It's no secret that rail has a history in innovation. In the nineteenth century it was seen as a cutting edge technology, with the ability to transport people at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. Rail has continued to build on this background. Today we can travel at speeds of 270 mph: high speed rail has become a huge magnet for investment across the globe. China is a prime example of a booming railway industry; more than US$125 billion was pumped into the railway sector in 2015, resulting in 3,300 km of new high-speed rail lines alone.
Rail is therefore well placed to challenge other modes of transport and in Europe we are seeing high-speed rail replace short-haul flights between many European cities. Collaboration with other travel providers, such as air or car services, can also enable rail to contribute to the door-to-door travel experience. But travel managers can only optimise this opportunity by getting to know travellers' preferences and providing options for travellers to personalise their experience.
Understanding the traveller
Everyone has slightly different habits and preferences when they travel and company policies vary too. Do your travellers like to add on, or are they allowed, a meal onto the ticket or upgrade to business class? Understanding each traveller is therefore essential if managers want to tailor and deliver a great service that keeps the customer at the centre of the business model.
Many travel managers are doing this by profiling their travellers in groups and recognising their preferences. We recently worked with the Futures Foundation to identify six types of traveller and explored how these tribes are likely to reshape travel segments such as rail.
Each of these traveller groups has slightly different preferences that will affect both the way that they travel and their expectations of a travel manager. I'd like to highlight a few key characteristics of certain travellers that are particularly interesting for travel managers looking to adapt their offerings to better suit the individual needs of travellers and how rail travel fits within this framework.
Getting business travellers on track to meet their needs
For example, some travellers will always prioritise convenience; they want to find the easiest way to get from one destination to the next. This might mean that the traveller would rather avoid any restrictions such as baggage allowances. With no security or check in, the relative simplicity of a rail journey often makes it more appealing to this group of travellers. Travel managers can make life even easier for this group by offering the ability to book rail, hotel or car hire in the same booking flow.
These travellers are more likely to pass on their travel planning to a third party source to save on valuable time searching and booking travel. Travel managers need to ensure travel bookers and both online and offline TMC services have the right access to rail content and that booking international rail is as easy as booking an international flight. Technology has a key role to play here so that inventory is not just accessible, but also user-friendly and optimised for mobile, web or an app. This will ensure the search and booking process is as easy as possible for the travellers. Travel managers can also ensure a smooth end-to-end journey by providing a range of services beyond booking a rail journey.
A more meaningful experience
Others, however, use travel as an opportunity to immerse themselves in local culture and engage in a different way of living. These travellers are likely to embrace rail: they are keen to do as the locals do so would opt to travel on commuter trains or use trains and public transport to navigate cities. Rail travel is a great opportunity for travel managers to allow their travellers to extend the business travel experience and see more of the destination. It could also save money on taxis.
However, these travellers might make more spontaneous travel decisions such as booking at the station kiosk window rather than booking ahead. Booking channels need to be flexible and consider mobile options so there is more of a chance they will book in policy and be 'seen' in data for duty of care purposes.
A no frills journey
Of course, most business travellers want a fully optimised end-to-end travel experience. For them, it's all about having every aspect of their journey planned and managed, so that they can focus their energy on that important meeting. Efficiency is key. In such cases, technology plays a pivotal role in ensuring a smooth journey.
Imagine you have been in Lyon for a meeting in the morning and you have a train booked for your journey back to Paris, but the meeting runs over. Wouldn't it be great if your mobile app could automatically cancel your ticket and book you onto the next available train? Technology needs to be entrenched throughout the entire travel process, from searching and booking to post-trip. Mobile, automation and other technologies help to remove much of the stress associated with business travel, both for the traveller and the travel manager.
Technology for all
Every traveller has different expectations of the type of services they get from their travel manager and online tools, but technology is a shared priority irrespective of their preferences. Corporate travel programmes should use technology as an enabler for optimising the end-to-end experience for the traveller.
At the same time, rail operators need to be flexible: whether this is through having their full itineraries available across all booking channels, online or offline, or giving the option for booking ancillary services. Both rail operators and travel managers need to hold the traveller at the centre of everything they do and so keeping track of their changing needs and preferences is essential.