Travel management company TripActions has begun
transitioning customers over from Comtravo, the German company it
acquired last year, ahead of the brand’s retirement.
Comtravo, co-founded by Michael Riegel,
who became TripActions’ general manager for Europe upon its acquisition, told
BTN Europe at last week's Business Travel Show Europe: “The Comtravo brand will disappear but there’s no timeline
for that yet. We’re bringing the best of the Comtravo tech into the TripActions
platform.
“We’ve been very transparent about that and some of our bigger
customers are already being transitioned.”
With similar tech-first propositions, Comtravo and
TripActions were named Germany’s 10th and 12th largest TMCs by BTN Europe in 2021, with the acquisition further boosting the Palo Alto-based company’s
European presence.
Including Reed & Mackay – which was also acquired by
TripActions last year but will remain independent given its white-glove service
model – TripActions’ European customers now account for than 50 per cent of its
global business, with sales over the last three years elevating it to fourth place in the recently published Europe's Leading TMCs 2022 report.
“We are really committed to Europe. Our focus is across all
sectors in the UK and DACH markets, as well as SMEs in France,” said Riegel.
He added that, like most TMCs, TripActions had felt the pinch
of travel disruption and staff shortages.
“It’s been an aggressive recovery which no one really saw
coming. People made conservative forecasts because otherwise you don’t have a
business,” he explained.
Riegel said the fact 85 to 90 per cent of its transactions
are usually online had protected the TMC to some extent. “We’re slightly less impacted,
but the other 10-15 per cent still need that support and we are actively recruiting
across all roles. We are preparing now for September to November.”
He added: “We’ve seen a slight pent-up demand effect but the growth will
continue. We’re still bullish because of the data we’re seeing.”
Riegel said he could not discuss a recent report from Bloomberg
that claimed the company is in talks with investors to raise new funds based
on a $9 billion valuation.
“We have nothing to confirm but what I will say is that
getting investment these days is tough for tech companies – only the best are able
to raise those funds. Investors like the number one player in the market,” he said.