The Advantage Travel Partnership has announced a new partnership with travel technology firm Vibe. The Vibe tech solution will be implemented for a new online booking tool platform for TMCs operating under the Advantage Managed Services (AMS) model. It will allow members access to Vibe's custom-built booking platform, designed specifically for agents with tools usually accessible only to the largest organisations. This enables TMCs, who may not have the resources to implement a system of this scale alone, to offer customers the OBT service that Vibe enables. Stephen Baxendale, Advantage’s Technology Partnerships Manager said: “This partnership with Vibe means offering a technology proposition that stands out in a highly competitive space.” This is a further step in our One-Stop Business Hub capabilities for our members helping them to respond to the growing market needs.” Danny Girling, Vibe's Business Development & Head of Partnerships said: "Members servicing business travel accounts, who operate under The Advantage Travel Partnership’s managed services model, can now tap into our platform.” “By leveraging their collective strength, Advantage is offering their members access to the same tools and services as the biggest players in the industry." Advantage’s managed service model, which celebrated its 15-year anniversary this year, is a plug and play model originally set up to alleviate the time and resources needed to run the operational side of a travel business. Users of the AMS model has grown significantly since 2009 and today encompasses 87 branches. They collectively generate an annual turnover in excess of £160m.

Booking tech provider Vibe has integrated a full range of UK rail booking inventory and fares. It partnered with Trainline Partner Solutions, the B2B arm of Trainline. Under the agreement Vibe is able to offer its customers some of Trainline's most popular technical features. These are 'split save functionality', post sales (user exchange) and the ability to use Vibe for both online and offline servicing. Vibe partners set to use the rail booking service include UK-based TMC Agiito and TMC COCO. More will be announced soon. Simon Goddard, Chief Operations Officer said: "In many markets ail is the quickest and easiest way to get around and often favoured by business travellers.” ‘We're really excited to be able to make that process more efficient and compliant by partnering with Trainline." Trainline Partner Solutions enables travellers to search, book and manage their trips easily. It aggregates millions of routes, fares and travel times from 270 rail and bus carriers in 45 countries.    

 

• Following the launch of Flightcatchers.com in 2019, the Vibe powered website has renewed its commitment for the long term.
• Vibe provides a full booking engine solution, handling significant daily search volumes to VFR and other markets.
• UK based Flightcatchers.com owner Polani Travel grew PAX almost threefold between 2019 and 2021.

  Vibe – the leading international provider of booking technology solutions to the travel industry – has confirmed the renewal of a contract to continue powering Flightcatchers.com.   The long term extension sees Vibe powering the search and booking engine, handling significant daily search volumes.   Flightcatchers.com was launched in 2019 with the support of Vibe and previously focused on the sale of flights to a mostly – but not exclusively – British-Asian community of travellers.   However, since then they have branched out and expanded their customer base. Turkey has proven to be one of the top destinations for Flightcatchers.com, becoming one of the number one seller for Turkish Airlines in the UK to Turkey corridor.   The website is part of Polani Travel, the 57-year-old family-run travel agency based in the UK that has grown its PAX almost threefold between 2019 and 2021, rising from 92k to 257k.   This great success has been achieved by a combination of Vibe’s leading technology and the leveraging of Polani Travel’s own in-house online marketing and data analytics team.   Simon Goddard, Chief Information Officer at Vibe comments: “We were really excited to win this contract three years ago but are even more excited to extend again given the amazing success of Flightcatchers.com, including the remarkable feat of growing even through COVID.”   Suleman Ishaq, Marketing Analytics Director at Flightcatchers.com adds: “Three years ago when we decided to go online and create Flightcatchers.com, the natural partner to power our technology was Vibe. Given the significant part they have played in our great success, naturally we wanted to extend our relationship and we look forward to building on our mutual success for many years to come.”

 

• Luxury online travel agency Travel Seen, Find A Golf Break and professional sports TMC Forward Travel (formerly Fairway Travel) now running on Vibe tech.
• Vibe providing all three ‘sister’ brands with search and booking technology for products including flight, hotel, car and other ancillaries.
• Additionally, Vibe has implemented and is hosting new websites for Travel Seen, Find A Golf Break and Forward Travel.

  Vibe – the leading international provider of booking technology solutions to the travel industry – has confirmed a long-term partnership powering the technology of three 'sister' brands: luxury online travel agency Travel Seen; the online travel agency for golfers Find A Golf Break; and the travel management partner for professional sports Forward Travel (formerly Fairway Travel).   As part of the partnership Vibe is providing Travel Seen, Find A Golf Break and Forward Travel with search and booking technology – including expertly curated hotel content hosted within Vibe’s accommodation allocation system and combined with other products such as flights, bedbanks, car rentals and other ancillary feeds.   In addition, Vibe’s in-house Design and Implementation team have built new websites for Travel Seen, Find A Golf Break and Forward Travel. All three websites allow each brand to showcase its product offerings, which are uniquely tailored for each audience.   Simon Goddard, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Vibe comments: “By bringing all three sister brands onto the same platform and technology we have been able to save them time, money and hassle – whilst also allowing them to provide their travellers with additional options and functionality that will allow them to continue to expand without any technical limitations.”   Bill Tannahill, CEO of Travel Seen and Forward Travel adds: “We have been really impressed with the can-do attitude and innovation at Vibe that has created a step-change for meeting the growing needs of our customers in this post-pandemic environment. Thanks to their frictionless technology we are now able to focus 100% on what we do best: creating great experiences, products and customer service for all our travellers.”

 

• Simon Goddard takes on newly created role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) and joins the Board of Directors.
• Joined Vibe in 2019 as Director of Solutions and has over 30 years of both travel and technology experience.
• Will have operational oversight for customer facing teams and supporting infrastructure decision making.

  Vibe – the leading international provider of booking technology solutions to the travel industry – has today announced the promotion of Simon Goddard to Chief Information Officer (CIO) and appointment as a member of the Board of Directors.   In this this newly created cross-functional role Simon will have operational oversight for the customer facing teams at Vibe, ensuring the business remains focused on continued customer success.   This will include supporting infrastructure decision making, application and information security efforts – along with contributing to innovation, process improvements and revenue-generating ideas throughout the business.   Simon has been with the company since 2019 as Director of Solutions and has over 30 years of experience in both travel and technology, including as the Chief Executive Officer of Online Regional Travel Group and Technical Director at Just the Flight / Wayfarers World Travel Limited.   Since joining Vibe he has been heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the business ever since, contributing to successes such as Vibe’s international expansion that includes recent wins in Australia and other English-speaking markets.   Phil Cook, CEO of Vibe owner P&P Group comments: “Simon has more than demonstrated his broad leadership skill set and thirst for innovation over the last three years by contributing significantly to the survival of Vibe’s customers through a very challenging period – whilst also playing a key role of the evolution of our own business during this period.”   Simon Goddard, Chief Information Officer of Vibe comments: “The last three years at Vibe have been enormously rewarding and I´m excited to take on this new challenge within the company at what is probably the most interesting, but critical, moment ever in the history of travel.”

IHG Hotels & Resorts is debuting a new global loyalty program: IHG One Rewards IHG One Rewards offers richer benefits, more ways to earn, powered by leading technology on its new mobile app. The reimagined program connects IHG One Rewards members to IHG’s growing portfolio of 17 brands. The launch of IHG One Rewards follows the announcement in January 2022 of the program’s new tier and bonus point earning structure. A new tier and bonus point earning structure allows members to earn more points faster. It starts on April 13, 2022 and will be reflected in all member accounts on or before April 17, 2022. Further member benefits include free breakfast for Diamond Elite members as a welcome amenity choice, and exclusive access to Reward Night Discount Promotions for Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite members. There are more opportunities for Elite members to receive early check-in, late check-out and room upgrades for Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite members In the coming weeks, IHG Hotels & Resorts will also roll out the new IHG One Rewards mobile app, which will power IHG One Rewards. The app is a key element to IHG One Rewards and offers more personalized, offers streamlined booking IHG says. IHG One Rewards members will be prompted to update their app on their device either through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Claire Bennett, Global Chief Customer Officer, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “This is one of the largest investments in recent years. It’s also the biggest development we’ve made in the loyalty space since introducing the industry’s first loyalty program.

 

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• Partnership with CMAC Group allows Vibe to offer reliable taxi, executive car and large vehicle transfers to both TMC and leisure clients, on-demand or planned.
• CMAC’s platform allows users to search, book and report on their transport requirements.
• The service is available to Vibe’s clients via an API upon request.

  Vibe – the leading international provider of booking technology solutions to the travel industry – announces its partnership with ground transport experts CMAC Group, enabling its clients on demand or planned access to taxis, executive cars, minibuses and coaches.   Accessed through its online booking tool, Vibe’s clients – including TMCs and leisure intermediaries – can now provide timely transportation options, allowing the end user to search, book and report on all of their transfer needs, as necessary.   Supplemented by a unique 24-hour support hotline, this latest service enables Vibe’s clients to enhance the end-to-end travel experience, add value to their customer proposition and unlock new revenue opportunities.   Matthew Chapman, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Co-founder of Vibe comments: “At a time when many travellers are still concerned about using public transport and travel intermediaries are looking to find new products to cross-sell to increase revenues, selling ground transportation as part of travel packages is proving more popular than ever. But finding a reliable provider who can manage everything end-to-end, around the globe, is not easy. CMAC goes above and beyond many suppliers, offering a manned support line alongside access to transport solutions which made them the partner of choice for us.”   Peter Slater, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CMAC Group adds: “Combining the individual strengths of Vibe and CMAC will undoubtedly provide significant benefits to clients and their customers. Vibe’s strong platform and CMAC’s unrivalled supply chain makes this a one-stop shop for all ground transportation needs, improving efficiency and ensuring that users have access to a reliable managed transport experience whenever they need it.”

 

• Extension of long-term partnership with UK’s leading Travel and Event Management specialist, Agiito.
• With Vibe continuing to power Agiito’s primary traveller booking tool.
• Domestic and international flight, hotel, rail and taxi booking all integrated into a single search and booking flow.

  Today Vibe – the leading international provider of booking technology solutions to the travel industry – has announced the extension of its partnership with Agiito, one of the UK’s leading travel management companies (TMC).   The extension builds upon an existing long-term relationship whereby Vibe is the white-label provider of Agiito’s default booking tool for flights, hotels, rail and taxi both domestically and internationally.   As the preferred technology provider for all booking related functions to Agiito – formerly  known as Capita Travel and Events and NYS – Vibe has helped introduce the company’s new approval and policy functionalities and recently provided the ‘COVID Shield’ program, as well as contributing to a successful bid for the Crown Commercial Services contract.   Simon Goddard, Director of Solutions at Vibe comments: “It has been a huge honour to work with the UK’s best corporate travel, meeting and event specialist over many years now to provide their customers with cutting edge functionality in one easy-to-use integrated search and booking flow. “It was also very impressive to see how Agiito responded to the challenges of COVID by using the power of technology to ensure customers were kept informed about the cleanliness of the properties via the Covid Shield scheme – and hugely satisfying to have played a part in that.”   Carl Law, Chief Technology Officer at Agiito added: “We’ve been in business since 1972 and whilst the core of what we do – ultimately, connecting people – hasn’t changed, the technology needed to make that happen has evolved beyond belief and continues to do so. Having Vibe with us on that journey in recent years has been key to remaining the market leaders by having the best search and booking functionalities available, be that for flight, hotel, rail and other travel products.”

  Q: We’ve heard quite a bit about this lately, what is happening?  MC: Recently there have been a lot of growth in the number of online travel agencies that offer a subscription-based model of some sort, with three prominent launches in the last two months: Ultimate Travel Club in the UK in September; Russian metasearch Aviasales launching Aviasales More in October; and US magazine Travel + Leisure launching its Travel + Leisure Club.   Q: Are these the first entrants to the market? MC: No, the basic model has been around for some time now. Tripadvisor launched late last year its ‘Tripadvisor Plus’ and Edreams ODIGEO has had ‘Prime’ since 2017 now – the later or which has millions of subscribers. What’s different is that now smaller players are entering into the fray and with more niche offerings.   Q: Is the concept truly new? What’s different? MC: Whilst it might not have been called a ‘travel subscription’ we have really had this offering for a long time now. Think about membership clubs like Voyage Privé or other closed user groups such as the travel concierges provided by credit card and loyalty schemes – one way or another you were paying for this.   Q: What is the economic model here?  MC: This is where it is interesting as it seems that there are many different variants. Some are offering a ‘no margins, no commissions’ model where the traveller gets the trade price – and the seller is making their profits out of the subscriptions. Others however seem to be charging the fee in order for the traveller to access exclusive offers or discounted prices (but not necessarily trade prices). Others still are essentially charging the subscription for access to some kind of concierge service. In both of these last cases the seller is essentially getting paid twice: once for the subscription and twice for the commission or margin on the sale.   Q: What booking technology solutions do I need to power this? MC: From a booking technology perspective whatever you have now will work in the same way: all that is changing is how you make a profit from the sale, nothing more. Nonetheless, you might wish to change your search and results configurations to suit the needs of your new model or indeed customers – as any online travel seller might when changing their proposition. Whilst a traditional OTA focuses optimising their user experience for conversion, a subscription model website also needs to consider demonstrating value of the customer’s subscription and measuring membership retention, which might necessitate the agent building their own solution (or finding a 3rd party) to host this additional functionality.   Q: Do I need to renegotiate pricing or terms and conditions with suppliers? Am I allowed to do this?  MC: As long as you don’t breach any of the terms & conditions of your distribution agreement, then no you don’t have renegotiate anything or warn anyone. However, you might want to have a close look at those terms & conditions. Are you allowed to unbundle packages? Can you forgo your commission or reduce the margin down to zero? Equally, even if you are legally able to do so you might consider that with a new model you need new content under new terms & conditions, and begin to either renegotiate or look for other suppliers.   Q: Does the extra information you can gain about the traveller provide a greater opportunity for personalization? MC: The more information you can gain about the traveller before you provide them with results the better, evidently. And what better way to collect such information than making them fill in a form as part of their subscription? Not just gender and address and age, but also recent search and even travel history. Better still, that means you now have their email address and phone number, meaning that you can send them bespoke offers too (obviously with explicit member opt-in for compliance with GDPR).   Q: How do I go about signing up and collecting the payments from the user? MC:  Whilst on the surface that might sound complicated or risky, the reality is that there are many companies set-up to provide just that. Stripe is perhaps the most famous, but if you Google ‘subscription payments service providers’ you´ll find many. We’d happily recommend our favourites.   Q: Many of these subscriptions seem to have a loyalty or cash-back element to them. How does that work? MC: The loyalty or cash-back element works much the same as you might expect for a credit card, with points or cash-back being earned according to the purchase you make. Some of those are based on the type of product you buy, and others based on the value. In some cases we’re seeing a combination of those, with ‘accelerated points’ on offer for purchasing ancillary extras or upgraded rooms.   Q: What kind of users sign-up for such services? Are they different from the usual customers we might expect? MC: We are perhaps still in the early days for this, but logic would state that those signing up are more likely to be higher volume travellers as otherwise they wouldn’t see value in it. Nonetheless, to a significant extent it depends on what kind of model you are offering. If the traveller feels they are paying for access to something exclusive or heavily discounted, they might see value in signing up just to make one big purchase – for example a couple going on honeymoon or someone planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Our experience is that these subscriptions tend to lead to higher-value purchases for the seller.   Q: For the UK market, how does this work from an ATOL perspective?  MC: This is where it starts to get a bit more complicated. Purchases paid for via cash or debit card yes would be treated under the same UK ATOL regulations. But purchases paid for via points or other similar alternative forms of payment would not. We would recommend considering professional legal advice before venturing down that route.   Q: Is there an opportunity for TMCs here? MC: In my opinion this is perhaps where the biggest opportunity lays. Why? Because the customers that are going to get the best value out of this are regular travellers, and that’s perfect for business travellers. Plus, corporate buyers are keen to gain the best value for money, understandably as that’s their job, and if someone can create a TMC that gives transparency on pricing to pass on all the savings to the traveller that will be popular.   Q: Should businesses consider doing this just to diversify and attract new customers, even if it is not very profitable?  MC: Ultimately anything that helps you to attract new customers and earn their loyalty is something that you should always be seriously considering. It might well be of minority interest, but with billions of travellers in the world that could mean many millions out there might consider your service. As a means to gain their custom and then loyalty, then you might like to consider it like offering first time users a discount code or some kind of extra for free. It really could just be a marketing exercise, yes.   Q: Can Vibe help me on this journey? MC: Very much so. Already we are working with Ultimate Travel Club to power their booking technology. Contact us today and we can take you through all the points you need to consider before making a decision. We certainly recommend that all online travel sellers out there give this some basic thought, it’s not for everyone but shouldn’t be ignored outright.

 

• Vibe is powering the newly launched website of the RAA, South Australia’s Royal Automobile Association with over 750,000 members.
• The RAA has been selling travel products for over 50 years, but previously in a limited capacity online.
• New website went live in mid-December and will offer hotels, flights and more.

  Today Vibe – the leading international provider of booking technology solutions to the travel industry – has announced that it is powering technology behind the newly launched RAA Travel website.   The Royal Automobile Association (RAA) – based in South Australia – provides a trusted range of motor, home, and travel products and services to more than 780,000 members.   It’s also one of South Australia’s oldest travel agencies, providing members with a range of domestic and international travel products for more than 50 years.   Thanks to the partnership with Vibe introducing integrated APIs, RAA now has a brand-new website that not only showcases easily searchable and filterable products, but introduces online booking functionality to members, and the general public for the first time.   Additionally, through membership validation technology provided by Vibe, RAA is now offering special closed user group rates for those validated as RAA members.   The website went live in December 2021 with access to both domestic and worldwide hotels – with domestic and international flights, ticket and attractions, car hire and transfers coming soon.   Simon Goddard, Director of Solutions at Vibe comments: “It is a real privilege to work with such a storied brand as the RAA and its nearly 750,000 members. There’s great loyalty and respect for the RAA brand and their travel experience and offering was already very strong – so it has been a real honour to help them travel that last mile and bring everything together in this easy-to-use website.”   Anthony Hunter, Travel Product Development Manager at RAA added: “This complete transformation of our website is a big step forward for our members and aligns our travel offering with our other services, which are all available digitally. At RAA we like to do things properly, taking our time to make sure everything is perfect for our members, not least because travel is such a complex and important product to get right. We felt Vibe’s experience and flexibility were the perfect combination to deliver this and the end product speaks for itself.”   To see the RAA’s new travel website visit: https://travel.raa.com.au/

Booking technology provider Vibe has announced two new senior appointments in newly created roles. .The Client Services Manager position will be filled by current Vibe employee Laura Travis to oversee the support team and introduce new processes to enhance knowledge. She has been with Vibe for over three years and her background includes an additional three years at sister company P&P Group, as well as companies such as TUI and Mark Warner. Additionally, Vibe has hired Rob Marshall to fill the newly created role of Software Tester. He joins Vibe from Hotels.com and has more than 16 years of industry experience as a software tester, including eight years at Virgin Holidays. The new  appointments are a direct result of the July launch of a new value proposition responding to the post-Covid recovery needs of suppliers and customers globally - including creating new services such as a quarantining solution, a multi-centre trips tool, and a duty-of-care tool. Currently Vibe is recruiting to fill the role of a Web Designer and Developer and other roles will be announced over the coming months. Matthew Chapman, Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer of Vibe csaid: "I would like to congratulate Laura on her promotion to this newly created role and welcome Rob to the Vibe family." "With the recovery firmly underway we are 100% focused on helping our customers and suppliers to capitalize on every single opportunity, not only to return to pre-Covid levels but to diversify and find new revenue sources." "These two new roles - plus others we are recruiting for and will announce more about soon - have been directly created to drive that and I don't doubt that the experience of Laura and Rob is already bringing huge value to all of our customers and suppliers." Vibe provides booking solutions internationally to OTAs, retail travel agents, airlines, resellers, TMCs and corporate travel bookers. This includes leading brands such as Agiito (formerly Capita Travel & Events), Daily Mail Holidays, Inspire, Cassidy Travel and Qatar Airways Holidays.  

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• Vibe has conducted a strategic review and interviewed customers to create a new value proposition that meets COVID recovery needs.
• An automated quarantining solution, updated border entry information system, and multi-centre trips tool have been implemented in response to customer changing needs.
• As part of the review Vibe will reposition its brand to reflect its evolution since 2007 into an international and pure travel booking technology provider facilitating 2,000,000 bookings a year.

  Following a strategic review Vibe – the leading international provider of booking technology solutions to the travel industry – has today announced a post-COVID recovery proposition for partners along with a repositioning of the company.   Responding directly to the post-COVID recovery needs of suppliers and customers globally, Vibe has implemented many new services such as:  

• A quarantining solution that automatically books eligible hotels – providing this service not only to travel sellers, but three different governments around the world
• Multi-centre trips tool as travellers spend longer periods abroad (to avoid quarantining by combining two trips into one)
• Real-time border requirements information system for intermediaries to use with travellers
• Duty-of-care tools that are kept up-to-date with fast evolving compliance changes

  Additionally Vibe is already supporting an increasing demand for automation tools due to higher cancellation rates, reduced teams and resources, greater need to increase revenues through cross-selling, and the need to reduce costs.   As part of the repositioning henceforth the company will have a fresh and new visual identity. This reflects the evolution of Vibe – since launching in 2007 – into an international and pure travel booking technology provider that in 2019 facilitated over 2,000,000 bookings around the world.   Matthew Chapman, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Vibe comments: “Our flexibility, customer-focus and speed-to-implementation is what has seen us – and in turn our customers and suppliers – through a very challenging 15 months.   “These strengths are how we’ve quickly switched into recovery mode with a new value proposition – in many cases already rolled-out for partners – following feedback on how to respond to the post-COVID needs of customers and suppliers around the world: quarantining, multi-centre trips, changing border requirements and more.   “Meanwhile it seemed a natural time to reposition our brand to reflect how our business has evolved over the years from being a UK-focused reseller to the pure travel technology and global player that we are today.   “I would like to thank all of our customers and suppliers around the world for their loyalty and faith – as well the Vibe team for their hard work and innovation – over the last 14 years, and in particular since the pandemic struck.”   Vibe provides customer-centric, innovative booking solutions internationally to OTAs, retail travel agents, airlines, resellers, TMCs and corporate travel bookers. This includes leading brands such as Agiito (formerly Capita Travel & Events), Daily Mail Holidays, Inspire, Cassidy Travel and Qatar Airways Holidays.   As part of the updated visual identity for Vibe a new website has been created that can be viewed here: https://www.vibe.travel/