TECH START-UPS


Travelstop targets unmanaged travel in Asia 6. TRAVELSTOP


The one targeting unmanaged travel in Asia Travelstop is a travel booking and expense management service that launched in Singapore in early 2019.


The company estimates that 80 per cent of trips are unmanaged in the Asia-Pacific region. It points to Amadeus research that shows corporate


travel spending is expected to rise to US$900 million annually by 2025, which would represent more than half of global corporate travel spend. Travelstop is addressing a huge potential market with travel booking and expense management technology, as well as the data it also wants to offer customers. It has raised funding of more than US$4 million so far, including US$3 million in 2019. HYPE V REALITY Corporate travel is considered one of the few remaining undisrupted segments of travel with lots of painpoints and not that much real innovation. If recent funding stories of new entrants in corporate travel are anything to go by, Travelstop is on to something, but there are already dissenting voices in the market that say many of these start-ups offer nothing new. travelstop.com


Virtuo aims to tap into the car rental market


7. VIRTUO


The one that wants to drive car rental into the 21st century It’s fair to say that car rental has not really joined the digital age yet. It is only in recent months that


AMADEUS RESEARCH SHOWS CORPORATE TRAVEL SPENDING IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO US$900 MILLION BY 2025


buyingbusinesstravel.com


large players, such as Hertz, have begun using emerging technologies, such as biometrics, to speed up what is often a painful process. France-based Virtuo is one player looking to provide a digital car-rental experience via smartphones, scanned permits and digital keys. The company received funding of €20 million in early 2019, saying at the time that funds would be invested in expanding the concept across Europe. HYPE V REALITY


This seems like one of those “what’s not to like” start-ups that is addressing traveller friction. Its main challenges are likely to be scale and brand recognition, and if it’s really that easy, it risks being taken out by one of the established players. govirtuo.com


2020 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 101


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