Bd4travel eyes international expansion with appointment of head for the Americas

Amy Devlaliwalla has previously worked for the likes of Sojern, Sabre and Amadeus

Dnata Travel-owned travel data intelligence firm bd4travel has set its sights on international expansion after hiring a head of markets in the Americas.

The firm has appointed Amy Devlaliwalla as vice president for the region based in Washington DC.

In a career spanning 20 years, she has previously worked for Sojern, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Amadeus and Nor1, plus global hospitality brands Hard Rock Cafe International , Caesars Entertainment and Hilton.

The more global aspirations for the UK/German data platform comes as it has invested in its international data infrastructure and expanded its development and delivery teams.

The firm has recently signed partnerships with the European subsidiary of Hilton and Europcar adding to existing customers including Emirates Airlines, Expedia, easyJet Holidays, HolidayCheck, Travel Republic and Tui.

Bd4travel’s artificial intelligence technology enables brands to provide personalised shopping experiences to better engage with consumers in real-time.

Devlaliwalla said: “Bd4travel’s AI-driven profiling delivers real-time insights that enable personalized shopping experiences for the travel industry.

“We are poised perfectly to answer that need as travel returns stronger from the pandemic. Companies are making sizable investments in digital transformation and seeking partners that can provide actionable insights to serve the most engaging yet highly converting experiences.

We have seen that this experience optimization really benefits our clients’ bottom line and we believe we can yield the same results with travel partners in the Americas.”

To support its international growth bd4travel has brought in cloud-computing services from Microsoft Azure using local data centres in the US and the Middle East.

The company says it also plans to further expand its project management and product development teams and is expecting a 20% growth in headcount by the end of 2021.

Andy Owen-Jones, chief executive and co-founder of bd4travel, said: “While the pandemic has been a hard blow to all travel businesses, the surge in digital transformation across all markets is driving demand for intelligent data-led solutions.

“Travel companies need to remain agile yet responsive to market changes and short-term demand patterns, with a great need to interpret first party data and to respond in real-time to customers needs and requirements.

“Our technology optimises the traveller’s online experience, increasing engagement and conversion. We are excited by the opportunities for our customers as we scale our operations.”