Key Travel becomes first UK TMC to launch pre-paid car hire with Expedia Group

First UK TMC with pre-paid car hire

Key Travel has strengthened its business travel proposition by integrating pre-paid car hire powered by Expedia Group. The company says it is the first TMC in the UK to offer the feature to local customers. Built on Expedia Group’s Rapid Car API, the solution opens up extended international coverage — more than 190 countries, 45,000 pick-up locations and over 110 rental brands. The aim is to bring ground transport fully into the existing booking journey, complementing air, rail and hotel in a single environment.

The integration relies on the Rapid Car API, which aggregates Expedia Group’s global car rental inventory and makes it available within Key Travel’s booking tool. Users can compare rates, choose flexible rate types and view rich vehicle and policy content. The set-up covers the whole process end to end — booking, cancellation and servicing — to streamline workflows in a managed environment.

For client organisations, bringing car hire into travel policy is designed to improve visibility of ground transport spend, strengthen compliance and smooth the experience for travellers. Key Travel is focusing on its long-standing segments — academic, humanitarian, faith-based and not-for-profit — where a broad international inventory and flexible pricing options can help keep travellers safe, optimise budgets and cut administrative burden. Wider availability is also an advantage on multi-country assignments.

Saad Hammad, chief executive of Key Travel, said: “Key Travel has a long track record of innovation and leadership in the travel management market, helping people who travel to do so simply, safely, sustainably and with value for money. We are proud to be the first TMC in the UK to launch car hire with Expedia Group. For our not-for-profit customers, this means access to a much stronger global car hire solution with greater choice, flexibility, convenience and value.”

With this integration, Expedia Group underlines its intent to open up its inventory and technology via APIs to power contextualised journeys for partners and extend the distribution of its offer.