Delivering Insights During a Crisis — Corporate Travel Innovation Report

The Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report is our new weekly newsletter focused on the future of corporate travel, the big fault lines of disruption for travel managers and buyers, the innovations emerging from the sector, and the changing business traveler habits that are upending how corporate travel is packaged, bought, and sold.

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The Future of Corporate + Business Travel

When explosions rocked Brussels on Tuesday, corporations all over the world scrambled to make sure their employees were accounted for.

At Christopherson Business Travel, the company knew right away that it had a total of 84 travelers in Belgium; they appeared on a map of the world in a tool called SecurityLogic. CEO Mike Cameron visited the Skift office the following day and showed us a new version of the technology getting ready to roll out widely that makes it easier to send alerts and safety check requests to travelers.

“Things are changing so fast,” Cameron said.

That need for real-time data keeps emerging in the corporate travel world, as Traxo CEO Andres Fabris told Skift (see more below). Whether that data reveals whereabouts for security purposes or just how employees are spending their travel dollars, successful companies will figure out how to get the necessary information fast — and use it the right way.

— Hannah Sampson, Skift

Social Quote of the Day

Negotiating across #cultures – don’t let your message get lost in #translation http://ow.ly/ZFzC5 #negotiation @ACTEtweets

Business of Buying

How Rising Costs Could Affect Corporate Travel: The big question for business travelers is whether companies will continue to focus on driving down costs, or begin to emphasize improving the traveler experience once again. Read more at Skift

Australian Workers Love to Travel — and Book Their Own Business Trips:  The majority of Australia’s workers enjoy traveling for business more than toiling at the office, a new survey finds. But they want the tools to book business trips just like they would a vacation. Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald

Even as Technology Advances, Travel Policies Include Lots of Fine Print: Corporate travel managers might be providing travelers with new tools to book trips in compliance with company rules. But don’t expect those businesses to cast aside their lengthy travel policies. Read more at Business Travel News

Safety for Travelers

Enhanced Security Is the New Normal for Businesses: Travel companies and retailers are not just reacting to emergencies as they happen; they’re making security a constant focus. Read more at The Washington Post

Brussels Attack Shows Weakness in Airport Security: Security experts agree that pre-checkpoint areas of airports are especially vulnerable to attacks, but say there is no simple solution. Read more at The Associated Press

Disruption + Innovation

Egencia Calls Out Carlson Wagonlit and American Express as Slow Movers:  As companies come to embrace online booking tools for business travel, traditional travel management companies will face steeper competition from companies like Egencia that bring more robust technology tools to corporate travel. Read more at Skift

Airlines Are Working Harder to Get Business Travelers on Board: With hefty profits and low oil prices providing a lift, airlines are investing more in products aimed at business travelers. Read more at Buying Business Travel

Traxo’s CEO on the Real-Time Data That Could Redefine Corporate Travel: Travel managers need to know where travelers are and what they’re spending. New technology can make them better informed and more empowered to help travelers when something goes wrong.  Read more at Skift

Comments

The Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report is curated by Skift editors Hannah Sampson [[email protected]] and Andrew Sheivachman [[email protected]]. The newsletter is emailed every Thursday.

Subscribe to Skift’s Free Corporate Travel Innovation Report