Worldwide: Corporate travel consortium Hickory Global Partners has launched a joint venture with travel agent group The Advantage Travel Partnership to create an accommodation network, Global Stays.
Global Stays is expected to launch next year and will offer more than one million serviced apartments and more than 60,000 properties worldwide. It will be available to more than 1,900 TMCs, corporate travel departments and corporate direct.
The Advantage Global Hotel Program (GAP) is available for all Advantage members to book via the GDS. The program currently offers over 42,000 properties, ranging from hotel chains to independent properties and serviced apartments.
The Hickory Global Partners Hotel Programme currently provides access to 43,000 hotel properties to 1,500 member locations, including TMCs, corporate travel departments and corporations in 71 countries.
Global Stays will combine Advantage’s presence in the UK and the reach of the Advantage Global Network with Hickory’s membership in North America. The new platform will broaden the combined accommodation offerings of both organisations and enhance opportunities for members.
Chris Dane, president of Hickory Global Partners, said: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the deepening of the relationship between Advantage and Hickory. Expanding our aligned business efforts will bring much more value to the TMC and MICE member networks and a larger audience to our air, hotel, and ground suppliers. In addition, we see this deeper relationship between our companies as leading the way in the ever-changing travel marketplace.”
John Hobbs Hurrell, head of Advantage Global Network, said: “We have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Hickory for many years, and through our many collaborations, have become the voice of independent TMCs globally. This joint venture brings us even closer together and further strengthens our relationship, providing a perfect platform to deliver significantly more hotels for our collective membership, as well as provide more opportunities for our hotel and serviced apartment suppliers.”
