ReportWire

Tag: travel-industry

  • FAA expected to list airports getting reduced flights during government shutdown

    Travelers through some of the busiest U.S. airports can expect to learn Thursday whether they’ll see fewer flights as the government shutdown drags into a second month.The Federal Aviation Administration will announce the “high-volume markets” where it is reducing flights by 10% before the cuts go into effect Friday, said agency administrator Bryan Bedford. The move is intended to keep the air space safe during the shutdown, the agency said.Experts predict hundreds, if not thousands, of flights could be canceled.“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” Bedford said Wednesday. “We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.Mounting staffing pressures are forcing the agency to act, Bedford said Wednesday at a news conference.“We can’t ignore it,” he said, adding that even if the shutdown ends before Friday, the FAA wouldn’t automatically resume normal operations until staffing improves and stabilizes.Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declined during the news conference to name the cities and airports where they will slow air traffic, saying they wanted to first meet with airline executives to figure out how to safely implement the reductions.Major airlines, aviation unions and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest on record.The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system and “forcing difficult operational decisions that disrupt travel and damage confidence in the U.S. air travel experience,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman in a statement.Duffy warned on Tuesday that there could be chaos in the skies if the shutdown drags on long enough for air traffic controllers to miss their second full paycheck next week.Duffy said some controllers can get by missing one paycheck, but not two or more. And he has said some controllers are even struggling to pay for transportation to work.Staffing can run short both in regional control centers that manage multiple airports and in individual airport towers, but they don’t always lead to flight disruptions. Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary.But the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.During weekends from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, the average number of airport towers, regional control centers and facilities monitoring traffic at higher altitudes that announced potential staffing issues was 8.3, according to the AP analysis. But during the five weekend periods since the shutdown began, the average more than tripled to 26.2 facilities.___Associated Press journalist Christopher L. Keller contributed from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

    Travelers through some of the busiest U.S. airports can expect to learn Thursday whether they’ll see fewer flights as the government shutdown drags into a second month.

    The Federal Aviation Administration will announce the “high-volume markets” where it is reducing flights by 10% before the cuts go into effect Friday, said agency administrator Bryan Bedford. The move is intended to keep the air space safe during the shutdown, the agency said.

    Experts predict hundreds, if not thousands, of flights could be canceled.

    “I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” Bedford said Wednesday. “We’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.”

    Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.

    Mounting staffing pressures are forcing the agency to act, Bedford said Wednesday at a news conference.

    “We can’t ignore it,” he said, adding that even if the shutdown ends before Friday, the FAA wouldn’t automatically resume normal operations until staffing improves and stabilizes.

    Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declined during the news conference to name the cities and airports where they will slow air traffic, saying they wanted to first meet with airline executives to figure out how to safely implement the reductions.

    Major airlines, aviation unions and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest on record.

    The shutdown is putting unnecessary strain on the system and “forcing difficult operational decisions that disrupt travel and damage confidence in the U.S. air travel experience,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman in a statement.

    Duffy warned on Tuesday that there could be chaos in the skies if the shutdown drags on long enough for air traffic controllers to miss their second full paycheck next week.

    Duffy said some controllers can get by missing one paycheck, but not two or more. And he has said some controllers are even struggling to pay for transportation to work.

    Staffing can run short both in regional control centers that manage multiple airports and in individual airport towers, but they don’t always lead to flight disruptions. Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary.

    But the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.

    From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.

    During weekends from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, the average number of airport towers, regional control centers and facilities monitoring traffic at higher altitudes that announced potential staffing issues was 8.3, according to the AP analysis. But during the five weekend periods since the shutdown began, the average more than tripled to 26.2 facilities.

    ___

    Associated Press journalist Christopher L. Keller contributed from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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  • Travefy Named to the Prestigious 2024 Inc. 5000 List for the Second Year in a Row

    Travefy Named to the Prestigious 2024 Inc. 5000 List for the Second Year in a Row

    Travefy ranked among America’s fastest-growing private companies and skyrocketed over 2,250 spots in the ranking


    NEW YORK, August 13, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Inc. revealed today that Travefy – the leading business operations software for travel advisors used by over 30,000 travel brands across the globe – ranks No 2,477 on the 2024 Inc. 5000, its annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

    This is the second year in a row Travefy ranked on this prestigious list, including an enormous jump in rank from 4,742 in 2023 to 2,477 in 2024. Additionally:

    • Travefy ranked as the 59th fastest growing private Travel & Hospitality company in America
    • With offices in Lincoln, Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska, and Pennington, New Jersey, Travefy was named the 3rd fastest growing private company in Lincoln and 24th in Nebraska

    “We are deeply honored to be recognized on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list, marking our second consecutive year among America’s fastest-growing private companies,” says David Chait, CEO of Travefy. “Securing the 59th spot in the Travel and Hospitality sector is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the challenges faced by our industry during the pandemic. This recognition is a testament not only to the relentless commitment and hard work of the entire Travefy team but also to the resilience and passion of the travel professionals who trust and rely on our platform.”

    The Inc. 5000 class of 2024 represents companies that have driven rapid revenue growth while navigating inflationary pressure, the rising costs of capital, and seemingly intractable hiring challenges. For complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, location, and other criteria, go to www.inc.com/inc5000.

    “One of the greatest joys of my job is going through the Inc. 5000 list,” says Mike Hofman, who recently joined Inc. as editor-in-chief. “To see all of the intriguing and surprising ways that companies are transforming sectors, from health care and AI to apparel and pet food, is fascinating for me as a journalist and storyteller. Congratulations to this year’s honorees, as well, for growing their businesses fast despite the economic disruption we all faced over the past three years, from supply chain woes to inflation to changes in the workforce.”

    Travefy is the industry leading platform for travel advisors used by 30,000+ travel brands across the globe. Mission driven to power the success of travel professionals, Travefy helps travel advisors and agencies operate and grow their businesses with innovative trip management, CRM, and marketing tools. 

    “As the trusted partner of tens of thousands of travel brands, from independent advisors to some of the largest host agencies and consortia, we are deeply honored by the confidence they place in Travefy,” says David Chait, CEO of Travefy. “This responsibility is one we hold with the utmost seriousness, driving our commitment to continuous innovation that supports and propels their businesses forward. We’re incredibly grateful to our amazing partners and our dedicated team, and we firmly believe that this is just the beginning— the best is yet to come.”

    ABOUT TRAVEFY

    Travefy’s mission is to power the success of travel professionals and is the leading business operations software for travel advisors used by over 30,000 travel brands across the globe. Travefy’s award-winning suite of trip management, CRM, and marketing tools help Travel Advisors and professionals save time, impress clients, and sell more.

    Travefy powers thousands of travel brands across the globe ranging from small, independent travel advisors to the largest travel agencies, consortia, and organizations. Travefy has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, among other publications, and has won numerous industry honors including the ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

    Travefy has offices in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska and Pennington, New Jersey. 

    Find more information at https://travefy.com or https://go.travefy.com/press

    More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 

    Methodology 

    Companies on the 2024 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2020 to 2023. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2020. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2023. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2020 is $100,000; the minimum for 2023 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places. 

    About Inc. 

    Inc. Business Media is the leading multimedia brand for entrepreneurs. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of our community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating our future. Inc.’s award-winning work achieves a monthly brand footprint of more than 40 million across a variety of channels, including events, print, digital, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since its launch as the Inc. 100 in 1982, analyzes company data to rank the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The recognition that comes with inclusion on this and other prestigious Inc. lists, such as Female Founders and Power Partners, gives the founders of top businesses the opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com.  

    Source: Travefy

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  • Travel Email Marketing – Now Offered on Visited App

    Travel Email Marketing – Now Offered on Visited App

    Press Release
    •

    Jun 25, 2024

    Visited has launched a new and innovative email marketing advertising platform, offering unique segmentation that’s never been seen in the travel industry.


    TORONTO, June 25, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Arriving In High Heels Corp., the company behind the popular travel app Visited, now offers travel email marketing services for U.S.-based travelers. Visited’s travel marketing email list of 300,000+ U.S.-based travelers offers unique segmentation not commonly seen on most platforms.

    Never before could advertisers segment travelers based on where the travelers want to visit or what their interests are as identified by them. “It is an innovative travel product because we can email users that live in a specific city or state, that want to visit a specific country, state or destination. We can also segment further based on what experiences they’d like to have abroad,” said Anna Kayfitz, CEO of Arriving in High Heels Corporation. 

    Data is collected via the app Visited, which now has over 2+ million downloads, with the majority of users using iOS devices and having visited on average 15 countries. The user signs up and maps where they have been and where they want to go. Travel lists allow users to select destinations or places that they have been to or want to go based on their point of interest or experience. With over 150 lists and growing, there is no shortage of segmentation possibilities, including hotel chains, cruise ships, art museums, snorkeling destinations and more. 

    To learn more about Visited’s travel email marketing services or about the app, check out visitedapp.com.

    About Arriving In High Heels Corporation
    Arriving In High Heels Corporation is a mobile app company that is behind the Visited app. The visited app was created for the purpose of keeping track of a user’s travel and bucket list. It has expanded into travel planning by adding destinations of interest based on travel lists. The app was developed by data-driven travelers and has important insights into the number of countries a traveler has been to and what percentage of their personal travel journey they are on, as well as many other travel stats. 

    Source: Arriving In High Heels Corporation

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  • Gant Travel Appoints New Chief Operating Officer (COO)

    Gant Travel Appoints New Chief Operating Officer (COO)


    BLOOMINGTON, Ind., June 5, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Effective June 3, 2024, Victor (Vic) Pynn has joined Gant Travel Management as our new Chief Operating Officer. With an impressive career spanning over 25 years in the travel and technology sectors, Pynn brings a wealth of experience and strategic vision that will be invaluable to our organization.

    Pynn holds a Business & Finance Degree from Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology and is a Certified General Accountant. He is also a recognized public speaker, mentor, and published author. His extensive background includes leadership roles at some of the industry’s most prominent companies. 

    Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer at Vindow, Inc., where he successfully launched and scaled a groundbreaking B2B hotel procurement solution. His efforts at Vindow included recruiting a top-tier team, implementing AI-driven personalized experiences, and securing major contracts with top Travel Management Companies (TMCs) and Forbes 500 corporations.

    As the Co-Founder of Aimendo, an AI/ML startup, Pynn spearheaded the development of NLU-based technology that significantly enhanced productivity for travel sellers. His strategic direction led to the launch of pioneering AI-powered travel solutions and established crucial partnerships that propelled the company forward.

    Pynn’s extensive career also includes pivotal roles at Amadeus IT Group, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, he drove commercial strategy, launched innovative technology platforms, and led key initiatives that optimized operations and elevated customer satisfaction.

    We are thrilled to welcome Vic Pynn to the Gant Travel family. His exceptional leadership and deep industry knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and enhance our service offerings. His proven ability to drive strategic growth and operational excellence aligns perfectly with our mission to provide unparalleled travel solutions to our clients.

    Pynn’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Gant Travel as we continue to expand our capabilities and market reach. His expertise in leadership development, M&A strategies, and business transformation will play a crucial role in shaping our company’s future.

    About Gant Travel

    Gant Travel helps travelers enhance their experience while controlling the expense of business travel. Gant’s “digital forward capabilities” provide advanced technology, processes, and highly trained people to coordinate business travel properly. Gant has been recognized multiple times for its innovative approaches, winning the Concur Innovation award twice and being listed on the Inc 5000. Gant is also currently ranked #30 on Travel Weekly’s Annual Power List. More information about Gant Travel can be found at www.ganttravel.com.

    Source: Gant Travel Management

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  • Travefy CEO David Chait Joins the Travel Institute Board of Directors

    Travefy CEO David Chait Joins the Travel Institute Board of Directors

    Travefy’s CEO, David Chait, CTIE, brings innovative leadership to support travel industry education by joining The Travel Institute Board of Directors


    LINCOLN, Neb., June 3, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Travefy is thrilled to announce that CEO David Chait, CTIE, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for The Travel Institute, the leading organization for travel industry education and certification.

    Since 1964, The Travel Institute has been a cornerstone in travel industry education, with more than 30,000 Certified Travel Associate (CTA), Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), and Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) graduates; and hundreds of thousands more trained through its new-to-the-industry, introductory training; comprehensive specialist courses; continued education on a myriad of business and travel topics; and other programming. 

    David Chait, a visionary leader in travel technology, brings extensive experience and a passion for innovation. Under his leadership, Travefy has developed award-winning tools that streamline itinerary planning, client management, and marketing, enabling travel advisors to deliver exceptional service and grow their businesses.

    “I am truly honored to join the Board of Directors for The Travel Institute and support their critical efforts that champion travel industry education and certification,” said David Chait. “As a passionate advocate for the transformative power of travel, I am committed to collaborating with fellow board members to drive innovation and excellence in our ever-evolving industry.”

    Diane Petras, CTIE, president of The Travel Institute, expressed her excitement about David’s appointment. “I was thrilled to learn David accepted the invitation to join our board. He is one of those rare individuals who can energize a room even in a virtual setting,” Petras remarked. “I also admire how he never hesitates to offer help or share his expertise. He is driven and destined to do great things in our industry and we are fortunate to capitalize on his unique blend of knowledge in both technology and finance.”

    Gary Pollard, CTC, chairman of the board for The Travel Institute, shared Petras’ enthusiasm. “Sixty years young, our board has a storied and sustained history of utilizing diverse and strong industry leaders to support The Travel Institute’s mission of advancing agent professionalism,” Pollard said. “David is an incredible leader who further strengthens our position with his forward-thinking emphasis on technology and innovation. I look forward to continuing to do great things collectively with David and with all of our esteemed board members,” he added.

    About Travefy 

    Travefy’s mission is to power the success of travel professionals. Our award-winning suite of itinerary, proposal, client management, and marketing tools help Travel Advisors save time, impress clients, and sell more. Travefy powers thousands of travel businesses across the globe, from small independent advisors to the largest travel agencies, consortia, and organizations. Travefy has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, and has won numerous industry honors, including the ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 

    For more information, please see: https://go.travefy.com/press

    About The Travel Institute

    A collaborative industry effort created in 1964, The Travel Institute has continuously evolved to maintain its role as the global leader and industry long-recognized gold standard in travel industry education and certification while staying true to its mission: dedicated solely to advancing the professionalism of both agents and industry leaders in support of individual and industry success. A non-profit, independent organization, The Travel Institute works with leaders throughout the industry to create and deliver relevant, meaningful and rigorous coursework ongoing to meet the ever-changing educational needs of today’s travel agents. Using exclusive proctored, closed-book testing to ensure its graduates earn credentials that demonstrate the highest standards of expertise and service, The Travel Institute has more than 30,000 Certified Travel Associate (CTA®), Certified Travel Counselor (CTC®), and Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE®) graduates and is the exclusively approved provider of travel industry civilian occupation training for U.S. military. It also administers the Travel Agent Proficiency, or TAP®, exam to confirm students new to the industry demonstrate a mastery of travel industry basics. Countless individuals, agency owners and managers, and educational institutions utilize The Travel Institute’s award-winning TRIPKITSM introductory program as their training tool of choice. A trusted partner to industry suppliers and educational institutions, The Travel Institute has trained hundreds of thousands more through additional courses, webinars, and in its online Premium Access content. Throughout North America, many successful agents and high-profile leaders credit their success to coursework from The Travel Institute.

    Source: Travefy

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  • Travel, hospitality and restaurant industry witnesses a 9 per cent increase in credit deployment in July 2023: RBI data

    Travel, hospitality and restaurant industry witnesses a 9 per cent increase in credit deployment in July 2023: RBI data

    India’s travel, hospitality, and restaurant sectors are witnessing a significant resurgence, with credit deployment surging to ₹70,952 crore, a remarkable increase from the previous figure of ₹65,089 crore, as of July 2023, as reported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This 9 per cent year-on-year rise indicates a promising revival for these industries which were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Jyoti Mayal, President of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), attributes the remarkable increase in credit deployment to the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 3.0 (ECLGS), introduced by the Finance Ministry in February 2020. This scheme played a crucial role in keeping the sector afloat and reducing financial stress.

    The combined travel and hospitality market in India is poised for impressive growth, with a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14 per cent from the current ₹3,89,000 crore in FY23. Specifically, India’s domestic hotel market, valued at ₹88,000 crore in FY23, is anticipated to expand by 13 per cent in FY24, reaching ₹1,00,000 crore. However, passenger traffic and rented hotel room nights in all four travel categories remain lower in FY23 compared to FY20, reflecting the lingering impact of the pandemic on travel patterns.

    Bullish sentiments

    Virendra Jain, co-founder and CEO at VIDEC, attributes the surge in credit demand within the hotel sector to bullish sentiments prevailing in India’s travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. Factors contributing to this growth include higher Average Daily Rates (ADRs) and occupancies, driven by robust consumer demand and a healthy influx of inbound tourists. A significant portion of the investment in the hotel industry is dedicated to expanding existing hotel chains and rebuilding the room supply that eroded during the pandemic, particularly for independent hotels.

    In FY23, India had an estimated total room supply of 2 million rooms. This supply included approximately 1,75,000 rooms from branded chains such as Taj Hotels, Marriott, Accor, and ITC Hotels, as well as around 2,00,000 rooms from branded budget chains like OYO, Fab, and Treebo. This surge in supply reflects a wave of investments pouring into the sector.

    Industry insiders are optimistic about the future, expecting continued growth in credit deployment within these sectors. VIDEC’s data predicts that the Indian travel market as a whole will reach ₹5,79,000 crore by FY26. Moreover, the Indian hotel market, spanning domestic, inbound, and outbound segments, saw a remarkable leap from ₹539 billion in FY22 to ₹993 billion in FY23, an 84 per cent increase. Projections indicate that it will rise to ₹1,475 billion by FY26, growing at an impressive CAGR of 14.1 per cent from FY23 to FY26.

    Restaurant segment to witness growth

    The restaurant industry, which also faced severe challenges during the pandemic, is undergoing a challenging recovery process. Experts within the industry assert that credit deployment was essential to help these businesses stay afloat, and consequently, seeking funding from banks was a viable option.

    In line with these positive trends, the restaurant industry is also set for substantial growth. The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) forecasts a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent from 2021 to 2025. The top five players in the domestic Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry are expected to add approximately 2,300 stores between FY2023 and FY2025, according to an ICRA report. The estimated capital expenditure (capex) for this period is around ₹5,800 crore, double the pre-Covid levels, highlighting the industry’s robust recovery and expansion.

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  • Travefy Launches Hotel Content Integration for Internova Travel Group’s Network of 100,000+ Travel Advisors

    Travefy Launches Hotel Content Integration for Internova Travel Group’s Network of 100,000+ Travel Advisors

    Travefy now offers advisors from ALTOUR, Global Travel Collection and Travel Leaders Network direct access to hotel content for the Internova SELECT Hotels & Resorts program within Travefy’s award-winning platform.

    Press Release
    –

    Feb 22, 2023


    LINCOLN, Neb., February 22, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Travefy – the leading itinerary, proposal and client management tool for travel advisors – announced that Internova Travel Group’s exclusive SELECT Hotels & Resorts content is now directly integrated in Travefy’s platform.

    Travel advisors, affiliated with Internova’s family of brands, including ALTOUR, Global Travel Collection and Travel Leaders Network, can now import property content for the Internova SELECT Hotels & Resorts Program into any Travefy itinerary or proposal with photos, description and Internova SELECT benefits automatically included.

    Internova SELECT Hotels & Resorts, a competitive, value-added amenity program carefully curated by Internova Travel Group, is a collection of more than 1,600 of the world’s most distinguished premium properties. The program offers exclusive amenities, creating memorable experiences for travelers who book through their trusted Internova travel advisor.

    “Travefy is thrilled to further support Internova and its entire family of travel agency brands with this key integration to help them streamline their itinerary creation process,” notes Travefy’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Scott Rutz. “This ability allows advisors to add valuable and stunning details to their itineraries in seconds that levels up quality they can deliver to clients.”

    In 2022, Travefy was honored to become a preferred support provider with Internova Travel Group. Travefy provides travel advisors across all Internova brands streamlined access to Travefy’s award-winning technology, including preferred pricing and exclusive training, among other benefits. 

    “From day one, we have been impressed with Travefy’s ability to build itinerary management and client communications tools for our business,” said Jeremy Van Kuyk, Chief Information Officer for Internova Travel Group, one of the industry’s largest travel services companies. “We are proud to continue our partnership as we work together to fulfill our mission to empower our network of travel advisors with the most exceptional programs, products and support to deliver unparalleled experiences to the traveler.”

    ABOUT TRAVEFY

    Travefy’s mission is to power the success of travel professionals. Our award-winning suite of itinerary, proposal, client management, and marketing tools help Travel Advisors and professionals save time, impress clients and sell more. 

    Travefy powers thousands of travel businesses across the globe ranging from small, independent travel advisors to the largest travel agencies, consortia and organizations. Travefy has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes among other publications and has won numerous industry honors, including the ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

    For more information, please see: https://travefy.com 

    ABOUT INTERNOVA TRAVEL GROUP

    Internova Travel Group is one of the largest travel services companies in the world with a collection of leading brands delivering high-touch, personal travel expertise to leisure and corporate clients. Internova manages leisure, business and franchise firms through a portfolio of distinctive divisions. Internova represents more than 100,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations predominantly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries.

    Source: Travefy

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  • Travefy Academy’s Third Annual Sales Workshop Reaches New Heights With Over 7,000 Registrations

    Travefy Academy’s Third Annual Sales Workshop Reaches New Heights With Over 7,000 Registrations

    Travefy Academy’s multi-day virtual event showcases industry thought leaders to help travel advisors grow their businesses.

    Press Release
    –

    Nov 7, 2022


    LINCOLN, Neb., November 7, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Travefy Academy hosted its third annual Sales Workshop starting on Oct. 25 and set a new record with over 7,000 registrations. This three-day workshop featured industry experts across eight interactive and engaging webinar sessions. Each live session highlighted key areas to help a business grow and provide actionable guidance to travel advisors both new to the industry and veterans. 

    “I was blown away by the caliber of the content and the panelists and guests invited,” shares Debby Leong, Founder of Bravo Travel. “This workshop elevates the industry, making us more professional and giving us ideas and motivating for more sales.”

    “Travefy Academy was a wonderful opportunity for Leaders in the Travel Industry to come together, to learn and grow. There was a strong sense of community, energy, and excitement about the future of our industry,” notes Adam Duckworth, President and Founder of Travelmation. 

    “This was easily the most beneficial webinar series I’ve ever attended,” shares Travel Agent Deb Pentek

    Travefy Academy’s mission is to help travel professionals grow and succeed. “Hosting our third Sales Workshop was extremely inspiring and exciting for the travel industry. We were thrilled to have a collection of amazing speakers who could touch on different topics that travel advisors can apply to their business,” shares Stephanie Gries, Travefy’s Education Manager. 

    “Having partners like Travefy, who are committed to delivering meaningful content and education, substantially helps to level up our industry,” shares Erica Carr, Founder and Travel Designer of bookitbox TRAVEL.

    “As a travel agent of over five years in the business, I found the Sales Workshop incredibly helpful! The speakers and topics were fantastic-branding, websites, marketing, fees, groups, and much more. This series really motivated me to take a fresh look at my business and step things up for 2023 and beyond,” notes Deb Pentek, Travel Agent at Travel Memories by Deb.

    ABOUT TRAVEFY ACADEMY

    Travefy Academy is a free education resource for today’s community of Travel Advisors and travel professionals. 

    Travefy Academy was launched in 2018 as a part of Travefy’s commitment to power the success of travel professionals. It brings together travel industry experts and thought leaders to provide powerful content and educational webinars to help travel advisors grow their businesses. 

    Get more information at https://academy.travefy.com.

    ABOUT TRAVEFY

    Travefy’s mission is to power the success of travel professionals. Our award-winning suite of itinerary, proposal, client management, and marketing tools help Travel Advisors and professionals save time, impress clients, and sell more. 

    Travefy powers thousands of travel businesses across the globe ranging from small, independent travel advisors to the largest travel agencies, consortia, and organizations, and has won numerous industry honors, including the ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 

    Get more information at https://travefy.com. 

    Source: Travefy

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  • Gant Travel Launches Travel Solutions Division

    Gant Travel Launches Travel Solutions Division

    Gant Travel announces the creation of a new service offering aimed at enabling other travel ecosystem members to harness the benefits of Gant

    Press Release
    –

    Aug 22, 2022


    BLOOMINGTON, Ind., August 22, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Gant Travel, an award-winning travel management company, announces the creation of a new service offering aimed at enabling other travel ecosystem members to harness the benefits of Gant. The new branch, titled “Gant’s Travel Solutions,” offers support to corporations seeking efficiencies and quality demonstrated by Gant’s ticketing and call center platform. 

    The systems required to compete in the corporate travel ecosystem require a robust knowledge of how to integrate and support today’s corporate traveler. Gant gained the knowledge needed to create and navigate this environment through decades of operational experience while enhancing its platform for maximum adaptability and reliability. New entrants and existing entities seeking a system to launch differentiating technology can now use Gant’s Travel Solutions team as a platform to support their customers. 

    Gant’s Travel Solutions provides technology and services for corporate travel support enclosed in ticketing systems and call center capabilities. “We’ve created an offering to a market segment that needs many aspects of what we do extremely well,” says Patrick Linnihan, Gant’s CEO and President. “What we have designed and integrated into the travel ecosystem is a service platform for corporate travel. We can provide that platform to folks who are looking for the same. No matter how travel content is sourced or how travelers purchase, in most cases, an omnichannel contact center with advanced workflow, service support, and automation is a requirement; we provide that capability.” 

    “We’ve spent the better part of the last 10 years creating a unique and flexible platform for ticketing and service support; our new division aims to deliver the key aspects of that platform to clients looking to focus on advanced aspects of their offering while knowing we have the basics covered for them,” reports Gant’s Vice President of Client Services Penny Spangler, the leader of the new division of Gant. Gant’s offering includes after-hours support, custom ticketing design, a full suite of call center tools to include artificial intelligence power quality control, flight waiver and unused ticket application, agent training and helpdesk activities, as well as a travel profile and client policy monitoring toolkit. 

    Gant’s strategic vision for its new offering matches the competitive environment. “We’re in the early stages of deep change in the marketplace; we feel that we must find a way to perform at 10 to 20 times the number of transactions just to remain at the same levels of profitability. Our new division is a move to what lies ahead,” says Linnihan. “We’re confident we can bring tremendous value to those who need what we have created.” Gant’s offering is aimed at new entrants to the market, existing agencies seeking an upgrade to their base capabilities, and corporate travel departments seeking a platform to enhance their traveler care capabilities. 

    About Gant: 

    Gant Travel is a digitally driven, data-centric travel management company that helps travelers enhance their experience while controlling the expense of business travel. Gant provides advanced technology, processes, and highly trained people to coordinate business travel and achieve the highest possible ROI from travel. Gant is the two-time winner of the Concur Innovation and earned multiple Call Center Weekly awards. Gant has also been named on the Inc 5000 list and earned the Best Workplace Institute certification. For more information on Gant, contact: Sales@gantravel.com or visit www.ganttravel.com

    Source: Gant Travel, LTD

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  • Gant Travel Selects Aimendo’s Orchestrator, a Novel Free Text Omni-Channel Bot Platform

    Gant Travel Selects Aimendo’s Orchestrator, a Novel Free Text Omni-Channel Bot Platform

    Gant Travel selects Aimendo’s Orchestrator for email parsing technology to identify critical information in email travel requests.

    Press Release
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    Aug 12, 2022


    BLOOMINGTON, Ind., August 12, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Gant Travel, an awarding-winning TMC serving the North American corporate sector, announces the selection of Aimendo’s Orchestrator for email parsing technology to identify critical information in email travel requests. 

    Email travel requests comprise a component of every corporate agency’s offering. Because of their unstructured nature, email service requests remain one area where agencies must employ significant manual labor to address. This aspect drives additional cost and productivity limits that can hamper agency efficiency and customer experience. Using Aimendo’s latest technology, Gant launched a pilot to parse email to streamline booking and service requests. 

    The pilot aimed to prove that Aimendo’s system could identify critical information in email travel requests. “Over the past two months, we confirmed Aimendo’s ability to identify, monitor, and extract customer intent and actionable booking and ticketing data on our tech stack; we’re excited about the success and potential this brings to Gant Travel,” says Patrick Linnihan, Gant’s CEO and President. In the next phase of the pilot, Gant will connect the data extracted by Aimendo to machine-readable traveler profiles and corporate travel policies to produce travel reservations via Gant’s tech stack. 

    “Our shared vision has always been to harness the power of artificial intelligence to create a “Bot Army” to turbocharge the work of a corporate travel agent. We look forward to building on this experience to drive Gant’s team’s productivity further and to power a new generation of customer experience on emailed travel requests.” said Vic Pynn, Co-founder of Aimendo. 

    About Gant 

    Gant Travel is a digitally driven, data-centric travel management company that helps travelers enhance their experience while controlling the expense of business travel. Gant provides advanced technology, processes, and highly trained people to coordinate business travel and achieve the highest possible ROI from travel. Gant is the two-time winner of the Concur Innovation and earned multiple Call Center Weekly awards. Gant has also been named on the Inc 5000 list and earned the Best Workplace Institute certification. For more information on Gant contact: Sales@gantravel.com or visit www.ganttravel.com 

    About Aimendo 

    Founded in 2020, Aimendo has rapidly created a robust and highly specialized NLU-based technology for travel sellers seeking greater productivity from free text communication channels. Like email. Or chat. And text. The core of our work lies in the continuous passion and dedication we apply to artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions for the travel industry’s unique requirements. Today, we offer Orchestrator, a transaction management platform powered by a hybrid AI-ML learning engine, continuously and specifically trained for travel. Orchestrator executes four critical functions needed to optimize customer support through free text channels. It identifies transaction volumes, types and frequencies, monitors transactions for routing, then, at the client’s option, fulfills transaction requests through specialized travel automation. Orchestrator may also be deployed to predict, harvesting data for scenario planning and other resource-related modeling exercises. Travel companies struggling to consume, understand and manage client-specific communications using automated technologies should contact Ray@aimendo.com and visit us online at www.aimendo.com. 

    Source: Gant Travel, LTD

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  • Gant Travel Opts for Vindow to Streamline Hotel Sourcing and Contract Renewal Processes

    Gant Travel Opts for Vindow to Streamline Hotel Sourcing and Contract Renewal Processes

    Gant Travel, an awarding-winning TMC serving the North American corporate sector, announces its selection of Vindow’s hotel sourcing technology platform to automate its corporate hotel rate process.

    Press Release
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    Aug 9, 2022


    BLOOMINGTON, Ind., August 9, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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    Gant Travel, an awarding-winning TMC serving the North American corporate sector, announces its selection of Vindow’s hotel sourcing technology platform to automate its corporate hotel rate process. 

    Part of the account management function of every travel management company (TMC) is assisting corporate customers in selecting and applying negotiated rates at key hotel properties. Recent articles in the trade press indicate a potential trend by travel managers to opt for a standard discount rate off the rack rate instead of conducting the often laborious process of negotiating with hotel properties. The former option supports the idea that the total cost of acquiring the negotiated contract can involve hours of coordination in the procurement process that negates the savings the discounted rate achieved.  

    “In our experience in the corporate mid-market, a hybrid approach towards hotel procurement is best. The negotiation process to acquire a corporate rate often beats a set discount off the rack rate if the process used to get the negotiated rate is simple. Over the past three months, we’ve seen how Vindow can significantly automate and streamline the hotel rate negotiation process, and that’s why we’ve selected them as the core technology to integrate into our account management process,” said Chad Seybold, Gant’s SVP of Strategic Partnerships. 

    “What Vindow brings to a company like Gant is the ability to apply a new level of automation to a very time-intensive process. Gant’s pilot test of our platform demonstrated that they can achieve a new level of productivity for their clients with far fewer labor hours. While we are confident in our platform, we were gratified by the results Gant achieved by integrating Vindow into their internal systems. Vindow’s flexible architecture, robust hotel database and intuitive user interface empowered terrific results for Gant,” says Vic Pynn, Vindow’s CEO and President. 

    Gant demonstrated that integration of Vindow into its systems automates a critical choke point in the account management process and provides immediate cost relief to the current “seller’s market” for the corporate hotel marketplace.  

    About Gant 

    Gant Travel is a digitally driven, data-centric travel management company that helps travelers enhance their travel experience while controlling the expense of business travel. Gant provides advanced technology, processes, and highly trained people to coordinate business travel and achieve the highest possible ROI from travel. Gant is the two-time winner of the Concur Innovation and earned multiple Call Center Weekly awards. Gant has also been named on the Inc 5000 list and earned the Best Workplace Institute certification. For more information on Gant, contact: Sales@gantravel.com or visit www.ganttravel.com.

    About Vindow

    Vindow, headquartered in Coral Gables, FL, offers the group travel industry with the only cloud-based SaaS platform that combines a centralized, full lifecycle management of the procurement process, from RFP generation through contract management, further empowered with intelligent market analytics. Vindow’s platform harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence, which significantly improves the entire sourcing lifecycle by bringing unprecedented levels of transparency, efficiency and insight to all transactional parties. 

    To find out more about Vindow, Inc. or to arrange an interview, please contact Jennifer Nagy at jenn@jlnpr.com or +1.786.420.1160.

    Source: Gant Travel

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  • Travefy’s Inaugural Virtual New Agent Bootcamp Event Garners Over 4,800 Registrations

    Travefy’s Inaugural Virtual New Agent Bootcamp Event Garners Over 4,800 Registrations

    Travefy’s first-ever New Agent Bootcamp sees over 4,800 Travel Agent registrations

    Press Release
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    Aug 4, 2022


    LINCOLN, Neb., August 4, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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    Travefy hosted its first-ever New Agent Bootcamp, a free virtual event spanning over two full days of educational and motivational webinar sessions to help new travel agents grow and expand their travel business. 

    Day one was supported by industry experts sharing advice and tips on various topics including how to create organized systems to stay productive, setting up a winning marketing strategy, what’s most important in the first and second year in business, and so much more. 

    “As a brand new agent, this session was perfectly timed. Topics on day one were just what I needed to hear from industry experts to help me further formulate plans for my business,” shared Danny Slupeiks, Travel Agent with TravelOnly. 

    “Just what I needed, at exactly the right time,” shared Vicki Winters, Luxury Travel Concierge at Bucket List Travelers.

    Day two’s webinar sessions were focused on Travefy’s powerful tools to streamline a travel agent’s business. These webinars demonstrated how Travefy keeps client contact information organized, streamlines sales processes with proposals and quotes, and sets an agent’s marketing. 

    “The Bootcamp webinars helped cement my knowledge of organizing data, creating proposals, website development and final travel itinerary that can be used on an application format via iPhone or Android,” notes Dora DeWitt, Travel Advisor with Dream Vacations. 

    Both days of the virtual event included six live webinar sessions and concluded with an exciting travel trivia happy hour. “It was so much fun setting up this two-day virtual event focused on helping new travel advisors. Over the past two years, we’ve seen a lot of new faces entering the travel industry which is so thrilling. We wanted to give new agents a place to learn and grow their business during these sessions,” shares Stephanie Gries, Education Manager at Travefy. 

    “New Agent Bootcamp was fun and informative, but even more than that, I’ve implemented calendar and sales flow techniques that have already made a difference in my business. Travefy helps me to provide an excellent client experience. I pride myself on providing exceptional customer service to my clients and Travefy helps me to live up to that promise,” notes Molly Krpata, Travel Advisor at Magical Moments with Molly.

    To learn more about New Agent Bootcamp, please visit NewTravelAgentBootcamp.com.

    ABOUT TRAVEFY

    Travefy’s mission is to power the success of travel professionals. Our award-winning suite of itinerary, proposal, client management, and marketing tools help Travel Advisors and professionals save time, impress clients, and sell more. Travefy powers thousands of travel businesses across the globe ranging from small, independent travel advisors to the largest travel agencies, consortia, and organizations. 

    For more information, please see https://travefy.com.

    Source: Travefy

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  • Top 10 Most Visited Cruise Ports According to the Users of the Visited Travel App

    Top 10 Most Visited Cruise Ports According to the Users of the Visited Travel App

    Find out which Cruise ports made the Top 10 Most Visited List. Users can also see what percentage of all the ports/cities they have seen with the travel app, Visited.

    Press Release
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    Jul 7, 2022


    TORONTO, July 7, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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    Get inspired by the Visited App’s Top 10 Most Visited Cruise Ports published by Arriving In High Heels, the company behind Visited. Visited is a travel app, that started off with a simple idea of mapping out where travelers have been to and where they want to go in the future. It later expended to provide users with personal travel stats on how many countries they have seen, how many cities they have visited and what percentage of the world that they want to see they covered. Today, the app also allows users to check off destinations, countries, cities and experiences that they have been to. The travel app also helps discover new destinations by allowing users to swipe between different travel sights that they can then add to their bucket-list. 

    Our global trotting users have selected the following cruise ports the greatest number of times: 

    1. Barcelona, Spain 

    2. Venice, Italy

    3. Amsterdam, Netherlands 

    4. Miami, United States 

    5. New York, United States 

    6. Lisbon, Portugal 

    7. Cozumel, Mexico 

    8. Copenhagen, Denmark 

    9. Stockholm, Sweden 

    10. Helsinki, Finland 

    To see the full list of ports and what percentage you have visited, download Visited for free on iOS or Android .

    To learn more about the Visited app, get more travel insights and its latest feature update, please visit https://visitedapp.com/. 

    About Arriving In High Heels Corporation

    Arriving In High Heels Corporation is a mobile app company; Visited is their most popular app. For inspiration on travel destinations, travel stats and the latest travel news, follow Visited on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Other apps include Pay Off Debt and X-Walk. 

    Contact Information

    Anna Kayfitz

    anna@arrivinginhighheels.com

    Source: Arriving In High Heels Corporation

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  • Travefy Launches New Certification Courses With Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

    Travefy Launches New Certification Courses With Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

    Travefy has partnered with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to offer a Travefy certification program.

    Press Release
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    Jan 27, 2022


    LINCOLN, Neb., January 27, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
     Travefy has announced a new certification program created exclusively for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Industry Partner Training. The certification courses have been designed to educate travel advisors on how to utilize Travefy’s award-winning tools to streamline their travel business.

    Travefy’s certification program allows Agent Members of CLIA to obtain course credits that are applied towards CLIA’s leading Certification Program to help expand knowledge of travel and cruise-specific topics to grow clientele and sales.

    “We are thrilled to offer specialized training to CLIA members to gain expertise in the Travefy platform and utilize our powerful software tools to elevate their business sales and marketing efforts,” notes Travefy Marketing & Education Coordinator Stephanie Gries.

    “Travefy’s new online course will give travel professionals a platform to organize guest proposals, itineraries, and trips, as well as steps to upsell and market cruises. Travel professionals will earn three (3) CLIA elective credits to use towards CLIA’s leading Certification Program,” says CLIA Senior Manager, Industry Training Heidi Olson CTC, ECC, TAE.  

    ABOUT TRAVEFY

    Travefy’s mission is to power the success of travel professionals. Our award-winning suite of itinerary, proposal, client management, and marketing tools helps travel advisors save time, impress clients, and sell more.

    Travefy powers thousands of travel businesses across the globe ranging from small, independent travel advisors to the largest travel agencies, consortia, and organizations. Travefy has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, among other publications, and has won numerous industry honors including the ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

    For more information, please see https://certification.travefy.com and https://cruising.org/en/travel-agent-center/professional-development-training/industry-partner-training

    ABOUT THE CRUISE LINES INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION (CLIA)

    CLIA is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, providing a unified voice and leading authority of the global cruise community. On behalf of its members, affiliates, and partners, the organization supports policies and practices that foster a secure, healthy, and sustainable cruise ship environment, promoting positive travel experiences for the more than 30 million passengers who have cruised annually. The CLIA community includes the world’s most prestigious ocean, river, and specialty cruise lines; a highly trained and certified travel agent community; and widespread industry stakeholders, including ports & destinations, ship development, suppliers, and business services. CLIA represents 95% of the world’s ocean-going cruise capacity, as well as 54,000 travel agents, and 15,000 of the largest travel agencies in the world. The organization’s global headquarters are in Washington, DC, with regional offices located in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia.

    For more information, please visit cruising.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube with our handle @CLIAGlobal—or on LinkedIn.

    Source: Travefy

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