In the news: TRIPBAM and TrustYou partner, Blacklane and Groundspan team up, HRS’ healthy growth in 2016, Wego Indonesia’s and Hong Kong Tourism Board‘s joint marketing campaign
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: TRIPBAM, TRUSTYOU PARTNER TO OFFER HOTEL REVIEW DATA INTEGRATION
TrustYou’s TrustScores and Meta-Reviews integrated into TRIPBAM technology
TRIPBAM, the hotel rate shopping service for travel managers, has partnered with guest feedback platform, TrustYou, which allows it to provide summarised review content from TrustYou via TrustScore widgets and Meta-Reviews to their clients and travellers.
The partnership will also support TRIPBAM in providing corporations, hotels, travel agencies, and travellers with a hotel shopping service that helps keep hotel costs low, increase traveller compliance, and improve negotiated hotel programmes.
TrustYou said its review data would “supplement the content that companies and travellers receive through TRIPBAM’s email notifications.“
Additionally TrustScore – an independent calculated from all verified online reviews worldwide – will be incorporated into the emails.
“An embedded link will lead the traveller to TrustYou’s full meta-review of the respective hotel, showing the ratings for different categories and traveller types, including business travellers,” added the statement.
In turn TRIPBAM email notifications will alert clients of lower rates, alternative hotel offerings at a better price among preferred properties, or better offers within predefined hotel clusters. Email notification type and frequency are set up depending on client defined parameters.
Michael Menzel, TrustYou VP for strategic partnership, said the teaming up with TRIPBAM was “an important step” towards establishing for review data integration in the business travel sector.
“The selective options of Meta-Review data outline the preferences, needs and demands for different travel types, one of them being business travellers. This not only relevant to hotels to meet the expectations of business travellers, but also for companies to make the right choices of accommodations for their employees.”
TRANSPORTATION: BLACKLANE TIES UP WITH GROUNDSPAN
More access for professional drivers for travellers (Image credit: Blacklane)f
Global professional driver service, Blacklane, has integrated with ground transportation management platform, Groundspan, to give more options to book professional drivers.
Business travellers can now access professional drivers across more than 50 countries, 250 cities and 500 airports worldwide.
Blackland said thousands of companies use the Groundspan worldwide reservation system to manage staff transportation and reduce costs.
“A key benefit is Groundspan’s integration with many of the largest business travel booking engines such as Concur Travel, Sabre GetThere, Sabre Red, Travelport Smartpoint for Apollo and Galileo and Travelport Smartpoint for Worldspan,” it added.
Travellers and travel managers who use Groundspan tools can now access Blacklane for their worldwide trips.
“Business travelers desire more trusted providers in ground transportation. Groundspan bridges that gap for these travellers and the vendors they seek,” said Tony Bonanno, president of Groundspan.
HOTELS: TRIPLE JUMP IN BOOKINGS FOR HRS IN 2016
Big jump in HRS bookings through GDSs (Image credit: Jag_cziStock)
Provider of end-to-end solutions for corporate hotel programmes, HRS, saw its 2016 hotel booking volume via travel management companies (TMCs) more than tripled from the prior year.
“Even during a year that saw pockets of soft corporate lodging demand in select cities, HRS bookings through the world’s GDSs increased 34%,” said the company.
It added that the result underscores the solid sales performance of HRS-affiliated hotels booked via the TMC channel used by many corporations.
HRS’ GDS-originating bookings grew by double digits in multiple countries last year including China, India, Japan, France, UK, the US and many more.
“The TMC channel, particularly in the mid-market, has an acute need for an end-to-end hotel solutions provider that seamlessly serves smaller companies beyond their border,” said Roelant Horree, director global partnerships APAC.
He added that this year HRS would work in concert with both travel buyers and TMCs on leveraging the company’s array of tools and services to help deliver hotel savings and “superior everyday programme performance.”
DESTINATIONS: Hong Kong teams up with Wego to boost Indonesian arrivals
Hong Kong is an attractive destination for Indonesians. (Image credit: danielvfungiStock)
Indonesians love to holiday in Hong Kong as it has Disneyland, great shopping and a myriad of other attractions.
To tap this growing market Wego Indonesia has joined Hong Kong Tourism Board in an online and offline campaign to increase the number of Indonesian travellers to the city.
The online co-marketing campaign comprises a series of direct promotional activities of Hong Kong on Wego to engage both young Indonesians and families.
“Wego is specifically tailoring campaign activities to Indonesian interests, including increasing the awareness of the Muslim-friendly aspects of Hong Kong, its large variety of halal dining options, family friendly, hipster and heritage locations,” said Craig Hewett, co-founder of Wego.
Wego Indonesia’s content team has also visited Hong Kong to produce a series of first-person editorial features to be published on Wego’s blogs – TravelOn (Bahasa Indonesia) and Travel Editor’s Desk (English).
There is also a co-branded social media contest to engage with Wego’s over two million followers requesting their recommendations for favourite hipster or family-friendly locations in Hong Kong under hashtag #DiscoverHongKong.
• Featured credit image: TCmake_photo/iStock
