Category Archives: Technology

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.”

Travelport announced the launch of a new mobile app, Travelport Fusion, for airlines that can work across all host systems in response to the growing need to meet the expectations of today’s mobile-first customer. The new product gives airlines end-to-end trip engagement via mobile, allowing them to develop more valuable and lasting relationships with their customers. For airlines who need highly customized mobile solutions adapted to their specific digital roadmap, Travelport Digital will continue to offer its unique and proven blend of market leading design, agile delivery and mobile customer engagement solutions. The first release of Travelport Fusion will include a rich set of features such as mobile search, booking, check-in, boarding, passport scanning, day of travel assistance, itinerary management and real-time flight alerts.Commenting on the launch of Travelport Fusion, Fergal Kelly, CCO of Travelport Digital in Dublin stated “While we will continue to offer bespoke, high-end solutions as we have always done, Fusion is ideal for a wider market of airlines who now wish to move quickly on mobile.”

Al Rajhi Aviation Company, a leading travel company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has signed an agreement with leading technology provider to global travel and tourism industry, Sabre Corporation, to expand its operation, deliver seamless travel experience and deploy their corporate travel strategy. Under this agreement, Al Rajhi Aviation gains access to Sabre’s broad portfolio of technology solutions, including its industry-leading Sabre Red Workspace agency solution; Sabre Red App Centre, the world’s first B2B online travel app marketplace, and the latest mobile, data analytics, personalisation and automation capabilities in addition to Sabre’s franchise solutions and the leading corporate travel solution- GetThere. Using these technology, Al Rajhi Aviation Company will be able to achieve their vision to delivering world class travel services to their customers. “The Saudi traveller is a high adopter of latest technology and expect an uncompromised level of service that is customized specially for him and can be accessed through the devices he uses,” said Daniel Naoumovitch, CEO, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “Al Rajhi Aviation Company realizes the importance of deploying advanced technology to delivering personalized experience to the tech-savvy travelers and achieve travel excellence. We are proud to work with Al Rajhi Aviation Company to deploy new online, mobile, franchise and personalization solutions that will attain high level of satisfaction and customer’s loyalty. We are committed to support their expansion strategy and growth with latest technology and talented team to deliver products and solutions that meet their diverse customer needs and support their business goals.”

Travelport and Indian hotel chain Treebo Hotels have announced a partnership, the inaugural GDS deal for the hotel chain. Headquartered in Bangalore, Treebo Hotels operate across over 34 Indian cities. Under the debut agreement, Treebo Hotels will join over 650,000 unique hotel properties available through Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform and its distributor in India, ITQ. Enabling Indian and International corporate travelers and travel agencies in over 180 countries, to have real-time access to the chain’s full property inventory. Travelport-connected agencies across the globe will now be able to take advantage of Travelport Smartpoint to search, view and make booking decisions based on travel choice information beyond just rate and availability. Sidharth Gupta, Co-Founder of Treebo Hotels said, “We are delighted for striking our inaugural GDS partnership with Travelport and its recognized distributor in India, ITQ. We are confident that this collaboration will empower Travelport-connected agents to choose quality accommodation from across Treebo properties in India during their business visits across major cities and will significantly support our business expand its presence across the globe.” Niklas Andreen, Vice President and Managing Director, Global Hospitality Commerce at Travelport commented: “We are excited to partner with Treebo Hotels, one of India’s key hotel suppliers and our collaboration with Treebo Hotels will help further establish their position within India’s budget accommodation space. Their wide variety of destinations, accommodation types and price ranges greatly enriches Travelport’s unrivalled choice of global travel content; providing agents and partner companies with countless opportunities to check availability of inventory and make bookings.”

Al Tayyar Travel Group and Amadeus have signed a new partnership agreement. The extended deal significantly boosts the strategic co-operation between the two parties and reaffirms Al Tayyar Travel Group’s commitment to expand their online business. To achieve this, Al Tayyar Travel Group will take advantage of Amadeus cutting-edge technology and cost customized solutions such as the Premium Online Support, 24/7 contact with Amadeus experts, ATC Shopper Online, Booking and offline quality control check, etc. The agreement extension up to 2020 will expand the two parties’ collaboration from the local to the MENA level. Commenting on the agreement, Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Dawood, Managing Director and CEO, Al Tayyar Travel Group, said: “Al Tayyar Travel Group has been leading the travel and tourism industry in the region by offering quality services. We are excited to perform the new online strategy with one of the pioneering entity in the field: Amadeus. This strategy aimed at enhancing our business and providing travelers with enjoyable lifetime experiences.” Antoine Medawar, Vice President, Amadeus MENA, said: “We are happy to extend our contract with Al Tayyar Travel Group as it further enriches our firm partnership.  Al Tayyar Travel Group is a thriving company that is committed to service excellence. As Amadeus takes its strategic partnership with Al Tayyar to the regional level, the corporate travel sector in the MENA region will benefit from the expertise of two leading players in the travel domain. Amadeus works with Al Tayyar to explore new ways to fulfill the customer needs and offer them exciting new opportunities.”

Duetto, a hotel optimization technology provider, announced that it will implement its cloud-based Revenue Strategy application, GameChanger, and Revenue Intelligence solution, ScoreBoard, for First Central Hotel Suites, located in the heart of Dubai. Under the agreement, Duetto will provide the property with unprecedented market intelligence, the benefits of Open Pricing, and the ability to fully optimise revenue and easily analyse property performance. The partnership is Duetto’s first in the vibrant Dubai hospitality market and in the Middle East. CEO Patrick Bosworth of Duetto said, “We are very happy to announce this partnership with First Central Hotel Suites. Our GameChanger application will help First Central scale quickly by implementing a Revenue Strategy with optimal pricing and distribution management. ScoreBoard adds the ability to understand property performance and make more efficient operational decisions. We are excited to partner with First Central Hotel Suites, as we continue our expansion in key markets around the world.” By adopting Open Pricing, the core element of Duetto’s GameChanger application, the property will now be able to yield rates more rapidly and with greater flexibility, drawing on web shopping regrets and denials data to better measure price sensitivity and forecast unconstrained demand. Duetto’s recent integration with the Protel Air PMS will help First Central maximize its use of GameChanger, ScoreBoard and the hotel’s full tech stack. Ammar Kanaan, Group General Manager for Central Hotels, and Wael El Behi, First Central Hotel Suites’ general manager, added: “We are pleased to be working with Duetto, which brings an altogether new and innovative approach to Revenue Strategy. We look forward to a great working relationship in the years ahead.”

what3words, the location reference system, has launched in Arabic and immediately embarked upon a host of strategic partnerships, to bring its precision addressing infrastructure to a market of over 230 million Arabic speaking people across the globe. what3words is an address system based on a global grid of 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares, where each square has a unique pre-assigned 3-word address. The system is fast becoming an essential solution in both mature markets and rapidly developing economies. Five national postal services have adopted the system over the past 6 months and three word addresses are also being used to extend precision mapping and navigation for those developing autonomous vehicle systems and drone technology. what3words is being adopted across national addressing infrastructure, ecommerce systems, on-demand service delivery, transportation and tourism to help drive new operational efficiency and boost economic development. In addition to leading ecommerce and logistics business Aramex, brands across the Middle East like Jaguar Land Rover and Saudi e-commerce company vanilla.sa, are using the revolutionary 3 word addressing system to improve customer experience, tap into new customer bases and market opportunities. The annual global geospatial industry is estimated to be worth US $150 billion and what3words brings the precision and simplicity of 3 word addresses to bear on the transportation, logistics and delivery challenges faced across the world. Countries across the Middle East continue to report an accelerated pace of infrastructure development and urbanisation in light of strategic initiatives like Smart Dubai, UAE Vision 2021, Saudi Vision 2030 and Expo 2020. The need to deploy accurate and consistent location referencing and addressing has fast become a priority to improve citizen satisfaction, social development and economic diversification. Available in …

Sabre Corporation is launching a fast, design-led mobile experience to provide business travellers a simple way to book and manage in-policy travel on the go. The GetThere user experience gives them more self-service options and delivers an optimal search, shop and book experience whether on mobile or desktop. The GetThere team conducted hundreds of qualitative usability research sessions to evaluate what travellers and travel managers truly want and need out of an online booking tool. The newly redesigned GetThere applied the results to create a new modernized travel experience that empowers travelers to make smarter in-policy booking decisions. Other new GetThere features include: A simplified and responsive design, fully optimized for a mobile road-warrior An intuitive booking workflow powered by Sabre’s technology that is accessible and consistent on any device – desktop, tablet, and smartphone Sabre’s air merchandising capabilities to support airlines’ branded fares with existing travel policy “Today’s business traveler wants the convenience of self-service solutions. Our new traveler-centric design in GetThere puts the user first with new mobile capabilities and relevant content that’s essential for a smarter travel program,” said Wade Jones, interim president of Sabre Travel Network. “Travel managers and travelers will also have access to more content and the ability to differentiate various fare offerings from airlines including branded fares – helping business travelers get the exact services and features that they need to be productive.” With more airlines tailoring products for business traveler needs, corporations require an enriched marketplace of negotiated fares, amenities for a mobile workplace, and customization within the managed travel program. With the new GetThere, travel managers have more options to use fare rules to identify Out-of-Policy fares and control whether certain …