Online booking tools and integration: a buyer’s guide.
Technology is one of the most important factors for travel managers when choosing a travel management company (TMC) and, according to research carried out for BTN Europe’s online booking tool (OBT) guide in March 2022, the top three priorities for travel managers when looking at online booking tools integration specifically are compatibility, compliance and customisation.
At November’s BTN Business Travel Tech Talk in London, Brian Sheerin, CTM’s Chief Technology Officer EMEA was on hand to discuss all things OBT, particularly the issue of integration.
When travel buyers and managers are choosing an OBT, it is critical that they consider ease of integration and deployment. The Holy Grail is to find a tool that causes the least disruption for the business. Flexibility is also key. It must be possible to upgrade, change and add content to it in the future without the need for retraining. Finally, it’s important to consider whether – and how – the OBT can be integrated into HR, invoicing and reporting tech tools and platforms.
This last point is essential because integration is often an afterthought. This may be because buyers are looking at online booking tools in isolation or because ease of integration is simply regarded as a given these days, which is fair if the organisation is using modern architecture and microservices.
The simplest solution to ensure smooth and easy integration is for buyers to take the full tech stack from one TMC (which is often the case with CTM customers) unless, of course, a mix-and-match solution better suits their business.
At Corporate Travel Management (CTM), whether a client chooses our entire tech stack or opts for Lightning (our OBT) to be integrated with third-party technology, integration is often pretty straightforward. As long as all of the tech is flexible, we can consume client feeds easily enough and control output to client systems. We are fortunate in that we have proprietary technology at CTM, which lets us get closer to the customer than third-party tech providers for OBTs. That responsiveness in getting things done to make integration simpler for the client can be a big difference.
When we talk about integration, it’s threefold:
- Integrating into a company’s internal systems
- Integrating with the company’s other vendors
- Integrating with preferred suppliers and integrating with content sources
Integrating into a company’s internal systems
The success of integrating internal systems really depends on the product or service being integrated, the tech involved and the ability/willingness of the buyer to change or accommodate new working practices.
We start by gathering the client requirements and understanding the existing workflows. What makes it easy is when there’s some flexibility to change and improve workflows; what makes it difficult is fitting into legacy workflows where there is resistance to change. That said, everything is achievable, some things take a little longer than others. And we would recommend that, if buyers are keen to change their OBT, TMC, or both, it’s an excellent time to examine processes and adjust them.
Integrating with preferred suppliers and integrating with content sources
Integrating technology with that of a preferred supplier is probably the easiest process of the three and should be standard for any tech company: it just needs an API. We try to head this off by having as many integrated with the locker as possible, for example, three GDSs, four rail companies, and so on.
Integrating expense tools
When it comes to integrating online booking tools and expense tools, having a service that can integrate multiple suppliers offers flexibility and future proofing and the good news is modern architecture allows for this, and – I think – all modern OBTs will have microservices that are flexible, multi-faceted and easy to deploy.
The challenge is that, if you go all-in with both and it doesn’t succeed, you can end up with an expense system that’s popular but a travel setup that users struggle with, or vice-versa, and your options are limited. For example, if I buy a smartphone, I can still switch to a different email app or calendar, and in my view that modularity is a good thing for the buyer.
Integrating payments
Some TMCs now offer an integrated payment offering with their booking tool but it’s a complicated process. There is a lot involved in payment systems, end to end in the whole TMC/client process – from accreditation to booking, to reconciliation – so a single solution makes sense.
At CTM, we are developing a payments service partly so that we can offer multiple solutions and to safeguard the business and ensure we can easily move providers should we need to. Fintech is an attractive space if you’re a VC-backed company and you’re targeting SMEs that don’t have global card and payment programmes, but we find larger enterprises often have a good card and payment programme in place that we’re happy to support.
Integrating content outside the GDS
At CTM, we believe that all fares should be shown on one integrated OBT screen whether this is GDS, LCC or NDC and the TMC can source and integrate these more easily. By letting the OBT provider focus on the technical side of sourcing different content types, buyers can focus more on negotiating the different offers that flow through those pipes rather than installing and having to maintain them.
Best practice for sourcing a new online booking tool
When travel buyers and managers are preparing their RFPs, they should factor in the whole end-to-end business workflow, not just the OBT, to ensure all of their needs can be met.
My advice would be, to make sure the tech is leading edge and future proofed and definitely challenge any TMCs you are working with – or asking for bids from – on innovation and sustainability. And remember that the OBT is important, but it’s not the be-all and end-all, the wrap-around services are also key.
In terms of negotiation, I personally believe it’s always better to buy through a TMC rather than go direct because they should already have volume-based deals with the OBT provider. One knock-on impact of buying via the TMC or through the OBT directly can be setup speed and support – depending on the OBT, you might struggle for the responsiveness you’d want if you buy direct, whereas a TMC can get things done for you without needing to wait on the OBT provider as they have the keys to some, if not all, of the OBT platform and can often escalate issues faster than if you’re just dealing with the OBT and they’ll advocate on your behalf because it’s in their interest for implementation and integration to go smoothly.
When it comes to implementation, make sure everyone is on board and that the training and follow-up sessions are comprehensive. It’s also important, to be honest up front – if there’s something that isn’t there yet, share the roadmap with users and prevent any initial negativity.
And, finally, I always recommend using these three key indicators when it comes to monitoring success:
- Actual online volumes = expected online volumes
- Reduced downstream workloads and streamlined processing
- Regular releases with innovation at the heart of the release