Egencia

Key information

Companies using the tool 9,000
Number of users/seats Not disclosed
Number of bookings handled annually Over 2 million
Total transaction volume annually Not disclosed
Frequency of updates 10 to 15 new features/enhancements per month on average
Type of company Travel management company
Regions served Egencia online platform available in 26 countries; 65 countries through Egencia Global Alliance partners

Pricing model

Set-up fees Yes
Ongoing fixed costs No
Transaction fees Flat fee per booking

Content

Air Multi-channel connections to GDS, aggregators and direct connects. This includes NDC and Egencia Preferred Rates. Air booking is augmented with machine learning optimization enabling travellers and arrangers to book online in under six minutes, according to the company. Egencia enables self-service booking, cancellation, unused ticket redemption and itinerary management, enhanced with Egencia’s travel advisories, health and hygiene information, airline change notifications and travel alerts.
Accommodation Sourced via GDS and Expedia and covers 650,000 properties, including alternative lodging such as apartments and customer negotiated rates. The company displays over 35,000 hotels with exclusive Egencia Preferred Rates. Like air, self-booked lodging capabilities include cancellation and itinerary management, supported by travel advisories, health and hygiene information and travel alerts.
Rail Egencia operates a multi-channel approach to provide locally relevant content, including Eurostar, in Europe and the US, from several rail content providers and direct connects. Users access online booking, cancellation and itinerary management online and in the Egencia app. According to the company, users can self-book rail in under five minutes and features include support for subscription, loyalty and corporate cards, electronic tickets, as well as seat preferences in some countries.
Car Egencia’s car rental, and ground transportation content, is sourced via the GDS and includes Egencia Preferred Rates offering discounted rates, along with support for customer negotiated rates. Filter results by unlimited mileage and hybrid/electric vehicles. Online cancellation including the app. Egencia also supports contactless pickup for car rental.
NDC content and other direct connects Egencia offers NDC content for British Airways and Lufthansa Group. Egencia displays NDC and non-NDC content side-by-side as part of air booking. Travel managers can report on key areas such as policy compliance, travel spend and duty of care across all fare types. In the first half of 2022, Egencia will offer access to more NDC content via a GDS partner, starting with Air France and KLM and expanding to other carriers.

Key staff

President, Egencia Mark Hollyhead
VP product and technology John Sturino
VP commercial Tristan Smith
VP multinational and global Manuel Brachet
VP customer operations Donna Miller

What the company says

According to Egencia, “no other TMC has the breadth of data that Egencia has, driven by two million users, enabling us to provide customers with an intelligent global platform with relevant, AI-driven experiences.” Egencia calls its platform “extensible,” citing integration capabilities with adjacent services, and providing customers with tools to deliver on travel risk management and sustainability. The company cited its air vs. rail comparison module as its major innovation in 2021, underscoring its commitment to supporting client sustainability objectives. “As companies start to resume travel, sustainable travel programmes are a focus,” the company wrote. “Egencia added several new features to our platform enabling customers to set, track and meet their sustainability objectives.”

What buyers say

Respondents in BTN Europe’s buyer survey rated very highly Egencia’s user-friendliness, duty-of-care capabilities and its quality of support and reporting and data analytics. The breadth and appropriateness of content was another key appeal of using the tool as was its reliable uptime. One buyer highlighted the ease with which users can interact with agents when problems arise, a vote for the tool as a bona fide online corporate travel agency and not as a standalone technology. Some of the disadvantages mentioned by buyers in the survey include commercials and ad pop-ups, lack of expense management and a lack of visibility into product development. One buyer noted, “It is not possible to exclude pre-paid hotel rates and most content data maintenance has to be made by us.”

What consultants say

Egencia’s booking tool itself is very good, according to consultants, with one noting it had “the best cockpit” for programme administrators. Egencia is its own TMC and was the first booking tool, tech-driven product of its kind, and it made a huge impact in the midmarket. TripActions and TravelPerk have followed that model. But Egencia has had major purchasing power, being connected to Expedia. That connection, said one consultant, delivers “really special pricing.” All consultants agreed service and support was a weakness. With its recent acquisition by Amex GBT, however, some consultants said clients might eventually get the best of both worlds – eventually.