TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
businesswire | March 23, 2023
Sonder Holdings Inc. a leading next-generation hospitality company that is redefining the guest experience through technology and design, has expanded its business travel segment to include group bookings. Sonder also announced a new partnership with HelmsBriscoe, the global leader in meetings procurement and site selection.
Having formally launched its business travel segment in 2021, Sonder continued to expand this area in 2022, including strengthening its position on GDS platforms, and adding a significant number of corporate travel accounts. This translated into approximately $70 million in booked corporate sales in 2022, roughly 5x growth compared to 2021. The company continues to grow both corporate travel and corporate housing accounts, and is now increasing its share of group bookings within popular verticals such as sports and entertainment, hosting elite athletes and sports teams, as well as film and television production crews. Sonder offers both hotel and apartment accommodations in over 40 markets worldwide, including entertainment hubs and cities that host international sporting events.
“Partnering with an industry leader like HelmsBriscoe unlocks growth in group travel, at a time when corporate travel is still recovering to pre-pandemic levels, and the landscape is evolving with trends such as the blending of business and leisure travel. Sonder accommodations offer short-stay and long-stay groups an elevated experience at a great value. We see exciting opportunities to scale within our existing verticals, including sports and entertainment, and to add others,” said Kristen Richter, Vice President of Global Sales at Sonder.
Sonder’s portfolio now includes properties with on-site amenities and high key counts suited to groups, such as Battery Park in NYC, Business Bay in Dubai, Cielo in Mexico City, Maisonneuve in Montreal, and The Witherspoon in Philadelphia. Sonder spaces provide fast wi-fi, and many offer a comfortable place to spread out and work remotely, with fully-equipped kitchens, living rooms, multiple bedrooms and en-suite laundry.
About Sonder
Sonder is revolutionizing hospitality through innovative, tech-enabled service and inspiring, thoughtfully designed accommodations combined into one seamless experience. Launched in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, Sonder provides a variety of accommodation options from spacious rooms to fully-equipped suites and apartments found in over 40 markets spanning ten countries and three continents. The Sonder app gives guests full control over their stay. Complete with self-service features, simple check-in and 24/7 on-the-ground support, amenities and services at Sonder are just a tap away, making a world of better stays open to all.
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BUSINESS TRAVEL
Internova Travel Group | March 03, 2023
Internova Travel Group, a travel services company, elevated its exclusive Internova SELECT Hotels and Resorts Program for 2023 with additional luxury properties, offering more client options and benefits.
Its travel advisors can introduce their clients to these elevated properties and benefits. With selected hotels and resorts, their clients would affiliate with Internova and utilize the special amenities during their stay. These new partners would enhance the Internova SELECT Hotels and Resorts footprint in popular global tourist destinations. The hotels and resorts are unique in the market with historical significance and awesome surroundings, located in the United States, Italy, France, Greece and Spain. With special amenities, it also provides early check-in and late check-out facility, room upgrade based on availability, hotel amenity, daily complimentary breakfast for two, and in-room Wi-Fi. Consumers can book their stay at the Internova SELECT properties through the travel advisor at Global Travel Collection or Travel Leaders Network and ALTOUR.
Executive Vice President of Partner Relations at Internova, Albert Herrera said, "We continue to strategically evolve the Internova SELECT Hotels & Resorts collection, always fine-tuning our search for properties that represent the best in luxury travel." He added, "Our Internova travel advisors can feel confident that hotels and resorts included in the Internova SELECT brand will provide their clients with an intimate and luxurious vacation experience, meeting the highest standards for comfort and service combined with the most sought-after amenities."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About Internova Travel Group
Headquartered in New York City, Internova Travel Group, a travel services company, connects travel brands for comfortable personal travel and corporate events with enhanced travel experience. With its services, it manages the business, franchise firms and leisure. It has a network of travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations in the U.S., the U.K., Mexico, and Canada, and a presence in about 80 countries. Through its huge network of over 100,000 travel advisors, it reaches travelers worldwide. Its expert travel advisors and executives have transformed the travel experience since 2008. As a result, it received recognition for innovation in digital, print and social marketing in the travel industry.
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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.
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