The Business Travel Magazine December/January 2018/19

TMCs / Diversification
high quality customer service with traveller
location monitoring and communication.”
When disaster strikes, knowing exactly
where your staff are and establishing clear
lines of communication with them is crucial.
“In the event of a major emergency, travel
managers could struggle to define next
steps. Our tool offers a 24/7 messaging
service where an alert can be quickly
communicated to individual travellers. Their
exact location can be identified using GPS
via our ‘Locate Meʼ app.”
This technology offers peace of mind,
helping clients mitigate risk and maintain an
audit trail of all communications.
Data in droves
As well as keeping travellers safe and clients
in touch, technology can also be harnessed
for more strategic purposes. To this end
Business Travel Direct has developed
SMARTInsight, a predictive tool that
promises to take the guess work out of
travel policy changes.
The tool lets corporates model the impact
of any changes to their corporate travel
policy, accelerating the decision-making
process, thus helping travel managers
become more proactive.
BTDʼs Managing Director, Julie Oliver,
explains: “We see SMARTInsight as the next
generation of analytics,” she says. “Rather
than overwhelming travel managers with
mountains of reports, we amalgamate the
data into this tool and simplify the analysis.
“We can use the tool to model various
scenarios and get instant answers. In the
past, we would have needed to crunch the
numbers and go back to the client with the
information,” Oliver explains.
Casting the net
The needs of travellers have certainly
become more varied and complex in recent
years, making a one-size-fits-all approach
largely redundant. Some TMCs have found
success by catering for growing niche
industries with very specific needs.
The needs of travellers
have certainly become
more varied and complex
in recent years, making a
one-size-fits-all approach
largely redundant”
One such example is Corporate Traveller,
which launched a new Production, Sport &
Creative division in May this year. This was
built on its existing client base.
“We already handled corporate travel
requirements for 300 clients in these
industries, but wanted to offer more,” says
UK General Manager, Andy Hegley. “Now
we can provide the specialist ‘high-touchʼ
expertise they need to meet their needs
from start to finish.”
The TMC's TV and film production clients
keep them busy, travelling across the
globe to some remote and challenging
destinations. “Weʼve had clients filming
penguins in Antarctica or elephants in
Botswana. It's vital that their production
equipment arrives at their destination on
time and in one piece.
“A film crew of three could be travelling
with 80 bags, so we make sure their
baggage is loaded on to the aircraft, even if
their airline suddenly announces a baggage
embargo at check-in.”
For musicians, meanwhile, it's not
uncommon to book separate airline seats
for a passenger and their cellos or violin
that can't be placed in the hold.
The numbers add up
When it comes to procurement, data insight
is what gives certain TMCs the edge. FCM
Travel Solutions launched 4th Dimension
(4D) this year. They describe this as a ‘nonbiased
consulting service providing
corporates with outsourced, project-based
analytics to drive programme efficiency and
smarter procurement.ʼ
As Jo Greenfield, UK General Manager of
FCM explains, this was very much driven by
client demand: “Business travel is constantly
evolving,” says Greenfield. “To remain
successful in a competitive market we must
constantly innovate. The launch of 4D has
taken our capabilities to the next level,
providing clients with deep-dive analytics
and bespoke solutions.”
The 4D team helps clients rethink their
hotel programmes, for example, which are
now no longer simply about securing the
best rate. “Five years ago, corporates were
still very much focussed on cost savings,
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