Understand the new era of business travel with corporate travel technology advancements
As the ever-changing business travel industry evolves, corporate travel technology has in turn developed to meet the requirements of business travelers and travel managers. From personalized travel expense tracking to artificial intelligence assisting trip planning, these innovations have made it easier for travel managers to seamlessly streamline trip management and for business travelers to optimize their travel, ultimately benefiting your company.
In this article, we’ll delve into the ways in which technology is used to optimize corporate travel for business travelers and travel managers before, during and after a trip.
Corporate travel technologies, the application of IT or e-commerce solutions in tourism, travel and hospitality, are aimed at saving time, automating travel, reducing costs or creating a more seamless travel experience for all parties involved.
For trip planning, travel managers can use these types of technology to streamline bookings, inventory, payments and itineraries for corporate travelers. For business travelers, technology can benefit the entire corporate travel experience, overall leading to more productive and happier corporate travel.
Planning a business trip begins with searching for flights and hotels to find the best one. This process can be time-consuming and expensive, juggling the comfort of corporate travelers and the need to remain within travel policy and budget constraints. Plus, the dynamic world of corporate travel means that business travelers need a lot of support during travel to manage changes, emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances that can pop up during a trip.
This is where travel Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes into play. AI is one of the latest and most impactful developments in the business travel technology sector. AI travel tools have been instrumental in personalizing business travel recommendations. These tools use Machine Learning and predictive analytics to select tailored booking options based on past preferences and business travel policies. Booking.com for Business efficiently utilizes Machine Learning technology to help business travel managers plan and manage corporate travel more efficiently
Our recent article delves into the surrounding factors that come with using AI. Avoid entering your employees' personal data or sensitive company data.
Corporate travel involves a lot of transactions. Beyond the big expenses like booking flights and your place to stay, there are numerous costs that add up during corporate travel from transport at the destination to snacks and entertainment. Carrying cash for these costs can be dangerous, not to mention the inconvenience of exchanging currencies.
Recent developments in travel technology and financial technology (fintech) have made making and tracking business travel experiences easier and safer. From paying online using a company card to using in-app wallet functions to seamlessly pay anywhere in the world, digital banks and virtual cards have changed the face of corporate travel.
For business travel managers and decision-makers, digital banks and virtual cards have allowed for streamlined financial controlling and planning as well as expense management. Find out more benefits of virtual cards and other developments in payment technology in this article.
A common barrier for corporate travel managers is having to rely on poor-quality photos and reviews from strangers to find a place to stay. On occasion, travelers can be fed misleading information and arrive – jetlagged with meetings to attend – to a less-than-desirable room.
To solve this, some hotels nowadays use Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to help bridge this unwanted gap between expectations and reality. Many hotels now digitally film rooms and amenities and integrate this with information about prices and accommodation. That way travelers can get a virtual tour of the hotel before deciding to stay there. Our recent research suggests that travelers' and corporate travel managers’ expectations of virtual tours of hotels and business travel venues are growing.
International travel comes with a plethora of potential risks and emergencies. Companies are responsible for going above the statutory duty of care to ensure the safety of travelers.
Travel management software can help track the exact location of travelers to ensure that they are safe in unfamiliar situations. You can collect real-time data from airlines and hotels about their safety policy and make better decisions with tools like Traxo, a real-time tracking app that integrates seamlessly with other services like expense tracking apps.
Manual expense management is still preferred by many companies, even though it’s less efficient in many ways. It relies heavily on slow-moving paperwork, it’s expensive and doesn’t offer expense fraud detection or prevention methods.
Travel technology can help transition from manual expense management to automation. From digital receipt scanning to OCR technologies, it’s time to move to automated expense management.
Travel consultants take care of a great deal of organizational operations for businesses. However, they don’t provide customized booking options to travelers and can’t provide insights to measure the effectiveness of travel and expense policy.
Virtual travel assistants have emerged as one of the most promising travel technology trends. It’s an AI-based feature in any modern-day travel management software solution that can provide booking options based on past preferences. Virtual assistants can save time and costs in the long run by optimizing booking and travel processes.
Commonly used by tools like Booking.com for Business, chatbots use Machine Learning techniques to provide personalized responses to prompts. Chatbot features can help improve personalized recommendations and virtual travel assistant responses. Chatbots can also help with checking visa requirements, flight statuses or alternative flight options if there’s a cancellation, all saving time for travel managers.
NDC is a real game changer in terms of business travel technology. It provides real-time access to airline inventory, ensuring that travel managers have the most up-to-date information at their fingertips. This is especially beneficial for corporate travel managers and travelers in fast-changing situations, such as flight cancellations or delays.
From efficiency and productivity to safety and security, technology has made business travel more manageable and enjoyable. As new technologies continue to develop, keep up with the evolving needs of your company and business travelers by embracing change and utilizing business travel platforms like Booking.com for Business to streamline your business travel planning and execution.
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