Serko, Booking.com deal
BUSINESS management tool Serko has expanded its existing agreement with Booking.com, with the latest iteration of the deal allowing Booking.com to offer the Serko Zeno product to its business traveller clients.
The new agreement will also enable the integration of new Booking.com content to the Serko Zeno platform.
Beyond product collaboration, the tie-up will see Booking.com parent, Booking Holdings Inc, invest NZ$17.5 million (A$16.4 million) in Serko as part of a wider capital raising aimed at accelerating the global rollout of its Zeno product - with a particular focus on North American and continental Europe.
Serko Chief Executive Officer Darrin Grafton welcomed the expanded agreement between the two companies, claiming the deal would help drive the adoption of its Zeno product around the globe.
“Partnering with Booking.com introduces additional content to advance our aspiration of achieving the ‘Unified Traveller Experience’ which will deliver simplicity and compliance to corporate travellers while making our resellers more profitable,” Grafton said.
“The Serko and Booking.com agreement will accelerate our journey toward our vision of seamless corporate travel and expanding outside of Australasia,” he added.
MEANWHILE, in line with encouraging further capital investment, Serko has released its preliminary half-year results for the period ending 30 Sep today, showing a 29% rise in Total Operating Revenue to $14.7 million.
Total income from all sources also increased by 29% during the same period, with Serko recording $15.2 million, a spike from the $11.8 million notched during the previous corresponding period.
Travel platform revenue also increased by 20%, a result driven by increased pricing associated with converting customers to the new Zeno platform, as well as a bump in overall transactions.
Commenting on Serko’s future financial outlook, Chairman Simon Botherway said he was optimistic that transactions would continue to grow in the second half of the financial year.
“Serko now has live bookings in North America, we expect transactions to grow...with the continued onboarding of new corporates,” Botherway said.
Zeno collates air, hotel, and ground transport options from the GDS, as well as low-cost carriers, aggregators like Expedia or Booking.com, and direct from suppliers to create a one-stopshop for business travel.