Travelport Signs Deal to Get Hertz's Prepaid Car-Rental Rates for the First Time
Skift Take
As its pace of revenue growth slows, travel-tech player Travelport needs to diversify beyond distributing airline tickets. Rental cars are one bright spot. It is gaining traction thanks to a new deal with Hertz.
Global distribution systems traditionally made their bones distributing flight information between airlines and travel agents, but Travelport has been hellbent in recent years on trying to go way beyond mere airline distribution.
In fact, the Langley, UK-based company wants to increase its share of non-air revenue to a third by 2020, up from 27 percent in the third quarter. In the September quarter, Travelport's "beyond air" revenue, which includes its eNett payment-processing subsidiary, rose 11 percent to $169 million.
One positive aspect of Travelport's non-air push is that it is gaining momentum in car rental sales. The company announced a deal with Hertz to make the rental car giant's full worldwide inventory of rental vehicle rates, including prepaid rates that once were only available on Hertz's own website and mobile app.
Travelport sold 29.8 million rental car days in the third quarter, up 16 percent from the previous year.
The prepaid rates had been a sticking point in negotiations that were overcome thanks to Travelport improving its technology for disp
