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

Leadership updates from Blockskye, Avantio, Serko, Jerne and Flight Centre Travel Group

Blockskye, a leader in blockchain solutions for the travel
and expense management industry, has announced the appointment of Hank Benedetti
as the company’s new chief commercial officer.

Bendetti’s background consists of serving as the global head of corporate sales at American Airlines.

While overseeing the company’s commercial
strategy, leading initiatives to expand the company’s market presence and drive
revenue growth, Bendetti plans to develop strategies to enhance customer engagement,
build strategic partnerships and capitalize on new market opportunities.

Avantio, a specialist in property management technology for short-term rentals has appointed Mohit Jagawat as its first head of innovation. Jagawat has previously held roles in strategic product development with Oyo Vacation Homes and De Vere hotels.

Sandra Álvarez Mollá also joins Avantio as head of customer care. Álvarez Mollá joins from Happydonia, a human resources technology company.

Manuel Giner Nadal, founder and CEO of Avantio, said: “As Avantio continues to grow, we continue to keep our values of know-how, collaboration and forward thinking at the heart of everything we do. These new additions exemplify that spirit of innovation with our clients’ real needs in mind, never forgetting the human aspect that sets our industry apart.”

Serko, a travel management and expense technology company,
has appointed Simon Young as chief technology officer.

Prior to Serko, Young has held a number of executive leadership roles, including as chief product and technology officer at Trade Me and vice president of engineering at Halter.

Serko co-founder and CEO, Darrin Grafton, said, “Simon will
focus on continuing to foster innovation, enhancing product development
including through new technologies, and optimizing our technology
infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of our clients and partners.”

Read more details here.

Jerne, a platform connecting travel creators and experience
providers, has announced Jeff Sirota as the company’s new chief commercial officer.

With 20 years of industry experience, Sirota will oversee Jerne’s
commercial partnership with hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, restaurants,
spas and activity providers around the world. 

“As digital channels increasingly dominate travel distribution, the importance of maintaining a human touchpoint remains key. I’m excited to join the Jerne team as they’ve had the foresight to recognize the potential of individual curators and I look forward to us further amplifying their impact on travel purchasing decisions into the future,” said Sirota.

Read more details here.

Flight Centre Travel Group, a leisure
company that provides travel arrangements for travel retailers and corporate
travel managers, has announced a new global chief marketing officer, Scott
Alboni.

“My core focuses in the future will center on driving
new marketing innovation through our MarTech, helping to drive business
insights through our innovative customer experiences programs, and have more
data-driven marketing strategies,” Alboni said.

Boom announces launch of AI sales agent

Artificial intelligence powered short term rental platform Boom is launching an AI sales agent in an effort to bolster short term rental bookings.

“Sales is a function that many property managers struggle to prioritize, often overshadowed by the immediate need for cleaners, maintenance staff, and revenue managers,” said Shahar Goldboim, CEO and founder of Boom. “This gap can lead to missed opportunities and lost revenue – but our AI Sales Agent will make these challenges a thing of the past.” 

The launch is being made in an effort to continue to boost operational efficiency. The AI sales agent will operate on a 24/7 basis, and is the latest member of Boom’s “AI workforce.” The agent should be able to reply to inquiries on an autonomous basis, negotiate with guests, upsell and also adapt to communicate with travelers in their own languages and with their cultures in mind. 

The agent will be able to assist with negotiating features such as airport transfers, early check in and late check out and more.

“Boom’s Sales Agent represents just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to implementing an AI virtual workforce,” said Goldboim. “This is just the beginning of a new era in hospitality management, where AI and human expertise work hand in hand to create exceptional experiences and drive business success.” 

Travel Compositor’s new solution for TMCs

Travel Compositor, provider of booking engine solutions for
online leisure travel sellers, has launched a technology solution for travel management
companies called “TC 4 Business Travel.”

The new tool will have features such as the ability to choose from more than 16 booking engines, white label websites and various modules specifically for business travel.

The founder and CEO of Travel Compositor, Manuel Aragones, said,
“We believe that there is a gap in the TMC market for a
holistic solution that covers all aspects about travel and all about
control  rules and expenses during the trip, that is currently not served
by existing solutions, which is why we hope to implement quickly TC 4 Business
simultaneously in the 60 countries where we are already present, through
our current clients who work in both segments (leisure and business).”

In addition to their new development, the company has
integrated Emburse Captio, a leader in travel expense management, into the TC 4
Business Travel to allow travelers to update their expenses during the trip by scanning them with their mobile phones.

Read more details here.

Amadeus/SAP Concur

New Distribution Content from Amadeus is now available in SAP Concur.

The integration means that businesses and TMCs that use Concur have access to 27 carries that provide content through Amadeus. 

Read more details here.

Kyte partners with TPConnects

Kyte, a technology company that provides access to low-cost airline inventory, has formed a partnership with travel aggregator and distribution specialist TPConnects.

The agreement will enable TPConnects to access low-cost carrier content including easyJet and Ryanair through Kyte’s API.

Read more details here.

NextPax/DidaTravel

NextPax, a company that provides channel management solutions
for hotels, resorts and vacation rentals worldwide, has partnered with
DidaTravel, a tech-driven global online travel agency. 

NextPax’s partners will now be able to distribute inventory through
DidaTravel’s platform, reaching a wider audience. Additional benefits include
advanced technology solutions and simplified inventory management. 

Read more details here.