At the end of last year, Swapnil Shinde, co-founder and CEO
of Mezi, landed on BTN's 25 Most Influential list for the company's
advancements in developing an artificial intelligence-powered, chat-based
mobile booking tool for managed travel. Given the attention and accolades Mezi
had racked up since its 2015 founding, it came as little surprise when the
company was acquired in early 2018. Many, however, were caught off guard by the
buyer. Instead of major travel management company, which seemed a more natural
fit, it was payment card giant American Express that shelled out reportedly
around $150 million. Gebb led the acquisition drive on behalf of Amex.
Amex's strategy became clearer in June, when Mezi, which
operates as a wholly owned Amex subsidiary, announced it was pulling out of its
existing TMC relationships to focus on integrating its technology into Amex's
cardholder services. The removal of Mezi from the managed travel sector left a
gap in the market, removing what was widely considered one of the most
promising mobile booking and services apps, at a time when such traveler-facing
tools are increasingly prized by service providers seeking to offer added value
to client companies.
While it left a handful of TMCs scrambling, Mezi's exit
opened the door for other apps like 30 Seconds to Fly, which was adopted by
WTMC, to gain more traction in the market. Meanwhile, Amex's stamp of approval
served as powerful confirmation of the value of chatbot-based mobile booking
tools at large, with investment dollars surging into the vertical in the year
since and a number of emerging corporate travel enjoying the increased
attention.
From either perspective, the acquisition—and, by
extension, Gebb's role in pushing it through—had an undeniable influence on the
corporate travel market in 2018.