Train Hugger was founded six years ago with a unique and powerful mission. They make a tangible environmental impact by planting one tree for every train journey booked. Initially a consumer-focused platform, the company wanted to offer a business travel solution, but was daunted by the technological investment and expertise required to build a corporate travel platform from the ground up.
In 2023, Train Hugger decided to partner with Spotnana. By leveraging Spotnana’s modern travel infrastructure, Train Hugger rapidly expanded into the corporate market, providing customers with a seamless booking experience combined with a powerful sustainability proposition.
This partnership has been transformative, enabling Train Hugger to grow its monthly bookings by a tenfold increase in just the last six months.
“The real testament to the technology is that while the business has grown enormously, the headaches haven’t,” said Felix Tanzer, co-founder of Train Hugger. “It’s obviously working really well, which allows us to focus on building positive relationships with our customers, not just constantly fixing problems.”
Through its partnership with Spotnana, Train Hugger has gained:
- A modern travel platform: This includes a consumer-grade booking tool that supports self-service bookings and trip changes, a deep direct integration with Trainline for rail content, and a modern System of Record that provides sustainability leaders with the real-time data they need.
- Enhanced servicing capabilities: Spotnana’s robust technology also empowers Train Hugger to provide highly personal and responsive customer service, differentiating them from other providers.
- The ability to scale while staying lean: Spotnana’s reliable infrastructure has supported a tenfold increase in business volume without a corresponding increase in operational issues.
A transformative partnership
The journey began with a chance meeting with Spotnana SVP of Content and Commercials Bill Brindle that revealed a shared vision. Once Train Hugger learned more about the capabilities of Spotnana’s Travel-as-a-Service platform, the team moved quickly.
“We were amazed by the speed at which Spotnana could work,” said Edmund Caldecott, CEO of Train Hugger. “The things that they were doing were exactly what we had wanted to do to bring Train Hugger to B2B customers. It was a brilliant partnership right from day one.”
The implementation was a collaborative experience. When the need emerged for some additional invoicing features, for example, the partners worked through this quickly.
“From that first meeting through to working with the whole Spotnana team, it’s just been a really good relationship,” said Tanzer. “That goes a long way to a successful partnership.”
Accelerating growth and impact
With Spotnana’s technology as its foundation, Train Hugger has developed a unique sales approach that combines sustainability, reporting, and commercial value. Spotnana’s modern, intuitive platform is a critical asset. “It’s such an easy demo to do, because it’s all very clear,” said Tanzer. “People are then comfortable that it’s going to work.”
This confidence allows Train Hugger to offer open-ended trials, a tactic that has proven highly effective at converting new customers. Since the platform went fully live in March 2024, the company has seen explosive growth, scaling from smaller businesses to major publicly traded enterprises.
The impact extends beyond commercial success. The growth powered by Spotnana has directly accelerated Train Hugger’s core mission. The company has already planted half a million trees and is building towards a goal to plant a half a million trees annually.
Future-proof technology
Looking ahead, Train Hugger is focused on expanding its services into new markets across Europe, a complex process that is simplified by the global nature of Spotnana’s platform. Spotnana’s proactive development and existing solutions for challenges like multi-carrier discounts and hotel content provide Train Hugger with ready-made sales pitches for new opportunities.
“Spotnana has spent years with real skill and expertise thinking about problems that we don’t even know exist,” said Caldecott. “When it comes to our future expansion, Spotnana has already thought about many problems, and solved them.”
This synergy allows each partner to focus on their strengths. For Train Hugger, this includes planting a tremendous number of trees to achieve sustainability goals. As Spotnana continues to innovate and expand its platform, Train Hugger can focus on delivering exceptional customer service and growing its environmental legacy— one booking and one tree at a time.
