PhocusWire’s weekly travel tech news briefs: TravelPerk, Airbnb, Expedia Group, SWA, Hostaway and more…

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

Editor’s note: This roundup was created with the help of ChatGPT.

Amex GBT names new senior leadership

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) has announced new senior leadership appointments in marketing and technology. Evan Konwiser is appointed chief product and strategy officer, overseeing product development, corporate strategy, communications and sustainability. Konwiser, who joined Amex GBT in 2020, has held several leadership roles. Alisa Copeman is named chief marketing officer, responsible for brand and marketing strategies. Copeman previously served as senior vice president of global marketing at Amex GBT and CMO at Barclays UK. These appointments aim to strengthen Amex GBT’s position and product offerings.

Expedia Group, Southwest Airlines

Expedia Group will now offer Southwest Airlines flights covering the airline’s entire network of 117 destinations in 11 countries, including the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean, providing customers more booking opportunities. With Southwest flights now available on Expedia and other Expedia Group brands including Travelocity, Hotwire, Orbitz and CheapTickets, customers can enjoy the convenience of booking Southwest on even more platforms.

TravelPerk, Airbnb

Travelperk is partnering with Airbnb to give customers managed access to its extensive inventory of over 8 million active listings across 100,000 cities worldwide. Through this partnership, customers will benefit from dedicated Airbnb booking management support and enhanced customer service via a dedicated support line provided by Travelperk. The partnership will also address the growing demand for longer stays (28+ days) with unique homestay options at various price points, offering valuable amenities and home comforts for remote work. 

Hostaway doubles workforce

Finland’s Hostaway, a vacation rental property management software, has doubled its workforce in two years and is celebrating its 10th anniversary with global expansion. Backed by a $365 million funding round the company is investing in artificial intelligence and platform enhancements. Its remote-first model enables hiring across 44 countries, with a strong focus on European growth. Hostaway plans to unveil AI-driven product innovations later this year.

Lodgify launches smart locks

Lodgify has launched Lodgify Smart Locks, enabling vacation rental hosts to manage smart lock devices directly within its platform. Eliminating the need for multiple apps, the feature improves efficiency, security and guest experience. According to the Lodgify 2024 Vacation Rental Industry Report, over 60% of hosts already use smart locks. The system automates keyless entry by generating unique codes for each reservation and sending them via customizable messages. Hosts can also monitor battery levels and sync status.

Absolute Hotel Services implements Oracle, Simphony

Thailand-based Absolute Hotel Services Group (AHS) has implemented Oracle OPERA Cloud and Simphony Cloud point of sale systems across its properties to enhance operations, improve guest experiences and drive revenue growth. The rollout, which started in late 2024, will be completed by early 2026. OPERA Cloud centralizes guest data and operations, allowing staff to make data-driven decisions in real-time, while Simphony POS helps the company understand customer dining preferences to offer tailored experiences.

GoNexus launches Hospitality Partnerships

GoNexus Group has launched a new division, Hospitality Partnerships, to enhance digitalization and sustainability in the hotel industry. Led by Javier Arévalo, with new hires Daniel Espinal and Evelin Melgarejo, the division will focus on guest satisfaction and partner profitability. Key innovations include a virtual concierge and white-label solutions along with advanced API integration, among others. These tools should help hotels increase revenue, streamline operations and build guest loyalty through personalized services. Hospitality Partnerships aims to redefine hotel-guest interactions while improving financial outcomes for hoteliers worldwide.

EDreams ODIGEO, PayPal

EDreams ODIGEO and PayPal have partnered to offer PayPal customers in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain complimentary access to Prime Discovery, eDreams ODIGEO’s travel subscription platform, for one year. Prime Discovery members receive AI-personalized travel deals advanced refunds and 24/7 support, among other benefits. This collaboration should expand Prime’s reach across Europe while boosting PayPal’s presence in the travel sector. 

Custom Travel Solutions names Brian Butts vice president of sales

Custom Travel Solutions appointed Brian Butts as vice president of sales to drive its 2025 expansion. Butts, with experience in global travel partnerships and B2B sales, was previously consulting partner and senior vice president of strategy at Dorms.com. He also held leadership roles at Global Solutions Team and Booking.com.

Travelnest, Mangopay

Travelnest has partnered with Mangopay to streamline its payment process. Travelnest, which helps property owners manage holiday rentals by automating marketing and increasing visibility on platforms like Airbnb and Expedia, will use Mangopay’s multi-currency payment solution to optimize fund flows from booking platforms and guests. The integration should improve efficiency and reduce costs for Travelnest, which connects thousands of property owners with over 30 booking sites. Mangopay’s flexible wallet infrastructure supports complex payment flows, helping fast-growing businesses in travel and hospitality scale securely and efficiently.

Expensify launches Expensify Travel

Expensify has created Expensify Travel, a travel management tool that combines booking, policy enforcement and real-time collaboration. Available on web, mobile and desktop apps, the tool allows users to book flights, hotels, rail and car rentals while ensuring compliance with corporate travel policies. Key features include smart approvals, streamlined payments, automated reporting and real-time collaboration through chat rooms. Expensify Travel simplifies workflows, reduces costs, improves policy compliance and provides better duty-of-care for employees, all within a unified platform designed to enhance business travel management.

Eviivo, Breezeway

Eviivo and Breezeway have announced an integration to streamline property operations and enhance guest experiences. The integration connects eviivo’s booking management platform with Breezeway’s tools for cleaning, maintenance and safety. Property managers can automate workflows, reduce operational costs by up to 30% and save more than 40 hours per month. The solution ensures accurate and timely communication between booking platforms, cleaning teams and maintenance staff. It also enables the seamless scheduling of tasks and guest requests, improving efficiency and operational quality while maintaining high property standards.

HBX Group, PerfectStay

HBX Group and PerfectStay have partnered with Turkish Airlines to launch Turkish Airlines Holidays, a new travel offering for passengers. This service provides access to HBX Group’s global inventory of hotels, experiences and transfers, powered by PerfectStay’s dynamic packaging technology. Passengers can book customized travel packages with guaranteed best prices and bundled benefits across 60+ countries and 200 destinations. This collaboration strengthens HBX Group’s focus on airlines and loyalty programs. Turkish Airlines Holidays will soon expand to the US market.

Accelya, IATA

Accelya has renewed its long-term partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), reinforcing their commitment to improving financial settlement systems and airline operations. The partnership focuses on enhancing transaction processing security and efficiency, while also improving user experiences through continuous updates to BSPlink. This renewal ensures the development of future-ready systems that align with modern airline operations, benefiting IATA’s 340+ member airlines worldwide.

Sabre, LATAM Airlines

Sabre Corporation has launched LATAM Airlines‘ New Distribution Capability (NDC) content in multiple countries, integrating it into Sabre’s travel marketplace. This partnership allows travel agencies to access LATAM’s full content in real time across all seven of LATAM’s passenger carriers. The integration aims to enhance the way LATAM connects with customers while providing agencies broader access to product offerings. Sabre’s NDC solution ensures seamless integration into existing workflows, offering scalability, flexibility and interoperability for airlines. LATAM’s addition brings the total number of airlines using NDC in Sabre’s marketplace to 34.