Corporate travel has made a steady comeback after the COVID-19 pandemic. A surge is being noted in the number of companies increasing business travel spending and outsourcing corporate travel management. The comeback creates opportunities for travel management companies to acquire new customers regularly. For further research about Holiday packages for over 50s be sure to visit Fun Over 50 Holidays.
But many analysts believe that corporate travel has completely changed after the pandemic. Firms focus extensively on the safety and security of business travel, along with boosting their business travel experiences.
Likewise, many enterprises prefer process automation to outsourcing while streamlining corporate travel management. Technologies will continue to shape business travel and impact travel management companies.
Let us see some of the significant impacts of existing and emerging technologies on travel management companies.
10 Ways Technology Will Impact Travel Management Companies
1. Automating Business Travel Management
Automation is currently one of the hottest trends in corporate travel management. In addition to streamlining a complex business process, automation helps companies reduce the average business trip costs. Hence, organizations will continue prioritizing travel management companies that facilitate business travel management by providing software solutions.
Hence, travel management companies will develop solutions that automate business travel booking, travel expense management, and travel data management. Also, most companies will impress corporate customers by facilitating end-to-end process automation by providing unified travel and expense (T&E) management software.
2. Extending Booking Options
Outsourcing TMCs creates opportunities for companies to centralize business travel booking. But many organizations boost employees’ business travel experiences by supporting self-booking. They need tools that enable employees to book flights, accommodations, car rentals, and other business travel products in minutes.
But they explore ways to provide employees with more travel choices and booking options. Digital communication technologies enable travel management companies to negotiate and partner with many travel suppliers. They will leverage technology to provide more travel choices to work travelers by expanding their supplier networks.
3. Reducing Rates
Global inflation makes it challenging for firms to increase the number of business trips despite increasing business travel spending. Companies prioritize travel management companies that help them consistently reduce average business trip costs. Travel management companies allow clients to control costs by providing business travel products at negotiated rates.
But leading companies use advanced algorithms to help work travelers find special offers and best deals. Travel management companies will invest in cutting-edge technologies to enable work travelers to book travel products at the best rates.
4. Recommending Personalized Travel Options
Self-booking allows employees to compare and choose travel options according to their preferences. But most business travelers love to receive personalized recommendations. Intelligent technologies enable TMCs to recommend relevant travel products to each work traveler.
Travel management companies leverage artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to recommend travel products to the traveler based on his booking history and travel choices. AI technologies will help travel management companies boost the travel booking experiences of business travelers.
5. Automating Travel Expense Reporting
Travel management companies simplify travel expense management by submitting consolidated expense reports. But firms want to collect and unify employees’ travel and expense data. Also, they store and update the expense data of employees digitally.
They expect travel management companies to submit digital expense reports that elaborately depict travel expenses incurred by employees. Hence, travel management companies must use tech tools that accurately and effortlessly capture and store travel expenses accurately and effortlessly.
6. Simplifying Travel Expense Tracking
It becomes easier for firms to control business travel costs when they track travel expenses incurred by employees in real-time. They expect the travel management company to provide robust expense management software.
Travel management companies will boost customer experience by providing tools that facilitate real-time travel expense tracking by featuring dashboards. At the same time, they must enable users to analyze the travel expense data using custom reports using the same dashboard.
7. Delivering Real-Time Information
Employees need various real-time information to remain safe and stress-free during business trips. For instance, they must track the current status of the flight to manage flight cancellations and delays without experiencing stress.
Likewise, they must access the latest travel regulations to accomplish business travel goals. Travel management companies can deliver real-time information to each work traveler as mobile alerts. They will launch mobile apps that enable work travelers to access real-time data and get the required support.
8. Tracking Traveler Location
Firms these days meet their duty-of-care obligations by ensuring the safety and security of work travelers. Keeping a work traveler safe during emergencies becomes more accessible when they know his current location.
GPS tracking solutions enable travel management companies to track the current location of a work traveler precisely and accurately. They will help corporate customers communicate with employees traveling for business by providing GPS tracking apps.
9. Leveraging T&E Data
Business travel will continue to take place in the age of big data. Travel management companies can only attract and retain customers by helping them leverage employees’ travel and expense data. They will use encryption technologies to optimize the storage and exchange of sensitive employee data.
Further, they will help clients store travel and expense data in centralized locations. At the same time, travel management companies must consult with big data analytics services providers to help customers make sense of the raw data and gain actionable insights.
10. Providing 24/7 Travel Support
AI-driven chatbots have changed the ways companies provide customer support. Firms launch chatbots that enable customers to gather relevant information without interacting with a customer support executive.
But they allow customers to connect directly with a customer support executive through telephone, email, instant messages, and other communication channels. A surge will be noted in the number of travel management companies that automate and personalize customer support by launching sophisticated chatbots.
Conclusion
After the pandemic, corporate travel has been transformed by several factors, including technology. Many firms these days prefer travel management automation to travel management outsourcing. Likewise, enterprises prioritize travel management companies that automate crucial steps in corporate travel management.
Hence, travel management companies can only remain relevant and competitive, by providing tech solutions like corporate booking tools and expense management software. At the same time, they must offer stand-out travel management solutions by leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies like artificial intelligence, machine leading, and data analytics.
However, tech trends change regularly in the travel and tourism sector. Travel management companies must adopt emerging business travel trends early and regularly to boost customer acquisition. Hence, existing and emerging technologies will continue impacting and transforming travel management companies.
