On May 18th 2021, Venture Republic Inc. (Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates TRAVEL jp for Business. Chief Executive Officer: Kei Shibata) and WORKS MOBILE JAPAN (Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It operates LINE WORKS. Chief Executive Officer: Kosuke Fukuyama) launched a new chat based corporate travel booking/management service, “TRAVEL jp for Business” on LINE WORKS, largest business communication platform in Japan. This new service aims to provide easy and safe travel arrangements for business travelers enabled by the chatbots and travel concierges. ＊1 This partnership made “TRAVEL jp for Business” become the first third party app on the LINE WORKS platform.＊2
Venture Republic and WORKS MOBILE JAPAN also announced the new sales partnerships for “TRAVEL jp for Business” with Softbank, USEN Smart works and Ryogeisya.
＊1: Must register with LINE WORKS in order to use “TRAVEL jp for Business”.
＊2: TRAVEL jp for Business can be activated simply through the LINE WORKS App Directory.
URL：https://line.worksmobile.com/jp/appdirectory/
■About TRAVEL jp for Business
“TRAVEL jp for Business” is a business travel booking/management service that allows users to make necessary travel arrangements prior to, during and following a business trip. Conversations with chatbots and concierges provide travelers personalized solutions regarding all the necessary ticket and accommodation arrangements that they will need for their domestic or international travel. Travelers can benefit by greatly reducing the burden and loss of time.
As the world begins to open up to travelers again following the Corona Virus pandemic, Japan still saw 11,860,000 domestic business related trips between October and December of 2020 (＊3), with necessity to travel for business largely remaining even during the pandemic.
In situations like this, the “TRAVEL jp for Business” concierges specialize in business travel arrangements by providing timely and relevant information on various transportations and accommodations such as congestion situations, availabilities and COVID-19 prevention practices to ensure a safe journey for travelers.
Given the uncertainties of travel in the COVID era and the financial risks associated, “TRAVEL jp for Business” also provides a business travel cancelation support in which it offers compensation of extra cost caused by the cancelations of trips.
There are no initial fees or monthly fees when using “TRAVEL jp for Business”. Fee is accrued only when booking is confirmed.
＊3: According to a Ministry of Land infrastructure transport and tourism “Travel and Tourism Consumer Behavior Survey” covering October to December 2020, including day trips.
■ TRAVEL jp for Business features and arrangements
| Domestic Arrangements | International Arrangements | |
| Airline Ticket Bookings | ◯ | ◯ |
| Railway Ticket Bookings | ◯ | ◯ |
| Hotel Reservations | ◯ | ◯ |
| Rental Car Reservations | ◯ | ◯ |
| Business Destination Restaurant Reservations | ◯ | ◯ |
| Mobile Wi-Fi | ◯ | |
| Travel Insurance | ◯ | |
| Business Trip Cancelation Support※4 | ◯ | ◯ |
＊4：Compensation for cancel fees incurred when travelers have to cancel their trip. (Max. 100,000 JPY / 1 Trip, certain restrictions apply）
■“TRAVEL jp for Business” List of Features
| User | Feature |
| Business Traveler | Domestic/International travel booking request※5 |
| Booking list confirmation | |
| Booking details confirmation | |
| Manage business traveler profile※6 | |
| Pre-departure notifications | |
| Booking Manager / Admin | Confirm list of business travelers |
| List business trip bookings | |
| Travel cost summary report※7 | |
| Download travel cost details csv※7 | |
| Manage company profile※7 | |
| Manage business trip rules※7 |
※5：Airline tickets, railway, hotel, rental car, pick-ups, travel insurance, etc.
※6：Feature to register passport number, milage numbers, and means of transportation needs (Non-smoking / smoking, isle / window seating, etc)
※7：”Travel cost summary report”, “Download travel costs details csv”, “Manage company profile”, and “Manage business trip rules” are expected to be available respectively after June 2021.
■“TRAVEL jp for Business” basic plan pricing
TRAVEL jp for Business fee for domestic arrangements: 1,100 JPY per 1 business trip (tax incl.)
TRAVEL jp for Business fee for international arrangements: 3,300 JPY per 1 business trip (tax incl.)
■ TRAVEL jp for Business User Guide
Please refer to the TRAVEL jp for Business User Guide for further information. (Japanese)