This week's Update features stories about a number of emerging corporate travel startups, all of which expect, in one way or another, to take advantage of expected changes in the post-COVID corporate travel industry. Is it just me or is corporate travel starting to get really crowded?
Life House Raises an Additional $60
Million
("Kayak-Backed Hotel Startup Life House Raises New Funding
at $250 Million Valuation," December 2, 2021 via Bloomberg -
News) (subscription may be required)
Over the past year or two, we've featured a number of stories on New York-based Life House
Hotels, including its operation of the Kayak Miami Beach in
partnership with meta search platform, Kayak. Kayak appears to be
interested in expanding that relationship as it joins other
investors in this latest Life House financing round. The round
values Life House, which as of the end of November, held 51 hotel
management contracts, at approximately $250 million.
Another Business Corporate Platform Quietly
Emerges
("Onriva CEO Ready to Emerge From 'Stealth
Mode'," November 23, 2021 via Business Travel
News)
It was only a few weeks ago that we featured a story about new corporate travel platform
- Spotnana - quietly emerging from nearly
two years of stealth operations. Last week, another corporate
travel platform - Onriva - announced its arrival after
nearly five years of stealth operations. Onriva, which offers a
business travel marketplace featuring more than two million travel
suppliers and wholesalers, is free to users but also offers paid
membership levels for such benefits as cash back on bookings and
agent support and reporting. Onriva currently sources inventory
direct from suppliers (including airlines using NDC), online travel
agents, GDSs and travel management companies. Using the
platform's artificial intelligence and machine learning, users
of the platform are directed to the "best" travel options
while remaining compliant with the users' employers'
corporate travel policies. Onriva also features several fintech
products that provide suppliers to the platform with protection
from user fraud, declined cards and chargebacks.
American Airlines Offers GDS
Alternative
("American Airlines Enables Direct Connection Through
Winding Tree," November 19, 2021 via Phocus Wire)
American Airlines announced that it was offering an unidentified
corporate client access to American's fares and itineraries via
a partnership with Winding Tree, an Ethereum (decentralized,
open-source blockchain) based platform. With the connection,
employees of the client will be able to book both corporate and
leisure travel directly with American Airlines without the use of
any intermediary.
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