Articles tagged “corporate travel”

So, how about that travel ban?

A fresh approach to online distribution will heat up the corporate housing sector. It will make it easier for property managers to distribute serviced properties and for travel managers to book them.

If the past few weeks have shown us anything, it's that uncertainty did not end with the U.S. presidential election. Now, with a controversial travel ban tied up in court, companies are considering a reduction in business travel.

The fallout over Friday's problematic executive order continues: Companies are afraid that employees won't be able to travel freely and won't be safe while they're on the road.

Even though every day with the new Trump administration seems unpredictable, early signs have convinced many in the hotel industry that this might just be the year that corporate travel rebounds from its 2016 slump. However, given the new executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, some executives throughout the travel industry may be rethinking their outlook on corporate travel.

Corporate travel is finally starting to learn lessons from the consumer travel space, mostly because business travelers have been trained by their leisure travel to expect robust booking tools and more control over their trips. The travel management companies that focus the most on improving their traveler-facing technology will win this battle, and improve their clients’ travel experience in the process.

If United were Facebook friends with reservation systems like Sabre and Amadeus, it would have just changed its relationship status from "Friends" to "It's complicated." New President Scott Kirby is worried how those companies will display its new basic economy product to travel agents and (indirectly) to ticket buyers.

Travel management companies and providers of travel would do well to pay attention to the needs of supertravelers. Some aren't that difficult — and fulfilling those requests could go a long way to earning loyalty.

Following a year of consolidation, corporate travel experts are expecting more of the same. At the same time, global concerns have the potential to undermine the demand for business travel after years of growth.

Many executives in the corporate travel space are planning for expansion and growth in the year ahead. The question on everyone's mind is whether global and economic events will foster more business travel or keep growth subdued.