Heathrow Express has partnered with Google Maps to offer information on journey times and fast access to tickets between central London and Heathrow within the Google Maps journey planner. The rail operator says mobile payments, such as Apple Pay, can complete a ticket transaction in under a minute. Full ticketing functionality has been enabled within the Google Maps journey planner.
Mobilleo, the Mobility as a Service platform, had adopted the global addressing system what3words to help its users identify their precise location and destination more easily. The what3words system has divided the world into a grid of three metre squares and assigned each square a unique combination of three words, known as a what3words address.
The Government of Singapore has introduced a Vaccinated Travel Lane for travellers from the UK effective from October 19. It means British travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to enter Singapore with a Vaccinated Travel Pass, without the usual 10-day quarantine requirement. Requests for the pass must be made between 7 and 30 calendar days prior to travellers’ intended date of entry. Applications for passes open today (October 12).
The UK lost £5.66 billion in GDP in the first week of October due to the lower level of business travel amid Covid-19, according to the latest BTA/Travelogix figures. International business travel trips from the UK dropped by 76.16% compared to the same week in October 2019 and there were 380,984 fewer international and domestic business travel trips – a reduction of 65.36%.
Chip Chapman, former Head of the Counter Terrorist Unit at the UK’s Ministry of Defence, has joined the TRIP Group’s Expert Advisory Board. The purpose of the Expert Advisory Board is to provide members with access to expertise in key specialist areas of travel risk management. Further appointments will follow in the coming months.
Highgate has announced two new additions in the UK market – the acquisition of Dorsett City London Hotel and the management of Grosvenor House Suites in London’s Mayfair District. The additions mark Highgate’s return to the UK and European markets and the company’s “confidence for tourism and business travel to return”.
Malmaison and Hotel du Vin have partnered with surplus food app, Too Good To Go, to combat food wastage. Too Good To Go lets people buy surplus food and drink from restaurants, grocery stores, pubs, cafes and producers to stop it from going to waste. Consumers can download the free Too Good To Go app and search for their nearby Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotels to see the unsold food on offer.
Dezerved, an invitation-only luxury media platform, has partnered with Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts on its rewards programme, Jumeirah One. All Jumeirah One members who live in the GCC region will have access to exclusive content and new product releases. They will also be able to use their Jumeirah One points to unlock unique special offers from the platform’s curated collection of luxury brands.
