Skift Take
Asia’s corporate travel management startups have been rather quiet as of late. An Accel investment in Travelstop, which has also announced Traveloka as a new supply partner, will stir things up.
Top Silicon Valley venture capital firm Accel is backing Singapore-based Travelstop with $3 million in funding, its first investment in corporate travel and expense management in Asia.
At the same time, Travelstop has announced a partnership with Southeast Asia's online travel agency Traveloka, as part of its mission to simplify business travel bookings and offer comprehensive travel options at affordable prices on a single platform.
Accel's investment is good news for Travelstop, and for the sector in Asia. Its track record in early-stage startups include Series A in Facebook in 2005 and seed funding in Slack in 2009. Apart from the nod to Travelstop, Accel's investment says something about prospects for the region's business travel and expense management.
The company has invested in Asia’s travel industry before, but more in online leisure platforms such as India's peer-review site HolidayIQ, India's budget chain FabHotels, Middle East's Muslim travel HolidayMe, and Singapore's homestay Travelmob, which was founded by Prashant Kirtane,
