Universal Air Travel Plan president and CEO Ralph Kaiser this month told Business Travel News the payment network has gained approval from its board to add hotels and rental cars to its merchant network. Kaiser said UATP, which for nearly three-quarters of a century has offered a centrally billed payment option for airlines, has been piloting the new payment capabilities with a corporate client and a major hotel chain, though he would not disclose its partners on the project. Kaiser said UATP's board last month approved the plan, and he expects to announce at least one major hotel chain as a merchant by year-end.
Amex Reports Continued Q2 Price DropsAverage domestic airfares in the second quarter decreased 18 percent year over year to $212 and international fares fell 19 percent to $1,609, as companies increasingly required travelers to book seats in the back of the plane, according to this month's American Express Business Travel Monitor. During the quarter, 36 percent of booked seats were in business class, compared with 50 percent in the second quarter of 2008. Average domestic booked hotel rates fell 2 percent to $150 compared to the first quarter of 2009, the monitor showed. While international booked hotel rates decreased 12 percent year over year, rates increased 6 percent over the first quarter to $241. Car rental rates decreased 3 percent from the previous quarter to $71.
Amadeus To Release New Agent Desktop ToolAmadeus this month announced its plans to release a new agent point-of-sale tool, primarily designed for corporate travel management companies, which the company expects to begin rolling out in North America in the first half of 2010, followed by a general deployment in the second half of the year. Like other agent desktop developments from other global distribution system providers and mega travel management companies during the past 18 months
(BTNonline, Aug. 11, 2008), Amadeus One has both a graphical and cryptic user interface, operates in a multi-GDS environment, housing traveler profiles and other non-GDS data
(BTNonline, March 16) and brings several mid-office quality control functions up to the front end. Focusing on corporate travel, Amadeus One integrates policy management administration and rules-based modules so agents can more easily configure policies into the system and monitor them. Amadeus' Boston-area development team has been working on building Amadeus One during the past 12 months by integrating several Amadeus technologies currently in use in the marketplace, including profile solutions and command engines, according to Amadeus North America senior vice president of product development Mary Keagul.
Hyatt Files For Initial Public OfferingHyatt Hotels Corp. this month announced a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposing an initial public offering of shares. Hyatt intends to raise up to $1.15 billion in the IPO. The filing did not specify the timing of the IPO. The company's portfolio of 413 branded hotels with119,509 rooms is among the world's largest. Hyatt has operated as a private company for several decades. The family of Hyatt founder Jay Pritzker took Hyatt and its separate international interests private in 1979 and 1982, respectively. The two joined to create the unified Hyatt Hotels Corp. in 2004.