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 »
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 »
Airbnb inventory is coming to corporate booking channels. Concur and Flight Centre this summer went public with their plans. Amadeus is considering if and how to link its booking tool. Airbnb’s self-reported data shows rapid growth even before these integrations. Anecdotal reports indicate increased corporate acceptance. Concur in July said “in the coming months” it would integrate Airbnb… Read More »
[UPDATE, July 25, 2017: Barrett received a suspended sentence of 15 months, according to reports.] Former Flight Centre agent Vanessa Barrett this month pleaded guilty to defrauding Australia’s Northern Territory of more than AU$110,000 by falsely inflating travel invoices. Barrett is one of more than a dozen agents Northern Territory police have investigated during the past few years… Read More »
You’re making a pitch in an unfamiliar city. The flight home is in a couple of hours, but you’re making headway with the client. Your phone dings: “If you don’t leave in the next 30 minutes, you’ll miss the flight. Would you like to rebook?” Tap yes and get back to the meeting. Too good to be true?… Read More »
[UPDATE, Feb. 8, 2017: Sabre CFO Rick Simonson on Feb. 7 told investors that the Flight Centre contract would add $80 million in incremental revenue for a total run rate of $100 million expected during 2018.] Sabre expects meaningful share gains starting next year from a new contract with a big Asia/Pacific travel agency. It appears to be Flight Centre.… 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 »