Is new personalisation technology a threat to the TMC?

PERSONALISATION is at
the forefront of emerging
technology in the travel
industry. These technologies
target the customer directly
and could be seen as a threat
to travel agents but industry
players say it could also be an
opportunity.
Amadeus has introduced
Altéa Corporate Recognition,
a tool that allows airlines to
identify corporate customers
and automatically offer them
packages of tailored ancillary
services. Lufthansa has
become the first airline to
deploy the patent-pending
tool, which will be available
in the booking tools used
by travel agents and also in
Amadeus’s self-booking tool.
Rob Sinclair-Barnes,
Amadeus’s strategic
marketing director for Airline
IT, says the new tool should
not be seen as “cutting out
the TMC”. On the contrary,
he says, the TMC is an
important player when using
the new tool. “The majority
of managed corporate travel
bookings are done via the
travel agent distribution
segment. Through the process
of design and development
of the solution, we shared
information and gathered
feedback from TMCs.”
Tools like Amadeus
Corporate Recognition aim
to help with personalising
the travel experience for
the final customer but also
maximise revenue and
yield opportunities for all
the different players of the
travel industry, says Rob.
TMCs should expect more
of these kinds of tools to
enter the market. Last year,
Amadeus unveiled its vision
for a traveller-centric global
travel ecosystem that will
meet the demands of a
complex and evolving travel
shopping environment and
unlock more than US$130bn
(R1,59trn) in additional airline
revenue annually by 2020.
“This is what the Global
Travel Ecosystem, announced
in October 2014, is all
about. There are solutions
in the pipeline around this
vision. The first wave will
be launched by the end of
2015.”
Jim Weighell, GBTA director
of operations for Southern
Africa, adds: “There appears
to be an outdated perception
that all new systems are
just booking applications
that have the potential to
bypass TMCs. My view on this
particular system is that its
intent is to allow airlines to
better manage customer data
in a number of fields. The tool
integrates with the GDS so it
does not cut out the agent.”
Jim says airlines have been
working hard to better use
data to focus rewards and
benefits on those consumers
who warrant them. “This is no
different to banks and major
retail chains, which are using
data and technology to tailor
individual offerings to a mass
market,” he says, adding that
any technology that enhances
the customer experience
or improves the efficiency
of a service provider must
be regarded as a positive
development.
“Is the TMC’s role to prevent
the introduction of new
technology or to be proactively
included in the ever-advancing
distribution chain?” says Jim.
“The TMC occupies a
unique position in that its
relationship encompasses
all the elements of the
managed corporate travel
business, whereas suppliers
have a far narrower focus in
terms of their relationship
with the client. A key point
here is that the TMC has the
opportunity for regular realtime
interpersonal interface;
suppliers have far less
opportunity in this area and
are thus more dependent on
technology for CRM activity.”
The exponential growth of
mobile technology will result
in a huge increase in travelrelated
data. It will enable
suppliers to take over the role
of the TMC and personalise
their offerings to suit the
client, says Andreas Wellauer,
ceo of Galiant Consulting, a
travel management consulting
company in Europe. But it is
that same data richness that
may be the key to success,
he says.
Andreas believes there isn’t
anyone who can offer the
corporate traveller full data
consolidation – so managing
all different data flows from
all corners, and consolidating
this for the corporate client,
will be key to TMCs’ success.
He warns that TMC data
systems are currently not
equipped to do full data
consolidation. “These were
never intended to handle
data other than bookingrelated
data. While some
offer add-on services, TMCs
acknowledge that they are
not making any money in
this field. TMCs will need to
re-imagine themselves. Taking
a reservation will not be the
future business of the TMC;
data consolidation will be.”