To mark the celebration of its 20th anniversary this year, Corporate Traveller, a division of the Flight Centre Travel Group, has announced the launch of a new technology platform, Your.CT, in the South African market.
YOUR.CT, a new travel technology platform designed to meet the needs of SME corporates, will give travel arrangers, travellers and managers a single access point, via their customised dashboard, to information and functionalities that are relevant to their business travel needs. This includes pre-trip approval, booking options, profile management, traveller tracking, travel alerts and reports. The platform can be accessed via PC, tablet or mobile device.
Corporate Traveller has partnered on several joint opportunities with SAP Concur, the world’s leading provider of cloud-based integrated travel and expense management services and solutions, to offer the most comprehensive travel solutions to its clients.
Oz Desai, GM Corporate Traveller South Africa, explains: “Corporate Traveller has grown from a small operation at the back of the Flight Centre Sandton retail store in 1998, to a successful end-to-end travel management company specialising in clients with business travel spend of R1m to R20m per annum.”
“We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We understand the nuances of their business travel requirements better than anyone else. That is why our approach to travel management is not only based around the latest technology but also around small teams of highly experienced travel experts with a minimum of five years’ experience providing personal service, support and guidance. Every client is guaranteed to be appointed a dedicated travel manager who offers an end-to-end solution, from quotation to statement.”
“Our blended approach to travel means we know the value that our service-based business model adds when complemented by technology to drive further efficiencies for our client base,” explains Desai. “Technology is critical if we want to provide a truly personal service for our clients. That’s why we have invested heavily in developing YOUR.CT, a central platform that can be easily customised and tailored to the travel needs of each client.”
Depending on the type of user, YOUR.CT’s dashboard is configured to give instant access to:
• Approve and request – travellers can make requests easily and managers can give approval efficiently, helping to drive compliance and savings
• Booking – YOUR.CT’s powerful new online booking solution is Concur which enables travellers and bookers search and book flights, hotels, car and other ancillary services. Navigation is easy, and bookings can be completed within just a few clicks. Searches also take into account the traveller’s preferences and booking.
• Profile management – bookers can create and manage traveller profiles including passport details, frequent flyer numbers and dietary preferences
• Traveller tracking – YOUR.CT’s state of the art risk map technology enables users to view where their travellers are in the world at any given time and effectively manage their safety. Key functionality includes a snapshot of travellers at risk by type, location and flight number; traveller location mapping and any critical alerts for those countries; forward trip monitoring identifying where travellers will be located next week, and even 2+ weeks.
• Travel alerts – travellers are kept up to date with notifications specifically tailored to their itineraries
• Travel policy – YOUR.CT gives travellers access to their company’s travel policy documents in order to drive policy understanding and compliance. Travel policies are also stored within Concur, meaning travellers are automatically directed to make the most appropriate booking selection.
• Reports – YOUR.CT gathers and stores reservation and financial data giving clients a high level spend breakdown via their dashboard. Users can see their company’s spend on airfares, hotels and car hire; they can view their top five airlines by spend; compare top 10 travellers by spend and number of tickets; view most frequently booked city pair destinations; view percentage of online bookings and overall adoption rate; and identify advance booking patterns.
Desai adds: “Although we are a global company, we have the local knowledge to assist and understand the South African traveller through our six local offices. Africa brings a very unique set of challenges as a corporate business destination, which is why we believe that the South African traveller requires a very high level of service and personalisation with expert advice on services and duty of care. With over 100 senior consultants onboard, we are confident we can offer a service and expertise to the traveller that no other TMC in South Africa can offer.”