Emburse Buys Tripbam in Corporate Travel Tech Mash-Up
Skift Take
Key Points
- Emburse acquires Tripbam, a startup specializing in travel management and auditing tools.
- Tripbam's software helps corporate travel managers find better deals and re-book at lower rates.
- The acquisition aims to strengthen Emburse's market position amid growing competition from companies like Coupa and SAP Concur.
Summary
Emburse, a provider of expense technology for corporate travel, has acquired Tripbam, a Dallas-based startup known for its travel management and auditing tools. Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Tripbam had previously raised $1.5 million in venture funding. Tripbam's software helps corporate travel managers find the best deals by monitoring price fluctuations and enabling re-bookings at lower rates. The acquisition aims to enhance Emburse's offerings to its 18,000 customers, including major companies like Google and ExxonMobil. This move is part of a broader trend of consolidation in the corporate travel technology space, with competitors like Coupa also expanding their platforms to capture market share from SAP Concur.
Emburse, a software provider of expense technology for corporate travel and meetings, said on Wednesday it's acquiring Tripbam, a Dallas startup whose tools are used by corporate travel managers.
The companies didn't reveal the price or terms of the deal. A venture-backed startup, Tripbam had raised $1.5 million.
Tripbam's pitch is that its software can let corporate travel managers and event planners shop across multiple airlines and hotels for reservations, taking advantage of price fluctuations when they happen. If a price goes down on a refundable booking, the software can enable the buyer to re-book at the new lower price. The startup claims this process provides significant savings on a meaningful number of searches.
Tripbam also helps companies audit their travel programs. Corporations often employ travel managers to negotiate volume discounts with airlines, hotels, and other travel providers, typically with pricing that's essentially agreed-upon marketing conditions.
Haggling with hotels over rates is especially tricky, however. Tripbam is one provider whose tool lets travel managers audit whether or not the prices travel suppliers turned out to be as good as promised.
Emburse plans to offer Tripbam's auditing tech to its more than 18,000 customers, including companies like Google and ExxonMobil, with a claimed 12 million users. Microsoft, for instance, is a client that uses both Emburse and TripBam for employee travel.
"Emburse Go Premier allows our employees to manage every aspect of their trip through a single app, while Tripbam delivers savings through re-booking at lower rates said Eric Bailey, global director of employee travel and devices at Microsoft.
Consolidation in the corporate travel space may be underway. Emburse rival Coupa last year launched a travel and expense platform and also has a similar price rebooking tool. Both Emburse and Coupa are looking to take share from SAP Concur, the largest player in the segment.
Emburse is the result of a roll-up of several vendors by K1 Investment Management, a private equity group in California — which apparently sees ongoing growth opportunities.
"Was a long process to find the right buyer that was the best for our customers, investors, and employees," said Steve Reynolds, CEO and co-founder of Tripbam. "Emburse is the perfect fit. In addition, the combination … provides unique opportunities to disrupt the entire travel procurement process, end to end."
UPDATE: Article was updated with a comment from the Tripbam CEO.
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