Z-Trip Business Management, a Chinese full-service business travel management company, announced it has raised around RMB 100 million (USD 14 million) in its Series A and A+ financing.
The Series A round was led by DCM Ventures and the A+ round was led by Tao Zhang, founder of China’s local business review and rating platform Dazhong Dianping which is now part of Meituan Dianping. The A+ round was also participated by Unity Venture.
Styling itself as China’s TripActions, Z-Trip is currently providing business travel management services to more than 800 medium and large scale enterprises and listed companies, including Global Top 500 companies Fosun Group, China Construction Engineering Design Group and Ping An Insurance Group.
Z-Trip will use the proceeds of the rounds for product development, technology innovation and customer service upgrading.
Business travel has been booming in recent years. China’s business travel expenditure reached USD 401 billion in 2019, with the annual growth rate exceeding 9.2%. As travel managers become more concerned about procurement cost, travel policy compliance, efficiency and traveler satisfaction, they are recognizing the importance of professional travel management.
However, the development of business travel management in China lags far behind. Many travelers still have to spend much time in booking. Both employees and enterprises still have to grapple with issues such as non-transparent procurement, failure to save money and non-compliant receipts.
Aiming to address those issues, Z-Trip has introduced the model of direct bidding among multiple suppliers, which will ensure benign competition and provide enterprises with the best options. Besides, the application of smart and easy reimbursement will cover frequent payment for business travel, improve comprehensive capabilities of accounting, payment and reimbursement, so as to remove all those obstacles for enterprises.
Z-Trip has also integrated AI technology and 24/7 human support into its management. Based on the business travel schedule from users, Z-Trip’s system is able to provide transportation and accommodation solutions in advance for employees. In case of any changes or disruption, it will remind travelers and re-schedule travel plans for them.
