By the NBTA Technology Committee
It's not surprising some travel managers feel 'overwhelmed' by the numerous travel technologies available in the marketplace today. Deciding whether or not to implement technology can lead to a lot of questions…
"Does my company really need this technology?"
"Is implementing new technology the best use of my time and resources?"
"Will the return on investment be a success story to executive management?"
"What if this technology uncovers more gaps in my program?"
There are many reasons companies choose to invest resources in travel technology. Some of the most common ones are containing costs, increasing policy compliance, mitigating risk exposure and better serving the travellers. To help answer the travel technology questions, the NBTA Technology Committee compiled various travel technologies, from commonly used technology to some rather obscure ones, and their benefit to a managed corporate travel program.
P - Primary Benefit
S - Secondary Benefit
|
|
Cost Contain-ment/
Cost Avoidance |
Policy Com-pliance |
Risk Mitiga-tion |
Comm-unication |
Traveler Conven-ience |
Increased Efficiency |
|
Expense Reimburse-ment |
P |
P |
P |
|
S |
|
|
Online Booking Tools |
P |
P |
|
P |
P |
P |
|
Travel Intranet |
P |
S |
P |
P |
P |
P |
|
Perferred Hotel Directory |
S |
P |
S |
P |
P |
P |
|
Travel Advisories |
|
|
P |
P |
P |
S |
|
Pre-Trip Authorization |
P |
P |
S |
|
|
|
|
Profile Synchron-ization |
|
|
|
|
P |
P |
|
Data Aggregation |
P |
|
|
|
|
P |
|
Electronic Ticket Tracking |
P |
|
|
|
|
P |
|
Traveler Tracking |
|
P |
P |
|
|
P |
|
Virtual Meeting Technologies |
P |
|
P |
P |
P |
P |
|
Groups & Meetings Software |
P |
P |
|
|
P |
P |
|
Automated Check-in Kiosks |
|
|
|
|
P |
P |
|
Registered Traveler (RT) |
|
|
S |
|
P |
P |
|
Mobile Technologies |
|
|
|
P |
P |
P |
|
Hotel Commission Technologies |
P |
|
|
|
|
P |
|
Hotel Rate Audits |
P |
|
|
|
|
P |
Technology used wisely can provide travel managers the opportunity to demonstrate the value they provide to their company. Familiarizing yourself with the various technology tools available in today’s world can help you to determine the applications that best meet your needs.
Return to Connecting News October 2007