Within these sessions, panellists were asked to provide their opinion on several questions in regards to startups within the travel industry.
The panellists were…
- Curb Mobility – Taxi app based in the USA
- Sion – Commission claiming company
- Tramada – Mid & Back Office company
- Shep – a product that helps monitor and save on business travel bookings made on consumer sites and guide companies on booking within policy.
- HelloGbye – Fully digital AI platform for TMCs
Is the corporate travel business model out dated?
All panellist agreed that they believe there is room for improvement when it comes to the current model. The reasons given for this included technology solutions not being dynamic enough or simply that they do not exist, along with the process or workflow needing a refresh.
There was also a feeling that there are better ways to commercialise the industry with commissions and overrides.
Is it harder to be a startup company in corporate travel v leisure travel?
Due to there being so many different gatekeepers when trying to win corporate travel accounts the general consensus was yes, it is harder within the corporate market.
Other reasons given to back this up included less competition and fragmentation within leisure travel, corporates are more time sensitive whilst leisure travellers are more price sensitive, the corporate travel market is more diluted.
With so many startups in the industry, how do you ascertain the best ones?
One of the first things to identify is, are they fixing a genuine problem within the industry? Look at the track record of the company or the directors, be careful if the proposition sounds too good to be true, if this is the case, it probably is. Are they focused, what else are they doing? Could they easily become distracted?
Take your time if choosing to work with a startup. Make sure you really do your research on what other products or solutions are out in the market before making a final decision.
The vision for the future…
All panellists agreed that the technology revolution had begun, mobile applications would be here to stay and there would be greater use of AI to support the traveller and travel arranger. They also suggested that the relationship between travel provider and traveller would change.