Hepstar

What Hepstar does

Hepstar is a private travel-technology company headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, operating a B2B2X distribution platform that aggregates travel ancillary products and surfaces them inside airline, OTA, rail and bus booking flows. Founded in 2013 and rebuilt around its merchandising stack in 2016, the company positions itself as an ancillary aggregator that reduces the integration burden for travel distributors by exposing 80,000+ product variations across 21 categories, sourced from 25+ global suppliers, through a single free API connection. Its principal product vertical is travel insurance, complemented by global connectivity (eSIM/Wi-Fi), Refund Protect cancellation waivers, SmartDelay lounge access, Blue Ribbon Bags baggage recovery, The ENTERTAINER lifestyle benefits, and emerging sustainability and security products.

The platform is delivered through four technology modules: OmniAPI (a real-time product-and-content recommendation engine with sub-600ms response), a device-responsive White Label site for post-booking upsell, an Agent Portal for back-office sales, and a Sales Dashboard for cross-channel performance monitoring. The recommendation engine uses machine-learning profiling of anonymous customer signals combined with A/B and multivariate testing, dynamic pricing, and content adaptation to optimise revenue per booking. Technology integrations with CRS/PSS providers (AeroCRS, Resfinity/ANIXE, Hitit) and aggregators (CarTrawler, Busbud) extend distribution to the installed bases of those partners without per-airline direct sales effort. The platform runs on AWS and is certified to PCI DSS and GDPR standards.

Hepstar monetises via transaction-based commissions on ancillary sales, supplemented by marketplace commissions connecting suppliers with distributors and implicit white-label technology licensing — there are no upfront platform fees for the standard integration. The customer base spans airlines (easyJet, Gulf Air, Royal Brunei Airlines, Airlink, Winair, Kam Air, Myanmar Airways International, Dan Air, Air Kenya, Lift, Auric Air), OTAs (Travix, Eilago, Hippo, Neredennereye.com/Busbud), rail (RailEurope), car rental distribution (CarTrawler) and insurance (ERGO). The company raised $2M in seed funding from Amadeus Capital Partners and Plug and Play's Traveltech Accelerator in 2019 and has continued to add suppliers and partners (Air Doctor in 2023, UrSafe in 2023, Blue Ribbon Bags and Hitit in 2025) without a subsequent disclosed funding round.

Name

Hepstar

Legal name

Hepstar

Website

https://hepstar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hepstar is a Cape Town-based B2B platform aggregating 80,000+ travel ancillary products from 25+ global suppliers, enabling airlines, OTAs, rail, and bus operators to merchandise personalised travel insurance and ancillary extras via a single API on a transaction-based revenue share.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Ancillary Technology

NAICS

All Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (561599), Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (5615)

akta.pro primary industry

Group, Contract & Wholesale Rate Optimization (B2B Pricing) (THALAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online Booking & Reservation Platforms (B2B/B2C) (THALAMAA), Corporate Travel & Expense Booking Platforms (BPAMAIAI)

Keywords

• Travel ancillary distribution
• Ancillary merchandising platform
• Travel insurance aggregation
• Booking flow integration
• Travel technology platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Transaction-based ancillary revenue share: Hepstar earns commissions on ancillary products sold through its platform. Partners access 80,000+ product variations across 21 categories through a single integration and share revenue from sales. The company operates on a commission basis with no upfront fees, generating revenue when travellers purchase ancillary products during or after booking.
2. Marketplace commission: As an aggregator connecting travel brands with global ancillary suppliers (insurance providers, service operators), Hepstar earns a marketplace commission on transactions facilitated through its network of 25+ integrated suppliers across multiple geographies.
3. White-label technology licensing: The company provides white-label and API technology solutions to travel brands, enabling them to offer personalised ancillary products. Revenue is generated through the transaction flow facilitated by their technology stack.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hepstar operates a B2B travel ancillary merchandising platform that aggregates 80,000+ product variations across 21 categories from 25+ global suppliers and distributes them to travel brands through APIs, white-label websites, and agent portals. The platform uses machine-learning recommendation engines to personalize ancillary offerings such as travel insurance, cancellation waivers, eSIM, lounge access, and baggage recovery during the booking flow, with continuous A/B testing and dynamic pricing optimization.

Product overview

Hepstar is a travel ancillary distribution platform aggregating 80,000+ product variations across 21 categories, primarily focused on travel insurance distribution and merchandising. The core product portfolio includes Travel Insurance (with budget, compact, and family variants), Global Connectivity (eSIM and Wi-Fi), The ENTERTAINER (lifestyle deals), SmartDelay (flight delay compensation and lounge access), Refund Protect (cancellation waivers including CFAR), and Blue Ribbon Bags (baggage recovery). These products are delivered through four technology modules: OmniAPI (real-time recommendation engine for booking flow integration with sub-600ms response), Agent Portal (access-controlled UI for agent sales), White Label (standalone device-responsive sales site for distributors), and Sales Dashboard (real-time cross-channel performance analytics). The platform uses behavioral analytics and machine learning to personalize product recommendations based on customer profiles and optimize revenue per booking through A/B testing, dynamic pricing, and bundled offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OmniAPI: Dynamic product and content recommendation for booking flow integrated offers with system response time under 600ms.
• Agent Portal
• White Label
• Sales Dashboard

Products and services

• Travel Insurance Core travel insurance product aggregating coverage from multiple global insurers including Chubb and ERGO, with budget, compact, and family variants offering trip cancellation, medical coverage, and travel inconvenience protection. Sold to airline, OTA, rail, and bus partners via API, white-label, or agent portal.
• Global Connectivity

Quantifiable outcome

• 50%+ increase in revenue per booking for partners
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• HititcoreTechnology or Integration · 31 July 2025Existing integration with Hitit PSS Platform enables Hitit partners to access Hepstar's world of ancillary content including insurance, cancellation waivers, eSIM, baggage recovery, transfers, and delay lounge access through existing connection.
• UrSafecoreTechnology or Integration · 13 April 2023First personal security app with hands-free voice activated SOS, integrated with emergency and law enforcement services in over 150 countries. UrSafe joins Hepstar's global ancillary network to be offered during travel booking process.
• Air DoctorcoreTechnology or Integration · 24 February 2023Global platform connecting international travellers to local medical professionals joins Hepstar's ancillary network. Air Doctor connects travellers to over 20,000 approved doctors across 75 countries via multi-lingual, location-based App. Hepstar will recommend Air Doctor subscription packages appropriate for traveller needs.
• ChubbflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 August 2022Long-standing relationship with Chubb as insurance supplier. Partnership includes Royal Brunei Airlines collaboration where Chubb provides travel insurance with extensive coverage including COVID-19 medical cover, delivered through Hepstar's platform to airline passengers.
• Royal Brunei AirlinesflagshipTechnology or Integration · 9 August 2022Royal Brunei Airlines partnered with Chubb (via Hepstar) to offer travel insurance to passengers. Insurance launched in Brunei with expansion to additional markets planned. Provides passengers with peace of mind and fuss-free booking experience.
• EilagocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 9 May 2022Online travel agency partnership to offer Cancellation for Any Reason product. Eilago's customer-centric value proposition combined with Hepstar's technology enables personalised bundles and improved customer experience before and during trips.
• AeroCRScoreTechnology or Integration · 26 March 2020IT provider of innovative solutions for airlines. Collaboration enables airline customers to add relevant travel ancillary products during booking and manage my booking processes. Integration already completed for quick activation.
• ANIXE/ResfinitycoreTechnology or Integration · 26 March 2020Progressive travel tech company. Integration through Resfinity enables Hepstar's ancillary products and services to be available to ANIXE's customers out of the box without additional development work or integrations.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cover Genius: Cover Genius is a global insurance distribution platform that embeds protection products (including travel) into partner checkout flows via APIs, with dynamic pricing and personalisation. It is the closest direct competitor to Hepstar in B2B travel ancillary insurance merchandising.
• Bolttech: Bolttech operates an embedded insurance marketplace connecting insurers with distribution partners across travel, electronics and lifestyle, very similar in concept to Hepstar's multi-supplier, single-integration ancillary platform.

Broad incumbents

• Amadeus: Amadeus is a leading GDS/provider of travel technology with a broad ancillary and merchandising portfolio that overlaps with Hepstar's airline and travel-distribution value proposition, but as part of a much wider suite serving the entire travel ecosystem.
• Sabre: Sabre is a global GDS and travel technology incumbent offering ancillary merchandising, NDC and airline retailing capabilities that compete with Hepstar at the airline/OTA distribution layer.
• Travelport: Travelport is a global GDS that offers ancillary content and merchandising tools to airlines and travel agencies, operating as a broader incumbent in the same ecosystem as Hepstar's API integrations.
• Allianz Travel: Allianz Travel is one of the largest global travel insurance providers and distribution players, offering airline and OTA partnerships that overlap with Hepstar's insurance merchandising focus.
• Kiwi.com: Kiwi.com is a large OTA with proprietary ancillary and insurance offerings, representing a downstream competitor/partner that competes with Hepstar in distribution and merchandising of travel extras.

Emerging players

• AirHelp: AirHelp is a flight compensation and traveller rights platform that competes in the flight-delay and disruption ancillary categories that Hepstar also distributes (e.g., SmartDelay).
• Spotnana: Spotnana is a modern corporate travel platform with built-in NDC content and ancillary merchandising capability, representing a newer architectural approach that competes with Hepstar's airline/OTA merchandising layer.
• Duffel: Duffel provides an API-first flight and travel booking platform with ancillary support, comparable to Hepstar in its API-first, B2B distribution philosophy but more focused on the booking layer itself.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hepstar

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hepstar