The platform is touted as “new architecture for connecting suppliers directly to the travellers that’s available off-the-shelf”.
Qantas is expanding the travel management capabilities of its Qantas Business Rewards programme, including offering businesses the ability to book flights, hotels and car hire directly through the platform for the first time.
After a competitive tender process, Qantas has chosen travel technology company Spotnana to develop and power the travel management component for the Qantas Business Rewards platform.
Said Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth, “Earning Qantas Points on travel as well as everyday business expenses and getting discounts on flights are real drawcards for our more than 450,000 Qantas Business Rewards members.
“In response to feedback from our members, we’re evolving the Qantas Business Rewards platform to offer better travel management capabilities in addition to the current benefits.
“The investment we’re making in the platform will make it easier for our members to manage their business travel needs and make the most of their rewards, all in one place.”
Calling it the “new art of the possible”, Spotnana CEO Sarosh Waghmar said, “Through our partnership with Qantas we’re breaking new ground in the travel industry. Rather than standing up a hard coded custom website for a rewards program, we are deploying our standard Travel-as-a-Service platform complete with APIs that support custom user experiences. In addition, by integrating directly with Qantas’ PSS, we will be able to support rapid innovation around how fares are priced, packaged, and purchased.
“Finally, a new, open architecture for connecting suppliers directly to the travellers they serve is available to suppliers off-the-shelf.”
He added, “Our integration uses a combination of Spotnana’s open APIs and advanced white labeling capabilities to deliver a user experience that features Qantas branding elements while providing access to the rich user experiences that require a direct PSS integration.”
The new Qantas Business Rewards booking experience will be live later this year.
Waghmar noted, “Spotnana was created to build a new infrastructure for the travel industry that anyone can use to accelerate innovation. “When we announced our Series B round of funding just over a year ago, we outlined a plan to power travel for corporations, TMCs, technology providers, and travel suppliers. I’m proud to say we’ve made tremendous strides in the past 12 months in all of these areas, including recent announcements with CWT, Brex, United Airlines, and American Airlines.”
