INSPIRE 2016: Coupa to discuss Open Booking – “A Megatrend in Corporate Travel or Just a Fad?”

SAN MATEO, CA – April 28, 2016 – Coupa Software, a leader in cloud-based spend management, will explore at Inspire’16 why open booking is a megatrend in corporate travel and how companies can strategically use technology to embrace open booking and meet their travel program goals. Open booking is the concept of allowing business travelers to independently manage their own travel without being required to go through a travel management company or associated website.

This megatrend will be discussed on day two of Coupa’s Inspire ‘16, one of the largest spend management user conferences in the world, which will be held May 10-12 at The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco’s Union Square. Coupa’s Director of Product Management and expert in corporate travel, Ethan Laub, will lead a deep-dive discussion on how the traditional modes for managing business travel are changing, and are driven by the sharing economy and widespread use of consumer websites and apps. 

Since the advent of consumer booking sites such as Expedia and Kayak, open bookings have exploded, leaving companies struggling mightily to control costs and maintain travel policy compliance and data integrity for their programs. Business travel is one of the largest indirect expenses for many organizations, reaching $1.2 trillion globally in 2014, according to the Global Business Travel Association.  In the U.S., unmanaged travel spend accounts for nearly 25 percent of online booking, which is about $36 billion, according to an article published June 2015 in Business Travel News.

“This growing trend where employees can book anywhere and book outside of their company’s prescribed travel program can create gaps in visibility, policy controls and preferred supplier usage,” Laub said. “This trend and the potential gaps that it can pose are pressuring both companies and travel providers for a solution.”

Open booking is driving expense management technology providers, such as Coupa, to step in with new solutions that give corporate travel managers the information they need while letting corporate travelers have more freedom to book and travel as they wish.

“I will share with session attendees our extensive travel and expense domain expertise and will explain how companies can leverage Coupa to help solve their travel and expense challenges,” Laub said.
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When: 4:00 to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Where: Westin St. Francis, 355 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA, Room Elizabethan CD
Register: http://www.coupainspire.com/registersanfrancisco16/

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About Coupa Software
Coupa Software, a leader in cloud-based spend management, enables businesses everywhere to recognize bottom-line financial success via Savings-as-a-Service. Customers—small, medium and large—representing the Americas, EMEA and APAC rely on Coupa to support business agility and reduce costs. Only Coupa provide an organic suite of true cloud spend management applications, including invoicing, procurement, expense management, sourcing and inventory, allowing customers to realize a return on investment that can start within a few months and grow continually. Learn more at www.coupa.com.