Managing travel in India presents a variety of questions for buyers planning and implementing a travel programme. During a panel discussion at the GBTA Convention in Denver in July we found these questions can be broadly grouped into three categories — culture, content and cost. These allow for a more nuanced approach to implementations in India.
Culture
Key cultural differences to consider
The business and cultural environment in India have several unique components that make it very different to operate in. While English is the language of business, there are many differences in the business approach including…
- Agreement does not imply action. This is very much like the "Indian nod" where agreement may imply a variety of responses such as yes, no, agree, action or a simple acknowledgement of position.
- Change is viewed with concern. Given the historical fulfilment focus and primacy of legacy operations, high-tech and low touch solutions are viewed with a significant amount of concern.
- In meetings, Indians can tend to remain quiet and reticent as they fear "loss of face", very much like the Chinese.
- There is a clear preference to get important messages in writing.
Cultural barriers preventing a global roll-out
One of the biggest challenges and requirements of international travel for India-based employees is the need for visas. Indians require visas for most countries and the visa requirements are based on consular specifications which can be complex and tedious. Visa requirements may vary based on the location and jurisdiction of the consular location. This places a deterrent on the implementation of high tech, low touch solutions like self-booking tools (SBTs).
Secondly, usage of corporate cards is limited to the top 10-15% of the markets. Most companies don't like using corporate credit/personal credit cards for booking travel as they fear a loss of control and additional corporate liability.
Most Indian travel managers believe in minimising costs and fees and they can be very aggressive when conducting pricing negotiations with TMCs. A normal TMC will offer a nominal fee for booking tickets ($1-$5) and offer complimentary services like account management, implementation, call centre services, implants & MIS - all "free of cost".
This poses challenges when planning the roll-out of globally mandated TMCs who promise service delivery but at a cost. Such implementations are resisted by Indian counterparts as they believe they are paying for services that they could normally get for free. Convincing the Indian management team to align with a global strategy and programme guidelines can be difficult and attritional unless there is a clearly thought-out communication and transition plan.
Content
Gear tools to the local market
The Indian market has a high degree of automation with 100% GDS penetration and 100% e-ticketing. While automation is high in the broad agency operations, SBT implementation overall is in the low single digits. Though the market share of SBTs is very small, it is growing very rapidly and it is estimated that India will be a predominant SBT-enabled market by 2025.
Many of the content challenges with SBT implementations, such as non-GDS low-cost carrier air content, have been solved. Some SBT providers are still challenged by one-way combinability of LCCs and full service carrier (FSC) fares.
A continuing challenge remains with non-GDS hotel and corporate serviced apartments/guesthouses. Further full automation of domestic car rentals business and rail reservations is still some years away.
There are some primary differences between domestic and global SBT players in the Indian market.
Most of the key global SBT solution providers have a presence in India with varying degrees of implementations and market share including GetThere, Amadeus AETM and cytric, Cliqbook and Serko. Global players offer a smoother and more evolved user interface and offer a higher degree of data integration capabilities like HRMS, SSO, ERP, API connects and Level 2 or Level 3 data. Their mobile apps also have a better user experience and smoother interface compared to Indian providers. However, what global players lack is in-country implementation and project management support.
The global players are given strong competition by several home-grown SBT solution providers like Quest2Travel, Etravelvalue and Zillious. Indian solution providers have a far greater ability to develop customised solutions for Indian-specific operational needs whereas global partners can prove very expensive and slow in developing India specific solutions.
Cost
Handling payment solutions in India
India offers a paradox when it comes to payments.
India has highly evolved corporate payment environment. All the primary players (MasterCard/Visa/Amex/Diner) have a strong presence in India and offer a full range of their solutions. UATP and AirPlus are expected to come in shortly.
Despite this, the overall penetration of credit cards in the business travel market does not exceed 10%. Indian companies, with some exceptions, prefer an invoicing solution with TMCs and cheque payments.
Most Indian corporates view card implementations with trepidation and concern. They believe that implementing card programmes will expose them to a complete 'free for all' when it comes to employee behaviour leading to increased corporate liability and increased costs.
Most Indian finance teams prefer an invoicing mode of payment to their TMCs and vendors that offer them extended credit. They believe that this gives them greater control on the vendor in addition to having the TMC subsidise the corporate payment cycle. Further T&E automation process are generally limited in visibility with a predominance of the traditional Excel-based expense reporting.
Challenges with data collection and analysis
MIS and data on the travel programme is another major gap. Historical data is definitely not the strong suit of most corporate buyers in India; they generally get very limited and elementary MIS from their TMCs or they chose to ignore the enhanced data that may be available to them for different sources.
The situation with respect to data and analysis in business travel in India reflects the overall business travel management culture, which is more focused on legacy fulfilment than strategic management. Most TMCs, generally, give a client a simple Excel file that tabulates the transactions for a billing period. Getting headline data like ATP, ADR, spend by airline, spend by hotels etc. is not tracked in great detail and this poses significant challenges in business reviews and analysis.
While the path is complex and difficult, there are some mantras for success
The biggest challenge in India is to execute a quick efficient implementation. While there are several cultural and operational differences, travel managers can organise an implementation with a clear communications and transition plan. This needs to be combined with effective buy-in from local management on the primary objectives and values delivered.
- Strategise and plan: have clear goals and objectives for your programme.
- Listen to your Indian counterparts and user groups. Understand their concerns and questions.
- Understand operational, business and cultural differences and drivers
- Sift the smoke from the fire and determine the actual business drivers, concerns areas and elements of disconnect.
- Collaborate with your Indian team rather than take an antagonistic approach. You need to implement a solution that addresses Indian needs while also recognising global objectives.
- Communicate effectively across the organisation and develop a strong commercialisation strategy to make your programme a reality. Secure a strong and visible Indian executive sponsor.
- Given the number of variables, it has been noticed that implementations can be painfully slow. It's important to develop a strategy and execute it to achieve success.