Type of company: Technology Provider
Regions: North America, Europe
Target Market Segment: SMEs, Large national companies, global / multinational companies
Select Corporate Users: Deloitte, Diageo, PwC and TripAdvisor
Total Users/Seats: Not disclosed
Total Annual Bookings: Not disclosed
Total Transaction Volume Annually: Not disclosed
Set Up / Implementation Fees: Not disclose
Ongoing Fixed Charges: Not disclosed
Transaction Charges: Not disclosed
Update Frequency: Weekly
LEADERSHIP TEAM
- Eva Fouquet, Senior Vice President, B2B
- Susan Lichtenstein, Sr. Director, Strategic Growth
- Anthony Salomone, Sr. Director, Product
- Darius Aseriskis, VP, Technology/Engineering
WHAT THE COMPANY SAYS
According to company executives, Kayak for Business brings simplicity and choice travelers expect from Kayak into a corporate travel experience. The value proposition is an open ecosystem that connects an intuitive booking platform with travel management, payment and expense parters, giving companies the flexibility to build a program around their needs. For travelers, that means an easier booking experience with choice. For businesses, it means greater visibility, stronger policy adoption, more control over travel spend and a platform they won’t outgrow, according to Kayak for Business.
The provider has moved away from its previous two-tiered approach and now offers a single global platform that serves companies of all sizes, with integrated solutions based on a company's needs. Every company has access to the administrator control panel with enterprise-grade controls to configure and run their travel program. The website promotes the Kayak for Business relationship with PwC U.S. as the first company to use its enterprise-grade offering and promotes that the professional services firm “can help other companies with implementation.”
Such implementations require a TMC. Kayak for Business currently has relationships with two TMCs: Blockskye, which is mainly for North America and Altour for global implementations. The company announced another TMC relationship in May, with FCM, but details have not been forthcoming. The company has told BTN that it is “picky” about its TMC partners, but also is looking to announce more.
NDC Strategy
Kayak for Business leverages a multi-source distribution model encompassing direct connects, NDC, NDX, aggregators and GDS to deliver a broad, unbiased inventory that provides businesses complete choice and transparency. We prioritize interoperable, direct connections that provide access to supplier-direct fares and enable self-service directly with suppliers, all while reducing intermediary fees and agent touches.
Hotel Content Strategy
The booking tool provider leverages a multi-source distribution model using GDS, direct connects, and hotel aggregators to offer our clients a comprehensive inventory that provides choice and transparency. Clients have the ability to book their preferred hotels at their corporate discounts, direct booking options or with hotel aggregators.
Ground transportation
GDS, Groundspan and HQ Travel
Technology Innovation & Roadmap
Kayak for Business executives said the platform provider is committed to rapid, continuous innovation that includes advancing artificial intelligence capabilities, expanding inventory with direct supplier connections and deploying platform enhancements every week.
Approach to AI
Kayak for Business leverages AI in multiple ways to create a traveler-centric hybrid experience that offers flexibility in how travelers choose to move through search, booking and servicing with less friction, increased personalization and more confidence. In its hybrid model, AI earns its place and works alongside traditional search tools travelers already know and trust. Travelers retain full control over how much they utilize AI—whether using smart filters to quickly create a shortlist, accessing AI chat for trip support, building a full itinerary through natural conversation or starting inside their company’s approved AI tools.
Key Technology Differentiators
Kayak for Business offers key architectural and user-experience innovation. Its familiar consumer experience and continuous optimization is built on a traveler-first leisure search platform refined 20-plus years and continuously optimized with daily A/B tests, paired with an top-rated mobile app. The platform offers an agnostic multisource foundation that leverages Kayak’s core architecture to aggregate inventory from traditional and non-traditional channels, prioritizing direct connections—particularly interoperable ones—to provide real choice and transparency.
E-Commerce shopping cart architecture replaces traditional PNR-based workflows. This approach allows users to combine and book any content source simultaneously within a single trip. Its open ecosystem is the central platform that connects travel management, payment and expense partners to deliver a complete integrated travel program.
Policy & Personalization
Travelers can explicitly set preferred suppliers or specify suppliers to avoid. Additionally, the platform infers preferences based on past booking behavior. Previously booked flights and hotels are highlighted to streamline repeat itineraries. Individual preferences are automatically balanced against corporate rules via a dedicated management console, ensuring search results reflect both the letter and spirit of company policy.
Additionally, flexible pricing thresholds support static price caps as well as dynamic logic (such as lowest logical fare + $X or dynamic city caps) across all travel types. Policy actions—including filtering out non-compliant options, displaying without allowing bookings, requiring manager approval, or flagging as out-of-policy—can be configured down to specific policy groups, rule classes, routes or markets.
WHAT CONSULTANTS SAY
Consultants see a distinctive but still maturing proposition. Kayak for Business combines a familiar consumer-style interface with direct airline and hotel connections, strong U.S. rail content, useful transaction-level reporting, and clear payment, settlement and savings visibility. One consultant called the content proposition “real, not marketing,” while another ranked the traveler experience “top two or three, easily.” That familiarity can support adoption, while standard dashboards may reduce setup.
The drawbacks center on scale, clarity and operational fit. Consultants described the platform as a work in progress, with a largely U.S.-focused footprint, fewer carrier connections than major competitors, and limited expense integrations and client references. Complex international itineraries and multiple approval workflows may expose weaknesses. Buyers should also test whether available TMC partnerships can meet fulfillment and support requirements across markets.
Specifically with Blockskye—which to-date is Kayak’s marquee product at the enterprise level—the model can be difficult to explain. Its difference is a selling point, but deals may stall when travel managers cannot see how it connects to existing processes. AI was viewed as adequate rather than leading. Overall, the tool appears strongest for organizations prioritizing direct content, transparency and traveler adoption, provided they assess geographic coverage, servicing, expense integrations and change-management needs.
WHAT BUYERS SAY
BTN had limited visibility via buyers for the Kayak for Business proposition. However, the few buyers that BTN connected with had positive impressions of the tool, particularly with direct connect airline content, commenting that the tickets were issued on airline “ticket stock” and not on TMC stock, even when working through a TMC for bookings. One buyer claimed this increases interoperability and travelers’ capabilities to receive loyalty entitlements and make self-service changes. That said, direct connect coverage remains heavily in the U.S., even after globalization announcements with Altour. GDS NDC is used to fill gaps and traditional GDS content is used as a further fallback, for now.
Speed was another advantage with buyers noting the tools were “very fast” and could book itineraries in just a few minutes. While the user interface is familiar, said one, it is also starting to appear dated compared to some emerging tools. Kayak executives have characterized this as a transition moment where some people want the traditional interface and AI is being applied gradually. Consensus among buyers is that the platform could develop faster towards its AI-based experience.
Buyer interactions with the Kayak for Business platform was limited to how the tool is executed on the Blockskye platform. No users were located to review its adaptability to Altour or FCM for more global capabilities.