t S
WORDS NICK EASEN T
HE MANAGED TRAVEL SPACE IS FAR FROM PERFECT. Yet it has evolved over the decades to create a complex ecosystem of buyers, TMCs, suppliers, content providers and more, all there to service the business traveller. Now a new agile species is emerging: the
start-up. And they are looking to disrupt a largely settled and quite conservative market. A host of companies with catchy names are popping up in many a travel buyer’s inbox vying for patronage: Lumo, which anticipates air travel disruptions (
thinklumo.com); Voya, a personal travel assistant start-up (
voya.ai); Rocketrip, which rewards business travellers for savings (
rocketrip.com); Flyr, which finds cheaper fares (
flyrlabs.com); TroopTravel, a meeting location finder (
trooptravel.com); Travelperk (a free business travel booking tool); Freebird, a flight rebooking tool (
getfreebird.com); Stasher, a luggage storage solution (
stasher.com), and many others. They are are keen to counter inefficiencies in the sector and question how travel buyers operate. “Most start-ups only focus on niche parts and stand-alone processes of business travel, often not replacing existing solutions. The complexity of business travel has caused start-ups to focus with only a few being able
to master the full picture,” says Maximilian Lober, co-founder of Voya.
ENTRY LEVEL
Buyers need to understand the costs and benefits of each innovation, although this can be time-consuming. “Researching the product evolution roadmap is key to ensure it will grow with the market and its changing needs,” explains Nour Mouakke, founder of Wizme, a start-up focused on meeting reservations. Mark Williams, chief financial officer of consultancy
Dots & Lines, agrees and says: “Buyers should be asking questions such as: What will this do to help my travellers? What is the direct cost and what are the indirect costs of integration, communication and training? How long will it take to become operational in my environment? What is the potential ROI?” Many start-ups would like buyers to start testing their solutions without necessarily going through an RFP or corporate supplier process. “It is worth giving select teams access to some of these solutions before launching
buyingbusinesstravel.com
2018
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
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