JTB Business Travel has launched a new tier of its Spotnana-powered Teal solution, aimed at companies without centrally managed travel programs, the latest company looking at the unmanaged business travel market as a source of growth.
The travel management company said the new offering, Teal Essential, is a "ready-to-use" version of Teal, the travel management platform built on Spotnana technology that JTB Business Travel launched last year. Teal Essential lets travelers self-book across the Teal inventory and access analytics and JTB advisors when a booking needs servicing. However, it is designed to be implemented "in just hours," compared with longer traditional TMC implementation times with "complex policy configuration," according to JTB Business Travel.
"Many companies have travelers who book independently, but they want the content, pricing and visibility that comes with a managed program," JTB USA VP of global business travel Geert de Boo said in a statement. "Teal Essential gives them a consumer booking experience combined with the exceptional service we’re known for."
Teal Essential is the latest launch by a company in the managed travel space aiming to bring in non-managed travelers away from consumer sites, which JTB Business Travel said represents as much as two-thirds of business travel. Navan last month launched Navan Edge, an AI travel assistant app that lets any traveler book and manage disruptions. InteleTravel this year also has launched BusinessTravel.com, a platform aimd at SMBs building off its assets including Hickory and MGME.
JTB Business Travel, meanwhile, said it has moved hundreds of existing accounts to the Teal platform since its launch, and de Boo said it has been a much faster process compared with the migration to its previous online platform, a process that took more than two years.
"This time, with modern infrastructure, we moved hundreds of accounts in a day," according to de Boo. "In the first two months alone, we’ve seen a 20-percentage-point increase in online booking adoption. We're just getting started, and the market is telling us it's ready."
[Disclosure: JTB Business Travel is a part of JTB Corp., which acquired BTN parent company Northstar Travel Group last year.]