Travelport Upgrades Leisure Portal
Travelport has launched a new leisure portal for travel agents. Called Travelport Leisure, it is an upgraded version of the Galileo Leisure portal, which was launched in 2005.
In addition to Galileo Leisure’s hotel content the new portal includes extensive hotel, hostel, B&B and car options. New functionality to add localized content at a country level will be rolled out globally beginning this month.
Incorporating all of Galileo Leisure’s existing hotel content, which includes GTA’s 35,000 hotels, Travelport Leisure will also give agents access to new content from a range of well-known market leading leisure suppliers. These include:
• HotelClub by Orbitz, which offers discount rates and deals, and instant confirmation for travelers in the United States, Asia Pacific and throughout Europe.
• Kuoni Connect, which offers hotels in more than 1,800 destinations with a unique portfolio of boutique/design, international brands and beach hotels. Transfers, sightseeing, destination packages, concierge services and escorted tours will soon be available as well via the portal.
• Hostelworld.com, which provides budget accommodations in 186 countries. Properties include hostels, B&Bs, apartments, guesthouses, riads, campsites and budget hotels.
• Cars by TUI, a major car rental aggregator with over 130 car rental partners worldwide that seeks to provide best available rates for international suppliers such as Hertz, Avis, Europcar, and Sixt in addition to many local partners.
In addition, Travelport Leisure will continue to offer useful features provided by GTA, such as interactive city maps, and useful travel information, such as weather reports, hotel reviews, news, visa requirements and destination guides to aid agents during the sales process.
The Travelport Leisure portal will continue to be free of charge for use by all travel agents, even if they do not subscribe to a Travelport GDS. (www.travelportleisure.com)
Marriott Opts for XML Connection with Travelport
In a move designed to give travel agents better visibility into Marriott International’s 15 brands, the company signed a five-year agreement with Travelport to upgrade to a direct-connect interface via Travelport XML Pro.
The upgrade will include Complete Pricing Plus, which gives travel agents access to all the normal rates and rules and additional detailed pricing information on optional room extras. Agents also will also benefit from significant improvements in response times and a more efficient purchasing experience.
The pact secures access to Marriott’s content, inventory and brands, including Best Available Rates, for all Galileo and Worldspan users worldwide including corporate customers and retail online agencies.
The brands are Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels, Edition Hotels, Autograph Collection, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Conference Centers, TownePlace Suites, SpringHill Suites, and Marriott Vacation Club.
Travelport to Offer Rearden Commerce Solution
Travelport and Rearden Commerce signed a multi-year partnership agreement that offer a new choice to travel agents and their corporate clients in the U.S. and Canada: a combined travel, procurement and expense management solution.
Travelport will add the Rearden Commerce Platform to its suite of corporate booking tool solutions, which includes Travelport Traversa and Worldspan Trip Manager.
The Rearden Commerce Platform provides travelers with “personal assistant” features and functionality while providing corporations control and end-to-end expense management capabilities.
It takes a user-centric approach, aiming for maximized cost savings, increased adoption and employee satisfaction.
The platform also includes the location-aware Mobile Personal Assistant that incorporates corporate policies and gives individuals access to personalized travel itinerary information.
