Business Travel Executive, February 2018

28Business Travel Executive FEBRUARY 2018 SPECIAL REPORT Demanding Roles organizations are understanding the value that ride sharing can bring to their business as a convenient affordable and comfortable transportation solution Over the last three years we have worked with top organizations in the travel space to learn about their specific needs and challenges he says At the end of the day our goal is to empower organizations to provide rides to the people they care about from employees and customers to patients and students For example in addition to collaborating with top businesses across the country to move their employees for corporate travel Lyft Business has also partnered with the largest most innovative healthcare organizations in the country to create better transportation options for patients thereby increasing appointment attendance rates and ultimately improving patient quality of life The demand for Lyft as a corporate travel solution increased by 3 percentage points to 11 percent in third quarter 2017 according to expense management provider Certify The company has already partnered with leading travel systems and platforms in use today including Carlson Wagonlit Travel Concur Expensify and Deem An integration with Lyft saves time both for the travel manager as well as the corporate traveler by pre scheduling a ride and conveniently seeing the car arrive in real time Patel explains Business travel managers are able to see real time reporting on ride data and costs and travelers can get easily reimbursed through our various expense integrations Guiding Their Stay Lodging is another market segment where on demand technology has created entirely new concepts for both business and leisure travel Business travel is becoming less about being a road warrior and more about mixing business with leisure People are combining business trips with weekend stays and finding ways to create unique experiences even if they are on the road for work according to David Holyoke head of Airbnb for Work Business travelers want more choice and more control over where they book and want to be able to customize their trip as much as possible Holyoke says whether thats choosing a home with a fully stocked kitchen for their foodie tendencies or picking a studio in the arts district of a city theyre visiting As people travel for work they are looking for the same flexibility and convenience that they experience in their personal lives which is why we hear from a lot of travelers and employers about helping them make it easier to incorporate Airbnb into their corporate travel policies he says Airbnb for Work has partnerships with American Express GBT BCD and Carlson Wagonlit and is currently working with Concur to incorporate Airbnb listings into their search and booking tool Last year the number of business trips on Airbnb tripled as employees from more than 250000 companies in over 230 countries and territories signed up to use Airbnb for work Globally it offers more than 150000 business travel ready listings homes that have the essential amenities and services every business traveler needs like WiFi laptop friendly workspaces and no hassle self check in Companies can benefit from providing their employees with a variety of affordable options We encourage them to be open minded about their corporate travel policies and to listen to their employees to make sure their policies meet the ever changing needs of the modern business traveler Holyoke says Amazon Google Vox Media and Twilio are already a part of the Airbnb for Work program and give their employees options when traveling especially those looking to have the comforts of home while theyre on the road Melanie Fish travel expert at vacation rental platform HomeAway notes one of the fastest growing segments in the travel industry is vacation rentals One reason she cites is people who are accustomed to taking trips with groups and families where they choose to stay in a home away from home are also figuring out that its possible to do the same for business travel The sharing economy has conditioned everyone including travelers to get what they want quickly she says When HomeAway started it was basically an online classifieds site You found a home you liked contacted the owner and went back and forth on booking information and payment Now more than half a million rental listings on HomeAway com are instantly bookable with no wait for confirmation Business travelers are realizing they can get work done on the road with the comforts of being at home So why not rent a condo or beach house where they make coffee maybe do a conference call head to the off site meeting then come back to a spacious home rather than a hotel room I recently went to Nashville with three colleagues and we stayed in a stunning three story house Fish says We People are finding ways to create unique experiences even if they are on the road for work