Best Travel

What Best Travel does

Direct Travel is a global corporate travel management company (TMC) ranked #10 worldwide by size, providing business travel, personal travel, and meetings & events services to enterprise and mid-market clients across 10+ countries. The company employs 2,000+ team members operating under a 24/7 follow-the-sun service model and reports a 99% client retention rate. Direct Travel distributes through direct enterprise field sales, mid-market inside sales, the Avenir self-service platform, and partnerships including OMNIA Partners, serving travel managers, finance & procurement, and HR stakeholders within client organizations.

The company's core technology is the Avenir platform, a next-generation travel, expense, and meetings management system built on Spotnana's infrastructure. Avenir unifies booking, data, policy, and support into a single connected global standard and integrates modules including the Center card-centric expense tool, TROOP meeting management, TravelStack supplier marketplace, Simon multi-lingual AI virtual assistant, and Direct2U mobile app with Microsoft Teams itinerary management. Specialty sub-brands—Colpitts Clinical, DirectED, Choice Music Tours, and Creative Group—extend the offering into clinical trial travel, education, music industry, and incentive travel verticals. AI capabilities span NLP intent detection, generative AI in a private Azure environment, and recommendation engines.

Direct Travel generates revenue through transaction and service fees on managed corporate travel bookings, subscription/recurring fees tied to the Avenir platform, managed services for meetings and events, and professional services via Direct View Consulting. The company is privately held following acquisition by Steve Singh and a group of investors and operates as Direct Travel, Inc. d/b/a Direct ATPI Global Travel, headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

Name

Best Travel

Legal name

Direct Travel, Inc. d/b/a Direct ATPI Global Travel

Website

https://dt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Direct Travel is a top-10 global corporate travel management company providing business travel, meetings & events, and personal travel services to enterprise and mid-market clients via its Avenir platform built on Spotnana infrastructure, supported by 2,000+ staff worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Travel Management

NAICS

Travel Agencies (56151)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Online/Hybrid Corporate Travel Agencies (Self-Booking + Support) (THAKACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Travel & Expense (T&E) Management Platforms (THAKANAA), Full-Service Corporate OBTs (Air/Hotel/Rail/Car) (THACABAA), Reporting, Analytics & Program Optimization (BI/Benchmarking) (THAKAMAM), Duty of Care, Risk Management & Traveler Tracking (THAKAMAE), Payment Solutions for Corporate Travel (Virtual Cards, Lodge Cards, Central Billing) (THAKAMAN)

Keywords

• Corporate travel management
• Business travel services
• Meetings and events planning
• Travel technology platform
• Travel expense management

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Travel Management Services: Full-service corporate travel management providing booking, policy management, and support for business travel programs. Revenue generated through transaction fees, service fees, and negotiated supplier commissions.
2. Personal Travel Services: Curated personal travel planning services for individual travelers.
3. Meetings & Events Management: Full-service meetings and event experiences including planning, execution, and management.
4. Direct View Consulting Services: Strategic consulting including strategic sourcing, technology consulting, and sustainable travel program development.
5. Technology Platform (Avenir): Next-generation technology solution for comprehensive travel, expense, and meetings management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Best Travel (operating at dt.com) is a corporate travel management company providing managed business travel programs, personal travel planning, and full-service meetings and events experiences. The company combines personalized account management with its Avenir technology platform — built on Spotnana's infrastructure — to deliver booking, expense management, policy compliance, and 24/7 follow-the-sun traveler support for enterprise and mid-market clients globally.

Product overview

Direct Travel operates as a travel management company (TMC) offering a unified platform-plus-services model. The core technology platform is Avenir (including Avenir Travel Edition), which provides comprehensive travel, expense, and meetings management built on Spotnana's infrastructure. This platform integrates several modules including Center (card-centric expense tool), TROOP (intelligent meeting management), Simon (multi-lingual virtual assistant), and TravelStack (supplier marketplace). Direct2U serves as the mobile app interface. Beyond technology, Direct Travel provides service offerings including Business Travel management, Personal Travel, Meetings & Events, and VIP Travel. The portfolio also includes specialty brands such as DirectED (education), Choice Music Tours, Colpitts Clinical Trial Travel, and Creative Group for incentive travel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Avenir: Next-generation technology platform for comprehensive travel, expense, and meetings management built on Spotnana's award-winning infrastructure.
• Direct View Consulting
• TravelStack
• Direct2U
• Simon

Products and services

• Business Travel Managed corporate travel services providing booking, policy management, traveler support, and strategic account management for enterprise and mid-market companies.
• Personal Travel Customized personal travel planning services providing curated, detailed trip building and elevated travel experiences for individual travelers.
• Meetings & Events Full-service meetings and events management including planning, execution, and management of corporate meetings, incentive travel, and conferences.
• Avenir Travel Platform Next-generation travel technology platform providing unified booking, expense, policy, and meetings management through one connected global standard for corporate travel programs.
• Direct View Consulting Strategic consulting services covering strategic sourcing, technology consulting, and sustainable travel program development for travel management optimization.
• VIP Travel Premium, high-touch travel services for VIP and executive travelers requiring personalized and elevated travel experiences.
• Direct2U Mobile App Mobile application for business travelers enabling booking, itinerary management, and travel support on mobile devices, with Microsoft Teams integration.
• DirectED Education and training programs and resources for travel industry professionals and corporate travel program managers.
• Choice Music Tours Specialty travel services for the music industry including music tour logistics and travel management for artists and tours.
• Clinical Trial Travel (Colpitts Clinical) Specialized travel management services for clinical trial participants and healthcare research travel logistics, operated under Colpitts Clinical.
• Creative Group Meetings and events management services for incentive travel and corporate events under the Creative Group brand.
• TravelStack Supplier Marketplace Supplier marketplace solution connecting clients with preferred travel vendors and consolidated travel content and booking options.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% client retention rate demonstrating high customer satisfaction
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• ATPIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Direct Travel acquired ATPI, forming a global organization for enhanced travel management capabilities worldwide. This acquisition expanded Direct Travel's global footprint and service capabilities.
• SpotnanacoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021Strategic partnership where Spotnana provides the award-winning infrastructure powering Direct Travel's Avenir platform. Direct Travel has invested significantly in Spotnana and is fully committed to the partnership.
• Vision TravelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirect Travel joined forces with Vision Travel, with Vision Travel Corporate Business officially renamed to Direct Travel, consolidating the brands under one unified organization.
• Professional TravelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirect Travel acquired Professional Travel to intensify growth mode and expand service offerings to clients.
• Crisis24 (GardaWorld)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to enhance services and capabilities, combining Crisis24's risk management expertise with Direct Travel's travel management services for improved duty of care.
• Microsoft TeamsmajorTechnology or IntegrationIntegration between Direct Travel's Direct2U platform and Microsoft Teams enabling itinerary management, travel booking assistance, and seamless travel coordination within the Teams environment.
• CompudoptminorOthersPartnership with nonprofit Compudopt to bridge the digital divide and empower underserved communities through technology access.
• OMNIA PartnersmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAvenir Travel Edition made available to OMNIA Partners members, enabling SMB clients to access Direct Travel's technology platform through the OMNIA Partners procurement network.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CWT: Legacy global TMC serving enterprise clients with corporate travel, meetings & events, and travel program optimization. Operates the same hybrid digital-plus-human service model as Direct Travel and competes directly for enterprise RFPs.
• Egencia (Expedia Group): Digital-first corporate travel management brand owned by Expedia Group. Direct competitor to Direct Travel's Avenir-powered online booking experience for mid-market and enterprise travelers.
• Altour: Mid-size TMC offering corporate travel, meetings & events, and VIP services with a focus on high-touch client experience. Directly comparable in scale, service mix, and target customer profile to Direct Travel.
• Corporate Travel Management (CTM): Globally-ranked corporate travel management company with strong presence in North America, EMEA, and APAC. Direct peer competing for similar enterprise travel programs with comparable technology-platform investments.
• Frosch Travel: US-headquartered TMC with strong luxury and VIP travel segment, now part of Internova. Comparable to Direct Travel in combining corporate managed travel, personal/curated travel, and meetings services for high-touch clients.
• American Express Global Business Travel: World's largest corporate travel management company serving enterprise and mid-market clients with a technology-plus-service model. Direct competitor to Direct Travel for global corporate travel accounts.
• BCD Travel: Top-tier global TMC offering corporate travel management, meetings & events, and consulting services. Closely comparable in scale, global footprint, and platform-plus-services business model to Direct Travel.
• Travel Leaders Corporate: US-focused corporate travel management division of Travel Leaders Group serving mid-market and enterprise clients. Directly competes with Direct Travel's North American mid-market sales motion.

Broad incumbents

• SAP Concur: Dominant corporate T&E management software platform with a much larger product portfolio including expense, invoice, and travel booking. Competes with Direct Travel's Center expense tool and Direct2U booking capabilities at the technology layer.

Emerging players

• Navan (formerly TripActions): Tech-forward corporate travel and expense platform that has scaled rapidly into enterprise and mid-market segments. Competes with Direct Travel's Avenir platform for modern digitally-native corporate travel programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DirectTravelInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/DirectTravelInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/directtravelinc
• Instagraminstagram.com/directtravelinc

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Best Travel