American Express Global Business Travel has a new open resource
for corporate travelers and travel managers to access information and updates
related to Covid-19. Dubbed Travel Vitals, the information hub offers travel statistics
like viral infection rates, travel restrictions and updated supplier policies,
with data gleaned from "hundreds" of data sources, including governments,
airports, airlines, risk management specialists, rail companies, hotels and car
rental providers, according to the company.
The data hub is free to all users, with Amex GBT clients
able to access itinerary-specific information via channels including the Amex
GBT mobile app, chat and online booking tools. GBT clients can also integrate Travel
Vitals into the trip audit process to trigger alerts to managers when trips are
booked to high-risk destinations and can retrospectively trace past trips to
areas experiencing infection rate spikes to provide post-trip alerts about
possible exposures.
"We’re doing this because for the foreseeable future,
we have to manage every trip as if we were planning an event," said Amex GBT
vice president of product strategy and experience Mark McSpadden. "Door-to-door
travel management has long been an aspiration for our industry, but that isn’t
enough in these circumstances. The role of the TMC now begins as soon as the
need to travel is first identified and ends long after the traveler has
returned home.”
As corporate travel resumption draws nearer, TMCs are taking
on the task of providing of essential Covid-related
information to support corporate clients' travel decisions. Third-party
booking tool developers have gotten into the act as well; Deem this week announced
it would add a traveler safety and risk monitoring service to its platform
in the early fall.