travel tech insights

The release of BridgeStreet Global Hospital’s The Bleisure Report 2014 introduced a new term to the travel industry and revealed the idea of combining business and leisure travel – far from being outlandish – was a reality for a sizeable number of people and poised for growth.  The report found that 83% of global business travelers take time on business trips to explore their destination cities and 37% add personal leave days to most or all of their trips. The key word to notice is “global” business travelers, because it makes all the sense in the world to maximize international airfares bought by employers.

To the public eye travel is a straightforward concept focused on destinations, activities, tickets and itineraries. For those who work in the travel industry it’s always been a complicated set of interrelationships between retailers, wholesalers and service providers – made, if anything, even more challenging by the global reach of the Internet. Two of the more visible ways the Internet has changed the travel are: 1) raised customer expectations for a unique and amazing travel experience; 2) price transparency – customers can book much of their travel directly online, or have travel plans in mind and quotes in hand before the first conversation with atravel agent. 

Whether you’re a travel agency, a tour operator or a travel management company, you face the challenge of a changing travel market and the sobering reality that your competition is not standing still. In order to grow, your company has to aggressively find new product and service opportunities, adjust quickly to changing economic conditions and stay ahead of competitor strategies. The travel industry is complex and no single operational dimension will be the deciding factor for how well these challenges are met, but certainly a company’s software system will play a major role.

Just this past November a bargain-hunter found a NYC hotel right on Central Park with a 35% discount off regular rates. A quick Google scan showed strong 4 star review averages across several booking sites.  Then she noticed a different result on Yelp. That site showed a 2.5 star review average. Yelp’s average was based on several hundred reviews whereas the other sites averaged several thousand, but both struck her as good sample sizes. It didn’t make sense for the ratings to be so different.

There’s no question every travel company – from travel agency to travel management company (TMC); tour operator to destinationmanagement company (DMC) –has financial statements produced by its travel management software system.  Whether for viewing monthly/annual financial results, meeting shareholder requirements or complying with bank requirements, financial statements are a fixture in the business world.  However, many travel company owners and managers don’t know how to read this financial information; some rely on accountants or advisors to explain the numbers; others just don’t really use the information at all.