TripIt, a trip management solution, is being acquired by Concur in a packaged deal that could be worth as much as $120 million after initial outlay of $82 million in cash and stock. The official announcement came this morning, and is not a bad exit for the company that is not yet 5 years old. Concur has not released any statements as to its future plans with TripIt or what the current userbase who utilizes the trip planning service can expect.
As we discussed in November of last year, the appeal of TripIt was always in the simplicity of the service: by simpling forwarding flight and hotel confirmation emails to your own TripIt email address, your entire detailed travel itinerary is mapped and organized for you. TripIt’s software is able to interpret and pull the important data from the confirmation emails, and give you confirmed and finalized travel arrangements in your own online schedule. Business travelers loved this service, and frankly speaking: is the reason it was even still around to be acquired. Steve Singh, Concur’s CEO had this to say about the acquisition:
“The advancement of mobile solutions has changed the way business travelers buy, share, manage and expense their travel plans. There is a universal need to bring order to the chaos of travel and make life better for business travelers.”
TripIt made its biggest advancements to date when the smart-phone movement of two years ago first hit. It’s mobile integration has been huge to its success. With leading iPhone, Android and Blackberry mobile travel apps, TripIt positioned itself well for an acquisition like this. The travel technology space is going to be a very interesting space to watch over the next three years, as that is the true market for location-based services.
