Kate Harden-England1

🏨 Journey launched its Hospitality Performance Platform for luxury hotels in Spain. The platform aims to monetize guest experiences amid rising cost pressures and declining room rate growth. On January 21, 2025, Journey will co-host an event at FITUR in Madrid with Oracle and Bring IT. José Antonio Núñez has been appointed as head of international business development, and Laura Piamba joins as business development manager. Journey collaborates with 750 properties, including Nikki Beach and Corinthia.

🛫 Passengers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) can now complete immigration in under 20 seconds with new biometric terminals. The airport, handling over 50 million passengers annually, installed 24 eGates last month. The $3B modernization project, led by New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC), aims to enhance efficiency and security. Amadeus technology plays a key role, with an additional 54 eGates expected early this year. The initiative involves collaboration between airport operators, border authorities, and tech partners.

🛫 WeRoad closed 2025 with €130M (£112.6M) in revenue, marking a 62.4% increase from 2024. It served 300,000 travelers by year-end, with nearly 110,000 in 2025. Top destinations included Italy, Morocco, and the US. The company’s 4,000 Travel Coordinators played a significant role. New initiatives like WeMeet and a platform for creating itineraries bolstered growth, as did partnerships with Travel Counsellors and Tourhub. 📈

📆 Perk has launched Perk Events, an AI-powered solution to automate event planning, addressing 76% of UK employees involved in event coordination. Key pain points include venue sourcing (43%), budget management (43%), and accommodation (37%). A Forrester report highlights 53% of UK firms lack event automation, contributing to £95 billion in lost productivity annually. Perk aims to eliminate this "shadow work," streamlining event processes to enhance focus on core tasks, saving $1.7 trillion globally.

🚄 eDreams ODIGEO expands its Prime subscription to the rail sector in Spain and Italy, targeting the €40 billion European rail market. With 7.7 million members, they introduced flexible monthly and quarterly payment options to boost accessibility. The platform integrates flights, hotels, car rentals, and now rail, using AI to streamline bookings. CEO Dana Dunne highlighted early success in Spain and Italy as a validation of their strategy to offer seamless travel solutions.

🚉 Flix, a German-founded transport provider, acquired a majority share in Flibco, an airport transfer platform, for an undisclosed sum. This expands Flix's reach, already present in the UK, US, South America, Turkey, and India. The deal was advised by Ennea Capital Partners, allowing SLG to retain a minority stake. Flibco will maintain its current management, led by CEO Tobias Stüber. The transaction will be covered in an Amazon Prime documentary called SELFMADE.

💻 Trybe announced a £23.3 million ($30 million USD) Series A investment from Five Elms Capital. The funds will enable global expansion across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, and accelerate AI development in their spa and leisure management platform. Trybe, experiencing rapid growth, aims to modernize technology for operators, enhancing guest experiences and maximizing revenue. Co-founder Ricky Daniels and Five Elms partner Ryan Mandl emphasize Trybe's innovative solutions in a market limited by outdated systems.