We know that holidaymakers are caring more than ever about the eco credentials of the hotels they're choosing to stay at. So, we needed a partner to help us connect and communicate hotel sustainability data more efficiently and scale with us as we grow, and BeCause delivered on those criteria."
BeCause's technology framework connects certification entities like GSTC and Green Key with travel providers and distributors, enabling over 11,000 hotels, tour operators and OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) to provide travelers with accurate and reliable sustainability data. These processes, traditionally handled via spreadsheets, emails and unconnected niche systems, are ripe for transformation, and managing them more efficiently allows travel and tourism companies like easyJet to accelerate their sustainability efforts across their consumer-facing platforms.
About easyJet holidays
easyJet holidays is the UK's fastest-growing tour operator, having carried 1.3 million people in its first fully operational year and being named Rising Brand of the Year by Travolution. It offers great-value beach, city and lakes holidays to over 5000 hotels, in more than 100 destinations across Europe, directly through its website and through over 5000 travel agent partners. The ATOL-protected holidays can be secured with a deposit of just £60 per person, including flights, hotel, 23kg luggage and transfers on beach holidays. easyJet holidays is a member of ABTA, and all packages are covered by its Ultimate Flexibility, offering freedom to change a booking, a refund guarantee, and best price guarantee.
Winners of the Sustainable Future Award at the Globe Travel Awards 2022, easyJet holidays has a sustainability strategy focusing on three key pillars – create better holiday choices which is about making sustainable travel affordable and accessible to everyone; keep our holidays special, which is maximising the benefits and minimising the negative impacts of travel and tourism, and transform travel for everyone which means embedding sustainability into business decisions and behaviours and driving meaningful change in the industry. Through ongoing collaboration with the University of Oxford and as a member of the GSTC, easyJet holidays is focused on building its research, partnerships and certifications and taking action to make a positive impact on the people and places that make its destinations so special.
easyJet holidays has been named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2023 – being called out as one of the most loved employers and highly commended as a great place to work for LGBTQIA+ employees, as well as being named The Best Workplace in Travel 2023.
About BeCause
BeCause is an enterprise software company that enables sustainability data to flow more simpler, faster and cheaper so travel and tourism companies can positively impact people, the planet and their profits. BeCause works with over 11,000+ companies, including sustainability-certified hotels, eco-labels, certification entities like GreenKey, industry partners including UN GSTC and marketplaces including Booking.com. The BeCause Sustainability Management Hub allows organizations to collect and display all their communication about their sustainability efforts in one place, empowering them to make sustainability manageable for their operations and a competitive advantage for their business.
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