Off the Clock with James Filsinger, President and CEO of Yapta

Tell us what your company does and what attracted you to this business.
Yapta is the industry leader in corporate travel price assurance and data analytics. We monitor airfare prices and hotel rates on booked business travel itineraries for more than 6,100 companies including a majority of the top 100 corporate travel spenders in the United States. We then alert our clients when their travel is eligible for savings as a result of a price decrease, enabling them to capture those savings. Our customers are better positioned to leverage dynamic supplier pricing to their advantage by tracking travel prices from a number of different angles, including negotiated rates versus public rates, penalty versus non-penalty rates, and prices inside and outside the void window. Yapta has helped its corporate clients save more than $81 million on airfare and hotel expenses, and has clients in production in 20 countries around the world.

When the opportunity to lead the team at Yapta came across my network, I was very excited. Having been in the travel technology space for nearly 20 years at the time, Id never seen anything like it. I thought, What a great solution to counter the chaos of travel supplier pricing! I also enjoy the challenge of pivoting and focusing a small company team to accomplish great things. So I jumped in, and after three years and 700 percent growth in the business, Ive never looked back.

What book/TV show/podcast are you reading/watching/listening to and why?
I am currently reading Running with the Devil: A Backstage Pass to the Wild Times, Loud Rock, and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen by Noel Monk and Joe Layden. I started the book while camping in Montana on vacation. I read so much trade news and business books that, during my down time I like to read guilty-pleasure books, with a focus on biographies/autobiographies about rock stars, athletes, comedians, etc. Van Halen is one of my favorite bands of all time, so I was looking forward to this inside look by their former manager. So far, so good.

Whats your favorite spot in Seattle?
This question can be interpreted many ways, that is, food, bar, tourist spot, hidden gem. But I think Id have to say my favorite spot is Section 234 in my season-ticket seat at CenturyLink Field cheering on the Seahawks! Ive been a fan since they entered the league in 1976, and moving here to take the helm at Yapta enabled me to jump in and get season tickets. My favorite player is Earl Thomas.

What kind of car do you drive and why?
I currently drive a 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser. I like the lines and the throwback look to the old Land Cruisers. We use it to pull our T@B trailer to various camping spots and WSU home games. I bought the car new when we lived in Dallas, but back then the FJ was a hot commodity and local dealers were charging over MSRP. I ended up buying the car from a dealership in Asheville, North Carolina, as it was cheaper for me to fly to Asheville and drive it back the nearly 1,000 miles than it was to buy locally. I saved about three grand. Go figure.

Tell us something people dont know about you.
Ive been commissioner of the same fantasy football league since 1996. Back then, we had to use Excel spreadsheets, newspaper clippings and whatever rudimentary website box scores we could find to determine scoring. And there were always arguments about game outcomes. Nowadays, the websites make it so easy, you can set it and forget it. Ive also won my fair share of championships and find razzing my compatriots about that and their individual draft choices the most fun throughout the year.

What are you passionate about outside of work?
Id have to say a few things. One, I love movies. My top three of all time are Princess Bride, the original Star Wars (1977), and Gladiator. I also love to travel and my favorite vacation was to Antarctica. I also like to get out on my 2011 Triumph Storm with my wife on the back. We try to ride on the weekends and also take a weeklong ride somewhere with my sister and her husband once a year. I already mentioned the Seahawks, but Im also a proud Coug alum. Go Cougs!

Yapta provides price assurance and data analytics for the corporate travel industry.

Tell us about your Off the Clock activities at seattlebusinessmag.com/clock-seattle-executive