Travel data aggregator Traxo has launched a platform that collects
information on bookings from supplier sites and shares it with travel managers,
and Lufthansa has signed on as the first supplier to deploy it.
The platform, known as Traxo Connect, is similar to Traxo's
legacy platform, which pulls data from more than 200 supplier sites, scans
confirmation emails and integrates with application program interfaces and then consolidates booking and loyalty program information for travelers, Traxo
founder and CEO Andres Fabris said. The platform for travel buyers, though,
will push data from supplier sites to corporations, allowing them to monitor
employee spending and travel patterns. Companies also can grant access to
travel management companies or other third parties that could use the data,
such as value-added tax processors.
Traxo proposes to link bookings to particular
corporations via corporate booking codes, which also would enable access to
corporate rates; by recognizing corporate email domains in bookers' email
addresses; or by having suppliers add to their booking process a prompt to categorize
the trip as business or personal.
"We believe the corporate entity owns that information,
and our job is to get that to them as efficiently as possible," Fabris
said. "There haven't been a lot of choices on the market to solve it
efficiently."
One clear competitor is Concur's well-established TripLink,
which Fabris said provides the same basic function. Traxo aims to differentiate
itself in flexibility—TripLink is exclusive to Concur clients—and speed of
implementation, he said. "In our case, we can be up and running in 18
days," Fabris said.
Lufthansa was a natural first partner for Traxo
Connect, given the carrier's push for direct bookings, spurred by the distribution
fee it introduced last year. Traxo is talking with other air, hospitality
and ground suppliers, including both traditional ones and new entrants, Fabris
said. He expects Traxo to announce additional suppliers in the second quarter.