Month: July 2017

GBTA Takes Airline Distribution Head-On

Boston – Travel management professionals agree that to be effective, new airline distribution programs need to offer at least as much functionality as existing systems do. Based on expert commentary at last week’s Global Business Travel Association convention here, it would appear that a solution to be welcomed by all key parties is a ways off. Dozens of speakers and attendees…

Concur TripLink, Traxo Collect Data From Corporate Bookings On United Mobile App

Press releases about suppliers participating in the direct-connect version of Concur’s TripLink continue apace even as the activation of such connections remains sporadic. Most recently, Concur made TripLink available to users of United Airlines’ mobile app. It’s also smoothing out the client on-boarding process. Meanwhile, Traxo added Booking.com and United to its own version of supplier-direct data capture, which already…

Travel Managers Ruminate On The Impacts Of Tightening And Relaxing Policies

Boston – It’s folly to look for consensus on which way corporate travel policy is moving. Speakers at the Global Business Travel Association convention here last week displayed a wide range of approaches and opinions. On one panel, a travel manager wished his company’s policy was stricter while his co-panelist said she strives for a softer touch and would prefer…

TMCs Advance Mobile Hotel Bookings, Services

It’s well known that lodging is a strategic driver for travel management companies. Mobile is a key vehicle. American Express Global Business Travel next month in the United Kingdom will add hotel booking and chat to its Amex GBT mobile app. The move furthers a hotel strategy that recently included the integration of Booking.com content, according to American Express Global…

Big Three TMCs On Evolution Of The Model, Airline Distribution, Airbnb, Concur, Synxis Breach

You generally will not see interviews published here, but an opportunity that came up last week made an exception worthwhile. What follows are excerpts of separate interviews with top executives at the three largest travel management companies. We spoke by phone with American Express Global Business Travel president Philippe Chérèque last Monday, Carlson Wagonlit Travel president and CEO Kurt Ekert…

Updates: Self-Service At United; Corporate Travel In Academia; Seat Swap Flop; Advito-Cisco

Sometimes the things we write about peter out. Sometimes more developments happen, but they don’t warrant an entirely new article. In other cases, something unexpected or counterintuitive is noteworthy in its continuance. Hence, the Updates post. Click to jump to United’s self-service portal enhancements, the next step for an emerging college-level corporate travel education program, Advito’s expanding collaboration with Cisco,…

Concur Poised For Self-Booking Virtual Payment

[UPDATE, Aug. 21, 2017: Concur plans in September to run virtual payment pilots with travel management companies that have gone through a “readiness” program. In an update for TMCs, Concur indicated that they must have a relationship with Conferma and support virtual payment for both Concur Travel and offline reservations. Concur also indicated that the next type of travel bookings…

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