American Express, Germany’s TUI Set Licensing Pact

American Express Business Travel entered into a licensing agreement with TUI in Germany. Under the pact, TUI’s 80 First Business Travel offices in Germany will operate in tandem with American Express Business Travel as they target small and midsize businesses.

American Express said it is licensing its brand to TUI and that the rebranded entity will be known as First Business Travel in cooperation with American Express.

As part of the deal, American Express agreed to forgo trying to gain new small- and midsize-business clients in Germany, and First Business Travel will use American Express tools such as benchmarking, consulting, global hotel and car rental programs.

American Express had consolidated its business travel organizations into seven offices in Germany, but that was not meeting the needs of small and midsize businesses in Germany, where economic centers are dispersed and road warriors demand local service.

Under the type of partnership the two companies entered, American Express will not consolidate TUI’s sales into its own numbers. However, American Express will benefit from the purchasing clout it gets from adding TUI’s volume.