Scroll down to review The Company Dime‘s coverage of travel distribution.
The travel industry thrives on a complex network of channels connecting travelers with desired experiences. The Company Dime‘s travel distribution category delves into this intricate system, offering subscribers invaluable knowledge and insights. Our in-depth articles explore the various channels that constitute corporate travel distribution, both traditional and emerging.
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 often favor direct distribution over third-party channels. That creates complexity in business travel technology.
Readers can expect thorough coverage of the relationships and dynamics between airlines, hotels, travel management companies, global distribution systems and other suppliers and intermediaries. We closely examine developments associated with the New Distribution Capability (NDC), direct booking initiatives and the rise of new entrants looking to disrupt legacy models.
Subscribers benefit from our scrutiny of the often-opaque world of distribution costs and revenue streams, including incentive payments, agency commissions and booking fees. We shed light on these essential commercial arrangements.
We also track the technological forces reshaping distribution, from the positioning of online booking tools to the potential of emerging solutions like artificial intelligence, blockchain and virtual payment. Readers stay informed on innovations that could unlock efficiencies and improve the traveler experience.
Our coverage clarifies major industry debates, such as the relative merits of GDS and NDC content, and our Op Eds deliver provocative thought leadership from all corners of the industry. Contributor insights on timely issues — like rethinking travel management company commercial models — make for essential reading.
With a critical eye and a healthy dose of skepticism, The Company Dime delivers must-have intelligence for anyone seeking to understand the present and future of travel distribution.
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You get what you pay for, and most travel industry business news is free. We sell insight. Our mission is quality journalism for those interested in business travel services, expense management practices and travel industry change. Our features, exclusives and analysis equip business travel professionals with vital info for top performance.
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Users of Concur’s TripLink service have various reasons for participating. At IT consulting firm Sopra Steria, it’s about equipping employees. The company partnered last year with InterContinental Hotels Group on an unusual program in which Sopra Steria employees earn bonus IHG loyalty points for enrolling in and booking on IHG’s websites with TripLink. “As a…
[UPDATE: Aug. 18, 2017: Direct Travel acquired S.R. Travel Service of San Francisco. Terms were not announced. A statement from Direct Travel West region president Helen Leon noted plans to expand “VIP and elite” services. Direct claims $4 billion in sales and offices in 60 locations.] The creators of TripActions think they have a slick…
Wyndham Worldwide has made fewer headlines on book-direct programs than some competitors, but it has one too. Asked in an interview how companies should respond when these campaigns impact support for managed travel programs, an exec last week offered what some may see as an insensitive or unrealistic answer: non-reimbursement. Reading it there makes it seem…
Uber and Lyft mastered the technology to make the on-demand car experience simple and nearly immediate. Traditional black car operators are trying to do the same. But their world is a complicated patchwork of platforms, patents and partnerships. No initiative has unified the industry, and more pop up all the time. Sorting out on-demand capabilities…
[UPDATE, June 10: Amadeus clarified comments on NDC, which may have given some readers the wrong impression. This article contains revised quotes.] Egencia in March began selling bag checks online to European customers. It’s another example of a corporate travel distributor making gains on access to ancillary airline options. In partnership with Amadeus, the service…
Most of the recently announced members-only rates from major hotel chains are available in managed travel channels, but that’s not the whole point. Business travelers may still think they can get better rates elsewhere. Absent strong policies related to hotel bookings, travel managers need to wield all the communication and engagement tools at their disposal…
Building a great online booking interface is hard. Dealing with multiple platforms in the mobile era adds complexity. Making a buck on bookings may be the biggest challenge of all. Business travel entrepreneurs typically can map all that out. If they don’t have industry experience, though, they can stumble in integrating with external systems in…
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