Serko

Serko was founded in 2007 by Darrin Grafton and Robert Shaw, based on a previous business idea. In 2012 Serko received a $2.3 million NZD grant from Callaghan Innovation,[5] the R&D investment arm of the New Zealand Government, and commenced an international expansion, opening a development office in Xi'an, China. Serko was subsequently listed on the New Zealand Stock Market in 2014. With the new capital raising, Serko purchased Incharge, an expense provider in 2014, and Arnold Travel Technology in 2015 from Expedia Group.[6] In 2018 Serko launched into the North America market and purchased InterplX in 2019.[7] In 2019, Booking Holdings purchased 4.7% of Serko through a capital raising of $17.5 million NZD, as part of its Booking for Business expansion plans[8]

Serko was one of the first NZX-listed companies to issue a COVID-19 pandemic related profit warning in February 2020, well before other key market players and other travel technology companies, causing a 13% drop in their share price immediately following the warning.[9] In the following months Serko announced its worst annual performance in company history with a net loss of $29.4m and revenue halving to $12.4m.[10] Due to the uncertainty, the company conducted a capital raising of $55 million on the market[11] which was oversubscribed. Following a government response to COVID-19 which created normal domestic conditions in New Zealand and the establishment of the Trans-Tasman bubble, Serko returned to pre-covid transaction levels in March 2021,[12] and issued guidance to the market in May 2021 that it expects to make complete recovery by March 2023.[13]

Serko's main partnerships are with the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) and Booking Holdings. Serko provides FCTG with a unique corporate online booking tool marketed as SAVI as part of the arrangement. In terms of Booking.com, a revenue sharing agreement is in place whereby Serko provides the underlying technology for Booking for Business, and Booking Holdings owns 4.7% of Serko and provides travel technology expertise.

Today, Booking.com for business has over 500k companies registered across 180 countries and is supported in multiple languages.

Serko produces white label storefront technology that powers the travel industry, it also produced the world's first marketplace that allows the supplier to connect their content into the storefront with or without the need for legacy GBD (Global distribution System) PNR's. Serko owns multiple key market patents.

The founders of Serko have been referenced as the inventors of online corporate travel in May 1994 with their first product called CABS (Corporate Automated Booking System) the platform was used by Amadeus in the 1990's to prove prior art claims against previously filed patents.[14]

Serko's other main partnership is with Carlson Wagonlit Travel, enabling Serko to expand into the North American marketplace and enabling Carlson Wagonlit Travel to retain market share win the Australia and New Zealand markets.[15]

The company was also the first travel technology company to partner with Southwest Airlines and Qantas to provide their airfares on the newly developed NDC Exchange.[16]

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