Capturing the unmanaged travel spend of SMEs is the corporate equivalent of herding cats. And in India, where there are an estimated 50 million SMEs, that’s a big herd. Not all these SMEs need or want to have their business travel managed, but as they account for some 40%…
One year ago at its F8 Conference, Facebook announced that it was opening its Messenger platform, giving developers the ability to incorporate chatbots into the conversation. And exactly one year later, again from F8, Facebook released version 2.0, this time with an even more advanced suite of tools to…
Great brands are the ones that tell the best stories and, at last, it seems there is going to be an effective platform to help travel brands tell their stories. Facebook is the latest social platform to get on board with a “Stories” function, launched by Snapchat and copied…
Storytrail claims it is the “world’s first platform of video city guides” – inevitably raising the eyes of many others that do it. The company’s videos allow the user to explore cities around the world with a virtual guide. The clips are pulled together into walking trails (or, indeed,…
Virtual reality will help travel companies become the “next generation retailers” – that’s the rallying cry from one travel tech provider this week. A developer at Amadeus-owned Navitaire in the US has created what the company is claiming is the world’s first “virtual reality search and booking experience”. The patent-pending…
From American Airlines to United, airlines are currently generating the kind of headlines no brands want to be associated with, whilst generating memes like “board as a doctor, leave as a patient”. NB: This is an analysis by Johan Hogsander, managing director for Transform. Reactions to the United saga,…
The humble travel app faces huge challenges when competing in the world of consumer shopping and buying of products related to trips. Firstly there is the trend that travellers tend to not have many apps on their devices now, preferring to have a favourite and sticking with it. Also, consumers…
Evolving a business to address travelers’ needs doesn’t have a start and end date – it’s a constant flow of change and transition. From how consumers book a hotel to how they submit a travel insurance claim, technology is a given when it comes to customer service. NB This…
Hospitality and technology have long been awkward bedfellows. Whereas other industries have been able to incorporate the automation of tasks with relative ease, hospitality has lagged a little behind. NB This is a viewpoint by Sam Weston, marketing manager at 80 DAYS. Most of us would admit technology will…
Increasingly, corporate innovation means dedicated incubators, accelerators, or investment arms that exist to nurture new and emerging companies. This macro trend is alive and well in travel. Larger travel companies use these models to capitalize on new ideas, markets and technologies that startups pursue. These investments are intended not…