Priceline Founder: Flexibility is Worth a Fortune
The founder of Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN), Jay Walker, sees big opportunities with business travelers.
“Business travelers…have an asset, literally a hidden asset that’s giant that they don’t even know they’ve got – and that’s their flexibility on the flights and hotels that they take on their business trip,” he told the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
His new venture, Upside, aims to reward small and midsize businesses for being flexible when they book travel arrangements. Business travelers who use the Upside mobile app to book flight and hotel packages will receive free gift cards, and costs for the travelers’ companies will be reduced between 5% and 15%.
“The idea that you’re willing to leave 15 minutes earlier on your flight or maybe come back like 10 minutes after [your preferred flight time], or stay at a hotel that’s a five-minute Uber ride from the convention center – It turns out that flexibility, even small amounts on business travel, is worth a fortune,” he said.
Walker says the U.S. market consists of about 30 million business travelers who spend $300 billion a year.