TravelPerk Launches API for COVID-19 Travel Restrictions

Approximately one month after releasing an open API platform for its clientele to enhance their applications, TravelPerk, a SaaS company specializing in business travel, has introduced a separate API product designed to assist the broader travel sector in providing current details regarding travel restrictions and potential hazards associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The TravelSafe API is a subscription-based service offered monthly, enabling travel businesses to incorporate pandemic-related data concerning point-to-point limitations between destinations into their booking procedures. This service obtains information from official sources and local government websites, which TravelPerk validates through its own customer support team.

The API also determines the level of risk associated with traveling to a specific country, a calculation based on a real-time evaluation of the epidemic’s reproductive rate (R0).

This API release is a result of TravelPerk’s acquisition of risk management company Albatross in July, reflecting the company’s increased focus on travel risk management solutions during the pandemic.

Travel companies have naturally experienced significant challenges during the pandemic, with the virus substantially reducing demand for international travel and severely impacting the business travel market. While domestic tourism has partially compensated for some of the decline in leisure travel, the outlook remains difficult for business trips, as a large number of professionals now conduct meetings remotely.

TravelPerk’s strategy in response to the COVID-19 crisis has been to prioritize product innovation. The launch of this subscription API appears to be an effort to identify a business opportunity during the travel downturn, while simultaneously providing a service intended to aid the wider industry in revitalizing stalled demand.

The API was initially developed out of internal necessity, as TravelPerk sought to provide its own customers with the confidence they needed to proceed with bookings.

Now, access is being extended to a wider range of airlines, travel agencies, and booking platforms as a standalone product available through a monthly subscription, without requiring a long-term contract.

“Access to TravelSafe is not limited to existing TravelPerk customers. The TravelSafe API is a distinct product accessible to any organization,” states Avi Meir, CEO and co-founder. “We originally created this technology for our own platform, recognizing the critical need for accurate, current information during a period of such uncertainty. However, we quickly realized that this same requirement existed throughout the industry, and that our solution could be highly beneficial to the entire travel ecosystem.”

“Our objective is to establish ourselves as the most open travel management platform, and this is the initial step towards building an ecosystem of travel services that allows other travel companies, and the industry as a whole, to leverage our technological investments,” he continues.

Meir anticipates that the greatest demand for the API will come from mid-sized travel management companies, due to the product’s “developer-friendly” design (highlighting the simplicity and speed of integration) and the uniqueness and real-time updates of the content. (However, when questioned about the risk scoring component, he clarifies that the information provided by the TravelSafe API represents “a compilation of the most reliable data and information available, rather than a subjective evaluation”.)

“This is particularly important given the rapid pace of change within the travel industry currently,” he adds.

Maintaining up-to-date travel guidance is a significant challenge amidst a highly unpredictable pandemic, further complicated by limited access to, or the quality of, data regarding the virus’s spread across different regions.

Despite these challenges, Meir believes that technology can assist in navigating an inherently uncertain situation by providing tools that gather and present the best available information. (He also refutes any potential conflict of interest in a travel company offering risk assessment advice, asserting that its interests align with ensuring safe travel.)

“We cannot enhance the quality or accuracy of the existing data on Covid-19 globally, but we can significantly improve travelers’ ability to access and understand the information that is available,” explains Meir. “Currently, travelers often struggle to find clear, concise, and accurate information regarding the rules that apply to them. Individuals frequently need to consult multiple sources and articles to understand local guidelines, risk levels, and quarantine requirements upon return, among other things.”

“To address this issue, we invested in developing sophisticated information processing tools, automated daily updates of risk levels using R-rate calculations, and internal tools to facilitate the verification and updating of this data by our policy analysts. This enables the TravelSafe API to deliver safe, succinct, and accurate information, even amidst constant change and uncertainty.”

Regarding TravelPerk’s own API-based platform, launched last month, Meir describes the market response as “remarkable.” “Since the launch three weeks ago, we have received inquiries from 50 new partners interested in building integrations, completed one full integration with Payhawk, and have several other partners nearing completion of their integrations and preparing to launch on the platform,” he says, adding: “We are very pleased with both the level of interest and the ease with which our partners have been able to utilize the API.”