The weekly news roundup: It’s all about partnership this week – Hotel.com partners with CarTrawler, Uber rides with Kaligo, and Mauritania Airlines selects Travelport’s distribution solution
SECTORS: CarTrawler team up with Hotels.com to broaden ancillary offering
Leading online travel technology platform, CarTrawler, has partnered with online accommodation booking website, Hotels.com, to add accommodation to its ancillary offering to partners.
New partners: CarTrawler’s Bobby Healy (left) and Hotels.com’s Adam Jay (Image credit: CarTrawler)
The deal will enable partners of both companies to sell car hire, private transfers, and now hotels through the direct implementation of CarTrawler’s existing technology platform.
According to CarTrawler, its platform is used by 95 airlines and 2,000 travel retailers worldwide.
Bobby Healy, chief technology officer of CarTrawler, said the new partnership was about removing technology barriers.
“With both ground transportation and the global accommodation offering of Hotels.com covered in one simple white label integration, our partners have a one-stop-shop to quickly and effectively implement all non-air ancillaries.”
Adam Jay, SVP marketing and product for Hotels.com, added that the collaboration with CarTrawler was “a very natural step for both companies as we look to make things simple and profitable for our partners.”
The partnership follows the recent launch of Hotels.com for Partners. This is a new online platform that allows partners, such as airlines and travel companies, to white label or co-brand with the accommodation site and access its huge list of hotel rates and availabilities, increasing customer loyalty and spend.
TECHNOLOGY: Mauritania Airlines expands global reach with Travelport’s solution
Mauritania Airlines International has inked a multi-year agreement with Travelport, which will see the airline distribute its content for the first time with the travel commerce platform.
Mauritania Airlines is based at Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport. (Image credit: Nouakchott–Oumtounsy Airport’s Facebook page)
Travelport said 68,000 of its connected travel agency locations would have access to the airline’s fares with this deal.
The fares can now be searched, sold and booked via Travelport Smartpoint, its point of sale desktop solution that features an intuitive graphical user interface and performance enhancements.
In addition, the airline’s content is available through Travelport’s Universal API (uAPI) to other travel players such as online travel agencies who want to create their own front-end user experience and access Travelport’s content and functionality with ease.
“The agreement with Travelport is part of our company’s strategy to expand our reach through the indirect channel, and is aligned with our key objective to improve the airline’s profile through the modernisation of our fleet and operations,” said Mauritania Airlines’ Ahmedou Ahmedou.
Established in December 2010, Mauritania Airlines is Mauritania’s flag carrier based at Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport. It operates short and medium-haul flights, and connects the other airports in the country with West African nations.
HOTELS: Book hotels with Kaligo, get free Uber rides
Kaligo, a leading global loyalty-based hotel bookings company, has partnered with Uber in the US to offer free rides to its customers.
Free Uber rides for US customers of Kaligo. (Image credit: Kaligo)
The reward programme allows US-based Uber riders to collect free rides year round for booking hotels at Kaligo.com.
Kaligo said in a statement that the number of free Uber rides earned for each hotel booking is substantial, and depends on the amount spent, the hotels selected and the dates of stay.
“For example, with a US$500 hotel booking customers can earn anywhere from US$25-US$100 in free rides, which can be applied to Uber accounts when the hotel stay has been completed,” it added.
Kyle Armstrong, CEO of Kaligo.com, said of the partnership: “We strive to provide our travellers with the most valuable rewards options possible and partnering with Uber was a natural fit.”
