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 »
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 »
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 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 »