Abacus outlines five steps to boost corporate travel efficiency
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Abacus International has outlined a new five-point plan that it says will streamline the corporate travel booking process and make the industry more efficient.
Following its latest Corporate Travel Practices Survey of 82 corporate travel brands, the travel technology company offered a list of five action points which it believes will “streamline processing, while maximising policy compliance and control”.
Firstly, Abacus outlined the need to consolidate content from multiple sources into a “single, coherent itinerary”. The company noted that 87% of survey respondents complained that B2C booking sites offer lower fares and rates to their clients, encouraging travellers to go ‘off policy’. Robert Bailey, president & CEO of Abacus, said these elements needed to be combined in a single platform.
“Technology can aggregate disparate content to offer new forms of fixed and dynamic packaging. It will ensure TMCs (travel management companies) and CTAs (corporate travel agencies) manage more of the clients’ business, with wider sourcing countering increased competition online,” said Bailey.
Secondly, Abacus outlined the need to include airline ancillary services into itineraries, following the rise in demand for checked bags, preferred seating and lounge passes. More than 70% of those surveyed noted a higher demand for pre-selected seats.
“As more ancillaries are introduced, it is vital that their processing then reveals the full cost of each flight, not just the price of an unbundled basic seat, especially with so many corporate travel policies requiring the choice of lowest available fare,” said Bailey.
Third and fourth, Abacus outlined the need to offer more self-service technology to corporate travellers, and mobile tools to “leverage what has become a permanent shift to mobile”.
“As mobile penetration increases, non-compliant rogue booking behaviour is favouring other OTAs and LCC smartphone apps,” Bailey said. “These present an even greater out of channel compliance issue. We have to address the mobile opportunity in managed travel more aggressively and with a positive proposition.”
Finally, Abacus stated the need for automated expense management.
Travel Daily will be reported from the Abacus International Conference in Abu Dhabi from 14-17 October.
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