1 / 4

The Online Corporate Travel Revolution

This white paper explores the challenges faced by the corporate travel industry and the shift towards online channels. It highlights the importance of adoption and implementation strategies for successful integration of corporate online booking tools.

Download Presentation

The Online Corporate Travel Revolution

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. White Paper:The Online Corporate Travel Revolution THE ONLINE CORPORATE TRAVEL REVOLUTION The only constant is change. This is especially true in the travel industry, and the corporate market in specific. So far in 2004, the going has been tough for all players in the travel equation after a 2003 that did not provide economic relief most analysts had predicted. Last year, general concerns about the economy have restricted corporate travel budgets, major airlines, once industry titans, are now reorganizing under bankruptcy protection. Conference calls and Web conferences are up, business travel is down, travel agencies, once operating on commission and fees, now see those profit sources shrinking. Service and support are key to the travel management value proposition, but now more than ever, price can be the determinant factor. Everyone wants the lowest price – for every product – every time. At least that’s what they say. Examine what they mean and it turns out that what they want is value; which in the case of corporate travel, is the best price taking into consideration a number of other crucial and fundamental service and product factors such as: • personalized service • efficiency and speed in booking travel • accuracy in fares quotation • timely ticket delivery • easy to follow business process • comprehensive management reports • By and large, travelers continue to prefer to work with full service travel management companies over other marketplace options (Figure A). As corporations solicit bids for their business, they expect their travel management companies to Figure A Travelers prefer the service and support of a travel management company over any other distribution option WHITE PAPER Source: PhoCusWright, March 2003 handle their travel needs at a lower transaction cost and at service levels that meet or exceed those they enjoyed in the past. Travel management companies are faced with an environment of Internet channel shift, reduced number of staff to manage a greater number of travel transactions, all in an environment where vendor commissions for their services are eroding or have long since disappeared. Figure B How does a corporate travel management company, squeezed on one end by bankrupt air carriers and on the other by corporations with complex and extensive travel policies to curtail costs, manage to not only survive, but also thrive? For many, the answer is simple – create an “in-house” channel shift and move eligible transactions online. CHANNEL SURFING According to the latest studies, the share of business travel handled by traditional offline travel management will continue to erode into other channels, primarily online (Figure B). The good news, is that the trend over the coming three years does not show significant erosion of share away from the agency distribution channel. The challenge faced by travel management companies is how to best approach what is clearly a marketplace mandate to shift transactions to the corporate online channel. Source: PhoCusWright, October 2003

  2. WHITE PAPER THE ONLINE PANACEA? Travel management companies and corporations who have successfully integrated a corporate online booking tool and have achieved benefit from doing so can summarize the key to their success in three simple words – Adoption, AdoptionAdoption! The number of U.S. online corporate travel transactions at the end of 2003 was roughly 39.4 million, with an adoption rate of approximately 35%, and is expected to rise to 56.4 million over the next three years, with adoption rising to 48% by the end of 2006 (Figure C). The introduction of an online booking tool is not a panacea that will immediately lower costs, improve efficiency and enhance traveler satisfaction. Features and benefits of a corporate online booking tool alone are not compelling reasons for the majority of corporate travelers to amend behavior. A reliable, intuitive and easy-use-use product is a necessary element of effective adoption. Figure C “Adoption rate is calculated as the number of actual online transactions divided by the number of transactions eligible to be booked online” Source: PhoCusWright, March 2003 Key drivers of adoption include a more diverse offering of eligible travel transactions such as international itineraries, refunds, cancellations and ticket exchanges combined with tangible cost savings that are evident to the corporation. As with any change management objective, an implementation strategy that is cross-organizational, involves all stakeholders and provides for incentives for participation is key to realizing a compelling return on investment. The ultimate goal of an effective adoption strategy is to create a culture of self sufficiency where travelers instinctively navigate to their booking tool when planning travel as opposed to reaching for the telephone. The projection of increased and sustained rise in online corporate travel transactions is tied in large part to enhanced functionality of online booking tools. Figure D WHY TRAVELPORT? Travelport is a recognized leader in providing solutions for corporate travel management programs. We combine market-leading technology with unmatched service and support - all with an eye to meeting your business travel management needs - higher adoption and efficiency. Travelport solutions and services are designed for easy integration and modification, so travelers are more likely use Travelport every time they travel. Our customers have adoption rates of over 35%, and our leading customers have adoption rates greater than 90%. Together with the Galileo GDS, we offer a corporate online booking tool perfect for you and your corporate customers.

  3. WHITE PAPER • THE TRAVELPORT SOLUTION • Starting with Travelport’s proprietary implementation and development methodology, continuing though the testing stage and the launch, the experts at Travelport are ready to consult, advise and customize a solution that makes sense for your travelers, your process and your bottom line. We ‘re experts at adoption strategies, with our most successful customer achieving over 90%! • Key Product Differentiators • First to market with XML Structured Data Technology. The benefit of this platform is that updates to the software can be made without loading software locally. • More than just a booking tool, the Agency Communications Portal and Interactive Travel Manager provide the benefit of targeted and interactive marketing to corporate customers. • Increase customer satisfaction and reduce errors by ensuring all traveler and corporate data is accurate and synchronized with the GDS and other database sources with Profile Manager. • More options and greater flexibility with Advanced Policy to apply rules based on the trip purpose or the organizational grouping or hierarchy • Save time and reduce errors with PNR Finishing to ensure all bookings contain the requisite reporting and documentation fields for mid and back office “We selected Travelport above the competition for three key reasons. First, because Travelport could guarantee that we would meet our extremely aggressive adoption goals – within the first 6 months we achieved a 72% adoption rate. Second, because we needed a solution that could immediately support our operations. Third, because Travelport took the time and initiative to truly understand our business goals and work with us to meet our needs.” Linda Bunt Director of Global Travel Siebel Systems In addition to the standard car and hotel booking functionality, Travelport features: Hotel Mapping, allowing your travelers to quickly get their bearings and effectively plan their movements and activities in an unfamiliar city. Meetings Integration to broaden your service offering and increase revenues Comprehensive Reporting to ensure you and your travelers are getting most from Travelport When powered by the Galileo GDS, Travelport offers: Automated Transaction Processing to streamline process and reduce errors. Preferred Travel Content available only to Galileo customers Our aggressive product roadmap ensures you have access to the most valuable functionality to drive adoption and remove costs

  4. WHITE PAPER PROTOTYPE ONLY Agency real estate for customization. Include details such as contact information, jpeg artwork and other brand elements as needed. Agency marketing real estate - more Info can be placed in this area

More Related