Travel Weekly Group Ltd

💰 Hotiday, an Italian traveltech start-up founded in 2022, announces a €5.5 million capital raise led by P101 SGR, with participation from 40Jemz and Italian and international business angels. The funding will help expand its European portfolio, enter new markets, strengthen presence, enhance hotelier services, establish premium partnerships, and grow the team. Hotiday experienced a 500% revenue growth compared to 2023, operates across over 90 destinations, partners with 65+ hospitality businesses, and introduced a decentralized hotel model with a proprietary algorithm. This investment marks P101 SGR's twelfth through Programma 103, backed by the EU's InvestEU Fund and CDP Venture Capital SGR via the Digital Transition Fund – PNRR.

💾 Hospitable launched a dynamic pricing tool for hosts and property managers, becoming the first PMS with built-in dynamic pricing at no extra cost. The tool previews 30 days of pricing trends, with 24 months of insights accessible upon activation. All customers can explore the full 24-month preview for the first month post-launch. The release follows an industry report revealing 57.2% of hosts struggle with occupancy goals and 28.9% with pricing. Hospitable's dynamic pricing is available on their Host, Professional, or Mogul plans. The full industry report will be released this week.

🏨 Sabre has integrated Iberia's New Distribution Capability (NDC) offers into its Global Distribution System (GDS), enhancing travel retailing. Iberia's Commercial Strategy and Distribution Director, Celia Muñoz Espín, sees this as a milestone in their distribution strategy, allowing global access to their NDC products and fares. Sabre's Senior Vice President Kathy Morgan highlights the goal of making NDC work at scale for seamless agency integration, offering personalized airline content. This partnership strengthens Sabre's platform by providing more choice and value across the travel ecosystem.

🏨 In Dubai at the Arabian Travel Market 2025, Riyadh Air and Verteil Technologies announced a strategic partnership, making Verteil the launch NDC aggregator for Riyadh Air's NDC content. Riyadh Air aims to revolutionize airline connectivity and innovation. Verteil will provide scalable NDC solutions for real-time availability, fare options, services, and instant ticketing to global travel sellers via its Verteil Direct Connect platform, enhancing transparency and personalisation.

📈 In the UK, AI adoption has surged by 33% in the past year, with over half (52%) of UK businesses now using AI, outpacing the European average growth of 27%. Businesses embracing AI every 60 seconds have seen a revenue increase, with 92% of AI adopters reporting higher earnings, up from 64% in 2023. Large enterprises' AI use has risen to 55%, but their application remains at a basic level, while 59% of startups have adopted AI, with 36% developing new AI-driven products. The digital skills gap presents a significant barrier to further adoption, as 38% of businesses struggle to access digital skills, up from 29% last year. UK businesses need an average of 5.5 months to hire someone with sufficient digital skills. AWS encourages UK policymakers to address these challenges to unlock AI’s full potential. Recently, Amazon announced an £8 billion investment in UK data centers projected to contribute £14 billion to GDP and support over 14,000 annual FTE jobs by 2028.

🖥 Almawave, part of the Almaviva Group, has incorporated Generative AI into its D/AI Destinations platform via subsidiary The Data Appeal Company. The platform utilizes advanced language models to process textual data for personalized analysis and strategic recommendations. This AI integration enhances Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) by delivering automated insights specific to each location, allowing them to monitor visitor sentiment and align with strategic priorities in real-time. CEOs Valeria Sandei and Mirko Lalli emphasize the transformation in tourism management, offering not only data but actionable insights for informed decision-making.

📌 RMS, a hospitality platform, partners with Right Revenue to offer real-time data integration for independent hotels. The collaboration enables smarter pricing and accurate forecasting, promising less than 2% margin of error in daily forecasts two years ahead and potential double-digit revenue growth. The integration offers automated pricing and customisable, real-time reporting on key business KPIs, allowing hoteliers to adapt quickly to booking trends and optimize revenue, similar to larger hotel chains' strategic rate strategies.

🌍 Sabre announced a multi-year global partnership with Gray Dawes Group, a major independent travel management company. Gray Dawes has chosen Sabre as its sole distribution platform. The collaboration aims to spur growth, focusing on innovation and operational efficiency, leveraging AI and automation. Gray Dawes' CEO, Suzanne Horner, highlighted the alignment with their global expansion and efficiency goals. The partnership supports Gray Dawes’ strategic expansion in Europe (UK, Netherlands), North America, and Australia, and integrates with their online corporate travel platform, YourTrip, powered by Atriis.