5 Foolproof Ways to Get the Most out Out of Your Travel Technology
how to make tech work harder for you.
At Gray Dawes Travel, we understand the importance of technology in building a business travel program. By embracing high tech and leveraging online tools, companies can improve the efficiency of their travel arrangements, reduce costs, and provide a more positive travel experience for everyone.
In this blog, we explore how you can make the most of your travel technology to achieve your goals with our 5 Top Tech Tips.
#1
Assess & Identify
As the adage goes, you need to walk before you can run. Before making any drastic changes, you need to assess your current technology infrastructure and identify areas for improvement.
Evaluate your online booking tools, your mobile apps, and any other technologies in your arsenal. Then ask yourself:
- What does our technology do well?
- What does our technology not do well?
- What realistic ways can our technology be improved?
Identifying areas for improvement and sketching out solutions can be a daunting task. Fortunately, our team of tech specialists can help you figure everything out from start to finish – providing you with an in-depth analysis of your current technology infrastructure before recommending the tools best suited to your business travel programme.
#2
Train Your Employees
Your technology and employees should work together in perfect harmony. After all, how can you get the most out of the tools at your disposal if your own people don’t know how to use them properly?
You should always provide training and support to help employees use your technology to its fullest potential. This can include:
- Online training sessions
- Accessible customer support
- Clear communication and feedback channels
Keeping your employees up to date with your technology comes with additional rewards. These newly trained users will bring fresh perspectives on the form and function of your tools – a potential treasure trove of new ideas on how to do things better.
#3
Think User-Friendly
Nobody wants to wade through lengthy menus or impenetrable walls of text. Providing your travellers and bookers with a technology that is simple to use and easy to navigate will immediately win people over.
Here are a few key things you should consider when assessing a user-friendly interface:
- Make text short and easy-to-read with accessibility options.
- Design content to minimize the number of clicks needed.
- Ensure interfaces are responsive to fit different screen resolutions.
- Try to avoid clashing colours.
It is worth considering how your staff will be using the travel tools you select. For example, if for the majority of time your travellers will be interacting with the technology while on the road via phones, then your user interface should be optimised for mobile formats, dynamically responsive to different screen sizes rather than only built for desktops.
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#4
Dig into Data
Data is the silver bullet that can turn a good business travel programme into a great one. Your technology should have the capacity to collect all kinds of travel data that will not only inform your future decisions but will make the lives of your users easier. Here are a few things you can do if you integrate analytical tools into your tech suite:
- Track and monitor the travel patterns of your travellers.
- Collect spend data to identify ways to save on travel costs.
- Analyse emissions to see how to reduce your carbon footprint.
Once you gather enough in-depth data, you can start making informed decisions about how you approach your business travel programme. These analytical insights can also help you to determine what people are looking for from their travel, allowing you to tailor your services to perfection.
#5
Invest in Customer Service
What if your technology goes wrong the moment someone needs it most? Even the most well-designed app or booking platform has the capacity to break from time to time. You’re going to need a plan for when that happens. Here are a few steps you can implement to keep things moving while your technology needs fixing:
- A 24/7 helpline that can provide users with alternative solutions.
- An FAQ or error toolkit which users can follow.
- A chat function that connects users to support staff.
At Gray Dawes, we know how important it is to be available to employees and clients at any time of day or night. Our recent expansion into the USA and Australia means that we now offer a unique service that follows the sun – an ‘always on’ approach which allows us to manage travel programmes or deal with tech issues at a moment’s notice.
In Summary
Maximising the opportunities presented to you by technology is essential. By assessing your tech infrastructure, providing training and support, ensuring user-friendly interfaces, utilising data, and building a robust customer service model, you will be well on the way to creating a successful business travel programme that’s supported by great technology. Most importantly, getting to know the tools that work for you can result in positive travel experiences for everyone involved.
At Gray Dawes, we are committed to helping companies achieve these goals. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you make the most of technology within your own business travel programme.
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