This week The Beat, a US-based business travel newsletter, reported that two of the world's largest multinational travel management companies were upgrading their mobile apps.
"Carlson Wagonlit Travel plans to introduce full airline shopping and booking capabilities within its CWT To Go app later this year. BCD Travel, too, confirmed mobile 'air booking in TripSource is in development,'" it wrote. "Those megas are among several travel management companies evolving their mobile wares to include further booking capabilities. If the first generation of TMC apps were informational and focused on itinerary management, the next is increasingly transactional."
Use of apps is large and rising — with the average smartphone owner using nine apps per day; the number of minutes using apps is also growing and this is likely to increase as the increased penetration of smartphones among young people feeds through.
What about in business travel?
Research by Google on US travellers showed that 31% of leisure travellers had booked travel on a smartphone compare with 53% of business travellers.
Figures from American Express Global Business Travel, meanwhile, show growing interest from corporates — it says that 44% of travel managers, predominately at large corporations, have already introduced apps and a further 19% intend to introduce them within the next two years.
The Beat reminds us that Phocuswright research has found that "travellers are all over the place in terms of where they book–be that within corporate-sanctioned channels, on public booking sites like online travel agencies or directly with the supplier."
It also points to last year's GBTA study which concluded: "Business travellers use a variety of travel-related mobile apps during their trips, but in all countries surveyed, supplier apps are more commonly used than travel management company, itinerary management and expense management apps."
Corporate travel's mobile behaviour therefore seems to contradict perceived travel management wisdom. Corporate travel managers have unfalteringly relied on TMCs to fulfil support and different purposes in different ways and TMC portals which link various dashboards are very popular. But when it comes to mobile, the same isn't true - yet. A corporate booker/traveller will happily use an online booking tool which pulls in some direct connects as well as GDS content but they tend to favour individual sites when they use their phones.
Why? Maybe the clue is in the Beat's assessment that TMC apps are evolving from being informational to transactional. It may be logical to think that the TMC app which integrates many needs is the future but the uptake has not been huge. Could it be because of something as simple as individual functionality?
Each supplier app will include personalised information — loyalty card numbers and information about taste as well as the ability to immediately offer benefits and rewards — can intermediary apps carry so many different profiles? There is also the small matter of services that are currently only widely available through supplier apps — such as online check-in, mobile boarding passes and the purchase of ancillaries.
The TMC app should recognise the individual as a company employee and therefore entitled to negotiated rates and benefits but does it contain all that personal information to make it valuable for the user and suitable for the times? According to an interview in Tnooz with CWT CEO Kurt Ekert this is now going to happen on the TMC's app. CWT has hired a small army of data scientists to ensure data is used to personalise the offerings and automate the bookings.
Maybe the corner has been turned.