Accelerating Travel-as-a-Service With Spotnana’s $75M Series B

For decades the travel industry has been dependent on antiquated technology that stifles innovation, erodes trust, and prevents suppliers from building direct relationships with travel buyers.

We feel passionately that travelers deserve better. Spotnana was founded in the belief that the only way to truly unlock a new generation of travel experiences is to rebuild the infrastructure of the travel industry from the ground up.

This is why I’m excited to announce that Spotnana has raised $75M in Series B funding to accelerate the development of our Travel-as-a-Service Platform and increase our ability to hire exceptional talent.

What is Travel-as-a-Service?

For more than two decades, technology companies have been building software in the cloud, offering capabilities as a service, and opening their systems through APIs. This shift in technology is commonly known as Software-as-a-Service. Spotnana has brought these concepts to the travel industry, creating the first Travel-as-a-Service Platform.

We provide a single cloud-based technology stack that everyone can use to deliver unparalleled experiences to travelers. Our platform is open, extensible, and designed to accelerate innovation.

What do we mean by unparalleled travel experiences? Here are some of the innovations that we offer today to corporations using Spotnana for travel management:

• Personalized travel booking – travelers view booking options based on their preferences and can access the same loyalty benefits available through supplier websites.
• Unbiased global content – travelers see all available inventory from global distribution systems (GDS), direct connections, and other sources, eliminating the need to shop around. Spotnana does not accept GDS incentives and does not hide or bias content to reach supplier volume targets.
• Single platform for travelers and agents – travelers save time by working with agents that see the same travel inventory, profiles, policies, and negotiated rates.
• Seamless global service – travelers receive consistent service from travel agents located anywhere in the world who have full visibility into traveler profiles and trip details.

Our technology is delivered on a pay-as-you-go basis, so our customers only pay for what they use. We provide Spotnana in a purely consumption-based model based on usage fees or API calls with no service, technology, or implementation fees.

We are just getting started and will share many more innovations in the months and years ahead. The best part is that we aren’t doing this alone. Other technology companies are already building on our infrastructure and bringing exciting new capabilities to travelers. You’ll hear more about the next-generation solutions built on Spotnana later this year.

What do we do for our customers?

We serve four types of customers today, delivering distinct benefits to each with our Travel-as-a-Service Platform:

For corporations
We power global travel programs that help corporations save time and money, while delivering a personalized travel experience to employees through a combination of consumer-grade booking tools and expert travel agents.

For travel management companies
Agencies use all or part of Spotnana to deliver a superior client experience, increase operational efficiency, unlock new revenue opportunities, and improve agent hiring and retention.

For travel suppliers
Airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and rail service providers get a direct connection to travel buyers that supports personalized travel offers and an improved ability to retail ancillary services.

For technology providers
Technology companies can use Spotnana to add travel booking to their own suite of services or build new products by tapping into components of our platform. Spotnana also provides an open marketplace where technology companies can integrate their services with our platform and provide turn-key solutions to a global network of corporations and travelers.

I see us as building “longer tables” designed to foster collaboration across our customer base, not “higher walls” that make it harder for everyone to come together and serve travelers in the best way possible.

What’s next for Spotnana and our customers?

I’d like to thank every one of our 200+ Spotters around the world. Your hard work, innovation, and dedication is transforming the travel industry and creating better experiences for global travelers.

I’d also like to recognize the investors and backers who are supporting us on our mission to rebuild the infrastructure for the travel industry. Thank you to Durable Capital Partners for leading our Series B funding round and returning investors Madrona Venture Group, Mubadala Capital, ICONIQ Growth, and Blank Ventures for continuing to support us on this journey.

Most importantly, I’d like to thank our customers for believing in us and supporting our ability to bring something entirely new to the world that will make travel easier for millions of people.

Stay tuned for more news and updates later this year about the innovations we’re bringing to market in collaboration with our incredible customers and partners. If you’d like to be among the first to learn about what’s new, sign up below.

Or, even better, check out our careers page and join us as we bring new travel experiences to life.

Travel is a human emotion. It is in our collective human spirit to seek, find, and connect. We can’t be kept apart.

Sarosh
#apnatimeaayegaa