Corporate spend management platform Ramp is entering the travel booking space with the launch of Ramp Travel, which it built upon an integration with Priceline.
With the integration, Ramp customers are able to book airlines and hotels in the Priceline network directly within Ramp in line with the travel policy controls they have configured within the platform. That in turn integrates with Ramp's expense management and workflow automations to ease expense reporting, approvals and data reporting, according to Ramp.
Priceline's support line will be available to service bookings made through Ramp Travel.
Ramp launched a travel tool more than two years ago, enabling clients to set spending policies and limits around travel as well as a travel partner program that integrates with external providers, including Corporate Traveler and TravelPerk. The platform is able check spending on Ramp cards against those policies. Now, the Priceline integration provides another option for clients, Ramp CEO Eric Glyman said in an email response to questions by BTN.
"We believe our model, wherein businesses can book through us or elsewhere, will make travel a more compliant and enjoyable experience for all involved," he said.
Policy controls available through the Ramp platform include routing requests to different approvers dependent on spending amounts, setting hotel and airfare maximums against current market rates, advance purchase policies or setting minimum flight times for use of premium cabin classes, according to Glyman.
Ramp, which was founded in 2019, today reports more than 25,000 customers and notes that travel is accounting for a growing proportion of spending among those customers. About 20 percent of annual card spend on Ramp goes toward travel, which is up from less than 10 percent in 2021. The travel booking capabilities will particularly appeal to those companies spending as much as 50 percent of their total spending on travel, offering "a compelling reason to switch from traditional travel agencies or limited travel cards," Glyman said. "This opens us up to new clientele that we can now serve more effectively."
Availability of other travel categories offered by Priceline, such as car rentals, in Ramp Travel is "forthcoming," according to Glyman. The integration at launch focused on flights and hotels because that is "where we found most of our customers spending significant time and money," he said.