Category Archives: Technology

Aleph Hospitality has announced the launch of its hotel Innovation Lab to help drive innovation in the travel, tourism and hospitality as the industry recovers post pandemic. The company is on the lookout for dynamic and innovative startups that are transforming the travel, tourism & hospitality sector, and that seek support on their journey from a dynamic, experienced, and entrepreneurial team of senior industry professionals. “At Aleph Hospitality we operate with an entrepreneurial spirit in everything we do, and we pride ourselves on our culture of innovation. As a team we have been looking at ways to help drive innovation in travel, tourism and hospitality, in a time our industry needs it the most”, said Bani Haddad, Founder and Managing Director of Aleph Hospitality. “Through the Innovation Lab we want to support and promote entrepreneurs that are changing the face of our industry and offer them a springboard to launch and grow their business by providing office space, business support and advisory, product testing facilities and investment opportunities.” Aleph Hospitality is looking to onboard the first start-ups in its Innovation Lab in the company’s headquarters in Dubai by the end of September 2021.UAE based start-ups – and international entrepreneurs willing to relocate to Dubai – with innovative products, solutions and/or technologies in the fields of Artificial intelligence (AI), hotel guest & employee guest experience, sustainability & renewable energy, food & beverage and/or community service(s) are encouraged to apply for the Innovation Lab. Candidates can register their interest on the Aleph Hospitality website and the submission deadline is 2 September 2021. Shortlisted start-ups will be invited for a face-to-face meeting at the Aleph Hospitality offices in Dubai in September, with the …

Worldwide leader in travel retail, Travelport, announced a multi-year technology agreement with ITL World, one of the leading travel management companies in the Middle East. The agreement will see Dubai-based ITL World implement Travelport+, Travelport’s recently launched next-generation platform that creates a simplified, capability-rich, marketplace for travel retailing.   The move to Travelport+ will see ITL World benefit from advanced retailing capabilities including a modern, lightweight, highly functional microservices API, as well as a sophisticated point of sale solution and tools for enhanced value generation – all in one place. Travelport and ITL World also intend to implement various NDC initiatives in the future, leveraging Travelport’s NDC connections with multiple airlines.   Additionally, ITL World will use Travelport’s Branded Fares and Ancillary Services, giving its agents a graphically rich experience when searching and booking fares and ancillary offers from the approximately 275 airlines using the solution.   “Deploying Travelport+ supports our commitment to deliver travel management solutions which are innovative, yet cost-effective”, said Dr Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman & Managing Director at ITL World. “Travelport+ will enable us to simplify complex travel retailing processes, respond with agility to the needs of all our customers, and create increased value.”   Kathryn Wallington, Head of Middle East & Africa at Travelport said: “We are proud to be partnering with a market leading travel management company like ITL World. We will continue to work closely with ITL World to enhance capabilities, improve pain points and ensure we are generating value from every trip. ITL World’s upgrade to Travelport+ will also enhance its competitive edge as the industry approaches a full return to travel.”   Founded in the 1980s, ITL World is an award-winning travel …

Accor, a world-leading augmented hospitality group, with more than 400 hotels and resorts across India, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, is introducing a bespoke 1 year Sales & Distribution learning program for Saudi Talents across Accor properties in the Kingdom. With over 30 years of presence in the Kingdom, the group is continuously finding new ways to contribute and comply with the Kingdom’s Saudisation vision of 2030. Accor is building strong partnerships with educational institutions, local authorities and NGOs, recruiting Saudi role models to support new recruits and working with the government to provide placements for university students. Learning & Development opportunities are crucial to attracting, recruiting and retaining Saudi talent, with a focus on accelerating career development, Accor has rolled out several initiatives exclusive to the hospitality group, including the Saudi Management Training Programme (SMTP), the first initiative of its kind in the Kingdom, launched in 2014. Fairmont Riyadh –  In June 2021, the Sales & Distribution learning program began for 150 Saudi nationals, “Heartists”, across the Kingdom with the objective of building a new sales generation in compliance with local regulations. Participants of this immersive program benefit from the opportunity to acquire and build competencies in sales knowledge and skills, interaction and learning from peers and subject matter experts, and can participate in the program from any business function. The program will be taking place virtually and participants will be enrolled through Accor’s digital platform, INES. Over the four months before being certified, each participant will have to attend 3 sessions and only successful participants will be part of the second phase of the Sales Up-Skilling program starting in October 2021. Sofitel Al Khobar – “Learning and Development …

Travelport, a worldwide leader in travel retail, today announced it has appointed Tom Kershaw as its new Chief Product and Technology Officer. Tom is a seasoned product and technology executive, with more than two decades of experience leading innovation, technical strategy and execution within both emerging and mature organizations undergoing transformation. He most recently held the title of Chief Technology Officer at one of the largest independent advertising platforms in the world, Magnite, Inc. (which recently acquired SpotX, following the merger between Telaria and Rubicon Project in 2020). In the role, Tom restructured and led an engineering and product team of approximately 600 developers, overseeing the integration of product and engineering into a common organization. While at Rubicon Project, in 2017, Tom also co-founded Prebid.org, an open-source software organization dedicated to cultivating a new standard for cooperation in independent advertising exchanges to address industry challenges by facilitating collaboration and innovation. He grew the organization to more than 100 corporate members, over 1,000 contributing engineers and thousands of web publishers, and lead prebid.js to become the dominant form of advertising monetization on the Internet. Prior to Rubicon Project, Tom was a Director of Product Management at Google where he led the Google Ads and Commerce product team in the APAC region, overseeing all global products built for publishers and buyers.  While at Google, Tom also led product management for the Google Cloud platform where he focused on infrastructure development and was heavily involved in re-structuring Cloud infrastructure pricing. During his career, Tom has also held leadership positions at Ericsson, VeriSign Inc., and Unisys Corporation. Greg Webb, Chief Executive Officer at Travelport, said: “As Travelport+ is the central focus of our strategy, …

Innovative flight compensation company, Colibra, is now live for users in the United Arab Emirates to use. For the first time the ‘Fly Now, Pay if Okay’ service allows passengers with a valid UAE residency to book flights that they only pay for if their flight arrives on time. They now have the privilege to be the first in the world to use the pilot version of the product and test this disruptive travel technology. The Colibra app guarantees UAE residents that if the flight is cancelled or delayed for more than three hours, passengers do not have to pay for their plane tickets at all. This service is entirely free for users of the app, allowing them to book tickets within 30 days before departure (and arrival) and then pay the regular ticket fare if their flight arrives on time or within three hours of its scheduled departure. The Colibra app is now available to download on the Apple Store for IOS users, as well as on the Google Play Store for Android users. How the app works: The passenger chooses a flight – it must depart and arrive within 30 days from booking date Adds his/her personal data – Colibra doesn’t charge at the time of booking Colibra charges the passenger upon arrival if everything goes smoothly and the service is delivered (ticket’s price is at no extra cost). In all other cases, the user travels for FREE.

Sabre Corporation recognized the needs of clients during this challenging time and the necessity to innovate quickly, reported by a survey by McKinsey. The Company took rapid action to employ technology and resources to transform to digital-only onboarding (integrating and acquainting customers with the Sabre platform), ensuring that the delivery was quick, simple and efficient for customers, from airlines to agencies. Typically, implementation processes involve working hand and hand with the customer on the data migration, holding a comprehensive series of face-to-face meetings and training sessions, and thereby quickly establishing a good communication and trust between all parties, something that is critical for the change management. Having to change to a virtual-only implementation process almost overnight involved rapid transformation, innovation and adaptability. “When Sabre was thrust into the remote work environment, we did not let our inability to physically work side-by-side with our customers get in the way of delivering on our commitments,” said Cem Tanyel, Chief Services Officer at Sabre Travel Solutions. “The way in which our teams at Sabre and our customers have collaborated to pioneer complex migrations virtually is truly impressive. Through adaptability, agility and innovation, we have been able to deliver successful implementations under new and challenging circumstances. We have gained valuable insights that have and will continue to change the way in which we operate in the years to come.” On the airline front, since the beginning of the pandemic, multiple airlines, including ASKY, which is the first Sabre-hosted carrier in the west and central African market, Croatia Airlines, Gulf Air, and Vietnam Airlines, successfully migrated to Sabre Revenue Optimizer, Sabre’s leading revenue optimization solution, via remote delivery. Croatia Airlines migrated in August 2020. Implementation …

dnata Travel is revealing the top destinations UAE travellers are booking for a summer holiday in 2021. Experts at the UAE-based travel brand, part of the dnata Travel Group, are revealing where travellers from the UAE are seeking to take a break between July and October 2021, with a focus on destinations with clear regulations, no rules for quarantine on arrival, and direct flight options. The top ten most booked holiday destinations for summer 2021 at the time of publishing include the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives, Seychelles and Zanzibar; European city, beach and countryside hotspots across Turkey, Greece, Russia, Georgia, Italy and Cyprus; and travel to popular locations in the USA including Orlando, Florida and New York, New York. Emily Jenkins, Head of Leisure UAE at dnata Travel, commented, “Ahead of the summer travel season, we have witnessed a surge in destinations easing requirements and opening up for vaccinated travellers. With the UAE’s impressive vaccination drive, our residents have seen the number of destinations open for them to explore increase significantly. Traveller confidence has also grown, particularly in travel to destinations which have been open for some time and with clear regulations, offer quarantine-free travel, and direct flights. An ideal example of this is the number one international destination of choice for summer 2021, the Maldives, which has been open for UAE travellers since July 2020. “Traveller confidence and interest in travel to Europe is at an all-time high, as its popular locations continue to open for international tourists. Each country has its own set of guidelines, yet trends remain consistent in eased requirements for vaccinated travellers. Most popular for travel from the UAE include Turkey, Greece and …

Travelport and Emirates announced they have reached a commercial agreement that will allow Travelport-connected travel agencies to avoid the airline’s surcharge on bookings via Global Distribution Systems (GDS) that will be introduced from 01 July 2021. Furthermore, the companies announced a new long-term agreement to enable the distribution of Emirates NDC content via Travelport’s next-generation platform, Travelport+, and an extension to its longstanding IT agreement. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer at Emirates said: “We are pleased to have reached key agreements with Travelport that take our decades-long partnership to the next level. Supported by the recent launch of Travelport+, these new deals will further cement Emirates as the airline of choice for travellers that want highly personalized offers and access to the world’s best destinations. Emirates and Travelport will continue to work jointly on future travel retail solutions that will offer our travel community partners even better and more bespoke services.” Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport, said, “This series of agreements highlights the determination of both Travelport and Emirates to re-invent travel retailing and push the boundaries of what’s possible. With a shared vision for the future, our long-standing collaboration will continue to go from strength-to-strength. Together, we look forward to giving the many travelers returning to the skies this summer and beyond the best possible offers and experiences.”

Bedsonline has launched the latest, upgraded version of The Compass, its award-winning market intelligence platform. The Compass harnesses Bedsonline’s real-time data to provide clients with the latest trends and up-to-date insights to help them promote the right destinations at the right time to their customers. Through its powerful search engine, travel advisors can identify market-specific booking patterns and use the filters to set their preferences when they select a destination. Once the selection is made, travel advisors can create their own personalized and branded marketing materials directly from the tool and easily share it with their customers. This latest upgrade, which is available in all Bedsonline markets, comes with a refreshed design and new functionality including: Automatic translation with information related to each destination now displayed in the client’s default language; More data including information on hotels and destinations not currently booked; The inclusion of destination and hotels proof points meaning that from now on, travel agents will be able to see – in real time – data related to the destination and hotels based on what they buy and how much they buy so that the information is fully tailored to each and every Bedsonline client. Since its launch in August last year, The Compass has managed over 80,000 visits for Bedsonline clients. Paul Anthony, Digital Commercialisation Director at Hotelbeds, the parent company of Bedsonline, said, “Now that the industry is slowly recovering, it is more essential than ever to provide our clients with the best tools available to help them harness all the pent up demand that is out there. This is why we are delighted to unveil this new version of The Compass, with its added functionality …

SCAT Airlines and Sabre Corporation, the leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, today announced a new strategic partnership, building on Sabre’s other achievements in the central Asian region. Under the new agreement, SCAT Airlines will migrate to Sabre’s passenger reservations system, SabreSonic.  It will also leverage Sabre’s industry-first Commercial Platform to help maximize revenue and create a differentiated brand experience for travelers. By delivering real-time, customer-centric offers to the airline’s customers, Sabre’s technology will help SCAT achieve its ambitious plans to lead the recovery and future growth of travel in Kazakhstan. “As we navigate the new travel environment, it’s very important for us to be agile and able to deliver personalized offers to our customers at the right time and through the right channels”, said Vladimir Denisov, president, SCAT Airlines.  “Our new agreement with Sabre is an essential pillar in our strategy, providing us with modern reservations technology, intelligent revenue management and scalable platform capabilities, which will help enable us to unlock new opportunities, provide best-in-class customer experience and maximize profitability.” “Given the current environment and pressure on the travel industry, it is more important than ever for airlines to use robust and intelligent technologies to forecast, analyze and optimize operations and revenue streams”, said Dino Gelmetti, Vice President EMEA, Sabre Travel Solutions.  “Sabre plans to enhance its presence in Kazakhstan and provide SCAT Airlines with the capabilities to achieve profitable growth and to pioneer the future of travel.  Today’s announcement demonstrates SCAT’s forward-looking approach and Sabre’s deep commitment to supporting the global aviation industry”.