Deem is working on mobile messaging to remind travelers to book hotels and ground transportation if they didn’t do so when making an airline reservation. The company plans to make it available through Apple iOS and Google Android messaging applications starting in the fourth quarter. Deem will expand the service in 2019 to cover flight changes and dining.… Read More »
Sabre intended to sunset its old traveler profile system by 2013, but Stars is still shining. The company of late told travel management company users they would be charged if they did not set a date for migration to the new(er) Sabre Profiles. “We have not charged anyone to date,” said Sabre Travel Network vice president of product management… Read More »
Lyft and Uber are feeling their way into the corporate market. Lyft had a rebate program. That’s done. Uber For Business had free and premium tiers. Now it’s all premium. Both fast-growing ride-hailing companies are aligning with corporate travel management companies but so far mostly for referrals. It’s clear these remain early days. Lyft has deals in place… Read More »
Change happens quickly in the world of TripActions. A year-and-a-half ago, the California tech firm wasn’t talking globally and didn’t really call itself a travel management company. Focused on the user experience, TripActions at first seemed designed for the unmanaged or small company business travel segment. Clients now include Bowers & Wilkins, Box Inc., OpenGov and SurveyMonkey. TripActions is… Read More »
[UPDATE, Oct. 4, 2017: Direct Travel and ATPI formed a new entity to jointly serve midmarket, multinational accounts. Called Direct ATPI Global Travel, the new organization “accelerates our global growth strategy,” according to a statement attributed to Direct Travel CEO Ed Adams. The companies contributed “equal investments” and created a joint governing board and leadership team, according to… Read More »
Three travel management companies this week displayed varying degrees of interest in booking tool provider nuTravel’s plan to integrate with mobile app developers. NuTravel’s first partner, United Kingdom-based Mantic Point, provides apps to corporate agencies including Direct Travel, Executive Travel and FCm Travel Solutions. Officials with Direct Travel and FCm said they were considering the opportunity; Executive sees… Read More »
As they work for advantage, clients, suppliers and those in between keep business travel management interesting. Changes to underlying and consumer-facing technology make it a dynamic business function. The personal and geopolitical elements of business travel offer points of note from the micro to macro levels. As one of our featured practitioners noted, this job is about economics, geography, psychology and then some. And so last… Read More »