Why UpStride switched from Kayak to Fairjungle
Average time complete a booking: 1:12min
15% savings on hotel prices
10 travellers
About UpStride
UpStride is a Paris-based start-up that provides next-generation APIs for computer vision. Their technology allows companies to develop high-quality computer vision products with up to 10x smaller data sets and half the computing power. UpStride spent 2 years developing and perfecting their unique, proprietary datatypes and are now in aggressive growth and client acquisition mode.
The challenge
UpStride’s travellers spent hours on public websites looking for the right flight, optimising their selection by reverse-engineering their choices to ensure they arrived at their meetings on time. Moving from one site to another, they had to take into account travel budgets, airport preferences, and mode of transport, among other variables. It wasn’t uncommon for them to be switching through five windows at a time on their computer juggling mental simulations in order to finalise their bookings.
UpStride came to realise that public websites weren’t built for the needs of its modern business travellers. Spending 30 minutes booking a flight or paying Booking.com’s 20% mark-ups on hotel rooms just wasn’t acceptable for such a fast-growing start-up.
The solution
“By far the best travel booking tool on the market.”
—Gary Roth, CEO
UpStride’s management was attracted to Fairjungle’s next-generation booking engine, designed by ex-Apple engineers, with modern travellers in mind.
Whereas public websites ask you to fill out a long drawn-out form in order to start your search, Fairjungle’s travel management platform asks travellers two simple questions: (1) Where is your meeting? and (2) When do you need to be there? The platform then does all the legwork. Using its AI-driven algorithms, it finds the best way to get to your destination by automatically reverse-engineering the solution based on your current location. Our recommendation engine then shows you the best options based on your preferences — no more filtering through thousands of flight and hotel choices. UpStride felt the Fairjungle approach could be a game-changer for them.
UpStride was further motivated by Fairjungle’s no commission or premiums model. Fairjungle clients get Skyscanner prices, but faster. As for hotels, we cut out the middle man and give our clients negotiated rates, which are usually only available for large corporates. With Fairjungle, UpStride is reducing travel spend on hotels by ~15% across the board.
Additionally, Fairjungle’s built-in travel companion simplifies company travel end-to-end. Now travellers have access to travel roadmaps, real-time alerts and reminders, year-round expert agents and customer care specialists 24/7, one-click trip changes, and more — all via a single portal.
The results
With the Fairjungle travel platform, UpStride employees were able to shift from an antiquated booking process to one that was designed to make their travel experience simpler and more effective, right from the beginning. Travellers are extremely pleased with the user experience leading to high rates of tool adoption and tremendous savings both in money and time: 1:12 min on average to complete a booking!
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- How Fairjungle helps Akuo fully automate travel management & reporting
- Why UpStride switched from Kayak to Fairjungle
