JTB Unveils Teal to Streamline Global Business Travel
JTB Business Travel has launched Teal, a next-generation, cloud-based travel management platform powered by Spotnana, aimed at changing the way companies handle business travel. Teal brings together travel managers, travelers, and JTB advisors on a unified platform that offers global scalability, real-time visibility, policy controls, and seamless integration with HR and finance systems. Its goal is efficient, mobile-friendly booking across flights, hotels, rail, and car rentals, with travelers able to manage their own itineraries while receiving real-time alerts and global support. JTB is the first TMC to deploy Spotnana’s technology across more than 15 countries, with plans to reach 25 by year-end, enabling rapid, cost-effective global rollouts.
The platform is designed to bridge the gap between managed and unmanaged travel by offering comprehensive service and ease of deployment. Early users of Spotnana’s tech, which powers Teal, report a 94% self-service booking rate, translating to significant cost and efficiency gains. Key features include simultaneous multilingual rollouts, sustainability tracking, safety monitoring, and 24/7 support from advisors.
Lloyds & Hopper Launch UK’s First Bank-Backed Travel Portal
Lloyds Bank has partnered with HTS, the B2B division of global travel platform Hopper, to launch Lloyds Travel Booking powered by Hopper—a new travel portal integrated into the Lloyds mobile app, offering cardholders a streamlined way to book flights and accommodations. Designed to meet the growing demand for travel-related benefits, the platform features tools like Price Drop Protection, Price Prediction, and Best Price Guarantee. This makes Lloyds the first UK bank to offer a comprehensive, in-app travel booking experience. The partnership reflects HTS’s broader mission to support financial institutions with advanced travel and loyalty solutions, reaching millions of travelers globally.
Prince Harry Calls on APAC Travel Industry to Double Down on Sustainability
At Trip.com Group’s Envision 2025 Global Partner Conference in Shanghai, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and founder of Travalyst, called on the Asia-Pacific travel industry to intensify its sustainability efforts amid growing environmental and economic challenges. In his keynote address, he emphasized the region’s pivotal role in advancing global sustainability goals, highlighting APAC’s rapid travel recovery—with a market value projected at USD 490 billion—and the increasing demand from its travellers for low-impact, responsible tourism. Citing climate change as both an environmental and business emergency, Prince Harry urged the industry to stay committed despite obstacles, stating, “The true measure of our commitment is how we respond when the path becomes difficult.”
Alongside the conference, Travalyst launched a two-day Executive Summit in Shanghai, bringing together travel industry leaders and policymakers to discuss equitable, sustainable tourism strategies. The summit aims to expand Travalyst’s coalition and strengthen collaboration across the sector, with participation from key players such as Trip.com Group, Visit Thailand, and Go Turkiye. Travalyst’s recent Five-Year Milestone Report reiterated its mission to promote tourism that supports inclusive economic benefits, cultural preservation, and environmental protection. Since its inception in 2019, Travalyst has grown from five to 13 partners, collectively representing over USD 3 trillion in market value.
Platinum & Acai Travel Team Up to Bring AI to Corporate Travel in Australia
Platinum Travel Group has partnered with Acai Travel to embed AI innovation at the core of its operations, as part of a bold strategy to scale sustainably and increase revenue tenfold by 2030. Focused on the Australian SME and mid-market travel sector—an AUD $8 billion segment often overlooked—Platinum aims to grow without adding operational complexity. Acai’s AI capabilities, including its Supervisor AI, are already proving transformative by reducing agents’ repetitive workload by up to 70% and improving response times by 50%. This allows Platinum’s team to focus more on relationship-building and solving complex client needs, rather than administrative tasks.
The collaboration reflects a shared belief that AI should enhance—not replace—human service, enabling Platinum to deliver personalised, scalable, and cost-effective support. The company sees AI as critical infrastructure for future offerings in client engagement, employee benefits, and strategic insights.
Joy Travel & TA Network Partner to Power B2B Travel Across Asia
Guangzhou Joy International Travel Agency (Joy Travel) and Trip Affiliates Network (TA Network), a leading travel tech provider based in Singapore, have announced a strategic partnership to strengthen B2B travel distribution across Asia. Through this collaboration, Joy Travel will integrate its wide-ranging inventory of directly sourced hotels and activities into TA Network’s enterprise-level software, giving travel agents and suppliers real-time access to rates, availability, and seamless booking capabilities. The move is designed to enhance operational efficiency, increase transparency, and simplify connectivity across the travel value chain.
The partnership will enable Joy Travel to automate processes, optimize revenue, and expand its distribution to a broader network of B2B buyers through TA Network’s ecosystem. Both companies share a vision to drive digital transformation in the travel industry, offering clients improved margins, faster inventory access, and streamlined operations.
Google I/O 2025 Showcases Smarter, More Agentic AI Across Products
Google I/O 2025 marks a major leap in AI innovation, introducing a wave of intelligent, personalized, and agentic tools designed to simplify daily life and spark creativity. From CEO Sundar Pichai’s keynote, it’s clear that Google is focusing on AI that integrates seamlessly into how we work, shop, learn, and create. Highlights include the integration of Gemini AI into smart glasses through Android XR, enabling hands-free tasks like messaging and navigation in collaboration with fashion brands like Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.
Other key updates include smarter web browsing with Project Mariner, turning your browser into a multitasking assistant, and enhanced shopping tools that let you try on clothes virtually and track prices. Google also unveiled Flow, an AI-powered tool for effortless cinematic video creation, and upgraded Search with deeper reasoning and interactive features like Deep Search and Search Live. Additionally, Gemini Live now supports real-time help via camera and screen sharing, available for free on Android and iOS, making it easier than ever to get support, study, or generate content on the go.
