What else is going on in the world of travel tech? A round-up of other stories from across the industry.
- The UK’s Daily Mail and General Trust no longer holds a majority stake in Teletext Holidays. DMGT remains a major shareholder, but day-to-day management of the business has changed hands after DMGT consultant and ex-Hobsons group managing director Chris Letcher led a management buy-out. Letcher becomes chairman of Teletext Holidays as part of the deal.
- Phishing emails involving the unauthorized issuance of airline tickets are on the rise in the US, says the airline-owned settlement company, ARC. ARC reports 82 such incidents from August to November alone compared with 18 incidents in all of 2010. The 2011 scamming so far amounted to $1 million in the face value of unauthorized tickets. The phishing emails, typically designed to look as if they were sent from global distribution systems, dupes recipients into providing their credentials on fraudulent websites and then the fraudsters “access the genuine GDS website to book and issue aunathorized airline tickets,” ARC says.
- HolidayCheck has released an Android App enabling users to write a review on the go via a QuickCheck function. The app also enables consumers to search for nearby hotels, check review and recommendation details as well as see rate information and book a room. Reviews will appear on the HolidayCheck website and can also be shared via Facebook. The Android app follows a similar iPhone service, unveiled five months ago, which has received more than 500,000 downloads.
- Hospitality technology specialist FastBooking has partnered with trends and benchmarking data company STR Global to provide market intelligence and trend information to its independent hotel clients.