www.buyingbusinesstravel.com
Drivers of change
VINCENT LEBUNETEL SENIOR DIRECTOR, EMEA, CWT SOLUTIONS TMCs are often accused of being reactive rather than proactive, but as their future and value become increasingly questioned by both buyers and other suppliers, TMCs are stepping up their game – particularly in the growing field of consulting. A classic example of this is CWT’s Travel Stress Index,
DISRUPTORS AIRBNB
The whole idea of Airbnb may seem a long way from the world of corporate managed travel, with its negotiated rates and strict travel policies. However, the hosting website is becoming a leisure travel phenomenon and could have an impact on how corporate accommodation is booked – particularly for longer stays and within
HOTEL TONIGHT The lack of enthusiasm from buyers for the concept of Hotel Tonight was palpable during the first BBT Forum in London last October. But it is the kind of mobile- based app that may well appeal to a tech-savvy generation of travellers, particularly those who like to do things their own way, especially when a trip has to be extended at the last minute. The idea behind San Francisco-based Hotel
ROCKETRIP Travel 2.0 – giving employees the freedom to book how and what they like – continues to be a concept in vogue, although some buyers may dismiss it as a fad with no practical relevance to their company. Travel analytics specialist Scott Gillespie, managing partner of consultancy T Clara, recommends Rocketrip as a way that buyers could begin
industries where travellers are looking for more than a standardised hotel room. The website offers a full range of accommodation options: from an apartment for a single night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month. Owners and hosts can build up trust with potential guests through online reviews and having pictures taken of their properties by a network of 5,000
Tonight’s app is simplicity itself – it only allows bookings to be made from noon for that night’s accommodation. Bookings can’t even be taken on the company’s website, as that is only a static information site.
Charlie Osmond, from hotel review website Triptease, highlighted Hotel Tonight during his presentation at the Forum: “It only shows ten hotels for the
to embrace the concept. He describes the website as “an early-stage platform for enabling a light version of Managed Travel 2.0”.
Among the features offered
by Rocketrip are budget templates for spending on travel components, such as flights, hotels and car rental, which can be formulated into a travel policy and also include negotiated deals and preferred suppliers.
photographers. Users can trawl the Airbnb site to find suitable properties to match their needs, and then contact the owner if one fits the bill.
Airbnb now has a presence in
192 countries with more than half a million properties listed on its website – there are around 7,000 properties available in London alone. Maybe this is one for the few companies that have truly embraced Travel 2.0.
location and makes it really simple to book one at the last minute. They can usually get a discount for distressed stock from the hotels.” While buyers at the
Forum said this app was unlikely to be applicable to business travellers, it is the kind of disruptive technology that the business travel community does need to replicate, and find an answer to, if it wants its travellers to stay within company policy.
Buyers can set down criteria for the cost of trips and Rocketrip will set a “sensible real time” budget. Once the bookings have been made, employees can send their receipts to Rocketrip, which can provide detailed reports to the buyer. The site also offers rewards to employees who save money on their trips, based on the saving made between the Rocketrip estimated budget and the price finally paid.
a project headed up by Lebunetel. The Stress Index looks at the potential stress caused to a traveller through up to 22 activities associated with a business travel trip, from making the initial booking to getting their trip expenses paid by the employer on their return to the office.
This initiative comes at a time when duty of care and traveller well-being has been
rising as one of the main priorities for buyers. CWT has spent 18 months building the tool, which uses data from 15 million transactions to produce an individual travel stress index rating out of 100 for each company, which can then be benchmarked across similar firms within their sector. The TMC is so proud of the
Stress Index, it has applied for a patent for the process.
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