Social media
of paperless boarding in the next five years. Meanwhile, by 2015, 90 per cent of airlines and airports will provide flight status and tracking applications for mobile devices, increasing social networking integration options. Uptake in this area is relatively slow, however, with only two in five (40 per cent) of app-using travellers leveraging airline apps, and less than a third (32 per cent) using airport information apps like Gateguru or the Heathrow app “often, regularly or occasionally”. Microsoft’s social network
Yammer is gaining popularity among business travellers. The software allows corporate travel managers and employees to create groups designed to discuss, for example, an upcoming trip. The software also interacts with apps such as Tripit, which allows colleagues to see who is on a trip, and details of the trip. Yammer is about collaboration, with colleagues able to co-edit a document in real-time to ensure travel details are swiftly and accurately conveyed.
Microsoft’s employee engagement manager, Susan Baig, says the possibilities for the business traveller are vast. “The software allows staff to raise queries or problems, the idea being to have quick solutions provided. There’s nothing really like this out there – the only similar things I’ve seen have been companies’ own internal portals. However, this provides a ready-made solution that companies can get involved with instantly.”
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WIDESPREAD ADOPTION The options for social media use during a trip have increased with the widespread adoption of wifi on planes, in hotels and at airports. Meanwhile, moves by the Federal Aviation Authority in the US to allow the use of electronic devices at any time in-flight is a landmark change that will give business travellers a further window for interaction. Concur found nearly 90 per cent of business travellers agree access to mobile devices improves the overall travel experience, allowing them to use their time onboard more productively.
Yammer also comes into its own during a trip, conveying information on the move and providing a platform for feedback at key times during a staff member’s trip. While manuals and itineraries are useful, for many an email can feel too formal, according to Baig. Yammer provides a place for an employee to vent their frustration with a hotel, share travel tips, be informed of flight delays and get key information from managers about changes to itineraries. For more urgent contact with employees, other steps can be appropriate for ensuring duty of care during a trip. Sparrows Group’s travel manager Ryan Taylor recommends International SOS, a data feed used to convey crucial messages via preferred channels,
WHEN SOCIAL MEDIA GOES BAD
AFTER MUCH HYPE on social media sites, LG’s ill-conceived promotional stunt in Seoul last August, designed to promote LG’s new G2 smartphone, went badly wrong. The company released 100 helium balloons in an outdoor park, each containing a free smartphone voucher. However, when locals arrived with BB guns, knives and ‘spears’ designed to capture the balloons, disaster struck, leading to 20 people being taken to hospital. LG then took to social media, mainly Twitter, to apologise. The futility of trying to control social media was demonstrated when AOL CEO Tim Armstrong fired creative director Abel Lenz at a boardroom meeting, which was being streamed live to 1,000 colleagues, for taking a photo. Armstrong, who ostensibly feared the private meeting could be featured on social media, reportedly said: “We can’t have people in the locker room giving the game away.”
Yammer provides a place for an employee to vent their frustration with a hotel and share travel tips
such as SMS or email, ensuring the traveller is connected to their company and their travel team by increasingly sophisticated mobile devices that can enable locate-and- assist services through reliable SMS and GPS technologies. “In the past, I have tracked anywhere from 10-15,000 travellers at any one time using this system. I have used it for sending vital emails, SMS messages and the like. It’s a platform I hope to bring in here [Sparrows],” he says. Airplus data shows that 34 per cent of its customers are working with a third-party security/duty-of-care company such as iJet or International SOS to track their travellers. Data feeds from the TMCs are used to track traveller locations and collect information from multiple sources. This data can allow companies to create travel risk management strategy, from development of policy and standardised procedures through to execution of assistance in an emergency. Online portals can also be useful when dealing with emergencies. “We were able to help a company track its staff in Iceland when the ash cloud incident occurred,” says Airplus marketing manager Julia Surry. “They were able to get in touch with
them and ensure their extenuating circumstances for payment were met. It’s an example of how social media can adapt to evolving circumstances.”
WORRYING PRECEDENT? Apps have emerged to help corporate travel companies improve their data mining. One example is Contgo, a cloud platform that allows companies to track, locate and communicate with their travellers with real-time traveller data. The app allows communication and social sharing with geo-location, requiring an opt-in from travellers to disclose their current location via SMS when a wifi, roaming or mobile voice connection is not available. This precedent is worrying for some. Airplus research warns that the quest for ‘big data’ – which could be aided by traveller tracking – can invade privacy and contravene laws in some countries. Its report asks: “Will travellers agree to be tracked if they’re paying for their own phones? Should travellers be tracked at all times while travelling on business, even during their personal time? What are the parameters around geo- fencing – the automatic notification to the company if a traveller enters or leaves a pre-determined location?” As integration between apps and software improves, social media in travel management offers answers.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
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