Expense Technology Landscape Heats Up

What’s in a name?

The expense technology providers snapped up over the years by K1 Investment Management, including Chrome River and Certify, will now operate as part of a stand-alone company named Emburse. CEO Eric Friedrichsen told Skift the company wants to build off its six existing brands, sharing technology and growing its market share.

Is there anybody out there who doesn’t want to take down SAP Concur right now? It’s corporate travel enemy numero uno.

Speaking of Concur, remember when the company bought Hipmunk three years ago? No? Well, Concur is putting the cute chipmunk out of its misery next week, killing off the once popular metasearch site. That acquisition remains a head scratcher even as it reaches its logical endpoint. RIP to a real one. More booking sites need dancing mascots.

Finally, what the heck is going on with Air India? Skift Asia Editor Raini Hamdi takes a look at how the carrier is playing global distribution players against each other as it searches for success.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet @sheivach.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Senior Enterprise Editor

Featured Stories

A Quiet Giant in Expense Technology Has New Name and Mission: Combined travel and expense technology companies are having a moment right now. One should also watch which upstart travel management companies begin to further flesh out their own integrated expense solutions.

Hipmunk Co-Founders Spurned by SAP Concur in Attempt to Buy Back the Company: It isn’t very unusual for a company like Hipmunk to get acquired and then to fade into oblivion in the clutches of a much larger corporation. That’s the way it goes in the heartless mergers-and-acquisitions game.

How Struggling Air India Is Setting the Stage for a Major Battle Among Distribution Giants: Much is at stake for global distribution systems and travel agencies as struggling Air India uses airline distribution as a means to stay afloat. The real winners and losers in this battle are still up in the air, with Amadeus back in the game after pulling out over a year ago.

The Future Of Travel

Subscription Travel Is the Next Frontier of Loyalty: Earning consumer loyalty means more than giving them rewards. Subscriptions and memberships represent a compelling way for travel companies to create lasting relationships with consumers.

Latin America’s Biggest Travel Company Isn’t Despegar or Booking: Brazil’s CVC Corp.’s purchase of Argentina’s Almundo is a strategic move to increase its digital reach — but more importantly it helps CVC build even greater scale beyond its home borders.

How Global Event Planners Need to Think About China’s Secondary Cities: China has become a hot spot for global business travel and its secondary cities are evolving to accommodate larger conferences and conventions. What should event planners know?

Senior Enterprise Editor Andrew Sheivachman [[email protected]] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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