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.
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DESTINATION AND TOURISM, COMMERCIAL TRAVEL
KAYAK | January 27, 2023
KAYAK, the leading search engine for travel, recently announced that it has partnered with Affirm, a payment network, to make its payment operations flexible and to empower its travelers in the United States.
According to KAYAK search data, flight prices are rising by about 40% per year. Despite increased flight prices, travelers are still searching for flight bookings in 2023. With Affirm, KAYAK is making it easier for travelers to plan and pay for their trips this year. Now, approved KAYAK travelers can split the cost of flights, hotels, car rentals, and car sharing over $150 into monthly payments by choosing Affirm when they check out. Thus, KAYAK can reach 15 million of Affirm's consumers and 245,000 merchants, including American Airlines, Priceline, Vrbo, Vacasa, and more thereby, enhancing its new reach, overall sales, repurchase rates, and average order value.
Paul Jacobs, General Manager and Vice President of KAYAK North America, says, "It's good to have choices, especially in this economy. In addition to showing travelers all their options on KAYAK, Affirm gives travelers the ability to plan how they pay."
(Source – Business Wire)
Geoffrey Kott, Chief Revenue Officer at Affirm, remarks, "This past fall, Affirm's consumers increased purchases at airlines over seven times compared to the prior year, demonstrating higher consumer demand for payment flexibility when booking travel." He adds, "By partnering with KAYAK, we are able to bring consumers a flexible and transparent way to pay for travel, especially at a time when many are looking for ways to regain financial control and spending power amidst rising costs."
(Source – Business Wire)
About KAYAK:
KAYAK is part of Booking Holdings Inc, one of the world's most prominent search engines for travel. It helps people find the vacation package, hotel, rental or shared car, and flights they want. The company enables travelers to search for the best flight deals and book with flexibility, as it's pretty reliable and completely free to use. With trip planning tools like a flight tracker, trip planner, and bag measure, KAYAK ensures that travelers' overall experience is more than just a flight search site!
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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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