Relevance, and therefore personalization, is critical to communicating directly to travelers. That understanding is shaping how travel programs expand their use of messaging beyond duty of care compliance to influencing travelers’ spending decisions on the road.
A recent article in Business Travel IQ quotes BCD Travel’s Chris Crowley about the trend. “There’s a huge [travel policy] compliance opportunity in the trip environment. Personalization has been around for a while, but technology means it can be exploited more,” Crowley told attendees of the recent U.K. Institute of Travel Management conference in Birmingham, England.
“The PNR [passenger name record] has lots of information that lends itself to personalization, and offers can be adjusted to be more in line with the business. Travelers then feel they are more engaged,” said Crowley, the travel management company’s senior vice president for Global Client Management in EMEA. His comments align with what BCD President and Chief Executive Officer John Snyder recently told The Beat about the “Amazon effect” making its way into offerings custom designed for business travelers.
Crowley has heard concerns that spend-oriented, customized messaging to travelers could lead to supplier up-selling and higher costs. That potential problem can be mitigated by a controlled expense process, clear travel policy and data analysis, he said, adding that such visibility also lets buyers spot spending trends among their travelers so they can proactively negotiate with suppliers.
Want to know more about using well-timed traveler communication to influence traveler spend? Read a case study on how Textron used TripSource® messaging to boost in-program airport parking by 90% and double parking-related savings.
