Nothing beats word of mouth for business travel providers seeking new clients. Established players count on referrals, with the most gratifying coming from former users recommending them to new employers. New entrants incentivize to evangelize. The lucky business travel startup hooks a big fish corporate account and rides the wave of publicity. Downstream from big corporate, new entrants… Read More »
Sometimes the things we write about peter out. Sometimes more developments happen, but they don’t warrant an entirely new article. In other cases, something unexpected or counterintuitive is noteworthy in its continuance. Hence, the Updates post. Click to jump to United’s carbon emissions pledge to corporate clients, Upside’s launch, proliferating Basic Economy airfares, PayForTrip’s pause, the federal government’s… Read More »
[UPDATE: Aug. 18, 2017: Direct Travel acquired S.R. Travel Service of San Francisco. Terms were not announced. A statement from Direct Travel West region president Helen Leon noted plans to expand “VIP and elite” services. Direct claims $4 billion in sales and offices in 60 locations.] The creators of TripActions think they have a slick reservations app, a… Read More »
Business travel startups are huge right now. New-entrant corporate booking tool NexTravel is working on its mobile app. Artificial intelligence and text bots are making a go of it. Agents are going virtual. Also hot? Rewards. The notion of the incentive program isn’t new, but it’s rapidly attracting automation. Rocketrip was the first in a club that during the past year… Read More »