In the news: How Daimler eliminates guesswork for travelers

BCD Travel’s Kathy Jackson explains the automaker’s 1-2-3 process to The Beat and Tnooz.

Kathy Jackson, Executive Vice President, Global Client Management, BCD Travel

The goal behind German automaker Daimler’s new three-click, three-minute process for travel booking was straightforward. “The vision was to make it simple,” said Kathy Jackson, executive vice president of Global Client Management at BCD Travel, a key collaborator in the project dubbed Daimler’s “FiveStar” program.

Jackson recently spoke to industry news outlet The Beat about the streamlined process that the travel management company helped engineer. “They request the travel, and the total trip package comes back. The second click is confirming, and the third is submitting expenses,” Jackson explained.

From start to finish, Daimler says the process takes just three minutes and significantly reduces time and eliminates keystrokes for shopping, booking and expensing travel. The system presents corporate travelers with packages similar to ones offered for leisure travel. It reduces research and guesswork, allowing travelers to focus on what they need. If the package options aren’t ideal, a traveler simply has to request more, Jackson said.

She acknowledged that the process, though engineered to be as seamless as possible, won’t work for everyone. But when it’s the right fit for a company, she said, the benefits can’t be denied. Daimler estimates the company loses €25 million (about US$27 million) on time-consuming administrative tasks like booking trips. In a separate interview, Jackson told news outlet Tnooz that this “best trip” model reduces hassles for Daimler travelers, many of whom take the same trips over and over again to meet with customers or colleagues.

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