As co-founder and CEO of financial technology firm Conferma, Simon Barker has been in the thick of corporate travel’s virtual payment movement. The benefits of single-use virtual credit card accounts are well known: improved security, better management controls, easier reconciliation and a more convenient experience for travelers without their own corporate cards. Barker points out the payment option… Read More »
Collecting hotel commissions always has been arduous. Helping agencies and corporations with it is the reason companies like Onyx CenterSource and CTS Systems exist. For their clients, hotel compensation strategies that reallocate monies from the traditional commission bucket to so-called marketing fees exacerbate the challenge. The apparent step-up in such activity has led to more bemoaning about opaque economics… Read More »
A new Australia-based enterprise wants to help travel management companies prove they don’t mislead clients. Consultant Tony O’Connor and data company Airline Metrics in October created a joint venture to tackle the not-illegal, sometimes-documented, “under-discussed” practice of hidden travel agency markups. Called Airocheck, the entity’s first client is TMC Corporate Travel Management. Many say there’s nothing wrong with marking up… Read More »
Will blockchain disrupt processes, companies or nothing at all? The question is playing out in the contrasting market approaches of distribution startups Blockskye and Winding Tree. The former is careful. It’s into change from within. It’s talking to the old guard. The latter is boastful and aggressive. It’s using dubious claims to generate investment interest. The more aggressive… Read More »
[UPDATE, Nov. 27, 2017: International Air Transport Association members last week approved rule revisions allowing travel agencies to use their own credit cards or “alternative transfer methods” to purchase airline tickets on clients’ behalf. The revisions changed the wording of IATA Resolution 890 to bring it “in line with industry rules and best practices,” according to an IATA… Read More »
[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… Read More »
THIS EVENT HAS CONCLUDED A LINK TO THE RECORDING WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY Introducing Blockchain Oct. 12, 2017 What the heck is blockchain? Tune in as we chat with travel tech consultant William Niejadlik, Blockchain Academy founder Bryant Nielson and Hospitality Technology Next Generation senior director of strategy and workgroups Armand Rabinowitz. It has infrastructure and acceptance challenges. There’s… Read More »