Articles tagged “amadeus”

Much as the travel industry talks about a utopian vision of the digital future of travel, consumers still want the best fares when it comes to online travel, now and in the future. And they want it without having to hunt on dozens of sites, like now. Is the travel industry listening?

Much as the travel industry would like to move beyond pricing and fees, consumers still wants better disclosures and simplicity around ticket prices, fees and other related services. Is the travel industry listening?

Amadeus has a lot of money collecting dust so it might as well acquire a few more hotel and corporate travel technology prizes. The days of Amadeus being known primarily as a global distribution system are such ancient history.

InterContinental Hotels is savvy to recognize that it needs to go beyond the low-hanging fruit of converting lookers into bookers, and needs to be involved in earlier and later phases of the guest journey. Amadeus has experience with some of these things on the airline side of things, but it remains to be seen how effective it will translate into hotels.

Orbitz Worldwide gets new flexibility in who it can be friends with in the future in a series of new contracts that go into effect in 2015. And, Orbtiz Worldwide's enhanced relationships with Amadeus and Sabre mean consumers may be able to access additional ancillary services such as premium seats.

Whether or not it plays a central role in reshaping the future of travel, give Amadeus credit for reshaping and repositioning the future of Amadeus. Once primarily a distribution outlet for travel agencies, Amadeus was an early mover into airline IT, and now it is building its hotel tech and search business, as well.

Hey, the airline business is rough, and with this acquisition Amadeus gets diversification, and a much bigger foothold into the hotel sector, particularly for groups and events. Companies such as Pegasus, Sabre, and Trust International could feel the competitive impact.

Amadeus has long been involved in incubating startup-like ventures within the company, but will now do so with a more deliberate strategy to forge closer relationships with young companies that it feels are worth associating with.

The additional investment will allow Yapta to go deeper into corporate travel, and take advantages from its relationship with Concur to deliver savings to corporate travel bookers.

While Asia and the Middle East's low-cost carriers are seeing rocket ship growth, in Europe and North America these carriers will have to think about diversifying beyond budget base. JetBlue in the U.S., and EasyJet in the UK are now trying to attract business travelers.