TripStax has signed a deal to become a reseller of an online booking tool for project, crew and team travel (PCTT).
The tool, developed by US-based technology start-up Tripgrid, will be available for the first time to TMCs globally of any size.
Until now, Tripgrid has only been accessible directly by corporates that don’t work with a TMC. TripStax is already in late stage contracting with several TMC clients.
PCTT travellers include architects, engineers and construction workers, entertainment professionals, oil and gas employees and sports teams and involves logistics, risk management, mobility issues and tech solutions that often fall outside traditional meetings, events and group travel management.
Around 40% of PCTT transactions are still being booked individually by corporates and managed in spreadsheets.
Users of Tripgrid’s tool can book flights for an entire team in one booking flow, with visibility into real-time flight content, 24/7 support, stored traveller profiles, group checkout, and live flight tracking.
It replaces a traditional manual booking process that could take up to three days and allow it to be done in less than half an hour.
Users also make significant savings on transaction fees, including the ability to cancel flights without paying an offline service fee.
Since October 2023 TripStax’s technology has been powering Tripgrid with essential back-end connectivity via the TripStax Content API and TripStax Profile applications.
Jake Hoskins, Co-founder and CEO Tripgrid, explained: “GBTA’s recent research indicates that PCTT is a rapidly growing business travel category, currently representing 22% of global travel spend. However, the bulk of transactions are still being booked individually by corporates and managed in spreadsheets.
“We invested heavily in developing Tripgrid to bring much needed automation to the PCTT booking process. But this is no ordinary OBT. We also worked with one of the best design firms in the world to build the best UI and UX.
“We carried out extensive research interviewing more than 200 travel arrangers to understand their current process and pain points. Our ‘design thinking’, dedication and iterative process led us to a solution which specifically addressed their needs and everyone at Tripgrid is proud to bring such a product to the corporate travel market.
“Until now however we have focussed on working directly with corporates who have significant PCTT requirements, but didn’t have a TMC in place to manage this for them,” he continued. “We are therefore excited to strengthen our partnership with TripStax, whose technology has already enabled us to leapfrog our development over the last year. Now TripStax will be able to fast-track access to Tripgrid for any TMC who wants to offer the solution to their customers.”
