HOW EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES ARE CHANGING THE WORLD OF CORPORATE TRAVEL

Transcription

1 HOW EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES ARE CHANGING THE WORLD OF CORPORATE TRAVEL 1

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Innovation doesn t start in the air or on the road it starts before you ve even made the reservation. Serious investment in digital technology, the growth in smartphone usage and the increased availability of big data is making it easier than ever for travelers and travel providers alike to creatively solve some of the biggest headaches in the industry. While there is a perception that most of this effort is being focused on improving the leisure market, there have been significant advances in the corporate travel market too. Airports and airlines, hotel providers and even car rental companies are all investing heavily in technological innovation. They know that if they can offer the best and most convenient travel experience at the right price point, they can secure the loyalty of big-spending business travelers. The challenge now is to make these innovations simple and accessible for a community that is often short on time and faces inflexible and unyielding IT polices at work. Our guide will explain how organizations of any size, and their members can take advantage of emerging technologies, and incorporate them into their travel policies. Doing so could save you and your business precious time and money. 2 2

3 APPLYING INNOVATION AT THE FOUR KEY STAGES OF TRAVEL Before we consider these digital developments we first need to appreciate the complexity of corporate travel. The experience is much more than the act of getting from A to B, and covers four key stages. First comes the research stage when the planner seeks to create an itinerary that is convenient and cost-effective. TRAVEL MANAGEMENT BOOKING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE Then comes the active experience of airport lounges and flights, road journeys and hotel lobbies. Travel coordinators are also often faced with planning several journeys at once, for multiple travelers. So when the various service providers the airlines, hotels, cab firms and car hire companies all use different operating platforms and different booking systems, the scale of the task can AIRPORT AND AIR TRAVEL AIRPORT EXPERIENCE IN-AIR EXPERIENCE become a real challenge. It s not always easy to get these different technologies to work together. Airlines, for example, have only recently started to open up their APIs (application programming interface) and airline apps rarely integrate with airport technology. ROAD TRAVEL SMARTER ROAD JOURNEYS Innovators are attempting to merge those individual areas to enhance the overall travel experience, meaning that travelers can enjoy their travel as well as remaining productive and forging new opportunities while on the move. It also means that organizations can address areas of excessive spending and inefficiency. HOTELS AND HOSPITALITY GUEST PERSONALIZATION GUEST EXPERIENCE AND WELLBEING 3

4 ARE CORPORATE TRAVELERS RELUCTANT TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY? With most business travelers now carrying a smartphone or other internet-connected device, mobile technology has become a key area for innovation. The question is whether corporate travelers are taking advantage of it. booking service available for them to use. Evidence suggests that a lack of time and corporate IT policies are among the key reasons why corporate travelers are less likely to use travel applications than leisure travelers. Our study on the effects of mobile booking showed most travel managers expect mobile services to make a significant, positive impact on their travel programs in the next few years. But despite this, only 5% of all the apps available are specifically used to book travel. Only 4 in 10 travelers are aware that their company makes a mobile For organizations, it is important to understand just what opportunities these technologies and solutions can provide, how they could reduce both travel costs, and the time that your employees spend being unproductive while on the move. GREATER PERSONALIZATION Personalization is becoming a much bigger focus for travel companies, as they look to improve the traveler experience. particular brand of wine, or looking at their reservation history to reserve a table in the restaurant at their preferred time. Using big data metrics, personalization is now being applied to all aspects of the travel process. Airlines are starting to use data to tailor the services that they provide to their frequent fliers such as automatically offering a window or an aisle seat depending on the passenger s preferences. Hotels are using data from previous bookings to look at factors such as whether a guest prefers a For airlines and hotels, these relatively small ideas are a big part of the customer experience. They are what make their regular customers feel valued, and what keeps them coming back. As for businesses, the feeling of being valued customer can prove a huge boost for travelers with demanding schedules, increasing productivity and positivity towards corporate travelling. Data can help brands tailor guest s experiences, including: Seat Reservations Wine choices Dinner reservations 4

5 AT THE AIRPORT AND IN THE AIR The airport can be a stressful environment for even the most seasoned business traveler, and the airline experience can also be a test of patience, given the increasingly limited leg room and the growing shortage of But technology and creative problem solving is attempting to overcome those challenges and frustrations, with airports and airlines introducing various initiatives that tech-savvy travelers can take advantage of. amenities that used to be all part of the service. AUGMENTED REALITY Navigating the airport can be a tricky experience. Confusing signage, winding corridors and sprawling check-in and seating areas can all stand in the way of you making your gate on time particularly if you re in a hurry. introduced augmented reality (AR) apps to their airports, which are designed to help passengers find their way from the curb side or parking lot to the gate as easily as possible. A number of airports are looking to address that with the use of augmented reality. Both Gatwick Airport in London and San Jose International Airport in California have This includes offering directions around the airport, providing gate change information and even providing 5

6 BIOMETRIC DATA More and more airlines and airports are looking at how biometric data can smooth the process both on the ground and in the air. Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam has been trialing biometric data at security and immigration checkpoints for certain categories of passenger, making it easier for them to pass through bottleneck checkpoints more quickly. Many airlines are also looking to use biometric factors, such as fingerprints and iris scans, to replace the traditional boarding pass. 6

7 HOTELS AND HOSPITALITY For regular corporate travelers, hotels are something of a home away from home. Hotel operators know that loyalty is a valuable commodity, and travel organizers know that them motivated, rested and productive. That is leading to some exciting innovation in the hotel and hospitality sector. the happiness of their employees is important to keep SMART TECHNOLOGY More hotels are introducing smart technology into their hotel rooms, as they again look to ensure that they re delivering a more personalized service to their regular travelers. As hotel brands better understand the data that they have about their customers, it would be possible for a hotel to, for example, utilize smart thermostats to automatically set a room to a customer s preferred temperature based on their previous visits to that hotel. A number of hotels are already piloting digital personal assistants in their hotels Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas They could also look at previous booking records to determine whether a guest prefers extra pillows, or is testing Amazon Echo as they look to put a digital concierge in each and every room to enhance the guest experience and understand what guests are looking for during their stay. Hotel brands could use smart technology to: Set thermostats to customers preferred temperatures Determine whether guests need extra pillows Analyze which minibar drinks a customer prefers 7

8 CAPITALIZING ON THE INNOVATION Applying technological innovations to the process of corporate travel brings with it some challenges, but it also creates numerous opportunities. For businesses travel organizers, the challenge is encouraging your employees to utilize these innovations and use it to the advantage of the business. For small- and medium-sized businesses, understanding these opportunities can be difficult. You have enough to think about without wondering whether your employees are making best use of the airport WiFi or whether their mobile app is up to date with their latest documents and frequent flyer numbers. Corporate travel management can help with these problems, but there are various things that you can do to encourage your travelers to take advantage of these opportunities and technologies. 8

9 MAKING THE MOST OF TRAVEL TECH Give them the tools for the job Give your employees the tools to make it easier for them to utilize this technology. As more and more solutions are now focused on smart devices, phones and tablets, ask yourself whether that relic of a laptop really is the ideal travel companion for your employees. Encourage them to use the technology IT security is important, but don t let Draconian rules prevent your employees from taking advantage of the technology that is there to help them. We understand that you might want to restrict app downloads onto company devices, but if it s an augmented reality app of the local airport, it s likely you ll be able to handle it. Get regular feedback Your travelers will have stories from every trip so if you are a travel organizer, talk to them about it. If your existing travel policy is causing an issue that a more innovative solution can address, that five minutes by the water cooler could generate some useful information. Travel managers can then make use of that feedback and the data they collect from their travel management software to come up with a solution that benefits the business and its employees alike. As technology progresses in the travel sector, the journey for business travelers is becoming more convenient, more comfortable and safer. The effect it has on their subsequent job performance cannot be underestimated. That s why it makes sense for every business to embrace change, and see what travel tech can do for them. 9

10 SEE HOW CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL CAN HELP YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES MAKE THE MOST FROM EVERY TRIP by helping you to arrange your ideal itinerary and by using smart technology like the CWT To Go app, to make your employees more productive. Simply use our contact us page and our experts will be in touch soon. CWT To Go app