Travel Industry Updates: AI Partnerships, Leadership Moves, and Tech Integrations Reshape Global Travel

BCD Travel and Oversee are expanding their collaboration to scale agentic AI capabilities across BCD’s global operations. Following a successful pilot, Oversee’s artificial intelligence will now automate key tasks like booking requests and passenger name record (PNR) creation. The move is set to enhance agent efficiency and support BCD’s broader digital transformation strategy, enabling improved service delivery while preserving human interaction. The companies said the partnership reflects their joint vision of combining advanced tech with talent for scalable, customer-focused service.

In hotel payments, TerraPay has partnered with XanderPay to streamline global financial operations in the hospitality sector. The partnership merges TerraPay’s cross-border payment infrastructure with XanderPay’s expertise in hospitality, allowing hotels to accept diverse payment methods, reduce costs, and better manage treasury operations—especially for third-party bookings. The integration supports above-property payment models focused on guest-centric experiences.

American Express Global Business Travel has appointed Rich Atkinson-Toal as global vice president of its Brand & Experience Studio. The studio, launched last year, manages more than 15,000 events worldwide that blend creativity, logistics, and travel.

D-Edge has rolled out integration with Expedia Group’s reservation management API, benefiting 17,000 hotels that use D-Edge technology. The integration provides hoteliers with access to Expedia loyalty and corporate data while improving security with tokenized payments and lowering operational burdens.

Frenchospitality, a Paris-based hybrid accommodation group, has adopted Eviivo’s all-in-one platform to manage hotels, apartments, and co-living spaces. The result has been a significant reduction in tech spend—from 4% to just over 1% of annual revenue—and a boost in direct bookings to 35%. The group also cut transaction costs by keeping its preferred payment gateway.

Passenger disruption management firm Plan3 has named Vivian Meril to lead growth in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Meril, formerly with Amadeus, Qatar Airways, and Cleartrip, brings over 15 years of aviation and tech experience to the role.

Traxo has expanded its Traxo Marketplace by onboarding six new partners: AlertMedia, Alō Index, Elements, Fare Audit, Restrata, and Travlr ID. These integrations cover a range of services from travel risk management to ROI analysis and travel audits, supporting over 400 corporate clients.

AI personalization firm Mobi.AI has named Andrew Boch as CEO. Boch, previously COO and a veteran of Hopper and LevelUp, replaces co-founder Anna Jaffe, who transitions to the board. Harriet Brown is now chief product officer, and Jim Russell will serve as an advisor.

Fora, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Startup for 2023, has appointed former Expedia and IAC Travel CEO Erik Blachford to its board. Blachford brings travel and tech experience from Zillow, Peloton, and Terrapass and will support Fora’s continued growth.

Awaze, parent company of Hoseasons, has named Matthew Price as CEO. Previously interim CEO and group CFO, Price will now focus on expanding Awaze’s tech capabilities and CRM to meet evolving guest and owner needs. Platinum Equity praised his early leadership impact.

Finally, Accelya has launched the Business Travel Innovation Group (BIG) alongside Temoji and Paul Tilstone. The forum brings together 20 corporate buyers to accelerate NDC adoption and improve airline-retailing coordination. A new guide from BIG finds that alignment, rather than technology, remains the top hurdle to industry-wide implementation.

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Travel Industry Updates: AI Partnerships, Leadership Moves, and Tech Integrations Reshape Global Travel

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