When travelers are faced with risk, they and their travel managers need answers – fast and reliable answers.
On constant alert, travel managers rely on intelligence and insights to locate and get help for travelers when an event takes place.
Duty of care for employees on the road has long been a corporate priority. But the need to sharpen processes has never been more acute. Fortunately, travel management companies (TMCs) have a vast array of data and are ideally positioned to help companies navigate the complexity of this new era.
To locate a traveler, we access travel itineraries, and can either call or send direct messages to their phones. But in more challenging times, that may not be enough. Recently, a client needed to reach a traveler in the vicinity of a terrorist attack.
To get a more precise location, we were authorized to use credit card data to find out where the traveler made their last purchase.
We know things will be different from now on. For each trip, questions about health risks are multiplying. How will travel managers adapt?
Data's vital role
History proves that having a robust data set and easy-to-use applications are critical to establishing confidence in the face of uncertainty.
Using data to locate a traveler during a terrorist attack was one example. In early 2019, concerns over the Boeing 737 Maxaircraft created a whole new set of questions. Travel managers wanted to know which employees were booked on these planes. With access to complete traveler records, including the aircraft types booked, we quickly pulled the data and rerouted travelers with little or no disruption.
Today, as the world begins to travel again, travel managers are anticipating new questions. Some are already asking for the capacity to include a traveler’s immunology status in their profile.
For the moment, mandatory health screenings for COVID-19 at airports are manageable with the current volume of traffic. At pre-COVID levels, ground staff would need to quickly access the immunology status of hundreds of passengers to safely fill a flight and depart on time.
Contact tracing will also gain traction and may be required to cross borders. There may even be a possibility of travelers allowing this data to be sent back to employers.
To provide the scale necessary, these measures will require safe and reliable digital connections to travelers’ profile data. TMCs, therefore, need to have systems designed for end-to-end travel management that can easily support API connections.
At the same time, the industry must also unite to create consistent, internationally applied standards for safe travel.
Collaboration is a must-have
TMCs are developing tools to answers travelers’ questions such as: “Can I travel to this country?” “What documentation do I need to present?” “What’s the level of health risk?”
Instead of searching government, airline and public health websites, our own Travel Vitals provides one place to get detailed answers. The data is easily searched and personalized per trip and available to all travelers, whether or not they are GBT clients.
Effective standards will also require private/public partnerships. IATA is working with industry partners, including GBT, and government organizations like the U.N. aviation watchdog, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The industry must unite to create consistent, internationally applied standards for safe travel.
David Thompson - Amex GBT
The goal is to have simple, universal travel processes that everyone can understand and easily, safely implement. This is similar to the way TSA established standard security checks after 9/11.
These protocols will most likely include more use of contactless technology for travel checkpoints. Airlines are considering biometrics such as facial or iris recognition. There is also some demand for digital identification processes at self-service bag drops, boarding gates and airport retail and duty-free outlets.
This means travelers would need to present their data electronically to move more smoothly through the process. For this, technology companies are also getting involved. One tech giant is looking at using blockchain to provide a single source of truth for all the data used by COVID-19 applications.
As business travel needs evolve, TMCs have evolved as well - from travel agents to enterprise solution providers. Our systems plug into our customers’ HR and accounting tools. We provide e-commerce solutions for booking travel and managing expenses. Our tools provide reporting and digital channels for communicating with travelers.
This puts our services at the heart of an ecosystem that handles an impressive amount of data and provides answers when our clients and travelers need them the most.
We are seeing pockets of collaboration across the industry in different countries and regions. We must all add to that momentum is a positive and thoughtful way.
TMCs and suppliers across the travel eco-system must join with governments and industry organizations to fight for the right standards for safe travel. When dealing with politicians, progress can often be frustratingly slow.
But we must keep pushing as we all collectively stand to benefit. Travelers will have the confidence to get back on the road, travel companies will see volumes and revenue return and the world economy will flourish as business trips bring people together once again.