TripActions Raises $51 Million Series B for Its Business Travel Service


Skift Take

Talk about using incentives to change behavior. Is the threat of obsolescence due to new technology and startup business models enough to prompt incumbent travel management companies such as Egencia and Carlson Wagonlit to adapt?

It didn't take long for another major example to pop up in the news to illustrate one of Skift's 2018 Megatrends: "Startups Go Direct to Consumers in Battle for Business Travelers." On Wednesday, TripActions, a business travel startup, said it closed a $51 million Series B funding round. Businesses hire TripActions to run their travel programs, and the startup rewards employees with Amazon gift cards or credits for personal vacation if the workers book cheaper travel than they might have otherwise. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Zeev Ventures led the round. The investment brings the total capital raised to nearly $80 million. The Palo Alto, California–based startup, which has 120 employees, will partly use the funding to open an office in London. It will also use the funding to increase the size of its technical and customer support teams at an average rate of five employees a week through the spring. “We have been blown away by the pace of growth we’ve seen at Tr