Business Travel iQ
Any steps to make booking and travelling easier in mobile and/or online spaces is a given. It was data and personalisation that threw up some interesting responses from those on stage at the Managing the Future Business Traveller conference in June.
Ben Page, CEO of Ipsos MORI urged companies to 'do cool things' with data but not be creepy — knowing when someone last visited a hotel is cool but delving too much into personal preferences is not. FCm's UK sales director Graham Ross said the biggest battle is personalisation within a mandated policy. In a later roundtable discussion several buyers questioned how many policies there should be for different types of travellers.
Serial entrepreneur Carl Pihl was vocal in criticising how data is and is not used; for example he is happy for airports and airlines to swap information about his travel because it will help make a smoother process. "Arguments and sensitivity around data ownership is why technology innovation is delayed," he said.
Likewise Hailo's Gary Bramell made a suggestion that at times sharing data is not as scary as we may think. "I don't think we need to worry that our taxi driver knows the passenger's name when people book through an app," he said. "In the past you would know everyone from your neighbours to your bank manager; it's good to have that connection with someone. We've all had brilliant conversations with people once we know their name — there has to be trust and security but that doesn't mean losing the personal touch."
The option to personalise is important to travellers. ©2nix/iStockIn the airline world, Finnair's Juha Jarvinin predicts personal fares for the future or cases where a passenger might get priority depending on how much they have previously spent on ancillaries.
The iQ view For all the concern around data protection, it would seem some are happy to let companies know more about them if it makes processes smoother and friendlier. Travellers are surrounded by choice and have the world at their fingertips but also crave face-to-face interaction and some 'down time'. Being smart with data can help that.
Sharing means caring - help with health
Health and well-being was mentioned several times throughout the conference. Ben Page said companies should start to understand what issues people have and respond to help them, offering another level of personalisation and care.
Buyers that attended said they had received more requests for healthy options through either food or facilities, while suppliers such as Juha from Finnair wondered if amenities such as gyms should feature in airport lounges.
The two millennials that spoke voiced their concerns about the environment but expect companies to take the onus on being more sustainable. Both Finnair's Juha and Colin Sirrett from Future by Airbus said their businesses felt a responsibility to reduce their carbon emissions. Both agreed that aviation is an environmental polluter but that this cannot get worse and needs to be limited.
However, Colin raised the point that larger bodies mean more fuel is burnt and in turn that is worse for the environment. He raised the question of whether the [over] weight of passengers should be subject to an excess charge or if both passenger and luggage weight could be considered as a combined mass when boarding a flight.
Should this focus on health be a combined effort between buyers, travellers and suppliers?