TravelPerk now enables travel buyers to cancel bookings for
flights, accommodations, trains and cars for a full refund. TravelPerk
positions the service, dubbed FlexiPerk, as an improvement over airlines' flexible
fares—which cost on average 60 percent more than standard fares, according to
the company—while preserving flexibility in travel planning. More than 20
percent of all booked business trips are later rescheduled, modified or
canceled, according to TravelPerk, leading many corporate travel managers to
steer travelers away from nonrefundable fares, despite the significantly lower
cost.
To use FlexiPerk, travel buyers pay 10 percent of a trip's
overall cost, which is comprised of eight elements, such as flight ticket,
hotel stay and train journey. When any or all trip elements need to be
canceled, the fare for the canceled element is refunded up to 5,000 euros
per traveler or 30,000 euros per trip for multi-traveler bookings.
Cancellations can be made up to two hours before departure
for trains and planes or by 4 p.m. on the day of hotel check-in. Trip elements
can be canceled with one click within the TravelPerk app, which will
automatically start the refund process. Funds are typically returned within
seven days, according to TravelPerk.
FlexiPerk is in beta. Trial customers like SumUp and Picnic have
saved an average of 26 percent compared to the cost of flexible fares and
last-minute hotel cancellation fees, according to TravelPerk.
Barcelona-based TravelPerk recently closed a $104 million Series
C investment round. It earmarked the funding for product innovation and
continued European expansion. The closing of the round added $60 million from
existing series C investors to the $44
million they'd committed in October 2018 in the first part of the round.
The latest financing brings TravelPerk's capital raised since its 2015 founding
to $134 million.