BUSINESS TRAVEL
prnewswire | April 17, 2023
Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform, released the third edition of its Review Transparency Report, revealing detailed trends around review contributions and the steps taken to ensure the integrity of user-submitted content.
The report, which is published biennially, analyzed a full year's worth of community contributions - over 73 million reviews and opinions in total - to give readers a deep dive into global submissions. The report also reveals how review trends have shifted since 2020, when the previous edition of the report was published. Key trends include:
Strong growth for reviews and business listings
The report reveals a significant increase in the volume of reviews left on the platform during 2022 - up +20% from 2020 levels to 30.2 million - as the world's explorers returned in force following two years of lockdowns, and restrictions. During 2022, Tripadvisor also saw business owners respond to over 10 million reviews, while community members asked and answered more than 940,000 questions from fellow users.
As global recovery continued in 2022, the platform saw an influx of new listings created, with 1.3 million new businesses added to the site, leading to a record 11.1 million listings at year end, up +16% from 2020's total of 9.6 million. Regionally, two out of five newly listed businesses were located in Europe, while Asia and North America each accounted for about 23% of the total.
Success in combating fake and paid reviews
Only a fraction of total review submissions from 2022 (4.4%) were determined to be fake or fraudulent, totaling just over 1.3 million. Of these, Tripadvisor's robust detection and moderation processes prevented 72% of submissions from ever making it onto the platform, a significant improvement on the 67% prevented during 2020.
Reviews from paid review companies represent an even smaller proportion of fraudulently submitted content, but have the very real capability to negatively impact consumer trust. In total, Tripadvisor removed 24,521 reviews associated with paid review companies in 2022. Nearly half of these originated from just six countries: India, Russia, U.S., Türkiye, Italy, and Vietnam.
Once fraudulent content has been identified and removed, Tripadvisor takes a range of actions against offending businesses, including content bans, ranking penalties and for the most severe cases, red badges. The Review Transparency Report reveals that Tripadvisor applied a ranking penalty to more than 33,000 businesses for fraud and issued 341 red badge warnings in 2022, each of these enforced with a ranking penalty.
"Tripadvisor is built on trust, and we will never stop improving our systems to ensure our community has access to reliable content and the businesses listed can compete on a level playing field," said Becky Foley, Vice President, Trust & Safety at Tripadvisor. "The findings from this report show that our approach is working; we're catching a higher proportion of fraudulent content before it is published, with nearly three-quarters of fake reviews never even making it to the platform."
Progress in helping to keep travelers safe
During 2022, almost 600 reviews were posted by Tripadvisor's community that described a serious safety incident during a travel or dining experience. Listings associated with these types of reviews, are subject to additional measures, aimed at increasing awareness among travelers.
Tripadvisor is able to place additional filters on listings associated with reviews that contain warnings or serious allegations, helping users more easily identify potentially problematic businesses. And this approach is clearly working, with reviews that reveal a serious safety incident over 10 times as likely to be read, than reviews that do not.
"I'm incredibly proud of our efforts to shine a light on the more troubling review content submitted by our community," added Becky Foley. "Sharing details of distressing incidents requires courage and all those who have been brave enough to share their experiences will hopefully take heart from the fact that their reviews are being seen by others and are making a real-world difference."
About Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, helps hundreds of millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 1 billion reviews and opinions of nearly 8 million businesses, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby. As a travel guidance company available in 43 markets and 22 languages, Tripadvisor makes planning easy no matter the trip type. The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps.
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DESTINATION AND TOURISM
prnewswire | April 19, 2023
Leading IT managed services provider (MSP) CMIT Solutions is growing its capacity to serve the hospitality industry with the assistance of HKW, a middle-market private equity firm focused on growth companies in the US and Canada. CMIT Solutions is one of only a few MSPs with hospitality-specific IT and cybersecurity expertise and solutions. HKW's support will help CMIT Solutions bring even more industry-aligned innovation to hoteliers through initiatives like increasing operational efficiencies and IT services fulfillment capabilities.
"For many years, we have been the go-to IT and security services provider for more than 400 hotel operators in 41 states. Our reputation for exceptional service within this space is strong, and now we have the opportunity to build on these strengths to define the next level of IT and security support for this rapidly evolving industry," said Jason Arabian, CMIT Solutions Chief Strategy Officer and founder of the CMIT Solutions Central Rhode Island location that shaped the company's extensive hospitality service offerings. "We have an intimate knowledge of the industry that we've leveraged to create and fine tune a hospitality-specific IT and cybersecurity service bundle. HKW's investment enables our team to improve and scale our capabilities so we can deliver even bigger and better MSP solutions tailored to the hospitality industry."
HKW's backing strengthens CMIT Solution's ability to assist a greater number of large hoteliers with expansive portfolios. Establishing a larger central team of IT and security professionals will provide clients with solutions for larger and more complex projects. According to American Hotel and Lodging Association, the demand for hotel lodging has increased 11.1% over the past 12 months. The continued growth of the hospitality industry increases its cyber risk profile driving the need for more sophisticated IT and cybersecurity products and solutions — this makes it the optimum time for HKW's support.
CMIT Solutions offers a broad spectrum of technology services, from proactive computer monitoring and maintenance to cybersecurity solutions, with quick support when unexpected crises occur. Through locally-owned locations backed by an expansive network of nationwide resources and technology partners, CMIT Solutions has carved out its niche as an IT company that provides customers with unparalleled levels of one-to-one attention and advanced technology. As a result, the local business community now has a competitive advantage in today's increasingly challenging marketplace.
About CMIT Solutions
CMIT Solutions LLC (CMIT) is a leading Managed Services Provider (MSP) franchisor delivering information technology (IT) and cybersecurity solutions to businesses. Through a large network of enterprise-class technology resources, the company supports businesses anywhere in the United States and Canada, and its locally owned franchise model enables CMIT to serve customers through high-trust, direct relationships. CMIT offers a wide variety of services and products, including IT management and maintenance, cybersecurity monitoring, help desk support, data backup and recovery, and more. The organization has ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 list for eight consecutive years and is designated as a World Class Franchise by the Franchise Research Institute.
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HOSPITALITY TRENDS
prnewswire | May 17, 2023
Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP ("Apax") announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement to invest approximately $450m to acquire a significant minority stake in IBS Software, a leading provider of modern Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to the global travel and logistics industry, from Blackstone. Following the transaction, Apax will partner closely with IBS Software's Founder and Executive Chairman, V K Mathews, who will remain the majority shareholder.
Founded in 1997 with a vision of redefining the future of travel through technology innovation, IBS Software provides next-generation SaaS solutions that power the most mission-critical operations at the world's leading aviation, tour and cruise, hospitality and logistics companies. With a comprehensive portfolio of modular, cloud-based solutions purpose-built for the travel industry, IBS Software helps travel companies accelerate innovation and drive efficiency across a broad set of core business processes, including cargo and logistics, flight operations, passenger services, loyalty programs, cruise operations, energy & resource logistics and hospitality distribution platforms. Backed by a team of 4000 professionals across the world with more than 25 years of deep domain expertise, IBS Software's scalable, cloud-native platform and demonstrated market leadership, position it to define the future of mission-critical technology for the travel industry.
V K Mathews, Founder and Executive Chairman of IBS Software said: "We're excited to partner with Apax as we enter a new phase in our mission to transform how travel companies operate in a digital world. This investment is an endorsement of our strategy and our commitment and contribution to the industry, and we have a shared vision with Apax for the future of the business. We thank our customers and employees who have been instrumental in our success so far. We're grateful to the Blackstone team for their invaluable support over the years and we look forward to an exciting and fulfilling journey ahead with Apax."
Anand Krishnan, CEO, IBS Software, added: "As the travel industry rapidly embraces digitalisation, we have a vital role to play in helping our customers accelerate revenues, drive efficiency and create differentiated customer experiences. Apax has deep experience in partnering with leading SaaS providers and will be a strategic partner for IBS Software as we embark on a new phase of growth. We thank Blackstone for helping us create real value and a true partnership."
Jason Wright, Partner, Apax, commented: "We are thrilled to partner with VK and the management team at IBS Software. Having closely monitored the travel software sector over the last several years, IBS Software stood out to us as uniquely positioned in the industry, offering a next-gen software suite that we believe is truly unrivalled. Over the last two decades, IBS Software has invested in products, innovation, and culture, while continuing to scale the business. We believe there is tremendous growth potential ahead and look forward to leveraging our software experience to help IBS Software become a world leader in travel and logistics software."
Amit Dixit, Head of Asia Private Equity, Blackstone, said: "We are happy to have played an important role in IBS Software's transformation to a SaaS company with global leadership in Travel and Logistics. IBS is already one of the largest enterprise SaaS companies out of India. We thank VK for his strategic vision and for being a terrific partner, and Anand and the management team for their impeccable execution. Value creation at IBS Software demonstrates our business-building approach to investing and reinforces our conviction in Technology as a sectoral theme."
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close end of Q2 2023. Financial terms were not disclosed.
J.P. Morgan is acting as financial advisor to IBS Software and Blackstone, Drew & Napier LLC is acting as legal counsel to IBS Software and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal counsel to Blackstone.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel and Jefferies LLC is acting as financial advisor to Apax.
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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