News

chatlyn Unveils Hospitality Chatbot At Arabian Travel Market 2024

The advanced AI software sets new industry standards and can understand and respond to detailed customer queries.

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2024

Nour Nasir

chatlyn

chatlyn, a leading provider of guest experience software for the travel and hospitality sector, has unveiled its latest AI chatbot at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024 as part of a strategic expansion into the Middle East.

The new chatbot demonstrates exceptional proficiency in understanding natural language nuances and grammatical structures, and can accommodate various languages, including Arabic. The AI bot’s capability ensures prompt, accurate responses, benefiting hotels with diverse international guest lists and significantly reducing response times.

According to chatlyn, its latest creation has “the capacity to process up to 4,000 tokens and a doubled data capacity,” and is able to outperform competitors in depth and responsiveness during every interaction. Moreover, users can upload business PDFs to receive precise answers instantly, showcasing the chatbot’s effectiveness as a dynamic knowledge repository.

“During the BETA phase, we saw customers increase their success rate in resolving queries by fifteen times simply by uploading a PDF with their information and integrating the chatbot into their main communication channels,” explained Michael Urbanek, chatlyn’s CTO.

Also Read: Joby To Establish All-Electric Air Taxi Ecosystem Across The UAE

Since its inception in late 2022, chatlyn has experienced rapid expansion, and now serves over 1,000 properties globally, including numerous renowned brands in the travel and hospitality sector.

The company’s product suite is focused on improving customer engagement in hospitality, featuring an omnichannel inbox, AI assistants, and Automation Studio, for seamless interaction across web chat, WhatsApp, email, and social media. This AI-powered platform enhances customer interactions, prioritizing satisfaction and operational efficiency.

chatlyn has already established a strong foothold in the Middle East, and now collaborates with various hospitality companies and properties, including GoMosafer, La Quinta by Wyndham, Luxury Bookings, and Amsaan Tours.

Related Topics:Artificial Intelligence Chatlyn

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News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

6 days ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.