In the news: It’s all about partnership this week as companies team up to both expand business and travel options to their guests and travellers worldwide. Joining forces are Langham Hospitality Group and TripAdvisor, Klook and Asia Miles, Travelguru and Amadeus, Air China and Travelport
Hong Kong’s Langham adds hotels to TripAdvisor’s instant booking platform
Travellers can book Langham hotels, such as The Langham Huntington Pasadena Los Angeles, on TripAdvisor.
Travellers shopping for hotels on TripAdvisor can now book properties under the Langham Hospitality Group without having to leave the travel site, made possible with the recent partnership between the two companies.
With this deal all hotels under the Hong Kong based hotel group are listed in TripAdvisor’s new instant booking distribution channel.
Nick Cohen, global director of e-commerce for Langham Hospitality Group, said its customers can now make seamless reservations on the global travel site.
“Our partnership with TripAdvisor is focused on providing guests with the ideal set of options as they research and book their trip,” he added.
TripAdvisor first launched its instant booking platform to US consumers in June 2014, with a phased rollout to other international markets expected over time.
Hotels available through TripAdvisor instant booking receive a prominent booking button that travellers may click to easily complete their reservation on the site. As with other instant booking partners, the transaction and customer care are handled by the hotel.
Richer experiences for travellers with Klook-Asia Miles partnership
Hand-picked activities for Asia Miles members by Klook. (Image credit: yongkiet/iStock)
Klook, the online platform that provides travellers with curated activities across Asia, and Asia Miles, a leading travel and lifestyle rewards programme, have joined forces to give travellers more experiences across the region.
Klook, which won WIT Japan & North Asia StartUp Pitch 2015, said the partnership would see Asia Miles’ members enjoying greater benefits when booking travel experiences through its website.
Asia Miles members can choose from a selection of activities handpicked by Klook through its dedicated website page – from “swimming” with marine life at S.E.A Aquarium in Singapore, or interacting with illusionary art at Hong Kong 3D Museum.
Klook said it is “revolutionising the travel activities market by making these experiences easy to plan into an itinerary, whether it’s predeparture or on the road” through its user friendly Klook website or iOS/Android app.
Both the website and the app offer a curated choice of activities, exclusive deals and instant paperless ticketing.
Asia Miles believes that the “enthusiasm and travel-related backgrounds of Klook’s cofounders and the rapid acceptance of the idea in the market will bring more unique and innovative travel experiences to members”.
Klook was founded by former bankers Eric Gnock Fah and Ethan Lin and tech engineer Bernie Xiong. Since its launch in September 2014 the start-up has more than doubled its team size, while the user base has reached over 300,000, with bookings growing 10 times .
Travelguru picks Amadeus to distribute its Indian hotel content
Travelguru chooses Amadeus as distribution partner because of its global reach.
Travelguru, India’s largest domestic hotel content provider, has chosen Amadeus to distribute its 20,000+ hotels from across 800 cities in India in a new agreement between the two companies.
This is the first time that Travelguru makes its content available through a GDS, offering both leisure and corporate travellers access to a widespread choice of hotels through the travel agency channel.
Amadeus travel agents worldwide will be the first to gain access to Travelguru’s indian hotel, and will be able to search, shop and book over 1 million hotel shopping options.
Travelguru’s hotel content will be available to agents in Q3 2015 through the extended marketplace in Amadeus Hotels Plus. This solution provides seamlessly integrated content from multiple hotel sources in one single interface.
Hotels partnering with Travelguru will also benefit from international reach through Amadeus’ global travel agency network.
Akash Poddar, Travelguru’s head of B2B business, said Amadeus’ global network of travel agency customers would help the company to increase its sales channels.
“In addition Amadeus provides us with a globally adopted platform to engage with, and tap into, new markets which we previously could not reach. Domestically, this helps us to further consolidate our leadership position in the Indian sub-continent,” he added
Christian Lukey, head of hotel distribution, Amadeus Asia Pacific added that the partnership with Travelguru would enable its agents to have access to all categories of hotels in India, from boutique to budget and high-end luxury, would be available to its travel agents.
“India is an increasingly popular destination for both leisure and corporate travellers, so it’s fundamental that Amadeus travel agents can offer as many choices as possible to their customers.”
Air China turns to Travelport for its business intelligence solution
Air China, Travelport’s new business intelligence partner.
Air China has signed up for Travelport’s Airline Insight business intelligence and reporting solution.
The airline said that the intuitive analytical tool would help it in making strategic planning decisions as it is designed to empower airlines to draw on multiple data sources to do that.
Travelport said that the “versatility of this web-based analytical tool ensures that the investments the airline makes in rich data sources such as MIDT, Illuminate Market Size, QSI and others can deliver direct revenue benefits and result in more informed and effective business decisions across a wider range of opportunities for Air China.”
• Featured image credit (The Langham, Hong Kong): The Langham, Hong Kong
