WTTC Issues Guidelines for Safe and Seamless Travel During COVID-19 Recovery

WTTC | June 25, 2020

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has laid out a new series of guidelines as part of its Safe and Seamless Traveler Journey (SSTJ).
The organization has identified five critical calls to action to governments around the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including supporting a rapid testing and contact tracing strategy to help contain the spread of coronavirus.

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Explore cutting-edge revenue strategies in the hospitality industry. Adopt the latest hospitality management trends to optimize the revenue stream.

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Explore cutting-edge revenue strategies in the hospitality industry. Adopt the latest hospitality management trends to optimize the revenue stream.

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Travel Technology

OAG Acquires Infare and Receives New Investment from Vitruvian Partners

businesswire | August 07, 2023

OAG, the world’s leading data platform for the global travel industry, has acquired Infare, the leading provider of competitor air travel data, from Ventiga Capital in a deal valuing the combined entity at over US$500m. Together, OAG and Infare have an exciting journey ahead to leverage a truly market-leading end-to-end data platform to serve mission-critical air travel intelligence needs across the world. With renowned industry heritage, both businesses share a deep passion for quality, accuracy, and customer-centricity. Together, there is a significant opportunity for OAG and Infare to better serve airline partners and the wider travel ecosystem with high-quality data and innovative solutions. Infare is the partner of choice for airlines demanding the highest quality competitor air travel data source to support their growth. Combining OAG’s existing data solutions with airfare data creates a compelling proposition for customers who can get a broader picture of supply and demand. This enables customers to forecast resource, evaluate travel demand and competition, and build more complex and innovative models to drive revenue and profitable growth. Through the acquisition, OAG now grows to over 300 employees globally across 10 offices. Phil Callow, CEO of OAG, commented: “The increasing dynamism in global travel and technology is fuelling a need for more sophisticated, granular data to understand, manage and unlock growth in air travel. The acquisition of Infare strengthens our ability to deliver consistent and accurate information across the wider supply and demand value chain. Together, we are enabling new and existing customers to thrive and innovate ahead of their counterparts. I am excited to welcome Infare colleagues to the OAG family.” Nils Gelbjerg-Hansen, CEO of Infare, commented: “Access to comprehensive and accurate data is paramount for making informed business decisions. Airlines rely on data to gain valuable insights into customer behaviour, market trends, and operational efficiency. Our technology platform, data sets, and intelligence software complement OAG’s and will greatly benefit our customers worldwide. We see this as a unique opportunity to expand our services and introduce new innovative products for our customers, we are excited about the journey ahead together.” Both management teams will continue in the Group and will retain a shareholding, with fresh backing provided by Vitruvian Partners. Ben Johnson, a Partner at Vitruvian, commented: “OAG and Infare are both clear leaders in their respective global markets. The combination creates additional growth opportunities for both teams. Vitruvian is delighted to support this ambitious technology company and renew our relationship with them for the years to come.” Niclas Gabrán, Managing Partner at Ventiga Capital Partners, commented: “It has been a pleasure working together with Nils and his team to build Infare into a leading travel data provider through organic growth and acquisitions. Infare’s next chapter as a part of the OAG family will undoubtedly create further growth opportunities both within and outside the air travel sector.” About OAG OAGis the leading data platform for the global travel industry, powering the growth and innovation of the air travel ecosystem since 1929. It has the world’s largest network of flight information, covering the whole journey from planning to customer experience. Customers include airlines, airports, travel technology players, aviation service providers, government agencies, financial institutions, and consultancies. Headquartered in the UK, OAG has operations in the USA, Singapore, Japan, China, and Lithuania. About Infare Infare is the leading competitor air travel data provider, empowering airlines to make effective pricing decisions. Infare’s mission is to fuel airline systems with high-quality competitor air travel data delivered daily, multiple times a day or live. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, the company has a global reach and presence worldwide. About Vitruvian Partners Vitruvian is an independent growth capital firm headquartered in London with a global presence. Vitruvian focuses on dynamic situations characterized by rapid growth and change across industries spanning technology, financial services, healthcare, and business and consumer services. Vitruvian is among the largest pools of capital in Europe supporting innovative and higher growth companies. Vitruvian Funds have backed over 90 companies and have assets under management of €15+ billion. Notable investments to date include global market leaders and innovators in their field such as Skyscanner, Sykes Holiday Cottages, CFC Underwriting, CallCredit, Travel Counsellors, Trustpilot, Farfetch, Just Eat, Wise, and Global-e. About Ventiga Capital Partners Ventiga is an entrepreneurial and growth-focused investor partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams to achieve sustainable, profitable growth and transformational value through active, engaged, and responsible ownership. Ventiga invests in profitable growth companies with superior business expansion potential, primarily in the B2B services space.

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Business Travel

Team Novo Nordisk Selects Spotnana to Manage Global Travel

businesswire | September 01, 2023

Spotnana, the world’s first Travel-as-a-Service platform modernizing the infrastructure of the travel industry, announced today that it is sponsoring Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team, and is supporting Team Novo Nordisk’s global travel through its award-winning Travel-as-a-Service platform. Team Novo Nordisk is using Spotnana to manage travel for all its sporting and operational travel needs, freeing up the team to focus on its mission to inspire, educate and empower people affected by diabetes, as well as promote an active and healthy lifestyle while competing against the world’s best cyclists. Spotnana is dedicated to supporting causes that advance progress and equality around the world. Our sponsorship of Team Novo Nordisk represents a commitment to our core value to build globally and service locally. “We are delighted to sponsor Team Novo Nordisk and provide unparalleled travel experiences to its team of professional cyclists and their supporting staff,” said Johnny Thorsen, Spotnana VP of Partnerships. “We serve customers across the globe, and our global mindset, including our celebration of diversity, informs the way we build our products and service our customers.” In addition to the pro team that competes in more than 30 countries around the world, Team Novo Nordisk maintains an active pipeline of talent across a wide range of countries through a development team and talent identification camps, together with an ambassadors program with athletes with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes competing in different sports all around the world, all of which require travel support. “We’re extremely pleased to be working with Spotnana,” said Sergey Davidenko, Team Novo Nordisk VP of Operations and Sponsorships. “Spotnana solves long standing problems for travel-intensive organizations like us. They allow us to compete around the world and focus on our goals, knowing we have 24/7 support for our travelers when we need it. “The Spotnana Travel-as-a-Service platform is visionary,” added Davidenko. “Spotnana embodies the innovation of tomorrow, while addressing the pressing technological needs of today.” Learn more about how Spotnana’s sponsorship is empowering Team Novo Nordisk to focus on its mission and goals by visiting Spotnana’s website. About Spotnana Spotnana is the travel platform that connects humanity. We are modernizing the infrastructure of the travel industry in order to bring freedom, simplicity, and trust to travelers everywhere. Our Travel-as-a-Service platform makes travel simpler and more affordable for corporations, while enabling our ecosystem of agency, supplier, and technology provider partners to increase operational efficiency, unlock new revenue sources, and accelerate innovation. About Team Novo Nordisk – Racing to Drive Change in Diabetes Team Novo Nordisk is a global all-diabetes sports team of cyclists spearheaded by the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team. In 2012, Phil Southerland, co-founder and CEO of the team, and global healthcare company Novo Nordisk, came together to create Team Novo Nordisk, based on a shared vision to inspire, educate, and empower people around the world affected by diabetes and promote a healthy and active lifestyle.

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Destination and Tourism

Life House Launches a New Referral Program to Give Back to the Hotel Industry

businesswire | July 07, 2023

Life House, an innovative management company for independent hotels, is proud to announce the launch of its Referral Program. The hotel industry is in a period of low transaction and development activity and the program is designed to support those folks who are particularly impacted, including brokers, developers, architects, designers, and hotel owners. Life House’s management services and revenue management solutions are designed to help owners yearning for better results with less effort, especially in the current economic environment - and Life House is committed to supporting the hotel community that fuses the industry together. With its tech-driven management approach, Life House makes hotels more profitable and makes owning a hotel hassle-free, with case studies showing NOI increases of 250% and improved guest experiences. The model leverages proprietary tech and complex operating systems and processes to deliver consistent success across its diverse portfolio of 100+ properties, ranging from select service hotels, to lifestyle motels, to luxury Forbes Five Star hotels and those affiliated with Leading Hotels of the World. While the Company has been receiving referrals for years, Life House is now launching a formal referral program given the economic climate to support both the hotel owners it serves as well as those who make referrals. The referral fees may not be as lucrative as a broker transaction fee, but could be up to $50,000, depending on the size of the hotel referred. If an introduction results in Life House signing a Hotel Management Agreement, Life House will provide a one-time reward in the amount of 0.5% of LTM Revenue for existing operating hotels OR 0.5% of Projected Year 1 Revenue for new builds or hotels that will undergo renovation. "We’re deeply committed to our mission of helping not only independent hotel owners, but the industry as a whole. We understand that the hotel industry is small and while most of our friends, broker partners, etc. make referrals out of the goodness of their hospitality spirit, we wanted to be proactive to reward those who may be going through a dry patch in this economic environment," said Rami Zeidan, Founder & CEO of Life House. About Life House Life House is a vertically integrated hotel management & technology company focused on serving small and medium independent hotels with institutional quality service. Life House uses advanced software & operating systems to increase profitability and reliability for independent hotels throughout North America. Life House was founded in 2017 by real estate, hospitality, and technology veterans and is backed by world renowned private equity and venture investors. The company is ambitiously investing in its operational systems to make hotels far more profitable, predictable, and seamless for owners.

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