Emirates Airline and ezRez Software, Inc. today announced a new multi-year partnership under which ezRez will be the exclusive technology provider for hotel rooms, car rentals and destination activities available through the airline's website, www.emirates.com. Travelers will be able to add hotel rooms, car rentals and destination activities to their flights when booking online at www.emirates.com, or they can use the website to book standalone hotel rooms and car rentals. The entire itinerary, whether booked individually or in a shopping cart with Emirates flights, will be available through the "Manage a Booking" tab on the airline's homepage.
Emirates' worldwide reach and diverse customer base require a global technology platform that can be localized for each individual market. With ezRez, Emirates will have control over a single global system that is deployed in 14 languages and supports payment in 42 currencies. Additionally, Emirates will segment inventory by geographic region and traveler type to optimize hotel offers for the individual preferences of each market.
"Emirates has won numerous awards for service, technology and in-flight comfort. When we decided to offer hotels and car rentals, it was important to partner with a technology company that could meet the same high expectations we set for ourselves," said Russell Sheldon, Senior Vice President Network Passenger Sales Development, Emirates Airline. "The ezRez platform is flexible enough to meet the needs of each individual market while delivering the world class products our customers expect from the Emirates brand."
"Emirates serves nearly every major global market and is on its way to becoming the largest carrier in the world," said John Swanciger, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing at ezRez. "As a global platform with unparalleled localization capabilities and the ability to offer unique travel products to any customer at any point in the purchase process, ezRez is a perfect match with Emirates."
In addition to using ezRez's configurable online tools, Emirates is making extensive use of the ezRez API to access inventory. The online hotel and car hire functionality is scheduled to launch in Q1 2011. In subsequent phases of the partnership, Emirates will incorporate ezRez's agent booking tool and use the ezLoyalty platform to provide additional functionality to Skywards, the airline's award-winning loyalty program.
