Expense management company Concur has today (January 13) announced it will buy travel technology firm Tripit, in a deal worth up to $120 million.
The move will help the expenses firm to address the needs of the unmanaged business travel market, said Concur.
Tripit aims to help travellers who have booked their trips online through any number of sites (it works with nearly 1,000) to organise and share their travel plans using their mobile phones.
Travellers forward their travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com. Tripit then automatically creates a master itinerary combining travel plans with relevant information, including maps and directions.
Steve Singh, Concur’s CEO, said the advance in mobile solutions has changed the way business travellers buy, share, manage and expense their travel plans.
“There is a universal need to bring order to the chaos of travel and make life better for business travellers,” he said.
Tripit itineraries can be accessed via the internet, or by smart phone, using an Android, Blackberry or iPhone app.
A premium service, called Tripit Pro, automatically monitors travel itineraries, providing mobile alerts and alternate flight options.
Travel management company BCD Travel also uses Tripit’s technology to keep its clients up to date.
Travel technology expert Glenn Gruber said he thinks the acquisition is a “good move” for Concur and its customers.
The associate vice president of market development and travel technologies at Ness Technologies said: “From a Concur perspective, I think they get an acquisition with a bit of cache, bringing in the social element of travel, and strengthening its mobile offerings.”
It should also make it easier for employees to share travel plans with a company, and track their whereabouts during an emergency, he added.
From the customers point of view, “it will make anyon“It makes anyone who has been using Concur and TripIt separately life’s easier,” said Gruber.
Presumably, he said, travellers will no longer have to forward their itineraries to plans@tripit.com anymore. “That should be handled automatically from here on out.”
www.tripit.com www.concur.com