CONNECTED TRAVELLER

Encouraged by the success of its iPhone application last November, Best Western is moving on to the second stage of its mobile development with the launch of its tablet version, for making reservations via the iPad.

The Pullman chain has turned to the MeetingMatrix tool to provide an optimised offering for the organisation of professional events in the MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Convention Event) segment.

The TourCom travel agency network is gaining ground with business customers, as demonstrated by the significant increase in business volume (+10%) recorded during 2011. This augurs well for TourCom, which hopes to make further progress thanks to an upgraded technological offering.

Google is confirming its growing interest in business travel: the web giant will be one of the main guests at the next conference organised by the Guild of Travel Management Companies in Doha in May, on the theme of "drivers of change".

The Starwood group is launching a new version of its website dedicated to the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events) sector, to improve the offering for business customers.

Worldhotels and StarCite have recently entered into a new partnership, which will enable the group of independent hotels to promote its MICE meetings and events offering.

KDS has just launched a mobile application dedicated to organising business travel: KDS Book On Mobile enables business travellers to book their tickets on air and rail networks from their smartphone, while remaining within the framework of the company's travel policy.

On 15 March, the Roomkey hotel booking platform welcomed a major new partner: the Worldhotels network has added to the website's offering.

Samsung is preparing to launch an innovative new phone on the French market that can double up as a video projector for mobile professionals attending meetings.

Air France's digital showcase recently won the Travel d'Or 2012 award for the best website in the airline category.

Voyages-Sncf recently won the European Commission's "European Journey Planner" competition with its Mytripset tool: a multimodal travel planner that combines different types of transport for an efficient journey.

Apple's new tablet arrives in France on Friday 16 March. The iPhone 3 is not necessarily revolutionary, despite being billed as 'resolutionary', but there have been a few improvements, mainly in image quality.

With just a few days to go before its official launch, Global Hotel Exchange has welcomed a major new addition: the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

Geneva airport this week unveiled its latest mobile service for travellers: the GVApp application.

Good news for business travellers making regular trips to the UK: it will soon be possible to make calls across the Channel, thanks to an agreement signed between Eurostar and the various operators involved.

Global Hotel Exchange, the new hotel booking platform, has just announced a number of new memberships from major establishments, ahead of its launch on 15 March.

At the international mobile trade fair currently taking place in Barcelona, Concur reported very good results for its mobile applications dedicated to travellers, including TripIt.

This week, Facebook launched a new application enabling travellers to book their hotel room via the social network, at more than 4,000 hotels worldwide.