Another industry mainstay is getting a fresh start with a
new company entering the corporate travel industry. Former VP global markets
for HRG/Amex GBT Eve White has joined next-generation booking platform WhereTo
to lead its global sales effort. WhereTo's origin is in leisure travel, but the
company shifted dramatically in 2017 after CEO Ryan Wenger presented at a South
by Southwest event. There, the technology caught the attention of a Fortune 10
travel manager and was eventually transformed into an artificial intelligence-powered
managed travel platform.
For now, the company isn't a full-fledged travel management
company; it has roughly a dozen agents, and bookings are fulfilled via Options
Travel. It received $6 million in Series A funding from Emergence Capital in
the past year and is building out global infrastructure. White's new global
sales role may signal progress in these efforts.
The platform claims to book a business itinerary in three
clicks, and the website boasts of "insanely cheap" hotel prices. The AI
under the hood tracks traveler preferences and actual bookings to deliver
customized results.
White follows Bob Brindley, who left BCD last year to join TripActions;
Therese Kelleher, who walked away from a short stint at BCD Meetings &
Events to go to Groupize;
and Mike Daly, who had worked for firms like Sabre GetThere and Deem but took
flight to Freebird
this year.