Productivity

Business travel is all about productivity — whether that relates to its fundamental use for more efficient collaboration, guarding against bureaucracy to ensure seamless collaboration, or generally purchasing the right services at the right prices so trip missions deliver the most value. It also means helping employees avoid getting bogged down in post-trip red tape. The coverage below digs into issues, processes, tools and tricks.

Some examples
• The movement of services to mobile devices and/or chatbots
• Stories about expedited airport screening and business travel’s ROI
• Trends like artificial intelligence and rewards
• The pandemic-era struggle to avoid quarantines

Travel Friction And The Diminishing Returns Of Cost Savings

Programs like Rocketrip, Upside and TripActions offer new ways for travelers to save their companies money while earning something for themselves. In some cases they earn such benefits by accepting a lower-quality travel experience. But what are the human and productivity costs of these tradeoffs? Recent studies tried to get at the influence of business…

Experts See Artificial Intelligence Boosting Travel Management Innovation

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…

Dav El BostonCoach, EmpireCLS Jump Into Ground Technology Fray

[UPDATE, Jan. 27, 2017: Dav El BostonCoach parent Marcou Transportation Group acquired GroundLink and LimoAnywhere. “These companies provide us the opportunity to directly compete” with Uber, Lyft and other so-called transportation network companies, according to a statement from Marcou CEO Scott Solombrino. He noted that implementing auto-dispatch and “geospatial pricing” capabilities will help Marcou offer…

FCM Travel Solutions Takes Mobile TMC Service To A New Level With Messaging

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…

Pana Downplays Commissions In Unmanaged Business Travel Service

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…

GBTA Education Preview

After the golf outing and spa day are over and before evening frivolities, away from the exhibition floor din and the general session celebrity, GBTA’s convention attendees in Denver next month will seek education. This year there are more than 80 sessions. Putting on that many in an effort to appeal to all is an…

Making Soft Dollars Less Squishy

Big U.S. airlines sell lots of add-ons. Business travelers crave several of them. They get some from status or their company’s travel program. Bundles and fare families can deliver them, too. Ascribing dollar values to these value-adds can be challenging. Reports from the Big Three airlines help make the case about the usefulness of their…

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