Unlike when we were growing up, it seems summer has come and gone at an accelerated rate. The children are back in school, companies are back to busily preparing next year’s budgets and road warriors…well they are back on the road. With September upon us, I thought it would be a good idea take a look ahead and recap some of my summer blog posts by reviewing the ABC’s of a corporate travel policy.
A is for Airline Trip Disruption.
Trip disruption has continued to be a hot topic this year and a major focus at conferences such as World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit this past April in Madrid. A great quote from David Scowsill President & CEO WTTC sums up the issue succinctly, “Each CEO knows there are going to be points of disruption. They can’t predict disruption. But they can plan for disruption.”
With the upcoming launch of one of our latest products 4site™, we knew that the application needed to be centered on events and be able to identify and present solutions to all types of situations, whether they be good or bad, in real time. This requires our app to analyze an abundance of data and understand the data from a solution-based perspective.
Our goal at Cornerstone is to enable enterprise travelers to more efficient and productive while on the road. Beginning with providing a 24/7 monitoring of the travel agenda, with a major focus of supporting the traveler during trip disruption. We knew we needed this capability to be “always-on” so it could actually predict when travel might get complicated and then provide the traveler with relevant, contextual data to promote better decision making
B is for Becoming Mobile
Mobile is something that has been discussed and discussed over and over, however mobile is still huge topic and issue for our industry. With 19 vendors offering mobile solutions at this summer’s GBTA convention, it seems like everyone is trying to figure out how to deliver their product offering via a mobile device. According to the first-ever GBTA Global Business Traveler Sentiment Index™, mobile technologies – including Wi-Fi, travel apps, and digital wallets – are transforming business travelers’ experience around the globe.
Emerging technology continues to revolutionize the business travel experience and Cornerstone is embracing this challenge and the changing travel landscape. As pioneers in the industry, we continue to lead the pack with our latest products. With the combination of delivering itineraries to mobile devices and integrated information services that provide travelers with actionable choices, we are helping travel companies, and travelers improve and optimize their trips.
C is for Communication
Every business excursion today requires an enhanced level of communication in this 24/7 connected world we live in. This emergence of the on demand economy has altered the way today’s traveler interacts before and during a trip. In order to properly service and win over on-demand travelers, data in the form of proactive actionable information lies at the core of building this relationship.
Road warriors want to know their preferred seat selection has been accommodated, that the flight is on time, and if not, to get an invitation to stay in the lounge that extra hour. If a flight has been canceled, the want the peace of mind that they have already been booked you on another flight.
Additionally, the ability to check in on a mobile device, skip lines, connect with two-way SMS texting directly with a hotel is rapidly becoming a necessity over something nice to have. It’s unmeasurable the value of landing at your destination, turning on your phone and receiving a message that your room is ready for check in.
D is for Data
Because I always wanted to be teacher’s pet, I have included “D” as extra credit. Data is crucial to everything we do. At Cornerstone we are obsessed with making sense of travel data so that it is accurate and consumable by travelers and the organizations that support their productive journeys. We are thrilled to provide that with the recent rollout of TravelOptix™ to the market.
TravelOptix provides clear, dynamic and actionable visualizations of companies’ travel data, bringing insights through analytics. This solution assists travel management companies and their clients in making informed decisions based on a consumable business intelligence. The extensive data enables information clarity on savings metrics, program gaps, policy compliance, budget enforcement and future strategy.
This fall, as you return to focusing on business at hand, do not forget the ABC’s and D of a successful travel policy. In addition, the “Apple” your teacher might expect you to bring may look more like an iPhone 6S!