“Some clients have realised that policy compliance just isn’t enough and is a rather weak and limited strategy”
These trends are rapidly becoming part of what expense management firm Concur calls “the age of the on-the-go economy” in its recent Virtual Instanity report, which looks at how technology will transform people’s working lives. Concur executive vice-president Tim MacDonald says: “Inno- vation will continue to go after key friction points for business travellers. You’ll see more Ubers and more Airbnbs yielding a ton of efficiency and traveller productivity.” Despite the advance of digital services, Concur does not expect business travel to be “entirely replaced by holograms” because there will remain a “premium on relation- ships, partnerships and collaboration” in a future global business landscape. For April Bridgeman, managing director of BCD Travel’s consultancy arm Advito, it may be time for buyers to consider “new thinking, tools and skills” to successfully manage their programmes. “It also requires letting go of some traditional beliefs and ‘knee-jerk’ practices,” she says. “Travel managers must act more in ‘real time’ to take advantage of spend opportunities. They must also invest in new intelligence and analytics capabilities and treat travellers like consumers. Some clients have realised that policy compliance just isn’t enough and is
CASE STUDY
Bookings can be made through the client’s corporate booking system or on the open market – with Rocketrip’s platform analysing receipts and providing itinerary details for travellers.
ROCKETRIP BEGAN WORKING WITH A US-BASED ENERGY INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY in an effort to cut its rapidly rising travel budget as the firm went through a period of major expansion, including the opening of international offices. Business travel was found to be the third largest expense for the company after staff and offices, while only a few employees were using the travel management company and online booking tool. Using Rocketrip’s technology, the client started giving each employee a customised budget based on market data for each business trip. If they spend less than this budget, the staff member gets to keep a portion of this saving in cash or gift cards.
84 BBT September/October 2016
Rocketrip also supplies reports to the client showing spending at both departmental and employee levels, as well as data on destinations, vendors and reasons for savings or overspending.
The client was able to make average savings of US$359 per trip, helped by an increase in advance bookings with 50 per cent now made more than 14 days before departure – a 17 per cent improvement on previous patterns. During the first six months of using Rocketrip, the company made savings of US$220,000 on its bookings. There was a US$99 average saving on accommodation costs per night due to more bookings with Airbnb and employees deciding to stay with friends. Average flight costs fell by US$170 through using low-cost carriers, taking connecting flights and booking multiple one-way tickets.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
a rather weak and limited strategy. They’ve broadened their impact by implementing traveller engagement strategies so travellers can make better buying decisions. “Many more are starting to manage their spend in real time – making it more about constant analysis and acting than relying too much on annual sourcing cycles. We call that dynamic performance management.” Finding ways to acknowledge travellers for good behaviour within the managed travel environment is becoming important as well. For example, one of Business Travel Direct’s clients is looking to reward employ- ees for early booking. “Purchasing more than a month ahead of departure would enable the traveller to fly premium economy on long-haul flights, rather than economy, and likewise with their rail tickets – boosting them to first class for advance purchasing,” explains the TMC’s Julie Oliver. If the Pokémon Go craze teaches us any- thing, it’s that the rules of the game are chang- ing and mobile technology will lead the way. There will be more creative technology-led solutions coming along to allow buyers to capture data, make savings and track their travellers as easily as capturing that Pokémon lurking in the office – at least, in theory.
Key takeaways
• Technology is increasingly challenging traditional travel management assumptions and methods.
• Encouraging employees to do the right thing can be driven through gamification and other types of incentives.
• Disruptive technology players, such as Tripbam and Rocketrip, are offering new platforms to manage corporate travel.
• Buyers need to be aware of the impact of travel suppliers directly marketing to their employees and how this may affect their purchase behaviour.
• Relying on traditional annual contracting cycles may not be the best solution for all procurement.
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 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132
