Direct Travel has launched the "Travel Edition" of
its Avenir technology offering, which combines a Spotnana-powered booking
platform with the travel management company's network for support.
The TMC has been developing Avenir, which combines several
technology providers—Spotnana, group planning technology Troop and expense
management technology Center, all investments of travel tech entrepreneur and
Concur cofounder Steve Singh—into an offering by Direct Travel, which
Singh's investment group acquired last year. The Travel Edition, available
now, is built on Spotnana's infrastructure to provide access to its content
sources and real-time self-service capabilities. Service from Direct Travel and
compliance-streamlining operations are integrated, as travelers, travel
managers and travel advisors are all on the same platform.
Capabilities of the platform include the ability to mix and
match fare types into a single itinerary, split payments and provide actionable
data for spend and compliance monitoring, according to Direct Travel.
Direct Travel already has been working with early adopters
of Avenir Travel Edition, including professional services firm ZS Associates.
The company's travel lead Sarah Hayden in a statement said traveler feedback
has been "that booking a business trip finally feels modern and
intuitive."