Serko 101: What customers need to know
Perhaps you’ve heard of Serko from our recent acquisition of GetThere. Perhaps your organization uses us in Australia or New Zealand. Or perhaps you’ve seen a travel industry peer recently join our team. However you’ve heard of us, we’d like to take the opportunity to re-introduce ourselves. We’re a leader in online corporate travel booking and expense management, proudly founded in Auckland, New Zealand and building our team and capabilities to expand in the US market. With a commitment of $100M USD over the next three years, we are developing a single, integrated platform that will not only meet the needs of our customers today but enable the travel program of the future.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, here are three things to know about us and why they’re important for you:
1. We have a rich history and a solid track record.
Serko is an expanding business, and we are thrilled to have GetThere customers along for the ride. Our origins start in 2007, when the company was founded by Darrin Grafton and Bob Shaw. Since then, we’ve been on a path toward rapid advancement, welcoming 20% growth each year – a number that helps explain the 15 million annual travel bookings we handle annually. Outside of investing in our growth, we also deeply believe in investing in our people, which is why we’ve been able to expand across 5 regions globally and employ more than 430 employees worldwide. As we settle into our partnership with Sabre’s GetThere, we aim to build on this global growth. And while growth is important to us, so is continuity, which is why GetThere will continue to be led by its current Vice President, Brett Dowling.
At our core, we are an innovative and forward-thinking organization, but we also carry with us reliability and a deep understanding of the managed travel space and its many nuances. Our pledge to you is to work as your partner to successfully weather any major changes or disruptions the managed travel sector may face.
2. We’re passionate about innovation.
In fact, one of our guiding principles is “Boldly go beyond.” It is this strong belief in continuous innovation that has driven our steady climb within the managed travel industry. First demonstrated nearly 15 years ago, the patent of our NFC expense management tool marked our first patent in a series that allows for the use of early-stage technology to solve business travel and expense management challenges. And it’s something that has continued since, most recently with the launch and continual improvement of our SME self-onboarding solution, white labeled by Booking.com for Business, to make it more cost effective and simpler for small and mid-sized organizations to self-register for self-booking tools.
As we build our platform to support enterprise travel programs today and into the future, we are constantly producing iterative improvements on our platforms and services that we use as a playbook to deliver unparalleled innovation for our customers. We are building for the long haul and whatever the latest disruption is, you’ll be ready for it with us.
3. Our independence sets us apart.
As demonstrated through our innovative and tech-focused approach to corporate travel management, Serko aims to be a differentiator in the industry. It’s a value that we’ve held dear as we have grown and is a driving force among our entire team.
A key pillar to that is our lack of affiliation with any specific travel management company (TMC). Our independence is what has allowed us to work with all kinds of TMC and travel supplier partners, ensuring that we are able to best serve our customers in comprehensive and personalized ways. We are building our platform to enable you to be nimble, flexible and take total control of your program. As we look to the future, our goals remain the same – add value for you – our customers, continuously innovate towards improvement, and bring together the best of the many benefits that Serko and GetThere products and solutions offer.
In a time of uncertainty, our future together looks bright.
As corporate travel managers, we understand the pressures you face in demonstrating the value and ROI that you bring to your organizations. We know this has become increasingly difficult in a world that has moved from the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic and into a time that’s dominated by economic and geopolitical volatility and uncertainty. We are dedicated to helping you meet the emerging challenges you face – from boosting workflow efficiency to ensuring more seamless functionality – and to continue to thrive within the travel management space. We could not be more thrilled to continue along this journey with GetThere onboard, and to see the exciting future that we can build together.
