Travel management company Corporate Traveller says it has experienced record levels of growth over the last year, as well as a surge in demand for technology solutions from its SME customers.
The SME specialist reported it has earned an average of 55 new customers per month over the last 12 months, particularly in the retail, finance, legal and agriculture sectors across the UK.
Since launching its YOUR.CT platform and mobile app Sam, Corporate Traveller says its clients are increasingly looking to technology solutions to manage their employee travel. The company has implemented YOUR.CT for more than 2,000 clients, while 3,000 business travellers have downloaded the chatbot-based mobile app Sam for support with itinerary management and booking on the move.
Corporate Traveller says it is implementing Sam with an average of 500 additional users per month.
Earlier this year, Corporate Traveller parent company Flight Centre Travel Group fully acquired the Sam app by increasing its stake in developer 3Mundi.
The TMC’s new clients include JD Sports Fashion Plc, which is being handled by Corporate Traveller’s Manchester office, and Bennett Aviation, a specialist in providing quality assurance production inspection services at aircraft manufacturing facilities around the world, which is being managed by the TMC’s Birmingham office.
Other new clients include recruitment agencies Eden Scott in Edinburgh and Talentmark in London, as well as Thomson & Scott, creator of Skinny Prosecco, also based in London.
UK general manager Andy Hegley, commented: “We began to focus on our technology offering 18 months ago with solutions that were designed specifically for SMEs to streamline business travel and make it as easy as possible for them to book and manage their travel efficiently. As a result, we have seen a huge uptake in implementation of YOUR.CT – in fact all of our clients are using it for profile management. Plus, clients that previously showed no interest in an online booking tool are now adding one to their travel programme to drive efficiencies.
“We expect this demand for technology to continue – there are a lot of digital disrupters in the market, meaning SME businesses are more aware of what is available. Customers are also used to booking and shopping online for personal leisure purposes, and their expectations are that technology should be integrated similarly for managing their business travel.”
In addition to an uptake in the use of technology, Corporate Travel says it has noticed an increased focus on traveller wellbeing and duty of care. However, cost savings are still one of the top priorities for its clients, who are also seeking more data and analysis of their spend.
Hegley continued: “Travel spend for SMEs can rise very quickly as their headcount increases, so our clients are looking to us as their travel provider to recommend ways of controlling those costs and give them value for money. Over the last 12 months, we have realised a total £32 million in savings on air spend for our clients.
“We are also seeing greater emphasis on clients wanting to know where their travellers are and relying on us to provide traveller tracking. This duty of care aspect is another reason for the increase in demand for our YOUR.CT technology platform and Sam mobile app.”
corptraveller.co.uk