Business Travel Executive, October 2017

TECH FILES 44Business Travel Executive OCTOBER 2017 Business Travelers Carry Four Devices Business travelers are bringing more devices and feeling more productive on the road according to a survey from Carlson Wagonlit Travel The survey of more than 1900 business travelers entitled CWT Connected Traveler Study found that travelers on average carry four different types of technology mobile phone tablet laptop etc with the smartphone being the one travel tool they cant live without More than 80 percent of travelers rely on their phones to conduct business As travelers connect with co workers or family they often use different methods With family or friends travelers chose calling 44 percent Skype 24 percent and text 17 percent as their preferred communication methods However they connect with coworkers differently e mail 44 percent calling 24 percent and texting 14 percent Business travelers can be much more productive than even five years ago thanks to technology said Simon Nowroz chief marketing officer Carlson Wagonlit Travel Think about the advances where a business traveler used to have so much down time between a flight taxi and hotel he said Now they can login and work while on the plane or wherever they happen to be Groupize and Concur Integrate Meetings Products Groupize a meetings solution company is now integrating its product with Concur Third Party Registration Meetings Companies can integrate the Groupize registration website and launch a Concur booking session for travel to that event with a single sign on We have two integrations with Concur one at the profile level and the other to this third party module Alisa de Gaspe Beaubien COO of Groupize explained This means that a customer can set up meeting level rules in Concur and through our integration we recognize all of the rules set in Concur in our registration flow The integration offers additional features such as the capability to set travel policy and rules at the event level and to accommodate guest travelers Groupize Meetings has realtime access to Concur data and matches at the profile level whether bookings were made by employees or via their TMCs Alaska Airlines Ramps Up WiFi Alaska Airlines has announced it will deploy Gogo inflight WiFi service across its entire fleet The first planes will be upgraded in the first half of 2018 with the entire fleet to be done by early 2020 According to the carrier Gogos broadband 2Ku satellite service delivers 20 times more bandwidth than Gogos air to ground product The satellite based technology will allow guests to stay connected when traveling outside the continental US to destinations like Hawaii Mexico and Costa Rica where connectivity was previously unavailable In addition the service provides Internet access gate to gate BTE Hyatt Centric Expands Grubhub Partnership Hyatt Centric has announced the expansion of its partnership with online food delivery service Grubhub The expanded service means guests at nine properties across the country can order room service from local restaurants The service piloted in April 2016 at three properties will now be offered at nine hotels located in Florida Utah New York Illinois Louisiana Virginia and Texas and two in California Guests at the participating hotels can order from local restaurants by using a customized landing page found through the dining page on the hotels website or through the website URL found in guestroom compendiums or on the keycard inserts provided at check in