Month: July 2016

U.S. Federal Government Funds Artificial Intelligence For Travel Risk Management

Jay Campbell

Monitoring the “dark web” for chatter to predict terrorist activity is expensive and largely the purview of law enforcement. Travel risk management startups, however, are developing technology to help clients more quickly respond to threatening incidents. It’s possible, for example, to issue tsunami alerts following an earthquake. Good intel can highlight areas with a higher likelihood of violence, preparing organizations…

NexTravel, W Travel Partner To Take Midmarket Firms Across Borders

Jay Campbell

Corporate booking tech developer NexTravel partnered with little-known travel management company W Travel to go after multinationals. Related to a provider of premium-class services to business travelers, W is investing to compete with the megas. NexTravel will retain other TMC partners, notably Atlas Travel and Technology Group. You will find bold proclamations in the NextTravel-W Travel announcement, but they’re just…

Dav El BostonCoach, EmpireCLS Jump Into Ground Technology Fray

David Jonas

[UPDATE, Jan. 27, 2017: Dav El BostonCoach parent Marcou Transportation Group acquired GroundLink and LimoAnywhere. “These companies provide us the opportunity to directly compete” with Uber, Lyft and other so-called transportation network companies, according to a statement from Marcou CEO Scott Solombrino. He noted that implementing auto-dispatch and “geospatial pricing” capabilities will help Marcou offer “the industry’s first on-demand service…

Sources: Hilton Stops Dickering Around With Reduced Commissions

Jay Campbell

Hilton Worldwide is no longer considering reduced commissions on its member rates, according to sources. Hilton press officials did not respond to requests for comment sent Thursday morning. This a relief for travel agents and their business customers. Yet, concern about exposure to changes in supplier revenue — especially from hotels — will remain. “We do worry about what will…

GBTA Committee Praises AA, Delta And Partners For Media Bag Work

Jay Campbell

Denver — The media have a lot of baggage. Seriously, when they travel, employees at companies like CBS often lug loads of equipment. Fees for excess bags can easily swamp the cost of a ticket. On many trips, these travelers need to go beyond the airlines’ normal bag limits. Alliance partners of American Airlines and Delta Air Lines during the past…

AA, Concur Announce TripLink Collaboration

Jay Campbell

[UPDATE, Nov. 15, 2016: British Airways and Iberia agreed to participate in Concur TripLink. A Concur official indicated that there is “no timeline to share at the moment” for when the American Airlines Oneworld alliance and joint venture partners expect to go live.] Concur signed American Airlines to its TripLink supplier-direct program. AA joins Air Canada, Etihad, Lufthansa and United…

FCM Travel Solutions Takes Mobile TMC Service To A New Level With Messaging

Jay Campbell

FCM Travel Solutions soon would like you to meet Sam, a multi-platform mobile messaging service bringing e-concierge and virtual agent concepts into the managed arena. The Company Dime last month previewed the platform, which FC USA has been testing internally. About 20 users from FCM Travel Solutions’ largest corporate customer also are testing it, and its second-largest will participate as well. Based on…

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