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    PhocusWire’s travel tech news briefs: HTS, Kayak, Navan and more…

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

    This roundup was created with the assistance of ChatGPT.

    HTS, Perkspot launch PerkSpot Travel

    Employee discount solution PerkSpot and Hopper Technology Solutions (HTS) have launched PerkSpot Travel.

    The booking portal for PerkSpot members includes hotel shopping and trip management in the portal and mobile app. Members earn PerkPoints on hotel bookings and can search via list or map views with filters. The portal taps HTS inventory and includes a low-rate guarantee that refunds the difference if a lower price for the same itinerary is found within 24 hours of booking.

    Duetto names CTO

    Duetto appointed Robert Matsuoka as CTO to lead technology transformation and build out its revenue and profit operating system.

    Matsuoka joins after a number of technology leadership roles including eight years at Tripadvisor, where he served as head of engineering and interim CTO following the company’s acquisition of Citymaps in 2016, where he served as co-founder and CEO.

    Duetto said he will focus on applying artificial intelligence (AI) to areas such as onboarding speed, integrations and next-generation pricing models, while driving AI-assisted development practices. The company also tied the role to its expansion beyond room revenue, following its 2025 acquisition of HotStats.

    Nuvei, WEX

    Nuvei partnered with WEX to bring WEX virtual card technology to Nuvei’s global merchant network, targeting travel sellers and marketplaces. 

    The companies said the integration helps online travel agencies, airlines and hospitality brands pay suppliers via secure virtual cards, adding automated issuance and controls to streamline payouts and improve transparency. Nuvei said merchants can fund supplier payments from incoming settlement flows to support cash flow, reduce reliance on credit lines and strengthen liquidity as credit tightens.

    The Leading Hotels of the World, Yipy

    The Leading Hotels of the World selected Yipy as a preferred provider through its Leading Strategic Sourcing program. The selection will give member properties access to Yipy’s hospitality standards management platform.

    The companies said the system helps independent luxury hotels define, train and track service standards across teams, aiming to improve consistency while preserving each property’s individuality. The Leading Strategic Sourcing Program, developed with DayBlink GPO, connects its network with pre-vetted partners that deliver measurable operational and guest experience value.

    Finest Retreats launches housekeeper management app

    Finest Retreats has launched a housekeeper management app built by holiday lettings specialists. 

    The iOS and Android app is designed to streamline operations, giving housekeepers tools for property-specific checklists, incident reporting and photo and video feedback, with real-time links to bookings and guest requests.

    Finest Retreats said the platform also supports compliance tracking such as fire safety checks. The company created a new Cornwall-based role to manage rollout, appointing Hayley Mason to oversee implementation across its U.K. portfolio.

    Fareportal, Amadeus

    Fareportal, the company behind CheapOair and OneTravel, has renewed and expanded its long-term partnership with Amadeus

    Fareportal said the deal supports its push to build a more flexible distribution ecosystem across air, hotel and car. The company also contracted Outpayce B2B Wallet to modernize supplier settlement with virtual card payments, aiming to improve acceptance rates, reduce friction and generate rebate-driven revenue.

    Remington Hospitality’s EVP of technology

    Remington Hospitality named Ayotunde Gibbs EVP of technology.

    Gibbs will lead IT strategy across Remington’s portfolio, focusing on operational performance, scalable growth, stronger data and systems integration and innovation for ownership groups. She joins from Dave & Buster’s, where she was vice president of enterprise systems and data. Gibbs previously held leadership roles at GameStop.

    Turneo’s AI agent

    Turneo has launched Neo, an AI agent platform designed for hotels. The company said Neo is trained on thousands of real guest conversations and connects with hotel systems for rooms, experiences, restaurants and spas.

    Neo is positioned as a digital concierge that can answer queries across web chat, email and WhatsApp and automate common requests, with handoffs to staff when needed. Turneo claimed Neo can handle more than 80% of typical hotel requests out of the box, supports more than 95 languages and can be deployed in a day without technical staff.

    Sabre Hospitality Solutions rebrands

    Aven Hospitality, formerly Sabre Hospitality Solutions, has rebranded as an independent hospitality technology company. Based in Southlake, Texas and led by CEO Teresa Mackintosh, the company was established as a standalone business in 2025 and will continue to build around its SynXis commerce and distribution platform.

    Kayak for Business launches events

    Kayak for Business has launched an events feature to simplify travel planning tied to corporate events. The tool lets organizers set travel policies and payment rules, share a single booking link and invite up to 10,000 attendees, including non-employee guests such as candidates or new hires.

    Companies can also import or link events from existing event management tools, then manage invitations, bookings, reminders, changes and cancellations in one place. Kayak for Business said real-time dashboards provide visibility into RSVPs, booking status and compliance with exports for finance, HR or reporting needs.

    SilverDoor invests in RPA

    SilverDoor is using robotic process automation (RPA) to expand live rate and inventory content on its online booking tool for serviced apartments. The company launched an RPA-powered “digital worker” that harvests, processes and tests live rates and is designed to map rate plans about 10 times faster than manual work, speeding uploads from its supply chain partners. SilverDoor said the system also rechecks existing rates for accuracy.

    The company also outlined booking tool updates including stronger reporting, enhanced shortlists for comparing options and a currency selector. CTO Hanish Vithal said the goal is faster access to live content and more accurate pricing for corporate bookers.

    S4BT’s financial platform

    S4BT has launched Trevium, a financial platform designed to replace fragmented corporate travel finance processes with a single system. The Paris-based group, which includes CDS, Goelett, Corporate Rates Club, TMS, SIAP and Methodica, said Trevium will handle automated payments, invoice capture and validation, reconciliation, value-added tax reclaim and reporting in one workflow for travel management companies, corporates and hotels.

    S4BT said Trevium will be available by default to existing clients across its brands with no additional onboarding or contract changes.

    Navan’s board appointment

    Navan has appointed former Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss to its board of directors, effective immediately. Weiss led Virgin Atlantic from January 2019 to December 2025 after joining as CFO in 2014 and later serving as chief commercial officer.

    Navan said Weiss will add finance and operational experience as the company scales its travel, payments and expense platform. With the move, Navan’s board expands to 10 directors including co-founders Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig plus members such as Ben Horowitz and Oren Zeev.

    Blockskye launches payment product

    Blockskye has launched Blockskye Capture, an AI-driven expense tracking and reimbursement tool for enterprise travel programs. The company said employees can pay with personal cards for business travel, keep loyalty points and status benefits and avoid manual expense reports.

    Capture flags business expenses in real time by matching transactions to travel itineraries then reimburses approved charges within days or immediately via stablecoin. Blockskye said the product plugs into enterprise resource planning systems for budget checks and uses ledger-style records for audit and compliance.



     

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