Boston-based LogMeIn roughly tripled its revenue and employees via acquisitions since sourcing pro Jean Johnson joined the tech firm nearly two years ago. As director of global procurement, Johnson consolidated from seven travel management companies to one. Frosch’s mobile technology helped distinguish it from other bidders. LogMeIn also is rolling out Concur Travel as part of a travel program… Read More »
BCD Travel last month alerted clients to a formalized program that charges them extra for supplier bookings which are more costly to support, joining rivals American Express Global Business Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. According to multiple sources, BCD Travel identifies such reservations as including those that must be booked or serviced outside global distribution systems. Also covered by the… Read More »
Three unidentified travel management companies have enlisted 30SecondsToFly’s Claire chatbot, according to co-founder Felicia Schneiderhan. Claire’s parent is de-emphasizing direct client servicing in favor of powering other business travel entities due to the cost and limited return of maintaining small-business accounts. Claire uses the Facebook, Skype, Slack, SMS and web platforms to communicate with users about their bookings. “All… Read More »
Today’s advisor is travel management veteran Andy Menkes of Partnership Travel Consulting. He writes that while data from travel management companies has improved over the years, travel program managers must do their due diligence. That means plugging gaps and checking everything. President Ronald Reagan made the phrase “trust, but verify” famous in the United States back in the… Read More »
Some travel management company sources are concerned about competition from SAP Concur’s Hipmunk-powered small-business offering. A new TripLink-related requirement for Concur’s preferred partners is irksome to others. It’s just another day in the alliance, ever uneasy for some, between Concur and TMCs. Whether they’re resellers or preferred partners, certain TMCs have worried about the tech company’s moves in… Read More »
Atlanta-area travel management company Duluth Travel today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a bid for breathing room as it fights a legal battle with a regional rival. Duluth is appealing its loss in a breach of contract lawsuit by former partner AdTrav Travel Management. The bankruptcy filing is a rare one for travel management companies, which… Read More »
Now that’s a mega. American Express Global Business Travel today announced plans to acquire Hogg Robinson Group in an all-cash deal. Both are among the top four global travel management companies. Publicly traded HRG also announced it would sell its Fraedom software business to Visa for 142 million pounds ($198 million). Depending on conditions related to the Fraedom sale,… Read More »