BCD Travel signed a long-term agreement with tripBAM and
plans to offer the tool to its clients.
Today's announcement comes after BCD's pilot with the
automated hotel rate-shopping platform, which began last
July. BCD senior vice president of strategic marketing April Bridgeman said
the pilot helped the travel management company refine how it introduces the technology
to clients, as some may be ready to go all-in on tripBAM's technology and
others may be more conservative as they learn more about what tripBAM software can
accomplish.
“What we're able to do for our customers is give them a
service that combines both the tripBAM technical functionality as well as our
agents’ ability to ensure that we’re actually securing the lower rates that the
tool offers and identifies,” Bridgeman said. “That increases the conversion to
those lower rates for our clients.”
TripBAM founder and CEO Steve Reynolds said the tool
requires significant agency involvement, both to get data about a client’s
hotel program and to facilitate rebookings once savings are found. “Having [BCD]
there in lockstep with us in trying to accomplish this common goal for the
client just makes all the difference in the world,” he said.
For the BCD clients that worked with tripBAM during the
pilot, Bridgeman said the tool drove a return on investment and helped instill
consumer confidence in some travelers who had been skeptical of the
capabilities of a managed travel hotel program.