CDS and CRC building a European standard for business travel payment

In January 2023, French hotel booking platform CDS acquired a 90% stake in Corporate Rates Club (CRC), a German provider of hotel booking and billing services for business travel. Together, the companies aim to expand across Europe with a combined offer that integrates booking, payment and invoicing into a single solution.

The integration of CRC into CDS marked a strategic move for both companies. CDS, founded in 2001 and already a market leader in France, shares a similar business model with CRC, which has operated from Stralsund since 2002. CRC’s CEO Michael Krenz retains 10% of the company following the retirement of CRC’s two co-founders in 2022.

The combined group now handles a total booking volume of more than €800 million per year, with CRC contributing approximately €250 million. It has offices in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Croatia and employs over 450 people across its operations.

Hotel booking and payment: A combined model

The group is focussing not only on hotel bookings but also on becoming a specialist in business travel payment. The goal is to offer an integrated solution that unifies booking, payment and invoicing.

“We combine the best of hotel booking, payment and invoice procurement,” says Group CEO Ziad Minkara, a view shared by Michael Krenz.

The companies are currently rolling out a unified model described as a “Payment, Settlement & Insights platform – centralised, neutral and highly scalable,” as Minkara puts it. While centralised billing has long been part of CRC and CDS’s local offerings, this new group-wide platform is intended to become a European fintech standard for business travel payments.

Importantly, the solution will not be limited to companies that book through CRC. It will also be offered independently, making it available to organisations using other booking tools that need a streamlined, compliant payment and invoicing system.

Virtual cards, modularity and AI integration

Christopher Hecht, VP of Group Payment Solutions, explains that the new solution goes beyond payment alone: “This is not just about centralised payment, but also invoice procurement and auditing.”

Virtual cards will play a central role in the new model. The platform is designed to offer a modular payment structure that can also include alternatives like instant bank transfers. This flexibility allows the service to support very small hotels that may not accept centralised card payments.

The platform is also being developed to automate internal payment and invoicing processes, with up to 80% automation expected. Artificial intelligence is planned to optimise approval workflows, fraud detection and cost efficiency. The launch is scheduled for early next year to align with the next billing cycles of large corporate clients.

Broader use cases beyond hotels

While the core offering remains hotel-focussed, CDS is already applying its payment model in France to other travel segments, including flights and rail. The group sees potential to extend the solution to rental cars and other services.

Integration with travel ecosystems

The group's strategy includes strong collaboration with other players in the business travel ecosystem. CRC already integrates with major online booking engines such as Cytric, SAP, Atlatos and Onesto. It also partners with well-known TMCs like Lufthansa City Center and DER Business Travel.

CRC’s technology powers the hotel booking solution for DER Business Travel, while CRC itself uses the Ratefinding procurement software developed by DER. Strategic partnerships also extend to platforms such as Booking.com.

Importantly, CRC can feed booking and payment data directly into SAP Concur Expense, regardless of which OBE was used to make the reservation. The next development step is integration into mid-office systems used by travel agencies, further strengthening collaboration with sales partners.

Expansion plans and European focus

In addition to its existing presence, the group is actively seeking investment opportunities in the UK. This expansion strategy is driven by the belief that the European market—with its national differences and regulatory complexity—requires a distinct, fully compliant solution. By addressing these local requirements with a unified platform, CDS and CRC aim to offer a solution tailored to the needs of multinational European corporations.