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	100 developers from all over Europe competed to find solutions to several challenges faced by today’s traveller. Hotelbeds Group bets on constant innovation as part of its quest to reshape travel.


Palma de Mallorca, 11th May 2015 – Hotelbeds Group, the leading global provider of travel services, has supported and participated in THack @ Dublin 2015, part of a collaborative hackathon roadshow aimed to improve travel via technology.&nbsp;

Celebrated over the weekend at Dublin’s National Digital Research Centre, THack @ Dublin brought together 100 developers from all over the continent with leading travel tech companies for a competition. These programmers coded for 48 hours non-stop looking for solutions to four challenges faced by the modern traveller: 1.&nbsp;Finding inspiration to choose where to go and how to share experiences; 2.&nbsp;Seeking accommodation; 3.&nbsp;Planning routes; and 4.&nbsp;Exploring the destination.

The event’s sponsoring companies, including Hotelbeds Group, opened their proprietary APIs a week in advance of the event and provided onsite access to the individual developers and teams of up to five members. This enabled participants to use the APIs, as well as other publicly available resources, in programming solutions to one or more of the challenges put forward.&nbsp;

A team of Hotelbeds Group employees also attended the event after being selected in an internal hackathon developed within the company. The projects carried out on this occasion included a collaboration system for group decision-making and booking and an integrated platform of natural language recognition for travel reservations.

Hotelbeds Group’s participation in this initiative shows the company’s clear commitment towards innovation and playing a key role in reshaping the future of travel through supporting the creation of new developments. Technology and innovation form part of its DNA, which has always been a key driver of the business’ success and it ability to maintain a leading position in the global travel industry.

In the words of Álvaro de Nicolás, CTO, Hotelbeds Group: “At Hotelbeds Group we innovate constantly in our IT processes to develop high-end tech solutions for our clients, enabling us to remain at the forefront of the industry. These events are a great opportunity to explore new ways of using, enriching and improving the company’s products and services. This hackathon has enabled us to receive valuable feedback about our API’s functionalities, which will surely result in further improvements. On top of that, they are a real teambuilding opportunities, where our team get to meet and work together with other developers at an international level which is also a great way of finding new talent.”

After two days, which included working through the night at NDRC, the different projects achieved recognition in several categories from the public and sponsoring companies. In the case of Hotelbeds Group, the company awarded first prize to the project DreamUp, thanks to its integration concept with the company’s new API, as well as innovation and positive user experience in the search process. Walking Distance was awarded runner-up for its use of the API’s search capabilities and usability concept. Finally, Snap rounded off Hotelbeds Group’s top three with the integrated use of mobile technology and simplicity of the solution.

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About Hotelbeds Group:&nbsp;
Hotelbeds Group is part of TUI Group, the world’s number one leisure travel company. With more than 30 million customers, TUI Group operates in over 180 countries.&nbsp;

The Hotelbeds Group is a global provider of travel services from over 180 countries worldwide with local operations in 40 countries. Its businesses provide hotel accommodation, transfers, excursions and tours, meetings and events, visa outsourcing and cruise handling services. Its main clients are tour operators, travel agencies and corporate clients. Its brands include Hotelbeds, Destination Services and Intercruises.
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Hotelbeds Group provides these services to the tourism industry, corporate clients and directly to the consumers worldwide.

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Hotelbeds Group fuels innovation at the THack @ Dublin travel hackathon

Dubai, 06 May 2015 – Hotelbeds, the No.1 Global Bedbank, announced today at the Arabian Travel Market that it has taken the exciting step of making long term commitments at selected properties in gateway cities across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

This innovative way of growing Hotelbeds’ hotel portfolio decreases the financial risk for our hotel partners, breaking from the traditional net or commissionable rate contracting models, and presents an alternative distribution model to hoteliers. It also provides our customers with real time and translated hotel contents with very attractive margins. On a year-to-date basis, Hotelbeds has signed three times as many preferential and protected deals in comparison with the same period in 2014, reaching over 150 new agreements in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.

In words of Carlos Muñoz, Managing Director of Hotelbeds: “META is one of our fastest growing regions around the world and these agreements are just another proof of our commitment to it. With this new formula for the region we aim to provide our clients with flexible high margin and an exclusive hotel portfolio, while offering a truly long term, consistent and guaranteed revenue stream to property owners, as well as the opportunity to form preferred partnerships with a leading distribution channel like Hotelbeds.”

After a very successful 2014, the Middle East and Turkey maintain the upward trend as popular destinations. Turkey stands out as the most visited country in the area, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Istanbul, Dubai, the Turkish Coast, Doha and Abu Dhabi are the preferred destinations for travellers.


About Hotelbeds

Hotelbeds (www.hotelbeds.com) is the No.1 Global Bedbank with an online database of over 72,000 hotels in 180 countries. For the year ended 30 September 2014 Hotelbeds sold 22.5 million roomnights and outperformed the market with 19% growth in TTV (Total Transaction Values) to €2.3billion.

Hotelbeds was founded in 2001 and belongs to the global provider of travel services Hotelbeds Group, which trades in more than 180 countries. Hotelbeds Group is part of TUI Group, the world’s number one leisure travel company.&nbsp;

Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hotelbeds


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Long term partnerships sealed with key properties in the Middle East, Turkey & Africa


	The business registered sales growth of 20% adding €700m* to their TTV and an EBITA growth of 15%* during last fiscal year.
	Hotelbeds, the world leading bedbank, experienced 18% growth in roomnights driving a 26% YoY growth in TTV.
	The Transfer &amp; Activity Bank and New Venture Business units delivered strong performances, growing sales by 44% and 64% respectively.&nbsp;
	Clear focus on the fastest growing segments of the travel industry.&nbsp;


Palma de Mallorca, 10th December 2015 – Hotelbeds Group, part of TUI Group, has closed another successful fiscal year growing TTV by €700m or 20% in 2015 (year ending 30 September), reaching €4,279 million* (Total Transaction Value). EBITA increased by 15%. With these impressive results Hotelbeds Group continues to significantly outperform the average industry growth rates in all the respective segments in which it competes.&nbsp;

The business was rebranded from TUI Travel A&amp;D to Hotelbeds Group in January 2015 following the creation of TUI Group**. As part of TUI’s strategic plan to vertically integrate all aspects of its tour operating business, a significant element of Hotelbeds’ traditional incoming services are being transferred over to TUI’s Tourism sector. The results reported for FY14/15 still reflect the combined results prior to the transfer of this business. &nbsp;

Hotelbeds Group, as a result of this singular focus on the fastest growing segments of the travel industry, is better positioned than ever to continue delivering its enviable track record of double digit year-on-year growth, a feat it has achieved ever since its inception in 2001.&nbsp;

Hotelbeds Group growth highlights include:&nbsp;

18% increase in its Bedbank roomnights driving 26% growth in TTV.

44% increase in TTV sales from the Transfer and Activity bank business unit.&nbsp;

9% growth in inbound passengers handled by the Destination Management business unit*.&nbsp;

64% growth in TTV from across our New Venture businesses, that includes TT Services (global visa outsourcing services for government agencies), ROIBACK (direct marketing solutions for hoteliers) and Carnect (car rental distribution for the travel trade).&nbsp;

Active in more than 120 source markets worldwide and distributing products from more than 180 countries, Hotelbeds Group maintains leading positions in some of the fast growing segments of the travel trade.

In the words of Joan Vilà, President, Hotelbeds Group,&nbsp;“It’s been another great year for Hotelbeds Group. Against a backdrop of intensifying competition, we have once again achieved excellent results in all our segments. Our robust business models have enabled us to continue to significantly outstrip average market growth rates worldwide.

Our core Bedbank business continues to be the clear market leader while our focus on diversifying into new market segments is paying dividends as evidenced by the impressive growth rates in our Transfer &amp; Activity Bank and New Venture business units”.&nbsp;

About Hotelbeds Group: &nbsp;

Hotelbeds Group is a global provider of travel services active in more than 120 markets worldwide and distributing products from more than 180 countries. Its businesses provide hotel accommodation, transfers, excursions, tours, incoming services, meeting and incentives, visa outsourcing and cruise handling services to the global travel trade.&nbsp;

Headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Hotelbeds Group comprises of four key business units: Bedbank, Transfer &amp; Activity Bank, Destination Management and New Ventures, featuring leading brands such as&nbsp; Hotelbeds, Bedsonline, Destination Services and Intercruises.&nbsp;

For year ending September 2015, Hotelbeds Group generated TTV of €4,279m*, a growth of 20% YoY.&nbsp;

Hotelbeds Group is part of TUI Group (www.tuigroup.com) the world’s leading leisure travel Company with more than 30 million customers.&nbsp;

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* FY14/15 results include incoming destination services business that for FY15/16 will be transferred from Hotelbeds Group to TUI’s Tourism division. Figures compare underlying results FY13/14 vs FY14/15 excluding the Laterooms Group that was disposed of in October 2015. 

** TUI Group was created after the merger of TUI Travel plc and TUI AG in December 2014.&nbsp;

* FY14/15 results include incoming destination services business that for FY15/16 will be transferred from Hotelbeds Group to TUI’s Tourism division.


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Hotelbeds Group maintains strong growth in 2015, increasing TTV by €700m to €4,279m*

TaxiTime, by  Transfer and&nbsp;Activity Bank (TAB), is the world’s first global taxi and private car instant hailing platform.

TaxiTime is the first metabook of instant hailing services allowing users to compare, book and pay for a ride in real time. Unlike most taxi apps currently available, the new app work on an international basis, to better serve TAB’s customers base of international travelers via OTA’s and other travel companies. This puts TaxiTime one step ahead of the competition, presenting limitless growth opportunities for the business.

The new innovative platform is already integrated with seven suppliers, offering a combined fleet of 65,000 drivers across more than 50 destinations that will become progressively available through TaxiTime distribution channels. The brand’s next step is to further expand their offering within the next two to three years, aiming to achieve global coverage and reach over 1 million drivers.

TaxiTime cut off with complexity by offering filters, payments with your own currency and options for choosing your own language or comparing prices.&nbsp;

The app is now ready to download for both Apple and Android.

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TaxiTime, the first global taxi and private car instant hailing platform


	European private equity firm Cinven and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) today announce an agreement to acquire Hotelbeds Group.
	Hotelbeds’ highly experienced management team, led by Joan Vilà, CEO, to remain at the helm of the business.
	Cinven and CPPIB to partner with the management team to strongly position the business for fast growth together with its industry partners.


London, UK and Toronto, CANADA (April 28, 2016) -- European private equity firm Cinven and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (‘CPPIB’) today announce an agreement to acquire Hotelbeds Group (‘Hotelbeds’ or the ‘Company’), the global provider of travel services based in Spain, from Tui Group for a total enterprise value of €1.165 billion.

Hotelbeds is the largest independent business-to-business (‘B2B’) bedbank globally, offering hotel rooms to the travel industry from its inventory of 75,000 hotels in over 180 countries to its customer base across more than 120 source markets. In addition to hotel accommodation, the Company provides transfers, excursions and tours, meetings and events, visa processing outsourcing and cruise handling services. Hotelbeds’ main clients are tour operators, travel agencies, corporate clients and consumers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Bedbank business, which generates the majority of the Company’s profitability, has demonstrated double digit volume growth in both its hotel portfolio and room nights over the past five years. Headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, the Group was established in 2001 and employs 6,150 people worldwide.

Cinven and CPPIB believe Hotelbeds is an attractive investment opportunity on the basis of:


	Strong financial performance with double digit total transaction value (“TTV”) growth in the Bedbank business over the last five years;
	Strong underlying market growth supported by an expected increase in global hotel bookings;
	Hotelbeds’ highly experienced, proven management team, led by Joan Vilà, CEO, with an outstanding track record of driving organic growth in both its hotel supply and customer base;
	Market consolidation opportunities in Europe, Middle East, Asia and the Americas given market fragmentation and potential for further margin improvement through economies of scale;
	Opportunity to improve bedbank distribution via travel agents and tour operators - particularly in emerging economies - via investment in its sales and contracting team, as well as investment in R&amp;D and IT systems to improve customer efficiencies and services.


Cinven has a strong track record in the travel technology business, following its successful&nbsp;investment in Amadeus, the leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel industry, which invested more than €1 billion in R&amp;D and doubled EBITDA during Cinven’s ownership, generating a return of 7 times.

Commenting on this transaction, Jorge Quemada, Partner at Cinven, said:

“Hotelbeds Group is a strongly performing business with the largest accommodation distribution network within the overall B2B bedbank market offering broad client reach globally. We believe there are considerable growth opportunities through further investment in IT – as we did successfully with another global business based in Spain, Amadeus; growth in Asia and other markets – supported by our Hong Kong-based portfolio team; and market consolidation as the wholesale accommodation market remains highly fragmented.”

“Hotelbeds is run by a highly experienced and skilled management team, led by CEO, Joan Vilà, whom we are looking forward to working with, along with our partner, CPPIB.”

Shane Feeney, Managing Director, Head of Direct Private Equity, CPPIB, said:

“Hotelbeds is a unique opportunity to invest in the leading operator within the hotel accommodation distribution market, an industry which has strong long-term prospects that will support continued growth. Backing a best-in-class management team, with an exceptional track record of organic growth that we will support in driving industry consolidation in the coming years, provides a terrific opportunity for CPPIB.”

“We look forward to working with our long-standing partner Cinven, and Hotelbeds’ strong management team to continue to grow and build further value for the business.”

Chris Good, Senior Principal at Cinven, added:

“Hotelbeds has demonstrated exceptional growth and built an outstanding market position as a result of its market-leading proprietary technology and strong customer and supplier relationships. Its focus on diversifying into new market segments is proving highly successful and generating impressive growth rates in all of its new ventures.”

“This investment perfectly illustrates how the Cinven team has been able to combine its sector and regional team capabilities working across our Business Services and TMT teams, along with our German and Iberian colleagues, to identify and execute this transaction.”

Joan Vilà, CEO of Hotelbeds Group, commented:

“We are excited about Cinven and CPPIB’s investment in Hotelbeds which will enable us to continue improving the quality and range of services we provide to customers as a financially solid, independent and scalable bedbank operator.”

“The Bedbank segment continues to grow fast and with the backing of Cinven and CPPIB we will be well placed to invest more strongly than ever in technology, innovation and distribution. We look forward with anticipation to supporting the growth of our trade partners in this next stage of our development.”

The transaction is subject to customary approval from the relevant regulatory authorities.

Advisors on the transaction included: Bain &amp; Co. (commercial); Freshfields (legal); Lazard, Morgan Stanley, HSBC and PwC (M&amp;A); Deloitte (tax); PwC (financial, labour and IT)

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Cinven and CPPIB reach agreement  to acquire Hotelbeds Group


	Paul Anthony, MD of the Transfer &amp; Activity Bank business unit announced the winning team
	The challenge consisted in applying Big Data technologies to real travel industry data.
	The winners earned the opportunity to work at the company HQ in Palma (Majorca).



Palma de Mallorca, June 21, 2016. Yesterday the winning team of the Datathon organised by IE Business School was announced, in which Hotelbeds Group provided sample data and expertise. 60 students from the Master in Big Data &amp; Analytics participated.&nbsp;

An expert jury of the TAB (Transfer &amp; Activity Bank) business unit representatives had the honour of evaluating the projects and choosing the winning team.

Hotelbeds Group launched the challenge to the Masters students in April. It consisted of applying Big Data technologies and advanced analytics to a sample of TAB business data to segment clients in a way to better serve them.

The winning team stood out for its capacity to take critical decisions, providing clear documentation and using a logical selection of data and variables. Along with two other teams, they’ve earned the opportunity to work on an analytics project in which they will make the most of the huge amount of data available in order to improve the way the company works with suppliers and clients.

TAB’s Managing Director, Paul Anthony, Miguel Iza (Head of Data &amp; Analytics for Hotelbeds Group) and Paul Randles (Head of TAB Commercial Strategy) were on hand to congratulate the winners and all the rest of the participants for all their effort.

The Master’s Director, Juan José Casado, highlighted that it had been a real challenge for students. In 2 months they managed to develop original business ideas, putting into practice the knowledge acquired during the programme, despite its demanding nature.

Álvaro de Nicolás, Hotelbeds Group CTO affirmed “Big Data is business as usual for us. Hotelbeds is the world’s largest bedbank. Every second we receive more than six thousand requests. All this information is very valuable, both for us and for our clients and suppliers, given that we can see the evolution of worldwide tourism markets months in advance – both in terms of destinations and prices.”

Paul Anthony, TAB’s MD emphasized the importance the Group gives to talent: “In TAB we’re constantly innovating and iterating and we strive to attract the brightest and best people to help us consolidate our business.”

Hotelbeds Group commits to technology

Hotelbeds Group’s support to a wide range of technological initiatives, together with its collaboration with the&nbsp;IE University in its Business Analytics &amp; Big Data Master, responds to the company’s firm quest to reshape the global travel industry.

One of this initiatives is the Hotelbeds Group Tourist Innovation Professorship, a collaboration agreement signed with the University of Balearic Islands (UIB), focused on developing an innovative culture in the touristic distribution and contracting processes.

As a result of this collaboration and together with Tnooz (the American online technology magazine) Hotelbeds organized THack Mallorca last May. Over 60 developers had access to the company’s API and developed new applications to provide solutions and a new approach to the tourism industry.&nbsp;

Likewise in June the company participated in the AWS (Amazon Web Service) Summit in Madrid, where Hotelbeds Group presented its Big Data Platform.



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Hotelbeds Group brings travel Big Data to IE University’s Datathon


	OPEN CAMP is the first park in the world dedicated to the universe of sport.
	Hotelbeds Group’s Transfer and Activity Bank (TAB) business unit will be the official ticket distributor.&nbsp;


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Palma de Mallorca, &nbsp;27&nbsp;June 2016. In collaboration with Hotelbeds Group, a new milestone was reached in Barcelona. OPEN CAMP, the world’s first sport-theme park, has opened its doors in Barcelona’s emblematic Olympic Games facility. Visitors who come to this new concept of theme park will experience the thrill of running where their sporting heroes have run before and competing to be the best in Barcelona.

More than 30 attractions, including sports activities, museums and shows, are available from June to September for all sports fanatics who want&nbsp;to enjoy then adrenaline&nbsp;rush of being a world-class basketball player or the world’s fastest man or women.

As with any other big sporting event, participants will also have the opportunity to be part of a closing ceremony in the magnificent Olympic Stadium.

Hotelbeds Group’s Transfer and Activity Bank (TAB) business unit is the exclusive B2B ticket distributor.&nbsp; This deal forms part of its quest to lead the activities and transfer segment of the tourism industry. OPEN CAMP, with its innovative online options to explore and experience the park before, during and after your visit, is an example of TAB’s focus on being at the forefront of tourism technology and innovation.

The roadmap is to export the concept to other Olympic cities and to make TAB a worldwide ticket wholesaler!

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Hotelbeds Group partners with OPEN CAMP to be its B2B exclusive distributor


	Ambitious plan to triple sales of transfers, tours and activities over the coming years
	Further expansion of product portfolio and commitment to best-in-class technology to drive sales and attract further intermediaries to the platform
	Current partners include Disney Parks, Legoland, and Open Camp, the first park in the world dedicated to the universe of sport


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London, November 9, 2016 – Hotelbeds Group, the business-to-business provider of services to the travel industry globally, has unveiled a plan to triple the sales of its Transfer and Activity Bank (TAB) during the coming years. &nbsp;

One of the key growth drivers in achieving this ambitious target will be the expansion of the existing product portfolio to include additional tours, transfers and activities. Additionally the company will continue to focus on providing its partners with best-in-class technology solutions to make the upselling of ancillaries even simpler and quicker. Together these two drivers will have the benefit of attracting further intermediaries to the platform, allowing for further additional growth in sales.

Hotelbeds Group’s Transfer and Activity Bank (TAB) is the world’s leading online distributor of transfers, tours and activities. It provides both the industry and the end consumer with a consolidated range of in-destination products worldwide. The company currently offers over 19,000 transfer routes and over 12,000 activity options in more than 650 destinations. These activities include theatre, sport and theme park tickets, excursions and car rental products. Amongst its many partners are included Disney Parks, Legoland, and Open Camp, the first park in the world dedicated to the universe of sport.

Speaking at World Travel Market 2016, the leading global event for the travel industry taking place in London between 7-9 November, Javier Arévalo, TAB’s Managing Director, commented: “Several years ago we identified the opportunity for intermediaries to increase revenues via the online upselling of ancillary services such as tours, transfers and activities. We have pioneered the online distribution market ever since and customer feedback has been superb. Now we plan to take this to another level by expanding the product range further and developing our technology to provide our customers with the best possible solutions – creating a virtuous circle that will in turn attract more intermediaries to the platform and increase sales further still.” &nbsp;

Utilising advanced technology platforms including XML API, white label and online widget solutions, TAB’s products are distributed to more than 35,000 travel intermediaries globally in 120 source markets via the Hotelbeds Group distribution platform, as well as through the Group’s own brands, including Hotelextras, Isango, Guidego and Let’s Shuttle.

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About Hotelbeds Group 

Hotelbeds Group is a business-to-business provider of services to the travel industry globally.

The Group’s proprietary technology helps providers of travel services distribute their offering to travel sellers globally via an easy-to-use, advanced technology platform that increases reach, revenue and yield for both the provider and the seller.

Operating mainly under the Hotelbeds and Bedsonline brands, the company connects 35,000 travel intermediaries across more than 120 source markets globally with travel providers in over 180 countries representing more than 100,000 hotels, 19,000 transfer routes and 12,000 activities.

Additionally the Group also operates a Destination Services division offering in-bound destination services, such as tours or transfers, in around 40 countries. The Group also owns several other B2B travel brands such as Pacific World (focusing on the MICE area), Intercruises (shore side cruise solutions), TT Services (visa outsourcing) and more.

In September 2016 the company became independent under the ownership of Cinven and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

The company is headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and has 6,150 employees working across over 150 offices globally.

In the financial calendar year of 2014 / 15 Hotelbeds Group sold around 26 million room nights and achieved a Total Transaction Value (TTV) of €3.8 billion.

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Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hotelbeds-group

And twitter: @HotelbedsGroup

Follow APItude on twitter: @Hotelbeds_API

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Hotelbeds Group announces growth plan for Transfer & Activity Bank (TAB) 

Palma de Mallorca, SPAIN&nbsp;(September 12, 2016)&nbsp;--&nbsp;The acquisition of&nbsp;Hotelbeds&nbsp;Group,&nbsp;the global provider of travel services based in Spain, by&nbsp;Cinven&nbsp;and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (‘CPPIB’)&nbsp;has been completed today.

Under the continued leadership&nbsp;of Joan&nbsp;Vilà&nbsp;and his management team and with the backing of strong investors,&nbsp;Hotelbeds&nbsp;is well positioned to consolidate its leading position in some of the fast growing segments of the travel trade.

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Joan&nbsp;Vilà,&nbsp;Executive Chairman&nbsp;of&nbsp;Hotelbeds&nbsp;Group, commented:

“Becoming an&nbsp;independent company&nbsp;with the backing of&nbsp;Cinven&nbsp;and CPPIB now&nbsp;allows us to invest&nbsp;and focus strongly on&nbsp;our&nbsp;three core capabilities:&nbsp;technology, innovation and distribution&nbsp;– further&nbsp;enhancing our&nbsp;portfolio&nbsp;of&nbsp;revenue-generating&nbsp;services&nbsp;for&nbsp;customers, in particular in the fast-growing&nbsp;bedbank&nbsp;sector&nbsp;where we see strong growth and consolidation opportunities.”

&nbsp;

About Hotelbeds Group

Hotelbeds Group is a global provider of travel services active in more than 120 markets worldwide distributing products from more than 180 countries. Its businesses provide hotel accommodation, transfers, excursions, tours, incoming services, meeting and incentives, visa outsourcing and cruise handling services to the global travel trade.&nbsp;

Headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Hotelbeds Group comprises of four key business units: Bedbank, Transfer &amp; Activity Bank, Destination Management and New Ventures, featuring leading brands such as&nbsp;Hotelbeds, Bedsonline, Destination Services and Intercruises.&nbsp;

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hotelbeds-group

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Cinven and CPPIB complete acquisition of Hotelbeds Group

London 22&nbsp;September 2016.&nbsp;In a move to revolutionise the purchase funnel for the in-destination tourism industry, Hotelbeds Group has joined forces with pioneering tech start up What Now Travel, which powers The London Official City Guide App and is set to launch their own dedicated app, to introduce a whole new stream of revenue for the travel industry by providing a new purchasing tool for consumers travelling to a tourism destination.

The innovative partnership will see Hotelbeds Group and What Now Travel leverage consumer micro-moments and convert these into sales through a wide variety of touchpoints over the travel lifecycle.

Paul Anthony, managing director of the Transfer and Activity Bank (TAB) division of Hotelbeds Group said:

“Benefiting from the large product portfolio of Hotelbeds, the What Now?! app also aims to enhance ‘in-hotel’ distribution, adding value to the traveller experience by helping tourists to discover London and buy same day tickets at the last minute. The formation of this new partnership between Hotelbeds Group and What Now Travel will offer the tourism industry a new avenue to generate income whilst enhancing consumer travel experiences through smartphone technology.”

&nbsp;Along with electronic ticket redemption, which will allow users to make same day bookings and eliminate the need for paper tickets, the partnership will enable users to purchase seven-day flexi attraction tickets through API connections to Hotelbeds Group portfolio of more than 11,000 activities, which will be embedded into the What Now?! app.

It is through these API connections that hotels, airlines, tour attraction providers, travel agents, and other tourism industry partners will now be able to generate revenue through commissions earnt by purchases through the What Now?! app, whilst simultaneously adding value to the customer travel experience.

Tony Sandler, CEO and founder of What Now Travel said:

“Customer travel experience does not end at booking a flight, hotel room or holiday. We have set out to develop a platform that will allow continuous revenue opportunities for all travel brands which goes beyond the initial point of sale. We are excited to start this new venture with Hotelbeds Group to push the boundaries of how the travel industry can interact with consumers.”

The What Now?! app will allow users to get inspired and plan roughly what to do that day and book tickets through complimentary hotel Wi-Fi and download relevant information from trusted sources all in one place. Once out exploring a city, the What Now?! app will use a combination of GPS and low usage memory to simulate a live smart phone experience - while data roaming is switched off - enabling consumers to change plans and find restaurants, bars, galleries and other local attractions based on their current mood, the weather, time of day etc.

With the announcement of this new partnership, the travel industry has the opportunity to make the moment matter, enhancing customer travel experiences through the latest technological developments.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

About Hotelbeds Group

Hotelbeds Group is a global provider of travel services active in more than 120 markets worldwide distributing products from more than 185 countries. Its businesses provide hotel accommodation, transfers, excursions, tours, incoming services, meeting and incentives, visa outsourcing and cruise handling services to the global travel trade.&nbsp;

Headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Hotelbeds Group comprises of four key business units: Bedbank, Transfer and Activity Bank, Destination Management and New Ventures, featuring leading brands such as&nbsp;Hotelbeds, Bedsonline, Destination Services and Intercruises.&nbsp;

Transfer and Activity Bank (TAB) is the world's online distributor of transfers, tours and activities to the travel trade which comprises specialized business unit brands such as&nbsp;Transfer and Activity Bank (TAB), Hotelextras and Isango. It offers over 16,000 transfer routes - in 135 countries and 685 destinations- and 11,000 activity options – in 125 countries and more than 650 destinations. Through its network of partner brands, TAB distributes a wide range of products worldwide to 12,000 tour operators and travel agencies; 11,000,000 final consumers and over 1,500 direct points of sale.

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Hotelbeds Group and What Now Travel announce revolutionary partnership to “Make the Moment Matter”


	India emerges as second largest market for Hotelbeds in the Asia Pacific region, behind China.
	Investment in best-in-class technology and strong customer relationships have been key to this success.
	Tier two- and tier three-sized cities identified as growth opportunities.
	At exclusive 2 day event held in Mumbai and Delhi the Global Sales Director and the Sales Director for Asia Pacific outline growth potential for the market and extend gratitude to clients.


Mumbai, 14th October, 2016. Hotelbeds, the world’s leading bedbank, marked the completion of a successful decade in India by outlining an ambitious growth strategy for the coming decade in this high growth market – which has now emerged as the second largest outbound market in Asia Pacific for the company, behind only China.

Highlighting its successful story of innovation and expansion in the market, the key growth drivers were identified as investment in best-in-class technology, cutting edge use of data and analytics, and emphasis on building strong customer relationships.

Reiterating its commitment to the Indian market, Hotelbeds has launched a series of customer facing events across India under the banner “10 years together”, starting with an event held in Mumbai and another second in Delhi&nbsp;to thank clients and celebrate this important anniversary.

Commenting on ten years of success in India,&nbsp;Sam Turner, Sales Director at Hotelbeds commented&nbsp;“Already India is second only to China in the Asia Pacific region for Hotelbeds. Most recently we have moved beyond just operating in the biggest cities and are now working in tier two – and looking to tier three – sized cities where enormous growth potential still exists.

¨In addition we see even greater potential from a growing segment of&nbsp; ambitious and young Indians looking both to travel more and spend more, not just on accommodation but on activities and unique experiences.

“That´s why we have such ambitious growth plans for the next decade and will continue with our current successful formula: investing in best-in-class technology to provide our client partners with the data analytical tools they need to drive increased revenues.”


Andy Tan, Sales Director in Asia Pacific at Hotelbeds also commented&nbsp;“It gives me great pleasure to say that our huge success in India has contributed significantly to the leading position of Hotelbeds across Asia Pacific. A key factor in this success has been the strong relationships with client partners that are defined by co-creation and collaboration.¨

Nikhil Jain, Sales Director South Asia at Hotelbeds added&nbsp;¨As we celebrate ten years in the market, I would like to thank all our client partners for their loyalty and&nbsp;support. Looking ahead to the next ten years our joint mission – client partner and distributor – is to make the Indian traveller one of the most recognised, in demand and well-catered for travel segment globally.¨


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About Hotelbeds

Hotelbeds (www.hotelbeds.com) is the world leading bedbank with an online database of over 100,000 hotels in 185 countries. For the year ended 30 September 2015 Hotelbeds sold almost 26 million room nights and outperformed the market with 26% growth in TTV (Total Transaction Values) to €2.7 billion.

Hotelbeds was founded in 2001 and belongs to Hotelbeds Group, the global provider of travel services, which distributes products from more than 185 countries worldwide to over 120 source markets&nbsp;

Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hotelbeds

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Hotelbeds team at a celebration party to mark 10 years of operations in India - 12.10.16.JPG

Hotelbeds celebrates 10 years in India  with ambitious growth strategy

Singapore, 18th October, 2016. Hotelbeds, the world’s leading bedbank, has taken the Best Online Travel Wholesaler award at Travel Weekly Asia’s 2016 Readers Choice Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in the travel industry.

The awards serve to acknowledge and honor the “best of the best” professionals who have provided exceptional service and products in the past year in the travel industry. Votes are made by Travel Weekly Asia’s readers, a group comprising of professionals from different specialties of expertise within the industry.

Carlos Muñoz, Managing Director at Hotelbeds, said:&nbsp;“We are thrilled to have been voted by the readers of Travel Weekly Asia as the ´Best Online Travel Wholesaler´ in such a competitive field. I would personally like to thank each and every one of the Hotelbeds Asia Pacific team for their hard work, commitment and innovation to achieve such great recognition from our industry peers. Additionally I would like to thank our customers for their loyalty and partnership. Asia Pacific has become one of our fastest growing markets and we remain committed to investing to attract the best possible talent and further evolving our cost-competitive, revenue-generating technological offering for customers.”&nbsp;

Travel Weekly Asia magazine is a well-respected publication that industry professionals turn to for the latest market intelligence in the dynamic world of travel.

&nbsp;

About Hotelbeds

Hotelbeds is the world leading bedbank with an online database of over 100,000 hotels in 185 countries. For the year ending 30 September 2015 Hotelbeds sold 25.5 million room nights and outperformed the market with 26% growth in TTV (Total Transaction Values) to €2.78 billion.

Hotelbeds was founded in 2001 and belongs to the global provider of travel services Hotelbeds Group, which distributes products from more than 185 countries worldwide to over 120 source markets.


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Hotelbeds wins “Best Online Travel Wholesaler” at Travel Weekly Asia’s 2016 Readers Choice Awards

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