Barteo – 365nights.com completes XML integration with eRevMax

Connects with eRevMax Channel Ecosystem for greater access to hotel inventories


London, 23 April, 2014 – France based hotel price negotiation site Barteo, recently rebranded as 365nights, has integrated with eRevMax, the leading provider of hotel online distribution solutions, to expand connectivity options available to its fast growing portfolio of hotel partners. Accommodation providers will now be able to make immediate ARI (Availability, Rates, and Inventory) updates on the channel through eRevMax’s RateTiger solution.

According to Thomas Hiley, Co-Founder & CEO at 365nights, “We are delighted to work with eRevMax to provide our mutual clients with reliable connectivity which will save time and energy. Since our launch, we are deeply focused on offering simplicity and flexibility to hoteliers; RateTiger and Connect solutions fit perfectly with this goal. Our concept is new for consumers but the way to manage the rates and availability for hotels remain the same, and this connectivity completely automates the management. Already 500+ partners have joined us and we are preparing new things for 2014 including a full new website."

Launched in 2013, 365 nights is a niche travel site that allows potential guests to negotiate on the price of the room directly with the hotel and in real time, before making an actual booking. The site displays the best available online price, but the consumer can then negotiate directly, confidentially and in real time with the hotel through the 365nights interface.

Greg Berman, Chief Operations Officer, eRevMax said “Our partnership with 365nights enhances our capability of offering a diverse range of distributors through the eRevMax Channel Ecosystem. Given that we cater to properties ranging from independent properties to enterprise hotel groups, it is important for us to offer quality certified connections through which both the channel and the hotels benefit.”

eRevMax is developing its connectivity solutions to help industry partners better match supply with relevant demand, uncover new revenue opportunities and improve their profitability velocity . The company’s sophisticated real-time distribution technologies are already being effectively used by over 20000 hoteliers worldwide.

Absolute Hotel Services implements RateTiger solutions for its hotels and resorts

Absolute Hotel Services Group has selected eRevMax’s RateTiger Corp as its preferred intuitive price intelligence solution  for use in its hotels and resorts in Thailand, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Middle East.

Corp is a comprehensive yet easy to use hotel rate intelligence solution.  This endorsement will enable all of Absolute Hotel Services Groups hotels and resorts to check room rates across all channels while analyzing room rates of their competitive sets and rate positioning across multiple hotel websites, third party sales channels and online travel agents (OTA) to ensure that they are driving maximum revenues by always selling the right rate at the right time.

“We hope this selection will greatly contribute to understanding our customers and the challenges they face while buying through a larger distribution base,” said Jonathan Wigley, CEO of Absolute Hotel Services Group.

“Absolute Hotel Services is one of the reputed brands in the hospitality space and we are glad that they have chosen our intuitive price intelligence tool – Corp. The tool will help them monitor their member hotel positions and provide greater control over rates by flagging discrepancies and noncompliance automatically. Absolute Hotel Services can access market intelligence through online reports, scheduled reports and ranking reports for improved rate decisions and to maintain parity and position across channels,” said John Seaton, VP Sales – APAC & EMEA, eRevMax.

Corp offers complete rate transparencies to hotels, travel intermediaries like Online Travel Agents, Corporate Travel Planners, Event Managers and Travel Management Companies, to stay ahead in market dynamics. Any rate anomaly is automatically notified to the property through an e-mail alert, thereby eliminating the need for manual intervention. Data can be extracted from thousands of travel websites and hotel sites including the Global Distribution Systems (GDS).

Safari Luggage – is now just a click away!

Most trusted luggage partner goes Online – www.safari.in
Safari Industries (India) Limited, the most trusted luggage partner for people on the move is now be available online onwww.safari.in . After many flourishing years of setting up the brand name in the retail market, Safari’s latest initiative will now tap the audiences through the online medium, which in itself has a lot of traction in these changing times.  So grab your choice of 4 wheels, 2 wheel trolleys, business cases, suitcases, backpacks, laptop bags and many more with just a click of the mouse!
 Whether you’re a casual tourist or a serious adventurer, you need a way to tote your belongings from place to place and Safari gives you a chance tonavigate, choose and buy products confidently through an easy checkout process. The online portal gives customers a chance to indulge in their travel style with a collection ideal for the travelers. The website provides easy access to customers and offers options in colors and size within an affordable price range. With just a click, choose stylish travel accessories and get delivery at your door step within a week.  The user friendly website aids customer interaction with visual interface, product description, iconography, product display and advanced technology.
Commenting on this latest move, Mr.Sudhir Jatia, Chairman & Managing Director, Safari Ltd said “The Online vertical poses as an opportunity to engage in a section of consumers who prefer going online to buy products. We definitely see it as a prime advantage to be able to display Safari’s vast range of products across major travel product categories and regularly updating the website with latest launches. Safari.in will leverage display and search solutions that will be customer friendly and help increase awareness of the brand and offerings amongst the customers. ”
With a vision to give the customers a complete 360 degree experience of shopping for travel accessories sitting right at  home, Safari’s latest e-commerce store has been built keeping in mind the  scale and the ability to rapidly add new features and evolve in the coming months.  The website will be on a continuous roll ensuring that the brand stays ahead of the curve in order to seize the new opportunities the category would keep throwing up for the valued customers.
For a complete brand experience log on to Safari.in for your next purchase!

Keki Mistry joins the Advisory Board of Cox & Kings

Keki Mistry has joined the Advisory Board of  Cox & Kings Ltd, the leading holidays and education travel group with operations in 26 countries across continents.

Mistry brings with him over three decades of work experience from various fields, especially the banking & financial services sector. He has been instrumental in the successful transformation of HDFC into India’s leading financial services conglomerate by facilitating the formation of companies including HDFC Bank Ltd, HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company and HDFC ERGO General Insurance.

Mistry, in his role on the Advisory Board of Cox & Kings, will offer strategic advice to the company’s Board.

Commenting on the development, Mr. Peter Kerkar, Director, Cox & Kings Ltd said, “We are delighted to bring Mr. Mistry on the advisory board. His expertise in financial markets would help us to scale our business to new heights. Under his guidance, we are hopeful to tap new opportunities and are confident to achieve our strategic goals, which will also help in enhancing shareholders value.”

The Board of Cox & Kings Ltd comprises Mr. ABM Good (Non Executive Chairman), Mr. Peter Kerkar (Non Executive Director), Ms. Urrshila Kerkar (Executive Director), Mr. Pesi Patel (Independent Director), Mr. S.C. Bhargava (Independent Director) and Mr. M Narayanan (Independent Director).

Mistry is a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).  He started his career in 1975 with AF Ferguson & Co, a renowned chartered accountancy firm, followed by short stint with Hindustan UniLever Ltd and Indian Hotels Company Ltd. In 1981, he joined HDFC Ltd and was inducted on its board in 1993. Presently he is the Vice Chairman and CEO of HDFC.

Behold Beautiful Bangalore with the ‘Go On India’ Campaign from Goibibo.com

Unbelievable offers like never before for 500 days

 Goibibo.com, one of India’s most accepted and leading travel portals has launched a campaign, ‘Go On India’ under which they have hand-picked 500 scenic and charming cities. Every day, they share vital insights about the flora, fauna, tradition and culture of one region. Furthering the campaign, they are also offering 25% special discounts on hotels to the city. The city of the month is Bangalore better known as the ‘Garden City’ of India.  

Sanjay Bhasin, MD, Goibibo.com says, “Bangalore in today’s date has mostly become a business destination and people travelling to the city are mostly either businessmen or students. With this campaign, we are hopeful that we will be able to revive the city once again as a place of tourist interest.”

The capital city of the Indian state of Karnataka, Bangalore is the Information technology hub of the country which is why it is also called the ‘Silicon Valley of India’. Bangalore is one of the most important tourist centres of the state with lot of parks, historical monuments, government buildings, museums and the beauty of nature. It is popular for its pleasant weather throughout the year. Bangalore is also a major centre of Indian classical music and dance. Though both classical and contemporary music are played in Bangalore, the dominant music genre in urban Bangalore is rock music. Bangalore has its own sub-genre of music, "Bangalore Rock", which is an amalgamation of classic rock, hard rock and heavy metal, with a bit of jazz and blues in it. Thindi Beedhi or Food Street is a street in VV Puram, one of Bangalore’s oldest corridors. It is a lane that dishes out some of Bangalore’s best traditional cuisine. So go on and take time out to explore this city enriched with culture, music and the best of cuisine.

Goibibo.com initiated the Go on India campaign to inspire travel enthusiasts to explore the splendour and diversity of India. Each day, a new code shall be released for one place and the users can avail the special discounted rates using this code. The code for Bangalore is HOTBANG applicable for hotels.

Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways proclaim the new summer schedule

Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways announce new summer schedule
Partner airlines align their summer schedules for the convenience of passengers
Some Delta flights will relocate to join Virgin Atlantic in Heathrow Terminal 3
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. today outlined details of a new joint venture flight schedule beginning summer 2014, aligning their services and offering more flight choices for travelers on both sides of the Atlantic.
The two airlines are putting the customer at the forefront of their partnership with the new schedule that starts March 30, 2014, combining their slots at London Heathrow to offer maximum customer convenience, particularly for business travelers.
Beginning, April 2, 2014, Delta will move its arrival and departure terminal for several important business markets to join Virgin Atlantic in Heathrow Terminal 3. This includes its London to New York-JFK, London to Boston, and newLondon to Seattle services and means the two airlines will co-locate on all itsNew York and Boston flights to London Heathrow. The move will allow for convenient connections and a seamless customer experience for customers flying with Virgin and Delta, including access to Virgin Atlantic's award winning Clubhouse for all business class passengers.
"We are working on a series of improvements to enhance the travel experience for our customers," said Craig Kreeger, Virgin Atlantic's CEO. "We already co-locate together at New York's JFK airport and moving some of Delta's key business flights to join Virgin Atlantic at Heathrow's Terminal 3 will enhance convenience, and reduce connection times. This demonstrates how our new partnership is going to be making a real difference for customers."
Delta, in cooperation with Virgin Atlantic, will also operate a second daily service between London Heathrow and Detroit Metropolitan Airport effectiveJune 1, 2014. The service will be particularly appealing to corporate customers needing an early morning arrival into London while offering more schedule choice for customers between London and the U.S. Midwest.
This additional flight will complement Delta's previously announced new West Coast route between Seattle and London Heathrow, which will launch on March 29, 2014.
Virgin Atlantic is also making significant schedule changes. It is moving its VS1Heathrow to Newark service from a late afternoon departure to a morning departure. This flight will be particularly attractive to business travelers: it will allow 'same-day meetings' to be held in the New Jersey area, while an earlier departure on the return flight means passengers can be in central London for the start of the working day.
This service is part of nine daily flights between London Heathrow and the New York area by the joint venture partners. The new schedule will include departures every 30 minutes during the early evening peak and then hourly until 10.30 p.m. from New York-JFK to London Heathrow and a spread of seven daily flights from London Heathrow to New York-JFK, including two late afternoon and early evening departures.  It also includes two conveniently timed departures to and from Newark.
Virgin Atlantic has also retimed its Heathrow to Boston service to depart two hours later in the afternoon. This offers more flexibility for the two airlines' customers with Delta's Heathrow to Boston service departing in the morning. Virgin Atlantic's evening departure from Boston will also move two hours later, giving greater schedule choice to travelers.
"A key reason for our joint venture was to offer customers more choice and convenient schedules, especially for our business travelers," said Ed Bastian, Delta's president. "With our Seattle service, Delta will add its sixth nonstop destination between London and the United States. Combined the Delta-Virgin partnership now offers our customers 33 daily nonstop flights across the Atlantic."
In September, Delta and Virgin Atlantic welcomed the decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to approve the carriers' joint venture by granting antitrust immunity on routes between North America and the UK. This ruling confirmed the clear consumer benefits of the partnership, enabling the airlines to deepen their cooperation, offering more flight choices for travelers on both sides of the Atlantic and improving the travel options for business customers in the New York to London market.
The airlines' customers benefit from a high-quality and complementary travel experience with passenger service being a priority for both airlines. For the business traveler Delta and Virgin Atlantic's business class uniquely includes forward-facing fully flat-bed seats, all with direct aisle access on every flight.

Singapore Airlines open unique passes for Indian flyers

 Singapore Airlines declared the opening of a pass for Indian customers to allow them benefit special fares for flights to US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and China.

It is Called as  the 'Asia AirPass' absolutely begin for Indian customers, it would allow travellers from here flying long- haul beyond Singapore to Hong Kong, China, Japan, US, Australia and New Zealand to "benefit of special add-on fares between Singapore and destinations within North Asia and South-East Asia for a utmost of 4 sectors," an airline statement said.

These passes would be on auction till March 31 next year and bookings can be made from SIA offices in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Kochi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam and travel agents.

The pass would be applicable for both Singapore Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary SilkAir.

Apart from particular fares, transit passengers could gather a complimentary 40 Changi Dollar Voucher for use at participating shops, restaurants and lounges at Singapore's Changi Airport, a spokesperson said.

Commenting on the start of the Airpass, G M Toh, SIA's General Manager India said it would give or offer  "the easiness of multi-city itineraries at inexpensive prices and more productive use of customers' business or leisure travel time".

With hundred and seven  weekly flights from eleven  Indian cities to Singapore and seamless connections to almost Hindred (100) cities worldwide, SIA and SilkAir were "preferred carriers for travellers who decide or need to call multiple destinations in Asia", Toh said.