Traveler Happiness or Program Savings?

There is a movement in the corporate world to shift  the focus from savings and efficiency to the traveler experience. Having happy travelers is the goal that will lead to better compliance, work/life balance, and improved morale. The message of smaller tech startups is that travel managers should place the traveler’s wellbeing above the savings and efficiency of the overall program. But should travel managers have to choose? We don’t think so. Is there a way to deliver an amazing traveler experience while saving time and money? Absolutely.  

Travelers will use the program that makes their lives easier. No matter how responsible they are or how the policy is written, often the biggest factor is convenience. If a traveler is in a situation where they need to make an immediate booking or change, wouldn’t it be great to make that change right from their phone? With Ava, travelers can easily book travel, contact a travel consultant or manage their itinerary and profile straight from their phone. Policies are built in and travelers also can easily see how they stack up against other employees when it comes to compliance. 

Often, nothing is more irritating than a delay or cancellation. This is especially true when trying to arrive on time for a big meeting or getting home to see family. With Ava, these interruptions won’t be a surprise and travelers have options to proactively, and easily, change plans or flights. We give you the power to save time and money by getting ahead of issues.

What about hotels? Travelers often choose to book hotels separately or directly through vendor sites. Not only can this damage a company’s ability to negotiate rates, it also greatly increases risk. Every company has a direct responsibility to know where their employees are during work hours and how to help them in the event of an emergency. Through our proprietary hotel attachment tool, we make it incredibly easy for your travelers to book in-policy hotels with just one click. Every time a qualifying flight is booked, an automated email is generated, and all a traveler needs to do is tap – simple.

Increased hotel attachment leads to increased savings long-term. The greater a company’s hotel spend with a chain or property, the greater the negotiating power. Companies can save thousands on hotel rates every year just by booking through the TMC and tracking hotel spend.

Being on the road can be incredibly taxing and stressful even without disruptions. After landing late at night, the last thing a tired and hungry traveler wants to do is drive around, searching for dinner. Adelman has made that simpler, too. With Ava’s Uber and UberEats integration, requesting a ride to your hotel and ordering dinner is streamlined. No copying and pasting. No need for opening multiple applications.

It is becoming truer that when travelers are happy and engaged, they are more likely to stay within policy and adopt the travel program. This does not mean sacrificing savings goals, efficiency, or duty of care. We can help you outline a clear policy, configure booking technology, provide tools to keep your travelers engaged, and guide you on the path to program perfection.