Seamless and mobile future
I read Skift’s article Managed travel’s future is seamless and mobile, about Anthem, health insurance provider, who has focused their business travelers bookings to a app. Instead of usually travel companies and partners, Anthem has created a platform together with Sabre, the leading technology provider to the global travel industry. And with Chrome River, a leading provider of expense management and supplier invoice processing software (Sabre.com). Headline was already tempting. As I think that, it’s true that more and more people on their free-time and business travelers depends on their mobile phones. Their goal is to get company’s business travelers to use their developed service. That way, they would also use companies selected transfers, accommodations and restaurants (Skift, 2017).
The mobile piece is key, said Cindy Heston, director of travel and events at Anthem. “It’s an important thing, not just for Anthem, but the world in general today,” she said. (Skift, 2017).
3 main points
I couldn’t agree more with Cindy Heston. Traveling these days is made more easier to consumers to modify their trips and travels as they wish, through different applications. So why couldn’t this convenience to be part of business travel too?
By reading this article, it really gave me positive vibes that Anthem, Sabre and Chrome river is going to right direction as should we. By unifying different transportations, accommodation and restaurant selections already to the same place, can budgets be easier managed by worker and the company. After every booking and spend, expenses loggings has been made. And this way, after the trip, they can be reviewed and send to finance team.(Skift 2017).
Finance team in other hand, has now an access to the data, what has been first in a pieces. This will help them to be more sufficient to get better deals from popular partners to please workers and the company. It help them also get everything through one place, instead to be opening every single mail and letter.(Skift, 2017). Also workers doesn’t have to sit down on a computer to hand type every little transaction what they made on a business trip to get their money back.(Skift 2017). This one thing what I have found annoying, as the same, time consuming.
24/7 accessibility. That is one big point what I think, travel agents and partners can’t offer for most of the business travelers. As plans can change at the middle of the road, add would provide easy and quick access to change plans.(Skift 2017). At my work in a hotel, many times business travelers call straight to our hotel, instead using their companies booking system as it’s lot quicker, especially if they are calling on the road, already heading to our hotel.
My thoughts
I think, that the article couldn’t be more in a point for companies needing to focus their devolvement to digital platforms and to their use. In Finland I haven’t come a across to this type of service, even though we’re in need for it. Especially this kind of type, which connect both transportation and accommodation. But the task isn’t easy. There is so many systems to be connected to have this kind of platform, that it would take quite a long time and extra mile from the companies to got all to work seamlessly.
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