Travel Management Blog

The travel industry is recovering from a period of crisis. For TMCs, keeping up with evolving traveller expectations has never been more critical. A global distribution system (GDS) is vital for agents trying to manage traveller data, and the technology plays a key role in keeping much of the industry running smoothly while empowering agents to help travellers on their journey.

We’re excited to launch our newest product, NavAgent. The result of a collaboration between Navitas Solutions and Agentivity, NavAgent is designed to enhance a TMC’s ability to service its clients with advanced, expert analysis of booking patterns and traveller behaviour data, integrated directly into their GDS of choice.

‘Off-policy’. Two little words that send a collective shiver down the spine of travel managers everywhere.

While it sounds fairly innocuous, corporate travellers playing fast and loose with their travel plans, and booking parts – or all – of their trip somewhere other than via their employer or travel management company’s chosen GDS has long been a problem for the industry. The reasons are obvious: not only does it pose problems for traveller tracking and duty of care; it also represents a crucial source of lost revenue.

Corporate travel has always had an eye on the future and a propensity to get a little hot under the collar for whatever this year’s ‘game-changing’, ‘revolutionary’ tech is. Be that wearables, voice interaction like Amazon’s Alexa or, whisper it, the blockchain.

Perhaps naturally, this is often the focus of industry press — after all, zeitgeisty terms almost guarantee clicks and shares. In all these examples, the focus is very much on incremental improvements to the end-user's experience. However, you hear much less about the vast system underpinning it all: the GDS. So, what are the GDSs doing to innovate?

Between jumping back-and-forth through time-zones, sleeping in strange beds and living out of a suitcase, life can be a blur for business travellers. A great itinerary can make all the difference though – and here's how an itinerary template can help you improve your travellers' experience while also making your life easier: