Travel managers more than anyone are in the best position to know what the business travel market needs. So it's no surprise that ex-travel buyers are creating their own businesses and products; one of which is competing for the Business Travel Show's Disrupt Award at this year's event.
Our second Q&A of this series is with Horst Bayer, president and CEO of TravelHorst. Bayer previously worked on the travel teams at Siemens, Hitachi and Unify.
When did you launch?
After several months of preparation, I launched TravelHorst — Explains your Travel Program at the start of this New Year on 1 January.
Sum up what your company/product does in one sentence
TravelHorst creates short, relevant and affordable Explain-Videos which will help travel managers to "sell" their travel programme/initiatives to management and employees.
Why is it unique?
It is e-learning on a PC at an office desk or watching a short clip on a smartphone while someone is on a business trip; an animated video will not only save an employee's time but also makes sure a message gets across.
People are more likely to watch a video than read a lengthy policy or document and studies show that we retain information better when it is delivered in visual and audio format. Explain-Videos provide a great opportunity to simplify and explain complex context such as travel policies through animation to get to the point and increase travel policy compliance.
What problem does it solve?
The question is how to engage millennials and Generations X and Y, who have just entered or are about to enter the workforce of corporations. The new workforce is very savvy with new technology, behave differently and get their information mostly from social media and they are less likely to exclusively use traditional booking channels. To grab their attention, travel managers must find new ways of communication and I can see Explain-Videos replacing travel newsletters.
What platforms is it available on and can integrate with?
Explain-Videos can be stored on a company's intranet site so employees can "pull" the information when needed. Furthermore, travel managers have the possibility to effectively "push" the Explain-Videos directly to the travellers, eg when a certain destination, supplier or process is identified. In addition, the videos can be placed in a corporate online booking tool or a private YouTube channel.
What markets is it available in?
The videos cover German, English and Spanish and will focus primary on those markets. However, Explain-Videos can be produced in almost all languages.
Which companies are using it already?
The production of these customised explain videos undergo five phases.
- The analysis of problems that should be resolved such as changes of policy, processes, or simply engaging travellers with a company's overall travel programme. A common understanding of the strategy and the methodology acceptance is expected at the end of this phase.
- We build a story around the problem. The outcome of this phase generates a script.
- An animated video is created according to a script.
- Adding the right soundtrack and voice, whether it's male or female, soft or strong, from professional speakers. The speaker's voice is according to a customer's selected language and preferred dialect.
- Implementation.
Several clients are in the first three phases.
Find disruptors in Launchpad at Business Travel Show 22-23 February. Register here