Travel management company TakeTwo
Travel Solutions, launched in the U.K. two
months ago by former Corporate Travel Management North America CEO Chris
Thelen and former CTM general manager of the U.K. Julie Cope, now has set it
sights on the recovering business travel environment in the United States.
Thelan and Cope positioned the new
travel management company as a "fresh start" for post-pandemic
business travel, which they believe will be complex and require a "human
touch."
"There is an art to travel
management," said Thelen in a press statement. "We look at this as a
profession, not an automated process. For us it is about customization." Press
materials highlighted the TMC's focus on traveler risk management, well-being
and business travel sustainability, and a technology stack that will offer
personalization and help anticipate business traveler needs.
The TMC concurrently cited its back-end
technology as a "standout feature" and characterized it as "a
single platform across all of our offices around the world." The company
currently claims U.S.-based offices in Houston, Los Angeles and New York and a
U.K. location in London. Additional affiliate locations include Hong Kong,
Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.
TakeTwo highlighted its financial
position as free from lingering challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and without
legacy debt—a jab, perhaps, at larger TMCs that emerged from the pandemic with
significant refinancing and investment from external partners. TakeTwo has
hired from among the many agency professionals laid off during the pandemic
and, according to a press release, will operate with a bias toward preserving
the critical human resources and skill sets that support business travel.
According to the company
spokesperson, the firm already has clients in the U.S. and is working on a
pipeline of $100 million in managed travel spend and will pursue small- and
midsize clients in the region as well as push into the larger market.