Travel Planning 2020:The Journey Toward Market Prosperity

whitePaper | January 5, 2020

The US travel space is rapidly changing. Driving this disruption are three major trends that go hand-in-hand: personalization, early stage consumer acquisitions, and mobile. Personalization is the biggest trend in travel. As of 2017, 57% of US travelers felt that brands should tailor their information based on the personal preferences or past behaviors of consumers. Google and other industry tech giants, like Facebook and Amazon, have been leading this charge through earlier, customized consumer acquisitions. The use of mobile has been paramount in the personalization of travel sales. Mobile also serves as a key platform in early customized consumer acquisitions, experiencing a 50% uptick in travel-related questions stemming from smartphones.

whitePaper | December 7, 2022

Despite significant advances throughout travel and tourism, many aspects of international travel remain encumbered by manual processes that are susceptible to fraud. For many years, aspiring voices from government and industry have advocated a vision of better travel experiences. A vision where outdated paper-based processes are replaced by modern digital processes that include strong identity assurance; and where passengers can travel from anywhere to anywhere using just their Digital Identity1 But as both the travel and tourism sectors – and the technology that underpins them – have been transformed, it is important for governments to begin developing their own strategies to deliver safe, secure and seamless travel for all international travelers, regardless of their mode of transport.

whitePaper | October 13, 2022

Based on present trends, we believe it will be possible for some airlines and their partners to see a world of 100% Offers and Orders by 2030. This means that full capabilities, based on global open standards and a modular architecture, need to be ready and available for any airline that wishes to embark on this journey. In partnership with key industry players, IATA has published a vision of a world with 100% Offers and Orders. The New Distribution Capability (NDC) has been a catalyst in this journey to airline retailing. However, many implementations sell rely on legacy artefacts such as filed fares, booking classes, PNRs and E-Tickets/EMDs. Vendors are developing retailing plaƞorms in this context, however, so far, none of them propose a completely legacy-free environment with Offers and Orders only.

whitePaper | December 6, 2022

The tourism industry, with travel and hospitality as two of its major components, is no longer the same as it was. Consumer behaviors toward tourism have significantly changed, influenced by the desire for safety and social contact and the accelerated shift to digital. Travel planning now happens with just a few clicks — from selecting a travel location and checking safety protocols to receiving information on flights and lodgings. For businesses, this means tougher asks from customers and greater competition for wallet share, especially as digital evens out the playing field between small and large companies.

whitePaper | March 9, 2022

As network connectivity plays an increasingly important role in an intelligent converged infrastructure, hospitality owners and brands are challenged to find ways to leverage technology in order to improve their guest experience. Historically, most hotel networks weren’t designed from the ground up. Instead, they slowly evolved to support a hodgepodge of existing technologies such as DSL (digital subscriber line), DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification), and G.hn (data transmission over telephone wiring, coaxial cables, power lines). While these technologies were adequate at the time and maximized the life-span of the current cabling infrastructure, guests continue to demand more from their hospitality network. Today, guests expect a modern hospitality network to offer power, wired and wireless connectivity, and an increasing number of new technologies such as internet of things (IoT) as part of their guest experience.

whitePaper | July 8, 2021

This whitepaper explains: Travel is an ultra-high-risk sector for card acquirers because most payments are for future delivery. If merchants fail to fulfill a service for which they have taken payment (often months in advance) customers can recover their money from the acquirer by initiating chargeback. Acquirers traditionally demand substantial cash collateral (holdbacks) or other financial security from travel merchants to mitigate this risk. Holdbacks lock away substantial funds for travel companies and can therefore be highly damaging to liquidity. High-profile collapses and the COVID-19 crisis have driven acquirers to impose harsher terms or quit the travel sector completely.