Feature: Traveller Tracking ➔ He argues that companies need to look at
“Developments in traveller tracking will be around the use of mobile devices in terms of the delivery of information and in helping locate travellers”
what has occurred, decide what information they need, understand who is affected and formulate a plan based on trigger points of knowing what to do and when. “With the ash cloud most companies did not react for about a week and had employees doing anything they could to get home,” says Judge. ”A formal corporate message should have been dispatched. Businesses and travel comp- anies fell down in that they did not inform the travellers what to do. The biggest cause of distress is the unknown in an incident,” he adds. This more strategic approach has raised questions about integration, not just from a technology standpoint
but also across different departments within organisations. In general, the business travel sector is seeing wider cooperation across human resources, security and travel teams, enabling companies to respond in the fastest and most effective way. Some argue that travel managers have gained higher profile within organisations as a result and others also see increased value attached to travel management companies through their response to these situations. The message also seems to be filtering down
to smaller companies although some argue this sector has plenty of ground to make up. “I have been surprised at the number of medium-sized companies that have not formulated policies,” says Tim Daniel, group executive vice president of International SOS. ”It’s not lack of awareness, but these organisations have one or two people who share responsibility across different areas and the priority for traveller tracking falls down the list,” explains Daniel. He adds that hugely important to the take-up of technology is how easy it is to use and says both travel managers and security staff are asking for information in a readily accessible and digestible format. The security manager at FIL Investment has found TravelTracker, a joint venture between International SOS and Control Risks, to be an essential tool in tracking staff movement globally. Most recently, the tool was deployed for the evacuation of all ex-pat staff in Tunisia during the civil unrest. “The main benefit of TravelTracker to us is having the ability to retrieve information about our staff travel on a 24/7 basis and being able to send out detailed reports when required while managing an incident,” they said. The technology also gives FIL Investment the option to look at future travel plans to destinations and cancel travel if necessary. Much of the current development around traveller tracking tools is in the level of detail they provide with TMCs, GDS companies and
security specialists all adding increased flexibility to systems so that reports can be dynamically built based on anything from which airlines staff are travelling on to the hotel they are staying in. Future developments in traveller tracking are
likely to be around the use of mobile devices in terms of the delivery of information and in helping locate travellers, though there are privacy issues to overcome first. “Mobile is extremely important because it’s
the fastest way of communicating but it will need to comply with any legislation regarding privacy. We give travellers the opportunity to opt out but in these cases, it’s usually the sort of message you want to receive,” says Elisabeth Martins, Sabre country manager for the UK & Ireland. Jason Long, Amadeus head of global commercials for corporations, also sees further development in this area once the legal minefield has been navigated. “What I see in the future is a bit more intelligence in traveller tracking. So, when a passenger does not board a plane we can send a message to check they are ok, or to see if they need an alternative flight or offer them a hotel, and all still within their corporate policy. That does not happen today,” says Long. Achieving a balance between legal obligations and protecting the privacy of the individual may take some time to resolve but the need for faster, more accurate technology will continue as incidents increase in frequency and businesses push into new markets.
TRAVELLER TRACKING SYSTEMS: A SAMPLE OF WHAT’S OUT THERE
• HRG Security Suite incorporates in-house traveller tracking tools with additional services from Red24
• TravelTracker powered by Red24 • Anvil Group’s Employee Travel Monitoring System
• TravelTracker from Travel Security Services, a joint venture between International SOS and Control Risks
• Sabre’s Traveller Security Suite, recently enhanced with daily alerts and risk briefings
• Business Travel Direct combines its in-house technology with Sabre’s tool
• Carlson Wagonlit combines its CWT Guardian in-house tracking technology with additional services from iJet
• Travelport Journey Reporter, a real-time reporting tool for Galileo-connected agencies and corporations to track and monitor travellers worldwide
• Amadeus e-Reporter ‘Who is where?’ tool, Mobile Travel Assistant with ConTgo, Amadeus SMS Traveller Contact
• Egencia offers Red24 as well as its own tracking and travel alert solutions
28 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 18 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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