Tag Archives: travel management company

Blockskye Tests Blockchain Payment, Settlement And Reporting With ARC, Unnamed Airline

By | August 8, 2018
Michael Share

Blockchain startup Blockskye is running a proof of concept with the Airlines Reporting Corp. and also working with an unnamed airline and Fortune 100 corporate account to build a robust direct-booking and payment program. Blockchain would not enable fare shopping or make bookings. The carrier’s website would handle those computing-intensive processes. Rather, Blockskye would run some of the associated… Read More »

Startup TravelPerk’s Differentiator Is A Bit Different

By | August 2, 2018

[CORRECTION, Aug. 6, 2018: The original version of this article misstated TravelPerk’s customer count. The company claims more than 1,000 clients. The content below has been updated.] When asked what makes their outfits unique, business travel entrepreneurs tend to talk tech rather than people. TravelPerk is going the other way, and its customers seem to appreciate it. The Barcelona-based… Read More »

Mobile Is A Differentiator In Fast-Expanding GoToMeeting Parent’s Frosch Selection

By | May 29, 2018
Frosch and Obex CTO Sridhar Balaji

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 »

30SecondsToFly Adds Fare Search Tech, Investment From EGlobalfares

By | May 23, 2018
David Rifkin

Chatbot maker 30SecondsToFly accepted an unspecified investment from eGlobalfares, a dozen-year-old fare search tech provider that serves a few hundred travel agencies globally. The deal also extends 30Seconds’ strategy to market to travel management companies. The partnership enables eGlobalfares customers to offer public and proprietary fares through the Claire chatbot to business travelers. Claire is available by SMS,… Read More »

‘No Great Answer’ In Search For Corporate Agents

By | May 21, 2018

CCRA’s Dic Marxen sees corporate travel agent salaries rising by double-digit percentages because of the profession’s aging workforce and dearth of new labor. He wasn’t surprised to see Travel Leaders Group this month create a scholarship program for military veterans. Marxen had a similar idea three years ago that died at the feet of federal bureaucracy, but he isn’t… Read More »

BCD Travel Joins In With New Fees For Non-Standard Bookings

By | April 4, 2018
TMC fee

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 »

Small Accounts Aren’t Worth The Effort, So Claire Chatbot Seeks TMC Users

By | April 2, 2018

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 »