SION Raises $3.2M in Seed Funding

On Dec 8, 2022

Oceanport-based SION, a SaaS platform that manages commission payments for travel advisors and agencies, has received $3.2 million in seed funding led by TIA Ventures with participation from SmartFlyer and Virtuoso to advance its promotion of a more robust and open travel tech ecosystem.

SION will use the funding to accelerate product development and create automated commission chasing, ramp up integrations, and launch a new payment processing system. This will further instill SION as a robust resource for travel advisors to support their growing businesses, improve organization and payment processing, and increase profitability. The company’s new funding follows $1.3 million it secured in a pre-seed round in 2020.

“This funding milestone enables us to double down on our vision to help travel advisors get total visibility across their entire business, and most importantly, get paid,” said COO and Co-Founder Alfons Musry. “It not only helps to further our commitment to evolve the antiquated ways of the travel agency industry, but it helps speed up our plans to bring more tools and capabilities to the platform and grow our community of users. We’re excited for what the future holds at SION, especially with the travel industry making such strides since the pandemic.”

“As a long-time travel advisor, there was limited technology to help agents build successful businesses within the industry. Before SION, we spent most of our time invoicing and chasing down commissions, which was an all-consuming and tedious process,” said CEO and Co-founder Irving Betesh. “We’ve created something that makes a significant impact within the industry and improves all aspects of how travel agents run their business, focusing on the back office so they can spend more time closing new business. We’re grateful to have created a platform that empowers travel agents and increases administrative efficiency and profitability.”

In 2019, SION was born out of a travel agent’s frustration with relying on commissions for a majority of their income, but being burdened with receiving the commissions when they’re due. Within the industry, commissions represent over 80% of travel agency revenue, but more than 40% of commissions contain discrepancies or don’t get paid.

Like the source of many new ideas, co-founders Betesh and Musry recognized this problem of missing, unclaimed and unmatched payments and sought a solution. Until SION, there had never been a simple system for entering, invoicing and tracking payments of travel agent sales made. SION created a centralized online dashboard interface to connect all the parties and manage the workflow to solve all the pain points of commission flow and management.

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

Related Articles: