Category Archives: Technology

Careem, the UAE-based ride hailing app, brings its unique “Kids” service to Abu Dhabi. Launched in Dubai in 2014, Careem Kids is a dedicated car type for passengers travelling with young children. Each car in the Kids fleet comes with an extremely safe and comfortable car seat that can carry a child of upto 30 kg in weight. Further, the Captains of this service are trained by the distributors of the world’s most renowned child car seat brand, Maxi Cosi, to safely install the seat, alter the size of the seat and maintain the seat. Pertaining to the new regulations, Careem issued statements earlier this month to its customers and Captains, informing them that no child under the age of four years would be able to travel without a seat in the future. Also, parents have been advised that Careem Kids can cater for only one child under four years and any additional seats needed would have to be provided by the passenger. The Captains have been asked to enforce the new regulations with immediate effect.

Travelport announced a new agreement with First Diana Travel which will get the leading Lebanese travel agency access to Travelport’s unrivalled choice of travel content. By connecting to the Travelport platform, First Diana will now have intelligent, fast and accurate searching and booking tools to offer to its customers. It would be able to provide content from more than 400 airlines, including low cost and network carriers, more than 650,000 hotel properties and more than 37,000 car rental locations around the world. Bookers at the leisure and full service corporate agencies can use Travelport Smartpoint as their desktop tool to search beyond rate and availability while purchasing personalised travel packages, to drive performance and to increase revenues. Elcheikh Mohamed Ghouzayel, President and Owner of First Diana Travel, commented, “This is an exciting time for First Diana Travel and we’re thrilled to sign our debut deal with Travelport. Having recently extended our operation outside the Lebanese borders, into the Gulf region and Asia, we look forward to differentiating our offerings by utilising Travelport’s technology to provide our customers with a more personalised booking experience.”

In its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, Dubai-based First Central Hotel Suites has now made all its marketing material available online. With the ‘Go Online. Go Paperless’ campaign, the hotel aims to significantly reduce the usage and wastage of paper as well as printing requirements. Rolling out the initiative, Wael El Behi, General Manager of First Central Hotel Suites, said, “Paperless makes a lot of sense, especially in this digital era when everyone seems to have a smartphone and is used to instant information. Therefore, in keeping with our responsible and sustainable environmental practices we have decided to make all our brochures, fact sheets, and media files available for download online. This will tremendously help in cutting down the consumption of paper as well as unnecessary costs. In addition, it will boost efficiency, allowing us to update promotions and information in real time while making it more convenient for our business associates and guests to access those.”

Answering the consumer demand for stronger privacy protection, Careem, the leading ride-hailing service in the Middle East and North Africa, has launched a new call masking feature, which is already live in the UAE and will be introduced in other regional markets, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, within the coming 30 days. The feature gives Careem’s customers the option to keep their phone numbers undisclosed to the Captain (driver), thus adding another layer to customer privacy and security. Call masking is the latest in a series of safety features introduced by Careem in the recent past such as the facial recognition technology.

Amadeus Gulf, a provider of technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, has announced that 1500 travel agents across the region have subscribed to its breakthrough product, Amadeus Voice. A desktop-based app, Amadeus Voice provides users with access to a range of services that complement their daily tasks, enabling them to work more efficiently while keeping in touch with the latest news from their industry. Developed based on Amadeus’ 30-year relationship with travel industry professionals, Amadeus Voice uses push technology to send relevant data updates as needed, in real time, to the users’ computers, giving them access to daily industry news, along with product updates and announcements, so as to keep them informed of the latest innovate solutions; allowing them to keep a track of the major events through the app’s calendar; and providing them with instant notifications on any critical issues. Other features on the app include access to resources via the user’s computer, access to 24/7 Amadeus support hub and Amadeus company news and updates.

Travelport partners with Groundspan to introduce the fully integrated ground transportation solution, Travelport Drive Me. Designed to be the fastest and the most efficient way to book ground transportation services, Drive Me revolutionises car bookings to deliver a seamless experience to travellers. It provides options for travellers who desire a high-quality, personalised and reliable car transfer service experience across their journey. Powered by Groundspan’s global network of over 5,000 car service providers with professional drivers, Travelport Drive Me enables Travelport Smartpoint connected travel agents to seamlessly manage ground transportation, just as they book flights, hotel accommodation or car rental.

The Sizzling Summer app, which helps users to find deals and offers at Meraas destinations quickly and easily, is soon going to collaborate with Careem to provide its customers an enhanced experience. Customers will now be able to see the estimated time of arrival of their closest Careem and also the approximate journey time. Careem, the region’s leading ride hailing app, has revealed that users of the Sizzling Summer app can now book a ride directly through the app, using a new feature designed to make it easier to redeem hundreds of summertime offers at various destinations in Dubai. With new deals being added all the way until the end of September, there is no shortage of promotions at the participating outlets at Meraas’ destinations: City Walk, The Beach, Boxpark, Last Exit, The Outlet Village, Kite Beach and Jumeirah Bay. The seasonal promotion will encompass a variety of offerings from Galeries Lafayette, Valiant Clinic and Nikki Beach to The Green Planet, Leopold’s of London and Qasr Al Sultan, allowing people to eat, shop and relax for less this summer. The Sizzling Summer app will be free to download for iOS and Android via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Tink Labs Limited has appointed a GCC Management Team to drive the rollout of its mobile travel solution ‘handy’ across the region. ‘handy’ is an innovative smartphone provided as a complimentary amenity in partner hotel rooms. It integrates the hotel services as well as offers travellers unlimited connectivity on the go, free-of-charge international calls and tailored travel guides. Heading the management team is Sverre Christiansen, who joins here as General Manager – GCC, Tink Labs Limited. Talking about the product, Christiansen explains, “handy not only helps hotels with providing their guests with a device that assists them in travelling across new destinations through tailored city guides but also in extending their in-house marketing and concierge facilities via an easy-to-use smartphone. Moreover, available with pre-installed mobile applications, it can show details of discounts and promotions and allow visitors to remain in contact with their hotel and personal network at all times.” With the support of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Tink Labs has already delivered a successful pilot project in Dubai in association with Fairmont The Palm, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi, The Westin Dubai and Dusit Thani Dubai.

AirWayBill, the peer-to-peer shipping platform, has partnered with Careem, the region’s favourite car-booking app to be its official transportation partner in the Middle East and support carriers in getting their items to recipients, quickly and more efficiently. Users can avail of up to $15 off their rides from the airport when they’re connected through both apps. AirWayBill will send the promo codes of Careem to buyers and carriers whenever they have a shipment in process as a bonus to their agreement. Khaled Sehly, co-founder and managing director AirWayBill, said, “Careem is renowned in the region for their innovative approach to getting people to their destinations in style and comfort, and we’ve opened a door to buying and receiving items in a more cost-effective manner than traditional methods. This all relies on the trust and honesty of a community of shoppers and travellers; it’s a mutual relationship that gets things and people moved around in comfort and with efficiency.”

TVS Travels, a travel management company in the Middle East, has reaffirmed a longstanding business relationship with global technology company, Sabre Corporation, to support its global growth, drive operational efficiencies and achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction. TVS Travels will continue using Sabre technology to manage its business operations including shopping, booking and managing travel for its clients, as well as leverage mobile, data and automation capabilities to provide clients with a better, more personalized travel experience.  The company will also benefit from a range of new features and capabilities when a new version of Sabre’s solution, Sabre Red Workspace, is launched next year. “Our ambitious expansion strategy will see us extend into regional markets and provide a new level of customer satisfaction and value throughout the travel journey,” said Dr. Hyder Ali, Chairman of TVS Hyder group. “Sabre’s technology gives us a distinct advantage over our competitors. Their deep understanding of the travel industry, its challenges and future traveler expectations equip us with the right tools and technologies to stay ahead of the game and anticipate traveler needs.”