A business trip usually looks like a puzzle: a hotel reservation made with one service provider, a plane ticket purchased with another, a train ticket with a third… “Navan brings all this information together in a single same trip”, explains Zahir Abdelou-hab, its managing director France. A service invoiced to companies at 25 euros per file, regardless of the destination.
Established in France for almost a year, the American digital travel agency is dusting off the business travel experience. His martingale? “To offer an offer centered on the user experience”, underlines the financial director, Thomas Tuchscherer.
Read also The increasingly common low cost in business travel
A wealth of catalog
Rebranded as Navan Tuesday, February 7, TripActions
A business trip usually looks like a puzzle: a hotel reservation made with one service provider, a plane ticket purchased with another, a train ticket with a third… “Navan brings all this information together in a single same trip”, explains Zahir Abdelou-hab, its managing director France. A service invoiced to companies at 25 euros per file, regardless of the destination.
Established in France for almost a year, the American digital travel agency is dusting off the business travel experience. His martingale? “To offer an offer centered on the user experience”, underlines the financial director, Thomas Tuchscherer.
Read alsoThe increasingly common low cost in business travel
A wealth of catalog
Renamed Navan on Tuesday February 7, TripActions was founded by two Israeli entrepreneurs in Palo Alto, in the heart of Silicon Valley, in 2015. And the start-up rebounded spectacularly after the health crisis: in October 2022, it completed a fundraising of funds of about 300 million dollars, valuing it more than 9 billion and devoting years of development.
Navan is connected to major booking platforms, such as Booking or Expedia. With a catalog of 1.2 million hotels, the company is also connected to airlines and railways around the world. During the pandemic, it was enriched with a payment system in partnership with Visa and an expense reimbursement tool. Simple, digital, intuitive… Enough to manhandle the competition, the mastodons Carlson Wagonlit or Amex.
Tailor-made services
To manage the potential vagaries of travel, Navan also offers a 24-hour assistance service. About 80% of requests are settled by a chat embedding Chat GPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence, the rest by advisers. And for VIP travellers, Navan offers tailor-made services, for example booking a helicopter or an armored 4X4. “An offer that comes from the acquisition of several very high-end specialists”, specifies Thomas Tuchscherer.
Read alsoArtificial intelligence: why Microsoft is making eyes at Chat GPT
Thanks to credit card payment, employers have an instant view of their employees’ expenses. The travel policy is in their hands: budgets, geography, according to the functions of each. “Before using TripActions, we could not control whether employees went to hotels in the recommended category”, appreciates Claude Lesterlin, financial director of rental investment specialist Masteos. And in the event of a crisis, the employer has the advantage of being able to precisely locate his employees.
Environmental challenge
Rebranding accompanies a new stage: to better attract companies, the agency is transformed into a consumer brand. The platform is no longer reserved for employees of companies that are already customers, a tab allows anyone with a professional address to prepare a trip, even personal.
Read alsoCompanies are partially letting go of business travel
The rebound in business travel poses an environmental challenge for companies. “How to limit trips in the face of climatic requirements and ensure that they are well justified?” asks Eric de la Bonnardière, founder of the online agency Evaneos. To date, Navan is satisfied with the minimum service: a carbon offset. In Europe, where environmental concerns are becoming a priority, this could well curb the growth of the California bulldozer.
Unicorn figures “made in USA”
> $9.2 billion valuation.
> 1.55 billion raised since 2015.
> 8.000 clients, dont Unilever, Heineken, Adobe, Netflix, Christie’s, Stripe…
> 3,000 employees.
