Major Limo Companies Join Business Travel Booking System

Groundspan, a ground transportation automation and management platform, announced July 12 a new technology partnership with global, national and regional chauffeured transportation companies to support Concur Travel clients who do not have preferred ground transportation suppliers.

Concur, a provider of integrated travel and expense management, offers global ground programs to all customers regardless of size or transaction volume. Through expanded capabilities on the Concur Travel platform, Concur clients now book ground transportation to supplement their managed travel programs. Concur clients can now book executive car/black cars, sedans, vans and SUVs in cities worldwide even if they don't have their own suppliers or negotiated rates.

Operators such as Dav El / Boston Coach Chauffeured Transportation Network, Carey International, EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services, Flyte Tyme Worldwide, and Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services will participate in this program and leverage their connectivity through Groundspan.

Through this new Preferred Partner Program, Groundspan expands automated ground booking services through the leading TMCs, GDS systems, CBTs and mobile device platforms. Groundspan's platform accelerates the automation of ground transportation bookings and funnels ground options from more than 5,000 providers globally in a concise layout that allows users to compare vehicles and vendors.

"Groundspan and Concur have had a lot of recent success with large market corporate clients," says the CEO of a global ground transportation company. "However, there are thousands of mid to small market Concur clients who have similar ground transportation needs, but do not have a formal ground transportation program. As a result, these travelers are booking with fulfillment options (TNCs) which have inherit risks resulting in increased corporate liability. This program through Concur offers these corporate clients a better alternative."

Tony Bonanno, President of Groundspan, said, "Many corporate travelers are booking with transportation network companies (TNCs) because of the lack of alternative technologies in the ground transportation space and no defined preferred vendor program within their company. Groundspan's vendor partners coupled with our booking tools through Concur, travel agencies and now our neutral mobile applications give these travelers a credible, secure booking option."

"Now all of our clients have the ability to book chauffeured ground transportation services real-time from leading ground transportation providers, without an agreement or corporate negotiated rates," said Charlie Sultan, senior VP of supplier management at Concur. "This allows corporations to quickly build a global program with minimal effort."

About Concur
Concur, an SAP company, offers cloud-based services that simplify travel management and expenses. By connecting data, applications and people, Concur delivers an effortless experience and transparency into spending. Concur services adapt to individual employee preferences and scale to meet the needs of companies from small to large. Information: www.concur.com or the Concur blog.

About Groundspan
Groundspan is an innovative ground transportation technology company focused on developing an ecosystem for booking and managing global ground transportation services which are part of the corporate travel itinerary. Groundspan focuses on developing applications to easily book reservations for executive sedan, limousines, van, taxi and airport parking. Groundspan enables a corporate employee an efficient way to view, compare and book ground related services. Groundspan offers its ground travel management solutions through its relationships with major online travel booking portals, corporate travel departments and major travel agencies across all major GDSs. Groundspan is a neutral global ground distribution system which provides corporations access to their contracted and non-contracted fulfillment providers. Information: www.groundspan.com.

Source: Groundspan press release