Getting all the relevant, bookable inventory in front of business travelers is a never-ending challenge. Airlines, hotels and other suppliers constantly tinker with their products and pricing, and usually favor direct distribution over more costly third-party channels. That creates complexity in business travel technology.
Denver — Artificial intelligence could propel travel management past other disciplines on service innovation. According to experts, this is because of its data and people. American Express Global Business Travel’s Evan Konwiser said business travel firms have the info to make AI useful. Others don’t. Among these data are user profiles, history, preferences and loyalty. Content, rates…
Corporate booking tech developer NexTravel partnered with little-known travel management company W Travel to go after multinationals. Related to a provider of premium-class services to business travelers, W is investing to compete with the megas. NexTravel will retain other TMC partners, notably Atlas Travel and Technology Group. You will find bold proclamations in the NextTravel-W…
Hilton Worldwide is no longer considering reduced commissions on its member rates, according to sources. Hilton press officials did not respond to requests for comment sent Thursday morning. This a relief for travel agents and their business customers. Yet, concern about exposure to changes in supplier revenue — especially from hotels — will remain. “We…
[UPDATE, Nov. 15, 2016: British Airways and Iberia agreed to participate in Concur TripLink. A Concur official indicated that there is “no timeline to share at the moment” for when the American Airlines Oneworld alliance and joint venture partners expect to go live.] Concur signed American Airlines to its TripLink supplier-direct program. AA joins Air…
FCM Travel Solutions soon would like you to meet Sam, a multi-platform mobile messaging service bringing e-concierge and virtual agent concepts into the managed arena. The Company Dime last month previewed the platform, which FC USA has been testing internally. About 20 users from FCM Travel Solutions’ largest corporate customer also are testing it, and its second-largest…
It’s hard to keep track of all the startups now addressing small or unmanaged business travel. They’re applying a number of concepts including rewards, texting, personalization and artificial intelligence. They promise a better user experience than existing corporate booking systems offer. Investors during the past two years have put millions into them. One already was acquired…
Everyone talks about the SME, but they really mean the M. That’s the midsize in small and medium-sized enterprise. Executives at business travel booking tech firm Serko are going after the S. They say this collectively huge segment of the business world is due for recognition with quality travel management services. Serko is releasing a business…
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