Business Travel Executive, August 2018

TECH FILES 58Business Travel Executive AUGUST 2018 Lyft Business Enhances Expense Tools Partners with Southwest Lyft Business has introduced tools for travel policy compliance that according to the ridesharing company will improve travel experiences and expense management The tools allow employees to document their business rides and select from expense codes in the Lyft app with a few taps The tools will also enable travel managers to require entering expense codes and or notes as part of the ride request to speed up spend reconciliation and produce reports that provide detailed ride data for better cost attribution and reimbursements The tools are now available on iOS and are coming soon for Android Lyft Business partners with several leading TMCs and expense companies including Concur Expensify and Certify In other news from Lyft the ridesharing company has announced a partnership with Southwest Airlines The Southwest app for both iOS and Android will alert travelers within four hours of departure about the option of using Lyft and will show the time to the airport and estimated cost of the ride Customers must be logged into the mobile app with location services turned on OAG Partners with Plug and Play Flight data provider OAG has announced a partnership with Plug and Play the global technology accelerator and venture investment fund The partnership enables OAG to collaborate with disruptive startups and technology leaders to create innovative solutions for the travel ecosystem Founded in 2016 Plug and Plays Travel and Hospitality Innovation Platform focuses on discovering supporting and scaling disruptive technologies in the travel space The partnership represents another of OAGs recent investments in the travel technology ecosystem Startups are the lifeblood of the travel industry These companies create design innovate and push the boundaries of whats possible said Vipul Nakum OAGs chief product officer Our vision is to equip all technology providers with the data and resources they need to create value and help the travel ecosystem make informed decisions and delight travelers Four of Five Drivers Like Their In Car Technology According to a new survey 80 percent of consumers are happy with the technology currently available in their cars and 88 percent value new technology in their vehicles Of those surveyed over half have a vehicle that connects to Internet via phone or direct connection with nearly one third saying they have a car that connects to the Internet via direct connection The survey was conducted for Metova a provider of mobile connected car connected home and IoT solutions The poll found more than half of respondents have a 2014 or newer vehicle but when it comes to new car shopping 1 out of 5 would walk away from a potential new car purchase even if it had all the other features they want in a car such as price brand MPG etc if it didnt include the latest connected technology