Summary of the conference in Barcelona on technology for travel agencies
The second of the special training sessions for corporate travel agencies took place in the extraordinary setting of the Casa Convalescència in Barcelona. Following the common thread of the conference, technology and innovation applied to corporate travel were the focus of the presentations as well as the practical solutions that were presented.
As in Madrid, the Barcelona session began with the study “The 10+1 faces of the technological business traveler”, prepared by Forum Business Travel and Amadeus España, whose main conclusions were detailed by Óscar García, founding partner of FBT:
-Travel friction. There are companies that are beginning to calculate the impact on staff due to the conditions in which travel is carried out. The stress caused by this has a direct impact on productivity.
-One-stop shop. The traveler needs the same environment to manage all his travel needs. You have to make it easy, because travel is a means, not an end.
-Tailor's hand. Big Data from multiple channels makes it possible to personalize the offer to the frequent traveler automatically.
-Paperless and cashless. Cash is in disuse. The digitization of economic transactions increases security and control.
-All for one. The collaborative economy is gradually penetrating business travel. Platforms such as Uber or Airbnb already have many corporate clients.
-Leisure and Business. Apps allow the business traveler to take advantage of free time for leisure activities.
-Digital Detox. Too much technology can saturate and generate stress. It is necessary to find a balance and disconnect sometimes.
THE EXPERIENCE OF TRAVEL MANAGERS
The results of the study were analyzed by Josep Mª Guasch, director of Cost Auditía at Nortia Business Corporation. Here are some of his comments:
“Traveler experience helps companies define some of the aspects of travel policy for the benefit of all”.
“On- and offline management and booking systems should understand each other better, because the traveler is used to interacting in different environments”.
“The market is somewhat saturated with loyalty cards. Travelers are demanding some solution where access can be integrated”.
“The agency isá becoming a technology partner able to integrate all the innovation to make it as easy as possible for the client company”.
TENDENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS SEGÚN AMADEUS
For Amadeus España, Fernando Puelles, director of Business Travel, of the multinational technology company, pointed out some of the trends that are making their way into business travel:
“The challenge for the travel industry is to interconnect the various technological systems to make the traveler experience more satisfying”.
“The needs of the traveler must be aligned with the role of each player in the industry, from suppliers to customer companies through intermediaries”.
The day was rounded off with several presentations in which attendees were able to get an up-to-date view of the latest innovations from travel providers, including those from Amadeus, London City Airport, Icarous, Diners Club, Executive Airlines and Mice in the Cloud.