Digital Technology Leading Business Travel Safety

Technology is developing in leaps and bounds, and it’s no different when it comes to travel. With state-of-the-art digital apps, you now have access to your travel bookings in the palm of your hand. It’s changed the way the whole industry thinks about travel.

When business travellers require – and expect – the convenience and simplicity of travel, it’s up to travel managers to deliver that. Digital technology provides instant access to seamless travel, with easy bookings and management options available at your fingertips. Passengers can manage their own travel and know they’ll get where they need to be on time, and travel managers have access to detailed reporting and live-tracking.

Unfortunately in the digital age, rogue bookings spring up when booking travel is so easy. Digital technology, and whether a company uses it, goes hand in hand with travel policy. While it might be easy for the end user to book their own transport, it can limit the visibility and control a travel manager might otherwise have if they book outside of policy.

Digital technology is evolving all the time, and proactive travel technology means knowing a traveller’s plane is delayed and notifying them that their vehicle will still be waiting for them on arrival. Providing a seamless travel experience is how digital technology is developing, and the next steps will be into predictive data: predicting travellers’ needs and wants before they even realise it themselves.

The benefit of digital technology in the travel industry is clear: managing travel is not only easier and simpler for managers, but it provides visibility of spend and helps identify cost saving opportunities. It also provides end passengers with a more positive experience that gets them where they need to be. The overall travel experience is improved by technology, as service is more consistent and easily managed.

Companies have a legal obligation to duty of care, so if and when incidents occur and escalate, we have visibility with connected devices. For Ted Jones, CEO, Northcott Global Solutions, it’s about teaching travellers to think differently when they are travelling on company time: “Companies are in a position to tell employees they must comply with traveller tracking because duty of care is a legal obligation. If an incident escalates and becomes a corporate manslaughter case, the employer can’t just tell the judge they offered them the option and they didn’t take it. It’s up to the employer to choose the apps they put on company phones.”

The way we, as individuals and as businesses, think of safety as it relates to transport has to change, and as technologies of this kind continue to emerge, businesses will need to absorb them into their travel policies as quickly as possible to meet employee demand.

For more information on global travel, you can download our whitepaper here: www.addisonleegroup.com.