Yapta to Bring Hotel Rate Monitoring Tool out of Beta

Yapta, the technology company that searches air fares to identify cost-savings opportunities, will officially launch its hotel rate search functionality next month.The hotel tool, called RoomIQ, is similar to Yapta’s flagship product, FareIQ for corporate travel, which monitors ticketed flights for price changes and sends alerts to the travel manager instantly when savings are significant enough to re-ticket.

RoomIQ has been in beta testing with Travizon, a TMC in Woburn, Mass., for several months. Travizon is an existing customer of FareIQ, and it says the tool identified nearly $200,000 in savings opportunities in 2014, of which more than $121,000 was realized.Although the cost of changing a ticket has risen dramatically in recent years, companies can still often capture savings on expensive tickets, particularly for international itineraries. Companies can set savings alert thresholds; if a new fare is accepted, the company’s travel management company handles the rebooking.

--Michele McDonald