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American Express Co. unveiled on Monday a new virtual card integration with AmEx Global Business Travel’s Neo1 platform for travel and spending management. And digital-tipping software developer Grazzy Inc. said IHG Hotels and Resorts has named it as an approved partner for providing tips to hotel employees electronically.
The AmEx virtual card integration will be available to employees of small and mid-size U.S. businesses that offer AmEx business and corporate cards to their staffs and which use the Amex GBT Neo1 platform. AmEx GBT is licensed to use the American Express brand but is owned by New York City-based Global Business Travel Group Inc., of which American Express Co. holds a minority interest but which operates independently. In addition to its business-to-business platform, AmEx GBT deploys travel professionals in 140 countries.
Once enrolled on the AmEx GBT Neo1 platform, AmEx cardholders can add their card accounts into the system, which AmEx said in a news release combines “the capabilities of an expense system, procurement platform, online business-travel booking tool, and virtual-card issuance into a single smart ecosystem.” The system enables businesses to generate and assign AmEx virtual cards to specific users with flexible parameters to control employee spending. It also enables individuals to spend online or at the point of sale through their mobile wallets, AmEx said.
“American Express and AmEx GBT are coming together to help improve spend management for small businesses,” Dave Holmes, AmEx vice president of Enterprise Strategic Partnerships, says in a statement. “We know managing employee expenses is becoming more complex, and our small-business customers are looking for a solution that combines a range of features and capabilities. Now, for the first time, businesses have access to American Express virtual cards within AmEx GBT’s Neo1 platform, providing a better way to manage a variety of business expenses.”
Meanwhile, Austin, Texas-based Grazzy said its digital-tipping platform provides hotel guests a simple way to tip hotel employees without cash and without requiring an app download or account setup. Available payment methods include credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and charge-to-room options. The platform also enables guests to provide comments that get connected to travel-review websites.
IHG’s 19 brands include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Candlewood Suites. Other big hotel brand owners such as Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt also have approved Grazzy’s platform for use by their franchisees, according to Grazzy. The company said major hotel operators such as Hotel Equities, Crestline Hotels, Dimension Hospitality, and others already use its system.
In the back office, Grazzy said its system provides reporting on tip income that complies with Internal Revenue Service regulations. The platform also provides detailed tip-related program performance metrics for hotel brands, operators and individual locations.
“Hotels and many other types of service-focused businesses recognize the importance of tips as a competitive tool in a tight labor market,” Grazzy chief executive Russ Lemmer said in a statement. “But these businesses also need simple tools to help allocate earnings, automate tax preparation, and manage the success of digital tipping solutions within their businesses.”
