Travel Tech 101. Take back the power of booking travel by blending tech with the human touch

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Emmeline Rogers
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1 Travel Tech 101 Take back the power of booking travel by blending tech with the human touch

Travel Tech 101 Take back the power of booking travel by blending tech with the human touch Technology will continue to drive significant change in corporate travel, the way you book and manage it

2 Travel Tech 101 Take back the power of booking travel by blending tech with the human touch Technology will continue to drive significant change in corporate travel, the way you book and manage it and will remain a significant focus of the travel industry in Corporate travel accounts for approximately US$1.3-trillion of global travel spend each year and, based on projections by the World Travel and Tourism Council, is set to rise around 3.7% per annum over the next ten years. One key reason for this impressive growth is the industry s adaptation of groundbreaking technology. The use of technology to automate transactions is not new, but in 2019 we will see technology increasingly replace the human element for simple transactions. This will allow travel consultants and travel bookers to focus on what they do best: providing the traveller with seamless travel experiences and achieving strategic savings for the company. The sweet spot in corporate travel in 2019 will be blended technology, which combines the latest technological innovations with the expertise of a travel professional.

3 Move your business travel into the 21st century When it comes to booking travel, we are spoiled for choice. With such a variety of Apps, websites and travel tools to streamline and track the business travel experience, it is easy to think these innovations are a complete solution. However, using a multitude of different mechanisms can be just as stressful as using none at all. That is why having an experienced travel manager in the wings is a smart idea, as he or she will be able to provide you with technology that s relevant. After all, an efficient travel process isn t just about using the right tools; it is about making sure those tools work together. For travel bookers looking to streamline their travel processes, it is critical to understand the current trends in the market. Here are patterns to look out for 2019: Rising cost pressures Travel is on the rise, but so are costs. According to the latest 4th Dimension Business Travel Consulting report, airfares will rise between 3% - 5% in the 12 months ahead. For decision makers, it has never been more critical to ensure travel bookers and travellers have easy access to the best fares and rates. Flexibility and personalisation Your travellers want technology that isn t just easy to use, they want it to be personalised. The less time they have to spend dealing with preferences and settings, the more time they can focus on their jobs. Smart technology As travel Apps become more sophisticated, today s business travellers demand services and systems that anticipate their needs. Analytics and data Businesses are capturing more data than ever, but unlocking real value can be challenging. Being able to track and benchmark travel spending data can help travel bookers easily identify ways to cut back or increase where needed, based on employee s unique travel habits. bring an expert on board

The best way to combine Travel tech Tech with 101 travel The most effective way a business can solve its pain points and streamline its travel technology is by introducing a sophisticated Online

4 The best way to combine Travel tech Tech with 101 travel The most effective way a business can solve its pain points and streamline its travel technology is by introducing a sophisticated Online Booking Tool (OBT). For travellers, an OBT provides a choice of booking options that are more likely to be in line with company policy. And if they aren t within policy, managers will be alerted to all out-of-policy bookings, either at the time of purchase or later on, through travel reporting. For bookers, an OBT offers a streamlined platform to approve any travel requests and have every single record and invoice automatically captured in the one system. That means those with signing power can easily see where everyone is at any one time, thus reducing risk. To identify common issues and to learn how a company can solve these pain points in 2019 with the help of an Online Booking Tool, first ask: How many websites do you use to book your travel arrangements? Spending half an hour or more comparing deals can add up to hours of wasted time for you as a travel booker and across your team. Are you getting the best fares? Different websites display different fares, and booking across multiple sites will mean your business could be paying much more in booking fees than it should. Do employees know and understand company policy? Are employees told to check for the cheapest flight? Will they book the hotel closest to a meeting place, to save on taxi fares? With a guiding set of principles, travellers can make the most of online tools and help their business. Is there a central approval system? Without a centralised approval system, decisions are often tossed between departments and approvals can take days (by which time prices would have risen). Is there any record of data or analytics? Even if businesses use multiple online tools or travel Apps, these tools usually don t speak to each other. To make decisions that can impact cost savings you need to be able to easily analyse and compare detailed reports, such as: How much you spend on airfares in a single year or even per month; Who were your top 5 air and land suppliers; Who were your top 10 travellers; What were your realised and missed savings; Advance booking analysis; and How many bookings were made online. Who manages your traveller profiles? Are you in charge of managing your travellers profiles and preferences? Or perhaps you re spending hours updating them and uploading details. By adopting technology you can easily manage all your traveller s profiles in one central place. Plus your travellers can keep their own profiles updated, giving you time to focus on more pressing issues.

One simple platform Booking Travel Policy Approve & Request Log out Add New Add New +11.30% booked 0-2 days in advance +12.48% in 2017 +13.78% booked 5-15 days in advance +13.

CT provides a simple way for your travellers to research, approve and book their travel.

This means that you ll be able to view itineraries and reports, confirm bookings, manage profiles, make pre-trip approvals, track your travellers, and all the essentials in between. YOUR.

5 One simple platform Booking Travel Policy Approve & Request Log out Add New Add New % booked 0-2 days in advance % in % booked 5-15 days in advance % in 2017 Profile Management Traveller Tracking Reports Travel Alerts Instead of relying on separate systems, an integrated technology suite like YOUR.CT provides a simple way for your travellers to research, approve and book their travel. What s more is that you ll have one simple platform with access to customised dashboards and relevant information for the booker, traveller or manager. This means that you ll be able to view itineraries and reports, confirm bookings, manage profiles, make pre-trip approvals, track your travellers, and all the essentials in between. YOUR.CT tech tools Booking Reports Traveller Tracking Approve & Request Profile Management Benefits Powered by Concur, our intuitive online booking tool provides access to low-cost and scheduled airlines as well as negotiated fares. Options can be preferenced according to your travel policy. Use our benchmark reports to track your policy compliance, analyse your travel patterns and identify new opportunities to save. Help support your duty of care policy by following your travellers in real time. View a snapshot of your travellers by risk type, location, and flight number. Requesting approval through YOUR.CT removes the need for back and forth ing, saving time for both requester and approver. Create staff traveller profiles, including passport details, frequent flyer numbers and dietary preferences. Save your travel bookers from requesting the same information each time they make a booking. bring an expert on board

6 How would an online tech suite work in your business? Learn how tech tools can alter each step of your business travel booking. Pre-travel Research Before: Employees spend hours browsing various, unrelated booking websites searching for the best place to stay. Booking fees double or triple as a result, erasing any gain from using a cheap site. After: Using a booking tool like Corporate Traveller s Your.CT, employees log-in and book multiple aspects of their trip in one place, reducing time and potential booking fees. Because Corporate Traveller s technology can be customised to the variables of each and every business and travel policy, employees are more likely to select the right option for their flight or hotel, saving time and money! Approval Before: Without an online booking tool or travel policy in place, employees or travel bookers are expected to remember all the information and restrictions and aren t clear on who they need to speak to about approval. After: With Your.CT, requests for approval go directly to the person in charge. There isn t any back or forth, and documentation is automatically filed in the system for easy recall. Booking Before: Employees and travel bookers spend hours booking and need to keep all relevant documentation altogether. They stress that they might lose their paperwork en route. After: Your.CT has synchronised traveller information including passport details, frequent flyer numbers and more on the system. Plus, the tool automatically remembers references, reducing the process to just a few clicks.

7 Travelling Where is everyone? Before: Travel bookers can t quickly determine which team members are in which location. After: Travellers can now access live travel alerts and stay abreast of any travel disruptions that pop up around the world, and access traveller tracking reports that pinpoint the location of all travellers in an emergency Taxis and travel Before: A traveller accidentally books a hotel far from their destination, then spends thousands of rands in foreign currency on private taxi fares. After: Your.CT will record the company s preferred hotels and details about each property, including location, help travellers make smarter choices. Safety and emergencies Before: Employees and travel bookers are left to monitor global events and emergencies and are reliant on manual reports or third-party information that is often delayed. A travel booker is often the person to get that late night, last-minute emergency call, including rebooking a cancelled or missed flight. After: 24/7 stand-by service means help is available at any point, to rebook flights or get last-minute accommodation - at the best possible price. Itinerary Before: Without a centralised place to see each next booking, employees have to rely on whatever documentation they had. After: The Corporate Traveller mobile app keeps all the information in one place, easy to see at a glance. Travellers can also keep abreast of boarding information, disruption and delay notifications and check-in via the mobile app. Post-trip Reporting and analytics Before: Do you know how much your travellers actually spend, and how long each person is away? Decision makers and travel bookers can t see any of this information easily, so it takes hours or days to make spending decisions. After: Using Corporate Traveller s benchmark reporting gives you all that information at a glance, meaning decision-makers can make cost-saving decisions immediately. They can decide to cancel trips, or even add new ones. Knowledge is power. bring an expert on board

Blending technology with the human touch Using integrated end-to-end travel technology will help to streamline travel processes and create complete visibility of your spend and activity.

8 Blending technology with the human touch Using integrated end-to-end travel technology will help to streamline travel processes and create complete visibility of your spend and activity. So, why do you still need the help of a human in 2019? A dedicated partner A dedicated and experienced travel manager can partner with you and share their experience to help craft new policies and rules, among other benefits. From booking to invoicing and reconciliation, an experienced travel manager can identify patterns and insights from all your tech and data. Personalisation Personalised travel arrangements delivered quickly and efficiently will be critical in In an age of instant messaging and always on social media, travel managers must continue to add to the value they already provide, and corporations need to embrace changes in how employees want to travel. Corporate Traveller uses data analytics to index, track and analyse prices to determine trends in the market. This enables us to monitor changes in pricing and to build an optimum pricing strategy for every customer. No two travellers are alike, and it takes a human being to recognise these sometimes subtle, very personal differences. Duty of Care New technologies will allow companies to pinpoint your travellers location throughout the day or night, and take proactive steps to ensure their safety and travel comfort. However in cases of emergency, it is important for travellers to know there is a human being behind the technology. They don t want to deal with a bot or an App when they have to fly home because of a family emergency. While online Apps can help with changing a booking, checking flight information or ordering a transfer, it is human empathy they ll be looking for when the going gets tough on the road. Support when you need it Technology tools are only effective if they are adopted by the business. Partnering with a travel management company means that you will receive the training and support required to use each tool to its full potential. Many complex transactions cannot be processed effectively via an online booking tool. This is where having a dedicated travel expert on hand is vital to achieving a seamless, cost-effective booking process both online and offline. It is also important to take into account company culture and generational differences. Some people may resist adopting a tech approach to booking travel so it is important that they still have a travel expert to turn to. Whether you won t fly without certain comforts, or are strictly about getting from point A to point B, there is no reason you can t get exactly what you need. At Corporate Traveller, it is important that we know exactly who our clients are, as well as their non-negotiable travel preferences so that we can deliver travel experiences that are easy, stress-free and pinpoint what they want.

We ll take you where you need to go There aren t many options that can integrate all aspects of business travel into one package but Corporate Traveller s expert team of dedicated Travel Managers can

9 We ll take you where you need to go There aren t many options that can integrate all aspects of business travel into one package but Corporate Traveller s expert team of dedicated Travel Managers can help you do exactly that. Using our blended approach your business can: Book hotels, flights and cars through one portal that streamlines the booking process for simple transactions Use a dedicated travel manager for complex itineraries and travel programme advice Benefit from free emergency support after-hours Track usage and trends over time for cost savings supported by visual snapshot reports Use apps to consolidate your travellers itineraries, check-in online and notify them regarding travel disruptions Support your duty of care programme by tracking your travellers in real time and identifying potential risks. Once you experience this technology in person, it s easy to see the huge benefits it can have for your business. Our team understands the importance of real relationships. We re passionate about helping your business meet its goals. Cutting edge technology is part of our story, but it s not the whole story. We are and always will be a people-driven business. That s what sets us apart. Contact us for a demonstration today and see for yourself. To find out more contact Corporate Traveller on or visit corporatetraveller.co.za bring an expert on board

About Corporate Traveller Corporate Traveller specialises in providing business travel management for medium and large sized corporates.

10 About Corporate Traveller Corporate Traveller specialises in providing business travel management for medium and large sized corporates. We offer a tailored approach based on the perfect blend of expertise and technology to ensure your travel is right for your business. For 20 years Corporate Traveller has worked with businesses just like yours. We re here to help you grow by making the business of travel easier. Building personal relationships with our clients and offering best in class service sets us apart from other travel management companies. Corporate Traveller is part of the Flight Centre Travel Group, and is a proud level 1 BBBEE contributor. When you partner with us, you partner with South Africa s most experienced and trusted travel team. bring an expert on board

SMART Technology. starts here. with CTM TECHNOLOGY WHERE IT COUNTS.

SMART Technology. starts here. with CTM TECHNOLOGY WHERE IT COUNTS. SMART Technology. starts here with CTM TECHNOLOGY WHERE IT COUNTS. TRAVEL MANAGERS Save money. SMART Technology. SAVE MONEY. SAVE EFFORT. SAVE TIME. CTM SMART Technology is simply better than any other