PhocusWire’s weekly travel tech news briefs: Fora, Amex GBT, Expedia Group 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 help of ChatGPT.

BCD Travel, Oversee

Travel management company BCD Travel and Oversee, a travel technology firm specializing in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered spend optimization and agent operations, are expanding their partnership to scale Oversee’s agentic AI across BCD’s operations.

Following a successful pilot, the AI will automate tasks like booking requests and passenger name record creation, boosting agent efficiency and service level agreement adherence. This aligns with BCD’s digital transformation goals, enhancing service without losing the human touch. The partnership reflects a shared vision to blend technology and talent for scalable, high-quality, traveler-focused service in a rapidly evolving travel landscape, the companies said.

TerraPay, XanderPay

TerraPay and XanderPay have partnered to simplify and digitalize international payments for hotels globally.

By integrating TerraPay’s cross-border network with XanderPay’s hospitality payment expertise, hotels can now centralize financial operations, accept diverse payment methods and reduce costs tied to traditional systems like Swift. The solution streamlines third-party bookings, enhances cash flow and treasury management and supports the shift toward guest-centric, above-property payment models. 

Amex GBT recruits studio head

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) has appointed Rich Atkinson-Toal as global vice president of brand & experience studio.

The studio, which launched last year, delivers immersive, strategically driven events that blend creativity, logistics and travel for more than 15,000 events worldwide.

D-edge, Expedia Group

D-Edge has integrated with Expedia Group’s reservation management API, becoming one of the first partners to pilot and launch it.

Released in April 2025, the API enhances service for 17,000 hotels using D-Edge solutions. Hoteliers benefit from improved guest personalization via access to Expedia’s loyalty and corporate guest data, as well as streamlined, tokenized payment processing for better security and reduced operational load. 

Frenchospitality, Eviivo

Frenchospitality, a Paris-based operator of boutique hotels and hybrid accommodations, has selected Eviivo to centralize operations and reduce costs across its expanding portfolio. Seeking a flexible platform to manage hotels, apartments and co-living spaces, Frenchospitality replaced multiple tools with Eviivo’s all-in-one system. 

Since adoption, tech spend has dropped from 4% to just over 1% of annual revenue, and direct booking rates have reached 35%. The group also cut payment processing fees by retaining its preferred gateway, which they said saves up to 2% per transaction. 

Plan3’s regional growth

Passenger disruption management tech specialist Plan3 has appointed Vivian Meril to lead business development in the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific regions. 

Meril joins Plan3 from Amadeus and has more than 15 years of aviation experience with roles at Qatar Airways and Emirates, as well as travel tech companies such as like Cleartrip. 

Traxo adds partners

Traxo, a leader in real-time corporate travel data capture, has added six new partners to its Traxo Marketplace, expanding its ecosystem of integrated solutions for travel managers. 

The additions—AlertMedia, Alō Index, Elements, Fare Audit, Restrata and Travlr ID—support areas including risk management, return on investment analysis, travel audits and more. Over 400 companies have enabled integrations through the Traxo Marketplace.

Mobi.AI names CEO

Mobi.AI, an AI personalization and optimization solutions provider that won People’s Choice at The Phocuswright Conference in 2024, has appointed Andrew Boch as CEO. The move follows Boch’s three-year tenure as chief operating officer. He succeeds co-founder Anna Jaffe, who will move to the board of directors. 

Boch, a startup veteran with experience at Hopper and LevelUp, will lead alongside chief technology officer and co-founder Peng Yu. The leadership update also includes the promotion of Harriet Brown to chief product officer and Jim Russell transitioning to an advisory role.

Fora’s board of directors

Fora, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2023, has appointed Erik Blachford to its board of directors. A travel industry veteran, Blachford was part of Expedia’s founding team and later served as CEO of both Expedia and IAC Travel. He also led Terrapass and Butterfield & Robinson and currently sits on the boards of Zillow and Peloton. His investment firm, Blachford Capital, focuses on travel, wellness and clean energy startups.

Awaze appoints CEO

Awaze, parent company of Hoseasons, has named Matthew Price as its permanent CEO after serving in the interim role since January. Formerly group chief financial officer, Price brings experience from Global Fashion Group, MoneySuperMarket, Costa Coffee and Sainsbury’s.

He succeeds Henrik Kjellberg and will focus on expanding Awaze’s tech and customer relationship management capabilities to better serve guests and property owners in a tough market. Platinum Equity, which owns Awaze, said Price has already made a strong impact. Sharla Singh will continue leading the finance team until a new CFO is named.

Accelya’s buyer-led group

Accelya, in partnership with consultancy Temoji and Paul Tilstone, has launched the Business Travel Innovation Group (BIG), a new forum aimed at giving corporate travel buyers a stronger voice in airline retailing.

The group brings together 20 enterprise and mid-market buyers to share insights, spotlight best practices and support New Distribution Capability (NDC) adoption. A new guide released by BIG identifies coordination—not technology—as the biggest barrier to scaling NDC, despite growing confidence in its benefits. Findings will help inform a broader industry effort launching at Global Business Travel Association later this month to close implementation gaps and improve collaboration.