6.2 Release Notes

Released 31 Mar 2023

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Profiles Enhancements

Communication Email

The travel platform’s email address management for traveller profiles has received a major update. The enhancements made will not only benefit current users but also future-proof the platform as more agencies and their clients adopt the Kudos as their preferred travel technology platform.

An additional email field, known as the Communication Email (or Comms Email), has been introduced. Once enabled, it will appear in place of the Alternate Email in the traveller profile form and become the traveller’s included contact element for:

• Bookings (e.g. PNRs) created via integrated systems such as the GDS (e.g. Amadeus) and OBT (e.g. Serko),

• Delivery of the platform’s email messaging such as Password Reset and Passport Expiry Notifications.

The Login Email is the only email that can be used to access the travel platform and must be unique. The Communication Email can be utilised for the delivery of platform messaging such as a Password Reset and Passport Expiry Reminder, as long as the Login Email associated with the request matches a traveller profile.

This enhancement resolves the platform's previous limitation that required a single, unique email address for each traveller, even when they were associated with multiple agencies or companies.

Users can now better manage profiles of travellers who work with multiple companies, without the need for creating fake/fictitious email addresses or relying on sub-addressing options.

💡 For more information regarding the Login Email uniqueness, Click Here.

Conversation (Zeus)

In our previous update, we enhanced Zeus with the ability to provide answers to inquiries about passengers on specific flights, airlines, and aircraft types.

We have now introduced a new Download feature, which will be displayed after any Trips-related response that includes passenger count. This feature is particularly useful for Travel Arrangers (TAs) and Travel Managers (TMs) who manage delegated travellers.

With this new feature, TAs and TMs can conveniently download important passenger information to better manage their trips.

🗨️ When enabled, Zeus is designed to be a companion before, during and post the trip. Discover more including how to access this feature as well as “Conversation Starters” here.

System Integrations

Profile Sync - Communication Email

After activating the Communication Email feature for a company and assigning a value to a traveller's profile, this information will be consistently transmitted to downstream systems and received from upstream sources. This change has been incorporated into the following integrated systems:

Outbound Sync
Inbound Sync

For example, when syncing the Tony Stark traveller profile with Serko, the Communication Email will be used in place of the Login Email as shown below.

With the 6.2 Release, we advise agencies to perform a "health check" on their integrated systems, especially those utilised for self-bookings (e.g. OBT - Serko), to guarantee accurate data matching of Kudos Traveller ID (TID) and Kudos Company Code (KUDOS CODE).

Concur-enabled platforms: The Concur CLIQUSER remark serves as an alternative to the Kudos traveller "TID" for identifying bookings. For guidance, please refer to the relevant Kudos Admin Help article.
_{Admin Help > Platform Administration > System Integrations > OBT}

This evaluation is crucial when enabling the Communication Email option, as the uniqueness of email address data in bookings might be affected. Conducting regular system health checks contributes to maintaining data integrity and avoiding potential issues related to the traveller and company identification. The following is provided as a high-level overview.

Company Identifier

The “Kudos Company Code” is a static (fixed) data element per company.

GDS	GDS Data String	Example
	RM*KUDOS CODE:KudosCompanyCode	RM*KUDOS CODE:STK
	NP.KD*KUDOS CODE:KudosCompanyCode	NP.KD*KUDOS CODE:STK

Traveller Identifier

The “Kudos Traveller ID” is a variable (dynamic) data element and each traveller’s differing ID must be included in the PNR (passenger associated).

GDS	GDS Data String	Example
	RM*TID:KudosTravellerID	RM*TID:STK1234567
	NP.KD*TID:KudosTravellerID	NP.KD*TID:STK1234567

Agencies are recommended to consult the relevant Admin Help article:
_{Admin Help > Platform Administration > System Integrations > OBT
Admin Help > Platform Administration > System Integrations > Unused Tickets}

To make use of the Communication Email feature in tandem with the Cytric Online Booking Tool (OBT) for Amadeus, the agency needs to implement a modification to their BMP Link. This change ensures accurate capture of RM*KUDOS LOGIN:{LoginEmail}. Not implementing this modification may result in traveller trips not being correctly matched to the appropriate profiles within the travel platform, which could pose potential risks for the agency. For guidance, please refer to the relevant Kudos Admin Help article.
_{Admin Help > Platform Administration > System Integrations > Trips > Amadeus (1A) > Amadeus Link (Tools-Remarks)}

Kudos Profile API

Concerning the Kudos Profile API, a new optional element called communicationEmail has been introduced to both the XML and JSON schema. This addition allows for the inclusion of a communication email, providing more flexibility and options for managing user communication preferences.

^{Admin Help > Platform Administration > System Integrations > Profiles}

Amadeus Profile Sync

The SSR DOCO entry in Amadeus GDS has been updated to comply with changes imposed by IATA that require the "Country of Issue" (USA) for both TSA Known Traveller Number and Redress Number entries to be included. This additional information helps airlines and authorities to verify traveller identities more effectively.

With this update, the SSR DOCO entry format for KTN and Redress Number will now look like the following examples:

	Input	Output
Known Traveller Number (K)
Redress Number (R)

Tramada Profile Sync

The profile sync with Tramada has been updated to exclude Company Memberships when the “Include Supplementary Data” option is enabled (yes).

This change was necessary to ensure only Traveller Memberships were synced to avoid potential impacts with an agency’s other integrated systems such as an online booking tool (OBT) e.g. Serko.

Platform Administration

To support the Login Email and Communication Email functionality, various modifications were required in the admin UI and the platform’s database.

Companies > Profile Configuration

Field	Description
Communication Email Visible	Default value is no. If set to yes the Communication Email field will be visible in the platform's profile form UI, as seen in the following example.
Communication Email Mandatory	Default value is no. A valid combination is Communication Email Visible to yes and Communication Email Mandatory no. The Login Email is always mandatory and must be unique throughout the entire Kudos Travel Platform (eco-system). When both Communication Email fields are set to yes, the Communication Email field will not only be visible in the platform's profile form UI, it will also be indicated with an * (asterisk) to indicate it is mandatory. In this situation, all users (TR, TA, TM and TAM) via the platform’s profile form UI will require this field to be completed to allow “Save” for any profile create and update.

If Communication Email Mandatory is yes, the profile import file and inbound profile feeds (e.g. Concur) will not enforce this field. The mandatory status applies only to the platform’s UI.
This, therefore, allows an agency (e.g. TMC) or a company’s HR/Procurement team to create profiles and instruct their end users to add this item to their profile before proceeding to make a booking.

Companies > Company Syncs

A new field called "SSO Unique ID" has been introduced to the Single Sign On (SSO) settings. This addition enables the selection of either Kudos TID or Employee ID as alternative Unique IDs for SSO, rather than relying on the Email Address for user authentication and identification.

To use of the Communication Email feature in tandem with the Serko Online Booking Tool (OBT), an agency must modify both the SSO Unique ID and Unique Profile ID settings to options other than Email Address. It is advised to choose Network ID (Kudos TID) for both settings. Additionally, the following Corporate Options within Serko must be updated to correspond with the changes:

1. SSO Type (ensure it aligns with the selected Kudos "SSO Unique ID" option)

2. Profile Maintenance - Unique Profile ID (ensure it aligns with the selected Kudos "Unique Profile ID" option)

For guidance, please refer to the relevant Kudos Admin Help article.
_{Admin Help > Platform Administration > System Integrations > OBT}

Travellers Import & Export

The Travellers Import/Export files have been modified to include the Communication Email (address) feature.

The original (traveller) Email column header has been relabeled → LoginEmail.
An additional column header to support the inclusion of a traveller’s Communication Email → CommEmail.

For guidance, please refer to the relevant Kudos Admin Help article which contains the most recent user guides and templates.
_{Admin Help > Platform Administration > Import & Export}

An agency admin will encounter errors if attempting to import travellers using an outdated (template) file, as shown in the following example.

Bug Fix

The profile sync for travellers with a Passport includes a specially formatted SSR DOCS data element.

The SSR DOCS data element is visible in both the profile’s sync XML Request and the Amadeus Host system’s (GDS), traveller profile, as seen in the following examples.

It was identified that the SSR DOCS encountered issues when processing passport expiry dates that fell within a "week year”.

The Amadeus profile sync can now process and store passport expiry dates, even when a "week year" is encountered.

At the time of deployment, a database (DB) script was run by Kudos to identify and correct the GDS traveller profiles of all active traveller profiles who had a current or future passport expiry date in a “week year”. Although no action should be required, should a GDS traveller profile be found to be holding an incorrect expiry date, an agency’s Kudos Administrator user is able to initiate an update manually.

What’s Coming

Sabre (GDS)

We are excited to announce that the Kudos Travel Platform will soon support the integration with Sabre Profiles and Bookings into our platform.

Sabre Profiles

Agencies (e.g. TMCs) will be able to sync traveller profiles stored in the platform with their Sabre booking system (GDS). The integration will facilitate the transfer of traveller information, preferences, and loyalty program memberships, simplifying profile management and reducing manual input.

Kudos Profiles	Sabre Red 360

Bookings

Users will be able to view their Sabre booking (e.g. PNR) in the travel platform’s Trips and Care interfaces. This allows once a booking has been captured, to have the platform's array of data providers applied.

Sabre Red 360	Kudos Trips

Carbon Offsets

The platform's commitment to Sustainability initiatives, which were first introduced in the 6.0 Release, will be reinforced by the inclusion of Carbon Offsets, as illustrated in the provided UI sample.