Here’s our roundup of the people, product and partner news from the global travel industry this week.

Secret Escapes’ Alex Saint joins Holibob board

Alex Saint, the founder and CEO of Secret Escapes, has joined Holibob as its chair.

Holibob, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2023, provides technology to help travel brands and tourism boards sell experiences online. 

“Having a Chairman with Alex’s track record of success in the industry alongside such a deep understanding of our business – as he has been an informal advisor to us for a couple of years now – will provide immense and immediate value as we look to move into our next phase of growth,” said Craig Everett, CEO of Holibob.

And said Saint, “It’s rare at this point in the travel industry’s lifecycle to find a company that is delivering a unique, powerful solution that responds to such a clear industry need. The opportunity to be part of bringing that to market, as well as working with such driven and capable founders as Craig and Angus [Hardy], is also a rare one and made my decision to join Holibob as chairman and easy choice.” 

 Saint replaces as Holibob’s chairman Richard Sowerby, a longtime advertising industry veteran who had been at the helm of Holibob’s Board since its founding nearly five years ago.  

AirDNA appoints new CEO

AirDNA, a provider of data and analytics for the short-term rental industry, has announced the appointment of Rohit Bezewada as its new chief executive officer. Bezewada succeeds Demi Horvat, who will transition out of the company over the coming month.

Prior to AirDNA, Bezewada held previous roles at Uber, J.P. Morgan and Trucker Tools, where AirDNA said he enhanced operational efficiencies and spearheaded growth strategies. He joined AirDNA earlier this year.

“My focus will be on leveraging our comprehensive analytics and
innovative management tools to help our customers make confident investment
decisions and optimize their rental performance,” said Bezewada.

New appointments at Cloudbeds

Cloudbeds, a hospitality management technology platform, announced the appointments of Amit Popat as the head of machine learning and Nikhil Shah as the head of data sciences. 

Both Popat and Shah are mathematicians who bring experience in utilizing AI and machine learning to translate advanced analytics into tangible value for hoteliers. In 2020, they co-founded the AI analytics and e-marketing platform Hotel Cloud, an intelligence platform designed to maximize revenue at every stage of the guest journey.  

The company said these hires mark a significant investment in artificial intelligence for the company, as it aims to develop unparalleled applications for the hotel industry and usher in a new era of possibilities for hoteliers, including empowering them to unlock insights and enable automation and real-time recommendations spanning the property’s operations.

SmartRyde, Garuda Indonesia

SmartRyde, an airport transfer service, has partnered with Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia’s prime airline that covers 60 destinations worldwide.

The integration provides SmartRyde’s pick-up and drop-off services and a seamless travel experience for all Garuda Indonesia passengers who can book 48 hours prior to arrival time on the FlyGaruda app.

Mr. Ifran Setiaputra, president and chief executive officer of Garuda Indonesia, said, “In addition to offering safe and convenient air connectivity services, providing exclusive pick-up and drop-off services is an essential step that we are focusing on to further enhance our passenger’s travel comfort. This initiative represents our commitment to provide a seamless travel experience from pre-flight, in-flight, to post-flight.”

RedAwning’s expansion of its CommHub module

RedAwning, a fully
integrated hospitality platform for short-term rentals, has announced the
expansion of its CommHub module, which will include an AI-powered message
automation, message prioritization and full teams management.

The new features can suggest replies to all messages from
guests, identify important messages so that clients can focus on priority
messages first and enables the ability to add unlimited team members for communication
while also allowing settings for each team member, specifying the type of
messages that they should receive. 

Tim Choate, founder and CEO of RedAwning, said, “We fully
believe in giving all our clients access to the industry’s newest technologies
without any separate add-on fees, as we want them to be able to deliver the
best hospitality for guests and never have to consider doing less due to add on
costs.”

OCTO standard exceeds 130 users

OCTO, an open
standard API specification for tours, activities and attractions has announced
that it has exceeded 130 resellers and technology providers using its open
specification.

The company provides an open-source specification that
allows seamless connectivity between different systems used by experience
providers, tour operators, activity providers and resellers. Additionally, OCTO
allows businesses to streamline their operations, reduce costs and enhance the
customer booking journey.

Carrie Keplinger, executive director of OCTO, said, “The current fragmented landscape of
booking systems and APIs creates unnecessary friction and complexity. OCTO is changing that by fostering a unified standard, enabling businesses to
connect effortlessly and focus on delivering exceptional experiences.”

Minut, Google Nest

Minut, a provider of smart property
monitoring solutions, has announced its integration with Google Nest,
a platform that enhances home automation, energy efficiency and home management.

This
integration enables property managers to lower energy bills and carbon footprints
by remotely managing heating and cooling across their short-term rental
portfolios. In addition, they will be able to synchronize their check-in and
check-out schedules with property management systems or Airbnb integration,
allowing for automatic thermostat adjustment.

“By integrating with Google Nest, we’re enabling property managers
to cut energy costs and streamline operations, supporting both eco-friendly
practices and financial savings while ensuring a comfortable experience for
guests,” said Katrin Humal, product manager at Minut.