In 2020, many companies will open direct booking channels,
which will benefit all corporate stakeholders. While the commonly held belief
is that direct bookings open the door to absolute chaos, establishing these
channels actually creates more control over a travel program, not less. Once corporate
travel managers understand how they can control their company’s direct booking
channel, the fear of loss of control and compliance will be allayed. Corporate
policy can now be applied to this channel, which will be enforced by implementing
advanced robotic process automation to create a rigorous auditing process. By and
large, travelers will do the right thing for their companies, and they will
also understand that all their activity is monitored, which will reinforce appropriate
behavior.
Real-time visibility also provides a view into employee
travel and booking behaviors and their impact on compliance—information that can
be used to enhance the travel program in the future. One-hundred percent
visibility into all bookings aids in duty of care because travelers’ locations will
be known regardless of how the trip was booked. Transaction detail will also
provide insight into how to improve the program for travelers. Direct booking
channels can provide one-hundred percent real-time visibility into all bookings
and changes made by employees, regardless of the booking channel used, which also
means increased visibility into spend.
Currently, one of the biggest pain points for employees is
the TMC technology they are required to use.
The rigid interface pales in comparison to their leisure booking
experiences and leads to user frustration at a time of high employment when companies
are trying to avoid employee dissatisfaction. More concerning is that this may
lead to additional leakage from the travel program. Direct booking channels
address these concerns by providing employees with the convenience and
flexibility they experience when booking personal travel.
Direct booking channels can often yield significant
additional supplier savings of 10 percent to 20 percent, plus a 30 percent cost
reduction to manage. This channel eliminates unnecessary transaction fees,
back-end commissions and overrides, reduces account management support costs,
and companies will be able to procure better deals as suppliers’ distribution
costs become more efficient.
Employees want
to do the right thing as good corporate citizens, but they want better user
interfaces and control over the search and booking processes to self-manage
their personal experience while saving their companies money. Direct booking
channels address these frustrations by letting travelers research and book
travel guided by company policy on the mobile platforms they already use in
their personal lives. This reduces employee frustration and contrary to popular
industry thinking, travel policies will be more effective with a more complete
data set that can be audited for compliance. Implementing direct booking
channels also lets travelers see and book with their company’s preferred
suppliers or low-cost carriers, saving their companies money while remaining
compliant from a duty of care perspective.
Opening a direct booking channel can be a powerful addition
to an existing travel program, giving travel managers and their companies more
control, enabling impressive savings, and increasing traveler
satisfaction.
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This is a condensed version of a longer blog
post that can be seen on DigiTravel Consulting’s website.