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Melbourne-Born dashback takes lost property returns global. The Melbourne-Founded Service Transforming How Hotels Reunite Guests With Forgotten Belongings Is Preparing To Take Its Australian Success Overseas Dashback is the Melbourne-founded service making it easier for hotel guests to get back the belongings they leave behind. Working with courier partners including Mail Plus, and Pack and Send, the platform gives hotels a fast, hands-off way to return lost items, while giving guests a simple, one-click way to get them back, both domestically and internationally. Founded in 2022 by Andy Brain, Dashback has grown from a single idea into a national operation, now working with more than 300 hotels across Australia and handling more than 1,000 returns each month. With an international returns service now live, the business is preparing for its first offshore launch in New Zealand * The Guest contacts the hotel asking about their lost item. * The hotel checks the PMS and if they have the item, directs the guest to dashback.com.au. * The guest enters their details and payment on the site. * Dashback sends the hotel a pickup alert for one of its courier partners. * Dashback confirms the pickup with the guest and sends a tracking code. The item is delivered to the guest the next business day. Dashback began as an idea Andy Brain shared with his late business partner and friend, Jake Kogakis for moving urgent items between cities. That idea never found traction, but it led Andy to the real problem: lost property. Andy put on a suit and cold-called hotels down Collins Street, and by the time he reached the Westin Melbourne, the story had flipped: hotels were losing hours chasing guests who had checked out and gone home, and what they needed was a simple way to get items back to them. The guest arranges and pays, and the hotel does little more than print a label. "I get as excited switching on a 40-room hotel as I do a 400-room one. Hotels now come to us before they have even opened, so Dashback is running from day one. It is becoming the first port of call for lost property across the sector, and the fact that we are still here and growing every week, four years on, still amazes me." Dashback's network now spans boutique hotels through to major properties including W Sydney, The Langham, The Ritz-Carlton Perth, Crown Promenade and Crown Metropol in Melbourne. Dashback also holds national partnerships with car-rental operators Avis Budget and Europcar, and has earned five-star reviews from industry bodies including Les Clefs d'Or, the invitation-only international association of hotel concierges. "Some doors take longer to open than others," Andy said. "We spent three years talking to Meriton before going live across all 24 of their properties, and that patience is how this business has grown, one relationship at a time." "There's a hotel version of this story everywhere you look: a lost watch, a set of keys, a kid's toy that a whole family is losing sleep over," Andy said. "We built Dashback so hotels could hand that problem to us, and guests could get on with their day instead of chasing an item down themselves." Next up is New Zealand, where Dashback will launch with Pack and Send at the start of 2027, with plans to expand through Pack and Send's global network from there.

Ravi Simhambhatla appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and AI Officer at AutoNation. October 3, 2026 Ravi Simhambhatla has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and AI Officer at AutoNation, effective October 1, 2026. In his new role, he will lead the company's technology, data science and artificial intelligence agenda. Simhambhatla brings more than 30 years of experience in enterprise technology and digital transformation, with expertise across data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, product innovation and customer experience. His career has included senior technology and digital leadership positions across the automotive, aviation, technology and transportation sectors. Prior to joining AutoNation, Simhambhatla served as Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Avis Budget Group. He joined Avis Budget Group in 2022 and led its global technology organisation. In his most recent role, his responsibilities included technology, product, data, engineering, infrastructure and cybersecurity, while also advancing the company's adoption of AI and connected-fleet technology. Before Avis Budget Group, Simhambhatla served as a Managing Director at Google Cloud, where he advised major enterprises on cloud, data and AI transformation. Earlier, he held technology leadership positions at United Airlines, including Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, and previously served as Vice President, Commercial Technology. His earlier career includes senior technology roles at Aer Lingus, Tesla Motors and Virgin America. At Aer Lingus, he served as Chief Technology Officer, while at Tesla he was Vice President of Information Technology. He later served as Chief Information Officer at Virgin America, where he was involved in building the airline's digital and e-commerce platforms. At AutoNation, Simhambhatla will bring this experience to a technology leadership role spanning technology, data science and AI. The appointment comes as the automotive retailer looks to use technology and AI across its business and customer operations. AutoNation CEO Mike Manley said, "Technology, data science, and the intelligent use of AI give us the opportunity to get significantly more from that foundation: to raise the returns on our capital and extend our reach well beyond traditional geographic boundaries." Simhambhatla said, "I am honored to join AutoNation at an important point in the evolution of automotive retail." He added that he looks forward to applying technology and AI in practical ways to make the customer journey easier, equip associates with better tools and insights, and support the company's next phase of growth. With his appointment, Simhambhatla takes on responsibility for AutoNation's technology, data science and AI agenda, bringing more than three decades of experience across enterprise technology, digital transformation, data, AI and cybersecurity to the role. - Advertisement -

Neology has deployed its neoFleet toll management technology across Avis Budget Group's fleet, including Avis, Budget, Payless, Budget Truck and Zipcar brands. The system was implemented ahead of schedule. Under the arrangement, Avis Budget Group maintains control of customer experience whilst Neology handles toll authority operations, including vehicle registration, transaction aggregation and transponder management. The model separates customer-facing operations from backend toll management. The neoFleet platform combines transponder technology and real-time data capabilities designed to support large-scale vehicle fleets. The implementation was completed through joint teams from both companies working to an aggressive integration schedule. "We wanted an approach that provides our ability to remain at the centre of our customer experience," said Jason Glass, vice president of global business services at Avis Budget Group.