Travel Weekly Group Ltd

🚀 Pierre-Yves Guillaume appointed as Executive Advisor for Data Monetisation at Atlas, a low-cost airline retailer. Guillaume brings over a decade of leadership experience from Amadeus, Kiwi.com, and GE Transportation. Tasked with transforming Atlas's Air Travel Retailing and Information Platform, he aims to create tailored high-value data solutions for travel sellers and OTAs. Atlas offers access to content from over 150 airlines and is led by CEO Mary Li. Guillaume's appointment signifies Atlas's growth in competitive travel industry markets.

📣 Marriott International renews a 10-year exclusive F&B mobile dining agreement with IRIS, extending their partnership that has already seen a double-digit increase in mobile orders and revenue. Kansas City Marriott Downtown reports a 30-minute reduction in customer wait times and an impressive 87% year-on-year increase in order volume, alongside a 94% jump in F&B revenue. Digital orders through the app are 20-30% higher in value than traditional orders. IRIS's solution is now operable across Marriott’s portfolio of 30 brands.

🧮 Lighthouse's AI categories: Predictive AI (forecasts, structured data), Generative AI (creates content, unstructured data), Automation (process-driven, no data learning). They use Google Cloud Platform for AI model deployment and have a diverse Data Science team. They embrace innovation with an "Innovation roadmap" and partner with Google's Certified AI Experts. ChatGPT gained 1 million users in 5 days post-Q4 2022 release. Lighthouse's projects range from predictable to highly uncertain in scope and outcome.

💰 A survey by Uber for Business involving 250 frequent UK taxi users revealed 82% prioritize comfort to avoid fatigue, and 31% list comfort among their top three priorities, equaled only by short wait times. Over three-quarters (78%) find taxis simplify work/life balance, although 35% experience frustration due to delays (51%), disruptions (40%), and expense processing (26%). Manual expense processing, taking an average of 40 minutes monthly, is still common among 47% of respondents. Priority pickups and various vehicle options, including Uber Business Comfort and Lux, are benefits for business travelers using Uber’s business profiles. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of these travelers and 77% of C-level executives prefer ordering green vehicles. Over half (54%) want their companies to track carbon emissions, which Uber for Business Sustainability Dashboard enables.

🏖️ On the Beach achieved a 25% increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to £31 million, with revenue up by 14% to £128.2 million, and a 15% rise in total transaction value reaching £1.21 billion for the year ending on September 30. The company experienced a 13% growth in summer passenger numbers over 2023 and plans expansion into Ireland. CEO Shaun Morton anticipates doubling TTV to £2.5 billion and reaching an £85 million adjusted pre-tax profit in the future.

📅 ATPI Group launches CrewHub, a booking platform for group travel. 🚀 The self-service technology is designed to simplify business travel for groups of any size and industry, allowing bookings from various airports or routes to a shared destination. 🕑 CrewHub claims to cut booking time by up to 60%, taking approximately one minute per traveler, based on an example of coordinating 11 individuals. Initially created for Marine and Energy customers, it will be trialled in Q1 2025 before rolling out across all ATPI business lines within the same year.

🏖️ "Inspire My Holiday" launched the new portal "Find an Agent", set to reach over one million consumers by 2025. It allows users to locate travel agents based on holiday type, class, agent location, and specialties. Registration is free for both consumers and agents. The soft launch included agents from Flight Centre, Travel Counsellors, Advantage, PTS, Hays Travel, and The Travel Network Group. The official launch is scheduled for Boxing Day, targeting the peak sale period.