Tomorrow’s travellers will want even greater choice, transparency and personalisation, while at the same time, corporations will push for better value from travel spend.
In conversation with industry experts, a leading global distributor has identified 4 technology trends that are impacting the business travel landscape, and how travel management companies can leverage them to ensure that employers and their travellers get the most out of business travel.
1. Personalisation through aggregated content
Just like leisure travel, business travellers want more personalised journeys. With the introduction of NDC, and as content is aggregated, individual traveller profiles will not only create a tailored experience but will give companies more scope to manage costs.
2. Transparency
The travel industry as a whole is predicted to start embracing a ‘blockchain principle’, showing every single transaction (or touchpoint) in business travel (e.g. buyer, fleet operator, location, routes, feedback, pricing, etc.). This will provide insights into corporate travellers’ complete journeys and assist in creating a tailored experience. It will also enable companies to keep a record of every trip and use this data for reporting, forecasting and identifying trends.
3. Bleisure trips will become more prevalent
Industry insiders predict that 60% of business trips are expected to morph into bleisure trips, with Millennials leading the charge. To remain competitive, companies will need to offer business travel options that appeal to a wide range of traveller expectations, such as flexibility and travel preferences.
4. Mobile first
Mobile technology will become even more essential in business travel, with travellers needing to be able to communicate issues and manage travel plans at the touch of their fingertips. This will require fully optimised and connected mobile platforms or apps, which, as they gather data, can send targeted information, further heightening the personalised experience.
Interestingly, within this continuous evolution of travel technology, business travel priorities remain the same: meeting the needs of the company and those of the business traveller. While travel management companies will require a strong technology backbone, there will always be a need for the human touch, which, combined with innovative tech, will make them able to understand the changing needs of their customers and move quickly to meet them.
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