Expedia's Egencia made
good on a plan to introduce this autumn its TripNavigator iOS app. According to
the corporate travel management company, the new app displays "a
contextual, actionable view of the itinerary" and integrates "real-time
trip alerts to reduce friction as travel plans change, expectedly or unexpectedly."
It also provides global "click-to-call" capability, connecting users
with Egencia call centers.
Most U.S. travelers now
can make use of the app's "callback" function as part of the Egencia
AssistMe service through which the TMC's travel consultants, when answering a
request for assistance, already would have a user's name, company and
itinerary, thereby eliminating the time needed to authenticate callers. Certain
Egencia clients with customized interactive voice recognition will be able to
use the app's callback function "before the end of Q1 2014,"
according to a company official.
"When intervention
is needed, the agent is looking at the problem you face," Egencia senior vice
president of the Americas Mark Hollyhead said during an October interview with BTN. When asked whether Egencia has any
targets on how quickly a user would receive a call back from a counselor,
Hollyhead said, "It has to do with queue management. We are assessing the
impact in our call centers. We want to be calling back within five minutes."
According to Egencia,
the new app is available worldwide and incorporates technology from Mobiata, an
app developer acquired by Expedia in late 2010.
U.S.-based users of the
app also can take advantage of Egencia Mobile Flight Exchange, enabling changes
to airline tickets on 27 airlines. Egencia said the mobile exchange capability
would be introduced to additional markets beyond the United States "in future
months."
In providing
step-by-step guidance during a traveler's trip, the app will, for example, let
a user know when to check-in for a flight; alert a user if no hotel has been
booked in conjunction with a trip and present booking options to do so (by
accessing Egencia's global hotel inventory); and remind a user to gas up rental
cars (and provide a map showing nearby gas stations). It also will provide
alerts on delays and cancellations, along with possible actions to rebook
flights and hotel rooms.
Egencia noted that corporate
customers including Colliers International provided feedback during
development. Rudy Lim, Colliers' procurement director, in a prepared statement
noted TripNavigator's "sleek interface and how intuitively it addresses
common travel inquiries." Lim also characterized the callback feature as "a
gem for our travelers."
According to a statement
attributed to Egencia president Rob Greyber, "Consumer brands have set a
high bar with leisure travel apps that travel management companies, like Egencia,
need to meet in order to drive sustained use of corporate travel apps."
Egencia plans to
introduce a native version for the Android platform "in early 2014."