July this year，188bet has reached business cooperation with three major travel management companies (TMC)，Travel companies want to provide business travelers with a more private space，This is a natural development of the goals of travel convenience and comfort。

Lorraine Sileo, senior vice president of data research at Phocuswright, said: "As corporate employees increasingly expect the comfort of home and higher cost performance while traveling for business，Especially in big cities，These travelers will increasingly prefer 188bet。Considering this factor，It makes sense to incorporate 188bet into the company’s business travel planning。”

188bet has announced a partnership with American Express for Global Business Travel、BCD Travel and CTW Travel Company have reached a partnership。

188bet will be integrated as a preferred provider for American Express customers。The first phase of the integration is expected to begin in the coming weeks，Once American Express refers a customer to 188bet，Travelers will be able to use their company email address to book directly on the 188bet website。After，188bet booking information will be integrated into American Express’s travel reporting platform，For the purpose of expense tracking。

Cooperating with BCD，188bet will integrate its data into BCD’s Decision Source business intelligence and security solution。Customers will be able to use interactive maps and view reports at their destination。At the same time，BCD can also track travelers who booked on 188bet，To facilitate timely communication with them under any circumstances。

When asked if 188bet would be BCD’s preferred provider，Ana Pedersen, Vice President of BCD Global Hotel Strategy said，TMC and 188bet will continue discussions，To discover other business opportunities that may exist in the future that could benefit both companies。

At Carlson Travel Company，188bet will be added to its customer select list。Charles Schwab said，It is expected to be fully rolled out in the company system on October 1 this year，But further details have not been finalized yet。

By adding 188bet to our list of accommodation options，We will provide our travelers with the more flexibility they need，This is especially helpful for running your business better。”

“Long-term business travelers may also benefit from 188bet’s agreement with TMC”，Said Christopher Anderson, Director of the Center for Hospitality and Hospitality Research at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration，“It has great appeal in business。”

Henry Harteveldt, an analyst at Environmental Research Group, also pointed out，Alternative accommodation 188bet provide business travelers with more choices。But he also raised some issues that may exist in private homestays，For example, the overall cleanliness of an apartment，And possible lack of some facilities，Such as gym, etc.，There are also the most basic security issues，For example, whether the smoke detector device is complete。

“These seemingly trivial things，For travel managers and corporate employees，188bet needs to improve these detailed services” ，Henry Harteveldt says。"Also，188bet still needs to make sure，Would the owner be willing to list his or her property for business travelers，Because some of these details need to be clearly documented or at least acknowledged，For example，If in fact there is no gym nearby，Then the lack of a gym near an apartment building needs to be clarified。”

End of last year，Expedia acquires vacation rental provider HomeAway。Anderson said，He feels that this kind of merger and acquisition of other alternative accommodation service providers，And the possibility to meet Expedia business travel supply through Egencia，This may be an incentive for 188bet to cooperate with other travel platforms。

Whatever the motive，Harteveldt said，Providing alternative non-standard accommodation for 188bet has great room for development。

Data from the Environmental Research Group，In 2015，8% of business travelers choose to stay in a home sharing environment。Estimated to 2016，This proportion 188bet rise to 10%。

These travel management companies are aware，Travellers want alternative accommodation besides ordinary hotels。In a statement announcing partnership with 188bet，BCD calls it “the first step toward a broader choice。”

Also，Lorraine Sileo also said，“Sharing economic service models such as 188bet and Uber will gradually become the mainstream of the market，In the future, it will no longer just appear as a cheap alternative service。”
Harteveldt prediction，There will be more cooperation between 188bet and travel management companies in the future。

*Author of this article: Xu Liyang，188bet Tourism Analyst，Head of 188bet’s office in Berlin, Germany。