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.
Amadeus’ execs
Amadeus has appointed Rongrong (Vvivi) Hu as global head and SVP of corporate strategy, effective January 1, 2026. Hu will report to president and CEO Luis Maroto and join the executive committee. She will succeed retiring executive Wolfgang Krips, who will leave in early 2026 after a transition period. Hu previously led strategy and innovation roles at eBay. She serves on boards at DocMorris and People & Places AG and has worked in consulting and venture investing.
Stay22’s C-suite shuffle
Stay22, a Montréal-based affiliate commerce platform, hired Fabien Loupy as CTO and Louis-Charles Genest as CFO. Co-founder Hamad Al-Khabbaz becomes chief innovation officer to support the company’s next stage of growth. Loupy previously served as VP of technology at multi-brand fashion retailer Ssense, scaling engineering and launching a high-revenue mobile app. Genest led corporate functions at District M.
HTS launches seat upgrades
Hopper Technology Solutions (HTS) launched HTS Seat Upgrades, an ancillary offering that monetizes unsold inventory including cabin upgrades, seat upgrades and empty seats for blocking adjacent seats. It integrates with airline passenger service systems and payment gateways. The white-label solution allows for brands to maintain brand consistency. API integration is also available for those who are looking for a native experience. At the center of the solution is HTS’s price builder tool. Corsair is already using HTS cabin upgrades.
Mindtrip’s events tool
Mindtrip has expanded past trip planning to daily experience planning. The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered travel platform launched an events feature that surfaces concerts, festivals, markets and more. Meant for travelers and locals, the feature allows users to add activities, view maps, invite friends and book tickets. The tool aggregates local listings and delivers personalized recommendations based on preferences and location. Users can view artist information, ask questions, save favorites and collaborate on plans inside the app. It can power small outings or inspire trips built around major events, from headline concerts to the Super Bowl.
PPHE Hotel Group, Oracle
PPHE Hotel Group has selected Oracle Opera Cloud as its global property management system (PMS). The rollout spans 18 properties and 5,200 rooms in the U.K., the Netherlands and Italy to standardize operations and elevate guest service. PPHE, which had long used Oracle Hospitality’s Opera 5, will eliminate on-premise hardware, gain regular updates and expand mobile access for housekeeping, loyalty and front desk.
RMS, Epos Now
RMS has integrated its PMS with Epos Now to sync guest billing and point-of-sale transactions in real time. The connection reduces manual entry and reconciliation errors while giving operators a unified view of spend across rooms, food and beverage and other outlets. Hotels can speed check-outs, improve cross-department coordination and surface new upsell opportunities.
Klook’s SVPs
Klook appointed Daniel Kao as SVP of product and technology and Jakii Chu as SVP of growth marketing.
Kao, a former CTO at VIP.com and site operations and quality engineering leader at eBay, will scale Klook’s platform and expand AI and data use. Chu, previously CMO at Instacart, SVP of ecommerce at Fanatics and COO of shipping at eBay, will lead performance marketing and analytics.
Meili, ALL Accor
Meili has formed a multi-year partnership with ALL Accor, the hospitality group’s global loyalty program and booking platform, to power its car rental offering. The deal will use Meili’s technology to connect Accor directly with multiple rental providers through a single platform, expanding access to vehicles and simplifying bookings. The partnership underscores Accor’s push to extend its ecosystem beyond hotels and Meili’s growing role as a technology partner enabling seamless, connected travel experiences, the companies said.
IBS Software, AWS
IBS Software signed a multi-year deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build and run iRetail, a cloud platform for airline retailing. The system covers offer, order, settlement and delivery and applies AI to pricing and personalization. Built on AWS, it’s designed for multi-region deployments with high uptime. The companies will co-develop features and scale the product globally. The aim is to give airlines a single, data-driven stack to replace fragmented legacy tools and speed up how they create, sell and service products across digital and airport channels.
Wizz Air, Accelya
Wizz Air has chosen Accelya’s FLX ONE order accounting to modernize finance operations and support retail growth. The deal gives the ultra-low cost carrier real-time visibility and automated reconciliation to handle rising volumes as it expands. Accelya said the cloud product integrates with existing systems, standardizes revenue recognition and speeds settlement, improving cash flow and control. The move advances Wizz Air’s shift to an order-based model aligned with International Air Transport Association’s offers and orders vision, supporting new products and bundles while cutting manual work.
Go Global Travel rebrand
Go Global Travel has rebranded as Yanolja Go Global to align with parent Yanolja Group and its unified tech stack. The B2B distributor said it will keep serving 20,000 partners in 100+ markets while leaning on Yanolja’s technology, data and AI to scale distribution and operations. The new brand debuted this week at World Travel Market London 2025.
Direct Travel’s COO
Direct Travel has promoted Christine Sikes from SVP of operations to chief operating officer. She will oversee operations and efficiency as the company scales after acquiring ATPI and launching Avenir: Travel Edition. Sikes has 35 years in travel, including 11 at Direct Travel as EVP of customer experience. She was recently named to the Global Business Travel Association Foundation’s 2025 WINiT Top 50 list.
Switchfly’s platform updates
Switchfly rolled out no-code options that let partners launch its white-label travel booking platform in weeks. The update adds online travel agency and merchant-of-record functions, plus 24/7 call center support, multilingual and multicurrency features and handling for changes and upgrades. The company is targeting employee rewards programs, financial services loyalty schemes and airlines seeking to sell trip packages in their own channels.