Business Travel News Europe Business Travel News Europe
Business Travel News
  • NEWS & FEATURES
    • Accommodation
    • Air Travel
    • Ground Transport
    • Management
    • Meetings
    • On the Move
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • TMC & Distribution
    • Travel Procurement
    • Recent Issues
  • CONVERSATIONS
    • Expert Q&A
    • Columnists
    • Podcasts
    • VIEW ALL CONVERSATIONS
  • IN DEPTH
    • Global Insights: India in motion
    • A class of its own
    • Cracking the data puzzle
    • Culture club: How to engage global stakeholders
    • Artificial intelligence: Don't believe the hype
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • DATA & INSIGHTS
    • Reading the cards
    • Come together
    • Experience is everything
    • Stay for a while
    • Data disturbance
    • VIEW ALL
  • EVENTS
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Show
    • Business Travel Accommodation Summit
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Leading 50 TMCs
    • Corporate cards & payments 2020
    • Podcasts
    • Recent Issues
    • Business Travel Buyer's Handbook
    • Business Travel Buyer's Techbook
    • Taking On Travel Risk Management
    • The Distribution Issue
    • Data Sources: The Reference Guide
  • NEWS & FEATURES
    • Accommodation
    • Air Travel
    • Ground Transport
    • Management
    • Meetings
    • On the Move
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • TMC & Distribution
    • Travel Procurement
    • Recent Issues
  • CONVERSATIONS
    • Expert Q&A
    • Columnists
    • Podcasts
    • VIEW ALL CONVERSATIONS
  • IN DEPTH
    • Global Insights: India in motion
    • A class of its own
    • Cracking the data puzzle
    • Culture club: How to engage global stakeholders
    • Artificial intelligence: Don't believe the hype
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • DATA & INSIGHTS
    • Reading the cards
    • Come together
    • Experience is everything
    • Stay for a while
    • Data disturbance
    • VIEW ALL
  • EVENTS
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Show
    • Business Travel Accommodation Summit
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Leading 50 TMCs
    • Corporate cards & payments 2020
    • Podcasts
    • Recent Issues
    • Business Travel Buyer's Handbook
    • Business Travel Buyer's Techbook
    • Taking On Travel Risk Management
    • The Distribution Issue
    • Data Sources: The Reference Guide
Business Travel News
  • NEWS & FEATURES
    • Accommodation
    • Air Travel
    • Ground Transport
    • Management
    • Meetings
    • On the Move
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • TMC & Distribution
    • Travel Procurement
    • Recent Issues
    SubscribeBTN Europe NewsletterBTN Europe Magazine
  • CONVERSATIONS
    • Expert Q&A
    • Columnists
    • Podcasts
    • VIEW ALL CONVERSATIONS
    Bob Quick GSALaunch of new travel risk standard ISO 31030 is impeccable timing
    Adam Schrader RisklineTravel smarter to meet sustainability responsibilities
    Ema Boccagni ECA InternationalEmployers face difficult decisions as vaccine rollouts gather pace
  • IN DEPTH
    • Global Insights: India in motion
    • A class of its own
    • Cracking the data puzzle
    • Culture club: How to engage global stakeholders
    • Artificial intelligence: Don't believe the hype
    • Artificial Intelligence

  • DATA & INSIGHTS
    • Reading the cards
    • Come together
    • Experience is everything
    • Stay for a while
    • Data disturbance
    • VIEW ALL
    Reading the cardsReading the cards

    BTN Europe presents an overview of business travel and MICE predictions for this year

  • EVENTS
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Show
    • Business Travel Accommodation Summit
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
    Sustainable Business Travel Summit Europe

    Virtual Event - 9 June 2021

    Business Travel Show Europe

    ExCeL London - 30 Sep - 01 Oct 2021

    Recognising the best

    Recognising the best

  • RESOURCES
    • Leading 50 TMCs
    • Corporate cards & payments 2020
    • Podcasts
    • Recent Issues
    • Business Travel Buyer's Handbook
    • Business Travel Buyer's Techbook
    • Taking On Travel Risk Management
    • The Distribution Issue
    • Data Sources: The Reference Guide

On the Move

Simone Buckley joins TripActions

By Mark Frary / 22 March 2021 / Contact Reporter
Share
simone buckley tripactions

Simone Buckley, who is joining TripActions

The former CEO of travel management company Fello and of the ITM, Simone Buckley, has today joined TripActions as vice president of EMEA marketing. Buckley resigned from Fello in October after a change in strategy from the TMC. 

Buckley said. “I wanted to work for a company that has the enthusiasm, financial backing and instincts to get this industry back up and running and help create opportunities for all the talented people in our industry community who find themselves displaced because of the pandemic.” 

Speaking to BTN Europe, she said, “The big question is why would you go from CEO to a strategic marketing role: the fact is I am moving from a boutique travel management company with 40 people to a huge, well-funded global tech company.”

She added, “TripActions is a technology company that will do the travel management service, unlike some other tech companies. With all the funding TripActions has, they have recognised they need some travel expertise in there and they have recognised that Europe is different to the US.

"In order to provide the level of service required to operate successfully in EMEA, you first have to understand the nuances, and that’s where TripActions impressed me. Their investment in an engineering hub in Europe shows their absolute commitment to re-surge from the pandemic with a truly holistic and global solution for travel, payments, and expense.”

The travel management platform secured US$155 million in Series E growth funding in January and says it plans to use some of the investment to increase UK headcount by 50 per cent.

The company is also investing in its EMEA product offering.

This includes a partnership with Trainline for Business to give access to a wider range of European rail content. It will also take NDC content from Lufthansa Group airlines and has added local airline inventory, including negotiated rates and additional low-cost carriers.

TripActions has also secured direct commercial partnerships with Dalata Hotel Group, Doyle Collection and Millennium Hotel Group and added nearly 1,000 TripActions Lodging Collection properties across Europe, with negotiated discounts of up to 20 per cent.

Two of Buckley’s first jobs will be to drive the rollout of expense and payment platform Liquid in Europe and creating a VIP section of the business.

Liquid will allow a traveller passing through Heathrow, say, to buy a bottle of water at WH Smith using the Liquid card held on their phone, which will be checked against the company’s expense policy and recognised as being within the per diem. It flows through the expense process without any approval. 

It is currently being tested in certain markets in Europe, said Buckley.

Buckley is well placed to drive the launch of the VIP part of the business with her experience with high-net-worth individuals at Fello.

“No matter how much tech you have, the CEO will not use it; the PA will do it for them. That is not something you need in the US,” she said.

Buckley believes TripActions will grow in Europe through acquisition and says there are TMC "bargains" to be had both now and when furlough schemes end and some have "good clients and good people" despite their current financial issues.  

TripActions, which launched in Europe in mid-2019, has recently won the accounts of retailer Primark, publisher Springer Nature and technology company Advanced.

More On the Move
Related
festiverd castroFestive Road appoints data and analytics expert
Sixt enables AirPlus central billing paymentsSixt appoints new CFO
Singapore Airlines begins testing digital health verification on two routesSingapore Airlines names new GM for UK and Ireland

More On the Move

Festive Road appoints data and analytics expert
Sixt appoints new CFO
Singapore Airlines names new GM for UK and Ireland
Hospitality tech firm appoints Chris Crowley

VIEW ALL
Subscribe to the

BTN Europe Newsletter

pixel2

Click Here for our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

  • Most Read
  • Most Shared
  1. France votes to ban short-haul domestic flights
  2. Amex GBT calls on G7 to accelerate restart of international travel
  3. Pay As You Fly: what it means for your travel programme
  4. Global travel taskforce report ‘another hammer blow’ for business travel
  5. North London-based TMC ceases trading
  1. Launch of new travel risk standard ISO 31030 is impeccable timing
  2. Amex GBT calls on G7 to accelerate restart of international travel
  3. Pay As You Fly: what it means for your travel programme
  4. Mobility: Unravelling new layers of immigration red tape
  5. France votes to ban short-haul domestic flights
Business Travel News Europe Business Travel News Europe
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • EDITORIAL CALENDAR
  • Business Travel Show
BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS
NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP
Business Travel News
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Editorial calendar
  • Editorial guidelines
  • Subscribe to BTN Europe
  • Subscribe to BTN U.S.
  • Subscribe to Travel Procurement
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & conditions
Business Travel News Europe
Business Travel News Travel Procurement The Beat
Northstar Travel Group
  • Corporate travel
  • Business Travel Show
  • Business Travel Awards
  • BTN U.S.
  • The Beat
  • Travel Procurement

  • Travel Technology
  • Travel Tech Show
  • Phocuswire
  • Phocuswright
  • Intelliguide
  • Meetings & incentives
  • M&IT
  • AMI
  • ConventionSource
  • M&IT Awards

  • Retail travel
  • Travel Weekly
  • Travel Pulse

  • Northstar Travel Group
  • View all Northstar brands
Northstar Travel Group
Copyright ©2021, Northstar Travel Media Ltd, The Epworth, 25 City Road, London EC1Y 1AA, UK
RRManagement rrtestprocurement