As UATP’s Airline Distribution® 2025 wrapped up on Thursday, March 20, major themes that emerged from the three-day event in Budapest centered on artificial intelligence, modern airline retailing and partnerships.
The subject of AI and its capabilities touched virtually every panel discussion, ranging from its impact both immediate and long-term on payments systems to powerful data management and predictive analytics. And while AI dominated many conversations, news around UATP’s growing partnership network highlighted the opening days of the event.
Prior to the conference, UATP announced that HRS, the corporate hotel and meeting management platform, is joining the global payments provider as a Merchant. In addition, at the start of the conference, UATP welcomed TreviPay, a long-time partner of UATP, as its newest Issuer.
Trevipay is a global B2B payments and invoicing network, working across multiple verticals, including the airline industry. The company offers payment and accounts receivable management and credit risk outsourcing, enabling airlines to drive sales and strengthen corporate relationships.
The HRS connection opens up a worldwide lodging solution for UATP’s account holders said Zach Ornelas, senior vice president commercial. “HRS becoming a UATP Merchant enables corporate customers to book global content from HRS using UATP as the payment conduit, including virtual payments,” Ornelas said.
As a member of the UATP Network, HRS provides a new payment solution for transient corporate travelers, meetings and crew travel, according to Alexander Olsen, vice president spend management and payment consulting at HRS. “The partnership creates efficiencies for corporate travel programs, with HRS lodging inventory fully embedded in their travel platforms,” Olsen said.
Olsen also cites HRS meetings-as-a-service platform and its Workforce Travel solution, giving UATP Merchants and corporate account holders access to a wide inventory of business-travel ready hotels for small group meetings, crew lodging and long-stay projects.
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