16 NEWS 100% Cashback:
16 NEWS 100% Cashback: RedCrox Introduces Gamification to the Travel Industry at ITB Berlin ODTS PLAYER PRESENTED AT ITB BERLIN BY BEWOTEC In a presentation on Wednesday 8 March in the eTravel Showroom, the Europeanbased disruptive start-up RedCrox revealed its plans to “reinvent the travel experience with gamification”. As a knowledge-based gamification platform, RedCrox has been working in disrupting several industries, from retail and online shopping to discount and loyalty programs. Today, RedCrox turns its attention to disrupt the travel industry by announcing its next generation tool 100% CashBack at ITB, Berlin. Customers know that “Cash is King” and that is what they get. For hotels and other travel providers, RedCrox is a unique marketing tool which boosts direct bookings, increases cross-sell opportunities, and gains more positive reviews. RedCrox is the first company to introduce the “Ultimate Discount” to the travel industry, where users can earn 100% CashBack by playing a simple guessing game. RedCrox believes that travel providers will gain the upper hand against their competition in the fight to capture more direct bookings Just a few years after its introduction, the OTDS format has conquered the sales systems of the world. BEWOTEC – co-inventor of OTDS – now offers the ultra-fast search technology of the OTDS Player. This enables OTDS operator offers to be distributed via all popular sales platforms (Bistro, Internet, OTAs). A particular strength of the OTDS Player lies in the simple synchronisation of a tour operator’s own products with dynamic offers from external service providers. Via BEWOTEC’s central software services, flexFlight and flexHotel, flights and hotels from external providers can be loaded on demand with the OTDS Player. The OTDS Player combines flight- and hotel information at the time of the inquiry to create a package offer. For example, you can concentrate on the purchasing the products offering the highest turnover (short tail) and all the rest (long tail) can be generated dynamically by the player. UNLIMITED SCOPE OF APPLICATION The universal language of OTDS enables every operator and service provider system to load data in the OTDS Player – without any restrictions. Tour operators are not reliant on BEWOTEC’s own production systems. However, DaVinci and flexStore naturally provide optimal integration with OTDS Many customers try to get the best deal and save money when they travel. However, searching for travel deals can be time-consuming and tedious. RedCrox’s 100% CashBack makes it fun and fast. MyFareBox XClusive, a white label solution giving access to the largest inventory of airfares from 900+ airlines across 70 countries in addition to LCCs, was presented for the first time at ITB Berlin 2017. MyFareBox XClusive enables travel companies to manage their staff & MyFareBox registered sub-agents more efficiently through single platform. XClusive powers agents to search, block, order e-tickets and print invoices on behalf of their sub-agents & manage mark-up on subagents’ tickets. Allocation of a separate account to each sub-agent, promotes payment transparency between agent & sub-agent. The platform allows agents to The RedCrox team @ ITB Berlin 2017 Mystifly Presents MyFareBox XClusive access booking queue, ticket order queue & ticketed order queue. It provides a view of the itineraries of all the sub-agents with a provision to filter subagent specific itineraries based on various parameters. This single platform enables sourcing of most economical SOTO tickets, thereby reducing the time required for searching competitive airfares, and saves up to 40% on SOTO/SITI tickets including market specific public & private airfares. With 24/7 ticketing capability from 900+ airlines across 70 countries, it also gives the option to hold PNR on time, mitigates the possible loss associated with uncertain PNR status. Increases reach to new partners & customers ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 24 th March 2017 www.itb-berlin-news.com
NEWS 17 Tom Alderink Director LGBT Sales, Belmond Belmond Leads the Way Hotel Chain’s World-First Director of LGBT Sales LGBT Moments In Mauritius The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius was represented as an LGBT destination for the second time at ITB Berlin 2017, largely thanks to the presence of Moments – the only IGLTA–affiliated DMC in Mauritius operating solely in the LGBT market. Highlighting the fact that Mauritius is known as the ‘rainbow nation’ where the island natives are very accepting of a Pagoda next to a Church, or a Mosque happily neighbouring a Temple, Moments believes this level of tolerance makes Mauritius a safe and popular LGBT holiday destination. The company offers accommodation in selected four and five-star resorts and private villas along with ground, air and sea travel, excursions, weddings, honeymoons and other moment generator activities – their goal is to help organise the perfect LGBT-friendly holiday, from start to finish. New products include the Kombi Experience – a chance to sample the island from inside a luxuriously refurbished 1972 Volkswagen camper, one of the innovations announced by Ruddy Juliette, General Manager, Moments, who attended ITB Berlin 2017 Belmond, the luxury hotel group with a portfolio of 42 properties including Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town and Hotel Cipriani in Venice, as well as operating the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and Belmond Royal Scotsman trains, made history in 2015 by appointing a Director LGBT Sales, which is believed to be a first for the travel industry. The appointee, Tom Alderink, Director LGBT Sales, Belmond, was present at the LGBT Pavilion during ITB Berlin 2017. “This is part of Belmond DNA and I hope we sent a great message towards the industry and LGBT travellers. I have been working for 11 years with the chain and was always in touch with a large number of LGBT travellers,” Alderink said. Recognising the tremendous potential and opportunities for Belmond, the chain has looked very seriously at the LGBT market, including the establishment of a microsite dedicated to the sector’s needs. “We are very happy to be part of IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association) as a global partner. We focus specifically on requests and wishes of our LGBT guests and work with specialists such as David Travel or Zoom Vacation in the United States. We then look at all the small er details to make our guests feel at home in our properties – for example two large bath robes if they are a male couple or two female toiletry kits for two women,” Alderink added. LGBT travellers are increasingly perceived as valuable tourists thanks to generally high spending power and interest for many products LGBT PEOPLE THESE DAYS ARE MORE DARING WHEN CHOOSING THEIR DESTINATION, AND THE WORLD IS GETTING MORE AWARE OF THIS NICHE MARKET such as culture, culinary and expeditions to historical sites. Among the favourite destinations, Alderink cited Myanmar and Cambodia in Asia, plus Mexico as a popular location for weddings, particularly the Maya Riviera. “LGBT people these days are more daring when choosing their destination and want to visit more destinations around the world. And the world is getting more aware of this niche market,” said Alderink NEW GREEK AMBASSADOR FOR IGLTA The International Gay And Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) has appointed Athens-based Giannis Papagiannopoulos as its new ambassador for Greece, a volunteer role that assists with membership support and development throughout the country. Publisher of the Greek LGBT magazine Antivirus, an IGLTA media partner since 2010, Papagiannopoulos takes over the position from long-time Greek ambassador Orhideea Rosu, who has relocated to London. “Becoming an IGLTA ambassador for Greece is a great honour and a commitment to promote the Ruddy Juliette General Manager, Moments LGBT community of Greece to the rest of the world through an organisation as worthy as IGLTA,” Papagiannopoulos said. “It is also an excellent opportunity for all European countries and LGBT travel businesses to work together” Papagiannopoulos also sits on the board of the Athens Pride organization and has volunteered with many NGOs for human rights, health and education projects worldwide. John Tanzella, IGLTA President/ CEO, said: “Greece has a long LGBT history and consistently ranks among the most popular LGBT destinations in Europe,” ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 24 th March 2017
