Travel platforms provide organizations with the inventory to book their flights, hotels, and transportation while confirming other trip details. But relying solely on traditional methods from closed systems means that travel managers and travellers are not seeing a broad range of content. This lack of booking options can lead to consequences such as travellers booking out of policy and cost savings left unclaimed.
Here are three reasons why having access to a wide array of content is critical to the success of your travel program:
Provide Choice
Even as the industry continues to embrace New Distribution Capability (NDC), numerous travel platforms still lack NDC content. Instead, many currently rely on EDIFACT-based content from a GDS such as Sabre, Amadeus, or Travelport. Limiting travellers to one inventory source can make it more difficult to find the best prices and available options.
Integrating multiple content sources gives travellers choices and creates additional opportunities for innovation. Those who manage travel for their organization should seek out a travel platform that shows multiple content options in one display, deduplicated to highlight the best rates.
Look for a platform that lets travellers shop across content sourced from a GDS, direct NDC integrations, low-cost carriers, aggregators, and other direct connections – all within a unified shopping experience.
Simplify Shopping
As modern consumers, most travellers have become accustomed to efficient e-commerce sites that provide a wide range of options, highlight low prices, and offer easy returns. The travel shopping experience should be just as easy and intuitive.
A travel platform that increases automation will provide a superior user experience for travel managers and travellers alike. Having immediate access to all necessary trip information when working through bookings or changes saves valuable time for travellers and helps managers provide a more personalized service experience for their team.
Build Trust & Increase Compliance
If corporate travellers do not feel confident they are getting the best prices, they may be tempted to book out of policy. Those who manage travel should consider using a platform that shows but does not allow booking options outside the organization’s travel policy. This increases transparency by giving travellers a picture of the available content for their particular trip.
Another way to build a positive booking experience is to ensure travellers, managers, agents, and partners all have access to the same platform. This keeps all travel and trip information central in one place – a critical way to increase trust and satisfaction.
Access the Widest Range of Travel Content with Avenir
A successful travel program must be able to access content from multiple sources at competitive prices. This is one of the reasons why Direct Travel Executive Chairman and Spotnana CEO Steve Singh set out to reimagine the foundational elements of the travel ecosystem. Both our teams champion Steve’s vision for #ThePerfectTrip, with Direct Travel providing our world-class customer support and Spotnana delivering the most comprehensive travel content via their Travel-as-a-Service platform.
By using Spotnana to power the travel platform for our next-gen technology Avenir, we equip travel advisors with the tools they need to support their travellers at every step.
To learn more about how Avenir leverages Spotnana to elevate corporate travel programs, contact the Direct Travel team.