American Express Global Business Travel is nearing an agreement to acquire 30SecondsToFly, a chatbot-maker serving travel management companies. The 30SecondsToFly engineering team would join the Paris development shop that GBT obtained in its deal four years ago for travel and expense system provider KDS. Its product folks would report to GBT’s EVP for product and…
There’s so much information to convey about traveling during a pandemic that many companies shut off their online booking tools. They told employees to call human travel agents for support. While few see this as permanent, the lack of activity provides tech-based solutions with limited use cases. Faced with near-zero demand, CWT had to mothball…
Travel management companies are trying to make the most of a time when bookings remain feeble. In addition to staff right-sizing, relocating and retraining, some are trying new technology. A more efficient operation could improve margins. For some, that means accelerating artificial intelligence, which may shift client service propositions and performance measurement. An area of…
The rise of chat and messaging in travel management operations is not only delivering convenient, new ways to serve the customer. It’s challenging TMCs to rethink servicing configurations, training and service level agreements. TMCs are taking different approaches as they experiment. It’s all a work in progress. Fundamental change for large call centers and veteran…
IBM isn’t interested in building a booking engine, but its researchers are working to help business travelers with the post-booking trip experience. The tech giant is offering travel and transportation clients opportunities to white label its conversational interface platform. This can power, for example, virtual assistants to help travelers get out of long airport lines….
Few things jazz up Rock Blanco more than new platforms, which helps him stay cool in the face of trial and error. Such is the World Travel Inc. chief innovation officer’s relationship with Alexa, whom he had to dump for a friendlier dance partner. Now, World Travel is working with Rome-based Askdata on a conversational…
Ohio-based ATG Business Travel Management plans by mid-2020 to release a voice-powered booking application thanks to a strategic partnership with IBM. Backed by historical travel and expense data, business traveler profiles and company policies, the new booking function will be “more than a chatbot,” according to Tammy Krings, CEO at ATG Worldwide. Krings claimed that essentially…
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