New Online Travel Management Application Drives Cost Savings and Productivity Gains for Smaller Businesses
Auckland, New Zealand. 25th July 2016 – Serko Ltd. (SKO.NZ) launched its new small business travel management application, serko.travel, in conjunction with Xero, the leader in online accountancy software. From today, businesses in New Zealand and Australia with up to 150 employees can sign up and make bookings online without any service fees, kick-starting a revolution in small business travel.
Designed to fundamentally change the way small businesses book and manage company travel, serko.travel gives users access to the same travel-booking technology and some of the same deals that are enjoyed by more than 6000 large corporations across Australia and New Zealand today. The new application helps to level the playing field in business travel that has historically favoured large organisations.
The application, which is accessed via desktop (at www.serko.travel) and via iPhone and Android, allows users to make domestic, Trans-Tasman and international bookings. In addition, the app allows users to change bookings, set parameters on employee use, control budgets and connect to Xero’s software. The features combine to help businesses save hundreds of hours a year in admin time and drive significant cost savings through better travel management and policy compliance.
Darrin Grafton, Serko CEO said “serko.travel brings together all of the key travel suppliers in the region, from Air New Zealand and Qantas to Booking.com and Wotif, and allows users to book everything in one place, at the same time, without having to pay any service fees. It’s a completely new way for businesses to manage business travel that will help businesses save money, particularly those that use Xero.”
Cameron Beattie Managing Director at cloud communications specialist firm, Conversant, says “we trialled serko.travel and it is fantastic. I signed up and had made my first booking in a couple of minutes. The real benefit to us is having everything in one place. We now officially have a travel policy and it’s saved us so much time. To be honest, I can’t believe no one’s thought to do this before. It just makes so much sense.”
Unlike any other online travel booking system, the online functionality of serko.travel will also be complemented by expert offline support from Helloworld for Business, Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel. For the first time, they will offer Travel Expert services on an ‘on demand’ basis which means travellers only have to pay ‘if and when’ they need their services.
Anna Curzon, Managing Director at Xero said “For businesses that book a lot of travel, serko.travel is the ideal add-on to Xero. It fits perfectly into our recently launched App Marketplace, our one-stop-shop for cloud apps that connect to Xero. The integration between the systems allows travel booking data from serko.travel to flow seamlessly into Xero, streamlining and simplifying the process of reconciling credit card statements.”
Businesses in New Zealand and Australia can find out more and sign up right now at www.serko.travel.
