Senior Client Success Manager

Here's our roundup of the people, product and partner news from the global travel industry this week.HRS, AmadeusHRS, a global technology company, has announced the extension of its partnership with Amadeus Cytric, a platform that provides end-to-end solutions for corporate travel and expense.The announcement reflected on the highlights of the extended agreement, which included optimized property shopping, automated hotel rebooking, driving the use of more sustainable hotels and automated payment and invoice collection.Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS said, “By unlocking new data-infused avenues to optimize program performance, maximize savings and enhance sustainable travel operations, we’re working together to make business life better for corporations and their travelers.”Read more details here.Sabre, Air CanadaSabre, a software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, and Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline, have announced that Air Canada’s full content will now be available through Sabre NDC.This launch is said to empower travel agencies to consume Air Canada’s expanded new distribution capability offers and services, which will enable them to provide personalized travel experiences to their customers.Kathy Morgan, vice president of product management distribution experience for Sabre said, “Our robust technology ensures scalability, allowing agents to seamlessly access Air Canada's latest pricing and bundled offerings without compromising service levels. Additionally, our comprehensive end-to-end booking management streamlines the process, reducing the burden on agency resources.”Priceline, Cover GeniusPriceline, an innovator of online travel, and Cover Genius, the insurtech for embedded protection, have announced a partnership to enhance travel protection for any flights, hotels, rental cars and packages booked with Priceline.This new integration allows Priceline’s customers to access support, file claims and receive instant payments for approved claims through Cover Genius’ global distribution platform, XCover.Angus McDonald, CEO and co-founder of Cover Genius, said, “We avoid ‘off-the-shelf’ offerings and build technology-driven solutions that we constantly test and iterate for the best possible insurance experience. This helps develop meaningful touchpoints with customers and drives additional revenue for our partners. In fact, after launching with us, Priceline saw an increase in insurance attach rates.”Read more details here.Nezasa updatesNezasa, a leading provider of e-commerce solutions for travel brands, has announced a partnership with Globespan, an industry leader in travel management.Globespan will integrate Nezasa’s TripBuilder platform into its channels, which will allow them to curate personalized experiences for their members and provide a leisure benefit site that offers discounted content and product offerings.In addition to their developments, Nezasa has announced the appointment of Lisa Katsouraki to the board of directors, who will continue to strengthen the company’s mission to empower travel providers with tools to sell itineraries efficiently while driving growth and enabling them to streamline operations.LATA, Safer Tourism FoundationThe Latin American Tourism Association (LATA) has partnered with the Safer Tourism Foundation as part of a strategy to promote traveler safety. Through the partnership, LATA will access STF's expertise and content, which is based on anonymized safety incident data. The data helps travel specialists understand, boost awareness of and minimize risk around preventable harm, injuries, illnesses and deaths while traveling.SITA, Heathrow AirportAviation technology specialist SITA has extended its partnership with Heathrow Airport for a further five years

Primer, the unified infrastructure for global payments, and Pelago, the travel experiences arm of Singapore Airlines Group, have forged a partnership allowing Pelago to elevate its payments strategy and meet the payment preferences of travellers worldwide.By partnering with Primer, Pelago is reconfiguring its payment stack to enhance the customer experience with local payment methods, reduce processing costs through multiple processors, and improve operational efficiency and fraud prevention with third-party integrations.The partnership will allow Pelago to unlock further growth opportunities by scaling to new markets faster and providing access to experiences that connect travelers to both global and local cultures, particularly in Singapore and destinations served by Singapore Airlines.Projections indicate that revenue from travel and tourism in Asia will soar to US$326 billion by 2024, with an annual growth rate of 5.36% expected between 2024 and 2028. But to capitalise on this growing opportunity, travel providers must address Asia’s diverse and fragmented payments landscape – a task which is not possible using a single processor.Using Primer’s unified infrastructure, Pelago will be able to integrate multiple processors to ensure resilience, reduce cost and improve payment performance, all while offering more payment methods to create a seamless experience for global travellers.Commenting on the partnership, Kailash Madan, Head of Global Sales at Primer, said: “Pelago is a trailblazing and ambitious organization that recognizes the pivotal role of payments as a differentiating factor and growth lever in a fiercely competitive industry. By partnering with Primer, they now have a robust platform that will enable them to seamlessly scale their payment processes, adapt to evolving business needs, and unlock their full potential.”Altaf Dhamani, Chief Product Officer at Pelago added: “It’s not possible to operate a global business using a single processor. With Primer we can harness the power of multiple processors, allowing us to develop a cutting-edge payment strategy without depleting resources from our core business.While we are just beginning to explore Primer’s infrastructure, its ability to intelligently route payments and recover failed transactions is already transformative. We’re excited to expand our usage of Primer to continue revolutionising how travelers connect, checkout, and engage with our experiences.”