Travel Weekly Group Ltd

🚀 Travel Counsellors is launching 'TC Co-pilot', a new virtual assistant technology developed over a year, to transform agent-client interactions with tailored suggestions from over one million properties. Jon Bauer, Chief Technology Officer, announced at the annual conference the tool's upcoming rollout and an interactive quote-creation tool, currently trialed by 50 travel counsellors. Phenix performance improved to under two seconds, with 3,500 new features, additional accommodation providers, and more airlines to be added. Disney Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages joined their cruise portfolio, and Musement offerings will be introduced next month. The company invests £16 million annually in technology.

🏒 UK and international travel and tech companies were honored at the 2024 Travolution Awards in London. The event was partnered with Mastercard and held at City Central at HAC. Holiday Pirates won Best for Travel Deals, while CAA received Campaign of the Year. Trip.com Group secured four wins including Champions of Data and Travolution Brand of the Year. Other winners included TripStax, TProfile, Mews, Joyned, HotelRunner, Nezasa, SMARTSEER, Sykes Holiday Cottages, lastminute.com, HandsIn, TravelUp, easyJet's Jordy Vernes, and B2B Wallet by Outpayce. Nicolas Huss was awarded the Travolution Achievement Award.

📈 Booking.com, in collaboration with HotelTechReport.com, launched its AI Tech Stack Advisor to help hoteliers tailor their digital transformation and growth strategies. This first-of-its-kind tool utilizes GenAI for personalized tech infrastructure assessments, leveraging HotelTechReport’s review database. Hoteliers can directly connect with vendors for informed decision-making and receive a ‘Digital Transformation Score’ for competitive benchmarking. Eddy Veldhuizen, senior director at Booking.com, emphasizes the tool’s role in optimizing business and serving guests better. Currently available for hoteliers, the tool plans to include homes and other accommodations in 2025.

📱 Trevolution Group, with its Dreampass Plus loyalty program, now includes a new eSIM feature for paid members, offering 3GB of internet for 30 days in over 140 destinations. The eSIM, which can be activated by QR code, enhances the travel experience by allowing seamless connectivity and avoiding roaming fees through POND IoT. Future plans include providing the eSIM as a standalone feature. The Dreampass Plus program also presents personalized travel benefits via its app. Alex Weinstein of Dyninno Group comments on the expansion of membership-based travel solutions and the positive impact expected on Trevolution Group's growth beyond 2025.

📈 Boom, an AI Property Management Software provider for hospitality, has appointed Alex Husner, Richard Vaughton, and Chad Blankenship as new non-executive directors. Husner brings over a decade (13 years) of experience from Condo-World Resort Properties and Casago. Vaughton offers expertise in scaling businesses and M&A, while Blankenship contributes 15 years of growth from Southern Vacation Rentals, including a central role in its acquisition by VTrips. The trio's collective experience aims to support Boom’s strategic growth and optimize marketing and operational efficiency through AI innovation.

???? Global telehealth platform Doctorsa launched in the UK, providing urgent care services to travelers and residents, particularly outside typical surgery hours. Founded in Italy, Doctorsa expanded internationally in early 2024, now active in 33 countries with 500 doctors, servicing over 100,000 users. The platform responds to international travel's healthcare demand, with 1.4 billion traveling annually and 10% requiring healthcare. The UK, attracting 37 million tourists in 2023 and being the seventh most visited country, now benefits from Doctorsa's network of 10 local doctors, aiming to double by year's end. Top Doctorsa doctors earn up to €20,000 monthly, in a €40 billion online urgent care market.