Singapore-based business travel startup Travelstop announced today the roll-out of its platforms in seven markets – Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, new features to service Asia’s business travelers and travel managers, and a companion iPhone app for business travelers to manage their business travel on-the-go.
Travelstop’s app is now available in 7 different languages. Some examples include Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Vietnamese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Additionally, its platform also offers support for the regional tax and reporting format differences. One illustration of its added feature is the new “Book for others” option that enables travel managers to book business trips more efficiently. The companion app allows business travelers to access their trip information and handle their expenses while on-the-move.
Having worked in the travel industry – TravelMob and HomeAway, three entrepreneurs: Prashant Kirtane (CEO), Vijay Aggarwal (CTO), and Altaf Dhamani (CPO) founded Travelstop – an AI-powered software-as-a-service (SaaS) that makes business trip bookings simple with an automated expense reporting process – in November 2017.
Months later, in August, Travelstop began its official launch in Singapore. It also raised US$1.2 million in a seed round then. Investors include SeedPlus, an unnamed US-based travel-focussed VC, former Expedia senior executives Dan Lynn and Vikram Malhi.
The seed funding was used to drive product development, boost sales and marketing growth, and to build a local team in Singapore, says the startup in its press statement then.
The startup seeks to serve the business travel market in Asia, having once told the Business Times that the Asia Pacific region is, in fact, the largest business travel market globally.
Just like North America and Europe, Asia’s corporate travel management space is in need of a shakeup. There are already some competitors onboard – Baoku in China, Tripeur in India, and Corporate Travel Management in Australia. Travelstop believes that a truly localized product will be the edge it needs to become a dominant player.
Editor: Ben Jiang