Navan, the business travel and expense platform, announced plans to launch what the company calls an industry-first hotel-TMC direct connection “to modernize the corporate hotel booking experience.”

This new capability, co-created between Navan and Hilton, combines Hilton’s distribution framework with Navan’s travel technology, marketplace and booking platform. Navan will be the first TMC to integrate directly with Hilton’s Central Reservation System (CRS) and content services, enabling, said the announcement, real-time shopping, booking and access to “high-quality, source-of-truth” hotel content.

Frank Passanante, global head of sales & HRCC (Hilton reservations and customer care), said, “By partnering closely with Navan and leveraging Hilton’s industry-leading technology and commercial expertise, we are evolving the hotel distribution model and delivering direct connectivity that better supports how corporate customers book, manage and experience travel.”  

Dane Molter, senior vice president, group travel marketplace, Navan, said, “Collaborating with Hilton on this direct connection will allow us to deliver superior experiences for users from their initial hotel search through booking and checkout.”

The integration is enabled through Hilton-developed APIs, implemented and optimized in partnership with Navan’s travel marketplace platform:

• Booking API: Provides Navan with direct, real-time access to Hilton’s CRS for availability, rates and booking.
• Content API: Delivers authoritative property and room content directly from Hilton, with Navan as the first TMC to operationalize this capability within a modern booking experience.

Together, said the announcement, these capabilities are designed to unlock meaningful benefits for Navan customers, including:

• Greater choice and more value: Through this partnership, Navan is providing customers with a new level of access to Hilton’s portfolio, unlocking greater value and savings. 
• Rich, reliable content: Navan’s marketplace will display high-quality Hilton content sourced directly for joint corporate customers, designed to improve traveler confidence and reduce discrepancies.
• Streamlined virtual payments: Hilton and Navan are jointly enabling more consistent virtual payment acceptance across Hilton’s global portfolio — reducing friction for travelers and travel managers.