_ August 16, 2019_ Lucian Costea

The buzzwords and concepts of the travel technology industry, as seen @ GBTA 2019

AROBS was there: from the many subjects debated during the 5 days of GBTA 2019, we selected the most interesting buzzwords and concepts.

GBTA 2019: The global gathering of the powerful travel industry

Nowadays, people travel, a lot. The “Veni, Vidi, Vici” quote is almost on everyone’s social media when on vacation. People love to see and discover new places, it’s in their nature. But regardless of where they are, one of the most important aspect is the traveler experience. Outsourcing software development companies gather at GBTA 2019 and are working hard to help the industry to make the experience better and better.

The travel industry is a huge one, and the custom travel solutions industry is continuously expanding, indeed. Apart from leisure, the business travel brings on the table around $1.3 trillion worth of revenue, making it the cherry on top in the industry. Hard to believe? Here is a short explanation – even though corporate travelers make up just 12% of airline passengers, around 70% of all passenger revenue can be attributed to them. And let us consider, a new report provided by Travelport. The report shows young people aged 18 to 34 are most likely to spend more money on vacations than other age groups. Hence the future is traveling.

Moreover, the place to see the whole power of the industry in motion is GBTA (Global Business Travel Association). Which makes a great job bringing together the top travel providers and many other companies that work in the industry. This year, the main topic of the convention is based on traveler experience and how to improve it. More than 7000 people participated at the event, making it the biggest convention since its start, 51 years ago.

AROBS was among them. We are very happy that we were able to participate in the convention this year through our colleagues presence. They always come back with great ideas and the latest news and trends in the travel industry. As a result, we always have a good overview in our Travel&Hospitality division.

The most interesting buzzwords and concepts of GBTA 2019

NDC (New Distribution Capability) will enable the travel industry to transform the way air products are sold. It is a travel industry-supported program, launched by IATA, for the creation of a new, XML-based data transmission standard (NDC Standard). The NDC Standard eases the communications between airlines and travel agents. It’s a concept for which AROBS is fully onboard, working on global sized projects already. Read more about our expertise.

Focusing on helping others should be a priority. The event started with the second annual Awareness 5K Run & Walk race held by the GBTA. The 500 participants raised $20,000. Everyone ran or walked in order to raise awareness about the need to stop human trafficking and to end child exploitation. This is a very hot topic and it’s important to support a cause that concerns us all. Our colleagues in AROBS wanted to be involved in this event because they believe in the cause and its purpose.

Airlines companies think that dedicate support teams will enhance customer experience. Related to the improved business traveler experience, the support teams will be available for corporate accounts and it will make everything easier by providing support 24/7, during peak and off-peak hours. The efforts are made in order to avoid creating more costs for companies by canceled flights, delays, misconnects and any other ancillary expenses.

Traveler experience as a satisfied employee. Nowadays many companies have employees that must travel in order to discuss with potential clients, sign contracts, or maintain old clients. Most of them agree that the travel experience has a significant impact on retention and reduces corporate turn over. A study made by GBTA shows that there are a few traveler-centric efforts that can be made to retain and reduce corporate turnover such as upgrade to business class, better quality technology, more travel centric policies, additional time off for frequent traveling or less strict rules while traveling.

However, the study shows that traveler experiences can impact corporate retention and turnover – both positively and negatively. First, it can have a positive aspect if every employee would track and analyze the travel experience. Furthermore, the companies can have a complete picture of their travel policies and approaches and see if there is anything that needs to be changed. Negatively, if the traveler does not track and analyze his travel experience, the company is entitled to believe that its policies are right and can be tempted to save money on its travel program. And this at the cost of a potential employee turnover.

AI is always a good idea. Sometimes finding the best flight, the best accommodation, the best transportation at the best price is time consuming. And the result is not always what we expect. Luckily, we now have the opportunity to use AI in our favor even when we are traveling.

Nevertheless, the solution is definitely working in our favor. By providing a clear line of sight into saving achieved by implementing recommendations across sourcing, rate types and policy improvements.

Blockchain in travel is a most welcomed disruption. Blockchain capabilities can drive travel innovation, with the potential to provide TMCs real ROI with hotel commission settlements and benefits to corporate travel programs. Currently, a large percentage of hotel commissions are getting lost or going unpaid due to the manual processes required fulfilling commission settlements.

And, at the end of our article, some of the photos we took @ GBTA2019