Feature: Booking Tools ➔


of the different working environment. “They are being controlled by the corporate and are there to manage many types of fares and may have various levels of authorisation and it’s a fine balancing act,” he says. Despite the pitfalls of such comparisons, developments in the online leisure market have definitely driven up acceptance and confidence levels of using the technology in the corporate sector. “People are so much more used to going online for day-to-day things and used to booking their holidays and flights online that there is more acceptance of the tools in general,” says Kate Davey, of FCm Travel Solutions. And, in turn, online booking suppliers are striving to make systems more user-friendly and the view from the TMC market is that their efforts are paying off. “Turnaround times are quicker in terms of implementation and they are generally more user-friendly and obviously being modelled on leisure travel,” says David Richardson, account management director at Corporate Traveller.


NEW TECHNOLOGY User-friendliness, alternative distribution methods and increased management information are likely to continue to be the area for inno- vation and further development going forward. Established players such as KDS say much of


their research and development budgets are being devoted to the whole area of ease of use. The company will unveil a number of system developments in early February including something in the mobile sector, as well as the long-awaited forward trending system enabling travel buyers to predict costs going forward through benchmarking against other corporates as well as analysing historical data. Last year it unveiled a new fares engine to deal


with the complexities of fare unbundling from airlines and enable travellers to quickly highlight the best options. While there is already technology out there to


help corporates get to grips with meetings, GetThere last year launched the industry’s first distribution and booking platform for telepresence facilities, in collaboration with Cisco. The tool allows agents and corporates to book services from any telepresence provider and any point of sale, with real-time room availability, rates and restrictions all viewable. “By distributing telepresence unit availability


using a common platform with appropriate viewing restrictions and access controls, corporates are able to improve productivity and drive new levels of collaboration across their organisations and with their partners, customers and suppliers,” says Mark Weidick, vice president and general manager, Cisco TelePresence Exchange business unit. Concur, meanwhile, will release its Breeze tools


for small to medium-sized organisations next year with a plan to test them initially among a closed group of users. General manager and senior vice president for Europe, Barry Padgett, says the company is also


working to give its tools a more ‘consumer orientated’ feel to answer the needs of travellers as well as managers. “Travellers want an experience that they can manage in a single location that is convenient for them. They don’t want to have to switch between GDS and non-GDS product hotels or Eurostar and air. They want maps, weather forecasts, dining recommendations, reviews from other travellers and to be able to book a taxi, and that is a much bigger pile of work,” says Padgett. He believes that, mirroring what has happened


in the leisure world, it is the online experience that will differentiate the systems and help corporate buyers and travel managers make a choice. Padgett also believes that mobile is going to be the next area of development with all the additional elements and gaps around travel such as ground transportation, dining recommendations and traveller reviews made accessible by mobile. CWT’s Turner is of a similar opinion and


says the company hopes to release technology ➔


“Implementation times are now quicker and booking tools are generally more user- friendly and obviously being modelled on the leisure travel sector”


WWW.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM I 59


BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84