Still hesitant about adding to their workloads and grappling with IT departments, most corporate travel buyers have not offered social networking to company travelers. In a January ProMedia.travel Content Solutions survey of more than 200 industry pros, social media was the least influential of several trends expected to impact travel programs this year--trailing globalization, meetings management, mobile technology, expense management automation and virtual meetings. But there are some companies gearing up to capture traveler feedback in the new community medium.
"This is going to be my fun project for the year," said ITT travel services manager Rene Colyer, referring to a "new company intranet site that enables Twitter-style updates and blogging."
Colyer anticipates enhanced two-way communication with travelers about travel disruptions and emergencies, destination tips, special offers, corporate policies, ride sharing and opinions on suppliers.
"It's a great way to get opinions," she said. "What do they think about this hotel or car rental company we have now, because the contract is coming up? With Twitter-type blog sites, where it is open to ITT employees ... you can search at your leisure. We can put out information on procedures that would benefit the corporate travel department and [its] users. We have over 700 preferred properties in our hotel program. It is impossible for us to visit all sites. This would be a real opportunity when we are talking to a hotel or trying to decide between these three that are within a two-block area. You can put out a query asking if anyone has stayed at these hotels, and, if so, tell us what you think. It's an opportunity to better manage your suppliers, to get the good and the bad feedback."
ITT also expects to use a collaboration tool to allow employees arriving at the same airport to share trip plans and cut ground transportation costs. Online real estate company Move.com by spring aims to roll out similar functions using itinerary feeds from Rearden Commerce's Personal Assistant.
"We're setting up a blog or portal on our intranet so people can share itineraries with others who will be in the same place for ground transport planning," said Move.com travel coordinator Cyndy Hayes. "Also, they can share information about things like favorite restaurants. Travel can be lonely, and we're a large company with different divisions." Travelers also will be given a place to gripe about or praise service providers. The company's travel management company, Travizon, will help with implementation and administration, she said.
TMC Travel & Transport during the past year has been offering two kinds of sites: one for clients to collaborate with each other and another for clients to offer to their travelers.
"It's a huge negotiating tool for procurement departments; for example, if the hotel is getting tired and rundown and the service is poor, you have testimony from travelers who a lot of times don't take the time to fill out a survey, so it's a great leverage," said T&T senior vice president and CIO Mike Kubasik.
Kubasik acknowledged that moderating blog posts is not something for which many travel buyers have time. "Some people want the feedback, while others are not necessarily interested in managing the site. The technology is not complex; it's more the management around who at the corporation will police it. The tech allows for some policing of [offensive language or other] keywords, but it still requires an eyeball."
Although only about five clients launched the traveler portals--which a third party built for T&T--Kubasik said, "The old days of water cooler talk are dissipating." While Kubasik expects travel agents to benefit from the information sharing as well, Travel & Transport has not gone so far as to assign them content-related responsibilities. "It's still emerging with the travelers, and the agent's role still is to be productive on the phone," he said.
Workload Overload
Buyers also have bigger priorities, and even as many recognize the big impact of social media, making room for new trends isn't easy. ITT's Colyer said she's fortunate that when she inquired about social networking, the company already was working on a strategy. "I was not a part of it. When the buzz started coming about social media and travel and what can be done, I immediately sent a query about where my company was going. I was told that I had excellent timing and it was just presented to our executive council and approved, and would be implemented in the next two quarters."
Move.com's Hayes identified with the concern about workload: "You have these ideas and things you want to do, but it's like pushing a donkey up a hill. I'm not alone. A lot of us have so much on our plates."