October 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.).

Content

Rail: New European rail content

We now have rail content for Trenitalia, Italy’s primary rail carrier, on the Spotnana platform. Travelers can book either standard or first class tickets and also have the ability to cancel their reservation. Trenitalia is renowned for its extensive rail network, which includes high-speed trains, regional routes, and international connections. 

For details on booking a European rail trip, see Book a rail trip (for Europe and the UK).

Traveler Experience

My reports: New All Transactions report

Travelers are now able to view a new report named All Transactions. This report provides detailed information about all booking types at the transaction level for the individual traveler. This also includes useful metrics for spend, policy compliance, and emissions. 

To view this report, select My reports from the Analytics menu. Then select All Transactions from the report menu. Filters can be used to restrict the data you see to a specific timeframe. 

For more details, see My reports. 

Travel Management

Company Trips page: Arranger view

The Company trips page is now viewable to Travel Arrangers. Previously, the Company trips page was only viewable to Company Administrators. 

Travel Arrangers can only view trips for travelers that they have permission to arrange for. To view the Company trips page, select Trips from the Company section in the Trips menu. The Company trips page will be displayed. 

For more details, see View trips for travelers in your company.

Company reports: New All Transactions report

Company administrators are now able to view a new report named All Transactions. This report provides detailed information about all booking types at the transaction level. This includes useful metrics for spend, policy compliance, and emissions as well as additional transaction-level details. Use this report to derive insights across all your transactions and to support reconciliation.

To view this report, select Company reports from the Analytics menu. Then expand the Spend category on the side navigation and select All Transactions. The sub-filters in this report can be used to restrict the data you see to specific travelers, departments, and events. 

For more details, see All Transactions report.

TMC Infrastruture

Payment gateway configuration

TMCs use payment gateways to accept payments. Some TMCs may also use a payment gateway to process payments when more traditional forms of payment (e.g., traveler’s credit card) are not accepted in a specific country or by the supplier or when cash payments are required. 

TMCs are now able to configure which payment gateway is to be used based on the following:

• Country - designate the country that requires a payment gateway. (Note: This is only possible in countries where Stripe is available.)

• Transaction type - designate whether the charge is for the cost of a booking or for the service fee.

• Suppliers who do not accept credit cards - including airlines that only accept cash and Trainline.

To request that we set up your payment gateway configuration for use on the Spotnana platform, please contact your Partner Success Manager and they will provide you with instructions.

Agent Experience

Automated approvals for Shell PNR GDS bookings

For offline bookings that originate in the GDS via a Shell PNR, agents now have the ability to trigger automated approval requests. 

The steps below detail how this process works:

1. When an agent needs to make an offline booking directly in the GDS, the agent creates a Shell PNR in the Spotnana platform.

2. The agent adds the relevant flight, hotel, and/or car segments in the GDS, and then prices and saves the PNR.

3. The agent returns to the Spotnana platform and verifies that the new segment has been added to the traveler's trips page.

4. The agent finalizes the booking. Finalizing the booking initiates the automated policy and lowest logical fare (LLF) checks.

5. A final page is displayed to the the agent informing them of the following:

   1. Any policy violations on the booking

   2. Any custom fields that need to be filled out

   3. If the booking requires an approval

6. Upon completing this final stage, the Spotnana platform automatically handles ticketing the reservation and triggers the relevant soft, hard, or passive approvals.