June 2024 - Release Notes

Here are the most recent enhancements to Spotnana’s Travel-as-a-Service Platform. The features are grouped by functional category (Content, Self-service, etc.). 

Global expansion

Mexico 

Spotnana is now live in Mexico. Travelers in the market have access to:

• Air content sourced through Sabre and Travelfusion, along with a direct NDC integration to American Airlines

• Hotel and car content sourced through Sabre 

• Booking and invoicing in Mexican Pesos

• Localized user interface in Spanish

• Local language support in Spanish

Costa Rica

Spotnana is now live in Costa Rica. Travelers in the market have access to:

• Air content sourced through Sabre and Travelfusion, along with a direct NDC integration to American Airlines and Copa Airlines

• Hotel and car content sourced through Sabre 

• Booking and invoicing in Costa Rican Colónes

• Localized user interface in Spanish

• Local language support in Spanish

Traveler Experience 

Air

Add or edit passport or national ID details during checkout 

Travelers can now add or edit their passport and national ID details directly on the checkout page when purchasing flights. To do this on the checkout page, go to the Traveler details section and click Edit traveler. Then, expand the Travel Documents, Known Traveler Number, emergency contact and more section. Click Passport to edit or add a passport. Click National ID to edit or add a National ID. Any changes made will be saved to your traveler profile for future bookings. 

Please note that this feature is not currently available when booking with Southwest Airlines. 

Hotel

Self-service changes to Expedia bookings 

Through our direct integration with Expedia, travelers are now able to make modifications to their Expedia hotel reservation on their own on the Spotnana platform and don’t need to reach out to a travel agent. Travelers can edit the room rate, room type, or the date of arrival or departure. 

To do this, go to the Trips page and select the Upcoming tab. Then, locate the trip that contains the hotel booking you wish to change and select it. The trip details will be displayed showing the hotel bookings included in this trip. Locate the hotel booking you wish to change and click Modify. The Change reservation page will then be displayed. Make the desired changes. For more details, see Modify a hotel booking. 

Car 

Self-service changes to rental car bookings

Travelers can now make changes to existing car rental bookings on their own on the Spotnana platform. Travelers can change the rental car supplier, dates, or times. To do this, select the Upcoming tab within the Trips page. Then, locate the trip that contains the car rental booking you wish to change and select it. The trip details will be displayed showing the car rental bookings included in this trip. Locate the car rental booking you wish to change and click Modify. The Change reservation page will then be displayed. Make the desired changes. For more details, see Modify a car rental booking. 

Rail

Travelers able to book Amtrak rail in the mobile app

Travelers now have the ability to book U.S. rail trips on Amtrak within the Spotnana mobile app. To download Spotnana’s mobile app, use the link at the bottom of the homepage in Spotnana when on desktop or mobile web. Mobile app links are included for both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. For more details, see Book a rail trip (U.S. - Amtrak) and Download the app. 

Support 

Help Center link now on Support page

A link to Spotnana’s Help Center has been added to the Support page, providing travelers with an additional way to access helpful how-to topics and reference guides. Travelers can also reach the Help Center at any time via the chat icon in the bottom right corner of the Spotnana platform.

Travel Management

Policy: Passive approvals

Company administrators are now able to choose Passive approval as an option when configuring their company's policy. Passive approval can be selected for both in- and out-of- policy bookings, and is available for air, hotel, and car approvals. This is in addition to the hard and soft approval options already available as policy settings. When Passive approval is selected, the approver receives an email notification but no action is needed from the approver. 

To configure passive approvals, select Policies from the Program menu (the Default policy page will be displayed). Then, expand the General section, scroll down to the Approval section, and use the menu to select the approval type. For more details, see Setting approval policies.

User booking restrictions 

We have renamed the Safety page to Booking restrictions on the Spotnana platform, and have expanded this page to include user booking restrictions. These restriction options are in addition to country-level restrictions that are already available. 

The new section on the Booking Restrictions page allows administrators to restrict users, or entire legal entities, from booking travel for themselves and restricts others from booking travel for them. Additional details are:

• Groups of restricted users can be added at the individual user level by entering the relevant user emails, or at the legal entity level by adding the specific legal entity to restrict.

• Custom reasons for restricting can be added using the rich text editor. The reason entered will be shown to the restricted users if they attempt to book travel in the Spotnana platform. 

• Restricted users will still be able to search for travel on Spotnana’s platform and view search results, but will be blocked from booking.

• These restrictions will be visible to restricted travelers who are trying to book for themselves and to those who are trying to book on behalf of a traveler who is restricted. 

To set this feature, select Company from the Program menu. Then, select Booking restrictions from the Configuration section in the side navigation. For more details, see Restrict users from booking.

Country booking restrictions 

The Country tab within the Booking restrictions page allows administrators to block travelers from booking restricted booking types (air, hotel, car, and rail) in specific countries. Previously, this meant that travelers were completely blocked from viewing search results for any restricted countries. Now, travelers (and arrangers) are able to search and view results for travel in the restricted countries on Spotnana’s platform, but are blocked from booking. For more details, see Restrict travel bookings by location. 

Allow employees to ‘book for a guest’

Company administrators now have the ability to allow employees to book for a guest. This can be enabled/disabled on an individual user or company level.  

• Company option - To configure this for all users, select Company from the Program menu. Select General from the settings menu on the left and go to the Company settings section. Enable the Allow employees to book for guest setting. This will allow employees to book travel for guests without a profile. 

• Individual option - To enable or disable this for individuals, select Users from the Program menu. Then, locate the desired user accounts and select the Configuration tab. Enable the Allow employee to book for guests setting. This will allow this user to book travel for guests who don't have a profile. Administrators are able to override the company-level setting if they toggle on/off for individuals.

For more details, see Book travel for a guest.

Payments

Configure payment method by traveler type

Company administrators are now able to specify which travelers are able to use a designated payment method when booking travel. This applies to central cards, virtual, cards, UATP Travel Cards, United PassPlus cards, and Direct billing for car. The following Traveler type selections are available: All Travelers, Employee, Company Guest, and Personal Guest. 

• To configure this for central cards, select Company from the Program menu. Then, select Payment methods from the Payment section on the left and refer to the Central payment methods section. When adding a new central payment method, or editing an existing one, use the Traveler type field to control which travelers are permitted to use the designated card. For more details, see Add a central card as a payment method. 

• To configure this for virtual cards, select Company from the Program menu. Then, select Payment methods from the Payment section on the left and refer to the Virtual payment methods section. When adding a new virtual payment method, or editing an existing one, use the Traveler type field to control which travelers are permitted to use the designated card. 

• To configure this for UATP and United PassPlus cards, select Company from the Program menu. Then, select Supplier programs from the Supplier section on the left and refer to the Airline program section. When adding a new airline program, or editing an existing one, use the Traveler type field to specify which travelers are allowed to use the designated payment method.

To configure this for Direct billing for cars, select Company from the Program menu. Then, select Supplier programs from the Supplier section on the left and refer to the Car tab.  When adding a new direct billing relationship, or editing an existing one, use the Traveler type field to specify which travelers are allowed to use the designated payment method.