Employees get rewards for taking less convenient business trips

Upside encourages business travelers to save their company's money, by rewarding them with gift cards for choosing the cheaper and less convenient option.

Employees who travel frequently for work can easily be tempted to take a more convenient option, even if it’s more expensive because their company is picking up the cheque. Upside, a new app from the founder of Priceline, wants to change this by offering gift card incentives as rewards to employees who make smart travel choices, which help their company save money.

Upside sells flights and rooms in business packages at lower prices, with personal gift cards thrown in as an incentive. To begin, the user enters their travel plans into the app or on the website. Then, they are offered transport and hotel options, curated by Upside. The employee can then select from the options — the more flexible they are and the cheaper the package they choose, the greater the value of rewards they earn. Users can earn up to USD 150 in gift cards, which can be used in various retail stores, simply by traveling to a different airport or staying in a hotel a bit further away.

Upside is about to launch in Beta and inviting potential partners and customers to participate. Could any other groups be targeted by a similar scheme?