Concur Taps Small Business Sector with Concur Hipmunk Solution

We've heard it before. Small businesses simply don't have the budget to invest in a full-fledged travel management program. That doesn't mean they don't desire the benefits, and the fact that they're not ready to invest now doesn't mean they won't be ready in the future. Concur will capitalize on small businesses' potential with Concur Hipmunk, the T&E provider's first "lightweight" product specifically targeted to small businesses. This is also the first integrated product since Concur acquired Hipmunk nearly a year ago.

Concur Hipmunk combines technology from Hipmunk, Concur Expense, TripLink and TripIt Pro to give users discounts on air, hotel and car rental bookings; enable pre-populated expense reports; provide TripIt Pro itinerary management; and integrate meetings with Google Calendar. Concur is working on a similar integration with Microsoft Office 365's Outlook calendar. For now, Concur is targeting smaller Concur Expense clients to add Concur Hipmunk for a fee.

"We've learned over the last five years that there are a large number of customers who are simply not ready for a fully managed travel program with Concur Travel and one of our TMC partners," Concur chief product officer Tim MacDonald said. "Concur Hipmunk is an incubation strategy to introduce these companies to some of the benefits of managed travel so as they grow, we can work with them and ultimately graduate them to Concur Travel and one of our preferred TMC partners."

Users log in to the Hipmunk website or app, available on iOS or Android, using their Concur Expense credentials. Hipmunk captures the travel data and sends it to TripIt Pro and Concur Expense, and the expense report automatically populates. Administrators, in turn, gain visibility into what was booked and where travelers are. Administrators also can set price thresholds for bookings.

The benefits and capabilities, however, may not be consistent, as they depend on suppliers' offerings. One airline might offer a discount in a certain market to gain market share, explained Hipmunk co-founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. Another airline may or may not upload itineraries to TripIt Pro automatically.

Such advantages will be highlighted during the booking process. "We're certainly not going to be biasing results towards particular suppliers," Goldstein said. "We'll let them compete the way they always have on Hipmunk, based on quality of their product and the price they're offering. That said, some [suppliers will push] offerings that others [won't]."

Is This Competing with TMCs?

MacDonald said Concur Hipmunk is not competing with travel management companies, as the small business sector is one that TMCs "wouldn't even consider approaching." Concur actually will rely on TMC partners to refer small business to Concur Hipmunk. In return, Concur will allow the referring TMC to monitor progress. "If the referral economics grow substantially, the TMC will know it's time to re-engage" with that prospective client, said MacDonald. "This is not a replacement for TMCs. This is an on-ramp for Concur Travel and TMC partners. The real benefit for them is the long-term value of being able to create that pipeline and get those customers back when they're ready."

Concur Hipmunk launch partners include Carlson Wagonlit Travel's RoomIt, American Airlines and United Airlines. According to MacDonald, the solution is available to a "few hundred" select Concur customers and will be widely available later this year.