How Has Business Travel Booking Technology Improved The Business Travel Experience
Technology has revolutionized how companies make their business travel booking for their work trips. What’s more, it has even raised their expectations. Gone are the days when you had to visit a travel management company or call a hotel.
During the pandemic, there was so much room for improvement in travel management and tech concepts that were just ideas a few years ago. These have now come to life in the travel industry.
Innovation has made it convenient to make a business travel booking for customers.
Reasons Why Business Travel Booking Technology Has Improved The Business Travel Experience
A well-thought-out travel program allows employees to drive business results while ensuring traveler safety and reducing costs. Technology can help travel managers create an enhanced employee travel experience with essential factors like sustainability, availability, and customization. And that is where AI comes into play.
For those companies looking for efficient business travel booking and the most bang for your buck, AI is proving to be a game-changer for reserving flights and accommodations. With AI-powered solutions, businesses can tailor the travel experience to their employees and reduce travel risks.
AI: The New Age Superhero
According to a recent study, 61% of travelers in the US prefer to use AI conversations to plan their upcoming trips. Industry leaders like Expedia, ITILITE, and AirBnB have added AI to their apps and websites, and even hotel chains like Hilton are starting to use AI assistants in their rooms.
The beauty of AI from a consumer’s point of view is that it can help reduce the stress and anxiety of planning a trip. A State-of-the-art business travel booking software can help you book your trip quickly and easily, with a travel inventory, real-time location tracking, and 24/7 customer service. Furthermore, an AI-powered virtual travel consultant can help you make sound travel decisions and save money with actionable data. In other words, it could do all the tedious admin work for you, and you can focus on more important things at work.
Business Travel Booking Tools Are More Than Just Optics
Employee satisfaction is still an issue in many corporate travel plans. More than 28% of companies say that traveler experience and satisfaction are the pain points in their corporate travel programs.
And the Good news? Technology has made business travel booking easy with many options, from airlines to hotels to rental car companies. But it takes time to find the best deals, know which vendors offer good bargains, and ensure your bookings match your corporate travel policies.
By working with a travel management company that provides integrated corporate travel tech, travel managers can give their travelers booking options that fit their company’s goals while still meeting the needs of their employees.
Travel management tech lets you create travel profiles that serve your business travel booking needs with travel plans, rewards, and credit card info. So you don’t have to go back and forth during the booking process.
The Flexibility Of Virtual Payment Options
Your company’s profitability or savings depends on the accuracy of business travel expenses and reporting. Corporate travel technology can help you do this by providing virtual payment options that allow easy settling for hotel stays.
For instance, if you have a contract worker who doesn’t have credit or if they don’t have a company card, you can pre-authorize payments with a single-use card. It makes your business travel booking more efficient, creates accurate hotel billing, reduces the risk of fraud, and helps you save money on hotel stays.
Changing The Paradigm Of Business Traveler Risk Management
Nowadays, it is more important than ever to track your employees. A good travel management company will give you real-time info on global health and safety risks, so you can quickly alert your business travelers.
Corporate travel tech should help you manage your business travel risk by analyzing the risks and how they could affect you, locating travelers by their name, destinations, and place of accommodation.
It should help you quickly make business travel bookings, offer safety advice, and ensure travelers have all the information if something goes wrong. Corporate travelers care about getting the info they need, being flexible, and knowing they’re taken care of.
The Amalgamation Of Policies
Corporate travel technology makes it easy for travel managers to set up, manage, and enforce company travel policies. Additionally, you can include your vendor contracts and reporting requirements to keep track of expiring contracts and ensure you’re tracking the correct information. It helps you save money so that policies and vendors are aligned.
With customizable and integrated travel policies, you can apply guidelines when you book, so you know your travelers are following the instructions.
The Verdict: Bridging The Gap Between Corporate Travelers And Business Travel Booking Processes
In a recent survey, over four-fifths of people surveyed said they’ve used new tech solutions to handle Covid-19 risk in the last two years, and 42% say they plan to do so in the next couple of years. Meanwhile, travel risk management tools, automation workflows, and virtual payment tools are the most popular among business travelers. At ITILITE, these are the same factors we focus on.
Business travelers are unhappy with the travel technology at their company, with 38% saying they’re the least satisfied. That’s more than the 33% who say their company hired a travel management company or the 20% who say they have a corporate travel manager or team.
There comes a time when you must consider what your employees need and if your processes are in order. The need of the hour is to curate a program with a travel management booking process that develops into employee satisfaction.
