Latest news with #Internova
Travel Weekly
3 days ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Global Travel Collection rolls out AI-powered platform
Global Travel Collection (GTC), Internova Travel Group's luxury arm, has introduced Atlas, an AI-powered platform that GTC estimates will save its 1,500 advisors more than 1.5 million hours of travel-planning time annually. "This is just the beginning," GTC president Angie Licea said in a release. "Atlas proves that AI can empower, not replace, human expertise." Atlas was developed alongside Microsoft using its Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio. The generative AI platform offers advisors a place where travel content is centralized and accessible via natural language prompts. It has integrated GTC's airline, hotel, entertainment and corporate travel systems. Speedy … and secure Advisors can query Atlas and obtain answers "in seconds," GTC said, "significantly speeding up the trip-planning process." GTC estimates Atlas will save advisors three hours of planning time per itinerary. Casey Soto, GTC's senior director of product management, said the tool will enable advisors to streamline workflows and enhance the service they offer clients. GTC advisor David Waldes, based in New York, has found that to be true. "What used to take 10 to 15 minutes per query now takes seconds," Waldes said. "Atlas spiders through our systems and delivers insights instantly." It's also secure, said Mark Munley, GTC's senior vice president and chief information officer. "The Microsoft ecosystem provides the enterprise-grade security and compliance we need, including built-in GDPR and PCI support, giving us confidence to scale," Munley said. GTC is looking to add monetization opportunities into Atlas, the host agency said. That includes featuring preferred partners within the platform.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Il Bottaccio, Relais & Châteaux Joins SELECT Hotels & Resorts by Internova Program
Collection includes more than 1,700 luxury properties that provide guests with special amenities MONTIGNOSO, Italy, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Il Bottaccio, Relais & Châteaux has been invited to join Internova Travel Group's SELECT Hotels & Resorts by Internova program, an exclusive collection of more than 1,700 luxury properties around the world. "We are excited to become part of the SELECT Hotels & Resorts by Internova family," said Mr. Antonio Mosca, General Manager of Il Bottaccio. "These properties maintain the highest standards of comfort and service, and it's an honor to be included. Internova travel advisors are known for going the extra mile for their clients and we do the same for our guests, so we're delighted to be partners with them. We look forward to offering their clients the special amenities that will make their stay with us even more memorable." Tucked away in a tranquil corner at the foot of the Apuan Alps, Il Bottaccio comes with its fair share of exciting history. It all started with a late 18th century mill, put in place by a wealthy citizen, Paquale Boldrini, who built a house around it in Montignoso. The name itself is quintessentially Tuscan and it refers to a basin where water is collected to supply mills and olive presses. Over the years, this fascinating building was acquired by a renowned heart surgeon, Gaetano Azzolina, who restored it and embellished it as a private home in the 1970s. Elio d'Anna, a mercurial, brilliantly witty, illuminated musician, philosopher and entrepreneur subsequently acquired it. The hotel opened in 1983 and entered the prestigious Relais&Chateau family in 1988. A home rather than a hospitality business, the idea behind it all was – and still is – that of offering respite and pleasure to gourmet travellers in search of matchless sensory experiences. The general atmosphere is one of enticing elegance and charm, epitomised by the highly unique décor, and yet an overall sense of familiarity embraces you as you step in, making every stay a memorable one. "We are thrilled to welcome Il Bottaccio, Relais & Châteaux into the SELECT Hotels & Resorts by Internova program," said Albert Herrera, Executive Vice President, Partner Relations for Internova Travel Group. "This is a carefully curated group of premium properties that offer exclusive privileges to our travelers. Our travel advisors know that their clients will enjoy a truly amazing experience when they stay at Il Bottaccio, Relais & Châteaux." Guests who book their stay at a SELECT hotel or resort by Internova through a travel advisor with ALTOUR, Andrew Harper, Global Travel Collection, Nexion Travel Group or Travel Leaders Network can enjoy amenities that are unique to the program. Based on availability, those perks may include resort credits, room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, early check-in and late check-out and basic Wi-Fi. To learn more about the SELECT Hotels & Resorts by Internova program, please visit About Il Bottaccio, Relais & ChâteauxNestled in the heart of Tuscany, Il Bottaccio Art Hotel is a haven of elegance and serenity, set within a beautifully restored 18th-century water mill. This exclusive retreat offers a refined yet intimate atmosphere, where history, art, and hospitality blend seamlessly to create an unforgettable experience. With only eight spacious and exquisitely designed suites, Il Bottaccio ensures the highest level of privacy and comfort. Each suite is a masterpiece, adorned with curated artworks, antique furnishings, and bespoke details that reflect the property's rich heritage and artistic soul. The warm ambiance, paired with modern amenities, creates the perfect balance between tradition and contemporary luxury. FACT SHEET Il Bottaccio is open year-round and has never closed since 1983. Guest amenities include a full service gourmet restaurant, Il Bottaccio Lounge Bar, a seasonal indoor pool, a beautiful garden and Otzium Wellness. Since 1st March 2022, the property only uses green energy and sets a high value on eco-sustainability and biodegradable measures. The unique setting of Il Bottaccio, suspended among the sea nearby and the Apuanian Alps, contributes to its original cuisine where the sea flavours combine with the musky aromas of the woods and the mountains. The food retains the Mediterranean light - airy and delicate, full-bodied and light. The perceptions, sensations and the emotions, which the place inspires, add a unique flavour to the food - Il Bottaccio has the quintessential qualities that turn professional catering into a form of Art. Ownership, Elio D'AnnaGeneral Manager and Executive Chef, Antonio MoscaLocation: Via Bottaccio, 1 - Montignoso - 54038 (MS), TuscanyContact:+39 0585 About Internova Travel GroupInternova Travel Group is one of the largest travel services companies in the world with a collection of leading brands delivering high-touch, personal travel expertise to leisure and corporate clients. Internova manages leisure, business and franchise firms through a portfolio of distinctive divisions. Internova represents more than 100,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations predominantly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries. CONTACTS:Irina Manolea Email: Phone: +39 0585 340031 Elizabeth GaerlanEmail: egaerlan@ Phone: +1 212 944-1125 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Internova Travel Group Sign in to access your portfolio
Travel Weekly
07-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Travel advisors are appreciated, and so is air safety
Arnie Weissmann This is Travel Advisor Appreciation Month, and suppliers have been showing their support with deals and expressions of gratitude. To which I will add my own words of thanks, as a client rather than a supplier: Here's to you, Maria Carmen of Corporate Travel Management. Thank you for knowing my fussy preferences by heart, enabling me to go around the world and always having my back. There's no shortage of reasons to appreciate travel advisors, but one area that does not get as much attention as it deserves is their dedication to community service. I spent last Saturday morning at Internova headquarters in Manhattan for the I Am Cultured Annual Youth Travel and Career Summit. I Am Cultured is a wonderful nonprofit that prepares under-resourced students in Brooklyn to navigate life. Among its programs is the opportunity to travel abroad. I learned about it from a former co-worker, Reggie Hudson, who introduced me to its founder, Karmia Berry. I subsequently spoke with Internova CEO J.D. O'Hara about the organization, and we discussed ways to support its mission. Internova really stepped up, and not only to offer space in their headquarters for a job fair. It also reached out to preferred suppliers to meet with the kids to talk about careers in travel. Over the past three years that Internova has been involved, it facilitated support for career day from Accor, AmaWaterways, Delta, Disney, the Globus family of brands, Hyatt, MSC Cruises, Omni, Royal Caribbean, Singapore Airlines and The Travel Corporation. Delta, American and Hyatt were represented by speakers this year, as well. I know several agencies and agency groups that have foundations or affiliated nonprofits or programs to support their own communities or the communities where they send clients. It's an area of advisor service that I sometimes feel goes unnoticed by many but is never underappreciated by the people who have been helped. Real ID is now for real As I write this, airports are preparing for the implementation of Real ID requirements to fly. I have been thinking all week about Norm MacDonald's joke that the "I" in "ID" stands for "I" and the "D" for "dentification." I don't know whether the TSA will be staffed to handle those who do not have Real IDs and may need further verification, but I do worry that no one standing in a TSA line on May 7 will have much to laugh about. Still, those whose travel advisor told them to bring their passport if they don't have a Real ID will do better than most, and it got me wondering what percentage of U.S. citizens currently hold passports. Approximately 47% of our compatriots do. This is a huge jump from 17% in 2000 (and may help explain why the term "overtourism" wasn't coined until 2008). But those holding passports are not evenly distributed across the states. Those lacking Real IDs but with passports and departing from airports in New Jersey, California and Massachusetts will have the fewest problems; those are the three states with the highest passport ownership in the country (79.9%, 71.8% and 71.2%, respectively). The states with the fewest households holding passports are West Virginia (20.7%), Mississippi (22.1%) and Alabama (27.7%). As Real ID issues may persist for some period, if you find yourself flying out of one of these Southern states, you may want to get to the airport early, and with some good reading material. Stress on air traffic controllers It's great that New Jersey flyers lead the country in holding passports, but those flying from the Garden State have other issues to contend with. The strain of an antiquated air traffic control system that is 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing (yes, you read that right) took a noticeable toll this past week when air traffic controllers in Philadelphia lost contact for 90 seconds with the airplanes they were guiding into and out of Newark. May I humbly ask that the 300 fired people who maintain our air traffic control system be rehired? This was too much for some of the staff in what is one of the most stressful jobs in America: Four of the controllers responsible for Newark air safety took trauma leave, which could last for up to 45 days. DOGE fired fewer than 400 out of 45,000 workers at the FAA. Although the FAA and DOT won't say which positions were cut, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union said that 300 of those were maintenance mechanics, aeronautical information specialists, aviation safety assistants and management and program assistants -- the people who help maintain the outdated air traffic control system. This was done despite being 800 technicians short of its hiring target. May I speak on behalf of flyers everywhere and humbly ask that they be rehired? Travel Weekly has been writing about "next-gen" air traffic control since 2007. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is asking for billions of dollars to update the system, but even if approved, it will be years before a new system is fully implemented. The time is long, long overdue for bipartisan support for this funding.
