Managing Travel Real Time 5 22 12

At The Point of Decision: Managing Travel In Real Time

A busIness TRAvel whITe PAPeR PResenTeD by busIness TRAvel MeDIA GRouP AnD ConCuR

APRIl 2011

Mobile technologies are clearing the way for corporations to influence business traveler behaviors even when on the road. Are they taking advantage of them?

2 busIness TRAvel MeDIA GRouP

ElizabEth WEstGroup Director, Content [email protected]

amanda mcdonoughDesigner

louis [email protected]

tim REidGroup [email protected]

sPonsoReD by

APRIl 2011PRoDuCeD by

exeCuTIve suMMARy

Mobile technologies are providing new opportunities to influence travelers and under-stand their behaviors. Until now, visibility into traveler decision-making on the road has been limited at best. New travel management tools have presented the possibility of reaching travelers at the point of need and increasing compliant behaviors even at a distance.

This has been a recognized gap in travel management that stakeholders have historical-ly attempted to close through traveler education, continuous policy communication and mandates to drive all travel booking through sanctioned channels. Still, when a critical travel need emerges in transit—and sometimes when it’s not-so-critical—convenience often wins out over compliance.

The travel management community continues to express concerns about the broad access to out-of-policy travel content that mobile devices make available to their busi-ness travelers, yet they are not adopting mobile managed travel technologies quickly—despite the fact that they are becoming more available.

Some providers have aimed at the core competencies—travel shopping, booking and expense—for companies that want to provide a robust technology suite to their travelers on the road. These types of tools are powered by sophisticated mobile operat-ing systems now standard on corporate-issued BlackBerry devices and other, more consumer-oriented devices like the Apple iPhone or Android phones. Other tools offer a more narrow focus on policy communication or traveler safety/security, using specific functionalities, such as SMS messaging and/or global position systems, allowing com-panies to target key areas of need.

While these developments present major breakthroughs for accessing travelers on the road, some challenges remain. Transactional functions, particularly air bookings, continue to be an obstacle for providers. Nonetheless, corporations need to take a hard look at what mobile tools can provide now and how future developments will shape their programs.

A recent study from PhoCusWright showed that business travelers are the heaviest users of smartphones, and as more travelers are empowered with high-tech tools—whether company-issued or not—the pendulum between compliance and convenience is likely to swing in the wrong direction. Corporations must mitigate this trend by provid-ing a new generation of travel management tools that embrace the rapidly growing marketplace of smartphone-based travel apps and mobile websites.

In this white paper sponsored by Concur, corporate travel management stakeholders will get a snapshot of the mobile travel management technologies in the marketplace today,

www.busInessTRAvelMeDIA.CoM 3

how user habits and developing mobile technologies are reshaping the industry and how these developments should influence their company’s long-term travel manage-ment strategies.

MobIle TRAvel TeCh: CuRRenT Tools TouCh enTIRe lIfeCyCle of TRIP Mobile travel technology has always been traveler oriented, providing services and information to employees at the time of need. The challenge for managed travel pro-grams is filtering the information that reaches business travelers. This is what many corporations and travel managers are attempting to control with mixed strategies as well as mixed success.

For a successful near-term and long-term travel management strategy, it is important to know what tools and apps are available now and what is on the horizon. While the lines between enterprise travel tools and good travel apps remains blurry, current technology touches every part of the business trip lifecycle, and travel managers must assess what can contribute to their programs and what could detract from it.

mobile shopping and booking The ability to shop for and book travel from a mobile device represents a major break-through by technology providers—but the work is not fully accomplished yet. The most sophisticated technology providers offer the ability to shop for and book hotels, rail and taxi service, with some services powered by direct connect (i.e. not through the GDS). Most providers have yet to cut a clear path to mobile flight shopping and booking, but the first releases of this technology are just coming into the market.

When considering any mobile shopping and booking tool, a company must assess the following: •Ability to incorporate travel policy and prioritize content on the mobile display

according to preferred suppliers •Access to online profiles so traveler is not required to input a lot of data •Secure access to a payment tool •Real-time data integration with the traditional online booking tool •Compatibility (either via mobile website or downloadable app) with the majority of

mobile devices in the program

considerations/challenges: Despite the complexities of managed travel shopping and booking, travel managers need to stay current on developments and utilize the pieces that are available now. Free of the complications of embedding travel policy and synchronizing with agency mid- and back-office systems, mobile travel websites

Corporations will only regain influence and relevance with useful tools that fit exisitng technology habits —that means mobile.


(especially prevalent for hotels) and broad consumer travel shopping apps are making it easier than ever for travelers to shop and book travel outside of preferred channels.

Future developments: Recent technology announcements have begun to close the gap in travel booking capabilities for mobile devices, and more announcements are expected this year. One critical issue is the size of the smartphone display and it will be critical to see how well providers work within these constraints and still accommo-date the intricacies of policy, unused tickets and/or complex itineraries and ultimately serve up the information needed to communicate, provide choices and confirm that booking on a small screen. The promise of mobile shopping and booking tools is im-mense, enabling the travel manager to address policy controls and needed services in a single effort.

travel alerts Continental Airlines rolled out the first flight status alerts for mobile devices several years ago; sending text messages to passengers about delays and/or cancellations. Since then, there has been something of a race among airlines as well as third-party app suppliers as to which can offer the most accurate and earliest notifications about flight status. In addition, several TMCs and technology providers have rolled out a variety of travel-related alert systems: weather, traffic and safety/security alerts are among the most used. Advanced alert systems also message users about price changes and potential refund opportunities.

mobile check-in/boarding passes Very commonly used by business and leisure travelers to check-in to flights remotely. Mobile boarding passes are less common and are subject to scanner availability at airport security checkpoints. BlackBerry devices do not display mobile boarding passes well, so many corporate travelers either use an alternate personal smartphone for this service, or forego it.

itinerary managersSeveral good itinerary management apps have emerged from the pack of smart-phone-enabled travel tools. The most sophisticated among them offer business trav-elers the ability to forward confirmation emails from numerous suppliers (preferred or not) to an online account where the information is aggregated to form a master itinerary that is accessible to the mobile device, either through a mobile optimized website or a downloadable app, depending upon the device platform. The best itiner-ary managers wrap alerts and other travel-related information sources around the itineraries, such as weather, traffic, directions and flight status notifications. Some providers allow users to share their itineraries with social networks.

cool mobilE toolsneed some ideas of how to get started? these options are among the best.

tripit for traveler services – Recently acquired by Concur, TripIt received the first Innovation Award from the National Business Travel Association. The current app is able to receive email confirmations from more than 3,000 booking channels (forwarded by the user) and orga-nizes them into a master itinerary, providing corresponding alerts via email or SMS messaging. Travelers also have access to information such as weather, traffic and direc-tions through this tool.

contgo for Policy communication – The leader in SMS messaging for policy commu-nication, ConTgo gives travel man-agers the ability to reach travelers at the moment of decision with notifications about compliant travel choices.

blue cRm for safety/security – For companies with strong traveler safety/security needs, this subscrip-tion-based service allows them to use the GPS function of a traveler’s smartphone to track whereabouts. Other SMS functionality and push alerts for the traveler are also used.


considerations/challenges: Some travel managers will want to think twice about integration of itinerary managers with social networks. There is some concern over revealing business travel patterns over time to outsiders. Also, when travel plans are shared on social networks, where recommendations from friends and colleagues are dispensed generously, there could be some risk of outside influence in such areas as hotel bookings if they were not previously arranged (or if the traveler decides to change the booking in transit). If concerned, consider wrapping policy around usage. Even more ideal, companies can source corporate traveler-oriented itinerary manag-ers, which allow information to be shared internally, but limit external sharing.

mobile policy communicationsCommunicating with travelers via SMS messaging has seen interesting travel management developments as well, particularly in relation to policy compliance. Us-ing an SMS service that is linked to a traveler’s itinerary, travel managers can relay automated messages to an individual that will review in-policy taxi or hotel suppliers and give recommendations about getting around in the destination city. For example, there may be a few transportation options in the city of arrival or, if a hotel desig-nated on the itinerary has a free shuttle, the tool will recommend it. Companies can also configure the tool to respond to keyword inquiries from the traveler (taxi, hotel, restaurant) and an automated message will return to them with in-policy advice. Such tools require fairly complex configuration and might only be set up for top 10 busi-ness travel destinations, but they represent an excellent example of how to influence in-transit travelers to comply with the travel program

Future developments: Future versions of this type of tool may not be based on GDS itineraries, but rather on GPS location. If a company has not transitioned its travelers to true smartphones, the SMS technology is perfect. If they do have GPS-enabled devices, it might be worth a short wait for the next release.

location-based servicesThe concept of location-based services continues to entice managed travel technol-ogy providers. Several are already providing GPS-powered traveler safety and security services that allow companies to locate and message travelers in crisis. Once on the fringe of the smartphone-enabled crowd, marketing schemes that use the GPS func-tion on the user’s phone to position them and offer localized services and deals are gaining ground. Such popular consumer-oriented services like Foursquare, Facebook Places and Gowalla allow users to “check in” to locations to receive discounts and deals or win social gaming awards for being the most frequent user of the location. Other applications of the technology are more traveler-inclined. Certain “augmented reality” apps, for example, allow a user to look at a destination through the camera

As a new generation enters the workforce, they are demanding robust technology and are influencing upwards.


setting of the smartphone and get labels for the streets and retail establishments that surround them.

considerations/challenges: Marketing the patronage of certain businesses in social gaming structures could potentially include travel suppliers, particularly if the travel program has negotiated its own discounts with dining establishments (a grow-ing trend). Additional advertising often goes along with coupon/deals offered, and travel managers have no control over who is advertising to their travelers.

Future developments: Progressive TMCs and technology providers are exploring ways to leverage this type of functionality for managed travel programs by creating compliance games whereby travelers could get points for “checking in” to preferred suppliers. Others are exploring augmented reality to display preferred suppliers in a destination overlay, for example, or to identify “safe zones.”

mobile expense reporting While not the purview of every travel manager, expense reporting is integral to the lifecycle of a business trip. Mobile expense was one of the first tools to hit the man-aged travel market and has been used very successfully by many companies. Mobile expense tools need to include the often complex approval configurations that are unique to each company as well as the configuration of expense categories that mir-ror the online technology—all on a simplified user interface.

Best-in-class tools capitalize on mobile device capabilities to make “paperless” reports a reality. For example, if travelers need to pay in cash or use any form of pay-ment that is not already integrated with the expense system, the mobile expense tool should allow them to enter the purchase data and include necessary details, such as the reason for the expense, number of diners, etc. Advanced tools allow the traveler to use the camera function on their device to take a photo of the receipt and upload it to the expense system.

considerations/challenges: Anecdotal feedback from travel and expense manag-ers that utilize mobile expense tools, applaud the easy reporting capability that mobile expense brings to travelers and the quicker turn-around that mobile technologies facilitate—both for the traveler filing the report and for the managers approving them. One area of concern, however, regards the approval process. Travel managers emphasize the need to encourage approvers to review reports thoroughly even when they are doing so “on the go.” When sourcing a mobile expense technology, compa-nies should investigate how the provider takes steps to address this issue.

chaRt 1.

A worldwide study of 1,500 con-sumers released in January 2011 by Microsoft showed that adoption of location based services (LBS) had hit the mainstream. Fifty-one percent of respondents overall had used LBS and among users, and 94 percent find them valuable—especially for such practical applications as weather alerts, traffic updates and finding restaurants. All of these are familiar needs for business travelers.

51% Have used LBS

49% Have not used LBS

Among users…

70% GPS Navigation

46% Weather alerts

38% Traffic updates

38% Restaurant info/reviews

36% Locating nearby convenience services

33% Shopping/coupons Source: Microsoft Corporation, January 2011 study of 1,500 consumers

Fringe to Familiar: location-based services


MobIle Is now Smartphone technology has fundamentally changed the expectations of business travelers. On-demand access to information—company and private e-mail, social networks, instant and SMS messaging, customer relationship management data, sup-plier websites and, of course, travel content—have empowered business travelers to stay connected and get more done on the road than ever before.

As a new generation of employees enters the workplace, technology habits and expectations will only become more demanding. Raised on Internet connectivity, on-demand music and games, social networks and cheap access to sophisticated smartphones and apps to power their personal lives, younger workers expect the same (or even better) from their companies. Moreover, as these newly minted workers hit the office, they are influencing upwards—not only raising tech expectations in the minds of their bosses but also showing them the ropes.

When companies fail to deliver on the technology front—including travel technolo-gy—workers may have very little compunction about defaulting to alternatives that they believe are faster, cheaper and more advantageous to their business goals.

Often, these decisions are made with the best of intentions, but as travel manage-ment stakeholders know all to well, they can still undermine the fundamental benefits of the travel program: •Traveler safety/crisis management •Cost savings and realizing discounts that hinge on achieving volume goals with

preferred suppliers •Ensuring adequate supplier services for travelers

Yet, relatively few travel managers are offering enterprise-oriented mobile travel tools to their employees.

slow ADoPTIon hInDeRs TRAvel PRoGRAM oPTIMIzATIon According to a recent survey conducted by Procurement.travel to measure emerg-ing competencies for travel management, mobile competency showed the lowest adoption rates among all areas examined. Of 294 travel buyers surveyed, 56 percent were not involved in managing mobile technology-related issues, less than one-third purchased apps or mobile software to help power their travel management programs, and less than one-quarter were involved in procuring mobile devices (which does not mean that travelers did not have access to corporate-issued or personal smart-

chaRt 2.

smartphone usage by Frequency of travelFrequent business travelers outpace all other travelers in their use of smartphones.

% using a smartphone# of trips leisure business

1-2 35% 49%

3-4 39% 58%

5+ 50% 75%Source: PhoCusWright’s Consumer Technology Survey 2010


phones, but only that travel management had no involvement in the decision-making around devices to be used.)

There are several contributing factors to this disconnect: •Mobility Programs & Travel – As much as corporate mobility programs and travel

are related, they have been developed separately within most organizations and breaking through that wall is a challenge for a travel manager without upper management support.

•Lack of Awareness – Travel management has been under intense scrutiny to tighten budgets and manage multiple other areas of travel; the ability to research options and create a business case for mobility programs is likely an issue.

•Fear – Mobile devices have provided access to travel content that is not sanc-tioned by travel management. Many travel managers and companies have opted to restrict use of these devices for travel rather than harness them.

While all of these factors are understandable, they will not improve a travel program. Indeed, resistance to an emerging mobile platform for travel management will likely undermine the relevance of the travel program as more travelers become aware of the mobile options available through other channels and take advantage of them. Instead of restricting access to mobile content and travel tools, travel managers and their companies need to leverage the power that mobile devices can offer to reach into the trip cycle to support business goals and traveler productivity but, most impor-tantly for travel management, to influence traveler behaviors at the point of decision to drive increased compliance and savings.

AbouT

Concur is a leading provider of integrated travel and expense management solutions. Concur’s easy-to-use Web-based and mobile solutions help companies and their em-ployees control costs and save time. Concur’s systems adapt to individual employee preferences and scale to meet the needs of companies from small to large. With Concur’s mobile application, you can create, review and approve expense reports and book and change your travel itinerary - hotels, airfare, taxis, rail and rental cars - all from your smartphone. Learn more at www.concur.com.

Business Travel Media Group Content Solu-tions serves the information needs of the managed travel and meetings marketplace with integrated media opportunities for its partners. BTMG collaborates with business travel organizations to deliver sponsored content to targeted communities of travel professionals via e-newsletters, white papers, webinars, publication supplements and other vehicles.

Managing Travel Real Time 5 22 12

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