Given I can't even write an NDC post that doesn't butt up against LinkedIn's length limit, I don't know how I'm gonna manage this one. But I'll give it a shot. AmTrav is being acquired by TravelPerk! In our announcements, you'll see the obligatory statements that this is going to be awesome for our customers and our team. But everyone always says that. How can I convince you that, in this case, it really will be true? You can read the long version about that here: https://lnkd.in/gp-qYrmm Or you can hear 4 quick(er) points: 1. The AmTrav brand, the AmTrav team, and the AmTrav booking tool are staying intact. For our customers who love AmTrav and love their AmTrav Relationship Manager and support team, you can keep loving AmTrav without having to do anything differently. 2. The industry is changing. I have said publicly many times that I think in 5 years any company who provides travel management services and expects to be viable will have to (1) own their own tech stack; (2) have the wherewithal to build bespoke connections to lots of different suppliers; and (3) have the scale, buying power, and geographic reach to offer the best inventory and prices to customers, whatever region they are in and whatever currency they want to pay in. Within the U.S. market, AmTrav has been punching way above its weight class and has been ahead of the game with respect to #1 and #2. But prior to today, we didn't have a clear path to #3. 3. TravelPerk is awesome! This deal took a long time to come together (we started talking in 2021). It was obvious early on that we we had similar missions, similar cultures, and similar thirsts for innovation. But what really swayed us was the TravelPerk people -- their passion, their energy, their creativity, and their decency. It starts at the top with Avi Meir, but is apparent throughout the whole organization. This is group that I am excited to work with and excited for my colleagues to work with. 4. Which brings me to my final point: I am not going anywhere, and neither is Craig. It may not be the highest calling possible, but I'm obsessed with the fact that too many aspects of traveling for business are way too cumbersome and painful and there is still so much that can be improved. For me, this isn't an exit, its a halftime. (Minus the halftime break). The mission remains the same, but we now have a lot more firepower behind us. I'm flattered that a company who I admire as much as TravelPerk saw enough in AmTrav to make this happen. And I am grateful to so many awesome colleagues who have worked for AmTrav past and present to make us what we are today. We're under no illusions: our customers don't care who owns us, they just care that we continue to deliver a better and better experience. We won't take our eye off that ball.
We are lucky to have you as part of the TravelPerk team!
Jeff Klee What a ride! Now the bus just got a lot bigger.
Jeff Becker
1mo
Great example of how the breakthrough to new tech and NDC capabilities can, will, and should occur.
Avi Meir
1mo
Vamos!
Mat Orrego
1mo
Mark Corbett
1mo
Brennen Bliss
1mo
Congratulations. Amtrav is, without a doubt, the most tech-forward mid-market TMC. Excited to see what this acquisition brings to TravelPerk!
Johnny Thorsen
1mo
Jeff Klee - BIG congrats to you, Craig and the entire AmTrav team with this move - will be exciting to see what the combined TravelPerk and AmTrav product teams can create going forward Very smart move Avi Meir - good luck to both of you
Leonard Greski
1mo
Congratulations, Jeff. It's interesting how you and the TravelPerk team are investing in a superior software product development capability as a key differentiator in travel management. If your merger turns into an industry trend, It will be interesting to see how the travel providers respond to the exponential increase in the number of API endpoints they will need to support.
Walk'n Talker, Serial consulting and association guy, Founder of temoji - consultancy, marketing and advisory for corporate travel and meetings industry suppliers.
1moWow, didn't see that one coming but it makes perfect sense. Congratulations Jeff Klee , Craig Fichtelberg and Avi Meir !