Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) recently announced the acquisition of San Francisco-based WhereTo, an enterprise travel platform and technology company. WhereTo pulls in content from dozens of sources and uses artificial intelligence-based algorithms to quickly guide users to the optimal trip options within policy, factoring in criteria like traffic conditions, travel deals and personal preferences.
This acquisition follows on the heels of several other technology-based businesses that FCTG has acquired or invested in over the past two years, as well as the full acquisition of Silicon Valley-based Casto Travel. FCTG plans to integrate the WhereTo offering into products and services offered across both its Corporate Traveler and FCM Travel Solutions brands.
“The need to provide our customers with an advanced digital platform that accentuates the blended service model we offer is further heightened with the COVID-19 pandemic.” FCTG chief experience officer John Morhous said in a press statement. “We look forward to leveraging the WhereTo technology within our existing products to help expose the complex duty of care requirements we’ll be facing as global travel restrictions are lifted.”
Over the past several years, FCTG has put an emphasis on building a dynamic and robust system that can easily work in tandem with a variety of technologies and platforms utilized by airline partners. The partnership with WhereTo is a critical step, it says, in building a customer experience from the group up that can handle an increasingly complex distribution environment. In addition, FCTG says it will explore the potential application of WhereTo's leisure offering, WhereFor, a search engine providing options based on a traveler's budget.
WhereTo will continue business as usual with its current client base and fulfillment partners. Terms of the deal are undisclosed.
Visit www.fctgl.com.
Related Stories
ABC Global Services Acquires CCRA
GBTA Calls on Congress to Expand Relief for Distressed Business Travel Industry
MCI Debuts New Virtual Consulting Product
American Express Global Business Travel Unveils Travel Briefing Platform