GUEST BLOG: A Vision for the Future of Business Travel

Business travel is faster and less isolating than it used to be but, until recently, no-one has been looking out for the business traveller. Now, the landscape is changing and Concur is proud to be a leader in that evolution.

Travel used to be lonely. Gradually, over the past 10 years, and rapidly in the last two, the Internet and mobile devices have changed business travel for the better.  Our smartphones now fulfil a dual role of travel buddy and personal assistant. But we still have a steep hill to climb to improve business travel even more.

The current reality:

Self-serve online travel booking enables the business traveller to book travel at a click of a button – but, because no-one is looking at the experience through the eyes of the business traveller, the whole experience is very disjointed and often frustrating.  For those that travel across Europe, there’s the added complication of different languages, currencies, procedures and cultures to overcome.

A vision for the future of business travel:

Concur has spent considerable time thinking about what would make ‘The Perfect Trip’.  Imagine a journey with no paper or queues, a journey where your smartphone knows your preferences and has pre-booked every step of the journey to seamlessly blend into the next. We have this perfect trip firmly in mind, and we’re figuring out how to make it happen

How Concur is working to improve business travel:

Making the perfect trip a reality will mean partnership and collaboration between travel suppliers across the entire eco-system for the good of the business traveller. This a huge challenge, particularly in Europe, where suppliers’ regional coverage varies so dramatically. Fortunately, the landscape is already changing and Concur is proud to be a leader in that evolution.

What happens next?

By sharing ideas on how business travel can be improved due to technological integration and the fostering of closer networks we can help shape the future of business travel together. So, whether you are travel supplier, travel app developer, card provider, in the travel business or a business traveller, we’d love to hear your ideas and opinions.

How do you think business travel could be better?

What are your favourite travel apps? What innovations would make the most impact on travel in Europe?  These are the kind of questions that will influence the development of a bigger, better travel and expenses management network across Europe. We have made a start by setting up a Facebook community for those that want to contribute or stay in touch with developments.  Join us – like us or post your recommendation in the comments below.

Written by Lisa Hutt

Lisa heads marketing for Concur Technologies in EMEA and is responsible for growth in the region through brand awareness, pipeline generation and customer success programs. Lisa is an advocate of the latest marketing innovations, global collaboration, sales alignment, lead-to-revenue and influencer marketing. Lisa’s background in marketing communications was developed with IT and online organisations such as Salesforce.com, Dell, Intel, Epson, Sybase and Monster.