Today’s world is so fast paced and competition is cut throat! For organisations to survive and succeed, business travel has become essential. There have been unprecedented advancements in technology, however business travellers tend to face a big challenge in efficiency and hundred percent satisfaction!
So, why is business travel solutions falling short of meeting employee expectations? While some talk about the cumbersome booking processes and others complain about the lack of real-time support. It is necessary that companies address these gaps to enhance the overall travel experience, reduce stress, and boost productivity.
A study by the Global Business travel Association has actually revealed that only 53% of the employees feel their company’s business travel solutions meet the standard they look for. What are the main reasons for this? The primary pain points vary right from outdated booking platforms to the lack of personalization.
There are several AI-driven tools and mobile apps that exist today, which actually simplify travel. Unfortunately there are still many business to business travel agencies that still rely on legacy systems. These fail to provide a modern, user-friendly experience and thereby leading to frustrated employees.
1. Inefficient Booking Platforms: Many corporate travellers feel that booking trips is still highly complex. Yes, for leisure or individual travel, there are platforms that offer seamless interfaces, but as far as corporate booking tools are concerned, many are outdated, slow, and lack integration with preferred airlines and hotels. This in turn leads to employees wasting their valuable time looking for compliant travel options, and thereby leading to productivity loss.
2. Poor Expense Management Systems: Many organisations still follow the same conventional reimbursement and approval process. This is a big pain point in business travel . This manual reporting method is prone to errors, delays and gets the employee to lose their patience! There is a dire need for real-time expense tracking today!
3. Lack of Personalization and AI Integration: The Modern discerning travellers have their own preferences. Hence they all expect personalized recommendations based on their travel history and likes. Yet, many business to business travel agencies fail to leverage AI to understand this and accordingly offer customized travel plans. The generic options given to the employees drop down the level of the overall travelling experience considerably.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to revolutionize business travel . It can be used to give dynamic pricing, make predictive analytics, and plan intelligent itineraries. However, many organisations have still not adopted this and thus leading to dissatisfied employees.
4. Limited Mobile Accessibility: Today all of us rely on mobile devices like never before. Hence corporate travellers expect seamless access to travel itineraries, real-time updates, and support through their smartphones. Despite this demand, even the best business travel management companies have yet to offer mobile apps that cover all of this!
This is highly inefficient as this requires the travelling employee to manage different platforms for different parts of their journey and this can be quite frustrating for them.
5. Poor Travel Disruption Management: We all know last minute changes, flight delays and even flight cancellations are bound to happen. In business travel especially, this is inevitable. However, many corporate travel platforms still lack the ability to be proactive and help promptly resolve any challenge or disruption that may arise. This creates a very stressful experience for the travelling employees.
The call of the hour is indeed Integrating AI-powered chatbots, real-time rebooking tools, and 24/7 customer support!
To bridge the gap between employee expectations and existing business travel solutions, companies must embrace technological advancements that offer convenience, automation, and personalization.
1. Mobile-First Corporate Travel Solutions: The demand for mobile accessibility in business travel solutions will continue to grow. Companies must invest in mobile apps. This will help employees to book, modify, and manage all their travel arrangements in a click. There could be several add on features like push notifications for flight updates, chat support etc.
2. Blockchain for Enhanced Security and Transparency: Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize business travel . It helps in providing secure, transparent transactions for all aspects of the journey. When the system is decentralized, the possibility of fraud is almost eliminated. There is also better compliance with corporate travel policies.
3. Predictive Analytics for Proactive Travel Management: If at least the best business travel management companies use predictive analytics, they will be able to anticipate travel disruptions and proactively offer solutions. How does this happen? It studies historical flight data, the weather conditions etc and thus is ready with prompt resolutions and actions..
4. Seamless Integration with Corporate Systems: For a truly efficient business to business travel agency, travel platforms must integrate seamlessly with HR, finance, and productivity tools. In such cases, approvals and reporting gets seamless for all involved.
At SKIL Travel, we understand the evolving needs of modern business travelers. As one of the best business travel management companies, we leverage cutting-edge technology to provide seamless, efficient, and stress-free business travel solutions. With our innovative approach, SKIL Travel eliminates the common pain points associated with business travel. We offer:
As a leading business to business travel agency, SKIL Travel is committed to revolutionizing corporate travel by embracing technology that prioritizes efficiency, security, and employee satisfaction.
Are you ready to upgrade your business travel program? Contact SKIL Travel today to explore our cutting-edge business travel solutions designed for the modern corporate traveler.
