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Travel · head to head

IDeaS vs SAP Concur

IDeaS logo

IDeaS

Travel

Enterprise revenue management for hotels and casinos, owned by SAS

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SAP Concur logo

SAP Concur

Accounting

Enterprise travel booking, expense claims and supplier invoice processing sold as separate modules

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: IDeaS nothing about pricing is published, and industry estimates put independent group deployments in the range of one and a half to three and a half thousand US dollars per month, so a buyer cannot even scope a budget without a sales cycle.; SAP Concur implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.
  • They diverge on capability: IDeaS covers Segment-level forecasting, SAP Concur covers Expense capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IDeaS and SAP Concur actually diverge.

Attributes where IDeaS and SAP Concur differ
AttributeIDeaSSAP Concur
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryTravelAccounting
FoundedUnknown1993

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in IDeaS

  • Segment-level forecasting
  • Group displacement analysis
  • Length of stay controls
  • Room type optimisation
  • Total revenue view
  • Two-way system integration
  • Portfolio management
  • Automated pricing decisions

Only in SAP Concur

  • Expense capture
  • Corporate card feeds
  • Policy engine
  • Approval routing
  • Travel booking
  • Travel agency integration
  • Duty of care
  • Invoice capture

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

IDeaS

  • A casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it producesnot SAP Concur
  • A hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of propertiesnot SAP Concur
  • A city hotel with complex corporate, wholesale and transient segmentation that simple tools cannot separatenot SAP Concur
  • A resort optimising length-of-stay controls around peak arrival patterns rather than pricing flatnot SAP Concur

SAP Concur

  • A multinational with thousands of travellers where an audit committee has asked for evidence that travel policy is actually enforcednot IDeaS
  • An organisation replacing spreadsheet expense claims and email approvals that cannot survive an external auditnot IDeaS
  • A finance team trying to eliminate duplicate claims by matching corporate card feeds against submitted receiptsnot IDeaS
  • A shared service centre processing high volumes of supplier invoices that needs capture and approval routing before postingnot IDeaS

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

IDeaS

  • Nothing about pricing is published, and industry estimates put independent group deployments in the range of one and a half to three and a half thousand US dollars per month, so a buyer cannot even scope a budget without a sales cycle.
  • Contracts are typically multi-year, which locks a property into the platform through a period when its own strategy or ownership may change.
  • Implementation is long and depends on clean historical segmented data; properties whose PMS has inconsistent segment coding spend months on data hygiene before the forecast is usable.
  • It expects a revenue manager to interpret and override it, so a property without that skill will either follow bad recommendations or stop looking at them.
  • The interface and workflow reflect enterprise heritage rather than modern design, and casual users find it dense compared with the simpler tools aimed at independents.

SAP Concur

  • Implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.
  • Pricing is driven by transaction volume, expense reports and invoices processed, rather than by seats, so a business with seasonal travel or a growth year sees the bill move in ways headcount based budgeting does not predict.
  • The configuration that makes it valuable is also what makes it rigid, and organisations frequently find that changing an approval chain or adding a cost centre dimension requires a partner change order rather than an administrator's afternoon.
  • Contracts are typically multi year with limited exit, so an organisation that concludes after twelve months that a lighter expense tool would have been enough is still paying for the heavier one for the remainder of the term.
  • The three modules are licensed separately and the strongest case for the product depends on having travel, expense and card feeds together, so buying expense alone gives you a costly receipt system without the control loop that justifies the price.

Pricing, plan by plan

IDeaS

On request
  • IDeaS G3 RMS$undefined/year
    • Quoted per property and per portfolio
    • No published rate card at any tier
    • Contracts commonly multi-year

SAP Concur

$29/month
  • Professional$8/month
    • Expense reporting
    • Receipt capture
    • Approvals
  • Premium$12/month
    • Travel booking
    • Invoice management
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose IDeaS if

  • You need segment-level forecasting.
  • You also want group displacement analysis.
IDeaS review

Choose SAP Concur if

  • You need expense capture.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want corporate card feeds.
SAP Concur review

Questions people ask

Is IDeaS or SAP Concur better?
Neither clearly leads. IDeaS starts at On request and SAP Concur at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IDeaS or SAP Concur?
IDeaS starts at On request and SAP Concur at $29/month.
Does IDeaS or SAP Concur run on more platforms?
IDeaS runs on Web. SAP Concur runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is IDeaS best used for?
IDeaS is most often used for a casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it produces, a hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of properties, a city hotel with complex corporate, wholesale and transient segmentation that simple tools cannot separate, a resort optimising length-of-stay controls around peak arrival patterns rather than pricing flat. Of those, a casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it produces and a hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of properties are not what SAP Concur is typically brought in for.
What can IDeaS do that SAP Concur cannot?
IDeaS covers Segment-level forecasting, Group displacement analysis, Length of stay controls, Room type optimisation. SAP Concur covers Expense capture, Corporate card feeds, Policy engine, Approval routing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IDeaS: What does IDeaS cost?

It is not published. Independent group deployments are commonly discussed in the range of one and a half to three and a half thousand US dollars per property per month, but every deal is quoted.

SAP Concur: Do we need SAP ERP to use Concur?

No. It integrates with SAP systems particularly well but it is regularly deployed alongside Oracle, NetSuite, Workday and other ledgers. The integration work is a line item in the implementation either way.

IDeaS: Who owns IDeaS?

SAS Institute. The forecasting engine draws directly on the parent company analytics platform, which is the substantive reason for the product depth.

SAP Concur: Is it worth it for a company of a hundred people?

Usually not. Below a few hundred travellers the implementation cost and the contract commitment are hard to justify against lighter expense tools. The case turns on policy enforcement and audit, not on receipt scanning.

IDeaS: Is it suitable for a single independent hotel?

Rarely. Without a revenue manager and clean segmented history, a small property gets more from RoomPriceGenie or PriceLabs at a fraction of the cost and effort.

SAP Concur: How is it priced?

Broadly on the volume of expense reports and invoices processed, with the modules licensed separately. Because pricing is quoted rather than published, get the volume assumptions written into the contract and check what happens when you exceed them.

IDeaS: Does it handle group business?

Yes, group displacement analysis is one of its defining capabilities and a main reason casino and convention hotels choose it.

SAP Concur: Can it handle multiple countries and currencies?

Yes, that is one of its stronger areas, including per country tax treatment and VAT reclaim identification. Confirm coverage for your specific countries during the sales process rather than assuming global means every jurisdiction.

SAP Concur: How long does implementation take?

Plan in months, not weeks, for anything beyond a single entity with simple approvals. Multi entity rollouts with travel and invoice modules commonly run across a year in phases.

SAP Concur: What does the audit service actually do?

It has a team review a sample or all of your submitted claims against receipts and policy before approval, which some organisations use in place of internal reviewers. It is priced separately from the expense subscription.

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