The Gather Story

The state of meeting planning had been dismal at best for quite some time, and Jeff Klee, our CEO and co-founder set out to change that. Which, was no easy task in itself, because it wasn't readily apparent to most that there was any particularly innovative way to solve this issue. 

See, often, TMCs would require customers to use the same booking tools and processes for meetings, job interview travel, and company training as they did for larger corporate events. This didn't make a ton of sense for customers, because they were forced to use the same, outdated, bloated systems for larger-scale travel as they were for small, sometimes single-day travel. To make matters worse, it was difficult to utilize these tools with individuals outside of the organization.

And TMCs, of course, didn't want to change anything because that would mean taking on additional costs, rolling out company training, and reducing overall profitability.

What bookers and travelers were left with was a system that wasn't designed with their needs in mind. 

Jeff and the rest of us in the AmTrav team knew that had to change. As a company with a customer-first, innovation-close-second mindset, we began developing a product that could provide a simpler way to gather folks together. Whether they were in-house team members, consultants, job candidates, vendors, or any other designation, we wanted to effortlessly help people gather, and that's how the name was born.  

As for design, we knew it had to be sleek and tech-forward but also maintain the personal AmTrav touch. We wanted to eliminate pain points for this type of travel: 

• Low visibility into data
• Limited control of spending, itinerary, or safety features
• Lack of service when things go wrong
• Almost no choice for the traveler on where to book

So, we did. Gather was built from the ground-up by our in-house team of developers to specifically address pains in the meeting booking travel segment. 

From a single dashboard, bookers and travelers can see into itineraries, spending, and safety features, as well as utilize tools like unused tickets savings to control spend. 

Managers and bookers can set policy controls both across the board and at the individual meeting level, allowing for the most flexibility of any control program out there. 

Collaborating outside of your company has never been easier, as with a simple email invite, you can bring in outside travelers into one planned event, maintaining all benefits and features you enjoy with your staff. 

And finally, we addressed the lackluster service component that plagues not only just meeting travel, but all events travel. At any time, you can access an expert from AmTrav that's ready-to-help your travelers arrive safely. Best of all, they can choose what method they'd like to contact us: phone, chat, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or email, whatever suits them.

Gather was created for one purpose: to help bring people together.