Advantage expands accommodation options with Hickory joint venture

Advantage Travel Partnership is expanding its range of global accommodation through a new joint venture with US-based corporate travel consortium Hickory Global Partners.

The initiative, which was announced at Advantage’s conference in Mexico last week, will create the Global Stays Network programme, which will offer more than 60,000 properties and in excess of one million serviced apartments around the world from 2025.

Andrea Caulfield-Smith, Advantage’s new managing director of global business travel, said: “Through our Global Accommodation Programme (GAP) we already have 43,000 properties available and continue to offer bed and breakfasts, direct connections, Premier Inn and Expedia.

“When Hickory comes into play in 2025 that will increase the programme even further.”

Hickory Global Partners’ hotel programme currently provides access to 43,000 properties, with a total hotel spend of $1.6 billion in 2023. Both Hickory and Advantage offer their members negotiated hotel rates at properties throughout the world. 

John Hobbs Hurrell, head of Advantage Global Network, added: “We have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Hickory for many years, and through our many collaborations together have become the voice of independent TMCs globally.

“This joint venture brings us even closer together and further strengthens our relationship, providing a perfect platform to deliver significantly more hotels for our collective membership, as well as provide more opportunities for our hotel and serviced apartment suppliers.”

Hickory was acquired by US-based homeworking travel agency company InteleTravel in 2023.