FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
For more information:
Sheila Rice
VP, Information Products Group
Northstar Travel Group, LLC
+1 201-902-2108
srice@ntmllc.com
Katherine Williams
Dots & Lines,
on behalf of Tramada Systems
+1 470-893-1647
press@dotsandlinesconsulting.com
Content-rich,
interactive mobile itineraries offer travel agents more customer impact and engagement with less time and effort.
Secaucus, New Jersey (December
9, 2019) – Northstar Travel Group announced today that AXUS, its
premier itinerary building and collaboration system for travel planners and
tour operators, will integrate enhanced functionality with Tramada
Systems, the Australian-based travel technology provider. The integration
provides travel advisors using the tramada® suite of booking
and financial tools with elegant new solutions for delivering itineraries and
communicating with clients.
AXUS’s cloud-based platform now seamlessly generates polished
digital itineraries from imported tramada bookings and
distributes them via mobile app, custom web link or sleek PDF, allowing
travelers to access and interact with their itinerary anytime, anywhere.
The app includes an extensive set of intuitive features for
travelers, including flight status alerts, destination guides, real-time
updates, and embedded chat functionality that helps them stay connected to both
their travel companions and booking agent during the planning process as well
throughout the travel journey.
“Collaboration and communication are essential to building strong
customer relationships,” explains Greg Wilshire, Director of Business
Development for AXUS. “Beyond merely simplifying the itinerary generation
process and providing a valuable, user-friendly mobile tool, AXUS fosters the
type of open conversation between agents and travelers that results in
exceptional travel experiences and ongoing loyalty.”
Custom branding options help agents reinforce that loyalty with a
consistent brand presence across all client materials.
Work smarter, sell faster, deliver
more.
With 9.5 million Australians traveling overseas in 2018 and fast
growth expected, agents are quick to recognize the need to deliver a superior
product to stay competitive with travelers.
“More than 70% of international travel out of Australia is booked
through AFTA travel agents,” says Susan Enners, Country Manager, Australia and
New Zealand, for Tramada Systems. “With this AXUS integration, our users
receive yet another way to differentiate themselves and provide best-in-class
service to their travelers, while continuing to enjoy all the benefits of tramada’s
workflow tools and robust business intelligence systems.”
The partnership demonstrates another step by AXUS toward creating
the industry’s most efficient and inclusive end-to-end workflow for travel
agents and tour operators, connecting back-end data, reporting and financials
with automated booking management and final document delivery. Current AXUS
users report as much as a 60% reduction in the time it takes to prepare
customer documents compared with former processes, freeing agents to spend more
time focusing on sales and strengthening relationships.
Penny Spencer, Managing Director of multi-award winning TMC
Spencer Travel, explains, “We had been using AXUS Travel App enhanced
itineraries for some time before the Tramada integration, and we already knew
that our clients love the polished, professional, content-rich itineraries and
mobile phone app. Now with the direct upload from tramada, all our
booking segments are transferred directly into the AXUS workspace which saves
significant consultant effort and improves data accuracy. For our agency, it's
another example of how Tramada integrates with best-of-breed industry
applications to deliver solutions that fit our business and that exceed the
expectations of our clients."
AXUS is already the preferred partner for a global network of
major travel brands in addition to key consortia including Virtuoso and
Signature Travel Network.
“We’re extremely pleased that a whole new community of agents and
travelers will experience the power and ease of AXUS,” says Sheila Rice, Vice
President of Information Products at Northstar Travel Group, which acquired
AXUS in 2017. “We have seen the transformative effects that thoughtful,
innovative technology can have on our industry and know that our response to
the traveler’s growing demand for information and collaboration on their own
terms is the agent’s key to success in the future of travel.”
About Tramada
Systems
tramada® is an advanced bookings management system that streamlines
travel operations, data management, document production, and travel
accounting. tramada is GDS agnostic, NDC capable, and integrates
with over 50 products, including online booking tools, mobile solutions, and
expense systems. The modular design makes it easy to add the latest
applications while automated service fees, markup tools, and commission
management features increase revenue and drive down costs. Tramada Systems
enables TMCs to efficiently manage post-booking processes such as service fees,
itineraries, invoicing, reporting, duty of care, and more for both NDC and
(traditional) GDS bookings. Tramada Systems has long been the leading provider
at its home in the Australasia region and is quickly gaining recognition and
adoption in North America. Learn more at tramada.us.
About AXUS
AXUS automates itinerary creation and
delivers a content-rich, interactive mobile itinerary so travel advisors and
tour operators can devote more time to selling travel and building stronger
relationships with clients. Learn more at www.axustravelapp.com.
About Northstar Travel Group
Northstar Travel Group is the leading B-to-B
information and marketing solutions company serving all segments of the travel
industry including leisure/retail, corporate/business travel, corporate and
sports meetings, incentives, hospitality, and travel technology.
Northstar is the owner of well-known brands including Successful
Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, Incentive, M&C China, Business Travel
News, Travel Procurement, The Beat, Travel Weekly US, TravelAge West, Travel
Weekly China, Travel42, Axus Travel App, and Web in Travel.
The company produces more than 80 face-to-face events in 13 countries in
retail travel, hospitality, corporate travel, travel technology, sports travel,
and the meetings & incentive industry. Leadership events include the
Phocuswright Conference, ALIS, The Business Travel Show, the largest corporate
travel event in Europe, The Meetings Show, the largest meetings industry event
in the UK, Web in Travel, CruiseWorld, Global Travel Marketplace, and TEAMS,
the leading sports travel event.
In addition, Northstar owns Phocuswright, the leading research, business
intelligence, and event producer serving the travel technology industry.
Northstar Travel Group owns the Burba Hotel Network, the leading producer
of hotel investment events globally, including ALIS, the largest hotel
investment conference in the world produced with the American Hotel &
Lodging Association in Los Angeles each year.
Northstar is also the majority shareholder in Inntopia, the leading SaaS
e-commerce software, CRM database marketing and predictive analytics business
serving the mountain destination, golf, activities, hospitality, and specialty
destination travel markets.
Based in Secaucus, NJ, the company has offices in New York, NY; Stowe,
VT; Denver, CO; Edwards, CO; Burlington, VT; Los Angeles, CA; Costa Mesa, CA;
Lombard, IL; and global offices in London, Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai.
Northstar Travel Group is owned by funds managed by EagleTree Capital.
About EagleTree Capital
EagleTree Capital, formerly Wasserstein Partners,
is a leading independent private equity and investment firm, focused primarily
on leveraged buyout investments and related investment activities. EagleTree
manages capital on behalf of institutional and individual investors. The firm
is focused on investments primarily in the media and communications, consumer
products, and water and industrial sectors. EagleTree is located in New
York.
About Spencer Travel
Spencer Travel is a world-class corporate travel
agency established in 1998 by travel business veteran Penny Spencer. Well known
for its uncompromising focus on service excellence, the agency has won numerous
awards for its outstanding service and staff members including Best Corporate
Travel Agency (Single Location) in AFTA's National Travel Industry Awards
(NTIA) four years in succession, and was the first agency to be inducted into
NTIA's prestigious Hall of Fame. Since 2003, Spencer Travel has been one of
only 100 Australian agencies who are part of the invitation-only Qantas Agent
Platinum Club as well as other prestigious travel affiliations such as British
Airways Prestige, Emirates Preferred, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Virtuoso,
and Mandarin Oriental Club. For more information, please telephone +61 (0) 2
9281 5477, email contact@spencertravel.com.au, or visit spencertravel.com.au.
