the customer to resolve the conflict, and it’s good for the travel management company [TMC], because they don’t need to take the phone call. It’s interactive voice response, which is older telephony, but we augment it with a more intuitive system, connecting the eyes, ears and hands to help resolve the situation as quickly as possible. TMCs should be offering it. We’re stitching it all together. It’s more than trip management; and if it’s not proactive, it’s useless.”
THE HOLISTIC APPROACH Data Art senior vice-president Greg Abbott says many apps today are about itinerary management, not trip management. “Think Trip It, Trip Case, Concur... all acting as a ‘super PNR’ with mobile notifications and some premium features to monetise,” he says. “Let’s evolve – to actual trip man- agement. To me, a trip management app indicates the ability to change your trip, or at least look at your travel plans holistically. “The app would act as a concierge – it
would look at a multi-modal trip facilitated by multiple suppliers as interdependent – when one element changes, it checks other elements of the trip and premedi- tates needed changes. The technology is already there. At Data Art we’ve integrated 200-plus APIs [application programming interfaces] around the supplier/distribution ecosystem and, while few are perfect, most of the tech exists to create a ‘killer app’. The reality is, even though we could start building it tomorrow, the walled garden is most often commercial, not technical.”
PLAYING CATCH-UP Raj Sachdave, head of partnerships and innovation at Capita Travel and Events, says the corporate market is being “teased” in some ways to catch-up with the leisure market. Younger employees, in particular, expect travel for business to be as hassle- free as it is in their ‘civilian’ lives. He asks: “Are the days of a ‘life platform’ just around the corner? Yes, but let’s concentrate on getting each component of travel connected first. That starts by knowing your traveller and their persona.” He says Capita offers this type of service with the Iris:Go app, which pulls in the traveller’s
itinerary and
allows for real-time flight and rail tracking. Leisure travel and
retail technol- ogy specialists do appear to be showing
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
Many apps cater for itinerary management, but how many automatically – and proactively – amend details across the supplier chain?
more interest in the business travel sector. Iris, for example, says it has an “extensive roadmap for more integrations” and has already begun talks with TMCs about providing its APIs, in a similar way to its Delegate app, and its Trump Hotels integration with Sabre.
And with [24]7 keen to push its “artificial intelligence”, Schyma says: “We expect there may be partnerships with global distribution systems in the future. The cost is a fraction, and it’s scalable.”
BUILDING THE PERFECT APP?
SERKO, BASED IN NEW ZEALAND, is one of a growing number of companies aiming to fill the gap and provide a full ‘concierge app’, according to Darrin Grafton, its chief executive. “Mobile is expensive to build and isn’t typically an area of expertise for TMCs, so we have found a gap to license a powerful concierge-style app to TMCs that they can offer clients. “Building concierge apps is
tricky, as you’re trying to solve lots of issues in a single app – apps that are single-minded are often more successful than horizontal-style apps. We think we’ve struck the right balance between breadth and depth. “What’s different or unique about Serko Online is that it’s GDS-agnostic, which makes it attractive to corporates that want a portable tool that they can work with long-term, regardless of their TMC.”
IN BRIEF
■ Hilton Worldwide has introduced a ‘Digital Key’ feature for its HHonors app. The facility allows loyalty scheme members to bypass check-in and access rooms directly via the smartphone app. Hilton said, by early 2016, 170,000 rooms at 250 US properties will offer digital key services.
■ American Express has added Apple Pay for US corporate card-holders. Amex said it is the first major corporate card provider activated for Apple Pay, allowing travellers to pay using iPhones and iPads. Amex said actual card numbers are not stored on the device nor on Apple servers – instead a unique ‘device account number’ is assigned, and each transaction authorised with a one-time code.
■ Private car hire firm Addison Lee has launched an API that enables firms to integrate the booking function into any website or application. The Open API service allows partners to integrate services including booking, payments and quotes. Addison Lee said it hopes providers, such as airlines and travel aggregators, will sign up.
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