What are the main lines of innovation taking place in Business Travel?
PAUL TILSTONE, Senior Vice President Global Development Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
On the one hand, it is the travelers themselves who are telling their companies what innovation and technology they need for their travels. These travelers have already learned the lesson as leisure travelers and are starting to apply it to their business. Companies are faced with the challenge of adapting all this technology to their own travel program, as well as taking advantage of the acquired habits of travelers.
The penetration of the collaborative consumption models is also beginning to be felt in business travel, especially in terms of information exchange. The corporate social networks are starting to provide valuable content from companies within the same company, which is very useful and practical for the development of other users' trips.
In general, innovation is aimed at greater customization of products and services business travel oriented. Technology is providing suppliers with tools to give the user much greater choice, so that the purchase is tailored to their needs.
This trend can be seen especially in loyalty programs, which are incorporating very sophisticated CRM programs, with complex algorithms to obtain the customer's background background of the customer. One of the “dangers” of technologyía is that it gives the possibility of being less loyal to a brand, due to the ability in your hand to compare products in real time. Therefore, suppliers are perfecting their customer communication tools to keep customers satisfied and, in turn, become a loudspeaker for other consumers.
Another major trend that we can observe in the market, as a result of the technology available to the user, is the radical transformation of the role of the travel agent from a traditionally transactional function to that of a consultant, so that he becomes an essential assistant to the travel manager.
This role is being consolidated through services such as finding the best rates and options for complex itineraries, 24-hour assistance, tracking travelers in case of incidents, implementing self-booking tools, advising on negotiations with suppliers or analyzing data and statistics, among others.