Mobile travel request, suggested hotel bookings and travel allowance now available in Europe; Ctrip integration in China.
DENVER – Concur announced it's scaling the company's global offerings and adding innovative features and partner integrations, worldwide. With 33,000 customers spanning more than 150 countries, Concur continues to remain the only company to deliver a fully connected travel and expense ecosystem, globally.
"Wherever a customer is, we are focused on helping them meet their needs," said Mike Eberhard, president of global distribution at Concur. "Our increased global offerings let our customers focus on what matters most. By building out our global partner ecosystem with leading brands in our existing markets, it makes it easy for our multi-national customers to manage their travel and expenses."
Concur is the largest and geographically broadest stand-alone provider of expense, invoice automation and travel booking management. As Concur expands its global footprint, the company is investing in strategic partnerships and technology innovations that create a seamless experience for a wide range of customers in key markets.
Mobile Innovation: Meeting Concur Users Where They Are Around the Globe
– Request on Mobile helps users approve, create and submit travel requests – all on the go.
– Personalized Hotel Search on Mobile provides recommendations to travelers by highlighting their previous hotel reservations, and preferred hotels used by their colleagues.
– Fixed Travel Allowance on Mobile allows employees to create a travel itinerary on their mobile device within Concur – Mobile, in order to receive an expense report with a set of fixed-amount expenses for meals and lodging based on the – location and length of travel stated within the itinerary.
Product Enhancements: Delivering Industry Leading Partnerships and Features
– Concur's Ctrip partnership helps Chinese business travelers create a unique booking experience by combining pre-trip approval, booking and expense management into a streamlined, integrated workflow.
– Ancillary fees and branded fares are now available in Concur Travel.
– Silver Rail Partnership brings pan-European rail content to Concur Travel.
– E-Bunsho is the first ever solution in Japan that will allow Concur clients go paperless and align with e-Bunsho requirements.
– Localized reports and translation improvements for more languages allow Concur to better serve multi-national and global clients.
Concur TripLink: Helping Manage the Global Travel Ecosystem
In addition to the products listed above, Concur continues its commitment to integrated solutions with its TripLink product. The cloud-based service captures data from flights, hotels and ground transportation – no matter where travel is booked. This helps companies track all travel expenses, while maintaining duty of care for employees. Global Concur TripLink partners include AccorHotels, Airbnb, Air Canada, American Airlines, Avis, Booking.com, Captain Train, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Etihad Airways, Hertz, HotelTonight, HRS, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Lufthansa, Marriott International, National Car Rental, Omni Hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Sixt Rent a Car, United Airlines and WallyPark.
SilverRail powers Concur’s expansion into European rail
SilverRail, the innovative technology business providing digital infrastructure to enable travellers to search, plan and book rail globally, has announced a new three year partnership with Concur. Over the next coming months, using SilverRail’s API technology, Concur will be able to connect it’s corporate travel customers to European rail content across multiple markets, enhancing their OBT offering in a number of new markets.
SilverRail's SilverCore platform provides a simple, cost-effective way to implement a complete rail book and ticketing solution. The SaaS API is designed to greatly reduce the complexity involved in selling rail by providing a single, integrated service for shopping, booking, and purchasing tickets across multiple carriers. This enables Concur to display rail content in a consistent manner, regardless of rail carrier or point of sale, and provide a simple and efficient user experience.
Rail is a fundamental part of European travel and therefore a fundamental product when catering to a European business travel customer base. The investment in high speed rail has driven its popularity as journey times between key city pairs diminish: 80% of travellers now prefer to take the train over the plane when journey time is less than 2.5 hours. This has resulted in significant market share shifting from air to rail. Eurostar now claims more than 75% of the combined rail/air market on its main routes, and Italy has just revealed that since the introduction of high speed rail in 2009, demand has increased by 65%. On top of a reduction in journey time, European rail is often the most cost effective option, greener, city-centre to city-centre and offers a more productive journey.
Concur’s Director of Supplier Services, Michael Kantor says: “Rail is a key part of European travel, and so expansion into this market is a vital part of our global rail strategy, ensuring we are able to deliver all possible travel options to our business travellers.” Speaking about SilverRail specifically he said: “SilverRail currently offers content for multiple European markets through a single API, making them the ultimate partner in terms of expertise and support for serving Concur’s appetite for European rail content.”
Cameron Jones, Chief Commercial Officer at SilverRail said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Concur, and helping them to become a truly global business. SilverRail is currently connected a number of markets globally, with an appetite for more European rail content, this aligns well with Concur’s current focus and strategy; creating a great alliance between SilverRail and the world’s fastest growing Online Booking Tool.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
