A report carried out by Amadeus and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) reveals mobile technology could transform the travel experience for business travellers by improving access to information and services - and by enabling corporate travel managers to increase travel policy compliance.
”Upwardly mobile” - unveiled at the ACTE Global Education Conference in Washington - saw 72 corporate travel managers from across the globe surveyed on their views of how mobile technology is impacting business travel, while more than 30 interviews with both corporate travel managers and technology experts were conducted.
The view was that business travel is being revolutionised as travellers become able to book and amend flights, make hotel reservations, and complete expense forms while on the road, therefore increasing their flexibility and productivity and saving companies money.
Mobiles will also double up as virtual room keys and electronic boarding passes, and travellers will be able to check-in on them instead of getting caught in queues.
And phone technology will help the corporate travel manager meet travel policy requirements, delivering improvements in employee security during business trips ” 100% of respondents said ”tracking and communication of travellers for security purposes” was a major benefit of mobile technology.
”Upwardly Mobile shows conclusively that the benefits of mobile technology are significant, from increases in productivity of travellers, to improvements in safety and tracking of staff,” said Amadeus corporations head of department Frank Palapies.
”Most importantly, it will bring a great increase in the welfare of business travellers.
The findings prove the potential of mobile technology to transform corporate travel forever for both the business traveller and the corporate travel manager ” it is the next logical step.”