HBX, Perfect Stay get personal
HBX Group is accelerating the global rollout of HBX Group and PerfectStay curated travel experiences to a wider selection of clients, enabling them to offer monetisable travel experiences directly to their customers.
Since 2023, HBX Group has been collaborating with PerfectStay to offer innovative packaging solutions for airlines, hotels, and banks in EMEA.
PerfectStay, a leading B2B company specialising in bespoke holiday packaging while HBX Group is a leading player in the B2B TravelTech ecosystem.
The new strategic collaboration aims to create a new global leader in B2B2C package travel solutions.
The partnership will also enhance customer loyalty programmes and consumer platforms.
Nicolas Huss, CEO of HBX Group, says, “According to sector research, there is growing demand for both personalised and organised travel experiences, which is why HBX Group saw in PerfectStay the best partner possible.”
Some of the brands currently working with HBX Group and PerfectStay include Air France, Emirates, Transavia, and American Express. Kenya Airways is the latest addition to this client portfolio.
Smailing hails TA Network for expansion
Smailing Tours DMC – the Bali-based inbound/DMC division of Indonesia’s Smailing Tour Group – has partnered with Travel Affiliates Network (TA Network).
Headquartered in Singapore, TA Network has offices in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, providing FIT/group inbound and outbound turnkey solutions and add-on direct supplier connectivity services for travel agents, wholesalers and hotels.
TA Network will help Smailing to expand its business using advanced booking engines, dynamic packaging tools and advanced operational software.
The partnership also brings TA Network’s next-generation advanced travel IaaS platform to the Indonesian market.
Investors elevate Eve
Eve Air Mobility has secured US$94 million in new equity financing from a diverse group of global industrial companies that include Embraer, Nidec and additional financial investors.
The new funding will support the continued development and manufacturing of the company’s eVTOL.
Eduardo Couto, chief financial officer at Eve Air Mobility, said, “With the industry’s largest pre-order book with letters of intent for 2,900 aircraft and strong programme development partners, Eve has continued to demonstrate the opportunity that our company presents for both strategic and financial investors.”
The company is completing assembly of its first full-scale eVTOL prototype which will be followed by a test campaign.
Union Pay’s summer splurge
UnionPay International has stepped up its summer marketing effort, targeting outbound tourists from China, offering benefits that include merchant discounts up to 33%, favourable exchange rates, and cash back of up to 12% from banks.
More than 10,000 global merchants and more than 10 commercial card-issuing banks have participated, covering destinations popular with Chinese travellers.
The UnionPay global acceptance network has expanded to 182 countries and regions outside China’s mainland. It offers payment options including cash withdrawal, card payment, QR code payment and mobile payment.
In Europe, UnionPay cards have a 90% acceptance rate, while in Australia and New Zealand they can be used at over 95% of merchants’ POS terminals.
Cardholders can make card payments or withdrawals without the need to exchange currency in advance.
In Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, a large number of merchants have already adopted UnionPay QR code payment.
A call for transparency in tourism
Tourism is not expected to be big on the agenda in upcoming elections around the world, although some in the industry are calling for a fairer regulatory landscape between hotels and short-term rentals.
Adam Harris, CEO of hospitality tech platform Cloudbeds, hopes politicians are listening. “It’s not fair to any industry to have jurisdictional change happening too frequently. Whether that’s short-term rentals, a hotel campground, a hostel, or a multi-property hotel group, operators deserve transparency, a long-lasting set of standards, and a fair playing field.
“Our industry needs good policy, and that policy needs to be there for a while. With good policies that don’t change every six months, it means systems can adapt and create universal application, which means innovation can speed up to create a healthier industry and a happier guest.
“Right now, we’re stuck. A lot of voters care about this, and we hope politicians take notice during this election cycle.”
