Hotel data normalization. Sounds deadly boring, right? Mention the concept to corporate travel people, and the feeling is more like frustration. Grasp Technologies is testing a remedy that executives claim could actually make the process a snap. They’re not the only ones. Cornerstone Information Systems also has something up its sleeve. Hotel booking data tends…
Most organizations favor nonrefundable airline tickets because they’re almost always cheaper than unrestricted options. Industry data suggest corporate travelers use the lower fare classes for around 85 percent of trips. Although corporate managers encourage that booking behavior, airlines charge fees and impose rules for applying the resulting unused credit. Optimal use of nonrefundable airfares requires some diligence. Still, the more…
Concerns about too many executives or employees on a flight date back to well before 9/11, the event that began the travel risk management era. While it’s perhaps the oldest travel risk management policy, the maximum passenger rule isn’t applied as widely as one might expect. A US Airways flight six years ago crash landed on the Hudson River carrying two…
Pre-trip approval for many organizations is a necessary evil. It’s bureaucratic by nature. It may be the antithesis of the traveler-centric approach that’s all the rage on the conference circuit. But the practice is effective for travel pros and senior managers looking to put the kibosh on journeys deemed too expensive, unworthy or unsafe. The ultimate demand-management control, pre-trip approval…
[UPDATE, April 8, 2016: We published new information related to this article here.] Despite significant consolidation among major U.S. airlines during the past decade, contracting with corporations is no less complex. Why? For one thing, published pricing is getting ever-more intricate. Some would say convoluted. That’s because airlines continue to apply more sophisticated revenue management…
One of the more intriguing ways Concur impacted corporate travel was how it created a market of its own based on combining two otherwise discrete products. Now, just about everybody is offering integrated travel booking and expense software, at least through partnerships. With Concur’s established leadership in the large market, rivals are targeting small and…
There are fewer big U.S. airlines, they negotiate with fewer companies, and their generosity on discounts has diminished. But airline contracting is still complicated. The market offers several tools to help buyers at large travel programs optimize airline combinations. Sabre last month revealed plans to refresh the Prism Avion corporate data platform in use by…
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