Travel management platform Travelperk is to introduce the ability to claim part-refunds on bookings for any flight, hotel, car or train journey.
The Barcelona-based startup said its new Flexiperk system is currently in beta, but will allow travellers to pay ten per cent extra on each booking in order to get a guaranteed minimum 90 per cent refund, regardless of the flexibility conditions of the booking.
The ten per cent fee is calculated from the total cost of a trip booking, which can include up to eight elements (these could include Airbnb stays, or flights with low-cost carriers such as Easyjet and Ryanair).
The 90 per cent that can be claimed back then applies to each individual element, though Travelperk says that if it manages to claim back more from a company for that part of the booking it will pass on the extra saving.
Refunds can currently be claimed up to two hours before departure and for groups of up to eight people.
However, the ten per cent fee can’t be selectively applied – businesses will need to sign up for a Flexiperk account, after which the premium will be applied to all Travelperk bookings. Accounts require seven days’ notice to cancel.
Travelperk recently raised $104 million in Series C funding, and says its aim is to bring about a “new age of flexibility for the business traveller.”
Its own research found that 20 per cent of business trips are postponed, rearranged or cancelled, with companies choosing between expensive flexi-fares or complex refund processes.
Travelperk co-founder and CEO Avi Meir commented:
“We believe that the launch of FlexiPerk is the biggest development in the business travel industry in more than a decade.
“It marks a change in the status quo of business travel’s pricing structure – and is a key development in our long-term strategy, which is focused on not just playing catch up with the flexibility and convenience of consumer travel – but actually surpassing it.
“We are delighted with the feedback from early customers and are excited to be bringing FlexiPerk to the wider market as part of our mission to make every stage of business travel as seamless as possible.”
