Posts in the category "Corporate Travel"

Corporate Travel • Travel Industry

Next Generation Online Booking Tools for Business Travel

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Many times I am asked: “What are the characteristics of a good, flexible, modern Online Booking Tool (OBT) for travel?” Some of the existing ones carry a lot of baggage, which makes them less flexible. They are and in constant competition with rapidly changing consumer applications. But those ‘legacy’ OBTs provide stability, even though they may not look nice. Manufacturers try to facelift or re-develop them, but I ask the question: Does a business travel online booking tool really need to be fancy and compete with all the consumer apps out there? Continue reading 

Travel Risk Management: Safety first!
Corporate Travel

Travel Risk Management: Safety First

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Political unrest, terror attacks, natural disasters, epidemics – (perceived) insecurity is on the rise among business travelers. This poses new challenges for travel risk management.

Despite all the digital innovations, the number of business trips is increasing year after year: they open doors and drive growth. It is therefore hardly a surprise that in the American Express Global Business Travel (GBT)’s European Business Travel Barometer, around 50 percent of those surveyed said that they classified business trips not as a cost, but as an investment. And costs are also taking a backseat elsewhere: security is increasingly prioritized as the most important aim of travel management. Continue reading 

Business travel: Are you still paying or already saving?
Corporate Travel

Business Travel: Are You Still Paying or Already Saving?

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Raise employee satisfaction, reduce costs and optimize processes: Why an online booking tool kills three birds with one stone. 

My last blog post focused on business travel in the digital age. The fact is that, despite virtual technologies, face-to-face meetings are indispensable. I also demonstrated the primary objectives of travel management and highlighted the crucial role played by IT in its implementation. Here I primarily referred to the use of an online booking tool (OBT) – often used as a synonym for a travel management system (TMS), an online booking engine (OBE), internet booking engine (IBE) or a self-booking tool (SBT) – as a central management element. Continue reading 

Business travel in the digital age
Corporate Travel

Business Travel in the Digital Age

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According to the GBTA BTI™ Outlook – Annual Global Report & Forecast travelers in Northern America spent $320 billion USD on business travel last year.

Business travel spending has grown at an average rate of 4.8 percent over the past four years. Western Europe and Northern America combined to make up half of the global spend in 2015 ($619 billion according to GBTA). Emerging markets struggled while key developed markets including the U.S., Germany, France and UK were steady. Continue reading 

The impact of PropTech on Business Travel
Corporate Travel

The Impact of PropTech on Business Travel

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FinTech, InsurTech and HealthTech … the industry is facing a wave of digital disruptions that are starting to reshape the financial, insurance and health service sector. But have you already gotten in touch with the latest buzzword PropTech? And do you know what connects PropTech and business travellers?

Usually in the travel industry, booking travel is considered air, car, hotel, possibly some leisure aspects such as cruise, tour, activities (if it is not for business travel) and ground transportation (if you consider door-to-door). Today I want to draw your attention on the hotel portion – but expand on it as today’s travel environment is not so simple anymore. A better term would probably be accommodation. Continue reading 

How IT can improve security on business trips
Corporate Travel

How IT can Improve Security on Business Trips

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The last few months made more and more aware of an important topic for travelers – the safety while traveling. IT can be of great support here.

I do not know about you, but when I am at the station and I suddenly hear the announcement “The owner of the suitcase on track 23 is asked to return to his luggage immediately”, my pulse shoots up involuntarily. This increased need for security is confirmed by the recently published Business Travel Report of the German Business Travel Association, VDR (Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement e.V.) – and not only in the private context. Also on the company side this issue is getting more and more attention. Continue reading 

Corporate Travel • Travel Industry

PASS’ Online Booking Tool – featured on The Company Dime

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A recent article in ‘The Company Dime’ highlights our company’s built-to-order Online Booking Tool (OBT) which was rolled out globally with a major financial institution in 2014, replacing Concur’s Cliqbook . We want to thank Jay Campbell for the feature which you can read in full length on our website: The Company Dime – PASS’ Online Booking Tool

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Corporate-Travel-Gamification-Nonsense-Or-Genius
Corporate Travel

Corporate Travel Gamification: Nonsense or Genius?

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The concept of Gamification is simple: Play by the rules of your company and you will be rewarded. But what’s behind this modern way of encouraging employees to comply with corporate travel policies?

If you had a look at my article about Expense Management, you should be aware of my position regarding travel policies. I hold the opinion that the best option for the company and the most efficient option for the traveler can be reached through clever policies paired with a good corporate booking tool.  Continue reading 

Corporate Travel
Corporate Travel

How to Make the Most Out Of Corporate Travel

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Did you know that for every dollar invested in corporate travel, companies can increase their revenue by an average of $9.50 and $2.90 in new profits? No wonder that Americans went on more than 452 million corporate trips in 2014, with almost 40% going to meetings and events.

Even though corporate travel is not about the employee’s pleasure and serves a greater purpose, there are still some easy ways to make the most out of your trip and even save your company some money. Continue reading 

2010-vs-2015-is-6-the-magic-number-for-corporate-travel-growth
Corporate Travel

2010 vs. 2015: Is 6% The Magic Number For Corporate Travel Growth?

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Last week we were talking about corporate travel expenses and how to manage them in the most effective way without spending thousands of dollars on pricey software. Since the corporate travel volume is constantly growing, it is time to have a closer look at some facts about U.S. travel spending in the past, as well as projections for 2015.

When I published my book about the developments in travel distribution back in 2010, I took a closer look at the U.S. travel market in one of the first chapters.
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why-expense-management-is-overrated
Corporate Travel

Having A Closer Look: Why Expense Management Is Overrated

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About four months ago SAP announced its agreement to buy Concur for 8.3 Billion Dollars. Many industry professionals –including myself- were intensely debating about the reasons and consequences of this acquisition.

Since SAP already had its own expense management tool and Concur hasn’t made profit in years, the question we all had in mind was obvious: What were they thinking?! Continue reading 

uber-why-a-drivers-license-and-4-doors-cant-guarantee-safety-for-leisure-and-corporate-travelers
Corporate Travel

Uber: Why a Driver’s License and 4 Doors Can’t Guarantee Safety for Travelers

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“Do you take a cab sometimes?” I randomly asked one of my employees this morning. “Actually not”, she replied, slightly confused. “It is too expensive!”.

Interesting, I thought to myself, while I walked back into my office and tried to make a list in my head of all the things I do expect from a good transportation service. It should be safe, reliable and bring me from point A to point B for a reasonable price, that much was clear. Continue reading 

travel-safety-tips-for-corporate-and-leisure-travelers
Corporate Travel

Travel Safety Tips: The 101 For Corporate and Leisure Travelers (Part 1)

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No matter if you are a corporate or leisure traveler, safety should always be your number one priority when going abroad. Especially when you are traveling alone, you are vulnerable and should prepare in advance to protect yourself, your baggage and important documents.

The more you know about your destination, the safer your trip will be. The following tips will help you to plan your trip better and minimize the typical risks of travelers on the road. Continue reading 

how-to-survive-the-thanksgiving-terror-8-travel-tips-to-make-your-holiday-trip-easier
Corporate Travel

How To Survive The Thanksgiving Terror: 8 Travel Tips To Make Your Holiday Trip Easier

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner and many people are already packing their bags to visit their friends and loved ones. It is no surprise that this week is known to be the busiest travel time of the year.

AAA predicts that the Thanksgiving travel volume will reach the highest level since 2007 and more than 46 million Americans will travel from Wednesday through Sunday, which is a 4.2 % increase compared to 2013. Continue reading 

american-express-announces-900-million-joint-venture
Corporate Travel

American Express Announces $900 Million Joint Venture

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American Express recently announced to enter a joint venture with an investment group led by Certares.

This deal also means American Express will separate its Global Business Travel division (GBT) operations into a dedicated holding structure in which American Express and the investor group will hold an ownership of 50% each in exchange for a $900 million investment in the joint venture by the investor group. The venture will be led by Bill Glenn, former President of Global Commercial Services at American Express. Continue reading 

gds-corporate-travel-pos-landscape
Corporate Travel

GDS: Corporate Travel POS Landscape

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In a previous article, we we talked about the latest evolution of the travel agent desktops. We went through the different business moves of travel technology providers that led them from green screens to graphical interfaces and the arrival of multi sources platforms.

We also analyzed the role of TMCs, underlining their need to improve internal processes and service quality as well as their interest in reducing dependence from GDSs.

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lufthansa-city-center-and-pass-present-new-corporate-travel-system
Corporate Travel

Lufthansa City Center and PASS Present New Corporate Travel System

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At the PASS Travel Talk Event in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 3rd, 2011, together with its partner Corporate Travel Partners GmbH, a subsidiary company of the Lufthansa City Center Giller Reisen GmbH in Munich (Germany), PASS introduced VICTOR (Virtual Corporate Travel Organizer), the new corporate travel system that was developed on the basis of the PASS Travel Framework.

VICTOR is a modern system for corporate travel booking and the overall management of all related processes. Continue reading 

the-apple-ipad-for-travel
Corporate Travel

Work & Play: The Apple iPad For Travel?

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While on the road corporate travelers need to be able to access email, keep up with news and do research on the web, update and maintain websites and upload content to various platforms such as Flickr and Facebook. At first sight, the iPad appears to be the ideal on-the-go device for work and play.

Supposed to be an in-between solution of notebook and smart phone, the iPad could free travelers from the need to haul books, magazines and newspapers on their trips. But it is far more than an eBook reader. There are several reasons travelers might like to carry this lightweight electronic equipment while they are on the road and experts look at the iPad as the next big thing for mobile computing.
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pass-consulting-broadens-relationship-with-bcd-travel
Corporate Travel

PASS Consulting Broadens Relationship with BCD Travel

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PASS Consulting and BCD Travel, the world’s third-largest travel management company, today announced a broadened relationship that expands BCD Travel’s capability to offer speech-recognition services, route calls to agents with specialized skills and offer other services that lower costs and boost efficiency for corporate travel programs.

Under the multiyear renewal agreement, BCD Travel is using the PASS XX/1 Multi-GDS Hub as a supplier gateway for its transactional platform, called the Source Platform.

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