Business Travelers Are Still Waiting for Personalization — Corporate Travel Innovation Report

Earlier this month, we took a look at the year that corporate travel giants hope they'll have. This week, we take a look at the technology innovation that will push the sector forward.

More robust platforms, better apps, big data, and experiments with voice control are a part of what's happening. We'll take a deeper look at all these advances over the next few weeks.

We've also got the latest on interesting travel startups and business travel trends in our roundup below.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Business Travel Editor

Business of Buying

The Corporate Travel Tech Revolution Is Still in the Works: Travel management companies have tons of data on the behavior and spending patterns of their travelers. Doing something concrete with this information, however, is a work in progress that should be solved sometime soon.

Frontier Airlines Will Codeshare With Mexico’s Volaris in a Unique Arrangement: Passengers should cheer news that Volaris and Frontier will codeshare, as it should help Americans visit many more Mexican destinations at cheap prices. But will Volaris and Frontier cooperate enough to make the process seamless for passengers? We’ll soon find out.

JFK Airport Is Getting an American Express Centurion Lounge: Insiders often say airport real estate is some of the most expensive in the world. This is likely a massive investment for American Express, but the company has probably calculated it’s worth it. People love airport lounges, and American Express knows it needs to keep its customers happy.

Heathrow Is Already at Capacity but It Is Adding Passengers With Larger Aircraft: Few subjects have generated as much hot air in recent years as plans to expand Heathrow. It seems like the logical choice but environmental concerns and determined local opposition mean that a new runway may never be built.

Disruption + Innovation

Complexity Increases for Meeting Planners as Digital Tools Evolve: Emerging technologies like facial recognition are still far off from hitting the mainstream of event technology. But for now, there are a variety of options that can help meeting planners become more efficient and improve the quality of their events.

Travel Startups Work With Breakthrough Technologies That Could Threaten Industry Leaders: Emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence and blockchain, have yet to make the leap from buzzword to mainstay, but have the potential to disrupt travel incumbents. The big players will have ample opportunity to adapt, though, and leading startups can play a role in helping executives grapple with when and how to implement these technologies.

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Skift Business Travel Editor Andrew Sheivachman [as@skift.com] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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