Why is business travel behind the curve?
Common grievance that I hear in the business travel industry:
"When I book my personal travel, I can do so in a matter of minutes using an app or an online agency site, however when I travel on company business why does the same travel booking take hours or in some cases several days?!?!"
There was an interesting new article recently on some of the reasons why business travel isn't on par with digitization and innovations that we have seen in the consumer travel space.
Link here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/274197
These are good observations, albeit from a narrow point of view. I would add on 3 other perspectives for the big gap between business and consumer travel.
1) Suppliers are slow to innovate and funding is being directed elsewhere
In general, the suppliers, technology providers and travel management companies just haven't put as much investment into innovative technologies in the business travel space as they have into consumer travel. The common perception is that business travel is low margin business compared to consumer travel, however current consumer travel ecommerce ROI suggests otherwise.
2) Rock star travel buyers needed!
Adoption of the innovative trends in the business travel space requires a travel buyer who is well informed, has the requisite span of control in their organization and decision making / influencing authority. To some extent, a well run global and regional travel management program also helps with adoption. Few travel buyers and organizations fit this category.
3) Culture eats strategy for breakfast
The culture of the corporate plays a big role in the adoption of technology. There is a huge change management and communication effort involved, and it requires users who are empowered to embrace progress rather than be spoonfed as is the case in several developing markets.
*Disclaimer: This post reflects my own personal opinion and experiences, and bears no connection with any of my past or present employers.
Luxury Real Estate and Business Consulting. Tenures In Real Estate , Hotels, Aviation, GDS, Corporate and Leisure Travel. Stints in Luxury Automobile distribution and Retail, Early career in advertising.
8 年Vicious cycle of low margin leading to lower investments by travel companies.In the Indian context with the buyer side having a mix of travel professionals( who moved from agency side) and procurement people ,have not been able to see tangibility in service that can be quantified hence commoditised. And as crisply pointed out culture internally at client organisations need an empowered climate to make these succeed. Small steps are beginning though.
Strategic Business Operations Leader | Financial Excellence, Process Optimization & Revenue Growth | Contract Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Profitability Analysis & Resource Management | PMP, CSM Certified
8 年Nice one, totally agree
Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co | Legal Advisory, Transaction Management
8 年Interesting insight
Founder & CEO, Fulcrum-Push
8 年Good Points Santosh..
Agritech Ecosystem Engineer
8 年I do business travel regularly. It currently operates under a lot of existing centralized infrastructure that is setup by the organization I am affliated with. This space is ripe for unbundling. In my experience so far, the booking experience has been great. But, there is often a lack of transparency, and it has a long way to go, before it can provide me a good experience on par with a consumer brand.