BUSINESS TRAVEL
IBS Software | May 05, 2023
IBS Software, a global leader of SaaS solutions to the travel and transportation industry, has chosen CarTrawler, a leading B2B technology provider of car rental solutions, to offer car hire & insurance services to IBS iFly Staff & Corporate customers.
This partnership will simplify and enhance the Whole of Trip (WoT) experience for iFly Staff & Corporate customers, in addition to expanding IBS Software's footprint in non-air ancillaries in the global travel industry. Currently, airline staff and corporate travel involves navigating multiple applications to book essential add-ons. IBS Software's partnership with CarTrawler enables iFly Staff users to book car rentals and car insurance through an integrated and seamless staff travel system.
Since its inception in 2004, CarTrawler has provided more than 75 airlines with global car rental and mobility solutions for commercial purposes. CarTrawler also holds the widest breadth of car rental supply of any provider across over 1,700 suppliers in 55,000 locations. Its partnership with IBS Software signals an unprecedented and strategic step to offer an integrated travel experience for airline staff within corporate travel.
Madhu Nair, Head of iFly Staff Product Management and Strategy at IBS Software, says: "We're delighted to partner with CarTrawler, a renowned and well-respected global car rental solutions provider. Motivated by a need to improve, simplify and boost efficiency across the end-to-end travel experience for our iFly Staff and Corporate customers alike, we're working closely with CarTrawler to provide a unique and innovative Whole of Trip travel experience."
Aileen McCormack, Chief Commercial Officer at CarTrawler, says: "We're excited to partner with IBS Software and to support them in the expansion of their Staff Travel & Corporate solution for current and prospective customers, using CarTrawler's technology to seamlessly improve travel experiences through flexible and simple end-to-end bookings."
About IBS Software
IBS Software is a leader in providing SaaS solutions for the travel industry based in Singapore. It manages mission-critical operations for clients in the aviation, tour & cruise, and hospitality industries. The aviation industry solutions provided by the company include fleet & crew operations, passenger services, staff travel, loyalty programs, aircraft maintenance, and air cargo management. It also operates a B2B and B2C distribution platform that provides hotel room inventory, rates, and availability to a network of hospitality companies and channels. Additionally, it offers a comprehensive, customer-centric digital platform for the tour and cruise industry that includes onshore, online, and on-board solutions. IBS Software is a Blackstone portfolio company with 15 offices worldwide.
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HOSPITALITY TRENDS
businesswire | May 19, 2023
Global payments provider Elavon has partnered with The Digital Line (TDL) on a voice-activated solution for the hospitality industry.
The solution – Audico – utilises the Amazon Alexa device to deliver a variety of voice-driven services. Elavon is the exclusive payments provider for the Audico solution in hospitality, globally.
Hemlata Narasimhan, Elavon Merchant Services President in Europe, says, “Virtual assistant technology is the future of hospitality, and we’re thrilled to be powering the payments behind Audico. This is all about improving the customer experience, and a large part of this is seamless payments. We’re pleased to be partnering with Amazon’s approved partner The Digital Line to make this happen.”
Audico is unique in the UK market, and has already been implemented at the world-famous Ascot Racecourse in Southeast England, where premium customers can call for betting services, order food and drinks, and purchase merchandise from their private boxes all with a few simple words to Alexa. The audible command is then relayed to staff as a Card Not Present transaction, and payment is made using a pre-determined account preference such as a credit card.
Audico is also being explored as a room service solution in hotels, and in premium hospitality areas at other venues and stadiums, as well as providing a landmark series of services in the health care industry.
George Vaughan, The Digital Line’s CEO, says, “This partnership represents a unique opportunity for two recognised brands to collaborate on initiatives that will revolutionise multiple business verticals, including hospitality, venues and health care, delivering a level of digital transformation not seen before.”
About The Digital Line
A commercial research, information, and technical innovation consulting firm, The Digital Line (TDL) has a specific interest in venues, hospitality, retail, education, and healthcare. TDL offers a full range of professional services to help companies in various industries create their plans for upcoming technological endeavours and support the deployment of critical projects in a more creative and cost-effective manner.
TDL also collaborates with cutting-edge businesses, products, and institutions, placing it at the forefront of the latest wave of technical advancements and because of its intelligent integration of private, public, and academic entities, is able to push the limits of disruptive digital technologies.
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AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
prnewswire | March 30, 2023
AMTRAV, the one connected platform for business travel, today announced upgrades to its corporate booking solution to continue delivering travelers and corporate travel customers the full selection of American Airlines' flights and lowest fares, even as American changes how the carrier's flights can be booked through third party corporate booking platforms beginning in April.
In an effort to modernize the shopping experience for travelers, American Airlines recently mandated that all travel agencies use "New Distribution Capability" (NDC) technology to shop and sell American flights by April 2023. NDC was developed by airlines to distribute fares, offers, and other products online faster and with more transparency than the previous travel technology. For those booking tools not connected, travelers will lose access to up to 40% of American's lowest fares and face the tough choice: book higher American fares with their current provider in order to maintain spend and safety visibility or let travelers book lower American fares outside the system, but lose spend and safety visibility.
Although many legacy travel management companies (TMCs) have resisted transitioning – citing the difficulty and complexity – AmTrav has been an outspoken proponent of modernization for many years. In 2019, AmTrav became the first business travel platform to process NDC bookings with American and today is one of a very small number of providers ready to provide uninterrupted access to American's lowest fares.
"Business travel tools already have a perception problem among travelers, because so few corporate travel booking platforms have been willing to invest time and money to modernize the user experience," said AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee. "We've taken a different approach. Because we build all of our own technology with fewer dependencies on slow, legacy third party systems, we can deliver for our travelers the type of shopping experience they get when they book personal travel, while at the same time providing their companies with the visibility, control, and savings they need."
With its latest enhancements, AmTrav's "NDC ready" solution, more than ever, brings business travelers and their companies:
Lower Fares on American: Booking tools that have not tapped into American's NDC content will be more expensive 40% of the time.
Access to All of American's Fare Brands: Compare and choose from the full menu of American's offerings, including the new Main Plus and Main Select bundles which include free extra legroom seats, among other benefits.
Full Choice of Seats: Get access to every available seat, including Preferred and Main Cabin Extra, with perks from your AAdvantage status (if applicable) automatically factored in.
Personalized Comparison-Shopping: A rich, complete comparison-shopping experience to help travelers make smart choices with details, photos, and reviews to inform fare rules, fees, seat size, WiFi, entertainment, and so much more.
Full Visibility and Control: Like any other booking, American NDC bookings work seamlessly with AmTrav's real-time reporting, travel policy and approval flows, unused ticket tracking, and traveler locator services, keeping travel managers and C-suite execs happy.
About AmTrav
AmTrav is an award-winning, modern technology and service platform designed to make business travel personal and productive. Companies of all sizes use AmTrav to book trips, find savings, set travel policies, manage payments and expenses, and keep their travelers safe. Travelers and companies love AmTrav's powerful platform that provides a seamless travel management experience supported by our experts who are always ready to help 24x7. More than 1000 businesses trust AmTrav to go places, meet people, and go further.
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