It's becoming clear that mobile should become the communications piece to a travel programme. The booking part of a trip has been sorted for many programmes through online booking tools and TMCs but the way to get the attention of travellers once a trip has been booked is increasingly through their mobile phone. "Travel managers want to speak to travellers while they are on trips and mobile is about finding a common ground between the corporate and traveller," Jeroen van Velzen, CEO and co-founder of Roadmap told me ahead of the Business Travel Summit Amsterdam next week. "It's about enhancing that relationship."
A lot of the new apps and mobile technology coming into the marketplace, whether it is push notifications, apps or chatbots, focus on traveller communication and breaking it down into 'touchpoints' or 'moments'. Van Velzen says travel managers can get too tied up in looking at features when really a lot of technology functions should be hidden and only appear when the traveller needs them.
When you break down a trip into touchpoints it's easy to see where a traveller might need help and how mobile technology can be built or bought to support their needs.
- Alert notification when airport gate number is available and a discount code for restaurants
- In-policy ground transport suggestions when they arrive at the destination
- A reminder to submit expenses for current purchases (if not automated)
- Destination and safety tips that advertise and support the policy and change depending on whether the traveller has visited that city before
- A star rating on the hotel
- Alert and advice if there is a delay to the flight home
- Option to rebook in the app. This is something that airlines are developing in their own technology.
There also needs to be an element of trust that comes with using new technology and knowing it works correctly, says Cesc Vilanova, head of product at chatbot provider Sam. Tools collect more data and preferences with each trip to make more relevant recommendations the next time, but Vilanova is mindful of sending too many messages to build trust and recommendation. Although as I mentioned in my blog last week there should be trust between the travel manager and traveller already.
So far this type of communications-led technology has been tested out of US companies where van Velzen says that consolidation in technology means it's easier to implement. Roadmap was only founded in April 2015 and has two 'lab rats' trialing the app, while Sam has a partnership with FCM Travel Solutions that started in July and will come to the UK early next year ahead of the rest of Europe.
NDC and the availability of ancillary services on these platforms are a big development area and as more content is added I can see that a mobile virtual assistant will blur the line even more between business and leisure travel. I personally would like to see attractions and walking route suggestions pop up during my downtime so I can see a part of the city I'm visiting outside of the conference centre and hotel.
When I asked Carlson Wagonlit Travel's Vincent Lebunetel if leisure options could ever be booked on business travel apps he agreed it could be a possibility. "TMCs and/or the technology could offer a booking for something like a tour or attraction. TMCs have traditionally earned from travel managers and suppliers but mobile means they have the opportunity to be more B2C and further down the line that could include a leisure element," he said.