The concluding part of the three-part series of the blog will cover two more challenges that business travel industry has been confronted with. Its future, however, looks promising with the advancement of innovative technologies including AI, Data science, Wearable Technology and mobile technologies, among others.
Reputation Management:
In a world where likes, shares and downloads have its own say, consumer opinion has never got better. One undesirable event can set off a chain of cascading effects on social media platforms, thereby escalating into a big public relation crisis. The travel industry is much more vulnerable owing to the reviews of unsatisfied customers or social media ratings; thanks to poor hotels, cancelled or delayed flights and niggling transfers.
These issues, usually, can affect business travel, especially when disgruntled travelers take to social media to share their experience. And worse, when things go unnoticed, it may also result in friction between an employee and travel management. This is because travel management is generally entrusted with multiple travel-related functions: visa checking, searching for and getting the best deals and offers, and ensuring correct booking—unsurprisingly, multi-tasking can result in overhanging goof-ups.
This can be managed by customizing the GDS system to capture all the required information all at one place. Decoders for GDS data can draw in essential information in a centralized location and simplify information for better user experience. This allows travel managers view travel information or data in an accurate and readable format, leaving no stone turned, and also updated in real-time. Automated ticketing option, in addition, can check traveler information and verify if they are correctly ticketed—putting traveler experience straight—to help improve customer satisfaction and maintain the company’s reputation.
Sharing economy:
The ‘sharing economy’ is defined as the economic system which allows services to be shared between users or individuals, generally through the internet. This has enabled corporate travel agents to enjoy the numerous benefits of an increasingly global sharing economy—take Airbnb, as an example. Businesses, in any case, may want the best travel deals, but traditional GDS systems may not put up sharing economy- based platforms. And this means businesses may not be able to avail of the best travel deals that conventional suppliers and vendors offer, or perks corporate travel agents come up with while booking.
Seamless transfer and consolidation of travel data from multiple travel service providers or vendors through an efficient GDS system can truly spell cost-effectiveness and incredible travel experience. As sharing economy is only predicted to get bigger—irrespective of how it grows—it’s important that travel managers wake up to the challenges already staring at them.
The road ahead…
To mitigate the four challenges discussed, business travel managers should be willing to embrace cutting-edge business travel management tool, such as Tripeur, to give them the best deals, save increasing travel costs and time, and ultimately a satisfying travel experience every time. Talk to us and learn how your travel manager can optimize and customize travel management programs cost-effectively in no time.