VantisCorp debuts white-label automation platform for TMCs
VantisCorp launched a white-label corporate travel platform, aimed at Travel Management Companies (TMCs) still relying on spreadsheets, email approvals, and manual invoice reconciliation; it unifies hotel and flight booking (with TMC-specific markups and policy checks), approvals and multi-entity compliance workflows, back-office automation (tax-compliant GST/VAT invoicing, wallet and payment integration), and client servicing tools into one branded system, letting TMCs retain the client relationship while VantisCorp operates behind the scenes.
CEO Amol Raut said the company prioritized building this operational backbone since that’s where TMC costs actually accumulate, not in the booking search itself; the platform already has contracted clients live in India, the UK, and Saudi Arabia, with demos available at vantiscorp.com.
Laters.com raises $1.5M seed round after rebrand from Fly Fairly
Singapore-based Laters.com (formerly Fly Fairly), a payments-first online travel agency offering over 100 ways to pay for flights across 650+ airlines — including roughly 40 buy-now-pay-later plans, digital wallets, and 70+ cryptocurrencies — announced a $1.5 million seed round led by XBO Ventures (the investment arm of digital-asset platform XBO.com), coinciding with its completed rebrand from flyfairly.com.
The company, founded by Alex Yardley (formerly of eBay, Booking Holdings, and ShopBack) in August 2024, has been profitable monthly since February 2025, now serves over a million travelers annually with the US as its largest market, holds 4.8/5 ratings on Google and Trustpilot, sees crypto customers spend over twice the average (mostly on long-haul, higher-cabin trips), and offers two free public tools — a country-by-country pay-later provider guide and a “Payment Score” rating system with no pay-for-placement — with the new funding earmarked for brand growth, core business expansion, and new products beyond travel.
EU Court upholds block on Booking Holdings’ €1.6B Etraveli acquisition
The EU’s General Court has rejected Booking Holdings’ appeal against the European Commission’s decision blocking its proposed €1.6 billion acquisition of Etraveli Group, upholding the EC’s finding that the deal would have entrenched Booking’s dominant market position by raising barriers to entry and expansion; the saga began when Booking announced the acquisition in late 2021, the EC opened an investigation before formally barring the deal, and Booking appealed — with CEO Glenn Fogel previously warning that EU regulation, including Booking’s designation as a digital gatekeeper, risks stifling innovation.
The court’s ruling rejected Booking’s argument that regulators departed from settled precedent, affirming the EC’s authority to address emerging competition concerns in digital markets, and Booking has said it disagrees with the outcome and is reviewing a possible further appeal to the European Court of Justice.
Spotnana launches direct integration with Marriott
Spotnana announced a new direct integration with Marriott International connecting to its central reservation system, giving corporate travel executives real-time pricing, inventory, and detailed property content across 10,000 Marriott properties, plus the industry’s first verified loyalty linking with Marriott Bonvoy (recognizing status, credit card holders, and points balances).
Key features include self-service booking modification/cancellation, streamlined agent servicing tools, bookable corporate negotiated rates, and up-to-date room/amenity details matching Marriott’s own channels, instantly activated through Spotnana Cloud; the integration builds on the companies’ existing partnership powering the Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy program for small and mid-sized businesses, with executives from Marriott, Amazon (as a customer), and Spotnana CEO Steve Singh all emphasizing improved traveler experience, spend management, and next-generation corporate travel distribution.
Tencent Cloud to power infrastructure for MENAP travel platform
Tencent Cloud announced a collaboration to provide scalable cloud infrastructure and technical expertise for Bookme, a Pakistan-founded travel and e-ticketing platform now serving over 15 million customers as the fastest-growing player across the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP) region, with operations in six regions including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and MENA; the partnership supports Bookme’s consumer platforms and embedded booking services (available via API as a mini-app across 40+ platforms) covering inventory from 500+ airlines, over a million hotels, events, airport lounges, e-visas, tours and attractions, plus a fintech/banking/super-app partner network, using Tencent’s infrastructure, monitoring, security and support to handle demand spikes during peak travel and promotions. Tencent Cloud’s Rachel Xie and Bookme founder/CEO Faizan Aslam both framed the deal as enabling continued international scaling and enhanced customer experience.
Back-to-Back Malaysia and Singapore F1 races fuel surge in Southeast Asia travel demand
New Amadeus Travel Intelligence data shows a rise in international air arrivals and cross-border travel tied to back-to-back Formula 1 races — Malaysia’s Grand Prix (2-4 October) and Singapore’s (9-11 October) — with Kuala Lumpur-to-Singapore arrivals up 74% year-on-year between the events.
Malaysia’s top source markets include Australia, India, the UK, Taiwan and South Korea, with the UK fastest-growing at 49% (ahead of Australia’s 40% and Singapore’s 38%), while Singapore saw arrivals rise 88% from the US, 73% from the UK, 54% from New Zealand and 43% from Taiwan. Trip patterns also shifted, with shorter Kuala Lumpur stays (1-5 nights) up 17% and Singapore seeing a 49% rise in medium-length stays (6-13 nights), while solo travelers (+37% Malaysia, +44% Singapore) and couples (+11% Malaysia, +24% Singapore) drove much of the growth. Amadeus’s Bing Han Kee noted the dual races let fans combine both events into one Southeast Asian trip, offering airlines, hotels and hospitality businesses a chance to build multi-city itineraries and longer-stay experiences.
