In a survey conducted recently among business travelers, we found that close to 75% out of the 600 plus respondents were keen on being informed well ahead about incidents that could disrupt their journey. This testifies to the fact that business travel is not always a smooth and simple experience. There is a lot of unpredictability inherent to travel due to multiple external factors such as weather, aircraft technical snags, local airport incidents etc. However, a traveller can be made to feel more assured if there is a process that provides information and decision support in a timely manner. Such a process that supports a traveller during pre-trip, in-trip and post-trip phases of business travel can be called proactive traveller support.

What does proactive traveller support involve?

The foundation of proactive traveller support is the ability to provide timely information and alerts to a traveller. Such information could include the following.

• Flight Status: Delays and changes in flight timings are very much part and parcel of air travel. They can be disruptive, but when it comes to meetings that need to be postponed and conferences that cannot be moved ahead, timely updates on flight changes/cancellations can come in handy to a traveller.
• Baggage Status: While travelling, one of the greatest fears is that of losing one’s baggage. If notification about baggage can be proactively provided, a great deal of stress is eliminated for the traveler.
• Check-In Reminders: Web check-ins are a boon for busy executives, but they need to be prompted or notified about it as soon as their flight is open for check-in. Not many enjoy having to sit in a middle seat, especially in a long flight, because they forgot to check-in early.
• Gate Changes: Knowing about gate and terminal changes as and when they occur can be very important. It is not fun finding out about a gate change at the last moment, particularly when one is in one of the larger international airport terminals.
• Weather: Alerts and notifications on weather conditions can help travellers, especially new visitors to a place, prepare themselves better.
• Destination Information: Most business travelers wish to explore the destinations they are visiting for work. Travellers are also increasingly taking a lonely spouse/partner/child along on business trips. Information about their destinations and places worth visiting nearby would be valuable to such travellers.

Other than just consumption, many a times, timely information can also result in better handling of disruptions. They also open the possibility for travellers to avail services that could save money, time or fulfill some specific need. Consider the following examples.

• Changes & Cancellations: Letting a traveller know about any changes to the planned travel, assessing its downstream impacts and providing options to handle the situation will be appreciated. If this is done proactively, without the traveller having to frantically reach for help, it can be a valuable service.
• Seat Upgrades: When there is a seat upgrade available, many travellers would appreciate knowing about it. If airlines are able to proactively communicate directly to travellers, it would be mutually beneficial.
• Price Alerts: Flight and hotel availability and prices change dynamically. Travellers would love to get alerts for room availability at one’s preferred hotel or an aisle seat that was not available at the time of check-in.
• Early Check-In: Syncing travel time with hotel check-in time can be tricky. However, waiting at the hotel lobby for long hours to check-in after an early morning flight is dreaded by everyone. Sharing of information between travellers and hotels to efficiently manage room allotments can be a boon to both parties.
• Recommendations: Recommendations that can help travellers find places of interest to visit near to their destination or places to eat that match with their preferences is increasingly becoming relevant to travellers.
• Receipts: Business travelers can have trouble keeping receipts for submission on return. The ability to scan and store receipts coupled with notifications to remind about expense claim on return can be extremely useful.
• Duty of Care: Whenever there are risks involved in the journey that can be potentially life-threatening, the traveler should be alerted by the management. Vice versa, when the traveller is in need of help, the company too needs to be alerted. This is part of traveler risk management and is the duty of a company. Providing a channel to enable this will be invaluable.

How can a traveller receive the above described proactive support? To start with, there are many apps that cater to perceptive notifications about potential trip disruptions and other services mentioned earlier. The problem is in their multiplicity. A recent research showed that as many as 50 apps need to be downloaded by a business traveler to cover all the needs of a trip. And most of these apps will not talk to each other to give a seamless experience.

What next?

IATA’s Global Passenger Survey mentions that 54% travelers prefer real-time, accurate notifications that help them move forward in a journey without major disruptions. They need on-the-move support that is 24/7 and is proactive in nature. They are more comfortable when there is a human touch to the support. In short, there is an increasing need for a human-centered, service transformation in business travel.

An online travel management platform that integrates with airline systems and other service providers to identify potential disruptions in a journey, coupled with a support service that automatically sends out notifications as well as takes farsighted actions such as booking alternate flights, re-booking hotel and ground transportation based on the revised itinerary post a disruption will be the future. Such a platform will take travel management beyond booking and fulfillment, to the point where it can guarantee travel, thus taking a huge load off the traveller’s already burdened shoulders.

An economic downturn or any likelihood of such an unfavourable situation is probably not a good time to indulge in a lot of spending, unless absolutely required. However, such slumps in the economic scenario cannot be wished away, as they are dependent on a host of external factors that are beyond our immediate control. In fact, the opposite is also true. The economy is very much dependent on healthy businesses for its revival. It is a reciprocal relationship that needs mutual nurturing.

As per widely discussed reports, unbalanced trade situations across the world have triggered an equally unbalanced economic environment. This threatens to shake the more or less stable ground that businesses have been operating on in the recent past. It means that companies will look for ways to cut down on seemingly deferrable expenses and business travel will be an obvious target.

Cutting business travel during financial crunch

Would cutting down on travel expenses serve the purpose of saving much-needed cash for business sustenance? Striking off unnecessary expenses are no doubt required. However, that said, relationships are a most important aspect for business growth. Without relationships being nurtured, customers and partners may turn elsewhere. And what better way to nurture relationships than to meet people in person?

We no longer reside in a world where services are priced in a one size fits all mode. The gig economy has ensured that we can travel, eat, work and bank easily with help of a smartphone. Today there are several cheaper or more reasonably priced alternatives to most services used by a business traveller. Low cost airlines, app-based taxis, home-stays and online food delivery services make it easier for us to access many essential services that were earlier centralized and therefore, not in plenty or available at a higher cost. This environment gives businesses multiple ways to control costs of essential business travel.
How can businesses ensure cost savings while sustaining necessary travel decisions?

Advance planning

Economical travel choices are much wider these days and such choices can be exercised better if planned in advance. Once the travel dates are decided, trip costs can be divided under heads such as travel, accommodation, food, local transport and others. For each head, cheaper options could be available if the travel is planned well in advance. Advance planning can be augmented by providing automation through adoption of tools. Self-booking tools, especially, can empower employees to make smarter decisions at the right time.

Empowering employees to make the right choices

Companies can allow for economical means of travel and accommodation to be integrated into the self-booking tool. This means asking your employees to select options that are comfortable, but cost-effective. This is where the gig economy has a meaningful role to play. There are several choices available to the business traveller that allows for personalization in addition to cost savings. Services such as Airbnb offer cheaper, yet comfortable stay, Uber and Lyft offer on-demand local transportation at lower costs and LCCs offer low-priced flights.

Being flexible

Airlines offer many options to travel at a lower cost. For example, flexible date airfares are a means to choose dates when cheaper fares are available. Smart airfare search through airline websites helps to identify discounted rates not available through online travel booking portals. Similarly, a booking engine that keeps track of fare dips can quickly update you about a possible rate drop, making it possible to trim travel costs.

Managing local transportation

There are several ways companies can encourage staff members to save on local transportation costs. Booking accommodation closer to the venue is often an overlooked but important decision. Another is the usage of app-based taxi services or tools that encourage travellers to book the nearest available transportation based on user ratings. Providing trains as an option for inland travel is another option to keep costs under check.

Balancing budgets and preferences

Allowing employees to mix and match travel preferences and helping them make sharper decisions will save money while retaining their productivity. A preference for staying in cheaper hotels while flying business class can be an example. If such options can be provided through an intelligent self-booking application while staying well within the framework of company policies and budgets, it could become a win-win proposition.

Motivation through incentives

It might be important to keep employees motivated to fly, sleep and dine within company budget while travelling for work. Incentives for smart travel decisions can be a useful tool when companies want to cut down on costs. When staff members stay well within budget and save money while travelling, they can be encouraged by adding back some of the cost savings to their next travel account. Similarly last minute bookings could be discouraged with deductions. A self-booking application helps here as well, by keeping track of each traveller’s spend and savings.

Direct relations with airlines and hotels

Corporate agreements with preferred hotels and airlines for discounted rates is an extremely useful tool. Online self-booking tools that can make these relations work in a seamless manner without manual interventions can be an added advantage both for the corporate and the employee.

Pruning travel costs rationally, instead of stopping all travel, helps to keep the business engine revved up and contributing even during economic downturns. In fact, such challenging periods are probably the right time for companies to start investing on processes and tools that can significantly increase efficiencies in employee travel management. In the current context, that would mean tools that promote digitization and employee self-service.