TMC INVESTMENT PRIORITIES
WE’RE A TECH COMPANY
NO, WAIT, WE’RE A SERVICE COMPANY
CALL ME (MAYBE)
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CONTENT
TMCs ENRICH DATA OFFERINGS
A DECADE LATER, MOBILE IS STILL IN
TO BOT OR NOT
TMC Investment Priorities
Travel management companies come in all shapes and sizes. Each has its own identity, specialties and mission. Ask 30 TMCs who they are and what they do best, and you’ll probably get 30 different answers.
But all TMCs share core elements. Each functions as a pathway for client travelers to book trips, online and offline. Each helps travel program managers better understand travel spending, policy adherence and supplier relationships. Each negotiates and delivers special travel content, including negotiated hotel rates and airfares. Each offers advisory support, both at the program level for managers and at the trip level for travelers. Each is a conduit for and enabler of the technologies that travelers and managers use. Each also runs...
TMC Investment Priorities
Travel management companies come in all shapes and sizes. Each has its own identity, specialties and mission. Ask 30 TMCs who they are and what they do best, and you’ll probably get 30 different answers.
But all TMCs share core elements. Each functions as a pathway for client travelers to book trips, online and offline. Each helps travel program managers better understand travel spending, policy adherence and supplier relationships. Each negotiates and delivers special travel content, including negotiated hotel rates and airfares. Each offers advisory support, both at the program level for managers and at the trip level for travelers. Each is a conduit for and enabler of the technologies that travelers and managers use. Each also runs...
WE’RE A TECH COMPANY
These days, some of the largest TMCs identify themselves as technology companies.
But Egencia, the corporate travel arm of online travel giant Expedia, says consumer-facing technology is in its DNA. The TMC owns and operates a proprietary online booking system, its own travel agent point-of-sale application and its own traveler-facing mobile application that includes booking capabilities, in-trip support and itinerary guidance. In these regards, it supports its own core technology, while its platform approach incorporates others.
Of course, Egencia can answer phones for client travelers in plenty of countries, and service is always part of a TMC’s calling, but technology—the “full stack,” as Egencia calls it—is core to its identity and investment. Egencia president Rob Greyber sees others following.
NO, WAIT, WE’RE A SERVICE COMPANY
Not all TMCs have the wherewithal to spend on technology in the same way as Egencia, Amex GBT and CWT, nor have the interest in doing so. Not all fancy themselves tech companies.
The 30 TMCs represented in this study span the gamut on size and geographic reach—from multinational megas with billions of dollars in annual transaction volume to...
CALL ME (MAYBE)
In the next year, 25 of 30 TMCs polled by The Beat plan to invest in their contact center solutions. Omnichannel is in, and many TMCs are expanding or have expanded the channels client travelers can use to reach frontline travel agents.
Manyagency execs note that many traveler/agent interactions still are conducted by phone, but additional modes are finding their places. They include email, Web chat and text messaging.
AmTrav Corporate Travel has opened up 24/7 access to its in-house agents via phone, email or chat. “Chats have become a pretty significant...
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CONTENT
Asked to address his biggest concern about the TMC business, Amex GBT’s Anderson said: “One of our important roles as a TMC is to maintain access to full, relevant content and to distribute that content in a way that meets the needs of our clients’ travel programs and their travelers’ needs. Those are big things that we’ll always worry about.”
While GDSs furnish the majority of air, hotel and ground content that TMCs sell and support, fragmentation persists.
TMCs ENRICH DATA OFFERINGS
“Data is the foundation of any travel program today,” BCD Travel senior director of product strategy and analytics Charuta Fadnis told a crowd of corporate travel buyers at a recent BTN Group event. “You use it to make decisions. You use it to gauge performance. You use it to look at traveler behavior and compliance. It’s a No. 1 priority for most of you.”
No surprise, then, that it’s a top priority for TMCs, which for many corporate clients play the principal role in delivering travel information through reports, Web-based dashboards and other means.
“I remember back in 1993 when Excel had 4,000 rows, and that was business intelligence,” Travel Leaders Corporate SVP of corporate sales Michael Boult said at the BTN Group event.
A DECADE LATER, MOBILE IS STILL IN
In the decade since the launch of the iPhone, having a mobile presence has become a minimum requirement for TMCs. Corporate travel agencies have several ways to tick this box for clients, including building, buying, partnering or referring for a solution. Among TMC respondents, most have either built their own proprietary mobile application or deployed a white-labeled third-party solution with custom development. This suggests TMCs like to have an element of uniqueness in their mobile offering. Others steer client travelers to a mobile itinerary management application provided and branded by a third party, such as Sabre’s TripCase or TripIt, owned by SAP Concur.
Many TMCs offer a branded mobile app that delivers a live itinerary to...
TO BOT OR NOT
Coming to market with names like Ella, Eva, Marco and Sam, TMC chatbots have arrived. Tapping into advancements in natural language processing and artificial intelligence, bots open up an automated channel of communication and servicing for client travelers to inquire about policy, get real-time details on their trips and even make travel transactions—all through text- or voice-based based systems such as Amazon Alexa, Facebook Messenger, Slack, SMS text and a TMC’s own channels.
Many Two-thirds of TMCs surveyed by The Beat are boosting investments in chatbot technology in the coming year...
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About The Beat
The Beat is the must-read digital publication for senior-level corporate travel professionals, providing breaking news, insightful views and compelling interviews on corporate travel distribution, travel management and technology. The Beat serves an audience of more 10,000 through its paid-subscription newsletter and website. The Beat Live is an annual conference bringing together over 125 senior travel executives. Our 11th annual event will take place in Atlanta, Oct. 3 – 5, 2018.