Navan is tapping travel and spend management platform Engine's technology structure to add new capabilities, including around hotel booking flexibility and group and project travel, the companies announced.
With the strategic partnership, Navan said it is bringing Engine's content, infrastructure and payment capabilities into its platform to add that flexibility. The company said that infrastructure connects with hotels to provide up-to-date availability to travelers, which will extend the options available to Navan users.
"Our customers rely on Navan to make business travel simpler for everyone involved-from the employee on the road to the team managing the program," Navan president Michael Sindicich said in a statement. "Working with Engine allows us to bring more choice and flexibility to that experience, while keeping the customer journey connected and easier to manage."
For one, Navan said it will be able to support more flexible cancellation policies, changes to stays and the ability to adjust a stay shorter after it has begun using Engine's payments and fintech capabilities. It also will be incorporating Engine's technology around group stays for capabilities around team bookings and room blocks, including a workflow in which users can reserve rooms even if all travelers' names are not yet finalized, the company said.
Navan said the group booking and self-service modifications will be available "in the coming months," and the first capabilities from the Engine partnership will start to appear this month. Navan and Engine said they are planning for "continued joint development" in the future.
Engine, originally launched as Hotel Engine and later growing into a wider travel booking and spend management platform, has been a growing presence as a technology parter for travel management. In July, Engine announced it had acquired travel management company Options Travel, with which it has been developing an AI-native online booking tool for TMC agents.